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- WhatsApp Web has a wide range of useful tips, tricks, and shortcuts you might not know about. Most of which enhance your usage, making it simpler and easier to use.
- These WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcuts can also be used along with most of the universal Windows and Mac keyboard shortcuts.
WhatsApp Web tips and tricks
Whatsapp Web, the web version of the popular messaging app, has no doubt improved since it was first introduced in 2015, offering a great messaging experience. To make it even better, new features are being added on a regular basis. While WhatsApp Web may seem like the basic web version of WhatsApp, it has numerous interesting and sophisticated features. Here are 7 WhatsApp Web tips and tricks you should know about:
1. Use colon shortcut to add emoji
This is another way to add emojis when using WhatsApp Web. You can search for emojis directly using the colon shortcut instead of opening the emoji panel. Type colon : followed by the first two letters of your desired emoji. You will be shown related emojis that change with each letter you type, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate between the emojis displayed, and press Enter to insert your emoji of choice in your message.
For example, if you want to add the funny emoji, type :haha or a mask emoji, type :mask. You will start seeing multiple results when you enter two characters at least.
2. Text to emoji
Remember when you used to type text emojis, :) for a smiley face, the same can be done on WhatsApp Web. When you type text emoji characters, WhatsApp will automatically convert them to emojis. For example, if you type the love emoji <3, WhatsApp will automatically transform it to the love emoji.
3. Drag and drop files to upload
You can add attachments to your messages on WhatsApp Web by clicking on the paper clip icon in the top right corner, but there is a much easier way to do that. Open the folder that you want to upload the file from, then drag and drop the file into your WhatsApp chat to upload it.
4. Use multiple WhatsApp Web on the same computer
You may have two phones with different WhatsApp accounts, or you probably use a dual-SIM phone with more than one WhatsApp account. If you want to run two WhatsApp Web accounts on your PC, it’s quite tricky. You can’t just open two tabs in your browser and sign in separately. The easy way is to launch an incognito window or open a different browser. So, let’s say you have one WhatsApp account opened in Chrome, simply open a new window in incognito mode, or launch another browser (Firefox or Opera) and log in to WhatsApp Web through that, using your other WhatsApp account to read the QR code.
5. Read messages without blue tick notifications
The enabled blue tick means people can see the exact time you read their message. You can disable this on your phone if you want to, but WhatsApp Web offers something better.
If you want to read the message of someone you are chatting with without them getting a read receipt, here’s what to do:
- Open the chat in your WhatsApp Web.
- Open another browser or window or a Notepad file, and reduce the size so you can still view the actual WhatsApp Web chat in the background.
- Click in the window or Notepad file you opened and keep your cursor over the window. This is the most important step, as your computer thinks you are working in a different window and not on WhatsApp.
- Right now, messages will load in the background WhatsApp Web window, which you can read without being marked as read with the blue ticks. The messages will appear as double grey ticks, meaning they are received by you, but not read. For the sender, only grey ticks will appear until you click on the WhatsApp Web chat window.
- When you’re done with marking them as read, click the WhatsApp Web chat window and those double grey ticks will turn blue.
Note: The downside of this method is that you can only read messages of one chat at a time.
6. Use the WAToolkit extension to preview messages
WAToolkit is a free chrome extension with excellent features you can add to WhatsApp Web. It has two simple tricks, one of which lets you read WhatsApp Web chat messages without the Read Receipt.
- Notifications: When you receive a new message, you no longer need to go to WhatsApp Web to read it. The WAToolkit icon badge will show how many unread messages you have, just hover over the icon to preview the messages, without your main chat showing the Read Receipt.
- Full-Width Chat Bubbles: By default, WhatsApp does not stretch the text bubble to the full width of the chat window. That’s the reason for multi-line texts when it would easily fit in a single line of the wide desktop window. WAToolkit fixes this by making the text bubbles full-width in both incoming and outgoing messages.
7. Increase volume or audio playback speed
Unlike WhatsApp itself, you can’t make voice calls on WhatsApp Web. However, you can send voice messages. In a situation where the voice message is too long, or the volume is not high enough, you may want to consider Zapp.
Zapp is a free WhatsApp Web chrome extension that allows you to adjust both volume and speed with arrow keys or mouse wheel. You can change the playback speed of the audio message you just got and can go up to 2x, or increase the volume by almost 100 percent.
WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcuts
In order to take full advantage and make the best use of WhatsApp Web on your computer, it’s also important to know the keyboard shortcuts available to help make your daily life and communication easier and more efficient, saving you some clicks!
Note: To use the following keyboard shortcut on Mac devices, use Command instead of Control. For example, Control + P for Windows PC, the shortcut for Mac will be Command + P.
