Windows Shortcuts & Cheatsheet

Your ultimate guide to mastering Windows! 🪟 From essential shortcuts to command-line mastery, this covers everything you need to become a Windows power user.

Did you know? Windows 11 has over 200 keyboard shortcuts. Learning just 20 of them can save you hours every week and make you significantly more productive.

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🟢 Essential Shortcuts (Must-Know!)

These shortcuts work everywhere in Windows. Memorize these first — you'll use them hundreds of times a day. The Win key (⊞) is your gateway to Windows superpowers!

Shortcut	What It Does	Remember It As
Ctrl + C	Copy	C = Copy
Ctrl + V	Paste	V = Velcro (sticks it)
Ctrl + X	Cut	X = X it out
Ctrl + Z	Undo	Z = Zap mistake
Ctrl + Y	Redo	Y = Yes, do it again
Ctrl + A	Select All	A = All
Ctrl + S	Save	S = Save
Ctrl + F	Find	F = Find
Ctrl + P	Print	P = Print
Ctrl + N	New window/document	N = New
Ctrl + O	Open file	O = Open
Ctrl + W	Close current window/tab	W = Window close
Alt + F4	Close application	The ultimate "get me out"
F2	Rename selected item	Quick rename!
F5	Refresh	Reload the page
Delete	Delete (to Recycle Bin)
Shift + Delete	Permanent delete (skip Recycle Bin)	⚠️ No undo!

💡 Pro Tip: Ctrl + Shift + V pastes without formatting in most apps — super useful!

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🪟 Windows Key Magic

The Windows key is incredibly powerful! These shortcuts let you navigate, search, and control Windows without touching your mouse.

Quick Launch & Search

Shortcut	What It Does
Win	Open Start Menu
Win + S	Open Search
Win + Q	Open Search (same as Win + S)
Just start typing	Search from Start Menu
Win + R	Open Run dialog
Win + E	Open File Explorer
Win + I	Open Settings
Win + A	Open Action Center / Quick Settings
Win + X	Open Power User menu (right-click Start)

💡 Pro Tip: Press Win, type an app name, and hit Enter — fastest way to launch anything!

Common Run Commands (Win + R)

Command	Opens
cmd	Command Prompt
powershell	PowerShell
notepad	Notepad
calc	Calculator
mspaint	Paint
control	Control Panel
msconfig	System Configuration
devmgmt.msc	Device Manager
diskmgmt.msc	Disk Management
services.msc	Services
regedit	Registry Editor
taskmgr	Task Manager
appwiz.cpl	Programs and Features
ncpa.cpl	Network Connections
.	Current user folder
..	Users folder
%temp%	Temp folder
shell:startup	Startup programs folder

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🖥️ Window Management

Master window arrangement and you'll never feel cluttered again! Windows 11 introduced Snap Layouts which makes this even better.

Basic Window Control

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + ↑	Maximize window
Win + ↓	Restore/Minimize window
Win + ←	Snap window to left half
Win + →	Snap window to right half
Win + Shift + ↑	Stretch window to full height
Win + Shift + ←/→	Move window to other monitor
Win + Home	Minimize all except active window
Win + M	Minimize all windows
Win + Shift + M	Restore minimized windows
Win + D	Show Desktop (toggle)
Win + ,	Peek at Desktop (hold)

Snap Layouts (Windows 11)

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + Z	Open Snap Layouts
Hover over maximize button	Show Snap Layout options
Drag to screen edge	Snap to that half
Drag to corner	Snap to quarter

Virtual Desktops

Create separate workspaces for different tasks! Keep work and personal apps on different desktops.

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + Tab	Open Task View
Win + Ctrl + D	Create new virtual desktop
Win + Ctrl + ←/→	Switch between virtual desktops
Win + Ctrl + F4	Close current virtual desktop

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📁 File Explorer Shortcuts

Navigate your files like a pro! File Explorer is where you'll spend a lot of time — make it efficient.

