Windows shortcut

Windows 10 Guide: Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

You can manipulate Windows 10 via clicks, taps, or swipes—but sometimes a keyboard shortcut is the quickest way. Here's a handy guide to all the ones you should know.

                

How can you navigate and control Windows 10? Let us count the ways. Mouse. Keyboard. Finger on a touch-screen device. Speech via the Cortana voice assistant. (Whether monotone commands, or shouted ones.)

Let's see, did we forget anything? Oh, yeah: the good old, handy keyboard shortcut.

Whether you're using a desktop, a laptop, or a Windows tablet (the last with an accessory or onscreen keyboard), keyboard shortcuts are always available to you as a quick way to run a command, open a program, or perform a certain task. The problem with keyboard shortcuts, though? With so many of them scattered across different programs and OSs, they can be difficult to remember.

Certain universal shortcuts, such as Ctrl+Z for undo or Ctrl+P for paste, get burned into your brain after years of repetition. But other useful ones—such as Alt+Tab to switch to another open window, or Ctrl+Y to redo your last action—can be harder to remember, since you probably don't use them quite as often.

And those are just the "standard" ones. Windows 10 introduces a host of new keyboard shortcuts to tap into its new features, such as the reincarnated Start menu, the Microsoft Edge browser, and the Virtual Desktop function. So, now you've got even more shortcuts to remember, if you want to go that route toward efficiency.

What can you do? Well, here's a (hopefully) helpful guide to Windows shortcuts. Some are new to Windows 10, and some are old standbys that you may have forgotten about. We've organized them according to key features and categories, such as the ability to use virtual desktops and surf the Web using Microsoft Edge.

Peruse these shortcuts. Commit them to memory if you wish. No, you certainly won't be able to remember all of them—but you'll be able to recall some. And you can always keep this article handy as a Web page or printout while you're working in Windows 10. Try out these shortcuts and see which ones stick for the way you work or play.

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Shortcuts: Windows 10 Virtual Desktops

Windows 10 offers a new feature called Virtual Desktops, through which you can create multiple "themed" desktop screens, and switch among them at will. Why would you do that? Well, raise your hand if you often have so many windows and apps open that you can hardly keep them straight. You, you, and you? We thought so.
With Virtual Desktops, you can create separate desktop areas that each house their own sets of app shortcuts and windows. You can then shunt each one off to the side until you need it. You don't have to sift through a giant mishmosh of app or document icons scattered across your one and only desktop.
For example, you may want to create one Virtual Desktop to organize your current work, and another to contain the Mail and Calendar apps. This way, you keep one Virtual Desktop open while you are working, then switch to the other when you need to check your messages or appointments.

In that scenario, knowing how to switch between Virtual Desktops quickly and efficiently is key. Thus: These keyboard shortcuts!
 

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES...
Windows Key+Ctrl+D	Creates a new virtual desktop and switches to it.
Windows Key+Tab	Opens the Task View to display all Virtual Desktops. Each one will have a number, e.g., Desktop 1, Desktop 2. You then use the Virtual Desktop switcher at the bottom of the screen to click or tap on one of your desktops to switch to it.
Windows Key+Ctrl+Left Arrow	Switches to the virtual desktop on the left.
Windows Key+Ctrl+Right Arrow	Switches to the virtual desktop on the right.
Windows Key+Ctrl+F4	Closes the current virtual desktop.

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Shortcuts: Microsoft Edge

Edge is Microsoft's new browser for Windows 10, designed as an alternative to the aging Internet Explorer. Set up as the default browser in Windows 10, Edge takes a more minimalist approach to Web browsing, jettisoning some of the menus and toolbars that clutter IE, leaving more real estate for viewing the actual Web page.

Like Internet Explorer, Edge comes complete with a long list of keyboard shortcuts that you can use to run its various features and navigate the Web.

