Quick Unit Conversion in Google Search

Here's a simple way to use Google's unit conversion feature, while typing shorter queries. Instead of searching Google for [6 lbs to kg], you can use [<a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=6+lbs+=">6 lbs =</a>]. Just add the equal sign to the value you want to convert and Google will use the right measurement unit most of the time.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPodAk-a6Xr-jKCaVRQxjILVRL3NeCckaBC5Evg_WamCIsOkixSRYD4Sdg6hvQdhWZ1dcyjCFYv3rQQHoblGkTsDwiXj9SDtvVpEJsQ9c8N82iMNLftOx-tlBlL0AYB62slZ2H9AwOcm6J/s1600/google-unit-conversion.png" /></div><br />Here's another example: [68 f =]. The query is shorter than [68 f to c] or [6 fahrenheit to celsius]. Unfortunately, [20 c =] doesn't convert temperature, since c is the speed of light, so you'll have to use [20 c to f].<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4nO7SlWN0ZO3beW8l-2QS2hsojRUMirdMtZJIO0zSjXMWSxvtRO-KJ8Oaw8Qlr4Fa-FrDocHiL-Mm4vCjR3oYk4Croapcf7D0KWZ2OZUOoQysQKqzGHFQTia8VW2FDEUuj4cpxZTQVSdL/s1600/google-unit-conversion-2.png" /></div><br />You can use Google's dropdown to pick other measurement units or you can edit the value and the result will change as yo type. <br /><br />This trick also works in Chrome's omnibox, Firefox's search box, Safari's address bar:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNXYhfRbIoeJz_CRnVeWoZkg56nutc_jTHsGDuU9xL-LeT9TOboomlODicG1oWkD_gDmwNDGzQGL1ZrwBYm3JYzshQMT2Ls-373WknWe448AoXkeh1FVKET0mXik5rgBBEdRtHNKKYIm2f/s1600/chrome-unit-conversion.png" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92iFfpYniU3rRdA8apvNc-pecDIn9WldV5OLMI_huhAc1kQ2bNLCb6RSewsnVNGLd0q13h51Wm55FXMzEEQbjseXLr0k9acq7vbnr5wLFQub7fdjYRSikim8Eb2cuknh49cJoSt9DLvyp/s1600/safari-unit-conversion.png" /></div>

Quick Unit Conversion in Google Search

Here's a simple way to use Google's unit conversion feature, while typing shorter queries. Instead of searching Google for [6 lbs to...

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Google Query Tricks

This isn't some new Google Search feature, but I thought it's worth sharing. Google has some smart algorithms that process your queries and can determine what you intended to type even if it's not properly formatted.<br /><br />1. You can separate all the characters of your query by space. For example: [<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=h+o+t+e+l+c+a+l+i+f+o+r+n+i+a+l+y+r+i+c+s">h o t e l c a l i f o r n i a l y r i c s</a>].<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlOByng-mdyd6ef46ffKMAGpQL02_nXGGuULgM2f8ssxAcdqOgCfMXnhmmelkMbt_wrgDqt2SMmorpfKvewpE5jf9FgeT5d8BEepvI_FOaJ-GHsubBdhFnWi5rWraUHhfK3HQDmwjTdJa/s1600/google-query-sep1.png" /></div><br />2. You can separate all the characters of your query using dots. For example: [<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=h+o+t+e+l+c+a+l+i+f+o+r+n+i+a+l+y+r+i+c+s"></a><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=h.o.t.e.l.c.a.l.i.f.o.r.n.i.a.l.y.r.i.c.s">h o t e l c a l i f o r n i a l y r i c s</a>].<br /><br />3. You can type your query without using space to separate words. For example: [<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=hotelcalifornialyrics">hotelcalifornialyrics</a>].<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFVHk14oW2E53vAZbV6LDfhA5uIqDe7blJoKULEicX-Zez8ZRNW-mgbJuT2UqBxVUiDkt1fVp6Nf-hWYtDNYfP5Hvc9tPg-IBToBZXKiWhm7o-Obh9T401aNqDKWDkVV9d7y_RCKmNCTI/s1600/google-query-sep2.png" /></div><br />4. You can separate the words from your query using various characters like "+", "*", "&", "^" and more. Here's an example: [<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=hotel%5Ecalifornia%5Elyrics">hotel^california^lyrics</a>].<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSWgs6ZXA_DOA_ezJxor6LqEVqgXfJX5-lcUAmQjv0PYlo1joCB0FcE7gfN_4ANs1r5iie_fJwFX_jKXIMJz6sNJnlevGirPs0Ikx9Zv8_f2mMi44vMI1_8VzPXcbZ9xPH54jJ9DVsqYU/s1600/google-query-sep3.png" /></div>

Google Query Tricks

This isn't some new Google Search feature, but I thought it's worth sharing. Google has some smart algorithms that process your quer...

