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For those that are running Windows 11:
https://beebom.com/windows-11-keyboard-shortcuts/
Windows 11 Shortcuts
150+ Most Useful Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
author-Kishalaya Kundu Kishalaya Kundu-
Last Updated: July 16, 2021 6:14 pm
Alongside the new features and refreshed UI, Windows 11 has also brought several new keyboard shortcuts that can greatly help improve the efficiency of your workflow. We will learn about all the new keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft’s latest OS and discuss the existing ones. While some of the keyboard shortcuts in this article are familiar to long-term Windows users, others may not be as widely known to some. With that said, here are the most useful keyboard shortcuts you should use in Windows 11.
Best Keyboard Shortcuts to Use in Windows 11 (July 2021)
We will start with the new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 and then navigate our way through the existing ones. The list includes some keyboard shortcuts
introduced in Windows 10, while most others have been around for ages. Irrespective of whether they are new or old, the one common thread between all these
keyboard shortcuts is that they will improve your workflow in Windows 11. So let’s get started right away.
Table Of Contents
Note: The following keyboard shortcuts have all been tested on Windows 11. If you are still using Windows 10, you should check out our article on the
best Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts
you can use. On the other hand, if you are a Linux user, learn about the
12 must-use keyboard shortcuts in Ubuntu.
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New Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
There are multiple new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 that weren’t present in earlier versions of the OS. We will list all of them below, along with
their functions. Just so you know, the “Win” or “Win” key in this article refers to the Windows key on your keyboard.
1. Open Action Center – Win + A Shortcut
Technically, the Win + A shortcut is also available in Windows 10, but it works slightly differently in Windows 11. In Windows 10, this keyboard shortcut
opens up the Control Center and the Notification Panel. But in Windows 11, it launches just the Action Center with the Quick Settings panel. That’s the
case because Microsoft has separated Action Center and Notifications Panel in its latest desktop OS.
Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
2. Open Notifications Panel – Win + N Shortcut
The Win + N keyboard shortcut is a new addition to Windows 11. It opens up the Notification Panel, which is now tucked away under the clock icon in the
System tray. Using this keyboard shortcut will show all your unread notifications.
Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
3. Open Widgets Panel – Win + W Shortcut
Windows 11 comes with a dedicated widgets panel, giving you access to the weather, news, and your calendar at a glance. While the Widgets panel has a dedicated
button on the
taskbar in Windows 11,
you can also access it using the Win key + W keyboard shortcut.
150+ Most Useful Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
4. Quick Access to Snap Layout – Win + Z Shortcut
Snap Layouts in Windows 11 is a new feature that improves upon the Snap window management in Windows 10. It shows a pop-up that displays possible Snap
window layouts when you hover over the “Maximize” button on any active window. Microsoft is calling this “Snap Assist”, and you can also access this feature
with the dedicated Win + Z keyboard shortcut.
150+ Most Useful Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts You Should Know
Existing Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts
We are dividing the list of existing keyboard shortcuts into 11 segments to help you better remember and access them. There are dozens of keyboard shortcuts
available in Windows under the following categories:
list of 10 items
• general keyboard shortcuts
• screenshot shortcuts
• browser shortcuts
• dialog box shortcuts
• accessibility shortcuts
• Command Prompt shortcuts
• File Explorer shortcuts
• Taskbar shortcuts
• Game Bar shortcuts
• desktop and virtual desktop shortcuts, and more.
list end
General Shortcuts
Following are the must-know Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts that everyone should be using for an efficient workflow and enhanced productivity. They work
with most apps, under most conditions, and in all recent versions of Windows.
Note: Some of the shortcuts in this article have been listed under multiple headers if they work with different apps under different scenarios. In some
cases, they work slightly differently based on the scope of the app or app category.
list of 36 items
1. Alt + F4: Close active window. When you are on the desktop with no active window selected, this shortcut opens the shutdown dialog box with options
to restart, sleep, hibernate, log out, or shut down your PC.