  

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES...
Ctrl+D	Adds current site to Favorites or Reading list.
Ctrl+I	Opens Favorites pane.
Ctrl+J	Opens Downloads pane.
Ctrl+H	Opens History pane.
Ctrl+P	Prints the current page.
Ctrl+F	Finds specific text on your current page.
Ctrl+Shift+R	Enters reading view, which displays a Web page in a more user-friendly format for reading. (Pressing Ctrl+Shift+R again takes Edge out of reading view.)
F12	Opens Edge's Developer Tools to display a page's HTML and scripting code.
F7	Turns "caret browsing" on for the current tab. This displays a cursor on Web pages that you can use to select text with the keyboard.
Ctrl+Shift+Delete	Opens clear browsing data pane, so you can delete your browsing history, cookies, download history, and other data.
Ctrl+T	Opens a new tab.
Ctrl+Shift+T	Reopens the last closed tab.
Ctrl+F4	Closes the current tab.
Ctrl+K	Duplicates your current Web page in a new tab.
Ctrl+N	Opens a new window.
Ctrl+Shift+P	Opens a new InPrivate Browsing window.
Ctrl+Tab	Switches to the next tab.
Ctrl+Shift+Tab	Switches to the previous tab.
Ctrl+1, 2, 3, etc.	Switches to a specific tab number.
Ctrl+9	Switches to the last tab.
Ctrl+Plus Key (+)	Zooms in 25%.
Ctrl+Minus Key (-)	Zooms out 25%.
Ctrl+0	Resets zoom level back to normal view.
Backspace (or Alt+Left Arrow)	Goes back to the previous page.
Alt+Right Arrow	Goes forward to the previous page.
F5 (or Ctrl+R)	Refreshes the current page.
Esc	Stops the Edge browser from trying to load the page.
F4 (or Alt+D)	Selects the URL in the address bar.
Ctrl+Enter	Auto-adds "www." to the beginning and ".com" to the end of text typed in the address bar.
Ctrl+Click	Opens the current link in a new tab.
Ctrl+Shift+Click	Opens the current link in a new tab and switches to the tab.
Alt+Shift+Click	Opens the current link in a new window.

   

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Shortcuts: Windows 10's Command Prompt

You'd never think it given how slick Windows 10 looks, but the command prompt is alive and well in 10. As in previous versions of Windows, you open a command prompt window in Windows 10 so that you can type a system-level command. Though the command prompt isn't as popular as it was eons ago, it still comes in handy if you need to run certain techier commands that aren't directly accessible through Windows.
For example, running the command ipconfig at a command prompt displays your current Internet address, the address of your router, and more. Running the command ping followed by a Web site, such as ping www.yahoo.com, tells you how long it takes for you to get to Yahoo, useful if you're having trouble reaching the site.

Copying and pasting commands into a command prompt used to be a hassle, but no more. With Windows 10, you can now use the standard Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V shortcuts to copy and paste text back and forth.
To open a command prompt, simply right-click on the Start button and choose Command Prompt from the popup menu. Here's a set of keyboard shortcuts you can now use with it.

 

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES...
Ctrl+Shift+Home	Moves the cursor to the beginning of the command prompt's text output, selecting all text between the cursor and the beginning.
Ctrl+Shift+End	Moves the cursor to the end of the command prompt's text output, selecting all text between the cursor and the end.
Ctrl+Up	Moves one line up in the command prompt’s history.
Ctrl+Down	Moves one line down in the command prompt’s history.
Ctrl+M	Enter “mark mode," which allows you to select text.
Ctrl+F	Opens a Find dialog to search for specific text in the command prompt’s output.
Ctrl+C	Copy the selected line of text.
Ctrl+X	Cut the selected line of text.
Ctrl+V	Paste the selected line of text.
Alt+F4	Close the Command Prompt window.

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Shortcuts: Snapping Windows in Windows 10

The ability to "snap" windows already existed in Windows 7 and 8.1, but it's such a handy feature that we wanted to highlight it in its own section. You can snap your current window to a specific area of the screen, such as the left side or right side, taking up half the available screen space.

