What are Windows Keyboard Shortcuts – Why Should You Use Windows Keyboard Shortcuts? | Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts – Windows provides several keyboard shortcuts that can help you work faster on your Windows computer.

Along the top of the keyboard are the keys F1 through F10 or F12. Works without it. In fact, F stands for Function and is called a function key. Below is a list of functions for each key. Following the list are tricks you can use with function keys.

Most of the items in the list below apply only to Windows and programs within Windows, specifically Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.

Some programs have their own set of functions assigned to function keys. These are found in the program’s menu. Menu items that have function keys assigned have corresponding function keys named after the item name. Press that function key to perform that function without using menus or buttons. The program’s help or documentation should also list the functions assigned to the function keys. Try each of these as you read.

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts | Simple Shortcuts Of Computer

Windows Function Keys

F1 – Opens help for the currently displayed program (does not work for all programs).

Windows logo key and F1 key – Opens Windows Help.

F2 – Highlights the name of the selected object for renaming in Windows Explorer, Desktop and other Windows programs. First, you need to select an item that can be renamed (such as a file or shortcut). After pressing F2, you can enter what you want to rename the object.

F3 – Invokes Find in Windows Explorer.

F4 – Pulls down the address bar showing the previous location in Internet Explorer. This will allow you to scroll down and select one.

Alt and F4 – Close the currently displayed program.

F5 – Refreshes the view in Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer (that is, refreshes source and reloads content), and other programs. In MailWasher, check your mail (I think it’s kind of refreshing).

F6 – Move the cursor within the structure of the program. You can press it to move from one window to another, or from one place in the program to another. In Windows Explorer, this navigates from the left pane to the right pane and back to the original pane. This is similar to the functionality of the Tab key.

Alt and F6 – switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, if Notepad’s Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 will toggle the Find dialog box and The main window of the book switches).

F7 – Windows has no function. Can be used in individual programs.

F8 – Access Safe Mode when pressed at the right time while the computer is on. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that starts your computer with minimal drivers.

F9 – Windows has no function. Can be used in individual programs.

F10 – Toggles focus to and from menus. You can do the same by pressing the Alt key. When a menu item has focus, you can use the arrow keys to navigate to the item and the Enter key to select the item.

Shift and F10 keys – Brings up a pop-up menu similar to right-clicking an item in Windows Explorer.

F11 – Toggles between normal screen mode and full screen mode. Full screen mode is similar to maximized screen, but with more screen space and fewer toolbar controls.

F12 – does not work on Windows. Can be used in individual programs

You may have noticed that some function keys (F7, F9, F12) are not used in Windows. This does not mean they cannot be used. You can assign those or other key combinations to quickly launch frequently used programs. Here are the steps to do so:

1) Find the shortcut for that program. The Start menu is a good place to find shortcuts (all icons in the Start menu are shortcuts). If the program doesn’t have a shortcut, create one.

2) Right-click on the shortcut and select the Properties item from the popup menu.

3) The Properties dialog will open. Go to the Shortcuts tab.

4) Place your cursor in the Shortcut Key text box and press the function key or key combination you want to use to launch the program (for example, Alt+Ctrl+2).

5) The function key name or key combination name will appear in the box.

6) Click the Apply button (or OK button) to close the dialog.

When you do this, the program will launch each time you press that function key or key combination. Please note that if you use a function key or key combination that is already in use by Windows or another program, it will no longer work in Windows or the other program and the program will start instead. To disable it, follow the steps above, but press Backspace or Delete in the Shortcut key text box.

Function Keys Are There To Make Your Life Easier – Now You Can Start Using Them

Most people don’t even know these shortcuts exist. This article describes some of the most common and useful keyboard shortcuts on Windows systems.

The first set of shortcuts described is for working with text and files.

1) Text Selection Shift + Arrow To select a piece of text, place the cursor at the beginning or end of a line of text, hold down the “Shift” key and press the “Arrow” key in the direction of the text. pick it up.