2. Win + L: Lock your computer
3. Win + D: Minimizes all open windows and takes you. to the Desktop
4. Alt + Tab: Switch between the running applications (Task Switcher)
5. Win + Tab: Open Task View
6. Ctrl + Z: Undo an action
7. Ctrl + Y: Redo an action
8. Ctrl + Delete: Move selected item to Recycle Bin:
9. Shift + Delete: Delete the selected item permanently
10. Win + X: Open Start Button context menu
11. Esc: Stop or close the current task
12. F11: Enter/ Exit full-screen mode
13. F2: Rename selected item
14. F5: Refresh the active window. This shortcut also refreshes the Windows desktop when no active window is selected.
15. F10: Open the Menu bar in the current app
16. Win + I: Open Windows 11 Settings
17. Win + R: Open Run command
18. Alt + Page Up: Move up one screen
19. Alt + Page Down: Move down one screen
20. Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Keyboard shortcut to open Task Manager in Windows 11
21. Win + S or Win + Q: Open Windows Search
22. Ctrl + P: Print the current page
23. Shift + Arrow keys: Select more than one item
24. Ctrl + S: Save the current file (works on apps like Office 365, Notepad, Paint, etc.)
25. Ctrl + Shift + S: Save As
26. Ctrl + O: Open a file in the current app
27. Alt + Esc: Cycle through the apps on the taskbar
28. Alt + F8: Display your password on the login screen
29. Alt + Spacebar: Open the shortcut menu for the current window
30. Alt + Enter: Open properties for the selected item
31. Alt + F10: Open the context menu (right-click menu) for the selected item
32. Ctrl + N: Open a new program window of the current app
33. Backspace: Go back to the Settings home page (while on any Windows Settings page)
34. Win + period (.) or Win + semicolon (;): Windows 11 keyboard shortcut to access the Emoji keyboard
35. Win + P: Project a screen
36. Win + H: Launch Voice Typing
list end
Screenshot Shortcuts
You can learn more about
how to take screenshots in Windows 11
as well as
how to take scrolling screenshots
from our dedicated articles on the subject, but here are some of the common native screenshot keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11:
list of 3 items
1. PrtScn/ Print Screen: Take a screenshot of the entire desktop
2. Alt + PrtScn: Take a screenshot of the Active Window
3. Win + Shift + S: Capture any part of the screen with Snip & Sketch
list end
Dialog Box and Text Editor Shortcuts
Most of the following keyboard shortcuts work with all the dialog boxes and text fields, whether on the web or your PC. That includes website forms, CMS
softwares such as WordPress, as well as Notepad, WordPad, MS Word, etc. However, some of these are exclusive only to Rich Text Editors and won’t work on
apps like Notepad.
list of 9 items
1. Ctrl + A: Select all content
2. Ctrl + C: Copy the selected items
3. Ctrl + X: Cut the selected items
4. Ctrl + V: Paste the clipboard items
5. Ctrl + B: Bolden selected text (Rich Text Editors only)
6. Ctrl + I: Italicize selected text (Rich Text Editors only)
7. Ctrl + U: Underline selected text (Rich Text Editors only)
8. Home: Move the cursor to the start of the current line
9. End: Move the cursor to the end of the current line
list end
Browser Shortcuts
The following shortcuts work on all
major Windows browsers,
including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. You can easily
change your default browser in Windows 11
without worrying about the compatibility of these keyboard shortcuts. In general, these are among the keyboard shortcuts that I use the most.
list of 10 items
1. Alt + Left Arrow: Move back one page (back arrow)
2. Alt + Right Arrow: Move forward one page
3. Ctrl + Numbers (1-9): Move Between Tabs
4. Ctrl + Tab: Move to the tab on the right
5. Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Move to the tab on the left
6. Ctrl + F: Open on-page Search (works on text editors, word processors, Command Prompt, etc.)
7. Shift + Home: Move the cursor to the start of the current line and select text
8. Shift + End: Move the cursor to the end of the current line and select text
9. Shift + Right/ Left Arrow keys: Select/ highlight one character at a time
10. Shift + Up/ Down Arrow Keys: Select/ highlight one line at a time
list end
All the dialog box shortcuts mentioned above also work with browsers, as do many of the general ones, like Alt+F4 to close windows, etc. The tab shortcuts,
meanwhile, also work on other tabbed apps, like Windows Terminal.