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More YouTube Comments

The Google+ integration managed to improve the quality of YouTube comments (or at least the top comments). Sometimes you find YouTube videos with interesting comments, but it's not that easy to read all of them.<br /><br />YouTube only displays 20 comments or threads and you have to click "more" to read 20 other comments. There's also a page that only displays comments: click "all comments" below the video description and you'll be able to read the top 100 comments.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlTQjqDxVDrPQr_sL7EiVXf58I3Y2EyP7rfNzF52X3rNCsABAnsP1AIc7sE4baUa6OC1giQ23tW4-M0Q2cHNtnw1qeMA-2u_8IFL0LuiRRtRPKTKDLQAtECHVj8OY27MTd1vIBDmlMCVM/s1600/youtube-all-comments.png" /></div><br />When you click "more", YouTube fetches 100 other comments. For example, the page lets you read 300 comments with only 2 clicks on "more", while the standard YouTube video page requires 14 clicks.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxzIuYE_gJKhtlAocorDZTYPXWkpcCbMCMTZrH6D9dooATTp2qKROCz0SsPjPs6BVlBYZ6SSWy_n0ge9vsl3E_f3aOMetzndws5VQ7TfU152d7AgRI_9KoQASkTl4X5d4qVdeXn702_J2/s1600/youtube-all-comments-2.png" /></div><br />Here's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=KA3RhUsbf20">an example of comment page</a> that shows the top 100 comments. You can click the drop-down below "all comments" to sort comments by date. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=HeEIbbABBSo">Another example here</a>.

More YouTube Comments

The Google+ integration managed to improve the quality of YouTube comments (or at least the top comments). Sometimes you find YouTube videos...

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How Many Android Apps You've Installed?

You can find a list of all the Android apps you've ever installed from the Play Store using your current Google account in both the Google Play Store app (My Apps > All) and the <a href="https://play.google.com/apps">Play Store site</a>. For some reason, the site doesn't use pagination and doesn't load content as you scroll, so you need to wait until Google displays a long list of apps.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0neML-n4zD0TVui7RGgSs8_lrm7H6oBYPLgtN2xefsQTcIHzaRNgPpw7-fOcTFnefwtpNV1m1xRDkqs5Ys4F20fnyEVF7AF_3U2MkoBUVafwzz0CE6Taa9gh47qcHDKr7C93XDYNBySxK/s1600/my-android-apps.png" /></div><br />Google doesn't offer a way to filter the list of apps you've installed or downloaded, but you can use your browser's find-in-page feature (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F for Mac). The list is sorted alphabetically in the Play Store site, while the Play Store app displays recently installed apps first.<br /><br />Google Play doesn't even show the number of Play Store apps you've installed on your Android devices over the years. If you're curious to find the actual number, go to <a href="https://www.google.com/settings/dashboard">Google Dashboard</a> and scroll to Play Store.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhOCK3T0CVW5u1z7ey5zCkRnvOEwmYGWufxJ3KH2P5fL4NqDRXP21jOCFjlSwxP9w2GPDWek8e26_e34I4Tc7nTAeAguWdLqydc-2SnR5gxeQK9CtNd4BxJ74Pf0IGwj17u1JOEbiXQGh/s1600/my-android-apps-count.png" /></div><br />The Play Store app lets you remove apps from the list, but the Dashboard number is still accurate.

How Many Android Apps You've Installed?

You can find a list of all the Android apps you've ever installed from the Play Store using your current Google account in both the Goog...

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Find the Number of Gmail Messages

By default, Gmail groups all your messages in conversations. That's the reason why Gmail displays the number of conversations and not messages in all the Gmail views: inbox, all mail, labels, search results.<br /><br />If you ever want to find the number of actual messages that match a certain query, the number of messages from inbox or the number of messages you've sent or received since you started using Gmail, there's a way to do that. Just go to <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail#settings/general">Gmail's settings</a> and temporarily disable conversation view. Find the "conversation view" section in the General tab, click "Conversation view off", scroll down to the bottom of the page and make sure you click "Save changes".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnRKGbPIGxLc4K8lxCKoh9IkT2YneZ09SY7JKcFPWQFEYiFOmqwShzEjzo2vLjkvuQN3Q7CBlxxmABQSWejsruqgr7TfgQ2RnJ0q4dEyPVUH_5g3L071qLd0EzeSYIwmOGlHF0qjAlXKD4/s1600/gmail-disable-conversations.png" /></div><br />Now Gmail will only display separate messages and the number of search results will be more accurate. You'll be able to find the number of messages, not conversations or threads. A conversation can include one message or more messages, so the number of messages will be bigger. Please note that the number of search results is not displayed if there are many search results, so you need to use <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/06/find-number-of-gmail-search-results.html">a workaround</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs1gflpdJf_tXf5y4Thm4IFGz4YJ-y5oMpOabFJYUKl9DScuT9KEJSW_P1kG-GMXitL7uqa38xnoEm7Xrq3vCkBTwfjI25n4IxD2FSvYlv2USfTWpEYdVMKgWFgq_Lxe3S-lxadOuN-Q_8/s1600/gmail-number-results.png" /></div><br />The screenshot above shows the "all mail" message counter when conversation mode is disabled, while the screenshot below shows the number of conversations when the conversation mode is enabled.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Y5kuxNSSapJo5KFeuoyRC6hZR12tJcTurxXKa6ptJ87iOERKsCGOpdHdis4BgAyFddWEASzIE1vsxYFZXIDJJTccdmiQcLH_5nzNXa3CC6EXVDDMvvAWfhyphenhyphenHd1nlkpSBRlYeMYkspEqp/s1600/gmail-number-conversations.png" /></div><br />You can go back to Gmail's settings page to enable conversation view.

Find the Number of Gmail Messages

By default, Gmail groups all your messages in conversations. That's the reason why Gmail displays the number of conversations and not me...