This is helpful if you have more than one window open and you want to snap one to the right and the other to the left, with both occupying an equal amount of space on your display without tedious resizing.

   

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES...
Windows Key+Left Arrow	Snaps the current window to the left side of the screen, or to its previous position if already snapped right.
Windows Key+Right Arrow	Snaps the current window to the right side of the screen, or to its previous position if already snapped left.
Windows Key+Up Arrow	Maximizes or snaps the current window to the top of the screen.
Windows Key+Down Arrow	Minimizes or snaps the current window to the bottom of the screen.

  

You can cycle through the different positions of a window using these shortcuts. For example, continually pressing Windows Key+Left Arrow snaps your current window from the right side to a restored position to the left side, while pressing Windows Key+Right Arrow snaps your current window from the left side to a restored position to the right side.

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Assorted Shortcuts in Windows 10

The following shortcuts work across Windows 10 as a whole, or with specific features, such as Cortana and File Explorer. So consider these a miscellaneous collection of helpful shortcuts.

The old reliable Alt+Tab cycles through open windows.

   

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES
Windows Key	Opens the Start menu or Start screen.
Alt+Tab	Switches from one open window to another. Press the Tab key again to flip between windows, and release the key to select a window.
Windows Key+L	Locks your PC, or switches accounts.
Windows Key+D	Hides or minimizes all open windows on the desktop.
Windows Key+A	Opens or closes the Windows 10 Action Center.
Windows Key+S	Opens the search tool.
Windows Key+C	Opens Cortana in listening mode.
Windows Key+E	Opens a File Explorer window.
Windows Key+H	Opens the Share screen.
Windows Key+I	Opens the Settings screen
Windows Key+R	Opens the Run command.
Windows Key+X	Opens the Start button's Quick Link menu.
Windows Key+K	Opens the Connect menu to search for wireless devices.
Windows Key+M	Minimizes all open windows.
Windows Key+P	Opens the presentation menu to switch the display to another device, such as a projector.
Windows Key+T	Cycles through apps on the Taskbar.
Windows Key+, (comma)	Peeks at the desktop.

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General Windows Keyboard Shortcuts: Oldies but Goodies

Some keyboard shortcuts have been around Windows for a long time, and Windows 10 carries on with their grand tradition. Many of these help you navigate or select text, so you'll find most of these to be handy in a text-based application or word processor, such as Notepad, WordPad, or Microsoft Word. But they're universal, so they should work in any Windows application.

Ctrl+Page Up highlights a screen's worth of text above your cursor.

  

THE SHORTCUT	WHAT IT DOES
Ctrl+A	Selects all text.
Ctrl+C	Copies selected text.
Ctrl+X	Cuts selected text.
Ctrl+V	Pastes selected text at the cursor.
Shift+Left	Selects the character to the left of the cursor. (Pressing Shift+Left continually adds the previous character on the line to the selection.)
Shift+Right	Selects the character to the right of the cursor. (Pressing Shift+Right continually adds the next character on the line to the selection.)
Shift+Up	Selects the entire line above the cursor. (Pressing Shift+Up continually adds the next line above to the selection.)
Shift+Down	Selects the entire line below the cursor. (Pressing Shift+Up continually adds the next line below to the selection.)
Ctrl+Shift+Left	Selects the entire word to the left. (Pressing Ctrl+Shift+Left continually selects the prior word to the selection.)
Ctrl+Shift+Right	Selects the entire word to the right. (Pressing Ctrl+Shift+right continually selects the next word to the selection.)
Shift+Home	Selects the entire line to the left of the cursor.
Shift+End	Selects the entire line to the right of the cursor.
Shift+Page Up	Selects all text on the current screen above the cursor.
Shift+Page Down	Selects all text on the current screen below the cursor.
Ctrl+Home	Moves to the beginning of your document or file.
Ctrl+End	Moves to the end of your document or file.
Ctrl+S	Saves changes to your document or file.
Ctrl+Z	Undoes your last action.
Ctrl+Y	Redoes your last action.
Alt+F4	Closes your current window or application.