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Windows Keyboard Shortcuts |
Windows is like a real-time strategy game. You
can do everything with the mouse, but you'll be
so much better at it if you learn the keyboard
shortcuts.
We all know the basic keyboard shortcut for
Windows. It's often referred to as the
three-fingered-salute, and it's supposed to have
some sort of positive effect when a program
hangs. It's the combination of CTRL+ALT+DEL, and
it rarely does anything useful.
Invoke it when all is well, however, and it
gives you a bunch of options. In Vista, it lets
you start the Task Manager, lock the computer,
log off, change a password, and more. In fact,
some people think the three-fingered-salute is
the only way to call up the Task Manager, but
that's not the case; just hold CTRL+SHIFT+ESC
and, lo and behold—the task manager appears.
In surfing forums around the
Web, I'm surprised by how many people aren't hip
to the sheer number of Windows keyboard
shortcuts that let you accomplish common tasks
and perform basic windows manipulation without
grabbing the ever-present mouse. So surprised,
in fact, that I now present a primer on the most
useful Windows keyboard shortcuts.
Launching and Closing Programs the Easy
Way
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Invoke Start menu |
WINDOWS or CTRL+ESC |
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Invoke Run
command |
WINDOWS+R |
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Run any program
in the Vista search cache |
WINDOWS, then type the program
executable and hit Enter |
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Invoke Help |
F1 |
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Invoke Windows
Help from within any program |
WINDOWS+F1 |
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Close foreground
program |
ALT+F4 |
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Close current
window in foreground program |
CTRL+F4 |
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Manipulating Windows
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Invoke and
prepare to key around the drop-down
menu bar |
ALT or F10 |
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Open an window's
system menu |
ALT+SPACE |
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Flip and Flip 3D |
ALT+TAB; WINDOWS+TAB (Vista only) |
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Refresh window |
F5 |
Basic Text and Object Manipulation
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Highlight items |
SHIFT+cursor keys |
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Cut highlighted
objects |
CTRL+X |
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Copy highlighted
objects |
CTRL+C |
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Paste contents of
clipboard |
CTRL+V |
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Undo |
CTRL+Z |
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Redo |
CTRL+Y |
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Rename an
Explorer object |
F2 |
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Invoke properties
sheet of highlighted object |
ALT+ENTER |
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Select all |
CTRL+A |
Explorer Tricks
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Expand all |
Numpad * |
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Expand current
selection |
Numpad + |
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Collapse current
selection |
Numpad - |
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Move from pane to
pane in an Explorer window |
F6 |
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Delete selected
item |
DEL |
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Permanently
delete selected item |
SHIFT+DEL |
Windows Logo Key & Navigation Sans
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Minimize
everything |
WINDOWS+M |
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Undo minimizing |
WINDOWS+M+SHIFT |
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Show desktop
instantly |
WINDOWS+D |
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Find files or
folders |
WINDOWS+F |
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Explorer |
WINDOWS+E |
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System properties |
WINDOWS+BREAK |
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Open Control
Panel |
WINDOWS+L |
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Open keyboard or
mouse properties |
WINDOWS+K &WINDOWS+I |
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Turn CAPS lock on
and off |
WINDOWS+S |
Back >
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