The web looks very different from when I first started using it.Browsers have changed, websites have become more complex, and I've picked up countless keyboard shortcuts along the way.Most have come and gone from my daily routine, but there's one I still turn to pretty much every day: Ctrl+Shift+D.
Stop the daily browser-tab chaos Save a whole collection instead of a single page Close If I'm working on an article, researching something, or just going down one of those internet rabbit holes that starts with one page and somehow ends with 25, I don't necessarily want to lose all those tabs when I'm finished.That's where Ctrl+Shift+D comes in.It saves all the tabs in my current browser window into a single bookmark folder.
I can name the folder, choose where to save it, and then close the window without having to work out which tabs I might need again.Ctrl+Shift+D works in most major desktop browsers on Windows, although the exact wording and appearance of the options can vary.On a Mac, the equivalent shortcut generally uses Command instead of Ctrl.
I'm using Microsoft Edge for the examples in this article.The shortcut is essentially the multi-tab version of Ctrl+D, which saves the current page as a bookmark.Instead of saving one page, though, Ctrl+Shift+D saves the whole collection of tabs in the window I'm using.
Save an entire window in one go Name the collection and choose where it lives When I press Ctrl+Shift+D in Edge, I'm prompted to name the new bookmark folder.I usually give it a descriptive name, so I know what it contains when I return to it later.I can also choose where the folder goes.
It doesn't have to sit at the top level of my bookmarks.If I already have a folder for work, travel, or another project, I can nest the new folder inside it.There's one important detail to remember: this only applies to the window I'm currently in.
If I have multiple Edge windows open, I need to save each one separately.But that's a good thing.It means I can treat each browser window as its own collection, rather than dumping every open tab into one enormous folder.
It's my browser-tab panic button And I can pick up where I left off This is probably my favorite thing about Ctrl+Shift+D.I've forgotten plenty of browser keyboard shortcuts over the years, but this one has stuck because I actually have a use for it almost every day.It gives me a way to clear a browser window without feeling like I'm throwing away everything I've been working on—especially when I need to shut down fast and don't have time to sort through 20 tabs first.
Saving the tabs is only half the reason I like this shortcut, though.The other half is how easy it is to get them back.When I want to continue, I can find the folder in my bookmarks, right-click it, and choose Open all.
Depending on the browser, I may also see options such as Open all in new window or Open all in new tab group.Just remember what Ctrl+Shift+D actually saves It's a collection of URLs, not a snapshot of your tabs Close There's an important limitation: Ctrl+Shift+D saves the URLs of the open tabs, not their current state.If I've scrolled halfway down a page, filled in part of a form, or have other temporary information sitting on a website, that won't necessarily be there when I come back.
Reopening the bookmark simply loads the URL again.That's fine for the way I use it, since I'm usually trying to save a collection of useful pages rather than preserve exactly what I was doing inside each one.But it's worth knowing before closing a tab with unsaved work.
One Chrome caveat: If you're working in Chrome DevTools, Ctrl+Shift+D moves DevTools back to its previous docking position, or undocks it into a separate window.Sometimes a web app gets to the shortcut first But there's an easy workaround There's one minor wrinkle with Ctrl+Shift+D: some web apps assign their own functions to keyboard shortcuts.For example, pressing Ctrl+Shift+D can trigger voice dictation on some sites instead of saving tabs.
When that happens, I just switch to another tab in the same browser window and press the shortcut there.Because Ctrl+Shift+D saves the tabs in the current window rather than just the active page, I can press it from any ordinary web page and still capture the whole collection.Alternatively, some websites let you toggle off site-specific shortcuts or assign a different one to that command.
That's useful if it's a shortcut conflict I stumble across regularly.A small shortcut with a big payoff Ctrl+Shift+D has stuck around because it solves a problem I encounter all the time.Whenever a browser window gets out of hand, I can turn all those tabs into one tidy bookmark folder, close the window, and know I can bring the whole collection back when I need it.
For something that takes a couple of seconds to use, that's a pretty good return on a keyboard shortcut.
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