If you’ve been reading this blog for long enough, you know I don’t own an iPhone. How is it possible for a designer to not own an iPhone? Read one of my most popular posts: “Why I don’t have an iPhone (but might someday).”
I am the proud owner of a BlackBerry 8830 World Edition on the Verizon network. I’ve had it for a year and a half and it makes me very happy. When the BlackBerry Tour 9630 is released sometime in July, I’ll be the first in line.
Recently a new friend taught me a whole bunch of tips & tricks on the BlackBerry that I had never stumbled upon before (and some which I use often), so like any good neighbor now I share them with you.
If you don’t know the names of the keys, you’ll need to refer to this diagram from Mobile Wireless News:
Navigation Shortcuts
- To go to start/top of list or page: press T
- To go to end/bottom of list or page: press B
- To bring up the Taskbar on any screen: press ALT + Escape (similar to Mac Command+TAB or Windows ALT+TAB)
Typing shortcuts
- To insert your phone number: type mynumber
- To insert your PIN: type mypin
- To insert your the local date: type LD
- To insert your the local time: type LT
- To insert an opening parenthesis ( : type br
- To insert a closing parenthesis ) : type rb
- To insert your signature: type sig
- Press SPACE twice to insert a period and capitalize the next letter
- Press SPACE to insert the “@” and “.” characters in an Email field
- To copy highlighted text: press ALT and click the trackball
- To paste previously copies text: press Shift and click the trackball
- To create your own AutoText: go to Options > AutoText > Select “New” from the menu
Email shortcuts
- To compose a new message from within Messages: press C
- To show only incoming mail: press ALT + I
- To show only sent mail: press ALT + O
- To show only show phone log messages: press ALT + P
- To show only SMS messages: press ALT + S
- To show only voicemail messages: press ALT + V
- To make an unread message read or a read message unread: press ALT + U
- To toggle between a contact’s display name and email address: highlight the contact and press Q
Browser shortcuts
- To move to a specific web page: press G
- To return to the home page: press H
- To open the bookmark list: press K
- To refresh a web page: press R
- To view the address for a link: highlight a link and press L
- To view the address for a web page: press P
- To view a thumbnail version of a web page: press X. To return to the normal view, press any key
Miscellaneous shortcuts
- To dial alphanumeric phone numbers: Hold down ALT while typing letters (converts to numbers)
- To bring up the “Help Me!” screen that lists version, app version, pin, imei, uptime, signal strength, battery level, file free, and file total: hold down ALT + Shift, then the letter H
- To reboot without having to pull the battery: hold down ALT + Shift + Del
For some more advanced shortcuts, check out BerryReview.com
If you have any useful tips & tricks that I didn’t include here, let us know in the comments!
Related Posts:
- My 10 Favorite Tools of 2010 December 13, 2010 | 5 comments
- Yet another list of iPad apps (what I use) January 12, 2011 | 10 comments
- Send e-mails verbally with Jott February 3, 2008 | 2 comments
- I admit it: I’m always five minutes late. And it stops now. February 10, 2010 | 3 comments
- Sketching made easier by UI Stencils February 22, 2010 | 7 comments
[…] Pleasure and Pain » Tips and Tricks for BlackBerry Users – […]