Ken's Korner Newsletter Logo
March 2019
Shortcuts

How many of these helpful keystroke do you know?

Do you know any shortcuts?Do you know any shortcuts?
Many people are not aware that Windows has a great number of quick keystrokes to perform a variety of tasks with just a keystroke. These shortcuts are built in and ready to use. Using the keyboard shortcuts on your computer can save a lot of time and effort.

But how many of these helpful keystroke do you know? Here is a partial list of shortcuts for Windows 10. For a complete list of all the shortcuts available in Windows 10 go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keyboard-shortcuts.

 

General keyboard shortcuts:

Press this key

 To do this

F1

Display Help

Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert)

Copy the selected item

Ctrl + X

Cut the selected item

Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert)

Paste the selected item

Ctrl + Z

Undo an action

Ctrl + Y

Redo an action

Delete (or Ctrl + D)

Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin

Shift + Delete

Delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin first

F2

Rename the selected item

Ctrl + Right Arrow

Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word

Ctrl + Left Arrow

Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word

Ctrl + Down Arrow

Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph

Ctrl + Up Arrow

Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph

Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key

Select a block of text

Shift with any arrow key

Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document

Ctrl with any arrow key + Spacebar

Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop

Ctrl + A

Select all items in a document or window

F3

Search for a file or folder

Alt + Enter

Display properties for the selected item

Alt + F4

Close the active item, or exit the active program

Alt + Spacebar

Open the shortcut menu for the active window

Ctrl + F4

Close the active document (in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)

Alt + Tab

Switch between open items

Ctrl + Alt + Tab

Use the arrow keys to switch between open items

Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel

Change the size of icons on the desktop

Windows logo key + Tab

Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D

Ctrl+Windows logo key + Tab

Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D

Windows logo key + L

Lock your PC.

Alt + Esc

Cycle through items in the order in which they were opened

F6

Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop

F4

Display the address bar list in Windows Explorer

Shift + F10

Display the shortcut menu for the selected item

Ctrl + Esc

Open the Start menu

Alt + underlined letter

Display the corresponding menu

Alt + underlined letter

Perform the menu command (or other underlined command)

F10

Activate the menu bar in the active program

Right Arrow

Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu

Left Arrow

Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu

F5 (or Ctrl + R)

Refresh the active window

Alt + Up Arrow

View the folder one level up in Windows Explorer

Esc

Cancel the current task

Ctrl + Shift + Esc

Open Task Manager

Shift when you insert a CD

Prevent the CD from automatically playing

Left Alt + Shift

Switch the input language when multiple input languages are enabled

Ctrl+Shift

Switch the keyboard layout when multiple keyboard layouts are enabled

Right or Left Ctrl + Shift

Change the reading direction of text in right-to-left reading languages

For the people who like to do things themselves it is also possible to create your own custom shortcuts in Windows 10.

Method 1: Create a Desktop Shortcut

  1. Open a command prompt window. You can get there by typing "cmd" into the Cortana / Search box and then right clicking on Command Prompt and selecting "Run as administrator."
  2. Make sure you are in the root directory. Type “CD \” (without the quotes) and get the C:\> command prompt.
  3. Type "explorer shell:AppsFolder" (without quotes) at the command prompt and hit Enter. A window with a list of all your apps appears.
  4. Right click on an app and select Create shortcut. It may be easier to find your app if you change the view setting to "detailed list" so you can see all the icons in a single column.
  5. Click Yes when asked if you want the shortcut on the desktop. A new shortcut icon appears on your desktop. (NOTE: You can stop right here is all you wanted to do is create a clickable icon on your desktop.)
  6. Right click on the new shortcut icon and select Properties.
  7. Enter a key combination in the Shortcut key field. The combination must be CTRL + ALT + a letter/number.
  8. Click OK.
The Windows 10 logo.Make Windows do the work for you.

NOTE: Remember not to use the same key combination twice. Also note that some programs use CTRL + ALT + keyboard shortcuts that would also launch if you were in their windows. For example, in Photoshop Elements, CTRL + ALT + I will bring up the resize menu.

Method 2: Use the Start Menu

If you're creating a keyboard shortcut for a "desktop app," any application that installs via direct download rather than Windows Store alone, you can create the shortcut directly from the Start Menu. By using this method, you can avoid creating a separate shortcut icon on the desktop.

  1. Open the Start Menu.
  2. Navigate to the icon or tile for the app you want. If the app is not pinned as a tile, you can find it by clicking on the All apps and scrolling through the alphabetical list.
  3. Right click and select Open file location. A window opens with a shortcut icon. If Open file location doesn't appear on the menu, this is a modern or universal app and you'll have to follow method 1 above
  4. Right click on the shortcut icon and select Properties
  5. Enter a key combination in the “Shortcut key” box. (As in Method 1 it must be Ctrl + Alt + letter/number.)
  6. Click OK.

There are also shortcut keys built into UNIX and Apple operating systems. Here are some links for the people who are not Windows bound.

https://code.visualstudio.com/shortcuts/keyboard-shortcuts-linux.pdf

https://support.apple.com/guide/terminal/keyboard-shortcuts-trmlshtcts/mac

In Ubuntu UNIX just hold the Super key down to get the list of shortcuts. That's the Windows key to most people. (But in the world of UNIX they don't want to use the “W” word so they refer to it as the Super key, even though it has the Windows logo on it).

And remember always back it up!

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