Navigation

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + E	Open File Explorer
Alt + ↑	Go up one folder level
Alt + ←	Go back
Alt + →	Go forward
Alt + D or Ctrl + L	Select address bar
Ctrl + N	Open new window
Ctrl + W	Close current window
Ctrl + T	Open new tab (Win 11)
Ctrl + Tab	Switch tabs
F4	Open address bar dropdown
F11	Toggle full screen

File Operations

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + Shift + N	Create new folder
F2	Rename selected file
Ctrl + C then Ctrl + V	Copy file
Ctrl + X then Ctrl + V	Move file
Ctrl + D or Delete	Delete to Recycle Bin
Shift + Delete	Permanently delete
Ctrl + Z	Undo last action
Ctrl + Y	Redo
Alt + Enter	Open Properties
Ctrl + Shift + E	Expand folder tree

Selection

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + A	Select all
Ctrl + Click	Select multiple individual items
Shift + Click	Select range of items
Ctrl + Shift + Home	Select from current to first
Ctrl + Shift + End	Select from current to last

View Options

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + Shift + 1-8	Change view (icons, list, details, etc.)
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel	Zoom in/out (change icon size)
Ctrl + H	Show/hide hidden files
Alt + P	Show/hide preview pane
Alt + Shift + P	Show/hide details pane

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✏️ Text Editing & Navigation

Stop using the mouse to edit text! These shortcuts work in almost every text field and document.

Cursor Navigation

Shortcut	What It Does
Home	Jump to beginning of line
End	Jump to end of line
Ctrl + Home	Jump to beginning of document
Ctrl + End	Jump to end of document
Ctrl + ←	Jump one word left
Ctrl + →	Jump one word right
Page Up/Down	Scroll up/down one page

Text Selection (Add Shift to select)

Shortcut	What It Does
Shift + ←/→	Select character by character
Shift + ↑/↓	Select line by line
Ctrl + Shift + ←/→	Select word by word
Shift + Home	Select to beginning of line
Shift + End	Select to end of line
Ctrl + Shift + Home	Select to beginning of document
Ctrl + Shift + End	Select to end of document
Ctrl + A	Select all

Text Manipulation

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + Backspace	Delete word before cursor
Ctrl + Delete	Delete word after cursor
Ctrl + B	Bold
Ctrl + I	Italic
Ctrl + U	Underline
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase font size
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease font size

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🌐 Browser Shortcuts

These work in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and most browsers. Master these and browse 10x faster!

Tabs

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + T	New tab
Ctrl + W	Close tab
Ctrl + Shift + T	Reopen closed tab 🎉
Ctrl + Tab	Next tab
Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Previous tab
Ctrl + 1-8	Jump to tab 1-8
Ctrl + 9	Jump to last tab
Ctrl + N	New window
Ctrl + Shift + N	New incognito/private window

Navigation

Shortcut	What It Does
Alt + ←	Go back
Alt + →	Go forward
F5 or Ctrl + R	Reload page
Ctrl + Shift + R or Ctrl + F5	Hard reload (clear cache)
Ctrl + L or Alt + D or F6	Select address bar
Ctrl + Enter	Add www. and .com to text
Escape	Stop loading
Home	Scroll to top
End	Scroll to bottom
Space	Scroll down
Shift + Space	Scroll up

Actions

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + F	Find on page
Ctrl + G or F3	Find next
Ctrl + Shift + G	Find previous
Ctrl + D	Bookmark page
Ctrl + Shift + B	Toggle bookmarks bar
Ctrl + H	Open history
Ctrl + J	Open downloads
Ctrl + P	Print
Ctrl + S	Save page
Ctrl + U	View page source
Ctrl + +	Zoom in
Ctrl + -	Zoom out
Ctrl + 0	Reset zoom
F11	Toggle full screen
F12	Open Developer Tools

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⚙️ System Controls

Control Windows system features and settings quickly.

System Shortcuts

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + L	Lock PC
Win + P	Project/Display settings
Win + K	Connect to wireless devices
Win + I	Open Settings
Win + Pause	System Properties
Win + U	Accessibility settings
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Open Task Manager directly
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Security options screen
Win + . or Win + ;	Emoji picker 😀
Win + V	Clipboard history (enable first!)
Win + Shift + S	Screenshot snip tool
Print Screen	Screenshot to clipboard
Win + Print Screen	Screenshot saved to Pictures
Alt + Print Screen	Screenshot active window

Volume & Media

Shortcut	What It Does
Fn + F1-F3 (varies)	Volume mute/down/up
Media keys	Play/Pause, Next, Previous
Win + G	Open Xbox Game Bar

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📸 Screenshots & Recording

Capture anything on your screen!

Shortcut	What It Does
Print Screen	Copy entire screen to clipboard
Alt + Print Screen	Copy active window to clipboard
Win + Print Screen	Save screenshot to Pictures folder
Win + Shift + S	Open Snip & Sketch (select area)
Win + Alt + R	Start/stop screen recording (Game Bar)
Win + G	Open Game Bar (record, screenshot)

Snip & Sketch Modes (Win + Shift + S):

• Rectangular snip
• Freeform snip
• Window snip
• Full-screen snip

💡 Pro Tip: After snipping, click the notification to edit and annotate!

