John Scherer is now available

In my line of business as a writer and editor, and a former newspaper designer, keyboard shortcuts are my life. I rarely touch toolbars. When your profession revolves around speed and convenience, the least I can do is memorize some keyboard shortcuts and make my precious time as constructive as possible. So I decided to make a list of Windows® keyboard shortcuts for anyone who is interested in making themselves more efficient at whatever they need to get done on their PC.

 Windows System Keyboard Shortcuts

F1: Help

CTRL+ESC: Open Start Menu

ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs

ALT+F4: Quit Program

SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently

 Windows Program Keyboard Shortcuts

CTRL+C: Copy

CTRL+X: Cut

CTRL+V: Paste

CTRL+Z: Undo

CTRL+B: Bold

CTRL+U: Underline

CTRL+C

 General Keyboard-only Keyboard Shortcut Commands

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)

ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box

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+F4: Closes the current window

 Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Windows Logo: Start menu

Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box

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 Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, 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

I understand that all these keyboard shortcuts may seem a little daunting and too difficult to memorize, but I assure you that it is not as bad as it seems. There is a method to the madness of keyboard shortcuts, and once you get started learning and understanding them, the reward will be great. Not only will you get your work done faster, you will be proud that you are a more advanced Windows user.