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New Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 10
Turning multiple mouse clicks into a simple press of
a key or two may not seem like a lot, but if you are an avid user of keyboard
shortcuts you've likely noticed just how helpful they can be. Although
memorizing which shortcuts do which functions can be a little daunting at
first, it's important to remember not everyone needs to know every shortcut.
Learning and using the ones that are most important to you is a great way to
enhance your Windows 10 experience.
Keyboard shortcut Action
Windows key
Open or close Start Menu.
Windows key + A
Open Action center.
Windows key + C
Open Cortana in listening mode.
Windows key + D
Display and hide the desktop.
Windows key + E Open File Explorer.
Windows key + G Open Game bar when a game is open.
Windows key + H Open the Share charm.
Windows key + I Open Settings.
Windows key + K
Open the Connect quick action.
Windows key + L
Lock your PC or switch accounts.
Windows key + M
Minimize all windows.
Windows key + R
Open Run dialog box.
Windows key + S
Open Search.
Windows key + U
Open Ease of Access Center.
Windows key + X
Open Quick Link menu.
Windows key + Number Open
the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Windows key + Left arrow key Snap app windows left.
Windows key + Right arrow key Snap app windows right.
Windows key + Up arrow key Maximize app windows.
Windows key + Down arrow key Minimize app windows.
Windows key + Comma Temporarily
peek at the desktop.
Windows key + Ctrl +D Add a virtual desktop.
Windows key + Ctrl + Left or Right arrow Switch
between virtual desktops.
Windows key + Ctrl + F4 Close current virtual desktop.
Windows key + Enter
Open Narrator.
Windows key + Home
Minimize all but the active desktop window (restores all windows on
second stroke).
Windows key + PrtScn
Capture a screenshot and save in Screenshots folder.
Windows key + Shift + Up arrow Stretch the desktop window to the top and
bottom of the screen.
Windows key + Tab
Open Task view.
Windows key + "+" key Zoom in using the
magnifier.
Windows key + "-" key Zoom out using the
magnifier.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc
Open Task Manager.
Alt + Tab Switch
between open apps.
Alt + Left arrow key
Go back.
Alt + Right arrow key Go foward.
Alt + Page Up
Move up one screen.
Alt + Page down
Move down one screen.
Ctrl + Alt +Tab
View open apps
Ctrl + C Copy
selected items to clipboard.
Ctrl + X Cut
selected items.
Ctrl + V Paste
content from clipboard.
Ctrl + A Select
all content.
Ctrl + Z Undo
an action.
Ctrl + Y Redo
an action.
Ctrl + D Delete
the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin.
Ctrl + Esc Open
the Start Menu.
Ctrl + Shift
Switch the keyboard layout.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc
Open Task Manager.
Ctrl + F4 Close
the active window.
A
new focus on the desktop brings new keyboard shortcuts for desktop users, so
rejoice! Here are all the new keyboard shortcuts you need to know in Windows
10.
From window management with Snap and Task View to
virtual desktops and the Command Prompt, there are lots of new goodies for
keyboard users in Windows 10.
Window Snapping
Windows 10 offers improved support for Snap — known
as “Aero Snap” on Windows 7. You can now snap windows vertically — one on top
of each other, instead of side-by-side — or snap windows to a 2×2 grid.
Windows Key + Left – Snap current window to the left
side of the screen.
Windows Key + Right – Snap current window the the
right side of the screen.
Windows Key + Up – Snap current window to the top of
the screen.
Windows Key + Down – Snap current window to the
bottom of the screen.
Combine these shortcuts to snap into a corner — for
example, Windows Key + Left and then Windows Key + Up would snap a window into
the top-left quadrant of the screen. The first two keyboard shortcuts aren’t
new, but the way they work with the 2×2 snapping feature is.
(You can also use the mouse — drag and drop a window
to the left or right edges of your screen, or drag and drop them into one of
the four corners to snap into quadrants.)
Task View / Window Management
The Task View is a new interface that combined an
Exposé-like window switching and virtual desktops — an awful lot like Mission
Control on Mac OS X. In addition to clicking the “Task View” button on the
taskbar to open it, you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
Windows Key + Tab – This opens the new Task View
interface, and it stays open — you can release the keys. Only windows from your
current virtual desktop will appear in the Task View list, and you can use the
virtual desktop switcher at the bottom of the screen to switch between virtual
desktops.
Alt + Tab – This isn’t a new keyboard shortcut, and
it works just like you’d expect it to. Pressing
Alt+Tab lets you switch between your open Windows.
Tap Tab again to flip between windows and release the keys to select a window.
Alt+Tab now uses the new Task View-style larger
thumbnails.
Unlike Windows Key + Tab, Alt + Tab lets you switch
between open windows on all virtual desktops.
Virtual Desktops
There are also some keyboard shortcuts for quickly
managing virtual desktops.
Windows Key + Ctrl + D – Create a new virtual
desktop and switch to it
Windows Key + Ctrl + F4 – Close the current virtual
desktop.
Windows Key + Ctrl + Left / Right – Switch to the
virtual desktop on the left or right.
Sadly, there’s not yet a key combination that will
move the current window between virtual desktops. How about Windows Key + Shift
+ Ctrl + Left / Right — please, Microsoft?
Command Prompt
The new Command Prompt keyboard shortcuts may not be
enabled by default, so be sure to open the Command Prompt’s properties window
and enable them first.
Copying and Pasting Text / Ctrl Key Shortcuts
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert – Pastes text at the
cursor.
Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert – Copies the selected text
to the clipboard.
Ctrl + A – Select all text in the current line if
the line contains text. If it’s an empty line, select all text in the Command Prompt.
Selecting Text / Shift Key Shortcuts: Many of the
standard Shift key shortcuts for text editing now finally work in the Command
Prompt! These include:
Shift + Left / Right / Up / Down – Moves the cursor
left a character, right a character, up a line, or down a line, selecting the
text along the way. Continue pressing arrow keys to select more text.
Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right – Moves the cursor one
word to the left or right, selecting that word along the way.
Shift + Home / End – Moves the cursor to the
beginning or end of the current line, selecting text along the way.
Shift + Page Up / Page Down – Moves the cursor up or
down a screen, selecting text.
Ctrl + Shift + Home / End – Moves the cursor to the
beginning or end of the “screen buffer,” selecting all text between the cursor
and the beginning or end of the Command Prompt’s output.
More Shortcuts
Ctrl + Up / Down – Moves one line up or down in the
Command Prompt’s history — it’s like using the scroll bar.
Ctrl + Page Up / Page Down – Moves one page up or
down in the Command Prompt’s history — it’s like scrolling even farther.
Ctrl + M – Enter “mark mode,” which helps for
selecting text. Previously, the only way to do this was by right-clicking in
the Command Prompt and selecting Mark. Thanks to the new Shift key shortcuts,
this mode is no longer as important.
Ctrl + F – Opens a Find dialog for searching the
Command Prompt’s output.
Alt + F4 – Closes the Command Prompt window.
Microsoft will hopefully add even more keyboard
shortcuts as they continue developing Windows 10. For now, the new keyboard
shortcuts are very useful — especially to Command Prompt users!
