There is a lot to learn in Windows 10
Apart from new Windows 10 Tutorials and finding out about the new components of the Windows 10 ecosystem, there’s one more thing we need to cover.
We need to talk about Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts.
From window management with Snap and Task View to virtual desktops and the Command Prompt, there are a lot of keyboard shortcuts to help you zip around in this new Operating System.
Without further ado, here are some Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
| Ctrl + C | To Copy the selected text, image, or other items |
| Ctrl + V | To Paste the copied text, image, or other items |
| Ctrl + X | To move/cut the selected text, image, or other items |
| Ctrl + Z | To perform the undo action |
| Alt + Tab | Toggle between running apps |
| Windows Icon+ L | To lock your system |
| Windows Icon+ D | To display or hide the desktop |
| Alt + F4 | Close the current window of any application or folder |
| F2 | To rename the currently selected item |
| F3 | Perform a search in the File Explorer for a file or folder |
| F4 | Display the address bar list in File Explorer. |
| F5 | Perform a refresh in the active window |
| F10 | Activate the menu bar |
| Alt + F8 | Display your password on the sign-in screen |
| Alt + Enter | Full-screen mode |
| Ctrl + F4 | Close the active document |
| Ctrl + A | Select all items in a folder or whole text in a document |
| Ctrl + D | To delete the selected item and transfer it into recycle bin |
| Ctrl + R | To refresh the currently active window |
| Ctrl + Y | To redo an action |
| Ctrl + Right arrow | Move the cursor to the starting of the next word |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Move the cursor to the starting of the previous word |
| Ctrl + Down arrow | Move the cursor to the starting of the next paragraph. |
| Ctrl + Up arrow | Move the cursor to the starting of the previous paragraph. |
| Ctrl + esc | Open the Start Menu |
| Ctrl + Shift + esc | Open the task manager |
| Shift + any arrow key | Select more than one item in a folder or on the desktop, or select text in a document. |
| Shift + Delete | Permanently delete an item |
| Windows icon + PrtScn | Take a screenshot of the whole screen |
| Shortcut | Action |
| Alt + D | Select the address bar (also works in browser) |
| Ctrl + E | Select the search box |
| Ctrl + F | Select the search bar |
| Ctrl + N | Open a duplicate window of the currently active window |
| Ctrl + W | Close the current folder or explorer window |
| Ctrl + mouse scroll wheel | Resize Folders or files icon |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Display all folders above the current folder on the left panel |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Create a new folder |
| Num Lock + * | Show the subfolders under the selected folder in the left panel |
| Alt + P | Display the preview panel. |
| Alt + Enter | Open Properties of the selected folder, image or document |
| End | Reach to the bottom of the current window |
| Home | Reach to the top of the current window |
| F11 | Enter fullscreen mode |
| Shortcut | Action |
| Windows Key + Ctrl + D | Snap current window to the left side of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Right | Snap current window on the right side of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Up | Snap the current window to the top of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Down | Snap current window to the bottom of the screen |
| Windows Key + Tab | Open Task view |
The Command Prompt in Windows 10 finally has CTRL+C and CTRL+V functionality.
| Shortcut | Action |
| Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert | Paste the selected text |
| Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert | Copies the selected text to the clipboard |
| Ctrl + A | Select all text in the current line if the line contains the text. If it’s an empty line, select all text in the Command Prompt |
| Shift + Left / Right / Up / Down | Moves the cursor left a character, right a character, up a line, or down a line, selecting the text along the way. Continue pressing arrow keys to select more text |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right | Moves the cursor one word to the left or right, selecting that word along the way |
| Shift + Home / End | Moves the cursor to the beginning or end of the current line, selecting text along the way |
| Shift + Page Up / Page Down | Moves the cursor up or down a screen, selecting text |
| Ctrl + Shift + Home / End | Moves the cursor to the beginning or end of the “screen buffer,” selecting all text between the cursor and the beginning or end of the Command Prompt’s output. |
Windows 10 offers improved support for Snap — known as “Aero Snap” on Windows 7. You can now snap windows vertically — one on top of each other, instead of side-by-side — or snap windows to a 2×2 grid.
| Shortcut | Action |
| Windows Key + Left | Snap current window to the left side of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Right | Snap current window the right side of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Up | Snap current window to the top of the screen. |
| Windows Key + Down | Snap current window to the bottom of the screen |
Combine these shortcuts to snap into a corner — for example, Windows Key + Left and then Windows Key + Up would snap a window into the top-left quadrant of the screen.
The first two keyboard shortcuts aren’t new, but the way they work with the 2×2 snapping feature is.
That’s all we have for now but we’ll add more as soon as we know more.
Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts PDF
You can download a PDF version of all shortcuts from the below link.