Windows keyboard shortcuts

Open the Start menu

Open Start without reaching for the bottom-left corner.

Show the desktop

Hide all open windows and go straight to the desktop.

Open Settings

Jump to Settings for Bluetooth, display, notifications and more.

Open Search

The basic shortcut for searching apps, files and settings.

Open Quick Settings

Opens Quick Settings for Wi-Fi, volume, brightness and more.

Open the notification center

Check notifications and the calendar right away.

Switch between apps and windows

The go-to shortcut for moving between several work windows.

Especially useful when you keep switching between slides, the browser and File Explorer.

Open Task View

See all open windows and virtual desktops at a glance.

Snap a window to the left or right

Put two windows side by side to compare documents or copy data across.

Maximize or minimize a window

Quickly enlarge or shrink the window you are working in.

Move a window to another monitor

Move a window between monitors in one step on a dual-monitor setup.

Show snap layouts

Bring up the screen layout options in Windows 11.

Minimize all windows

The basic way to get back to the desktop in one go.

Minimize all but the active window

Keep only the window you are looking at and clear the rest.

Close the active window

Close a window as soon as you are done with it.

If you have unsaved changes, you may be asked whether to save.

Add a virtual desktop

Give each task its own desktop to keep busy work organized.

Switch virtual desktops

Move sideways between the desktops you set up for different tasks.

Close a virtual desktop

Close a virtual desktop you no longer need.

Open File Explorer

Open the starting point for finding files in one step.

Rename a file or folder

Start renaming the selected item right away.

Create a new folder

Add a folder on the spot to organize your files.

Go back to the previous folder

Go back to the previous screen in File Explorer and some apps.

Go forward to the next folder

After going back, return to where you were.

Go up to the parent folder

Move one level up in the folder tree.

Open Properties

Check size, date modified, permissions and more.

Delete a file

Moves the selected file to the Recycle Bin. Press Ctrl+Z to bring it back if it was a mistake.

Select all

Select a whole document, or every file in a folder.

Copy

The basic way to copy text, files, images and more.

Cut

Use it to reorder text or to move files to another folder.

Paste

Pastes what you copied.

Undo

Takes back a mistake right away. One of the most important shortcuts.

Redo

Redoes an action you undid one step too many.

Find text

Jump to a word in Notepad, email or the browser.

Replace text

Replace every occurrence of a word with another one in Notepad or Word.

In browsers, Ctrl+H opens the history instead.

Save

Save the file you are working on in Notepad or Office as often as you like.

Open clipboard history

Shows a list of the things you copied recently.

The first time, you need to turn on clipboard history in Windows.

Switch input language

Switch quickly between keyboard layouts and input languages.

Start voice typing

Enter text without taking your hands off what you are doing.

Open the emoji panel

Opens the panel for emoji, symbols and kaomoji.

Take a screenshot of an area

Capture just the part of the screen you want to share.

Copy the whole screen

Sends a screenshot of the whole screen to the clipboard.

Change the display mode

Switch between duplicate, extend and other modes when a second display is connected.

Open Run

Open an app or settings page directly by name.

Open Task Manager

The classic way to check or close an app that is slowing things down.

Lock your PC

Lock the screen right before you step away.

Open the Quick Link menu

Go straight to Device Manager, Terminal and other admin tools.