Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet

Like earlier versions of Windows, Windows 10 also comes with loads of keyboard shortcuts for the users to use. Whether you’re in a File Explorer window, Command Prompt, or just on your desktop, there’s a keyboard shortcut for pretty much any function that you want to use.

Here we list some of the useful Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts that we think you should learn.

Shortcut Key	Function
General
Ctrl + X	Cut selected items
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + Insert	Copy selected items
Ctrl + V, Shift + Insert	Paste selected items
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Alt + Tab	Switch between running apps
Alt + F4	Quit the active app
Windows Key + L	Lock the PC
Windows Key + D	Display and hide the desktop
F2	Rename an item
F3	Focus on the search box in File Explorer
F4	Focus on the address bar in File Explorer
F5, Ctrl + R	Refresh the current window
F6	Cycle through screen items
F10	Focus on the Menu bar in the active app
Alt + F8	Reveal password on the sign-in screen
Alt + Esc	Cycle through items in the order they were opened
Alt + Underlined Letter	Access the command for that letter
Alt + Enter	Access properties for the active item
Alt + Spacebar	Access the shortcut menu for the current window
Alt + Left Arrow	Go to the previous item
Alt + Right Arrow	Go to the next item
Alt + Page Up	Go up one screen
Alt + Page Down	Go down one screen
Ctrl + F4	Close the active file in an app
Ctrl + A	Select all
Ctrl + D, Ctrl + Delete	Delete the selected item
Ctrl + Y	Redo
Ctrl + Right Arrow	Go to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl + Left Arrow	Go to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl + Down Arrow	Go to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl + Up Arrow	Go to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + Tab	Switch between running apps using arrow keys
Alt + Shift + Arrow Keys	Move the selected group or tile in Start menu in the selected direction
Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys	Move the selected tile and create a new folder
Ctrl + Arrow Keys	Change the Start menu size
Ctrl + Arrow Key + Spacebar	Select multiple individual items
Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Key	Select a block of text
Ctrl + Esc	Access the Start menu
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Access Task Manager
Ctrl + Shift	Switch the keyboard layout
Ctrl + Spacebar	Toggle the Chinese input method editor on/off
Shift + F10	View the shortcut menu for the selected item
Shift + Arrow Key	Select multiple items
Shift + Delete	Permanently delete the selected item
Right Arrow	Access the next menu
Left Arrow	Access the previous menu
Esc	Stop or quit the current task
PrtScn	Capture a screenshot and copy it to clipboard
Windows Key
Windows Key	Open or close the Start menu
Windows Key + A	Access Action center
Windows Key + B	Focus on the notification panel
Windows Key + C	Launch Cortana in listening mode
Windows Key + Shift + C	Access the charms menu
Windows Key + D	Display and hide the desktop
Windows Key + Alt + D	Hide/unhide the date and time on the desktop
Windows + E	Launch File Explorer
Windows Key + F	Launch Feedback Hub and capture a screenshot
Windows Key + G	Launch Game bar when a game is running
Windows Key + H	Begin dictation
Windows Key + I	Launch Settings
Windows Key + J	Focus on the Windows tip
Windows Key + K	Access the Connect quick action
Windows Key + L	Lock the PC or switch accounts
Windows Key + M	Minimize all open windows
Windows Key + O	Lock the device orientation
Windows Key + P	Select a presentation display mode
Windows Key + Ctrl + Q	Launch Quick Assist
Windows Key + R	Launch the Run box
Windows Key + S	Launch the search function
Windows + Shift + S	Capture a screenshot of part of your screen
Windows Key + T	Switch apps on the taskbar
Windows Key + U	Launch Ease of Access Center
Windows Key + V	Access the clipboard
Windows Key + Shift + V	Cycle through notifications
Windows Key + X	Access the Quick Link menu
Windows Key + Y	Switch between Windows Mixed Reality and your desktop
Windows Key + Z	View the available commands in an app in full-screen mode
Windows Key + . (dot)	Access the emoji panel
Windows Key + , (comma)	Peek at the desktop
Windows Key + Pause	View the System Properties box
Windows Key + Ctrl + F	Search for PCs on a network
Windows Key + Shift + M	Restore all minimized windows
