Windows Shortcuts and Tips

This is a collection of useful little tips and shortcuts I use regularly on Windows. I hope this will be helpful for beginners just starting to use Windows. This assumes Windows 11, but many of them should work on Windows 10 as well.

Close Window

Alt + F4 while the window is active
Ctrl + W while the window is active. Closes the tab or window (only for supported applications)
Double-click the icon on the left of the window title bar
Click the × on the window title bar

Show Desktop

Win + D. Press it twice to restore the original window state. Very useful when you want to see the desktop for just a moment.
Win + M. Minimize all apps. Pressing it twice does not restore them.

Voice Typing

Win + H. Start voice typing. To end voice typing, press Esc or Win + H again.

Press Shift + F10 or the Application key. The Application key is located at the bottom right of the keyboard.

Capture a Selected Area of the Screen

Win + Shift + S allows you to select an area to capture.
Win + Print Screen or simply Print Screen captures the entire screen. (If you add Win, the captured image is saved to C:\Users\Username\Pictures\Screenshots.)
Alt + Print Screen captures the current window.

Launch Apps Pinned to the Taskbar

Win + Number Key launches apps pinned to the taskbar.
For example, pressing Win + 1 launches the first app on the left of the taskbar.
Win + T moves focus to the taskbar icons. You can then press Win + T multiple times, or use the ← or → keys to move the selection and press Enter to launch the selected app.

Zoom In / Zoom Out

Win + + opens Windows Magnifier. You can further zoom in or out of the screen using Win + + or -.
In apps like Notepad or browsers, you can zoom in/out with Ctrl + + or - (only for supported apps).

Lock Windows

Win + L
Ctrl + Alt + Del -> Space or Enter

Shut Down Windows

When the desktop is shown with Win + M or Win + D, or the taskbar is active with Win + T or Win + B, pressing Alt + F4 will display the dialog below. Make sure “Shut down” is selected and press Enter. Alternatively, you can use Win + R -> Alt + F4 -> Alt + F4.
You can shut down using Win + X -> U -> U.
Entering shutdown /s /t 0 in Command Prompt or the “Run” dialog (Win + R) will shut down the system. Adding /f will force a shutdown.

Restart Windows

When the desktop is shown with Win + M or Win + D, or the taskbar is active with Win + T or Win + B, pressing Alt + F4 will display the dialog below. Press ↓ once to select “Restart” and press Enter. Alternatively, you can use Win + R -> Alt + F4 -> Alt + F4.
You can restart using Win + X -> U -> R.
shutdown /r /t 0 restarts the system. Adding /f will force a restart.

Sleep Windows

When the desktop is shown with Win + M or Win + D, or the taskbar is active with Win + T or Win + B, pressing Alt + F4 will display the dialog below. Press ↑ once to select “Sleep” and press Enter. Alternatively, you can use Win + R -> Alt + F4 -> Alt + F4.
Entering rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState in Win + R or Command Prompt will put the system into hibernation.

Sign Out (Log Off) Windows

When the desktop is shown with Win + M or Win + D, or the taskbar is active with Win + T or Win + B, pressing Alt + F4 will display the dialog below. Press ↑ twice to select “Sign out” and press Enter. Alternatively, you can use Win + R -> Alt + F4 -> Alt + F4.
Win + X -> U -> I
Ctrl + Alt + Del -> Tab twice or ↓ twice -> Enter or Space
logoff to sign out (log off).

Move Windows with Keyboard

Win + ←: Move left
Win + →: Move right
Win + ↑: Move up / Maximize
Win + ↓: Move down / Minimize
Win + Shift + ← or →: Move between multiple monitors
Win + Alt + ← or → or ↑ or ↓: Move window without maximizing or minimizing
When not minimized, press Alt + Space, then M, and use the arrow keys to move.

Since the window will follow the mouse cursor, you can rescue a window even if it is displayed off-screen.

End Process with Task Manager

Ctrl + Shift + Esc launches Task Manager.
Ctrl + Tab switches tabs.
After pressing Tab on the Details tab, you can search for a process by typing its prefix in alphanumeric mode.
With a process name selected, press the Delete key, followed by the Enter key to end the process.

End Process by Specifying Name in Command

taskkill /f /im process_name ends a process. For example, taskkill /f /im explorer.exe ends File Explorer.