2) Copy text Ctrl + C After selecting the text, press ‘Ctrl’ and ‘C’ to copy the text to memory (also known as ‘clipboard’). Windows itself can only store one thing at a time, but there are programs that can extend the number of “clips” it can store.

3) Paste text Ctrl + V Once the selected text is copied to the clipboard, you can “paste” it into another text field with a mouse click. Then hold “Ctrl” and press “V”. This is useful for copying a web address from a website or email into your browser’s address bar. This saves you from having to type it in manually, which can lead to errors.

4) Cut text Ctrl + X Like copy, this command also puts the text on the clipboard, but removes it from its original location.

5) Select All Ctrl + A This command selects all text on the displayed page.

This next set of shortcuts is for selecting a group of items in a list, such as a group of image files in a folder on your computer. Works like a text shortcut.

1) Select all files in a group Shift + left arrow Click the first file in the group to select. Hold “Shift” and press the “Arrow” key in the direction of the group you want to select. Alternatively, select the first file in the group with a left mouse click, then press “Shift” and click the last file. File. Left mouse click. This will select all files in between.

2) Select a group of individual files Ctrl + left click with the mouse on the first file you want to select, then hold down “Ctrl” and left click on each individual file you want to select.

3) Copy File Same as Ctrl + C text shortcut, copy selected file to clipboard.

4) Paste File Ctrl + V This is the same as the text shortcut and pastes the selected file where you last clicked the mouse.

5) Cut File Ctrl + X This is similar to the text shortcut, it removes the selected file to the clipboard and allows you to paste it elsewhere later.

6) Select All Ctrl + A This command selects all files where you last clicked the mouse.

This next set of shortcuts are meant to tell Windows to do different things.

1) Close active window or program Alt + F4 Close active item or quit active program.

2) Close Active Document Ctrl + F4 Closes the active document in programs that allow multiple documents to be open at once, such as MS Word and browsers.

3) Show Properties Alt + Enter Show the properties of the selected item.

4) Switch between open items Alt + Tab Switch between open items.

5) Cycle through items Alt + Esc Cycle through items in the order you opened them.

6) Show Start Menu Ctrl + Esc Show Start Menu.

7) Cancel Task Esc cancels the current task.

This next section is for use with the Windows key (the one with the Windows flag symbol).

1) Show Start Menu Windows key (key with Windows flag) brings up the Start menu. No change In Windows 8 this key now navigates from the desktop to the Metro start screen.

2) Show Desktop Window Key + D Show Desktop.

3) Minimize all windows key + M Open Minimize all windows.

4) Minimize window key + Shift + M Minimize window.

5) Open My Computer Window Key + E to open My Computer.

6) Search window key + F opens search for files or folders.

7) Help window key + F1 Open Windows help system.

8) Run window key + R opens the Windows Run dialog box.

There are many more, but I find these to be the most useful on a daily basis. Memorizing these keyboard shortcuts will go a long way in making the most of your Windows system’s potential.

Easy Time-Saving Shortcuts

This information is all over the internet, but it’s mostly overlooked, so I’ll repeat it here. If you’re curious, you already know many of these Windows shortcuts, also known as hotkeys. Still, many of the following keyboard shortcuts for Windows have been around for years, and I often run into people who don’t know many of them.

We encourage you to take the time to study and print these out. We guarantee that these will make your life easier. Many of them work almost everywhere. Word, web browsers, Windows Explorer online software, offline software, the list goes on. You may learn new shortcuts or remember forgotten shortcuts. I’ve listed below the ones I find most useful.

I’ll try to explain some where it seems unclear what they’re doing. The examples below may differ depending on your version of Windows, as they use shortcut keys from Windows 7. Some of them work on Apple computers, but the names of the keys may differ.

Windows Key Shortcut

F1 – Help function. It should work in context, so if you’re using Word, you’ll see Word help, and if you’re using a web browser, you’ll see Word help. A help dialog may appear, or a help page may appear in your web browser.

