Software & Apps Windows 501 501 people found this article helpful 16 Essential Windows Keyboard Shortcuts Using keyboard shortcuts help you use your laptop without a mouse by Melanie Pinola Writer Former Lifewire writer Melanie Pinola has 5+ years' experience writing about consumer-oriented technology and is an expert telecommuter. our editorial process Melanie Pinola Updated on September 29, 2019 The Ultimate Guide to Keyboard Shortcuts The Ultimate Guide to Keyboard Shortcuts Introduction Windows Timesavers The Best Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts Essential Keyboard Shortcuts for Better Productivity How to Use the Shortcut Alt + Underline Shortcut to Create New Folders Essential Shortcuts for iTunes Mac, iOS & iPad Quick Tricks The Best Mac Shortcuts Keyboard Shortcuts for Finder Mac Startup Keyboard Shortcuts 18 Shortcuts for Apple's iOS Shortcuts App iPad Keyboard Tips and Smart Keyboard Shortcuts Android & iPhone Shortcuts The Best Android Shortcuts You Should Be Using Create and Use iPhone X Shortcuts Email Shortcuts The 30 Best Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts for 2020 How to Use Yahoo Mail Keyboard Shortcuts The Complete Apple Mail Shortcut List Shortcuts in iOS Mail Delete Shortcut Keys for Popular Email Programs How to Use Outlook.com Keyboard Shortcuts Create Text Snippets With Shortcuts in Mac OS X Mail Online & Browser Shortcuts Top 36 Shortcuts for Edge and IE 11 Keyboard Shortcuts: Google Chrome for Windows Create Web Page Shortcuts in Chrome for Windows Control Safari Windows With Keyboard Shortcuts Shortcuts for Safari Toolbars Shortcuts for Safari on OS X & Sierra Excel Shortcuts The 23 Best Excel Shortcuts Shortcut Excel's Fill Down Command Shortcut the Current Date/Time Formatting Numbers Adding Worksheets Shortcut to Saving Your Work Creating a Chart MAX Function Shortcut More Office Shortcuts Top 10 Microsoft Word Shortcuts The 5 Best Hidden Word Shortcuts Add Shortcut Keys to AutoText Entries Uppercase Shortcut Key How to Reset Keyboard Shortcuts in Word Shortcut to Speed Up PowerPoint Presentations Other Useful Shortcuts The Best Google Docs Shortcuts 18 Shortcuts for Linux Mint 18 Cinnamon Changing Linux Mint Cinnamon Shortcuts Fedora GNOME Keyboard Shortcuts Maya Keyboard Shortcuts Create or Reassign Keyboard Shortcuts in MS Office Useful Keyboard Shortcuts for Photoshop CC Time-Saving Fill Tool Shortcuts in Photoshop The 5 Most Useful GIMP Keyboard Shortcuts How to Use the GIMP Keyboard Shortcut Editor Shortcuts to Type a Tilde Mark JGI / Jamie Grill / Getty Images Tweet Share Email Keyboard shortcuts greatly enhance your productivity and save you a whole lot of time. Instead of pointing and clicking with the touchpad or external mouse, you can keep your hands on the keyboard and simply press combinations of keys on to get things done. Besides making you more efficient, using keyboard shortcuts also can reduce wrist strain. Here are the best Windows shortcuts you should know or print for quick reference. Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7. Copy, Cut and Paste Use these basic key combinations when you want to duplicate (copy) or move (cut) a photo, snippet of text, web link, file, or anything else into another location or document by pasting it. These shortcuts work in Windows Explorer, Word, email, and pretty much everywhere else. CTRL+C: Copy the selected itemCTRL+X: Cut the selected itemCTRL+V: Paste the selected item Selecting Items Highlight an item so you can copy and paste it or do some other action CTRL+A: Select all items in a window, on the desktop, or all text in a documentShift+Any Arrow Key: Select text within a document (e.g., one letter at a time) or one item at a time in a windowCTRL+Shift+Any Arrow Key: Select a block of text (e.g., a whole word at a time) Find Text or Files Quickly search a document, web page, or Windows Explorer for a phrase or block of characters CTRL+F or F3: Opens a "find" dialog box Format Text Hit these combinations before typing to bold, italicize, or underline CTRL+B: Bold textCTRL+I: Italicize textCTRL+U: Underline text Create, Open, Save, and Print Basics for working with files. These shortcuts are the equivalent of going to the File menu and selecting: New..., Open..., Save..., or Print. CTRL+N: Create a new file or document or open a new browser windowCTRL+O: Open a file or documentCTRL+S: SaveCTRL+P: Print Work with Tabs and Windows CTRL+T: Open a new tab in your web browserCTRL+Shift+T: Reopen a tab you just closed (e.g., by accident)CTRL+H: View your browsing historyCTRL+W: Close a window Undo and Redo Made a mistake? Go back or forward in history. CTRL+Z: Undo an actionCTRL+Y: Redo an action Once you've got the basic keyboard shortcuts down, learn these to save even more time. Move the Cursors Quickly jump the cursor to the beginning or end of your word, paragraph, or document. CTRL+Right Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next wordCTRL+Left Arrow: Move the cursor back to the beginning of the previous wordCTRL+Down Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraphCTRL+Up Arrow: Move the cursor back to the beginning of the previous paragraphCTRL+Home: Go to the start of a documentCTRL+End: Go to the end of a document Move Windows One of the best features of Windows is the ability to snap a window to the left or right of the screen and fit half of the screen exactly, or quickly maximize the window to full screen. Hit the Windows button and arrows to activate. WIN+Right Arrow: Resize the window to half of the display and dock it to the right.WIN+Left Arrow: Resize the window to half of the display and dock it to the left.WIN+Up Arrow: Maximize the window to full screen.WIN+Down Arrow: Minimize the window or restore it if it is maximized.WIN+Shift+Right/Left Arrow: Move the window to an external monitor on the left or right. Function Keys Press one of these keys at the top of your keyboard to quickly perform an action F1: Open the Help page or windowF2: Rename an object (e.g., file in Windows Explorer)F3: FindF4: Shows the address bar in Windows ExplorerF5: Refreshes the pageF6: Moves to a different panel or screen element in a window or the desktop Take a Screenshot Useful for pasting an image of your desktop or a certain program and sending to tech support ALT+Print Screen: Capture a screenshot of a windowCTRL+Print Screen: Capture the entire screen/desktop Working With Windows Windows system shortcuts CTRL+ALT+Delete: Bring up the Windows Task ManagerALT+Tab: Show open applications so you can quickly jump to a different oneWIN+D: Show your desktopWIN+L: Lock your computerCTRL+Shift+N: Create a new folderShift+Delete: Delete an item immediately, without placing it in the recycle binALT+Enter or ALT+Double-click: Go to the properties screen for files or folders (much faster than right-clicking and selecting Properties)