It does not take more than a keyboard, mouse or a touchpad to navigate through any computer operating system. However, doing it efficiently by saving mouse clicks is another story. Knowing some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts can improve your productivity at work each day. Today, we're talking about Microsoft’s newest operating system – Windows 10 - and keyboard shortcuts.
Windows 10 does not only allow you to use the basic shortcuts that many of us have come to love but it has others to offer that will help us take advantage of Windows 10’s latest functionalities in a fast and simple way.
There are certain shortcuts that we will use more than others but it's a good idea to know them all for emergencies and equipment failures such as your mouse batteries dying or USB cable failing.
For your convenience, here is a great list of the best keyboard shortcuts available for Windows 10 arranged by categories. You can also download a PDF copy for reference.
Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts For Managing Active Windows
| Managing your active windows | |
| Windows Key + Left Arrow Key | Active window to the left of the screen |
| Windows Key + Right Arrow Key | Active window to the right of the screen |
| Windows Key + Up Arrow Key | Maximize active window |
| Windows Key + Down Arrow Key | Minimize active window |
| Windows Key + Comma | Temporary peek at the desktop |
| Windows Key + D | Minimize all active windows |
| Windows Key + Home | Minimize all but the active desktop window |
| Windows Key + E | Open File Explorer |
| Windows Key + T | Navigate through active windows on taskbar (Press Enter to open selected one) |
| Alt + Tab | Alternate between active windows |
| Alt + F4 | Close active window |
| Windows Key + Shift + (Right or Left Arrow) | Move active window to its respective monitor to either side of the main one (only if another monitor is connected) |
| Windows Key + L | Lock the PC or allows to switch accounts |
Cortana Keyboard Shortcuts
| Cortana and Windows 10 Settings | |
| Windows Key + C | Open Cortana in listening mode |
| Windows Key + S | Open Cortana in search mode |
| Windows Key + I | Open Windows Settings |
| Windows Key + A | Open Action Center |
| Windows Key + X | Open Quick Link Menu |
Windows 10 Document Shortcuts
| Managing Your Text Documents | |
| Ctrl + C | Copy selected text to the clipboard |
| Ctrl + V | Paste text from the clipboard |
| Ctrl + X | Cut selected text |
| Ctrl + A | Select all text |
| Ctrl + F | Search function to find words or whole phrases in the text |
| Shift + (Right, Left, Up or Down Arrow Key) | Select text depending on which direction you are going with the arrow keys |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow Key | Move cursor to the beginning of the word |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow Key | Move cursor to the end of the word and also select it |
Windows 10 Virtual Desktop Shortcuts
| Managing your Virtual Desktops | |
| Windows Key + Ctrl + D | Create new virtual desktop |
| Windows Key + Ctrl + (Right or Left Arrow) | Switch between virtual desktops |
| Windows Key + Ctrl + F4 | Close active virtual desktop |
| Windows + Tab | Open Task View, also allows to view virtual desktops at the bottom of the screen |
We hope you found this helpful!
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