Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort as you work with Windows and other programs.
Most programs also provide accelerator keys that can make it easier to work with menus and other commands. Check the menus of programs for accelerator keys. If a letter is underlined in a menu, that usually means that pressing the Alt key in combination with the underlined key will have the same effect as clicking that menu item.
Pressing the Alt key in some programs, such as Paint and WordPad, shows commands that are labeled with additional keys that you can press to use them.
You can also create new keyboard shortcuts to open programs. For more information, see Create keyboard shortcuts to open programs.
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts that can help make your computer easier to use.
Right Shift for eight seconds
Turn Filter Keys on and off
Left Alt+Left Shift+PrtScn (or PrtScn)
Turn High Contrast on or off
Left Alt+Left Shift+Num Lock
Turn Mouse Keys on or off
Shift five times
Turn Sticky Keys on or off
Num Lock for five seconds
Turn Toggle Keys on or off
Open the Ease of Access Center
The following table contains general keyboard shortcuts.
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
Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D
Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D
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
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
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for use in dialog boxes.
Ctrl+Tab
Move forward through tabs
Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Move back through tabs
Tab
Move forward through options
Shift+Tab
Move back through options
Perform the command (or select the option) that goes with that letter
Enter
Replaces clicking the mouse for many selected commands
Spacebar
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Arrow keys
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
Display the items in the active list
Backspace
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box
Open or close the Start menu.
Display the System Properties dialog box.
Display the desktop.
Minimize all windows.
Restore minimized windows to the desktop.
Open Computer.
Search for a file or folder.
Search for computers (if you're on a network).
Lock your computer or switch users.
Open the Run dialog box.
Cycle through programs on the taskbar.
Start the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the program is already running, switch to that program.
Start a new instance of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Switch to the last active window of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Open the Jump List for the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Switch to the program that displayed a message in the notification area.
Preview the desktop.
Maximize the window.
Maximize the window to the left side of the screen.
Maximize the window to the right side of the screen.
Minimize the window.
Minimize all but the active window.
Stretch the window to the top and bottom of the screen.
Move a window from one monitor to another.
Choose a presentation display mode.
Cycle through gadgets.
Open Ease of Access Center.
Open Windows Mobility Center.
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Windows Explorer windows or folders.
Ctrl+N
Open a new window
Ctrl+W
Close the current window
Ctrl+Shift+N
Create a new folder
End
Display the bottom of the active window
Home
Display the top of the active window
F11
Maximize or minimize the active window
Ctrl+Period (.)
Rotate a picture clockwise
Ctrl+Comma (,)
Rotate a picture counter-clockwise
Num Lock+Asterisk (*) on numeric keypad
Display all subfolders under the selected folder
Num Lock+Plus Sign (+) on numeric keypad
Display the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock+Minus Sign (-) on numeric keypad
Collapse the selected folder
Collapse the current selection (if it's expanded), or select the parent folder
Open the Properties dialog box for the selected item
Alt+P
Display the preview pane
Alt+Left Arrow
View the previous folder
Display the current selection (if it's collapsed), or select the first subfolder
Alt+Right Arrow
View the next folder
View the parent folder
Ctrl+Shift+E
Display all folders above the selected folder
Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons
Alt+D
Select the address bar
Ctrl+E
Select the search box
Ctrl+F
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with items on the taskbar.
Shift+Click on a taskbar button
Open a program or quickly open another instance of a program
Ctrl+Shift+Click on a taskbar button
Open a program as an administrator
Shift+Right-click on a taskbar button
Show the window menu for the program
Shift+Right-click on a grouped taskbar button
Show the window menu for the group
Ctrl+Click on a grouped taskbar button
Cycle through the windows of the group
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Magnifier.
Zoom in or out
Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar
Preview the desktop in full-screen mode
Ctrl+Alt+F
Switch to full-screen mode
Ctrl+Alt+L
Switch to lens mode
Ctrl+Alt+D
Switch to docked mode
Ctrl+Alt+I
Invert colors
Ctrl+Alt+arrow keys
Pan in the direction of the arrow keys
Ctrl+Alt+R
Resize the lens
Exit Magnifier
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Remote Desktop Connection.
Alt+Page Up
Move between programs from left to right.
Alt+Page Down
Move between programs from right to left.
Alt+Insert
Cycle through programs in the order that they were started in.
Alt+Home
Display the Start menu.
Ctrl+Alt+Break
Switch between a window and full screen.
Ctrl+Alt+End
Display the Windows Security dialog box.
Alt+Delete
Display the system menu.
Ctrl+Alt+Minus Sign (-) on the numeric keypad
Place a copy of the active window, within the client, on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing Alt+PrtScn on a local computer).
Ctrl+Alt+Plus Sign (+) on the numeric keypad
Place a copy of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing PrtScn on a local computer).
Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow
“Tab” out of the Remote Desktop controls to a control in the host program (for example, a button or a text box). Useful when the Remote Desktop controls are embedded in another (host) program.
Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow
Ctrl+Alt+Break and Ctrl+Alt+End are available in all Remote Desktop sessions, even when you've set up the remote computer to recognize Windows keyboard shortcuts.
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Paint.
Create a new picture
Ctrl+O
Open an existing picture
Ctrl+S
Save changes to a picture
F12
Save the picture as a new file
Ctrl+P
Print a picture
Close a picture and its Paint window
Undo a change
Redo a change
Select the entire picture
Cut a selection
Ctrl+C
Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl+V
Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Move the selection or active shape right by one pixel
Move the selection or active shape left by one pixel
Down Arrow
Move the selection or active shape down by one pixel
Up Arrow
Move the selection or active shape up by one pixel
Cancel a selection
Delete
Delete a selection
Ctrl+B
Bold selected text
Ctrl++
Increase the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl+-
Decrease the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl+I
Italicize selected text
Ctrl+U
Underline selected text
Open the Properties dialog box
Open the Resize and Skew dialog box
Ctrl+Page Up
Zoom in
Ctrl+Page Down
Zoom out
View a picture in full-screen mode
Ctrl+R
Show or hide the ruler
Ctrl+G
Show or hide gridlines
F10 or Alt
Display keytips
Show the current shortcut menu
Open Paint Help
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with WordPad.
Create a new document
Open an existing document
Save changes to a document
Save the document as a new file
Print a document
Close WordPad
Select the entire document
Make selected text bold
Ctrl+=
Make selected text subscript
Ctrl+Shift+=
Make selected text superscript
Ctrl+L
Align text left
Align text center
Align text right
Ctrl+J
Justify text
Ctrl+1
Set single line spacing
Ctrl+2
Set double line spacing
Ctrl+5
Set line spacing to 1.5
Ctrl+Shift+>
Increase the font size
Ctrl+Shift+<
Decrease the font size
Ctrl+Shift+A
Change characters to all capitals
Ctrl+Shift+L
Change the bullet style
Ctrl+D
Insert a Microsoft Paint drawing
Find text in a document
Find the next instance of the text in the Find dialog box
Ctrl+H
Replace text in a document
Move the cursor one word to the left
Move the cursor one word to the right
Move the cursor to the line above
Move the cursor to the line below
Ctrl+Home
Move to the beginning of the document
Ctrl+End
Move to the end of the document
Move up one page
Move down one page
Ctrl+Delete
Delete the next word
Open WordPad Help
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Calculator.
Alt+1
Switch to Standard mode
Alt+2
Switch to Scientific mode
Alt+3
Switch to Programmer mode
Alt+4
Switch to Statistics mode
Open date calculations
Turn calculation history on or off
Open unit conversion
Alt+C
Calculate or solve date calculations and worksheets
Open Calculator Help
Ctrl+Q
Press the M- button
Press the M+ button
Ctrl+M
Press the MS button
Press the MR button
Press the MC button
%
Press the % button
F9
Press the +/– button
/
Press the / button
*
Press the * button
+
Press the + button
-
Press the – button
R
Press the 1/× button
@
Press the square root button
0-9
Press the number buttons (0-9)
=
Press the = button
.
Press the . (decimal point) button
Press the backspace button
Press the C button
Del
Press the CE button
Ctrl+Shift+D
Clear the calculation history
Edit the calculation history
Up Arrow key
Navigate up in the calculation history
Down Arrow key
Navigate down in the calculation history
Cancel editing the calculation history
Recalculate the calculation history after editing
Select Degrees in Scientific mode
Select Radians in Scientific mode
F5
Select Grads in Scientific mode
I
Press the Inv button in Scientific mode
D
Press the Mod button in Scientific mode
Press the sinh button in Scientific mode
Press the cosh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+T
Press the tanh button in Scientific mode
(
Press the ( button in Scientific mode
)
Press the ) button in Scientific mode
N
Press the ln button in Scientific mode
;
Press the Int button in Scientific mode
S
Press the sin button in Scientific mode
O
Press the cos button in Scientific mode
T
Press the tan button in Scientific mode
M
Press the dms button in Scientific mode
P
Press the pi button in Scientific mode
V
Press the F-E button in Scientific mode
X
Press the Exp button in Scientific mode
Q
Press the x^2 button in Scientific mode
Y
Press the x^y button in Scientific mode
#
Press the x^3 button in Scientific mode
L
Press the log button in Scientific mode
!
