Technologies

Your Computer Mouse’s Scroll Wheel Can Improve Your Internet Browsing

This secret power is a real time-saver if you open a ton of browser tabs.

I’m still discovering new productivity tricks and hidden features, even though I’ve been using a desktop computer for decades. There are so many ways to save a keystroke here and a mouse click there. Those few milliseconds can actually add up to big-time savings (or at least less annoyance) over the course of a week, especially if your job is primarily done online.

It isn’t just your operating system’s infinite settings menus that can improve your workday, though both MacOS and Windows 11 have some great features to try. Your computer’s mouse and keyboard are also packed full of features that can help you perform tasks faster and easier. Whether it’s reopening a closed tab or permanently deleting a file without ever hitting the recycle bin, there are plenty of tricks to help you be a little more efficient on your computer.

But in my personal experience, the one computer trick people are most consistently surprised about is an action you can do with your scroll wheel.

The scroll wheel’s hidden function

The internet is a great place to collect random tidbits of information, but sometimes you see something you want to investigate later. You don’t want to click on the link and have to go back to the previous page, because it would interrupt your current read. But you want to keep the trail open for later.

What do you do? You have a variety of options here, but this is the slickest and most efficient: If you’re using a mouse, just use your scroll wheel to click on the link. It’s not the most intuitive motion, but if you push your scroll wheel down while hovering over the link, you’ll automatically open that link in a new tab.

This little trick is great for when you’re reading something that links out to other interesting stories — just scroll-wheel click to open new tabs and check them out after you finish reading the current story.

If you want other ways of opening new tabs, we’ll walk you through it. We also have tips on keyboard shortcuts, like Ctrl + Shift + T, and taking Windows screenshots (which you can open in new tabs with a scroll-wheel click).

How to open links in new tabs

Opening pages in new tabs is a convenient browsing technique, and there are a few different ways of doing it.

Click with your scroll wheel to automatically open the link in a new tab.
Or right-click a link and choose «open in new tab.»
You can also hold down Ctrl (or command on Mac) when you click the link and it will open in a new tab.

Opening things in a new tab means you don’t have to interrupt your current read, and you don’t have to wait for pages to load as you bounce back and forth. I use it all the time for comparison shopping — just pull up the things I’m considering in a few different tabs and quickly compare by tabbing through my browser. It’s also good for when you’re reading a story that references another story that you want to check out without interrupting your current read. Just click the link with your scroll wheel and check it out when you’re done with this story.

Bonus tip: You can use Ctrl + Tab to move forward and Ctrl + Shift + Tab to move backward through your open tabs.

For more computer tips, check out how to factory reset a laptop before gifting it, and essential settings for your MacBook.

Technologies

2 Cases Show Supreme Court Isn’t Holding ISPs Responsible for Piracy

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 8, #1032

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 8, No. 1032.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The purple category is a fun one, once you see the connection. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: In the group.

Green group hint: Appearance details.

Blue group hint: Often found in gyms.

Purple group hint: They help you see.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Cohort member.

Green group: Aesthetic.

Blue group: Kinds of bar apparatuses.

Purple group: Eyewear in the singular.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is cohort member. The four answers are associate, colleague, fellow and peer.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is aesthetic. The four answers are design, look, scheme and style.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of bar apparatuses. The four answers are monkey, parallel, pull-up and uneven.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is eyewear in the singular. The four answers are contact, goggle, shade and spectacle.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 8, #1754

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for April 8, No. 1,754.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one. The first letter isn’t the rarest letter ever, but its placement threw me off. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.