I’ve been having some wrist issues lately, so I’ve switched to an ergonomic split keyboard (and made an appointment with an orthopedist). I’m also trying to cut way down on my mouse usage; since I mouse with my right hand and that’s the wrist with worse problems, the mouse is my prime suspect.
But how to navigate the web without using a mouse?
Turns out that many mouse navigation actions can be replaced by the plethora of undocumented keyboard shortcuts hiding inside Firefox. Here are the ones I’ve found most useful; maybe some will prove useful to you too.
(On a Mac, replace “ctrl” with “cmd” in all the following examples.)
- To follow a link via the keyboard: Hit the forward-slash key to enter Quick Search mode. Start typing the text of the link. The first few letters are usually enough. Once the link is highlighted, hit enter.
- To go back: Backspace/delete key.
- To enter a url: ctrl-L to focus the awesome bar, then start typing; optionally use the down arrow – or better yet, the tab key – to select a suggestion, and then hit enter to go to the selected url. (I find the tab key much easier to hit from the home row than the down-arrow key, and they both move down through awesome bar suggestions.)
- To do a search: ctrl-K to focus the search box. I typically hit ctrl-T for a new tab, then ctrl-K to focus the search box, then type my search term, then hit enter to do the search.
- To go to a bookmark: typing “* keyword” into the awesome bar – asterisk, then a space, then the keyword – will filter the awesome bar suggestions to show only bookmarks matching the keyword. You can think of the asterisk as representing the bookmark star icon. The whole interaction is ctrl-T for new tab, ctrl-L to focus the bar, asterisk, space, keyword, tab to select the bookmark, enter key to go to it. Sounds like a lot of work, but for me it’s still faster than hunting through my labyrinthine bookmark menu with the mouse.
- To switch to a tab: much like the asterisk filter for bookmarks, a percent sign will restrict awesome bar matches to currently open tabs. “% keyword” will show only the open tabs that match (by url or page title) the keyword. E.g. I often use “% bug” to show all my Bugzilla tabs. So ctrl-L to focus the bar, percent space keyword, tab key to select the right suggestion, enter key to focus the tab. Again, I actually find this faster than hunting for tabs with the mouse.
- There are many more filters besides * and %, too. You can find them documented at Mozillazine.
- Another way to switch to a tab is by its position: ctrl-1 focuses the leftmost tab, ctrl-2 the second leftmost, etc. I generally don’t find this as useful as switching by names, but it can be great for app tabs, if you always have the same app tabs open in the same order. So for example ctrl-1 for me will always be WordPress, ctrl-3 will be my Zimbra calendar, ctrl-7 is the Test Pilot mercurial repo, etc.
What all these keyboard interfaces have in common is that they’re based on recall, not recognition — they work best if you know exactly what you want, and can call it by name. They’re not very good for things you’re used to recognizing by icon or by spatial location (e.g. if you’re used to getting to a certain page by clicking the second link in your bookmark bar, you’d have some adjustment to do.)
(Not Firefox related, but I’ve also mapped the ctrl key to the caps lock on my keyboard, which makes using Emacs a lot more pleasant, since I no longer have to do contortions with my left pinky to trigger commands there.)
Anybody have any more keyboard navigation tips to share? (Or tips for fighting RSI?) The comments are open.
Not The User's Fault 
July 28, 2011 at 6:32 pm
If you type a ‘ character it’s a quick search for links only!
cmd/ctrl+shift+{ and } goes to previous and next tabs
July 28, 2011 at 7:00 pm
I use Workrave for prompting to me to take breaks. That might help you.
To use less of mouse, I used to use most of the keyboard shortcuts you mentioned and add-ons like Mouseless browsing and hit-a hint. From a while, I have been using Vimperator and/or Pentadactyl.
Since you say Emacs, you might want to try Conkeror, Firefox for Emacs users.
July 28, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Use alt-enter in the address bar to open what you typed in a new tab, leaving your existing tab undisturbed. I find this faster and mentally easier than using ctrl-t before typing.
July 28, 2011 at 9:06 pm
* Spacebar to scroll down, shift+Space to scroll up.
* SwiftTabs extension assigns keyboard combos to moving one tab right/left, and closing tabs. Mine is configured like Vim (H moves left one tab, L moves right). Most useful extension I have; really transforms Firefox experience.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/swifttabs-59011/
July 28, 2011 at 9:36 pm
i recommend using a mouse with your left hand. just look at your keyboard. over 70% of the keys are meant to be hit with your right hand (half of alphanumerics, all of the arrows, pgup/down/home/end/ins/del, and all of the numpad).
i feel like using mouse with a left hand balances this out, and it’s not that hard to get used to (a couple of weeks at most).
(and no, i am not left-handed)
July 28, 2011 at 10:30 pm
Funny you should say that — I’ve been mousing with my left hand (when I absolutely have to mouse) this week, to give my right hand a break. You’re right, it’s not that hard to get used to.
