A good way of increasing productivity is to know your windows keyboard shortcuts. A list of these shortcuts can be found below or at Microsoft’s Site.
General Windows keyboard shortcuts
| Press | To |
| CTRL + C | Copy |
| CTRL + X | Cut |
| CTRL + V | Paste |
| CTRL + Z | Undo |
| DELETE | Delete |
| SHIFT + DELETE | Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. |
| CTRL while dragging an item | Copy selected item. |
| CTRL + SHIFT while dragging an item | Create shortcut to selected item. |
| F2 | Rename selected item. |
| CTRL + → | Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. |
| CTRL + ← | Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. |
| CTRL + ↓ | Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. |
| CTRL + ↑ | Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + ↑ or ↓ or ← or → | Highlight a block of text. |
| SHIFT + ↑ or ↓ or ← or → | Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. |
| CTRL + A | Select all. |
| F3 | Search for a file or folder. |
| ALT + ENTER | View properties for the selected item. |
| ALT + F4 | Close the active item, or quit the active program. |
| ALT + Enter | Display properties for the selected item |
| ALT + SPACEBAR | Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. |
| CTRL + F4 | Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. |
| ALT + TAB | Switch between open items. |
| ALT + ESC | Cycle through items in the order they were opened. |
| F6 | Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. |
| F4 | Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. |
| SHIFT + F10 | Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. |
| ALT + SPACEBAR | Display the System menu for the active window. |
| CTRL + ESC | Display the Start menu. |
| ALT + Underlined letter in a menu name | Display the corresponding menu. |
| Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu | Carry out the corresponding command. |
| F10 | Activate the menu bar in the active program. |
| → | Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. |
| ↞ | Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. |
| F5 | Refresh the active window. |
| BACKSPACE | View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. |
| ESC | Cancel the current task. |
| SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive | Prevent the CD from automatically playing. |
Dialog Box Windows Keyboard Shortcuts
| Press | To |
| CTRL + TAB | Move forward through tabs. |
| CTRL + SHIFT + TAB | Move backward through tabs. |
| TAB | Move forward through options. |
| SHIFT + TABtd> | Move backward through options. |
| ALT + Underlined letter | Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. |
| ENTER | Carry out the command for the active option or button. |
| SPACEBAR | Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. |
| ↑ or ↓ or ← or → | Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. |
| F1 | Display Help. |
| F4 | Display the items in the active list. |
| BACKSPACE | Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. |
Natural Windows keyboard shortcuts
You can use the following keyboard shortcuts with any keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key.
| Press | To |
| Windows key | Display or hide the Start menu. |
| Windows key + BREAK | Display the System Properties dialog box. |
| Windows key + D | Show the desktop. |
| Windows key + M | Minimize all windows. |
| Windows key + Shift + M | Restores minimized windows. |
| Windows key + E | Open My Computer. |
| Windows key + F | Search for a file or folder. |
| Windows key + CTRL + F | Search for computers. |
| Windows key + F1 | Display Windows Help. |
| Windows key + L | Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. |
| Windows key + R | Open the Run dialog box. |
| Application Key | Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. |
| Windows key + U | Open Utility Manager. |
Accessibility Windows keyboard shortcuts
| Press | To |
| Right SHIFT for eight seconds | Switch FilterKeys on and off. |
| Left ALT + left SHIFT + PRINT SCREEN | Switch High Contrast on and off. |
| Left ALT + left SHIFT + NUM LOCK | Switch MouseKeys on and off. |
| SHIFT five times | Switch StickyKeys on and off. |
| NUM LOCK for five seconds | Switch ToggleKeys on and off. |
| Windows key + U | Open Utility Manager. |
Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts
| Press | To |
| END | Display the bottom of the active window. |
| HOME | Display the top of the active window. |
| NUM LOCK + * on numeric keypad | Display all subfolders under the selected folder. |
| NUM LOCK + + on numeric keypad | Display the contents of the selected folder. |
| NUM LOCK + - on numeric keypad | Collapse the selected folder. |
| ← | Collapse current selection if it’s expanded, or select parent folder. |
| → | Display current selection if it’s collapsed, or select first subfolder. |
Last Updated on May 15, 2016 by Nathan Vidal