Shortcuts, or keyboard shortcuts, are a useful way to navigate Windows 10 faster, especially if you use a laptop and touchpad. Many users know the basic keyboard shortcut combinations, such as Ctrl + C and Alt + Tab, but there are literally hundreds more combinations you can use in Windows.
You can do all kinds of things with this. In this article you will find all the keyboard shortcuts including their actions and the most useful keyboard shortcut combinations for daily use.
Keyboard shortcuts for Windows
Basic keyboard shortcut combinations
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Copy the selected item |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selected item |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo an action |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open apps |
| Alt + F4 | Close an active item, or close an app |
| Windows key + L | Lock your PC or switch accounts |
| Windows key + D | Show and hide the desktop |
| Shift + Delete | Delete item without going to trash |
Active screen shortcut key combinations
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Windows key + Up arrow | Maximize the current window |
| Windows key + Down arrow | Restores the window size |
| Windows key + Left arrow | Move current window to the left side |
| Windows key + Right arrow | Move current window to the right side |
| Windows key + 2 Arrow keys | Place current window in a corner |
Shortcuts for typing
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + D | Delete the selected item and move it to the trash |
| Ctrl + R | Refresh the active window |
| Ctrl + Y | Repeat an action |
| Ctrl + right arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word |
| Ctrl + down arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key | Select a block of text |
Specific Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Windows key + A | Open Action Center |
| Windows key + S | Open search |
| Windows key + C | Open Cortana in listening mode |
| Windows key + I | Opens the Windows 10 settings menu |
| Windows key + X | Opens the Windows 10 system menu |
| Windows key + H | Opens the share menu |
| Windows key + T | Cycle through apps on the taskbar |
| Windows logo key + comma | Back to the desktop |
| Windows key + Tab | Open task view |
| Windows key + Ctrl + D | Add a virtual desktop |
| Windows key + Ctrl + Right arrow | Switch to virtual desktop on the right side |
| Windows key + Ctrl + Left arrow | Switch to virtual desktop on the left side |
| Windows key + Ctrl + F4 | Close the current virtual desktop |
Taskbar shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Shift + click on a taskbar button | Open an app or quickly open another app |
| Ctrl + Shift + click on a taskbar button | Open an app as Administrator |
| Shift + right-click on a taskbar button | Show the menu for the app |
| Shift + right-click a grouped taskbar button | Show the menu for the group of apps |
| Ctrl + click on a grouped taskbar button | Scroll through the windows of the group |
Desktop keyboard shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Windows key + Home | Minimize everything except the active desktop window |
| Windows key + Shift + up arrow | Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen |
| Windows key + Shift + down arrow | Restore desktop windows vertically, preserving their width |
| Windows key + Shift + Left arrow or Right arrow | Move the window from one monitor to another (if 2 monitors) |
| Windows key + spacebar | Change input language and keyboard layout |
| Windows key + Ctrl + spacebar | Change to a previously selected entry |
| Windows key + Enter | Opening the speech – narrator |
| Windows key + plus or minus | Zoom in or out with the magnifying glass |
| Windows key + Esc | Close magnifying glass |
Windows explorer keyboard shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Alt + D | Selects the address bar |
| Ctrl + E and Ctrl + F | Select the search field |
| Ctrl + N | Open a new window |
| Ctrl + W | Close the current window |
| Ctrl + mouse wheel | Toggles through folder size and window options |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Show all folders above the selected folder |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Create a new folder |
| Num-lock + asterisk (*) | Show all subfolders under the selected folder |
| Num Lock + (+) | Display the contents of the selected folder |
| Num Lock + minus (-) | Collapse the selected folder |
| Alt + P | Displaying the preview window |
| Alt + Enter | Opens the Properties dialog box |
| Alt + Right arrow | View the following folder |
| Alt + Up arrow | View the folder where the current folder is located |
| Alt + Left Arrow or Backspace | View the previous folder |
| Arrow to the right | Show the current or select the first subfolder |
| Left arrow | Collapse the current selection or select the folder it was located in |
| Final test | Display the bottom of the active window |
| Home key | Show the top of the active window |
| F2 | Maximize or minimize the active window |
Shortcuts dialog box
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Tab | Move right through the tabs |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Move left through the tabs |
| Ctrl + number (1-9) | Go to the corresponding tab |
| Tab | Move forward through the dialogue options |
| Shift + Tab | Move backward through the options |
| Arrow keys | Select a button in the dialog |
| Alt + underlined letter | Run the command that corresponds to that letter |
Cortana keyboard shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Windows key + Q | Open Cortana ready for voice input |
| Windows key + S | Open Cortana ready for typed input |
| Windows key + I | Open the Windows 10 settings |
| Windows key + A | Open the Windows 10 Action Center |
| Windows key + X | Open the context menu of the Windows start button |
Screen shortcuts
| Hotkey | Action Calendar |
|---|---|
| Windows key + PrtScr | Take a screenshot that will be saved to your images folder |
| Windows key + G | Open Game DVR (if supported by your graphics card). |
| Windows key + Alt + G | Start recording in the current Game DVR window |
| Windows key + Alt + R | Stop the recording in the Game DVR |
| Windows Key + P | Switch between display modes (if you have a second screen connected) |
| Windows key + plus | Zoom in using the magnifying glass |
| Windows key + min | Zoom out using the magnifying glass[/wps_table] |
I hope this information has helped you, thanks for reading!