Top Ten Windows Shortcuts in 2022

Many people prefer not to use keyboard shortcuts to issue commands at all, but they allow you to quickly complete a number of complex tasks, some of which I do every day. They may help you with everyday productivity.

First, a note about modifier placement and keyboard variations; depending on your keyboard, they can be different. On a ANSI (USA) or ISO (EU) Windows keyboard, the key furthest to the left on the bottom row should be Ctrl, also called Control. The next key over, Win, also called Windows, should have a symbol like the Windows logo or the word Win on it. If you have a Function key, Ctrl may be second from the left and Win may be third.

If you’re using a Mac-style keyboard on a Windows computer, your Win key is labeled Cmd, but these commands should work the same way. Some of these shortcuts work on MacOS as well, but some may not.

Without further ado, the list:

8, 9, and 10. Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, and Ctrl-Shift-V

Ctrl-C copies and Ctrl-V pastes text. These may also work on images in some apps. Ctrl-Shift-V pastes without formatting, which is incredibly useful for spreadsheets, email, and composing documents. These are among the most well-known keyboard shortcuts.

A note of caution: on Unix-descended systems, including macOS, Linux, and some Windows apps, Ctrl-C is not ‘copy’ but ‘cancel’ and may force quit your process. You may want to test this out before regular use.

6 and 7. Ctrl-T and Ctrl-Shift-T

In web browsers and other tabbed programs, Ctrl-T opens a new tab. Ctrl-Shift-T reopens the last closed tab. These are useful if you’re working on many tasks at once in a browser like Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

5. Alt-Tab

This shortcut switches between programs. Holding it for a second or so will bring up a program switching tool, which is useful when you have many more programs open than you have monitor real estate for.

4. Win-L

Pressing Win and the L key locks your computer. As I have written before, this is a useful trick to quickly secure your computer if you’ll be away from it for any length of time.

3. Win ⬅ and ➡

Pressing Win and the left or right arrows “snaps” a program to exactly one half of the screen, and may give you the option to select a program to be used on the other half. When running many programs at once, it’s an invaluable way to divide up screen real estate. This can be especially helpful when you need to transfer or compare information between programs.

2. Win-Shift-S

Pressing Win, Shift, and S opens up the Snipping or screenshot tool – enter the keyboard shortcut, then click and drag to highlight the area you want to take a screenshot of. If you’re trying to share information, especially layouts or briefly-displayed error messages, it’s fantastic and much quicker than trying to transcribe what you’re looking at.

1. Win-.

Pressing Win and the period symbol opens up the emoji menu 🙂 which allows you to insert emoji into any app extremely quickly, including the arrow key symbols in the third item on this list. It’s often faster than specific social media apps’ emoji keyboards. I don’t know how I ever lived without it. 👍

If you need help with IT support, please feel free to reach out to Deep Core Data today. We have considerable combined experience in all things computer related, and we would be delighted to lend a hand…or provide a cool shortcut.