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Windows keyboard shortcuts cheat sheet
The Windows 11 and 10 shortcuts you use most, in one table. On screen you see a description for each; when printed it becomes a two-column sheet that fits on one page.
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| Action | Keys | Category | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open the Start menu | Windows | Desktop and getting started | Open Start without reaching for the bottom-left corner. |
| Show the desktop | Windows + D | Desktop and getting started | Hide all open windows and go straight to the desktop. |
| Open Settings | Windows + I | Desktop and getting started | Jump to Settings for Bluetooth, display, notifications and more. |
| Open Search | Windows + S | Desktop and getting started | The basic shortcut for searching apps, files and settings. |
| Open Quick Settings | Windows + A | Desktop and getting started | Opens Quick Settings for Wi-Fi, volume, brightness and more. |
| Open the notification center | Windows + N | Desktop and getting started | Check notifications and the calendar right away. |
| Switch between apps and windows | Alt + Tab | Window management | The go-to shortcut for moving between several work windows. |
| Open Task View | Windows + Tab | Window management | See all open windows and virtual desktops at a glance. |
| Snap a window to the left or right | Windows + ← / → | Window management | Put two windows side by side to compare documents or copy data across. |
| Maximize or minimize a window | Windows + ↑ / ↓ | Window management | Quickly enlarge or shrink the window you are working in. |
| Move a window to another monitor | Windows + Shift + ← / → | Window management | Move a window between monitors in one step on a dual-monitor setup. |
| Show snap layouts | Windows + Z | Window management | Bring up the screen layout options in Windows 11. |
| Minimize all windows | Windows + M | Window management | The basic way to get back to the desktop in one go. |
| Minimize all but the active window | Windows + Home | Window management | Keep only the window you are looking at and clear the rest. |
| Close the active window | Alt + F4 | Window management | Close a window as soon as you are done with it. |
| Add a virtual desktop | Windows + Ctrl + D | Virtual desktops | Give each task its own desktop to keep busy work organized. |
| Switch virtual desktops | Windows + Ctrl + ← / → | Virtual desktops | Move sideways between the desktops you set up for different tasks. |
| Close a virtual desktop | Windows + Ctrl + F4 | Virtual desktops | Close a virtual desktop you no longer need. |
| Open File Explorer | Windows + E | File Explorer and files | Open the starting point for finding files in one step. |
| Rename a file or folder | F2 | File Explorer and files | Start renaming the selected item right away. |
| Create a new folder | Ctrl + Shift + N | File Explorer and files | Add a folder on the spot to organize your files. |
| Go back to the previous folder | Alt + ← | File Explorer and files | Go back to the previous screen in File Explorer and some apps. |
| Go forward to the next folder | Alt + → | File Explorer and files | After going back, return to where you were. |
| Go up to the parent folder | Alt + ↑ | File Explorer and files | Move one level up in the folder tree. |
| Open Properties | Alt + Enter | File Explorer and files | Check size, date modified, permissions and more. |
| Delete a file | Delete | File Explorer and files | Moves the selected file to the Recycle Bin. Press Ctrl+Z to bring it back if it was a mistake. |
| Select all | Ctrl + A | Edit, find and save | Select a whole document, or every file in a folder. |
| Copy | Ctrl + C | Edit, find and save | The basic way to copy text, files, images and more. |
| Cut | Ctrl + X | Edit, find and save | Use it to reorder text or to move files to another folder. |
| Paste | Ctrl + V | Edit, find and save | Pastes what you copied. |
| Undo | Ctrl + Z | Edit, find and save | Takes back a mistake right away. One of the most important shortcuts. |
| Redo | Ctrl + Y | Edit, find and save | Redoes an action you undid one step too many. |
| Find text | Ctrl + F | Edit, find and save | Jump to a word in Notepad, email or the browser. |
| Replace text | Ctrl + H | Edit, find and save | Replace every occurrence of a word with another one in Notepad or Word. |
| Save | Ctrl + S | Edit, find and save | Save the file you are working on in Notepad or Office as often as you like. |
| Open clipboard history | Windows + V | Input and clipboard | Shows a list of the things you copied recently. |
| Switch input language | Windows + Space | Input and clipboard | Switch quickly between keyboard layouts and input languages. |
| Start voice typing | Windows + H | Input and clipboard | Enter text without taking your hands off what you are doing. |
| Open the emoji panel | Windows + . | Input and clipboard | Opens the panel for emoji, symbols and kaomoji. |
| Take a screenshot of an area | Windows + Shift + S | Screenshots and system | Capture just the part of the screen you want to share. |
| Copy the whole screen | PrintScreen | Screenshots and system | Sends a screenshot of the whole screen to the clipboard. |
| Change the display mode | Windows + P | Screenshots and system | Switch between duplicate, extend and other modes when a second display is connected. |
| Open Run | Windows + R | Screenshots and system | Open an app or settings page directly by name. |
| Open Task Manager | Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Screenshots and system | The classic way to check or close an app that is slowing things down. |
| Lock your PC | Windows + L | Screenshots and system | Lock the screen right before you step away. |
| Open the Quick Link menu | Windows + X | Screenshots and system | Go straight to Device Manager, Terminal and other admin tools. |