Boost Your Productivity with 150+ Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts

Do you wish to boost your productivity and start doing more in less time? One of the tricks up the sleeves of power users is making use of the extensive list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 10.

The fact is that switching to the mouse, time and again, for doing small tasks disturbs your work state and hence degrades productivity. Moreover, pressing some keys when you’re already using the keyboard is faster than switching to the mouse and reaching back to the keyboard, especially when you can easily control Windown with only a keyboard.

In this post, we’re sharing a long list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows 10. The shortcuts are organized into categories and their links are provided for quick access.

1. General keyboard shortcuts
2. File Explorer keyboard shortcuts
3. Windows Key keyboard shortcuts
4. Command Prompt keyboard shortcuts
5. Dialog Box keyboard shortcuts
6. Taskbar keyboard shortcuts
7. Multi-tasking keyboard shortcuts

General Keyboard Shortcuts

Let’s start with the general keyboard shortcuts that you’ll readily use everyday.

Ctrl + X	Cut the selection
Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Ins	Copy the selection
Ctrl + V or Shift + Ins	Paste the selection
Ctrl + Z	Undo the last action
Alt + F4	Close or exit the active app
F2	Rename the selected item
F6	Cycle through the on-screen elements
F10	Activate the Menu bar in the current app
Alt + F8	Display your password on the login screen
Alt + Esc	Cycle through apps in their opening order
Alt + *Underlined letter	Perform the action for the underlined letter
Alt + Enter	Display the Properties for the selected item
Alt + Spacebar	Show the quick menu for the active window
Alt + ←	Navigate back
Alt + →	Navigate forward
Alt + Page Up	Scroll up one screen
Alt + Page Down	Scroll down one screen
Ctrl + F4	Close the active tab or document
Ctrl + A	Select all items or content in the window
Ctrl + D or Del	Delete the selected item into the Recycle Bin
Ctrl + R or F5	Refresh the active window
Ctrl + Y	Redo the last undo-ed action
Ctrl + →	Navigate the cursor to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl + ←	Navigate the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl + ↓	Navigate the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl + ↑	Navigate the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Arrow keys	Move a group or a tile in focus in either direction on the Start menu
Ctrl + Arrow keys + Spacebar	Select multiple items in a window or on the desktop
Ctrl + Shift + Any arrow key	Select a block of text
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Open Task Manager
Ctrl + Shift	Switch between the available keyboard layouts
Ctrl + Spacebar	Turn on/off the Chinese input method editor
Shift + F10	Display the context menu for the selected item
Shift + Any arrow key	Select text in the document or multiple items in a window or on the desktop
Shift + Del	Delete the selected item directly without first sending it to the Recycle Bin
→	Open the menu to the right or open a submenu
←	Open the menu to the left or close a submenu
Esc	Stop or abandon the current task

* Underlined letters will look something like the following image:

File Explorer keyboard shortcuts

Below are the keyboard shortcuts to master the File Explorer and traverse around the Windows filesystem quickly than ever.

Alt + D or F4	Select the address bar
Ctrl + E or Ctrl + F or F3	Select the search box
Ctrl + N	Open a new window
Ctrl + W	Close the current window
Ctrl + Mouse scroll	Change the size and appearance of icons
Ctrl + Shift + E	Display all sub-folders of the parent folder
Ctrl + Shift + N	Create a new folder
Num Lock + *	Display all subfolders of the selected folder
Num Lock + +	Display all contents of the selected folder
Num Lock + –	Collapse the selected folder
Alt + P	Display the preview panel
Alt + Enter	Open the Properties for the selected item
Alt + →	Go to the next folder
Alt + ↑	Go to the parent folder
Alt + ← or Backspace	Go to the previous folder
→	Expand the selected folder (if it’s collapsed) or select its sub folder
←	Collapse the selected folder (if it’s expanded) or select its parent folder
End	Scroll to the bottom of the current window
Home	Scroll to the top of the current window
F11	Maximize or minimize the current window

Windows Key keyboard shortcuts

Here are the keyboard shortcuts starting with the Win (Windows) key that help you open numerous tools and achieve various tasks by pressing a few keys.

