Your Favourite Keyboard Shortcuts

pernunz on 18/10/2018 - 14:56

Keyboard shortcuts are great, but often we don't know about them!

I just discovered a new one today that works on Windows 7 (and I'd assume on Windows 10)

Windows Key + Number (from the number row of the keyboard) opens the application in the corresponding position of the taskbar. If the application is open, it acts as an alt-tab. If the application has multiple windows open, pressing the number multiple times goes alternates between the windows.

For example, if you have Outlook, Chrome, and Word as the first three applications on the taskbar, with Outlook and two word documents open:
Windows + 1 would go to Outlook
Windows + 2 would open Chrome
Windows + 3 would go to the first word document
Windows + 3 + 3 would go to the second word document.

Because of this I've rearranged the order of applications on the task bar, it's so handy

Computing

Comments

    • Master Bates on 18/10/2018 - 15:23

      Thanks for that. My new go to Windows + L (Lock your Windows 10 device).

      Sure beats the current method of Ctrl + Alt + Delete, then hitting Enter.

  • Nugs on 18/10/2018 - 15:12
    +3

    ctrl Z - undo

    for mistakes….
    .

  • wei13 on 18/10/2018 - 15:13
    +3

    Ones I use most are:

    Windows + D = Go to desktop
    Alt + Tab = shift between current applications that are open

    • ThithLord on 18/10/2018 - 15:32
      +1

      CTRL+TAB flicks between tabs in Chrome

      • Genga on 19/10/2018 - 10:20

        OMG you've changed my life! Love this thread! Do you know if you can flick back and forth between two even if you have more than two open?

        edit: I've just seen a comment below - Ctrl+Shift+Tab to scroll backwards through tabs.

        • Magic Mirror on 19/10/2018 - 13:41

          Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn does the same thing (and doesn't need 3 keys). Edit: oops, scrimshaw mentioned it below already.

          Also Ctrl+number (1 to 8) to go to first 8 tabs. 9 to the last tab.

  • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 15:21

    Oh hey that's pretty cool. I have my go-to programs on the taskbar too, so I can just use Windows + 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

    Nice.

    I use:

    • Ctrl+Tab a lot to scroll through tabs in Chrome, and

    • Ctrl+Shift+Tab to scroll backwards through tabs.

    • Also (Hold Alt)+Tab tabs through your open windows, instead of just only Alt+Tab'ing to your last open window, and

    • (Hold Alt+Shift)+Tab goes through your open windows backwards too.

    • redpump on 18/10/2018 - 15:42
      +2

      In addition to yours on the web browsers, I like using:
      * Ctrl+T to open a new tab
      * Ctrl+Shift+T to re-open a recently closed tab, the more you do it the next closed tab opens again

      • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 15:43

        Oh yeah, a lot of browser shortcuts now that I think about it. In addition to the Ctrl+T to open tabs, Ctrl+W to close (chrome) tabs too. F6 to jump to the address/search bar, etc.

        • ozbjunkie on 19/10/2018 - 11:42

          And ctrl shift W to close entire window of tabs,

          Ctrl shift t undoes this.

          • HighAndDry on 19/10/2018 - 11:45

            @ozbjunkie:

            ctrl shift W to close entire window of tabs

            I feel this is an incredibly dangerous shortcut haha. Nice of you to provide the counter to it.

            • ozbjunkie on 19/10/2018 - 11:46

              @HighAndDry: Yeah can be a bit of a cancerous shortcut, but helps when the boss wife or kids walks in and you are uhh - managing spreadsheets in an instant!

  • djkelly69 on 18/10/2018 - 15:24
    +5

    Alt+F4 after reading this thread (I kid, these actually look useful).

    • woteva on 19/10/2018 - 08:58

      I remember alt+f4 from online gaming many years ago. You could tell a noob when they left the game after someone said to try alt+f4 for a weapons upgrade ;)

  • 87percent on 18/10/2018 - 15:33
    +4

    someone who works in an office, Windows + L.. or bad things happen to your machine

    • Gandalf the Thrifty on 19/10/2018 - 08:14
      +1

      Ctrl-Alt-Arrow Keys was the favourite in my office for unattended win pc

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 18/10/2018 - 15:56

    ctl+alt+f2 to access a tty.

    • FunkyHoratio on 18/10/2018 - 20:58

      found the Linux user! There are actually 6 ttys you can access, with f1 through f6!

  • Geoff897 on 18/10/2018 - 15:57
    +1

    Not a keyboard shortcut but the roll mouse click for new tabs open/close and works for apps.
    Windows Key + arrows to arrange screen size

    • HighAndDry on 18/10/2018 - 16:04

      Speaking of mouse scroll and screen size, Ctrl+scroll also changes screen size.

  • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 16:19

    Alt tab for sure, been using it since early days to tab out of games into MSN etc

  • AssamLaksa on 18/10/2018 - 16:19
    +8

    Most important shortcut that I use practically everyday at work is Win+Shift+S (On windows 10) which is basically Snipping tool without having to actually open the Snipping Tool app. So so useful for screenshotting drop down menus as well without having to crop a print screen!

