18 ChatGPT Tips and Tricks to Maximize Efficiency
Fast Track to Effective Workflow with ChatGPT
ChatGPT, the powerful AI tool, is one of my primary tools today. There are days when I use it more than Figma.
In this article, I share 18 ChatGPT tips and tricks, including practical prompt engineering tips, for mastering ChatGPT and helping you work faster and more efficiently with the tool.
The content will focus on the most straightforward tips and tricks that do not require a lot of study. Once you understand them, you can implement them immediately.
Because we consume a lot of new knowledge, we only sometimes have time to focus and read long articles.
For that reason, I used a scannable layout. For each tip, I explain what it does, how to use it, how it can help you, and if it is available in the free version.
01-Mastering ChatGPT Keyboard shortcuts
Shortcuts speed up work processes. ChatGPT also has a shortcut you can use.
How to do it:
Click on the question mark icon at the bottom right of the screen, then in the menu, select “Keyboard shortcuts,” and you will have all the ChatGPT shortcuts.
Why it is good:
- It helps you work much faster.
Two useful shortcuts:
- Copy last response (Mac: CMD+SHIFT+C) (Windows: CTRL+SHIFT+C)
- Open new chat (Mac: CMD+SHIFT+O) (Windows: CTRL+SHIFT+O)
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
02-Archive chat
You can archive chats to clean the chats history in the left bar, making your workspace more organized and efficient.
How to do it:
Click the archive icon in the chat line in the left menu.
To unarchive a chat, navigate to Settings > General > Archived chats and select the chat you want to unarchive.
Why it is good:
Clean the left menu, remove chats you do not use, and reduce distractions.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
03-Change dark to light theme (and vice versa).
You can change the theme to dark or light quickly. ChatGPT has this function.
How to do it
Go to the menu and click Settings > General. Then, you have a switch button to change the theme.
Why it is good
It is more like a personal preference, adjusting the user interface to your preference.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
04-Export all the chats (log)
You can export all the logs and all the conversations you had with the chat.
How to do it:
Go to profile > settings > data controls > click on export data. You will then receive an email with a link to download the data. Then, open it in an HTML file.
Why it is good:
- Save a backup of all the conversations with the chat.
- Study previous chats to understand and improve the quality of your chatgpt prompts.
- Find an old chat; it happened to me. I searched for an old one because I wanted a effective prompt I used there, and it wasn’t easy to find it in the left menu, so I downloaded all the logs and searched for it.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
05-Share a chat with a friend
If you want to share the ChatGPT conversation with a colleague or a friend, you can do so.
How to do it (Two options):
- At the top of the chat, there is a share button. Click on it, and share the chat.
- Click on the three dots in the chat line to open the share option.
Why it is good:
It is good if you want to share the chat history with a colleague so all the information is inside, and they can copy it from there.
Pro tip:
You can manage all the chats you share.
Go to profile > settings > data controls > shared links, and from there, you can see the chats you shared, unshare them, and view the source chat.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
06-Give a name to the Chat to make it more organized
Chat history isn’t organized well, and we don’t have a search input, so it’s easy to get lost with all the chats you’ve opened.
But you can name them to find them easier when scrolling or using the browser search.
How to do it:
Click on the three dots in the chat line and click on rename.
Why it is good:
It makes it easier to find the chats from your history.
Protip:
If you want the name to be more notable, you can add an emoji to it.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
07-Create text replacements to use your prompts faster
If you use some ChatGPT prompts often and do not want to write them from scratch or copy and paste them from a text block, you can use “text replacement.”
Text replacement allows you to define custom shortcuts for longer text. When you type the shortcut, it will replace the text with another one.
How to do it:
Mac:
- Go to System Settings > Keyboard, click text replacement, and write what you want to replace.
- Another option is to use the software Typedesk.
Windows: For PC users, you can use the app TextBlaze.
Why it is good:
It increases efficiency and productivity and makes the workflow super smooth. For example, I have a prompt to fix grammar errors, which helps me work faster.
08-Hear hear results
If you want to hear ChatGPT’s results, you can do so.
How to do it:
After ChatGPT finishes creating the results, you can click the small speaker icon to hear the text.
Why it is good:
If you prefer to hear instead of read, it can benefit you.
Protip:
You can change the voice from the settings menu. Click on settings > speech. You can select from five voices: Ember, Breeze, Juniper, Cove, and Sky.
Is this feature available in the free plan? No, it is available only in the paid version (ChatGPT Plus).
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09-Upload files
You can upload many different files for ChatGPT, ask the chat to analyze them, and change their type (for example, from JPG to PNG). Some formats it supports include PDF, JPG, CSV, XLSX, and JSON.
How to do it:
Click on the paperclip icon in the input line and attach the file. In the prompt, explain what you want to do with this file.
Why it is good:
- Summaries: Upload long texts and get a summary or critical insights.
- Data Analysis: Upload Excel or CSV files. Get insights and charts.