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More Google Shortcuts

More Google services let you <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2014/04/customize-googles-app-launcher.html">add shortcuts</a> to the app launcher. Here are some of the new services I found:<br /><br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/imghp">Google Image Search</a><br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/videohp">Google Video Search</a> - for some reason, the app launcher doesn't display an icon when adding the shortcut<br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/hotels">Google Hotel Finder</a><br />* <a href="https://support.google.com/">Google Support</a><br />* <a href="https://helpouts.google.com/">Google Helpouts</a><br />* <a href="http://www.google.com/mapmaker">Google Map Maker</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgghDiLuLVjWdU_YTPtLEqI6uMujYIAiYD9t6tItEiMQcA-uvplahWOhvI8-m-lEADorovJbbNzsmxgdhI-4fRL3tVLJ82rljsL3_WPjEyPwr8I8sKUaBOXJ7ZUga8chyphenhyphenTPPRqwY4338NB_/s1600/google-app-launcher-new-shortcuts-4.png" /></div><br />To add a shortcut, visit a Google service, make sure you are logged in, click the app launcher icon at the top of the page and click "add a shortcut" next to the service's name. You can <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2014/03/rearrange-apps-in-googles-navigation.html">rearrange icons</a> using drag and drop and move shortcuts to the "more" section.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqt6mVgA5DuNwg4mhYQn7p2LGcUmWZlccjLrreIKQuT4G6SKW_0ebJJ62noD3oC5Syopc2qqBDJJCtu7LLh2SqTsgWrU9KJ1lSMoP5tdm8M8IRyjE-ScZ95H9IPnVrp4VDUKpzV81gyLbf/s1600/google-app-launcher-new-shortcuts-3.png" /></div><br />Here are some other services you can add:<br /><br />* <a href="http://play.google.com/music/">Google Play Music</a><br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/voice">Google Voice</a><br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/?tbm=pts">Google Patent Search</a><br />* <a href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/">Google Webmaster Tools</a><br />* <a href="https://groups.google.com/">Google Groups</a><br />* <a href="https://sites.google.com/">Google Sites</a><br />* <a href="https://keep.google.com/keep/">Google Keep</a><br />* <a href="https://www.google.com/contacts/">Google Contacts</a>

More Google Shortcuts

More Google services let you add shortcuts to the app launcher. Here are some of the new services I found: * Google Image Search * Google V...

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How to Download Auto Awesome Photos

Auto Awesome is one of the best features of Google+ Photos. It's a good reason to upload your photos to Google+ instead of choosing a different service: you get something in return. Auto Awesome photos and videos use your photos and videos to create something new. Some of them improve your photos, others are funny, while some of them would normally require professional software.<br /><br />Just because they're so nice, I decided to backup my Auto Awesome. Here's how to download them:<br /><br />1. open this page: <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/search/%23AutoAwesome">https://plus.google.com/photos/search/%23AutoAwesome</a> (or go to <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/">Google+ Photos</a> and search for #AutoAwesome)<br /><br />2. click "show all" below the first photos from that page<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwLo8pC-_-Y7Zj1STX6XQWWVpZlxbHYdeErouKEgOStdaXZR-_kW29cQ4efW6r6LFZfSfVhyphenhyphenpSbS1umUMbwGDjrkYYHc2SxpHHGO4wkb2p5ZbnsfGnTZXThsGoB6_IDInIpFqUi_iLlCn/s1600/autoawesome-show-all.png" /></div><br />3. select the first photo: mouse over the photo and click the tick icon.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHW_I35DKeJpjk-nsmCbx7zFgYcUEBWP5tRV9Rmf8AqnfccvppYMdhS6CbaMT6J0UkhyphenhyphenUm9ZLjpGcDVF_DR2hizEv716HqXSBxzvO6nHYgTb8A4klxwPUcBPJM_Oyh1widEIyE1P5oTHSR/s1600/autoawesome-select.png" /></div><br />4. use your browser's find-in-page feature (Ctrl+F or Command+F on a Mac) and search for <i>from your circles</i>. That's a different section which shows Auto Awesome photos from your circles and that's where your Auto Awesome gallery ends.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PcAH5Lbarv8Fs4zgsjLL7kUhkOSQyNq-O8LTTBJimtnZB510HqNlhZLZ4ZVPFdnMstP7_LJPjKZnw_qSIoB0L9q6WbdAf1dxMKDO7wt3rGNmxbs9OVPSIZbkOL8ko-TsYcbpnf3oAqxm/s1600/autoawesome-select-2.png" /></div><br />5. Shift+click the last photo above the "From your circles" section and you should see a message like "230 selected".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gXUhWRL9HP98S3L6oo1d_5kZ1IGo0EhpgBhBFb8kdKEKjjt0NbBIEsbZFq_7W8vOQfsDVCCoKMmwoph_lnIitzCWd18wAeknd0Fomq3fmBTlbRUSjNOj4jniZ-f47JabAfPwaEz8HYlg/s1600/autoawesome-select-3.png" /></div><br />6. click "more" in the navigation bar and select "download".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhIQapl1IiVMVN5Eb_nQjW3XA0EJxRHudfgXk0KRe957aRHjk0mvHsMLtlWhX-B9FZLpbS7J8bNhlMpT69KZrZXjR3NQtVFO6v640d83DosoEhdZHWzrYJ_DaKqyduFZrFOAqUV-vK4KaJ/s1600/autoawesome-select-4.png" /></div><br />7. You'll get a Photos.zip archive with both photos and videos. The filename includes the type of AutoAwesome effect. The archive should also include the "year in review" video titled 2013-MOVIE.m4v.<br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEckE4HhwZ0ABg2UhcTDEM-DtNOpoBU708nPAfDdhnaVqTihoo7J0OigdXCh3qi27MOFXiBpeiPTA4PDpshg6XxdUtyDbmWAuifQiBDHIt_nODOwVDzLAq8ZHTfW_puqt_enZRecTgivy/s1600/autoawesome-select-5.png" /></div>

How to Download Auto Awesome Photos

Auto Awesome is one of the best features of Google+ Photos. It's a good reason to upload your photos to Google+ instead of choosing a di...

