Today I am going to tell you about the keyboard shortcuts in windows. In fact, if you know these keyboard shortcuts, we do not need any mouse.
Top keyboard shortcuts
The following table contains common keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1.
| Press this key | To do this |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) | Copy the selected item |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selected item |
| Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert) | Paste the selected item |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo an action |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open apps |
| Alt + F4 | Close the active item, or exit the active app |
| Windows logo key + L | Lock your PC or switch accounts |
| Windows logo key + D | Display and hide the desktop |
New keyboard shortcuts
The following table contains new keyboard shortcuts that you can use in Windows.
| Press this key | To do this |
|---|---|
| Windows logo key + start typing | Search your PC |
| Ctrl + plus (+) or Ctrl + minus (-) | Zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen |
| Ctrl + scroll wheel | Zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen |
| Windows logo key + C | Open the charms In an app, open the commands for the app |
| Windows logo key + F | Open the Search charm to search files |
| Windows logo key + H | Open the Share charm |
| Windows logo key + I | Open the Settings charm |
| Windows logo key + K | Open the Devices charm |
| Windows logo key + O | Lock the screen orientation (portrait or landscape) |
| Windows logo key + Q | Open the Search charm to search everywhere or within an open app (if the app supports app search) |
| Windows logo key + S | Open the Search charm to search Windows and the web |
| Windows logo key + W | Open the Search charm to search settings |
| Windows logo key + Z | Show the commands available in the app
Note
You can also see some settings and options by going to the Settings charm when the app is open.
|
| Windows logo key + spacebar | Switch input language and keyboard layout |
| Windows logo key + Ctrl + spacebar | Change to a previously selected input |
| Windows logo key + Tab | Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps) |
| Windows logo key + Ctrl + Tab | Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps) |
| Windows logo key + Shift + Tab | Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps) in reverse order |
| Windows logo key + Shift + period (.) | Snaps an app to the left |
| Windows logo key + period (.) | Cycle through open apps |
| Esc | Stop or exit the current task |
General keyboard shortcuts
The following table contains general keyboard shortcuts in Windows.
| Press this key | To do this |
|---|---|
| F1 | Display Help |
| F2 | Rename the selected item |
| F3 | Search for a file or folder |
| F4 | Display the address bar list in File Explorer |
| F5 | Refresh the active window |
| F6 | Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop |
| F10 | Activate the Menu bar in the active app |
| Alt + F4 | Close the active item, or exit the active app |
| Alt + Esc | Cycle through items in the order in which they were opened |
| Alt + underlined letter | Perform the command for that letter |
| Alt + Enter | Display properties for the selected item |
| Alt + Spacebar | Open the shortcut menu for the active window |
| Alt + Left arrow | Back |
| Alt + Right arrow | Forward |
| Alt + Page Up | Move up one screen |
| Alt + Page Down | Move down one screen |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open apps (except desktop apps) |
| Ctrl + F4 | Close the active document (in apps that are full-screen and allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously) |
| Ctrl + A | Select all items in a document or window |
| Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) | Copy the selected item |
| Ctrl + D (or Delete) | Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin |
| Ctrl + R (or F5) | Refresh the active window |
| Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert) | Paste the selected item |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selected item |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo an action |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo an action |
| Ctrl + plus (+) or Ctrl + minus (-) | Zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen |
| Ctrl + mouse scroll wheel | Change the size of desktop icons or zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen |
| 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 + Alt + Tab | Use the arrow keys to switch between all open apps |
| Ctrl + arrow key (to move to an item) + Spacebar | Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop |
| Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key | Select a block of text |
| Ctrl + Esc | Open Start |
| Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Open Task Manager |
| Ctrl + Shift | Switch the keyboard layout when multiple keyboard layouts are available |
| Ctrl + Spacebar | Turn the Chinese input method editor (IME) on or off |
| Shift + F10 | Display the shortcut menu for the selected item |
| Shift with any arrow key | Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document |
| Shift + Delete | Delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin first |
| Right arrow | Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu |
| Left arrow | Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu |
| Esc | Stop or leave the current task |