- Image Description: Upload images. Get descriptions and analyze the information inside it.
- There is a wide range of cases: upload the file, ask the chat to perform a task, and see if it can do it.
Is this feature available in the free plan? No, it is available only in the paid version.
10-Utilize the regenerate function for an efficient workflow
Sometimes, you want to regenerate the results because you do not like them and want to see if the AI model will give better results after executing the same prompt again.
How to do it:
After you execute the prompt, you will see a regenerate icon at the end of the AI output that you can click on to execute the prompt again.
Why it is good:
It saves time executing the same prompt again; click, and you get another result.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
11-Edit and regenerate
If you generated the prompt but the results were not good and want to make changes before executing it, you do not need to write it again; you can edit and manage it.
How to do it:
Click on the pencil icon at the of the prompt, change the prompt, and click “Save & Submit.”
Why it is good:
It saves time; there is no need to rewrite the whole prompt.
Pro tip:
After executing it the second time, you can return to the previous one by clicking on the chevron near the pencil icon. There, you have all the history, and you can compare the changes in the results.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
12-Copy to clipboard
After getting the results from the chat, you do not need to select all the text to copy it. There is a button for it.
How to do it:
You will see a copy icon at the end of the chatGPT response. Click on it to copy the text to your clipboard.
Why it is good:
It is a more elegant and easy way to copy the output.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
13-Continue
Sometimes, ChatGPT does not finish the task (especially when it needs to perform a complex task or write a long text). If it has happened, say the chat to continue to finish the task.
How to do it:
If this has happened, you will see a button that says, “Continue.” Click on it, and the system will continue to generate the information.
Why it is good:
Finish the task you give the Chat.
Protip:
If the Chat does not show the button but you see the task has not been completed, write “Continue,” and it will continue with the task.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
14-Web browsing with Bing.
ChatGPT can search the internet for an answer, but it does not always do this. Sometimes, you need to force it to do it.
How to do it:
Add in the prompt a line that asks the chat to do it.
For example:
I am going on vacation in NYC From 1.6.2024 to 10.6.2024.
What can I do there on these dates?
Do it step by step.
1. First, search the internet before giving me an answer.
2. Show me the results with links to the events you find on these dates.Why it is good:
You force the chat to search on the internet to ensure a more accurate answer.
Pro tip:
Ask the chat to give you the links for the places it found the information so you can prove the results. As I wrote in the prompt:
Show me the results with links to the event you find on these dates.Is this feature available in the free plan? No, it is available only in the paid version.
15-Search for a GPT instead of writing a long prompt
If you want to perform a complex task and do not want to write a long prompt, there is no problem. You can search for a GPT configured for the task.
GPTs are customizable ChatGPT versions for specific tasks; you can create or find them in the community.
How to do it:
Click ‘Explore GPTs’ in the right menu and search for GPT. You can find GPTs that improve writing, create diagrams, write PRDs, design websites, and more.
Why it is good:
You can work faster without writing a complex prompt; just find ChatGPTs that fit your needs and start working with them.
Important point:
Before selecting a GPT, check other users’ ratings to ensure quality.
Is this feature available in the free plan? No, it is available only in the paid version.
16-Increase your security measures by using the ‘Log out of all devices
You can log out of your account from all the devices.
How to do it:
Go to profile > settings > security > click on ‘Log out of all devices.’
Why it is good:
For security reasons, if you open it on another computer and are unsure whether you are logged out, you can log out with one click.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
17-Mark and ask about it
You can easily ask questions about a specific part of ChatGPT’s output.
How to do it:
Select the part in the input you want to ask about, and a quotation icon (“) will appear. Click on it to copy the selected text to the input line. Write a prompt and execute.
Why it is good:
For more intuitive work, instead of selecting, copying, and pasting, choose and click on the quotation icon to ask about it.
Is this feature available in the free plan? YES
18-Keep transparency in AI by opting to ‘Always show code’
When the chat performs complex tasks, it often creates small software to perform the task.
To make it visible to the user and give the user trust in the code and the programming
language, the chat gives the option to see the code it generates.
The code is collapsed, and you need to click on it to see it. But if you are a user who needs to read the code, you can ask the Chat always to show all of the code.
How to do it:
Go to profile > settings > switch on “Always show code when using data analysis.”
Why it is good:
It gives the users transparency on the process the artificial intelligence makes so that you can have more trust in it.
I recommend switching on this option only for people who know how to read code and want to read it to gain confidence in the results and the process the Chat does.
To summary
In this article, we explored many tips and tricks for using ChatGPT to work faster and more accurately with your design workflow.
The post’s structure was actionable. It explained what each tip is for, how you can perform it, and whether it is included in the free or paid version.
We looked at different tips; some are directly ChatGPT features, like Keyboard shortcuts, marking the text and asking about it, searching for a GPT instead of writing a complex prompt, and tips we can use outside of the chat, like text placement.
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