Top 11 Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Hangouts on Windows and Mac

Top 11 Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Hangouts on Windows and Mac

In 2016, Google announced the Google Allo and Duo apps for Android and iOS users. The company quietly transferred the Hangout brand to business users and retained Allo and Duo for consumers. Unfortunately, Google Allo has never gained ground among users, and the search giant abandoned the project in 2018. Attention returned to Google Hangouts.


Keyboard

Unlike Google Allo, Google Hangouts has a compatible web version, it is fully integrated with the Gmail service, and the list of features is good enough to keep users informed.

Google Duo offers video and voice calls, but it lacks the important chat feature. And that’s where Google Hangouts comes in. It has chat, stickers, voice, video calls, and some fun stuff too. And the availability of the service on the web makes it a solid rival to some of the popular options available, including Skype and Zoom.

In this article, we’re going to talk about the eleven best keyboard shortcuts for Google Hangout for Windows and Mac. You can remember them and I’m sure your Google Hangouts experience will improve to the next level even further.

1. Close the chat window

Google Hangouts displays a different chat window to present the conversation. Unlike WhatsApp or Telegram, the service opens the conversation popup at the bottom when you start a conversation. You can minimize them and you can use the “Esc” shortcut on Windows or Mac to close the chat window.

2. Hangouts settings menu

Google offers many settings on the Hangouts web. Users can tap the hamburger menu in the upper left corner, then go to Settings. Alternatively, you can type H (for the hamburger menu) followed by the keyword M to open the Settings menu.


Hangouts settings

3. Open the invitation menu

Google Hangouts allows you to invite other users to the platform. Google offers a dedicated invitation menu to manage invitations. Open the hamburger menu and access the invitations. You can also type the word H followed by the I key on the keyboard to display the menu.


Hangouts invite

4. Open the search bar

Google offers several ways to contact a user on Hangouts. You can search for them using the phone number or email id. To do this, you must open the Hangouts search bar. Use the keyboard shortcut of H followed by Q on Hangouts, and this will open the search bar. From there, you can search for users and even create a new group.


Search Hangouts

5. Access archived chats

Google Hangouts offers the option to archive a chat from the main menu. Right click on the conversation and press the archive button. To access these discussion threads, you can type the letter H followed by A on the keyboard to open the archived discussion menu.


Hangouts Archive

6. Open the phone menu

Did you know you can make a call with Hangouts? To do this, you must access the phone menu, then call the users. Use the keyboard shortcut H followed by P to open the telephone section.


Hangouts calls

7. Go to the first conversation

Google Hangouts offers many options and a settings menu in the web app. From any screen, you can return to the first conversation in the chat menu using the keyboard shortcut. I use it all the time. Type H followed by C and Google Hangouts will move to the first thread.

Now let’s talk about some keyboard shortcuts to improve the chat experience.

8. Moving people dancing in the chat

For fun parties, Google Hangouts offers several options. You can send emojis, stickers, but my favorite part is a bunch of keyboard shortcuts to display fun and animated elements in the chat. During a conversation, you can type / forks, and this will move a group of dancers into the chat.


Hangouts dance

9. Add a live pony to a cat

Want to highlight a live pony in a chat? You can type / ponies, and it will display live ponies roaming the chat screen. Google is desperate to change the Hangout image here. They add more keyboard shortcuts for these fun parts. Let’s take a look at a few more keyboard shortcuts.


Hangout ponie

10. Change the background color of the cat

Google Hangouts lets you customize the chat background for each conversation. By default, it uses the boring gray background. But you can change that by typing /Bike garage in conversation. If you don’t like the revised background, retype the keyboard shortcut to change it.


Hangout color

The change is only reflected in the current chat. And when you refresh the page or open Hangouts again, the chat background will return to gray by default.

11. Move several ponies on the screen

Did you love the keyboard shortcut above to run ponies on a chat screen? Then you will appreciate this shortcut even more. Type / poniestreams and Hangouts will run a group of ponies via the chat screen.

Use Hangouts like a pro

As you can see from the list above, Google Hangouts offers some of the best quick shortcuts for getting around the app on the web. And the best part is that it is usable on all desktop operating systems, including Chrome OS, Windows, Mac and even Linux.

Then:

Skype also offers some of the productive keyboard shortcuts for navigation. Read the post below to find out more.

Last updated on April 24, 2020

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