July 29, 2011 at 5:31 am
I’ve been mousing left-handed for years for this exact reason.
July 29, 2011 at 7:27 am
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Keyboard%20shortcuts
July 29, 2011 at 10:15 am
> The whole interaction is ctrl-T for new tab, ctrl-L to focus the bar
ctrl-T leaves the cursor in the URL bar anyway, so no need for the subsequent ctrl-L.
This also means that creating a new tab and moving to the search box can be ctrl-T TAB rather than ctrl-T ctrl-L, which some people might prefer.
July 29, 2011 at 12:07 pm
I hate to move my hand from keyboard and back. I have no problems with my wrists but I hate it ;). I prefer to use only keyboard or only mouse (when I just surf around).
I’m using all of shortcuts you mentioned but I didn’t know * and % filters (thanks about that :)). I actively use Ctrl+(1-9) and all my Firefox have same 8 tabs. I have tried some Mouseless browsing extensions but no one was handy enough.
I;m using “Hide Find Bar” and “Hide Find Bar with Ctrl+F” extension to hide find bar easier.
When I use mouse only (this is not so correct because my left hand is still on keyboard) I use mouse gestures and the shortcut that are accessible with left hand. I found that I use Ctrl+1 followed by Ctrl+ Shift+Tab to go to last tab instead Ctrl+9. And Alt+D to focus awesome bar.
July 29, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Instead of Ctrl+T, Ctrl+L, use Ctrl+L then push Alt-Enter at the end to open in a new tab. I’ve been trying to get into this habit, but still use Ctrl+T for some reason.
July 29, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Agreed on switching mouse hand. I use my left at work and my right at home, for exactly that reason.
August 2, 2011 at 5:27 am
Anyone notice that scrolling using the keyboard no longer works properly on planet.mozilla.org, or is it just me? Pressing “Home” or “End” don’t go to the top or bottom. The arrow keys jump inconsistent distances. This behavior is not reproducible on any other web page that I’ve come across.
August 2, 2011 at 7:20 pm
When you’re in the awesome bar, hit Alt-enter to open the url in a new tab. The same tip applies for Search: I use Ctrl-k, then Alt-arrows to select a search engine, and Alt-enter to launch search in a new tab.
You should also give a try to Vimperator and Pentadactil which allow to use Vim style shorcuts and commands, or Conkeror, inspired by Emacs.
August 3, 2011 at 6:07 pm
I’ve found that by getting rid of the separate search box, I can remove some clutter in my brain by moving everything to the location bar. Or maybe it’s because it removes a need for switching focus, which is always a total flow-interrupter.
I just added ‘gg’ as a keyword search on http://www.google.com and I use that instead. (Visit http://www.google.com, right-click, “Add a keyword for this search”, use ‘gg’ or whatever for the keyword. Now in the location bar, “gg nsIFishToes” will do a Google search for nsIFishToes.)
Though if you’re searching for more than one word, you don’t even need to bother with the keyword; it’ll go to the default search engine.
August 4, 2011 at 10:42 am
Note that Ctrl+9 will *not* take you to your 9th tab, but to the *last* tab, regardless of how many tabs are open.
August 10, 2011 at 6:15 am
Ctrl F4 opens new windows
September 6, 2011 at 3:52 pm
I too have had serious wrist issues, mostly in my right hand. I switched to mousing left handed, but the wrist issues followed to the left hand. In my opinion, the real solution is to eliminate the need for a mouse.
I use and love Pentadactyl. It maps most of the keyboard commands from Vim into the browser. Since starting with it I find that I rarely use the mouse anymore, pretty much only for Flash content. I should also note that I’m not even very sophisticated with it and it’s still made a huge difference.
Another thing that’s nice about this approach, as opposed to the built in shortcuts, is that most of the commands are single keys, as opposed to chords. I find chorded keypresses (2+ keys at a time) to be stressful for my wrists/hands.
September 28, 2011 at 5:48 am
Based on how I usually see you working when I walk about the office.. a few tips:
– The split keyboard is a good start but your hands are usually terribly pronated upwards. Try to raise the spacebar-side of the keyboard so your wrists are straight. Also, try adjusting desk/chair height.
– If you still have typing-related problems, test out alternate keyboards. There are a few people on the second floor with them (e.g., the Kinesis Advantage, Kinesis Freestyle, SafeType, etc).
– Make sure to have breaks every 30-60 minutes. Workrave, Time Out, and xwrits are all good reminder apps.
And some even more unsolicited advice:
– Try using StickyKeys to reduce chording in emacs and other programs.
– Posture posture posture!
– Make sure your monitor is at the correct height. Reams of paper are almost the same price as “real” height adjustment equipment, and much more available. Not to mention, reusable.
– I realize the recognition vs. recall arguments, but investing in learning/inventing emacs/firefox/bash/whatever keybindings is hard to argue against when your hands are hurting.
November 27, 2011 at 3:15 pm
fantastic :))
Use the Force, Luke.