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💻 Command Prompt (CMD) Basics

The command line is powerful! Here are essential commands for navigating and managing files.

Navigation

Command	What It Does	Example
cd <folder>	Change directory	cd Documents
cd ..	Go up one level	cd ..
cd \	Go to root of drive	cd \
cd /d D:	Change to D: drive	cd /d D:
dir	List directory contents	dir
dir /a	List all including hidden	dir /a
cls	Clear screen	cls

File Operations

Command	What It Does	Example
mkdir <name>	Create folder	mkdir Projects
rmdir <name>	Remove empty folder	rmdir OldFolder
rmdir /s <name>	Remove folder and contents	rmdir /s OldProject
copy <src> <dest>	Copy file	copy file.txt backup.txt
xcopy <src> <dest> /s	Copy folder recursively	xcopy folder newfolder /s
move <src> <dest>	Move/rename file	move old.txt new.txt
del <file>	Delete file	del unwanted.txt
del /s /q <folder>	Delete all in folder quietly	del /s /q temp
ren <old> <new>	Rename file	ren old.txt new.txt
type <file>	Display file contents	type readme.txt
echo <text> > file	Write text to file	echo Hello > note.txt
echo <text> >> file	Append text to file	echo More >> note.txt

System Commands

Command	What It Does
systeminfo	Display system info
hostname	Show computer name
whoami	Show current user
tasklist	List running processes
taskkill /pid <PID>	Kill process by PID
taskkill /im <name>	Kill process by name
ipconfig	Show IP configuration
ipconfig /all	Detailed network info
ipconfig /flushdns	Clear DNS cache
ping <host>	Test connectivity
tracert <host>	Trace route to host
netstat -an	Show network connections
shutdown /s /t 0	Shutdown immediately
shutdown /r /t 0	Restart immediately
sfc /scannow	Scan and repair system files
chkdsk C: /f	Check disk for errors

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🔷 PowerShell Essentials

PowerShell is CMD on steroids! More powerful and modern, great for automation.

Basic Commands

Command	What It Does
Get-Location or pwd	Current directory
Set-Location or cd	Change directory
Get-ChildItem or ls or dir	List contents
New-Item -ItemType Directory	Create folder
New-Item -ItemType File	Create file
Copy-Item or cp	Copy
Move-Item or mv	Move
Remove-Item or rm	Delete
Get-Content or cat	Read file
Set-Content	Write to file
Add-Content	Append to file
Clear-Host or cls	Clear screen

Useful PowerShell Commands

Command	What It Does
Get-Process	List all processes
Stop-Process -Name <name>	Kill process
Get-Service	List services
Start-Service <name>	Start service
Stop-Service <name>	Stop service
Get-Command	List all commands
Get-Help <command>	Get help for command
Get-History	Command history
Invoke-WebRequest <url>	Download from URL

PowerShell Tips

# Find files by name
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter "*.txt"

# Find files containing text
Select-String -Path "*.log" -Pattern "error"

# Get file sizes
Get-ChildItem | Select-Object Name, Length

# Sort by size
Get-ChildItem | Sort-Object Length -Descending

# Export to CSV
Get-Process | Export-Csv processes.csv

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🔧 Task Manager Shortcuts

When apps freeze or you need to check system resources:

Shortcut	What It Does
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Open Task Manager directly
Ctrl + Alt + Delete	Security screen → Task Manager

Inside Task Manager

Tab	Shows
Processes	Running apps and background processes
Performance	CPU, Memory, Disk, Network graphs
App history	Resource usage by app
Startup	Apps that run at boot (disable slow ones!)
Users	Who's logged in
Details	Advanced process info
Services	Windows services

💡 Pro Tip: In Startup tab, disable apps you don't need at boot to speed up your PC!

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🎮 Gaming & Xbox

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + G	Open Xbox Game Bar
Win + Alt + R	Start/stop recording
Win + Alt + Print Screen	Screenshot in game
Win + Alt + G	Record last 30 seconds
Win + Alt + M	Toggle microphone in recording
Win + Alt + B	Toggle HDR

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♿ Accessibility Features

These features help everyone, not just those with disabilities!

