Windows supports hundreds of different keyboard shortcuts. Some of them basic, like pressing the Windows-key to open the Start menu. Others more advanced, like pressing Ctrl-Shift-Esc to open the Task Manager.
Not all shortcuts are equally useful. While usefulness depends somewhat on how you use Windows, some shortcuts are certainly more useful than others.
The following shortcuts are the ones that I use most often. They save me a lot of time on my day to day work.
The timesavers
Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V
The shortcut pair copies and pastes your selections. This works in Explorer with files and folders, but also for text and anything else that you may select.
- Ctrl-C — Copies the selection to the Clipboard.
- Ctrl-V — Pastes the Clipboard entry into the active application.
Windows-I
The shortcut opens the Settings on Windows 10 or 11 machines directly.
Windows-X
The “secret” menu opens when you use the shortcut. It displays a number of links to admin tools such as the Device Manager, Network settings, and more.
Windows-[left or right]-arrow
The shortcut snaps the active window to the left or the right side of the screen. Useful to display two apps or windows side-by-side in a matter of seconds.
Ctrl-S
To quickly save content. Most programs that support save operations support this. You can use it in an image or text editor to quickly save content, and in many other apps as well.
Ctrl-P
To print a document, image, or other content quickly. The shortcut opens the print dialog right away.
The superfluous shortcuts
The next two shortcuts are not really that useful, as you can use quicker actions for the same effect.
Ctrl-Esc
The keyboard shortcut opens the Start menu on Windows. There is not really a need for this shortcut, as you can also press the Windows-key, which is faster.
Windows-S
This particular shortcut opens the search interface. It is not really needed either, as you can also search when you open the Start menu. So, pressing Windows and starting to type the search term should be sufficient for most users and most cases.
Now You: do you have shortcuts that you use regularly? Feel free to share them in the comment section below.
I will never understand why Ctrl-P is print rather then paste. Like, who prints more ofthen then they paste?
😊 i help make packets for a local non-profit and seem to use Ctrl-P a lot, including as a handy way to save something to PDF format from a text or graphic editor (i.e., using Print to PDF). Whereas my editing apps all seem to have select-and-drag nowadays so cutting-pasting is less often in my day. (I do still use X and V for moving files around though).
Agree, P should be “paste”. For “print” it should be something like Ctrl-$#!&%!! because these printers are forever jamming up, clogging, etc! 😅
Always wondered if the “V” for paste was something that made sense somehow from the “caret” for “insert something here” used in old-school proofreading?
I use several accessibility shortcuts, and gradually more frequently as I get older.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-keyboard-shortcuts-for-accessibility-021bcb62-45c8-e4ef-1e4f-41b8c1fc87fd#WindowsVersion=Windows_11 . Windows 10 may be displayed as well.
i’m so used to Ctrl-Esc, from the days when my old Dells and IBMs didn’t have a Windows key yet, that I still use it. My left hand can do it without looking so that’s handy. Windows key i still have to look to hit it accurately. One shortcut I like is Ctrl-Shift-V to deformat something to plain text, if I’m emailing and don’t want things to turn into links or change my font for the rest of the email. Enjoying the newsletter, keep up the great work!