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What does CTRL + H do?

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  • 2 min read

There are tons of keyboard shortcuts that make our everyday lives easier. However, unless you’re a power user, you don’t know quite a lot of them.

Of course, keyboard shortcuts are not always exclusive to a particular program. One shortcut can do multiple things depending on what program you’re using. 

In this article, we’re looking at the Ctrl + H shortcut, what it does, and what programs you can use to quicken your workflow. 

Also read: What does the WPS button on the router do?


What does Ctrl + H do?

As mentioned before, what the shortcut does mainly depends on what programs you’re using.

If you’re using a web browser, this command will open the browser’s history — the same stands for the default Windows calculator. Pressing Ctrl + H will show the calculator’s history. 

Pressing Ctrl + H will bring up the Find and Replace utility in most text editors.  

Apart from Windows, the shortcut is also commonly used in other PC operating systems such as Linux, Chrome OS and macOS. The final command, as always, depends on the program you’re running, regardless of the operating system.

Also read: What is FCLK frequency?


What does CTRL + H do in other programs?

Here are 18 popular programs and what the CTRL+H shortcut does in them. The programs include VLC, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Acrobat Reader DC; Microsoft Word, Edge, and other browsers, text editors, Autocad, Bash and operating systems like Ubuntu and Chrome OS.

ProgramCTRL + H command
Brave BrowserShow browser history
FirefoxShow browser history
Google ChromeShow browser history
Microsoft EdgeShow browser history
UbuntuShow hidden files
Adobe Acrobat Reader DCToggle reading mode
LibreOffice WriterFind and Replace
Microsoft WordFind and Replace
NotepadFind and Replace
Sublime TextFind and Replace
Adobe After EffectsReplace selected footage
Adobe IllustratorShows document template
Adobe PhotoshopToggle selection view and planes
AutoCADToggle between Pick styles
BlenderHooks menu
BashDeletes character before the cursor
Chrome OSOpens history page
VLC Media PlayerHide controls

Also read: What does ‘no dc’ mean? How to fix it?

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.

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