With this article, you will be able to learn how to make your work faster with Windows keyboard shortcuts.
Contents
What is a keyboard shortcut?
A keyboard shortcut is a sequence or combination of keystrokes that perform a command in software.
Have you ever asked yourself how much time you spend on your computer? I believe you spend a lot of time especially if your work involves using the computer most of the hours.
What if you could reduce the time you spend doing the tasks with your computer yet you’re actually increasing your productivity.
According to a study by Brainscape, active computer users waste 64 hours to 8 days a year if they don’t use keyboard shortcuts.
Keyboard shortcuts will save you the time that always use to move your cursor continuously around your screen looking for onscreen controls. Give an instance where you have over 10 open windows on your screen but you want to access your desktop, most people will minimize the windows one by one until all the windows are done. But this same task can be done by merely pressing Win + M. This could save up to 5 seconds.
Make your work easier and more productive by mastering the following Windows Keyboard shortcuts.
General Windows keyboard shortcuts
| Keyboard shortcut | Action Performed |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Creates a duplicate of the selected file or highlighted text in the clipboard(Copies a file or text) |
| Ctrl + V | Pastes the copied file or text to the selected location |
| Ctrl + X | Moves the selected file or highlighted text from the current location to the clipboard as it awaits to be pasted to the destination. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undoes the most recent operation, for example, revert text to the previous format or restore a recently deleted file |
| Ctrl + Y | Redoes the previous operation. |
| Alt + F4 | Closes the current window. (Prompts for saving in case of a document that's currently not saved). Can be used to shut down the computer after closing all the windows. |
| Ctrl + A | Select all files in a folder or select all text in a document. |
| Windows logo key + L | Locks the account of the current user. Can also be used to switch accounts. |
| Windows logo key + Tab or Alt + Tab | Used to navigate through currently open windows. |
| Windows logo key + D | Displays or hides the desktop. |
| Windows logo key + A | Opens the Action center |
| Ctrl + W | Closes the active window |
| Ctrl + N | Opens a new file explorer window. |
| F5 | Refreshes the current window including browser tabs |
| Ctrl + Alt + Delete | Opens security options which include Sign Out, Lock, Task Manager and Switch User |
| Shift + delete | Permanently deletes the selected item. |
File Explorer Windows keyboard shortcuts
| Backspace | Navigates to a previous location in the file explorer |
|---|---|
| F2 | Edits name of the currently selected file for renaming |
| Alt + D | Selects the address bar |
| Ctrl + F or Ctrl + E | Selects the search bar |
| Alt + Enter | Opens the properties window of the currently selected file |
| Alt + Right arrow | Opens the next folder |
| Alt + right arrow | Opens the previous folder |
| backspace | opens the previous folder |
| F11 | Maximizes or minimizes the window |
VLC Windows keyboard shortcuts
| Spacebar | Plays or pauses a video |
|---|---|
| F | Toggles the player to either display a full screen and reverse |
| A | Makes changes in the aspect ratio of the video. Some videos may not in the window automatically, therefore, you might need to change to the appropriate aspect ratio |
| Alt + left arrow and Alt + right arrow | Forwards a video by a few seconds or move backward |
| Ctrl + arrow up and Ctrl + arrow down | Increases or decreases the volume of the video |
| M | Mutes the video(removes sound) |
| T | Shows the timer(currently elapsed and the remaining time) |
| S | Stops the video(closes the video) |
| Z | Zooms the video |
| Ctrl + H | Hides VLC player controls |
Windows keyboard shortcuts for a document
| Ctrl + Z | Undoes an the most recent operation |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Y | Redoes the most recent operation |
| Ctrl + W | Closes the document.(prompts for saving before closing the document) |
| Ctrl + B | Makes the selected text bold |
| Ctrl + I | Makes the selected text Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underlines the selected text |
| Ctrl + R | moves the cursor to the right of the document |
| Ctrl + L | moves the cursor to the left of the document |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Formats all the selected text to capital letters |
| Ctrl + C | Copies the selected text (creates a duplicate of the selected text on the clipboard) |
| Ctrl + X | Cuts the selected text (does not create a duplicate copy but rather moves the text from current location) |
| Ctrl + V | Pastes text from the clipboard |