1. Shift + tab
When you use this shortcut, a small blue box will highlight the emoji button at the left of the “message” box. Click the Enter key to open the emoji panel. Then either search for emoji by typing the name or navigate through the emoji by using the Arrow keys. Click Esc to close the emoji panel.
2. Switch focus
This WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcut works by pressing the Tab key which changes the focus, first to the search area, to chat, to the emoji button, and then to the typing area.
3. Search chats
Using the Ctrl + F shortcut will move the blinking cursor to the search box on the top left. You can then start typing your search term. Use Cmd + F on Mac.
4. WhatsApp text format
The normal text format on WhatsApp is also available on WhatsApp Web. By simply using these shortcuts, you can make text bold or italic.
Here are some available shortcuts:
- To italicize text, place an underscore on both sides of the text. For example, _Water_
- To bold a text, put asterisks on both sides. For example, *Hey*
- To strikethrough a text, use tilde on both sides. For example, ~Hello~
NOTE: The above shortcuts worked on WhatsApp Web (browser) and WhatsApp Web desktop (download and install). The shortcuts mentioned below will only work for WhatsApp Web desktop on both Windows and Mac. They will not work on WhatsApp Web (browser).
5. Start new chart
Use this shortcut Ctrl + N to start a new chat, remember on Mac, use Command + N. Using these two buttons will open a new chat window. Then choose the person you want to chat with from the list of contact.
6. Create new group
You can create a new group using the Ctrl + Shift + N shortcut, use Command + Shift + N on Mac. Then add each contact you want in the group.
7. Move between previous and next chats
You can use the arrow keys to move between chats. However, you can also move between chats using the following keyboard shortcuts:
Ctrl + Shift + [: This will take you to the previous chat
Ctrl + Shift + ]: This will take you to the next chat
On Mac, replace Control with Command. The shortcut will be Command + Shift + [ and Command + Shift + ]
8. Archive chat
This shortcut is a quick and easy way to hide chats in WhatsApp. Instead of using the menu button to archive chats, you can use the Ctrl + E shortcut. For Mac, use Command + E.
9. Mute chat
This WhatsApp Web keyboard shortcut is a good one if you want to mute annoying chats. To simply mute any chat, open that particular chat and press the Ctrl + Shift + M buttons. Similarly, on Mac, use Command + Shift + M. After doing that, a Mute window will appear. In the Mute window that appears, select between Hours, Week or Year, then click Mute to save changes.
10. Change message status
This shortcut is to mark a message as unread. Sometimes, you may want to mark a particular message you’ve read as unread. Normally, you’d have to open the menu to do so. However, you can do that in just one step. Simply open the chat you want to mark as unread, then press Ctrl + Shift + U on your keyboard. This simple shortcut will automatically change the status of the currently opened chat to unread. On Mac, use Command + Shift + U.
11. Delete chat
This Shortcut is simply to delete chat the easy way. To delete a chat, press Control + Backspace. Use Command + Backspace on Mac.
12. Open profile status
This shortcut is to open your profile window. If you want to open your profile to change name, picture, or about, you can do so by using Ctrl + P. Command + P on Mac.
13. Exit WhatsApp
To exit WhatsApp on your desktop, Use the ALT + F4 shortcut. Using this shortcut will close WhatsApp on your computer. You will need to launch WhatsApp again to open it on your computer.
You can also employ all of the universal Windows and Mac keyboard shortcuts such as:
- Ctrl + Shift + Equals: To zoom and enlarge text.
- Ctrl + X: Cut.
- Ctrl + C: Copy.
- Ctrl + V: Paste.
- Ctrl + A: Select all.
WhatsApp Web tips, tricks, and shortcuts FAQs
Answer to related questions people also ask:
Which browser is best for WhatsApp Web?
All the major browsers work well for WhatsApp Web, including Chrome, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Firefox. Just open WhatsApp Web on any of the browsers and scan the QR code on the screen with the WhatsApp mobile app from your phone. WhatsApp Web will automatically launch and remain active on your browser page until you log out on your phone or computer.
How do you check WhatsApp Web is active or not?
To know if your WhatsApp Web is active on another device or not, click the three-dot located at the top right of your WhatsApp screen. Click the WhatsApp Web option to see the list of open sessions – from here, you can check for any device or app that has access to your WhatsApp.
Can we open WhatsApp Web on mobile?
To open WhatsApp Web on Android, open WhatsApp, tap the three vertical dots and then select WhatsApp Web. If you are using an iPhone, open WhatsApp and tap Settings, then tap WhatsApp Web. Next, scan the QR code on your computer screen.
How do I add WhatsApp Web to my taskbar?
Open WhatsApp on your computer, click the three-dot menu icon on the top right of your screen. Click ‘More Tools’ and then click ‘Pin to Taskbar.’