The Ultimate Windows Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet

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If you are constantly working on the Windows operating system, it becomes tedious to constantly switch from keyboard to handle mouse/ track/touch for every small operation. Let’s have a look at some Windows keyboard shortcut cheat sheets.

Working on Windows involves a great deal of using a mouse or trackpad. This is due to the interactive user interface. With the evolution of touchscreen technology, there is an added advantage of input using the touch screen. So overall, operating Windows involves combining keyboard and mouse/trackpad/touch for a better user experience. But you lose a good deal of time in this frequent switching process. We will try to explore the keyboard cheat sheet to make our work convenient. Working with a cheat sheet will allow us to save a significant amount of time.

Cheat sheet for windows users
Cheat sheet for Windows users

Shortcut Using Windows Key

So, we start with some Win key shortcuts. The Windows key appears in your keyboard's right and left lower corner.  We can access several options using this key;

  • Win  -                         Open Start menu ( you can also use Ctrl + Esc )
  • Win + F1 -         To open Windows, help support.
  • Win + Tab -         To toggle through open programs (It will start a cycle of programs you can go to any open Windows).
  • Win + D -           Go to Desktop
  • Win + L -           Lock the Windows
  • Win + R -           Run Window
  • Win + Home -           Clear all Windows except the Active Window
  • Win + Space -           Make the Windows transparent to look at the Desktop
  • Win + Up -          Maximize or minimize active Window
  • Win + Down -          Minimize or Restore the Window

General Shortcuts

rsz_keys

General shortcuts using the control key (Ctrl) There are a number of general commands that we can access with the use of the control key and Alt key ;

  • Ctrl + I  -                      Italicize the Text
  • Ctrl + U -                     underline the text
  • Ctrl + B -                     Maker the text Bold
  • Ctrl + S -                     Save the current document
  • Ctrl + C -                     Copy selected Text to clipboard
  • Ctrl + X -                     Cut selected object and paste to clipboard
  • Ctrl + V -                     Paste the copied content
  • Ctrl + Z -                     Undo the last command
  • Ctrl + Y -                     Redo the last action
  • Ctrl + A -                     Select all
  • Ctrl + +/- -                 Zoom in/out
  • Ctrl + Alt + Tab-       Use arrows to switch between all open Windows
  • Ctrl + D -                    Delete the current item and move it to the recycle bin
  • Ctrl + Esc -                Open the Start screen
  • Alt  + F4          -         Close the current window
  • Alt  + Enter     -         Display properties for the selected items
  • Alt  + Space    -          Open shortcut menu
  • Alt  + PgUp     -         Move up one tab
  • Alt  + PgDn     -         Move down one tab
  • Alt + C              -         Display table of content
  • Alt + N             -         Connection setting
  • Esc                    -         Leave the current Window

Function Keys

There are function keys on every keyboard. Windows excitingly utilizes these keys. There are several combinations of function keys with Ctrl and Alt keys. But the interesting point is their individual functions.

  • F1 -          To display help
  • F2 -          Rename the selected item
  • F3 -          Search for a file and folder
  • F4 -          Display the address bar list in File Explorer
  • F5 -          Refresh
  • F6 -          Cycle through screen
  • F10 -        Activate the menu bar

By using these keys and their combination, you can save a significant amount of time and effort. It will also help enhance your working capability as you don’t have to toggle through keyboard and mouse/track.

There are several instances where we are drawn into our work, and using multiple inputs sometimes results in the loss of files. Like files lost during cutting and pasting to the memory card, flash drives, external hard drives, etc.. Using the keyboard for most instances may give you the comfort to stick to one input method most of the time.

Note: Shortcut keys for Windows 7

So, if you are experiencing such an issue of data loss while transferring, read here for restoring pictures lost during data transfer error.

About the Author: John Harris

With a decade of experience in data recovery, John Harris, Senior Editor at Remo Software, is your go-to specialist. His focus includes partition management, Windows solutions, and data troubleshooting, delivering insightful content that serves both users and search engines. John's expertise shines through in illuminating blog posts, untangling data loss intricacies across diverse storage platforms.…