[This blog post contains an Affiliate Link to Canva, which means if you choose to sign up for Canva Pro through the link I supply, I get a few dollars. No pressure to buy though, I just love Canva and want to give you the opportunity to leverage it for your content.]
Est Read Time: 5 Minutes
Learning technology is like learning any skill, you have to spend consistent time on it to learn the basics and then over time you begin to pick up numerous tricks and hacks along the way!
Take Canva for instance –when I first started to use it in 2020 I had no idea I would be coaching other people how to use it themselves almost 3 years later.
And since I use it nearly daily, I find new cool tools or capabilities of Canva! After I figure out my new Canva find, I share my knowledge here with you, my email list, my social media followers, and of course, my clients.
But before I got here, I started out with zero knowledge or experience. Canva was completely new to me! And the first like 100 graphics I made kind of…well…sucked 😅
My point with sharing this is that when you start out with anything, even technology related, you’re not going to be very good at it and that is okay. Everyone starts out sucking –after all, the first part of success is ‘suck’. And when you spend deliberate, focused time to get better and you do it consistently, you will find yourself doing it more confidently than ever!
Which is why I wanted to create a small blog series focused on the very basics of getting started with your online marketing journey, and we are starting the journey right at the base of the summit: Your Computer.
I thought of a few Keyboard Tips that are convenient to know, some Web Browser Tips that are going to save you time, and a couple of ‘Good to Know’ things that have probably given you numerous headaches in the past.
OH! And the best part, I am sharing a cheat sheet with you so that you can keep this info for as long as you keep the email.
Let’s dive into some Keyboard Tips that you might just find extremely helpful.
Keyboard Tips
When I work with my coaching clients, I find there are always a few of the same shortcuts they are always enthusiastic to learn about because they simplify processes and make things even just a few moments more efficient.
Copy
By pressing ‘CTRL + C’ you can COPY a file, highlighted words or sentences of a document or PDF, photos, emails, or pretty much anything you want to copy on a computer.
Paste
By pressing ‘CTRL + V’ you PASTE whatever you just copied.
Save
By pressing ‘CTRL + S’ you can QUICK SAVE what you’re working on in nearly every application, such as Adobe, Notes, Microsoft Word, etc.
Undo
By pressing ‘CTRL + Z’ you can UNDO or GO BACK. If you’ve accidentally deleted a file, photo, or element, or maybe you want to go back to a specific font when you were flipping through trying to decide, just hit ‘CTRL + Z’.
Select All
By pressing ‘CTRL + A’ you can SELECT ALL the items within a folder or document.
Group Select
When you want to select multiple items one after the other in a row, hold down ‘SHIFT + Left Clicking Your Mouse’ on the top file and while still holding SHIFT, you Left Click Your Mouse on the last file you want selected, you will select the entire group. (Perfect for moving a group of files to another location or mass deleting)
Specific Group Select
If you want to select multiple items that are not one after the other, hold down ‘CTRL + Left Click Your Mouse’ and select each item you want holding CTRL the entire time.
These shortcuts aren’t complicated, and that’s what I love about them. And even though they are small efficiencies, they are efficiencies all the same and I hope that you did find those helpful to know. Now let’s talk about some web browser tips.
Web Browser Tips
Each Browser is Built Different
I think the first thing you should know about web browsers is that they are all built differently with different permissions and accesses.
What does this mean?
It means that some apps will not work in some browsers, some extensions are not available in some browsers, so you’ll want to choose a browser that you are most comfortable with and allows you to use tools and apps that you have to work with all the time.
I used to use Google Chrome, then moved to DuckDuckGo, and now I use Microsoft Edge. I had to stop using DuckDuckGo when I realized that some important aspects of tools I used didn’t work in the browser, so I had to switch and so far I have not had any issues with Microsft Edge and I like some of the customization options it has! (If you’re interested, just send me an email and I’ll send you back a video tutorial on how to do it! To send me an email CLICK HERE and just tell me you’d love a tutorial on how to do your own Microsoft Edge customization.)
Bookmarks & the Bookmarks Bar
Here is something I learned the benefit of doing: Bookmarking Web Pages, particularly web pages I use a lot or places I want to have direct access to, like client folders in Razzle’s Google Drive.
All of my frequently used Bookmarks are then saved to my Bookmark Bar –or ‘Favourites’ in Edge. In most cases, you have to turn your bookmark bar on by going to your browser settings (usually 3 horizontal dots in the top right corner) and you turn it on.
Here is a graphic to show you what I am talking about.
As you can see, I have created folders in my bookmark bar the contain the specific links. You can add your own file folders to your bookmark bar by RIGHT CLICKING YOUR MOUSE and selecting ‘Add New File’.
Alright, I have a few more ‘Good to Knows’ for you! I hope that you’re not feeling overwhelmed by information and are starting to feel excited by these little shortcuts/hacks! I personally use all of these tip/hacks myself all the time.
Good To Know
Alright, two last quick things before I go!
Compressing and Unzipping Files
You can create a Zip File –perfect when you’re sending a big file, multiple folders, etc, and you want to speed up the upload and download process. It also happens when you download multiple photos at one time from your Google Drive or when you download multiple graphics in Canva.
To do this, select the file or files you want to zip together and then RIGHT CLICK on any of your selected files then choose ‘Compress to Zip File’.
And I think it’s important to point out that you can send zipped files through email, but when you’re trying to upload photos to social media, photos in zipped folders will not show up. You have to unzip the folder or extract all the files from it first.
To unzip a file, you just RIGHT CLICK the folder and select ‘Extract All’. Here you can choose where you want to save them and if you want to rename the folder you can.
Name Files for Easy Findability
You can find any file you have ‘lost’ on your computer if you remember what it is called. That’s why it is important that you name any file you save or create on your computer.
To find anything you think you have lost in your computer, click the start button, which is in the bottom left of your screen usually (I have a windows computer though –sorry Apple users 😅)
And then you just type the file into the search bar that pops up. Usually, the file will load right up!
Now that you have read through, be sure to get the cheat sheet sent to your inbox so you can have it to reference forever. (If you never delete the email, all you have to do is search your inbox for: Computer Basics Cheat Sheet)
[Of course, you don’t have to take it, or if you do and you don’t want to be on our email list just click ‘Unsubscribe’ at the bottom of the email. However, our email list is getting a super awesome revamp through 2023 and I would actually love to have you stay and experience all the value we plan to roll out!]
Either way, before you move on, I hope that you remember to be patient and kind to yourself as you learn. After all, most people learn better with words of encouragement not discouragement.
I know that you are more than capable of mastering computer basics and you’ll eventually feel confident and comfortable working away on your computer –just give yourself time and be consistent!
Alright, now remember to get your cheat sheet and practice, practice, practice. Next week I’ll be giving you ANOTHER resource and we’ll be talking about getting clear on your audience, which is ground zero for your marketing.
It’s going to an important one, so don’t miss it!
-Jordan
If you are stressed out dealing with your brand’s social media reach out to Razzle Marketing! We have created resources to save you time and money and give you peace of mind so you can stress less. Send us an email and we’ll help guide you in the right direction: Email Jordan by CLICKING HERE