    The same shortcut on Win 7 is just Win + S, btw

    • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 16:21

      I snip on the daily didn't know that, good one!

      Although I typically always ways have the tool open so I just alt tab into it and cntrl + N

      • AssamLaksa on 18/10/2018 - 16:29
        +1

        I actually discovered it due to laziness! I was so sure there HAD to be an easier way to screenshot a drop down menu and there really was!

        The convenient thing about Win+Shift+S is it copies directly to your clipboard so I can paste it immediately as an attachment somewhere else which is something I use on a daily basis.

        • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 16:34

          I can see the benefits i have to use it in similar scenarios and often, good find!

          Most of my finds have been accidental also, like Windows + D back in Vista

        • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 17:22

          So tried it now that I am back on a Desktop, this should be the find of the thread haha

    • John Kimble on 18/10/2018 - 16:33

      Thanks!

    • N1NJ4W4RR10R on 18/10/2018 - 17:16

      Thankfully my laptop has it mapped to the normal print screen.

    • hengzhan on 18/10/2018 - 18:49

      So you are a sniper

  • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 16:20

    Control + shift + tab too, people look at me like a wizard when I pull up task manager without going through cntrl + alt + del lol

    • Sage on 18/10/2018 - 17:05
      +2

      Might help to say what the shortcut is for opening Task Manager directly.
      It's Control + Shift + Escape.
      I normally just right click the task bar and click Task Manager to open it.

      • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 17:07

        Yeah I meant escape

  • punkindrublic on 18/10/2018 - 16:25

    Ctrl + X, then 'U' and 'U' to quickly shutdown my PC from the desktop - super fast and convenient when you want to log off at the end of a long day.

    • Godric on 18/10/2018 - 17:09
      +1

      I just press the power button and close the lid (laptop - pwr button set to hibernate)

    • makebei on 19/10/2018 - 17:49
      +1

      I think you mean WIN+X rather than CTRL+X.

  • Fappo on 18/10/2018 - 16:30
    +1

    A good one for web browsing is crtl + shift + t. It re-opens your last closed tab.

    • punkindrublic on 18/10/2018 - 17:42

      Also Ctrl + Shift + Tab to go backward through all your tabbed webpages (someone posted this elsewhere but I'm noting it since it's relevant to web browsing)

  • John Kimble on 18/10/2018 - 16:31
    +2

    CTRL+ALT+Down Arrow :D

    But seriously, CTRL+ALT+V in excel.

    And autohotkey to make my own/write scripts to complete repetitive tasks.

    • moar bargains on 19/10/2018 - 14:45

      Autohotkey FTW. What are your most useful scripts/hotkeys?

      • John Kimble on 19/10/2018 - 15:03

        Mostly work related, so can't really explain in detail. Just doing stuff over and over that the product/tool should be able to do itself…

        Nothing too sophisticated, I'm not smart enough.

        You?

        • moar bargains on 19/10/2018 - 15:58

          Most of mine I've stolen from others/the web.
          The ones that I use the most are "sig" which replaces with a casual email signature (and various derivatives like "ksig" for "Kind Regards" etc), "]d" which replaces with the current date (and various derivatives with other date-time formats), and "@work", "@home", etc which replaces with my email addresses. Not very sophisticated either, but I guess the thing is they're useful.
          Most of the rest are work related similar to yours.

  • ahamburger on 18/10/2018 - 16:52
    +12

    CTRL + SHIFT + N ;)

    • ImpedeSquare on 18/10/2018 - 17:14
      +3

      ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

    • ozbjunkie on 19/10/2018 - 12:01

      You've changed my life - but not for the better.

  • dogboy on 18/10/2018 - 16:52
    +1

    CTRL-K to add a hyperlink to selected text.

  • Sage on 18/10/2018 - 17:03
    +1

    I like Windows + D. It minimises all windows to show the desktop, and can be un-done by pressing it again.

  • Sergeant Salami on 18/10/2018 - 17:22

    Windows + M. It hides everything on the screen, perfect for when the boss walks in.

  • scrimshaw on 18/10/2018 - 18:01

    This is a new one, Windows + V which opens up the clipboard, shows the history (needs to be enabled first) and you can also pin things to it for later retrieval.

  • ericmclee on 19/10/2018 - 09:55
    +2

    Anyone tried the Aero shake? Use your mouse and click and hold the title bar and shake it like you just don't care. It minimises all the open windows behind it. To restore those windows, just repeat the click and shake.

    Not a keyboard feature as such but it's pretty nifty. Might achieve the same as Windows + Home.

  • scrimshaw on 19/10/2018 - 12:58
    +2

    • CTRL+SHIFT+T re-opens a recently closed tab. CTRL+W closes the currently active tab.