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Google Contacts Shortcut

If you want to quickly open Gmail's address book, you can bookmark <a href="http://google.com/contacts">google.com/contacts</a> or type the URL in the address bar. Another option is to add a shortcut to the standalone Google Contacts page in Google's app launcher:<br /><br />1. go to <a href="http://google.com/contacts">google.com/contacts</a> and sign in<br /><br />2. click the app launcher icon<br /><br />3. click "add a shortcut" next to the Contacts icon<br /><br />4. you can <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2014/03/rearrange-apps-in-googles-navigation.html">move the icon</a> using drag and drop<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxE-sAhnsfnat2oIr96JjT6CB1L1MX1nKbuXsSjGd66gBwnruQkQ2vJu2u5LcusSFBJpjDfJl0sCHrg7me4QyTClm96mnEMrF0Iq9ILwwOB1S0xvTYCBwCp6j3adQcvGcgjIzvuNtdJkM/s1600/google-shortcut-contacts.png" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIeX02h8DAwXwWNerUBBSkhEoG-rtBaUXa3tno6ABNlocHZkLNUZDX_RkKtNwi9ySG1wPeJyTfBE8QcCYVYmDiWf5ijTmibsrg6xrYi_GjfwAfE3VhmlJ5AOtTAad8wiCgl_YHRHIkQchN/s1600/google-shortcut-contacts-2.png" /></div><br />You can add similar shortcuts for other Google services: Google Keep, Google Sites, Google Groups, Google Play Music, Webmaster Tools, Patent Search, Google Voice.

Google Contacts Shortcut

If you want to quickly open Gmail's address book, you can bookmark  google.com/contacts  or type the URL in the address bar. Another opt...

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Go Back to a Specific Date in Google Web History

For some reason, Google Web History no longer has a way to navigate to a certain date, at least not from the UI. Fortunately, you can change a URL parameter and go to a certain date. Here's how to do that:<br /><br />1. use <a href="http://www.freeformatter.com/epoch-timestamp-to-date-converter.html">the Unix epoch time converter</a>. Scroll to the "Convert date to epoch timestamp" section, enter the date, enter 0 for hours, minutes and seconds and then click "Convert". You'll get a number like 1305072000. This is the number of seconds that have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time">elapsed since January 1st 1970</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZmyuf43deB-yEzcmv-ztauyLArFv5qaADaGYAkYB8VJOpaE9CAQAkmQZSQia5R6hmf5-sJikTLkwAOvfGdX7Djtj1L3o_jF4LB1FXIOBvmbz0xzabdTuxnwD6EhCGxYiTC_KqTSLkDD8/s1600/epoch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZmyuf43deB-yEzcmv-ztauyLArFv5qaADaGYAkYB8VJOpaE9CAQAkmQZSQia5R6hmf5-sJikTLkwAOvfGdX7Djtj1L3o_jF4LB1FXIOBvmbz0xzabdTuxnwD6EhCGxYiTC_KqTSLkDD8/s1600/epoch.png" /></a></div><br />Copy the value you've obtained and add six zeros to convert the number from seconds to microseconds. For example, 1305072000 becomes 1305072000000000 (this corresponds to May 10, 2011).<br /><br />2. go to <a href="https://history.google.com/history/lookup?st=web">https://history.google.com/history/lookup?st=web</a> (you may need to sign in)<br /><br />3. add the following parameters to the Google Web History URL:<br /><br /><i>&lts=MICROSECONDS&fts=MICROSECONDS</i><br /><br />You'll need to replace MICROSECONDS with the value you've obtained previously. For example:<br /><br /><i>&lts=1305072000000000&fts=1305072000000000</i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwBJPWjjHgE57WD6OrQ89tea2Wq98qNBo0StXE9Y50kPddonwFs5arKnrRKyO8XiShLMlJlCWUZg4cwB6hrrfaRFoINU8DTzXa63yq4BdITxQ6OugBjoSENlSJjbj754VKr2oAK7HrSVZ3/s1600/epoch-web-history.png" /></div>

Go Back to a Specific Date in Google Web History

For some reason, Google Web History no longer has a way to navigate to a certain date, at least not from the UI. Fortunately, you can change...

