Tips if you’re going into a bootcamp

There’s a good reason I feel like this blog should be written though. As I went through my coding bootcamp, I noticed some of my colleagues struggling with getting around a computer. This isn’t to call anyone out, because we all start at the beginning, and we’re all continually learning. Rather, my hope here is that I can share some info, and provide incoming students of any bootcamp some tricks that will help. This is also presuming you can type without having to look at the keyboard. If you are “hunting and pecking” to type, spend some time learning the keyboard. Here we go!

Prep Work

Any prep work the bootcamp offers, do. Seriously. This seems like an obvious one, but it must be listed to cover the bases.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Even before doing the bootcamp prep, you should know your way around the computer. What do I mean by this? Know the shortcut key commands. There are some universals too, so these will work on MacOS, Windows or probably just about any OS. If you notice that on a Mac keyboard, we have the “command” modifier key closest to the space bar, whereas on a Windows keyboard, the “control” modifier key is on the outside of the modifier key groupings. Depending on your platform, you might have to try one of the other. In this article, I’m referencing my Mac keyboard. if you’re on a Windows machine, odds are you can swap Ctrl for Cmd. Also, don’t be afraid to try things! Seriously! Some of the best shortcuts I’ve found have been by accident because a finger developed a mind of it’s own and hit another key.

These are part of “base” knowledge commands. Not in any order, and I’d dare say you should have these all under your belt.

• Save: Cmd+S
• New Tab: Cmd+T
• New Window: Cmd+N
• New Private/Incognito Window: Cmd+Shift+N
• Print: Cmd+P
• Close Window: Cmd+W (this will close the focused window)
• Quit: Cmd+Q
• Copy: Cmd+C (you’ll need to have something selected. Text, file, etc…)
• Cut: Cmd+X (same as above)
• Undo: Cmd+Z
• Redo: Cmd+Shift+Z (works in most apps)
• Paste: Cmd+V
• Open: Cmd+O (again, select something that can open)
• Select All: Cmd+A
• Preferences(settings): Cmd+,
• Find: Cmd+F (find text in a document/file. Most will have an option for find and replace too!)
• Switch between applications: Cmd+Tab

A couple handy tricks in navigating text/code:

• Cmd+any arrow key (this is the extreme direction you want to go, so Cmd+↑ should take you to the top of the page/document.)
• Cmd+Shift+arrow key: Same as above, but you can select the text in the direction you’re going.
• Option+arrow key: Moving by in the direction by whole word or punctuating character (.,:;!?).
• Option+Shift+arrow key: Yup, just like above but now selecting that text.

And remember, these are pretty much application universal commands. So if you’re in Chrome, TextEdit, Visual Studio Code or a messaging app, these will most likely work. Internalizing these will make your day-to-day computer usage easier and more efficient.

There are also TONS of application specific shortcuts. Learn the ones for Chrome:

• Refresh: Cmd+R
• Hard Refresh: Cmd+Shift+R
• Developer Tools: Cmd+Shift+C
• Console: Cmd+Option+I

Searching

Know how to search better. Most searches allow for some special options of your query.

• putting your search in quotes will search for that exact string. Ex. “you and your search string”
• using the plus symbol (+) in front of a word will force it to be included in the search. Common words like “and”, “or”, “is”, etc… actually get ignored from a search. Ex. +you +and +your +search +string
• using the minus symbol (-) will ignore that word in the return of the search. So if you’re searching for “computers” but you want to avoid getting “brand_A” as part of your return because you only want to see brand_B and brand_C, this is for you! Ex. computers -brand_A
• Domain specific searches: You know there’s a quote or article on a site, but your history was just cleared. Instead of having to dig through the entire site, article by article, try a keyword search but limiting it to search only within that site. Ex. your search string site:www.yourwebsitetosearch.com

Machine Setup

• Increase the speed of your cursor. This will let you move around faster.

Note Taking

• Take notes in your editor and use the markdown (.md) file. This will let you take notes various programming languages.
• Easy to format.
• Your readme files will most likely be in the format. Might as well get used to it.