The function keys on keyboards don’t get the love they used to, but depending on the app you’re running, they can still be quite handy. Google Chrome has some interesting features tucked away behind your function keys. Here’s what they do.
| Function Key | Basic Effect | Modifier |
| F1 | Opens Google Chrome’s Help Center in a new tab. | None |
| F2 | For this function key to do anything, you first need to be in the Elements panel of Chrome’s Developer Tools (in Chrome, press F12 or head to Tools > Developer Tools). Once there, pressing F2 will open the “edit as HTML” feature. | None |
| F3 | Opens the “Find Bar” in Chrome, which lets you search for text on the current webpage. Ctrl+F also performs the same function. | None |
| F4 | None |
Ctrl+F4 closes the tab that you are currently viewing. Alt+F4 closes the entire Chrome window. |
| F5 | Reloads the current webpage. | Ctrl+F5 and Shift+F5 both reload the current web pages while ignoring cached content |
| F6 | Toggles focus between the webpage, bookmark bar, and address bar. | None |
| F7 | None | None |
| F8 | Pauses and resumes script execution in the Sources Panel of the Developer Tools (head to Tools > Developer Tools > Source Panel to get there). | None |
| F9 | None | None |
| F10 | Steps over the next function call if you’re in the Sources Panel. | Shift+F10 opens your context menu. This has the same effect as right-clicking with your mouse. |
| F11 | In a regular Chrome window, turns full-screen mode on and off. In the Sources Panel, F11 steps into the next function call. | None |
| F12 | Opens Chrome’s Developer Tools. | None |