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Search Tips for Chrome's App Launcher

Chrome's app launcher has an interesting way to match results. Let's say you want to open Google Play Music. You can search for <i>google play music</i>, <i>play music</i> or you can just type the the first letter from each word and search for <i>gpm</i>. It also works if you type the first letters from the first word, followed by the first letters from the second word and so on. For example, you can also search for <i>goplm</i>, <i>gplam</i>, <i>gmu</i>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHL9UJvnn1TtE6PGdKK7uod3hPlFF1QkKNU5N9GQpUIlCdeNlHtCM5DwF1yvqmeIZj7mPoPy3d8raAiJMYEcbdtzzDueMEEw0CeRNgOVYl9vqoly3OcnEgW7eMYp6g8VnzVwEpFL5h6IF/s1600/chrome-app-launcher-shortcut.png" /></div><br />Another example: launch Mahjong Solitaire by searching for <i>ms</i>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMskqOZXQbJtwDihD2zMeZcuBYTyATHbzzKlCTeuH88uYmiJ0csjixuyHri1tON_YMvGzsk5fcmqwPTfMsYeBMv2Fxr8sKhp7Q4f8VR2XWtlG5gofQsS8SkKsniSDJ3_mgemNr6Imcb8hF/s1600/chrome-app-launcher-shortcut-2.png" /></div><br />{ via <a href="https://plus.google.com/100132233764003563318/posts/FWCzFvXtXvT">François Beaufort</a>. }

Search Tips for Chrome's App Launcher

Chrome's app launcher has an interesting way to match results. Let's say you want to open Google Play Music. You can search for goog...

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Chrome Bandwidth Stats

Chrome has an internal page that shows the amount of data transferred this session and the total amount of data transferred ever since this feature was added or you first used Chrome. Just open a new tab, paste this in the address bar: <i>chrome://net-internals/#bandwidth</i> and then press Enter.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1ZDpDXeN6qAmJVGvIB5SqTwRoTKSHIg4bBq2EMMysRaZ-auXchyphenhyphenYpAYuquKPU4StHPPqPeBbF-rY0WrIcmcMyw8CVrrIHDxAHCIBUVzLh-y-jJP4v6Tc9iDxPZZqbXF-bFZ3CpxQxnVM/s1600/chrome-bandwidth.png" /></div><br />Check the <i>Original (KB)</i> row of the table, where you can find bandwidth consumption data in kilobytes. For example, I used 40,024.5 KB since launching Chrome. The <i>Savings</i> values are only useful in the mobile Chrome for Android and iOS if the data saving proxy is enabled.<br /><br />Savings = Original - Received<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidIs9Rw8bdensXvUGrquISjClJ5FeQfsIDBb_Z-iTHlt9e93ZBddZheWgV3jc_hdfx5x3jupeRIrAaLDiXHNsijNfuQTxIS5Z9o9RwWFG9DgwxOIR3rbGJqNZ3Q8zShQe9XdhM8vGerleL/s1600/chrome-bandwidth-iphone.png" /></div>

Chrome Bandwidth Stats

Chrome has an internal page that shows the amount of data transferred this session and the total amount of data transferred ever since this ...

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Bring Back Forum Search, Recipe Search and More

Google Search used to have an option that allowed you to restrict results to forum pages. You'll often find helpful discussions and it's nice to be able to exclude blogs, news sites, videos, shopping sites when searching for a software bug or other tech-related issues.<br /><br />Fortunately, you can still restrict results to discussions: just add <i>&tbm=dsc</i> to a Google Search URL.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq0aJ_3MrqywDUwF56LyISEYEULizhdGbw4pTi4r6fxglbAw6cxcPho4DwIinLiMOww3Wj_i3seYyw0HAiuam-zuGpoSyn3STbKgM8i6MiUQhm6v43a6BXY_sC-zsn2jKQu2LpouzdbRxs/s1600/google-discussions.png" /></div><br />This also works for:<br /><br />- recipe search: add <i>&tbm=rcp</i><br />- local search: add <i>&tbm=plcs</i><br />- blog search: add <i>&tbm=blg</i><br />- patent search: add <i>&tbm=pts</i><br /><br />Here's a screenshot for recipe search:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVzP0QNJNVp4LTrCgqq8k7-K9_Tcz77H_R7dLU1CFht_sRgH3jpqMvEGCW6ar1jzr-wNcv1jey5jwb0fEbN3T8XPlXqGlAaFgSsSe54MGb8ukTpanYMs6V2Cc5Bwi0K0QDGrYVLD2K_JgC/s1600/google-recipe-search.png" /></div><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/blogsearch">Blog Search</a> and <a href="http://www.google.com/patents">Patent Search</a> also have standalone sites, while Google Maps is a good place for local search.<br /><br />You can also bookmark these URLs:<br /><br />Google Forum Search - <a href="https://www.google.com/?tbm=dsc">https://www.google.com/?tbm=dsc</a><br />Google Recipe Search - <a href="https://www.google.com/?tbm=rcp">https://www.google.com/?tbm=rcp</a><br />Google Local Search - <a href="https://www.google.com/?tbm=plcs">https://www.google.com/?tbm=plcs</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6_FzbKBcV7mYo-8gsClI7usarTSNUN5iOvIJuPHNGILsVrktfHuQvkzmgw3FyvB-DRo835uPp2I77vwqTtphhL6Z9nyudqMuPP81D_TlgA_6o1sjfJkckg8kMN0KWubhSAskebWqGSmCH/s1600/google-discussions-2.png" /></div><br />Another option is to visit those pages, right click the search box and select "add as search engine" (Chrome), "add a keyword for this search" (Firefox) or "create search engine" (Opera). I added the keyword "forum" for Google Forum Search, so I can type "forum" in Chrome's Omnibox, press Tab and enter the query.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZZQkCuvc_fkSi1TnPsKQ18zdGHE04eXRDdSkg1AUMCd-Al8Jh1Om8L9pZhGWJ8Lx00VhRg5unMWf5m2U-b12ZplbuikM1_YkwSm3OENPMSiQLnCRAhM45WjhcxS3st47CSRnJymTCkKr/s1600/chrome-custom-search.png" /></div>

Bring Back Forum Search, Recipe Search and More

Google Search used to have an option that allowed you to restrict results to forum pages. You'll often find helpful discussions and it...