Launch Multiple Instances of the Same Program from Taskbar

While holding Shift, left-click an icon on the taskbar to launch multiple instances of the same program. (Only for apps that support multiple instances)

Launch a Program as Administrator

Hold Ctrl + Shift while launching a program to open it with administrator privileges.

Launch File Explorer

Win + E launches File Explorer.
Win + R to open “Run”, type explorer, and press Enter
Ctrl + Shift + N creates a new folder.

Open Command Prompt in the Current File Explorer Location

In Windows 11, you can launch Command Prompt from the right-click menu by selecting “Open in Terminal”.
Also, typing cmd in the address bar and pressing Enter will launch Command Prompt.

Show Clipboard History

Win + V shows the clipboard history. Selecting previously copied text or images will copy them again.

Run

Win + R opens the “Run” dialog.

Here are a few commands you can execute in “Run” or Command Prompt.

Open Edge

Type msedge and press Enter

Open Internet Explorer 11 (IE11)

Type powershell.exe -Command "(New-Object -ComObject InternetExplorer.Application).Visible = $true" and press Enter

Open Terminal

Type wt and press Enter

Open Control Panel

Type control and press Enter
You can also open it with explorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}.

Launch Notepad

Type notepad and press Enter

Launch Calculator

Type calc and press Enter

Launch Paint

Type mspaint and press Enter

Launch PowerShell

Type powershell and press Enter

Launch Visual Studio Code

Type code and press Enter

Launch Excel

Type excel and press Enter

Only if Excel is installed.

Open Word

Type winword and press Enter

Only if Word is installed.

Open PowerPoint

Type powerpnt and press Enter
- Only if PowerPoint is installed.

Open System Configuration

Type msconfig and press Enter

Open System Properties

Type sysdm.cpl and press Enter

Open Windows About (Version Info)

Type winver and press Enter

Open On-Screen Keyboard

Type osk and press Enter

Open WordPad

Type wordpad or write and press Enter

Open Registry Editor

Type regedit and press Enter

Open Programs and Features

Type explorer.exe shell:::{7b81be6a-ce2b-4676-a29e-eb907a5126c5} and press Enter

Open Keyboard Properties

Type explorer.exe shell:::{725BE8F7-668E-4C7B-8F90-46BDB0936430} and press Enter

Open Mouse Properties

Type explorer.exe shell:::{6C8EEC18-8D75-41B2-A177-8831D59D2D50} and press Enter

Open Sound

Type explorer.exe shell:::{F2DDFC82-8F12-4CDD-B7DC-D4FE1425AA4D} and press Enter

Open User Accounts

Type explorer.exe shell:::{60632754-c523-4b62-b45c-4172da012619} and press Enter

Copy String from a Standard Message Box

Ctrl + C allows you to copy the text from a standard message box. Copying the message box above will copy the following to the clipboard:

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[Window Title]
WordPad

[Main Instruction]
Do you want to save changes to Document?

[Save(S)] [Don't Save(N)] [Cancel]

Store Command Prompt Output to Clipboard

Adding | clip (pipe + clip) after a command, like echo "hello" | clip, allows you to copy the standard output to the clipboard.

Text Output of Folder Hierarchy

In Command Prompt, you can output the folder hierarchy in a tree format using the tree command.

Output Sample

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C:.
├─.idea
│  └─libraries
├─binaryeditorbz
├─blog
│  ├─archetypes
│  ├─content
│  ├─data
│  ├─layouts
│  ├─static
│  └─themes
│      └─PaperMod
│          ├─.git
│          │  ├─branches
│          │  ├─hooks
│          │  ├─info
│          │  ├─logs
│          │  │  └─refs
│          │  │      ├─heads
│          │  │      └─remotes
│          │  │          └─origin
│          │  ├─objects
│          │  │  ├─info
│          │  │  └─pack
│          │  └─refs
│          │      ├─heads
│          │      ├─remotes
│          │      │  └─origin
│          │      └─tags
│          ├─.github
│          │  ├─ISSUE_TEMPLATE
│          │  └─workflows
│          ├─assets
│          │  ├─css
│          │  │  ├─common
│          │  │  ├─core
│          │  │  ├─extended
│          │  │  ├─hljs
│          │  │  └─includes
│          │  └─js
│          ├─i18n
│          ├─images
│          └─layouts
│              ├─partials
│              │  └─templates
│              ├─shortcodes
│              └─_default
│                  └─_markup
(omitted below)

Reference

Keyboard shortcuts in Windows