F5 – Refresh current window. Refreshes when the desktop has focus, and refreshes when the web browser has focus.

ALT+TAB – Switch between open programs. This will give you a list of thumbnails of running programs, which you can tab through as long as you hold down the ALT key. When released, the thumbnail of the highlighted window becomes the current program.

Simply press the Windows key to automatically bring up the Start menu. This is usually the same as clicking the Start Menu button in the lower left corner of the taskbar.

Windows Key + TAB – This does the same as ALT + TAB.

Windows Key + E – Starts a new Windows Explorer. Very convenient. This is the window you use to organize your files and folders.

Windows key + F – bring up the search dialog. This is similar to the search in the upper right corner of Windows Explorer windows. More useful on older versions of Windows.

Windows Key + L – This will lock your computer. If you have set a user password, you will have to enter the password again to access the computer. This is very useful if you work in a public place and need security, or if you want to prevent people from spying on you when you are away from your computer.

Windows Logo + R – A Run box will appear. This is the same as clicking Start and then Run (if enabled as a Start menu item).

Windows Key + M – Minimize all open windows to the taskbar.

SHIFT+Windows Key+M – Undo all minimizes.

ALT+DOUBLE CLICK / ALT+ENTER – Open the properties of the selected object. This is a context command, but it’s especially useful in Windows Explorer.

CTRL+SHIFT+ESC – Open Windows Task Manager. Not many people use Task Manager, but it’s often a very useful feature to right-click on the taskbar and select Launch Task Manager.

This Windows utility can be very helpful in troubleshooting your computer and fixing problems when programs hang, so we recommend checking out our article How to use Windows Task Manager.

ALT + underlined letter – In some programs, pressing the ALT key displays letters and numbers, as in the example below. In this example, pressing the “F” key will display a letter next to “File Menu” with more options. Some versions of Windows or software underline some letters for various options.

Edit – These are all context keys and will work in any program or online application that has an editable space, with a few exceptions.

SHIFT+ENTER – This is a very useful but perhaps lesser known key combination. Normally, if you want to skip a line, press the “Enter” key. Depending on where you are editing, pressing Enter will start a new paragraph, which may not be what you want. If you use the Shift + Enter combination, the cursor just moves to the next line without leaving the proper wide line break for the new paragraph.

The difference is this is dropdown, new paragraph or this:, this is dropdown, new line.

CTRL+LEFT/RIGHT ARROW – Move cursor to next or previous word.

SHIFT+LEFT/RIGHT ARROW – Highlight from right to left or left to right.

CTRL+A – Highlight all. Quite a reference function. If you are on a page of text, this shortcut will highlight all text on the page, including pictures and other things. You can If you’re using Windows Explorer, all files or folders in the directory will be highlighted and available for cut, copy, or delete.

Shift + Left Click – Selectively highlight from source point to destination point.

CTRL+LEFT CLICK – Selectively highlight text or files and folders and add the clicked item to the list.

Clipboard – When you use the Edit command to cut or copy text, images, files, etc., the last cut or copy is saved in an area managed by Windows, ready to be pasted elsewhere. Some versions of Windows let you manage your clipboard. For example, Windows XP can not only manage the clipboard, but also store multiple entries. Windows 7 only allows you to cut/copy the last item and you can’t see the clipboard without third party software. If you want to see or extend your clipboard, there are plenty of apps for that.

CTRL+C – Copy highlighted text, images, files, etc. to clipboard for reuse.

CTRL+X – Cut the highlighted text, image, file, etc. to the clipboard and reuse it.

CTRL+V – Pastes text, images, files, etc. from the clipboard into place.

CTRL+Z – Undo previous command.

CTRL+Y – Redo the command after undo (undo).

CTRL+B – Bold text.

CTRL+U – Underline text.

CTRL+I – Makes text italic.

Screen capture shortcut

Print Screen – Captures an image of the entire screen and puts it on the clipboard for reuse.

Alt+Print Screen – Captures an image of the current window and puts it on the clipboard for reuse.