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Quickly Enable Google SafeSearch

If you want to temporarily turn on Google's SafeSearch, you can do that without opening the settings page. Just click the gear icon and select "turn on SafeSearch". When SafeSearch is enabled, you'll see a message next to gear button: "SafeSearch on". To disable it, click the same button and select "turn off SafeSearch".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcoqqxlU7Jo07fTe1HdFfxXMuv7qMneZjMQaoMQjxwhGKpXaLjxtdZXOQ9TLeVn8cuuYUHNKclVN1agnifFpmeR029ZWfjggNOKMZ0BCZyVXZYUGu80SklJ6gNxWbVzLBNAjiva_kVefUG/s1600/google-turn-on-safe-search.png" /></div><br />"With SafeSearch, you can help prevent adult content from appearing in your search results. No filter is 100 percent accurate, but SafeSearch should help you avoid most of this type of material," explains Google.<br /><br />If you're logged in, search settings are saved to your account and used for all devices. You can also go to the <a href="https://www.google.com/preferences">settings page</a> and enable "<a href="https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/510?hl=en">Filter explicit results</a>"

Quickly Enable Google SafeSearch

If you want to temporarily turn on Google's SafeSearch, you can do that without opening the settings page. Just click the gear icon and ...

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More System Gmail Labels

Back in 2007, I posted a list of <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/05/shortcuts-for-special-gmail-labels.html">shortcuts for system Gmail labels</a>. For example, instead of searching for [issue in:inbox], you can use [issue label:^i.] or [issue l:^i]. Instead of searching for [receipt in:spam] or [receipt label:spam], you can use [receipt l:^s].<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.persistent.info/2014/01/finding-messages-explicitly-marked-as.html">Mihai Parparita found</a> other system labels and some of them don't have documented alternatives:<br /><br /><b>^g</b>: muted conversations (just like is:muted or label:muted or label:mute)<br /><b>^p</b>: messages marked as phishing<br /><b>^op</b>: messages automatically marked as phishing by Gmail<br /><b>^os</b>: messages automatically marked as spam by Gmail<br /><b>^vm</b>: Google Voice voicemail messages (just like is:voicemail or label:voicemail)<br /><b>^io_im</b>: important messages (just like is:important)<br /><b>^unsub</b>: messages that include unsubscribing options. Gmail offers to unsubscribe on your behalf<br /><b>^cff</b>: messages from your Google+ circles (just like has:circle)<br /><b>^p_esnotif</b>: Google+ notifications<br /><br />For example, you can find messages you've marked as spam by searching for [l:^s -l:^os] or [label:spam -l:^os]. From all the spam messages you exclude the messages automatically marked as spam by Gmail.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkOHdAKQRLR5CHs2_BvupdYKkBo3HatGSQnUzzLo8a_rkloLQD4lx2q6PbHGsc6IAw11YMUlsmE6UMJJzxVVUibAaSZZEKmrKy_Ckgr1PyfFkAhGZMY1DtOPR17x8X_jbc1LcXZd-YjO9/s1600/gmail-more-system-labels.png" /></div><br />You can also restrict Gmail results to Google+ notifications: [Christmas l:^p_esnotif]. If you search for [l:^unsub] and mark a message as spam, Gmail will show this dialog and unsubscribe on your behalf if you click "unsubscribe and report spam". Use [l:^unsub -l:^p_esnotif] to exclude Google+ notifications.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CeIClyUcc5hK7P0xjBQZmKhsA7uqvtimQV3snXWpJeWtC7BKBWLYkBvz6jOCAQ9BkVikQ8Yz7US4KGOrjckYHDOKOMZZbP0fntJOgT66u_YYLkye-3zUAzwy1w5uGnPt9kmuyhPkea8f/s1600/gmail-unsubscribe.png" /></div>

More System Gmail Labels

Back in 2007, I posted a list of shortcuts for system Gmail labels . For example, instead of searching for [issue in:inbox], you can use [is...

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How to Delete Auto Backup Photos

