11 Best Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Hangouts on Windows and Mac

In 2016, Google announced Google Allo and Duo apps for Android and iOS users. The company has quietly shifted the Hangout brand to enterprise users and retains Allo and Duo for consumers. Unfortunately, Google Allo never gained traction among users, and the search giant shelved the project in 2018. The focus is back on Google Hangouts.

Unlike Google Allo, Google Hangouts has a capable web version, is perfectly integrated with the Gmail service, and the feature list is good enough to keep users in the loop.

Google Duo offers video and voice calling, but misses the important chat functionality. This is where Google Hangouts comes into play. There are chat, stickers, voice call, video call and some fun elements too. And the service’s web availability makes it a solid competitor to some popular options, including Skype and Zoom.

In this article, we are going to talk about ten best Google Hangout keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac. You can memorize them and I’m sure your Google Hangouts experience will take it further to the next level.

1. Close the Chat Window

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

2. Hangouts Settings Menu

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

3. Open Invitation Menu

Google Hangouts allows you to invite other users to the platform. Google provides a special invitation menu to handle invitations. Open the hamburger menu and go to invitations. You can also press the H-word followed by I on the keyboard to reveal the menu.

4. Open Search Bar

Google offers several ways to communicate with a user in Hangouts. You can call them using their phone number or email id. For this you have to open the search bar in Hangouts. In Hangouts use the keyboard shortcut H followed by Q and it will open the search bar. From there you can search for users and even create a new group.

5. Access Archived Chats

Google Hangouts offers the ability to archive a chat from the main menu. Right click on the conversation and tap on the archive button. To access these chat threads, type H on the keyboard followed by A to open the archived chat menu.

6. Open Phone Menu

Did you know you can make calls with Hangouts? For this you need to go to the phone menu, and then search for users. Use the keyboard shortcut H followed by P to open the phone section.

7. Get to the First Conversation

Google Hangouts provides a set of options and settings menus in the web app. You can return to the first conversation in the chat menu using the keyboard shortcut from any screen. I always use it. Type H followed by C and Google Hangouts will switch to the first chat thread.

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

8. Move People Dancing In Chat

For the fun part, Google Hangouts offers several options. You can send emojis, stickers, but my favorite part is the set of keyboard shortcuts that open up lively and fun elements in chat. You can write during a conversation /pitchforkand it will move a group of people dancing in chat.

9. Add Live Pony to Chat

Want to highlight a lively pony in a chat? You can write /pony, and will show live ponies running on the chat screen. Google desperately wants to change the way Hangout looks here. They add more keyboard shortcuts for fun parts like this. Let’s find a few more keyboard shortcuts.

10. Change Chat Background Color

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

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

11. Have Multiple Pony Run Around the Screen

Love the keyboard shortcut above to run ponies on a chat screen? Then you’ll appreciate this shortcut even more. Medicine /poniestreams and Hangouts run a group of ponies from 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 app browsing the web. And the best part is that it’s available on every desktop operating system, including Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, and even Linux.

Next: Skype also offers some productive keyboard shortcuts for navigation. Read the post below to learn more about it.