Windows Key + Number	Open the specified number app on the taskbar
Windows Key + Shift + Number	Open a fresh instance of the specified number app on the taskbar
Windows Key + Ctrl + Number	Access the last active window of the specified number app on the taskbar
Windows Key + Alt + Number	Access the Jump List for the specified number app on the taskbar
Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + Number	Open a fresh instance of the specified number app on the taskbar as an admin
Windows Key + Tab	Access the Task view
Windows Key + Up Arrow	Maximize the current window
Windows Key + Down Arrow	Remove current app from the screen
Windows Key + Left Arrow	Maximize the app or desktop to the left of the screen
Windows Key + Right Arrow	Maximize the app or desktop to the right of the screen
Windows Key + Home	Minimize all windows except for the active desktop window
Windows Key + Shift + Up Arrow	Stretch the desktop to the top and bottom
Windows Key + Shift + Down Arrow	Restore/minimize windows vertically while keeping their width
Windows Key + Shift + Left Arrow or Right Arrow	Move an app/window to another monitor
Windows Key + Spacebar	Switch between input languages and keyboard layouts
Windows Key + Ctrl + Spacebar	Switch to the previously selected input
Windows Key + Ctrl + Enter	Enable Narrator
Windows Key + +	Launch Magnifier
Windows Key + /	Start IME reconversion
Windows Key + Ctrl + V	Launch shoulder taps
Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B	Wake Windows from blank or black screen
Command Prompt
Ctrl + C, Ctrl + Insert	Copy selected text
Ctrl + V, Shift + Insert	Paste selected text
Ctrl + M	Use Mark mode
Alt + Selection Key	Start selection in block mode
Arrow Keys	Move the cursor
Page Up	Go one page up
Page Down	Go one page down
Ctrl + Home	Go to the beginning of the buffer
Ctrl + End	Go to the end of the buffer
Ctrl + Up Arrow	Go one line up in the output history
Ctrl + Down Arrow	Go one line down in the output history
Ctrl + Home	Go to the top of the buffer if the command line is blank; otherwise delete all characters to the left of the cursor
Ctrl + End	Move the viewport to the command line if the command line is blank; otherwise delete all characters to the right of the cursor
Dialog Box
F4	Display active list items
Ctrl + Tab	Go forward through tabs
Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Go backward through tabs
Ctrl + Number	Move to the specified tab number
Tab	Go forward through options
Shift + Tab	Go backward through options
Alt + Underlined Letter	Perform the underlined letter action
Spacebar	Tick or untick the check box
Backspace	Go one folder up in Save As or Open dialog box
Arrow Keys	Select a button in a group of buttons
File Explorer
Alt + D	Access the address bar
Ctrl + E, Ctrl + F	Access the search box
Ctrl + N	Launch a new window
Ctrl + W	Quit the current window
Ctrl + Mouse Scroll Wheel	Change the folder/file icon size
Ctrl + Shift + E	Display all folders above the selected folder
Ctrl + Shift + N	Make a new folder
Num Lock + *	Expand subfolders for the selected folder
Num Lock + +	View the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock + –	Collapse the selected folder
Alt + P	View the preview panel
Alt + Enter	Open Properties for the selected item
Alt + Right Arrow	Access the next folder
Alt + Up Arrow	Access the parent folder
Alt + Left Arrow, Backspace	Access the previous folder
Right Arrow	View the current selection (if it’s collapsed), or select the first subfolder
Left Arrow	Collapse the current selection (if it’s expanded), or select the parent folder
End	Go to the bottom of the current window
Home	Go to the top of the current window
F11	Toggle maximize/minimize current window
Virtual Desktop
Windows Key + Tab	Access Task view
Windows Key + Ctrl + D	Add a virtual desktop
Windows Key + Ctrl + Right Arrow	Switch between virtual desktops on the right
Windows Key + Ctrl + Left Arrow	Switch between virtual desktops on the left
Windows Key + Ctrl + F4	Close the current virtual desktop
Taskbar
Shift + Click a Taskbar Button	Launch an app or launch another instance of an app
Ctrl + Shift + Click a Taskbar Button	Launch an app as an admin
Shift + Right Click a Taskbar Button	View the window menu for the app
Shift + Right Click a Grouped Taskbar Button	View the window menu for the group
Ctrl + Click a Grouped Taskbar Button	Go through the windows of the group
Settings
Windows Key + I	Launch Settings
Backspace	Access the Settings home page