Desktop and Virtual Desktop Shortcuts
list of 1 items
list of 19 items nesting level 1
1. Windows key: Open Start Menu
2. Ctrl + Shift: Switch the keyboard layout
3. Alt + Tab: View all open apps
4. Ctrl + Arrow keys + Spacebar: Select more than one item on the desktop
5. Win + M: Minimize all open windows
6. Win + Shift + M: Maximize all minimized windows
7. Win + Home: Minimize or maximize all but the active window
8. Win + Left Arrow Key: Snap the current app or window to the Left
9. Win + Right Arrow Key: Snap the current app or window to the Right
10. Win + Shift + Up arrow key: Stretch the active window to the top and bottom of the screen
11. Win + Shift + down arrow key: Restore or minimize active desktop windows vertically, maintaining width
12. Win + Tab: Open Desktop view
13. Win + Ctrl + D: Add a new virtual desktop
14. Win + Ctrl + F4: Close the active virtual desktop
15. Win + Ctrl + Right Arrow: Switch to the virtual desktops on the Right
16. Win + Ctrl + Left Arrow: Switch to the virtual desktops on the Left
17. Ctrl + Shift: Create a shortcut (while dragging file or folder icon)
18. Win + Comma (,): Windows Peek (Take a peek at the desktop)
19. Win + Ctrl + Shift + B: Keyboard shortcut to restart your graphics driver instantly in Windows 11
list end nesting level 1
list end
Command Prompt Shortcuts
The Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell, and Terminal support the standard text editing shortcuts to copy, paste, and edit commands. Additionally, they
also support the following dedicated keyboard shortcuts:
list of 19 items
1. Ctrl + Home: Scroll to the top of the Command Prompt window
2. Ctrl + End: Scroll to the bottom of the Command Prompt window
3. Ctrl + A: Select everything on the current line
4. Page Up: Move the cursor up a page
5. Page Down: Move the cursor down a page
6. Ctrl + M: Enter “Mark” mode
7. Ctrl + Home: Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer in Mark mode
8. Ctrl + End: Move the cursor to the end of the buffer in Mark mode
9. Up/ Down Arrow keys: Cycle through command history of active session
10. Left/ Right arrow keys: Move cursor left or right in the current command line
11. Shift + Home: Move the cursor to the start of the current line
12. Shift + End: Move the cursor to the end of the current line
13. Shift + Page Up: Move the cursor up one screen and select text
14. Shift + Page Down: Move the cursor down one screen and select text
15. Ctrl + Up arrow: Move the screen up one line
16. Ctrl + Down arrow: Move the screen down one line
17. Shift + Up arrow: Move cursor up one line and select the text
18. Shift + Down arrow: Move cursor down one line and select the text
19. Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys: Move the cursor one word at a time
list end
File Explorer Shortcuts
The File Explorer comes with its own set of keyboard shortcuts that make navigating the Windows file system a breeze. Here are the nearly two dozen shortcuts
that work with the Windows File Explorer:
list of 20 items
1. Win + E: Open the File Explorer
2. Ctrl + E or Ctrl +F: Select Search in File Explorer
3. Ctrl + N: Open the current page in a new window
4. Ctrl + W: Close active window
5. Ctrl + Mouse Scroll: Change the file and folder view (switch between small icons, large icons, list, detailed view, etc.)
6. Ctrl + Shift + Number (1-8): Changes folder view
7. F6: Switch between left and right panes
8. Ctrl + Shift + N: Create a new folder
9. Ctrl + Shift + E: Expand all subfolders in the navigation pane on the left
10. Alt + D: Select address bar of the File Explorer
11. Alt + P: Display the preview panel
12. Alt + Enter: Open the Properties settings for the selected item
13. Alt + Right arrow: Go to the next folder
14. Alt + Left arrow (or Backspace): Go to the previous folder
15. Alt + Up arrow: Go to the parent folder for the current file/folder
16. F4: Switch focus to address bar
17. Right Arrow: Expand the current folder tree in the left pane. This shortcut selects the first subfolder within a parent folder if the latter is already
expanded.