Win or Ctrl + Esc	Open or close the Start menu
Win + A	Open the Action center
Win + B	Focus the notification area
Win + Shift + C	Open Cortana in listening mode
Win + D	Show or hide the desktop
Win + Alt + D	Show or hide the Calendar quick action
Win + E	Open the File Explorer
Win + F	Open the Feedback Hub
Win + G	Open the Game bar when playing a game
Win + H	Open the Share charm
Win + I	Open the Settings app
Win + J	Set focus to a Windows tip if available
Win + K	Open the Connect quick action
Win + L	Lock your PC or switch user accounts
Win + M	Minimize all visible windows
Win + O	Lock the device orientation
Win + P	Select a presentation display mode
Win + R	Launch the Run tool
Win + S	Open search (aka Cortana)
Win + T	Cycle through apps shown on the taskbar
Win + U	Open the Ease of Access Center
Win + V	Cycle through available notifications
Win + Shift + V	Cycle through available notifications in reverse order
Win + X	Open the Quick Links menu
Win + Z	Show the commands present in a full-screen mode app
Win + ,	Peek at the desktop temporarily
Win + Pause	Show the System Properties dialog box
Win + Ctrl + F	Search for computers on your network
Win + Shift + M	Restore or expand all minimized windows
Win + Number	Start or switch to the app pinned to the taskbar in the position equal to the number
Win + Shift + Number	Start the app (even if opened) pinned to the taskbar in the position equal to the number
Win + Ctrl + Number	Switch to the recent active window of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position equal to the number
Win + Alt + Number	Show the Jump List for the app pinned to the taskbar in the position equal to the number
Win + Ctrl + Shift + Number	Start a new instance of the app (as an administrator) located on the taskbar in the position equal to the number
Win + ↑	Maximize the active window
Win + ↓	Minimize the active window
Win + ←	Maximize or place the active window to the left side of the screen
Win + →	Maximize or place the active window to the right side of the screen
Win + Home	Minimize or restore all windows except the active application window
Win + Shift + ↑	Stretch the active window vertically on the screen while maintaining width
Win + Shift + ↓	Minimize or restore the active window vertically while maintaining the width
Win + Shift + ← or →	Move the current window from one monitor to another (if connected)
Win + Spacebar	Change input language plus keyboard layout
Win + Ctrl + Spacebar	Switch to the previously chosen/set input
Win + Enter	Open the Narrator
Win + /	Start IME re-conversion
Win + +	Zoom in using the Magnifier
Win + –	Zoom out using the Magnifier
Win + Esc	Exit the Magnifier

Command Prompt keyboard shortcuts

Find below the keyboard shortcuts for Command Prompt that help you increase your productivity while using the cmd tool in Windows.

Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert	Copy the selected text
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert	Paste the selected text
Ctrl + M	Enter the Mark mode
Alt + Selection key	Start selection in block mode
Arrow keys	Move the cursor in the specified direction
Page up	Scroll the cursor up by one page
Page down	Scroll the cursor down by one page
Ctrl + Home	Move the cursor to the start of the buffer (in Mark mode)
Ctrl + End	Move the cursor to the end of the buffer (in Mark mode)
Ctrl + ↑	Scroll one line up in the output history
Ctrl + ↓	Scroll one line down in the output history
Ctrl + Home	Move the command viewport to the top of the buffer (in History navigation) and delete all characters to the left of the cursor
Ctrl + End	Move the command viewport to the command line (in History navigation) and delete all characters to the right of the cursor

Dialog Box keyboard shortcuts

Below are some keyboard shortcuts useful for controlling and handling the dialog boxes using just the keyboard.

F4	Show the items in the active list
Ctrl + Tab	Switch the tabs in forward direction
Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Switch the tabs in backward direction
Ctrl + n (1-9)	Switch to the nth tab directly
Tab	Move forward through options
Shift + Tab	Move backward through options
Alt + *Underlined letter	Perform the command (or select the option) that is used with that letter
Spacebar	Click or select an active button, or select or clear an active check box
Backspace	Go to the parent folder if it’s selected in the Open or Save As dialog box
Arrow keys	Select or move to a button from the list of active buttons

Taskbar keyboard shortcuts

Here are some keyboard shortcuts for opening apps and performing other actions on the Taskbar quickly than ever.

Shift + Click a Taskbar button	Open a new instance of an app quickly
Ctrl + Shift + Click a Taskbar button	Open an app (as an administrator)
Shift + Right-click a taskbar button	Show the window quick menu for the app
Shift + Right-click a grouped taskbar button	Show the window quick menu for the app group
Ctrl + Rlick a grouped taskbar button	Cycle through the concurrent opened windows of the app group

Multi-tasking keyboard shortcuts

Below are some keyboard shortcuts to multi-task faster and gain productivity while using Windows 10.

Alt + Tab	Switch between open apps
Win + Tab	Open the Task View
Win + Ctrl + D	Add a virtual desktop
Win + Ctrl + ←	Switch to the virtual desktop on the left
Win + Ctrl + →	Switch to the virtual desktop on the right
Win + Ctrl + F4	Close the active or current virtual desktop

That was all about keyboard shortcuts for improving productivity and doing more in less time on Windows 10. Hope you find these helpful and don’t forget to practice them daily to become a power user.