Jun 24 2010

Windows Shortcuts Are Your Friend

With the advent of the mouse and the GUI (Graphical User Interfaces) many years ago, the vast majority of people may relegate the humble keyboard for menial tasks such as word processing, playing games, entering URLs as well as login credentials.

What people may not realise is that there is a whole myriad of shortcuts that might come in handy and even speed things up for you.

Some of the big  hitters are:

  • Ctrl + Esc
    • Start/Windows button.
  • Windows + E
    • Windows Explorer.
  • Windows + R
    • Run (equivalent of Start -> Run).
  • Windows + Tab
    • Windows Flip 3D (a fancy version of Alt + Tab).
    • Works only on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
  • Windows + L
    • Lock the computer.
  • Windows + Left Arrow / Right Arrow
    • Snaps a window to the left or right helf of the screen.
    • Windows 7 only.
  • Windows + Up Arrow
    • Maximise a window.
  • Windows + Down Arrow
    • Minimise a window.
  • Windows + Pause
    • System Properties (this is really handy for those on telephone-based helpdesks).
  • Windows + number
    • Launches the program in the corresponding position of your quick launch bar / taskbar.

These are just a few of the ones that I use on a daily basis but there are stacks more that could save you time and fiddling around. If you are keen to look over the whole list of shortcuts, check out this page at the Microsoft site.

Some of them can get a bit complicated but I am sure there will be at least a handful that might simplify repetitive actions with Windows.

Boydo

My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.

In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.

I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.

I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

1 ping

  1. […] under Microsoft, Operating Systems, Technology, Windows 7 by Boydo Last year I covered a stack of keyboard shortcuts for Windows including some specific to Windows 7. I covered the keyboard shortcuts for snapping […]

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