18. Left Arrow: Collapse the current folder tree. This shortcut selects the parent folder if it’s already collapsed.
19. Home: Move to the top of the active window
20. End: Move to the bottom of the active window
list end
Taskbar Shortcuts
The following shortcuts help you easily launch apps in specific ways or under specific conditions using the Windows taskbar icons:
list of 11 items
1. Ctrl + Shift + Left-click on app icon: Open an app as administrator from the Taskbar
2. Win + Ctrl + Shift + Number key (0-9): Open a second instance of an app with administrator privileges.
3. Win + Number key: Open apps from their pinned taskbar icons. that means Win + 1 will open the first app whose icon is pinned on the Taskbar, while Win
+ 2 will open the second app, etc., depending on their position on the Taskbar.
4. Win + T: Cycle through apps in the taskbar
5. Win + Alt + D: View Date and Time from the taskbar
6. Shift + Left Click app icon: Open another instance of an app from the taskbar
7. Shift + Right-click grouped app icon: Show the window menu for the group apps from the taskbar
8. Win + B: Highlight the Overflow key (upwards arrow) in the Notification Area (Once highlighted, you can press Enter and then use arrow keys to toggle
between each icon under the overflow menu)
9. Alt + Windows key + Number Key (0-9): Open a Taskbar icon’s Jump List
10. Win + Shift + Number Keys (0-9): Open another instance of an open app
11. Win + Ctrl + Number key (0-9): Switch to the last active window of a pinned app
list end
Accessibility Shortcuts
The following keyboard shortcuts help activate and make use of accessibility features in Windows 11:
list of 19 items
1. Win + U: Open “Ease of Access” Centre in Windows Settings
2. Win + plus (+): Turn on Magnifier and Zoom
3. Win + minus (-): Zoom out using Magnifier
4. Win + Esc: Exit Magnifier
5. Alt + Ctrl + D: Switch to the docked mode in Magnifier
6. Alt + Ctrl + F: Switch to full-screen mode in Magnifier
7. Alt + Ctrl + L: Switch to lens mode in Magnifier
8. Alt + Ctrl + I: Invert colors in Magnifier
9. Alt + Ctrl + M: Cycle through views in Magnifier
10. Alt + Ctrl + R: Resize the lens with the mouse in Magnifier
11. Alt + Ctrl + Arrow keys: Pan in Magnifier
12. Ctrl + Alt + mouse scroll: Zoom in or out
13. Win + Enter: Open Narrator
14. Win + Ctrl + O: Open on-screen keyboard with this shortcut in Windows 11
15. Hold down Right Shift for eight seconds: Turn Filter Keys on and off
16. Left Alt + Left Shift + PrtSc: Turn High Contrast on or off
17. Left Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock: Turn Mouse Keys on or off
18. Press Shift five times: Turn Sticky Keys on or off
19. Press Num Lock for five seconds: Turn Toggle Keys on or off
list end
Windows Game Bar Shortcuts
Originally introduced in Windows 10, the Windows Game Bar offers many dedicated keyboard shortcuts for convenience and ease of use.
list of 5 items
1. Win + G: Open Game Bar
2. Win + Alt + G: Record the last 30 seconds of active game
3. Win + Alt + R: Start or stop recording active game
4. Win + Alt + PrtSc: Take a screenshot of active game
5. Win + Alt + T: Show/ hide recording timer of active game
list end
Miscellaneous Shortcuts
Apart from the ones listed above, Windows 11 offers many other shortcuts, not all of which can be classified under any particular category. Here they are:
list of 11 items
1. Win + forward slash (/): Start IME reconversion
2. Win + F: Open Feedback Hub
3. Win + K: Open the “Connect” quick setting
4. Win + O: Lock your device orientation
5. Win + Pause: Display System Properties (About page) in Windows Settings
6. Win + Ctrl + F: Search for PCs (if you are on a network)
7. Win + Shift + Left/ Right arrow key: Move an app or window from one monitor to another
8. Win + Spacebar: Switch input language and keyboard layout
9. Win + V: Open Clipboard History
10. Win + Y: Switch input between desktop and Windows Mixed Reality
11. Win + C: Launch Cortana (has to be installed separately)
list end