If you've tried <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/12/google-auto-backup-for-desktop.html">the Auto Backup tool</a> and you want to delete your photos, it won't be easy. You can go to the <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/search/%23AutoBackup">Auto Backup section</a> of Google+ Photos, mouse over a photo, click the "tick" icon, select photos one by one and click "Delete". You can also select photos by dragging a "lasso", just like in your favorite file manager. You can also select a photo and Shift+click the last photo you want to select or Ctrl-click photos for non-contiguous selection.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJv2hLNCnC1j2LETODQDPhFzJmga85JVSmW8Xxr-zks1X9tPnm7UjE9_xwRK2z0MsT6CbuLeIJq9jhFm06JRssDuaeckvtUJqVb3-YdaEE-NqXPaQfuzAjmxiRoKmKO47WiSmYGcBWnIUs/s400/auto-backup-select-4.jpg" width="400" /></div><br />That's great if you only have a few photos, but not if you have thousands of photos. Fortunately, there's a better way:<br /><br />1. go to <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/">Google+ Photos</a>, click "More" and pick "Albums"<br /><br />2. add <i>/camerasync</i> to the URL in the address bar and press Enter. You should get something like: <br /><br />https://plus.google.com/photos/+YourName/albums/camerasync<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUeY1g45TjLbCjrETeRhbpeI089R6ZwCBZh5bvEdayiEF8v1bEI-rh_R0j71F31miHVXpvc6liOOvTIX1VuCLHN7NJCzOhvuJyxBSXAT0gP-m6PRwSz4sajp6C9ooiOBqeS1xUuHN-MfZZ/s1600/auto-backup-select-1.png" /></div><br />3. click "Select" below "Photos from Auto Backup". After a few seconds, Google will select the last 2000 photos uploaded to Auto Backup. If you have less than 2000 photos, all of them will be selected.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_RIX3B8aUr7pYuAIZI8PdSiFombXP8v9GUE4cUwgH-JOcLTIdj1Q8-Ox3liH3dPQ21-mKSo98ezL6zFLH1OhjM39vSEslWT0PATtZ4fTy7HQ6RktYv5PB8Qi56s6hbohxzNI4lueZzIQf/s1600/auto-backup-select-2.png" /></div><br />4. click "Delete" at the top of the page. This only moves the photos to Trash, so they're not permanently deleted. If you change your mind, click "undo" after they're moved to Trash.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiiljRV1e_19KEEiw2ly1516WKkDKMPfi0NHoGeIi-6845Ny0PliPnKiP8P5Q_tiulCumIQwhAgUqdhWTKFQcAZgBxmzi8Qc1CQWuOT_x7DnnENhdWz9pec8Vaf0f03rFo1e5iocF8W0W/s1600/auto-backup-select-3.png" /></div><br />5. you may need to manually refresh the page (press F5) to see the remaining photos. You'll have to go back to step 3 and select the next 2000 photos and then go to the step 4.<br /><br />6. to permanently delete your photos, go to the <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/trash">Trash</a>, click "Empty trash now" and confirm this action.

How to Delete Auto Backup Photos

If you've tried the Auto Backup tool and you want to delete your photos, it won't be easy. You can go to the Auto Backup section o...

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Search by Camera in Google+ Photos

Google+ Photos has a sophisticated search feature, but some of the features aren't easy to find. For example, you can search photos by camera. Use queries like #canon, #nikon, #sony, #apple, #panasonic, #samsung, #nokia to find photos taken using a phone or camera from one of these companies. You can also use the name of the phone or camera, but not all of them work. These worked for me: #iphone4s, #iphone5s, #canonpowershots95, #canoneos, #dsc-w150, #k800i.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFCJR_ELemqLh4fy4xf8koyJK23idQKFuN7t8UBcCY99rxNFHBu1c7QOgosAZ1MhBwt16yJS7F6T7Lm-etfU6NhnzlnCEiFcjNOLe3_qANiEpJGqcyQZ2EiNLnCe4EnOUxFrmEK3QpNfO/s1600/google-photo-search-camera-1.jpg" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkRZGiLEboQOnhva6rjrGZChf7agoC1oHGJ1XakwzirVU-Q9kEyEFlAfeGGS6k4P_xCdmo0iCYHgrb0sZiNE-H-0eHuuIhfw64PhvKmScW-MZjMaUmSzgQRhXJkD4iS6HRjM-jPkVVatl/s1600/google-photo-search-camera-2.jpg" /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxEQdfwFfbGcw8wkHoRJie86WR6TZbXU2J_v_09la90cYvYAbc5J_PhC3eMi8S6Ss5EtApiqUboFbFavbZOO-43bTwsnb-RmVG2lAc0AyqveyEwNFJHABFrWWNbyCH-xegQ5y-FiuCuTh/s1600/google-photo-search-camera-3.jpg" /></div>

Search by Camera in Google+ Photos

Google+ Photos has a sophisticated search feature, but some of the features aren't easy to find. For example, you can search photos by c...

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Chrome Download Tips

These features aren't new, but they're pretty useful and they might help you become more productive when you download files in Google Chrome.<br /><br />1. Do you want to open a file immediately after Chrome downloads it? You don't have to wait, just click the file in the download bar and you should see something like "opening in X minutes".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8vgYFLTUkpWr28mXukF7oQ0XDW_Qe3FGQ7yUr4IXJ0GMe5s2iCZD2kGKruRfi8p40ds_NStfR6xPY0QzZLH9lvIJmYlkZfs8SQBX0b-bqzdy15SBqAQdbq6kf2RTg7CxK92ibdU1sLsN/s1600/chrome-download-open.png" /></div><br />2. If you always want to open certain files after Chrome downloads them, click the arrow icon and check "always open files of this type". You can use this for .mp4 files or .torrent files, for example.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JZH-Jin7kEea6xsfmGBlWkvG2A_tD72INOZEGG8yIbrays_mHx9HRpTHBTDmU8v6h-Hra8lUNP9TBAxSzggkfZbjT9roB8Lfn6RbZz-uz5W66PJZJ2-P5KnPO7BU0yliudwkgBaQ5Fth/s1600/chrome-download-always-open.png" /></div><br />3. How to move to the desktop a file you've just downloaded? Just drag it from the download bar and drop it onto your desktop.<br /><br />4. Some files open directly in Chrome: PDF documents, MP4 videos, MP3 songs. How to download them? Use a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+S or Command-S for Mac. Another option is to right click and select "save as". You can also right click the link to the file and select "save link as".<br /><br />5. Don't worry about closing the Chrome window accidentally while downloading some files. Chrome shows a warning: "download in progress".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01XqdYKuu9ZMTkdp4liUXHFYG5rjJoCe80c8eCXX6KMQNcisUVkvL7JF1o7Vlxls8tgRDNVELJfEveLtMnmZ7gHlc_Dqa77xtxc2iAXebno6lxYg6nbkFgjwmqQeI3x-sZq7jXcaxOOmc/s1600/chrome-download-warning.png" /></div><br />6. Manage your downloads by clicking "Downloads" in the Chrome or pressing Ctrl+J (Command-J for Mac). Use the search box to find a file you've downloaded last month, right-click the URL and you can copy it, click "Show in folder" to locate the file. You can also clear all the downloads.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoADb6sE5qmzKnyc8NveRoTEZU1VEqjojyo0YDmCTsWNA4WfDSiqN5t9gMiTzGcQp18iJX69PNDc9e32KtDOeIwrGb7e5nAIH8oEJesceyo5ToFd-EtfMsMpkAWU336QXYrrUSygOP3Hhyphenhyphen/s1600/chrome-download-page.png" /></div>

