Five-Second Firefox Tip: Press Ctrl-K for Instant Searching

I'm a pretty fast typist and a keyboard-shortcut junkie, so it pains me every time I have to reach for the mouse. And that happens pretty often when I'm using Firefox, as any Google search requires me to first click inside the search box. Right?

Wrong. One press of Ctrl-K is all it takes to shift the cursor right to the search box. Then I just type my search parameters, hit Enter, and presto: search city.

How this shortcut flew under my radar for so long, I'm not sure. But it just goes to show that even for seasoned users, there's always something new to learn.

In fact, if you already knew that one, here's a follow-up tip you may not have known: Once your cursor's in the search box, pressing Ctrl-Up and Ctrl-Down cycles you through the various search engines.

What's your favorite Firefox shortcut? Tell me about it in the comments.