Press the n! button in Scientific mode
Press the y√x button in Scientific mode
Press the 3√x button in Scientific mode
Press the 10x button in Scientific mode
Select Hex in Programmer mode
Select Dec in Programmer mode
F7
Select Oct in Programmer mode
F8
Select Bin in Programmer mode
Select Qword in Programmer mode
Select Dword in Programmer mode
Select Word in Programmer mode
Select Byte in Programmer mode
K
Press the RoR button in Programmer mode
J
Press the RoL button in Programmer mode
<
Press the Lsh button in Programmer mode
>
Press the Rsh button in Programmer mode
Press the Mod button in Programmer mode
Press the ( button in Programmer mode
Press the ) button in Programmer mode
|
Press the Or button in Programmer mode
^
Press the Xor button in Programmer mode
~
Press the Not button in Programmer mode
&
Press the And button in Programmer mode
A-F
Press the A-F buttons in Programmer mode
Toggles the bit value in Programmer mode
A
Press the Average button in Statistics mode
Press the Average Sq button in Statistics mode
Press the Sum button in Statistics mode
Press the Sum Sq button in Statistics mode
Press the S.D. button in Statistics mode
Press the Inv S.D. button in Statistics mode
Press the CAD button in Statistics mode
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Windows Journal.
Start a new note
Open a recently used note
Save changes to a note
Ctrl+Shift+V
Move a note to a specific folder
Print a note
Close a note and its Journal window
Select all items on a page
Start a basic find
Go to a page
Refresh find results
Refresh the note list
Toggle between a note list and a note
Ctrl+Shift+C
Display a shortcut menu for column headings in a note list
View a note in full-screen mode
Open Journal Help
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with the Help viewer.
Display the Table of Contents
Alt+N
Display the Connection Settings menu
Display the Options menu
Move back to the previously viewed topic
Move forward to the next (previously viewed) topic
Alt+A
Display the customer support page
Display the Help and Support home page
Move to the beginning of a topic
Move to the end of a topic
Search the current topic
Print a topic
Move the cursor to the search box
Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer because you don't need to use the mouse as often.
Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (or PRTSCRN)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK
SHIFT five times
NUM LOCK for five seconds
CTRL+C
CTRL+X
CTRL+V
CTRL+Z
CTRL+Y
DELETE
SHIFT+DELETE
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
CTRL+LEFT ARROW
CTRL+DOWN ARROW
CTRL+UP ARROW
CTRL+SHIFT with an arrow key
SHIFT with any arrow key
CTRL with any arrow key+SPACEBAR
CTRL+A
ALT+ENTER
ALT+F4
ALT+SPACEBAR
CTRL+F4
ALT+TAB
CTRL+ALT+TAB
CTRL+Mouse scroll wheel
Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Windows Flip 3-D
Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Windows Flip 3-D
ALT+ESC
Display the Address bar list in Windows Explorer
SHIFT+F10
CTRL+ESC
ALT+underlined letter
RIGHT ARROW
LEFT ARROW
ALT+UP ARROW
ESC
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC
SHIFT when you insert a CD
CTRL+TAB
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
TAB
SHIFT+TAB
ENTER
SPACEBAR
BACKSPACE
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for use with Microsoft keyboards.
Open or close the Start menu
Display the System Properties dialog box
Display the desktop
Minimize all windows
Restore minimized windows to the desktop
Open Computer
Search for computers (if you are on a network)
Lock your computer or switch users
Open the Run dialog box
Cycle through programs on the taskbar
Bring all gadgets to the front and select Windows Sidebar
Cycle through Sidebar gadgets
Open Ease of Access Center
Open Windows Mobility Center
CTRL+N
END
HOME
NUM LOCK+ASTERISK (*) on numeric keypad
NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN (+) on numeric keypad
NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN (-) on numeric keypad
Collapse the current selection (if it is expanded), or select the parent folder
ALT+LEFT ARROW
Display the current selection (if it is collapsed), or select the first subfolder
ALT+RIGHT ARROW
ALT+D
Select the Address bar
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Windows Sidebar.
Bring all gadgets to the front and select Sidebar
Cycle through Sidebar controls
The following table contains keyboard shortcuts for working with Windows Photo Gallery.
CTRL+F
Open the Fix pane
CTRL+P
Print the selected picture
View the selected picture at a larger size
CTRL+I
Open or close the Details pane
CTRL+PERIOD (.)
Rotate the picture clockwise
CTRL+COMMA (,)
Rotate the picture counter-clockwise
CTRL+E
Search for an item
Go back
Go forward
PLUS SIGN (+)
Zoom in or resize the picture thumbnail
MINUS SIGN (-)
Zoom out or resize the picture thumbnail
Change the size of the picture thumbnail
CTRL+B
Best fit
Select the previous item
DOWN ARROW
Select the next item or row
UP ARROW
Previous item (Easel) or previous row (Thumbnail)
PAGE UP
Previous screen
PAGE DOWN
Next screen
Select the first item
Select the last item
Move the selected item to the Recycle Bin
Permanently delete the selected item
Collapse node
Expand node
Move back one frame
Pause the playback
Move forward one frame
Set the start trim point
Set the end trim point
Split a clip
Stop and rewind all the way back to the start trim point
Advance to the next frame
Go back to the previous frame
CTRL+K
Stop and rewind playback
Play from the current location
Move the start trim point
Move to the end trim point
Seek to nearest split point before the current location
Seek to nearest split point after the current location
ALT+C
ALT+N
ALT+A
ALT+HOME
Move the to beginning of a topic
Move to the Search box