Chrome Download Tips

These features aren't new, but they're pretty useful and they might help you become more productive when you download files in Googl...

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Keyboard Shortcuts for Google+ Notifications

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEsj_VD9XRrdQCsndgxwnUH-_eGKhp_Rf7lwsewWQtZNXauddNxaNbHlvXcMl-0q4UoQ0X2G-gGXz-rp0kMBTx8uBdERd1dEth1rQx8YObqAnoywGZmMzd2lFigB5K3zkNCpnuOiYQnRM/s1600/google-plus-notifications-keyboard-shortcuts.png" /></div><br />The Google+ notifications box has a few keyboard shortcuts you might find helpful. Here are some of them:<br /><br />* <b>up/down arrow keys</b> help you select a notification from the list. Notice the blue line, which shows the currently selected notification. After opening a notification, use the same arrow keys to scroll.<br /><br />* <b>Enter</b> (Return for Mac) opens the notification you've selected. You can also use <b>o</b><br /><br />* press the down arrow key after the last notification and then press Enter to open the list of previously read notifications<br /><br />* <b>right/left arrow keys</b> let you go to the next/previous notification. You can also use <b>j/k</b><br /><br />* <b>u</b> - go back to the list of notifications or to the main screen<br /><br />* <b>d</b> - mark as read the notification you've selected<br /><br />* <b>Esc</b> closes the notifications box.<br /><br />Unfortunately, there's no shortcut that opens the Google+ Notifications box, so you still need to click the bell icon. How to quickly read your notifications? Press the down arrow key, then press Enter and go to the next notification using the right arrow key.<br /><br />Sometimes Page Up/Page Down and Space/Shift+Space work, but only after you use the arrow keys. If you find other keyboard shortcuts, please let me know in the comments.<br /><br />Google+ also has <a href="https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2643750">a list of keyboard shortcuts</a>.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Google+ Notifications

The Google+ notifications box has a few keyboard shortcuts you might find helpful. Here are some of them: * up/down arrow keys help you sel...

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Move Gmail Attachments to Google Drive, Save Space

Mail services are inefficient when it comes to storing files because of the MIME encoding overhead. "This encoded size is the actual size of the message as it travels over the Internet and is always larger than the raw size because of the MIME overhead and because binary attachments are generally encoded using base64 encoding.  Base64-encoded files are usually about 137% the size of the original files," <a href="http://luxsci.com/blog/raw-vs-encoded-email-message-size-whats-the-difference.html">says Erik Kangas</a>.<br /><br />If you want to use Google's storage more efficiently, you can find some old messages with large attachments, <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/11/more-about-gmails-new-attachment-ui.html">save the attachments to Google Drive</a> and delete the messages. To keep the messages, you can forward them to yourself, remove the attachments, add Google Drive links and remove the original messages.<br /><br />I've tested this by saving 2 FLAC attachments from 2 messages (about 43 MB) to Google Drive and deleting the associated messages from Gmail, including from the trash. Here's what I got:<br /><br />* 1.58 GB used before moving files to Google Drive:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuS4Z6YpLZe2UChuhxOfNYg-E_b0zXzYQ74c5PueQFiQ6t7y1I7OQxm29jTgkooSN_sUZBRSDGTZGw8r3ivkoxt-lijWZwPpwdRTFgNJ9A_s-vG48kd_B-4121OElyloKep54F3xmmYE90/s1600/save-space-1.png" /></div><br />* 1.56 GB used after moving files to Google Drive:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJH3u6Ed5Lg3V3I8b5bH2nvp1SLAuMOX-kbHIRQqqnnguDt7yjlWHe0WPscQkxSQeTMO8w9DPi_7RnxJTdLYFnhVE5Vs7WibTptuAwB6UD2FjrcFVkcK7u3OMMEUzRFphQzrWTLN-Scu-/s1600/save-space-2.png" /></div><br />To find Gmail messages with large attachments, you can use <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2012/11/new-gmail-search-operators.html">these operators</a>. For example, search for [<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/#search/larger%3A5M">larger:5M</a>] to find messages larger than 5 MB (that's the total size of the message).

Move Gmail Attachments to Google Drive, Save Space

Mail services are inefficient when it comes to storing files because of the MIME encoding overhead. "This encoded size is the actual si...

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