Shortcut keys are individual keystrokes, or sequences of keystrokes, that will immediately invoke specific actions or command in both Windows itself and most applications that run under Windows. They’re called shortcuts because they save you the time and trouble of locating a particular command in a menu bar, toolbar or ribbon and manually invoking it with a mouse click. While shortcut keys have been in place literally for decades, users are often unaware of them.
Some of the most important shortcut keys are listed below. Being familiar with them will save you time and effort, and can often help you resolve problems more easily than you otherwise could. Keep in mind that individual applications may sometimes change the action or command that a particular shortcut key invokes, or even block its use in some or all contexts. If the application has a menu system, the corresponding shortcut key is usually indicated next to each menu item.
If you really want to get into the weeds on this topic, a complete list of all Windows shortcut keys (there are literally hundreds of them) is available at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec.
When two or more keys are shown separated by a dash, that means you must tap the last listed key while holding down the other one(s). For example, Alt-F4 mean tap the F4 key while holding down the Alt key, and Ctrl-Alt-Tab means tap the Tab key while holding down both the Ctrl and Alt keys.
| Keystroke | Meaning |
|---|---|
| RIght Arrow & Left Arrow | Move one character or cell to the right or left |
| Up Arrow & Down Arrow | Move one line or cell up or down |
| Home | Move to the beginning of the line or row |
| End | Move to the end of the line or row |
| Ctrl-Home | Move to the beginning of the document |
| Ctrl-End | Move to the end of the document |
| Ctrl-F | Open the Find dialog box |
| Ctrl-H | Open the Find and Replace dialog box |
| Ctrl-A | Select everything in the active window |
| Ctrl-X | Cut (move the selected data to the Windows clipboard) |
| Ctrl-C | Copy (copy the selected data to the Windows clipboard) |
| Ctrl-V | Paste (copy the contents of the Windows clipboard to the current location, replacing any other data that may be selected there) |
| Ctrl-Z | Undo the last editing or formatting action; this can be used repeatedly to undo multiple actions, and is especially handy for undoing deletions, extensive edits or other modifications that you change your mind about |
| Ctrl-Y | Redo the last editing or formatting action that was undone by Ctrl-Z; this can be used repeatedly to redo multiple actions |
| PrtScr | Take a snapshot of the entire screen and copy it to the Windows clipboard |
| Alt-PrtScr | Take a snapshot of the active window and copy it to the Windows clipboard |
| Alt-Esc | Switch to the next open application |
| Alt-Tab | Briefly show snapshots of all open applications and switch to the next application; if you continue to hold down the Alt key each additional press of the Tab key moves the highlight to the next application; when you release the Alt key you are switched to the currently highlighted application |
| Ctrl-Alt-Tab | Display snapshots of all open applications, with the active application highlighted; the display remains open and allows you to switch to another application (by either clicking it with the mouse or by selecting it with the right and left arrow keys and pressing the Enter key); pressing the Esc key closes the display |
| Alt-F4 | Close the active program and all of its child windows (if that program has unsaved work you may be prompted to save it, discard it or cancel the operation); if there is no active program, display the Windows shutdown dialog box |
| Ctrl-F4 | Close the active child window, but leave other child windows (and the application window) open; if the application does not support child windows (or there is only one child window open) the application window is closed |
| Windows-R | Display the Run dialog box, which allows you to run a program by entering its file name. |
| Ctrl-Alt-Delete | Display a special menu that allows you to lock the computer, switch users, sign out of Windows, change your password or display the Task Manager; the Task Manager lets you perform important maintenance operations, including viewing all running programs, shutting down individual programs, viewing and modifying the list of programs that are automatically started when you start Windows, and viewing performance data |