100 Windows Shortcuts to Increase your Productivity

Ready to crank up your productivity with some Windows shortcuts? Yeah, you could keep clicking around like a caveman, but who wants to do that when you can zip through tasks like a wizard? Here are 100 Windows shortcuts that’ll make you the master of your PC, literally 😉

Essential Navigation

1. Win – Opens the Start Menu.
2. Win + D – Show/hide the desktop.
3. Alt + Tab – Switch between open apps.
4. Win + Tab – Open Task View.
5. Win + L – Lock your PC.
6. Win + E – Open File Explorer.
7. Win + X – Open the Quick Link menu.

Window Management

8. Win + Up Arrow – Maximize window.
9. Win + Down Arrow – Minimize window.
10. Win + Left Arrow – Snap window to the left.
11. Win + Right Arrow – Snap window to the right.
12. Win + Shift + Up Arrow – Stretch window to top and bottom of the screen.
13. Win + Shift + Left/Right Arrow – Move window to another monitor.

Virtual Desktops

14. Win + Ctrl + D – Create a new virtual desktop.
15. Win + Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow – Switch between virtual desktops.
16. Win + Ctrl + F4 – Close the current virtual desktop.

Taskbar Shortcuts

17. Win + 1, 2, 3, … – Open the app pinned to the taskbar in that position.
18. Shift + Click on a taskbar button – Open a new instance of the app.
19. Ctrl + Shift + Click on a taskbar button – Open the app as an administrator.

System Commands

20. Win + R – Open the Run dialog box.
21. Win + Pause – Open the System Properties.
22. Ctrl + Shift + Esc – Open Task Manager.
23. Alt + F4 – Close the active item or exit the active app.

Accessibility

24. Win + Plus (+) – Open Magnifier and zoom in.
25. Win + Minus (-) – Zoom out with Magnifier.
26. Win + Esc – Exit Magnifier.
27. Win + U – Open Ease of Access Center.
28. Win + Enter – Open Narrator.

File Management

29. Ctrl + C – Copy selected item.
30. Ctrl + X – Cut selected item.
31. Ctrl + V – Paste selected item.
32. Ctrl + Z – Undo an action.
33. Ctrl + Y – Redo an action.
34. Ctrl + A – Select all items in a document or window.
35. F2 – Rename selected item.
36. Ctrl + Shift + N – Create a new folder.
37. Alt + Enter – Open the Properties for the selected item.

Web Browsing (Microsoft Edge)

38. Ctrl + T – Open a new tab.
39. Ctrl + W – Close the current tab.
40. Ctrl + Shift + T – Reopen the last closed tab.
41. Ctrl + L – Focus the address bar.
42. Ctrl + Shift + Delete – Open the Clear browsing data options.
43. Ctrl + D – Add the current site to favorites.

Text Editing

44. Ctrl + Right Arrow – Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word.
45. Ctrl + Left Arrow – Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word.
46. Ctrl + Down Arrow – Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph.
47. Ctrl + Up Arrow – Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph.
48. Ctrl + Shift + Left/Right Arrow – Select a block of text one word at a time.
49. Ctrl + Home – Move to the beginning of the document.
50. Ctrl + End – Move to the end of the document.

Search and Cortana

51. Win + S – Open Search.
52. Win + Q – Open Cortana in listening mode.
53. Win + C – Open Cortana in listening mode (if enabled).

Display Settings

54. Win + P – Open the Project dialog box.
55. Win + Ctrl + Shift + B – Restart your graphics driver.
56. Win + Shift + P – Open presentation mode settings.

Emoji and Special Characters

57. Win + Period (.) – Open emoji panel.
58. Win + Semicolon (;) – Open emoji panel.

Clipboard

59. Win + V – Open clipboard history.

Windows Snap Assist

60. Win + Z – Open Snap layouts.
61. Win + Alt + Up Arrow – Snap window to the top half.
62. Win + Alt + Down Arrow – Snap window to the bottom half.

Game Bar

63. Win + G – Open Game Bar.
64. Win + Alt + R – Start/stop recording.
65. Win + Alt + PrtScn – Take a screenshot of your game.

Command Prompt

66. Ctrl + Shift + Plus (+) – Zoom in Command Prompt.
67. Ctrl + Shift + Minus (-) – Zoom out Command Prompt.
68. Ctrl + C – Copy selected text.
69. Ctrl + V – Paste text.

File Explorer Shortcuts

70. Alt + D – Select the address bar.
71. Ctrl + E – Select the search box.
72. Ctrl + F – Select the search box.
73. Ctrl + Shift + E – Display all folders above the selected folder.
74. Ctrl + Shift + W – Close the current window.

Miscellaneous

75. Win + I – Open Settings.
76. Win + K – Open the Connect pane.
77. Win + O – Lock device orientation.
78. Win + T – Cycle through apps on the taskbar.
79. Win + M – Minimize all windows.
80. Win + Shift + M – Restore minimized windows.
81. Win + B – Focus the notification area.
82. Win + V – Open the clipboard history.
83. Win + H – Open dictation feature.
84. Win + Period (.) – Open emoji panel.
85. Win + Spacebar – Switch keyboard layout.
86. Win + Ctrl + Enter – Open Narrator.
87. Win + PrtScn – Capture a screenshot and save it.
88. Alt + PrtScn – Capture a screenshot of the active window.
89. Win + Shift + S – Open Snip & Sketch to capture a screenshot.
90. Win + Shift + V – Cycle through notifications.
91. Win + Alt + D – Open date and time.
92. Ctrl + Shift + Esc – Open Task Manager.
93. Ctrl + Alt + Delete – Open security options.
94. Alt + Space – Open the shortcut menu for the active window.
95. Alt + Underlined letter – Perform the menu command (or other underlined command).
96. Ctrl + Alt + Tab – Use the arrow keys to switch between all open apps.
97. Ctrl + Arrow Keys – Resize the Start Menu.
98. Ctrl + Shift + Escape – Open Task Manager directly.
99. Shift + Delete – Delete the selected item permanently without moving it to the Recycle Bin.
100. Alt + Esc – Cycle through items in the order in which they were opened.

And there you have it! A hundred shortcuts to turn you into a Windows power user. Now, go forth and impress everyone with your lightning-fast navigation skills. Or at least save yourself from a few extra clicks here and there. Either way, you’re winning.