Windows Shortcut Keys

Windows Key Shortcuts

Windows Key

Opens the Start Menu.

Windows Key + D

Minimizes all windows and applications.
Pressing this combination again will restore all windows and applications.

Windows Key + M

Minimizes open windows and applications only.
- Similar to Windows Key + D, but this will not minimize error messages that may be hidden by active windows.
Windows Key + Shift + M will restore minimized windows.

Windows Key + E

Opens a new Explorer window for file-browsing.

Windows Key + L

Locks your computer.
In earlier versions of Windows, this will log you off.

Windows Key + R

Opens the Run command.

Windows Key + Pause/Break

Opens the System Properties window.

Function Key Shortcuts

F1

Opens the Windows Help and Support Center.

F2

When selecting a file, this key will let you rename the file.

F3

Opens the Search window.

F5

Refreshes the contents of an explorer window or a webpage.

F11

Toggles between normal and full-screen viewing modes in Internet Explorer.

CTRL Key Shortcuts

CTRL

Hold down while dragging a file to copy the file.
Hold down while selecting files with the left mouse button to select multiple files.

CTRL + SHIFT

Hold down while dragging a file to create a shortcut to that file.

CTRL + ESC

Opens the Start Menu. Useful if your keyboard does not have a Windows key.

CTRL + TAB

Tabs between windows or documents within an application. Will also move between webpage tabs in Firefox or Internet Explorer 7.

CTRL + F4

Closes a window or document within an application without closing the application itself.

CTRL + F5

Force-refreshes a webpage. All images and external references will be refreshed.

CTRL + F - FIND

When used in an application such as Internet Explorer or MS Word, this will bring up the Find window, allowing you to search for a word or phrase within a document or webpage.

CTRL + H - REPLACE

Document-editing programs only. Opens the Find & Replace window, which allows you to search for words/phrases and immediately replace them with a new word/phrase you have chosen.

CTRL + P - PRINT

Opens the Print dialogue window.

CTRL + S - SAVE

Saves an open document/file.

CTRL + B, + U, + I - BOLD, UNDERLINE, or ITALIC

Adds bold, underline, or italic formatting respectively to highlighted text.

ALT Key Shortcuts

ALT + F4

Closes the active window or application.
If there are no open windows or applications, this combination brings up the Shut Down dialogue window.

ALT + TAB

Switches between open applications. Hold down ALT and press Tab to cycle through the list of applications and release to select the highlighted application.

ALT + SpaceBar

Opens an application's system menu. Can also use ALT + - (hyphen key).

ALT + SpaceBar + C

Like ALT + F4, this will close an application. However, it will not bring up the Shut Down dialogue.
Do not press all keys simultaneously. Hold ALT + SpaceBar, then press C.

ALT + double mouse-click

Displays properties of selected file.

TAB

Commonly, pressing TAB in an editing program will move the cursor forward five spaces, and is a tool for indentations. Some programs allow for configuration of specific tab markers where a cursor will move to when the key is pressed. This is used for more detailed formatting, particular of columns of text.
TAB is also used to cycle between user-input fields (like at a login prompt or online form), and when viewing a webpage, TAB will cycle between the active weblinks on the page.

SHIFT Key Shortcuts

SHIFT

Hold down while dragging a file to move the file.
Hold down while selecting two files with the left mouse button to select everything in-between those two files.

SHIFT + TAB

Cycles through user-input fields and weblinks in the reverse order.

SHIFT + DEL

Deletes a selected file immediately. The file is not sent to the Recycle Bin.