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + U	Open Accessibility settings
Win + +	Turn on Magnifier (zoom in)
Win + -	Zoom out (Magnifier)
Win + Esc	Turn off Magnifier
Win + Enter	Open Narrator
Win + Ctrl + Enter	Toggle Narrator
Win + Ctrl + O	On-screen keyboard
Shift (5 times)	Toggle Sticky Keys
Num Lock (5 seconds)	Toggle Keys
Right Shift (8 seconds)	Filter Keys
Left Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen	High Contrast

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🎯 Productivity Tips

Clipboard History

Enable this game-changer:

1. Press Win + V
2. Click "Turn on" if prompted
3. Now you can access multiple copied items!

Shortcut	What It Does
Win + V	Open clipboard history
Ctrl + C (multiple times)	Build up history
Click item	Paste that item
Pin icon	Keep item permanently

Focus Assist (Do Not Disturb)

1. Win + A → Focus Assist
2. Choose: Off / Priority only / Alarms only
3. Customize in Settings > System > Focus assist

Quick Settings (Win + A)

Access these instantly:

• Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• Airplane mode
• Night light
• Focus assist
• Volume/Brightness

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🔑 Quick Reference Card

Must-Know Shortcuts

Win                 Start Menu
Win + E             File Explorer
Win + L             Lock PC
Win + D             Show Desktop
Win + Tab           Task View
Win + Shift + S     Screenshot
Ctrl + Shift + Esc  Task Manager
Alt + Tab           Switch apps
Alt + F4            Close app

File Operations

Ctrl + C            Copy
Ctrl + X            Cut
Ctrl + V            Paste
Ctrl + Z            Undo
Ctrl + Y            Redo
F2                  Rename
Delete              To Recycle Bin
Shift + Delete      Permanent delete

Window Management

Win + ↑             Maximize
Win + ↓             Minimize/Restore
Win + ←/→           Snap left/right
Win + Shift + ←/→   Move to other monitor
Win + M             Minimize all
Win + D             Show Desktop

Virtual Desktops

Win + Tab           Task View
Win + Ctrl + D      New desktop
Win + Ctrl + ←/→    Switch desktop
Win + Ctrl + F4     Close desktop

Command Prompt Quick Reference

cd folder           Go to folder
cd ..               Go up one level
dir                 List files
mkdir name          Create folder
copy src dest       Copy file
move src dest       Move file
del file            Delete file
cls                 Clear screen

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🎓 Learning Path

Week 1 - Essentials:

• Master Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z
• Use Win key to search and launch apps
• Learn basic window snapping
• Take screenshots with Win+Shift+S

Week 2 - File Management:

• Navigate File Explorer with shortcuts
• Use Ctrl+Shift+N for new folders
• Master selection shortcuts
• Enable and use Clipboard History

Week 3 - Power User:

• Create virtual desktops
• Learn Task Manager shortcuts
• Use Run dialog (Win+R) commands
• Master browser shortcuts

Week 4 - Advanced:

• Learn basic CMD commands
• Explore PowerShell
• Customize startup programs
• Set up productivity workflows

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Shortcuts are like compound interest — small investments today pay huge dividends over time. Start with a few, and keep adding more! ⌨️✨

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📚 Useful References & Links

Resource	Description
Windows Keyboard Shortcuts	Official Microsoft keyboard shortcuts list
Windows Terminal Docs	Modern terminal for Windows
PowerShell Documentation	Official PowerShell reference
CMD Commands A-Z	Comprehensive command prompt reference
Windows Sysinternals	Advanced system utilities from Microsoft
PowerToys	Free Microsoft utilities for power users
Windows Subsystem for Linux	Run Linux on Windows
Ninite	Install and update multiple apps at once
Chocolatey	Package manager for Windows (like Homebrew)
Winget	Windows built-in package manager

🪟 Microsoft Support Pages

• Windows 11 Tips — Official tips from Microsoft
• Snap Windows — Window arrangement guide
• Virtual Desktops — Multiple desktop setup
• Clipboard History — Use clipboard history feature
• Focus Assist — Manage notifications
• Accessibility in Windows — Accessibility features guide

🛠️ Recommended Tools

Tool	What It Does
PowerToys	FancyZones, PowerRename, Color Picker, and more
Windows Terminal	Modern terminal with tabs and customization
Everything	Instant file search (way faster than Windows Search)
7-Zip	Free file archiver for ZIP, RAR, 7z, etc.
ShareX	Advanced screenshot and screen recording tool
Ditto	Extended clipboard manager
AutoHotkey	Scripting for keyboard shortcuts and automation

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Last updated: February 2026