Best of Windows Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts for You
Keyboard and mouse shortcuts help us a lot. You can quickly finish any of your desired tasks using keyboard shortcuts/commands while doing the same task via a step-by-step process may take a comparatively longer time. So, we have gathered almost all of the Windows keyboard and mouse shortcuts together in this post.
SEE ALSO: A to Z list of Windows CMD Commands (PDF download available).
Windows Keyboard & Mouse Shortcut Key Combinations
Below is the list of all Windows Keyboard and Mouse shortcuts, divided into groups based on their functionality and usage. These are easy to learn and with little practice, you can become an expert in these Keyboard shortcuts.
General Keyboard-only Commands/Shortcuts
| F1 | Starts Windows Help |
| F10 | Activates menu bar options |
| SHIFT + F10 | Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object |
| CTRL + ESC | Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item) |
| CTRL + ESC or ESC | Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu) |
| CTRL + SHIFT + ESC | Opens Windows Task Manager |
| ALT + DOWN ARROW | Opens a drop-down list box using keyboard and mouse key combinations |
| ALT + TAB | Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window) |
| SHIFT | Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature |
| ALT + SPACE | Displays the main window’s System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window) |
| ALT + – (ALT + hyphen) | Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window’s System menu (from the MDI child window’s System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window) |
| CTRL+TAB | Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program |
| ALT + underlined letter in the menu | Keyboard shortcuts to open that particular item in the menu |
| ALT + F4 | Closes the current window |
| CTRL + F4 | Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window |
| ALT + F6 | Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window) |
Files and general folder/Windows Explorer Keyboard shortcuts
For a selected File or Folder use the following keyboard and mouse shortcuts:
| F2 | Rename object |
| F3 | Find all files |
| CTRL + X | Cut |
| CTRL + C | Copy |
| CTRL + V | Paste |
| SHIFT + DELETE | Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin |
| ALT + ENTER | Open the properties for the selected object |
Windows System Key Combinations
| F1 | Help |
| Ctrl + Esc | Open Start Menu |
| ALT + TAB | Switch between open programs |
| ALT + F4 | Quit program |
| SHIFT + DELETE | Delete item permanently |
| Windows Logo + L | Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE) |
Windows Program Key Combinations
| CTRL + C | Copy |
| CTRL + X | Cut |
| CTRL + V | Paste |
| CTRL + Z | Undo |
| CTRL + B | Bold |
| CTRL + U | Underline |
| CTRL + I | Italic |
Mouse / Keyboard Modifier Combinations for Files
| SHIFT + Right-click | Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands |
| SHIFT + Double-click | Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu) |
| ALT + Double-click | Displays properties |
| SHIFT + DELETE | Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin |
Mouse Shortcuts
You can use the following mouse shortcut keys in Windows.
To copy a file
Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.
To create a shortcut
Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.
SEE ALSO: How to Remap Keyboard Keys in Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC?
General Folder/Shortcut Control
| F4 | Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer) |
| F5 | Refreshes the current window |
| F6 | Moves among panes in Windows Explorer |
| CTRL + Z | Undo the last command |
| CTRL + A | Select all the items in the current window |
| BACKSPACE | Switch to the parent folder |
| SHIFT + click on the Close button | For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders |
Windows Explorer Tree Control Keyboard Shortcuts
| Numeric Keypad * | Expands everything under the current selection |
| Numeric Keypad + | Expands the current selection |
| Numeric Keypad – | Collapses the current selection |
| RIGHT ARROW | Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child |
| LEFT ARROW | Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent |
Properties Control
| CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB | Move through the property tabs |
Accessibility Shortcuts
| Press SHIFT five times | Toggles StickyKeys on and off |
| Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds | Toggles FilterKeys on and off |
| Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds | Toggles ToggleKeys on and off |
| Left ALT + left SHIFT+NUM LOCK | Toggles MouseKeys on and off |
| Left ALT + left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN | Toggles high contrast on and off |
SEE ALSO: Snipping Tool not working in Windows 11? Here is the Fix.
Microsoft Natural Keyboard Key Combinations
| Windows Logo | Start menu |
| Windows Logo + R | Run dialog box |
| Windows Logo + M | Minimize all |
| SHIFT + Windows Logo + M | Undo minimize all |
| Windows Logo + F1 | Help |
| Windows Logo + E | Windows Explorer |
| Windows Logo + F | Find files or folders |
| Windows Logo + D | Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop |
| CTRL + Windows Logo + F | Find computer |
| CTRL + Windows Logo + TAB | Moves focus from the Start to the Quick Launch toolbar or to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray) |
| Windows Logo + TAB | Cycle through taskbar buttons |
| Windows Logo + Break | System Properties dialog box |
| Application key | Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item |
Dialog Box Keyboard Commands
| TAB | Move to the next control in the dialog box |
| SHIFT + TAB | Move to the previous control in the dialog box |
| SPACEBAR | If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option. |
| ENTER | Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline) |
| ESC | Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button |
| ALT + underlined letter in dialog box item | Move to the corresponding item |
A to Z List of Windows Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
Hope you liked the above list of Windows Keyboard shortcuts. You can perform your tasks quickly using these keyboard shortcuts. While learning all of them is not very easy practicing will sure get you there. You can also share these Windows Keyboard and mouse Shortcuts with your friends to help them. Enjoy, the Keyboard and mouse shortcuts for Windows!
SEE ALSO: A to Z list of MS Excel Shortcuts and MS Word Shortcuts.
