Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts – Keeping IT Simple

by TUCU Managed IT Services in Toronto

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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