    • CTRL PGUP or CTRL PG DN cycles tabs forwards or backwards. You can bind these shortcut buttons to your unused mouse buttons (e.g scroll wheel side tilt) to easily change tabs.

    • In can select multiple tabs in chrome (to perform actions like re-arranging the tabs). Hold the CTRL key and then select the tabs one by one and then drag them all in one action to a new location.

    • You can old down the ALT key to select hyperlinked text without actually clicking through the link. Try it here, hold the ALT key and then click + drag your cursor across this sentence

  • DarthAntz on 19/10/2018 - 13:01

    ALT + Shift (followed by ~ key) to change languages and switch between english and Japanese

    Great thread OP

  • Jemz on 19/10/2018 - 13:44

    With a window open, Windows + Left arrow key. Snaps the window to the left of the screen.

    Then use Windows + Right arrow key on a different app to snap it to the right side of the screen, good for comparing windows.

    Easiest way to learn is using up, down, left and right keys to see how it works.

    Another thing I learned, not a keyboard shortcut is grabbing the top of a window and shaking it, it minimises all other applications.

    This page is a good list: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keybo…

  • Magic Mirror on 19/10/2018 - 14:05

    This works in (all?) browsers (at least Chrome, FF, MS Edge): Ctrl+numeric key (1-8) to go to first 1-8 tabs, 9 to go to last tab.

    For multi-monitor people: Shift+Windows+Left or Right arrow moves your current window to the left or right monitor. Actually more like cycling through, as moving from left monitor to the left goes to the right. Maybe it works the same in 3 monitor setup?

    You can bind your own shortcut key to a particular program, eg. Alt+Ctrl+V to bring up VLC. Bring up the program exe's property window (eg. from Start menu, right click and "More" > "Open file location", then right click and select "Property"), then there's a entry for Shortcut key. It must be two keys from Alt, Ctrl and Shift, plus a "normal" key which can be letters, numbers, function keys or some of the control keys.

    And a non-keyboard tip to arrange two windows side by side: drag a window and slam it to the right edge of the monitor. It is now snapped to the right half of the monitor, with small version of the other windows showing on the left. Click one of them and it snaps to the left half of the monitor.

  • SlickMick on 19/10/2018 - 22:54

    I bought a keyboard recommended here some time ago, and the windows key doesn't work :(

    • belongsinforums on 20/10/2018 - 14:21
      +1

      is it locked? gaming mode will lock it

      • SlickMick on 21/10/2018 - 17:26

        I have no idea - how do I check? It's a Tesoro Lobera Supreme G5NFL. This windows key hasn't worked since I bought it here: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/230148

        • belongsinforums on 21/10/2018 - 18:10
          +1

          try fn + f12. look for a "G" on your keyboard (not the normal 'g' key!"

          • SlickMick on 22/10/2018 - 00:04

            @belongsinforums: lol I have no idea what I'm doing :)

            fn + f12 changed by keyboard lights from blue to pink.

            The Ins key has what I thought was a 6 but I guess could be a G. fn + Ins didn't seem to do anything.
            The Del key has an n. fn + Del brought up a prompt indicating gaming mode is enabled.

            Hold on - I found a manual. It has a dedicated Game mode button, which has been on for the 2 years since I bought it. Clicked it off, and the windows key is working.

            THANKS :)

  • ccarnage on 20/10/2018 - 01:22

    If you're on win10 and have multiple desktops open (first need to open several from taskview, which you can access via WIN+TAB), use WIN+CTRL+left/right arrows to move between desktops.

    if you're on a newish version of win10, WIN+'.' (full stop) will open the emoji keyboard, and once its open just keep typing to search for an emoji to insert (don't need to click on it), hit enter to select and esc when done. Makes it super fast to insert emojis if you're into that.

    Also, another handy trick to keep in mind is that adding 'shift' to keyboard shortcuts which use the 'tab' key to cycle through things often results in cycling the other way. eg alt-shift-tab, ctrl-shift-tab etc. It even works with putting tabs in documents: if you select a block of text in a text editor like Word (eg multiple paragraphs), and hit 'tab' it'll move the text away from the margin, but if you press shift-tab it moves it CLOSER to the margin.

    Aside from that, not really a keyboard shortcut but if you're not using the mouse wheel button click/middle click to open links in new tabs/open new instances of programs on the taskbar/dismiss notifications/close tabs in chrome etc you haven't lived.

  • belongsinforums on 20/10/2018 - 14:21

    alt + numpad numbers
    e.g. ™ = alt + 0153

  • muncan on 20/10/2018 - 14:45

    ⌘ + Space

  • [Deactivated] on 20/10/2018 - 15:39
    +1

    Ctrl + shift + p to open a new private window in Mozilla (possibly chrome).

  • myusername on 20/10/2018 - 15:40

    ALT F4 for lowering your ping in games

  • [Deactivated] on 20/10/2018 - 17:36

    Also, in Mozilla

    • Ctrl + + to zoom in
    • Ctrl + - to zoom out
    • Ctrl + 0 to default zoom size(100%)
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