60+ Essential Windows and Word Keyboard Shortcuts

Can you imagine running a computer using only keyboard shortcuts? Why would you even do that?

The answer is simple: Keyboard shortcuts are hyper-efficient way to quickly turn something on and off, switch windows, or type. They only save a few seconds for each task, but if we repeat them ten or one hundred times each day, they quickly become extremely effective and useful.

But let’s not waste any more time. We’ll move past the theory and dive straight into the list of the most useful keyboard shortcuts. Effectiveness, after all, is the key here.

There are thousands out there and our goal is to show you the most common ones utilizing the Ctrl, Shift, Alt, and Windows logo keys.

The most commonly used universal keyboard shortcuts

To kick off the list, here are the 10 most commonly used shortcuts that work well with most apps. 

Ctrl + C	Copy the selected item
Ctrl + V	Insert the selected item
Ctrl + A	Select all items
Ctrl + F	Find in text
Ctrl + S	Save
Ctrl + P	Print
Ctrl + Z	Undo your last action
Ctrl + Y	Redo your last action (used after the Undo command)
Ctrl + Esc	Bring up the start menu
Alt + F4	Close the focused window/program

The Most Commonly Used Browser Keyboard Shortcuts

We use web browsers nearly daily. Utilize these shortcuts with practically all of them, be it Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer.

Ctrl + N	Open a new window
Ctrl + T	Open a new tab
Ctrl + Shift + N	Open a new window in Incognito mode
Ctrl + Shift + T	Reopen a previously closed tab
Ctrl + W, Ctrl + F4	Close the current tab
Ctrl + 1 through 8	Jump to a specific tab
Ctrl + 9	Jump to the rightmost tab
Ctrl + Tab, Ctrl + Page Down	Jump to the next open tab
Ctrl + Shift + Tab , Ctrl + Page Up	Jump to the previous open tab
Alt + Home	Open your home page in the current tab
Ctrl + B	Show or hide the Bookmarks bar
Ctrl + Shift + B	Open the Bookmarks Manager
Ctrl + H	Open the History page
Ctrl + J	Open the Downloads page
F6, Ctrl + L, Alt + D	Jump to the address bar
F5	Reload the current page
Space	Scroll down
Home	Go to the top of the page
End	Go to the bottom of the page

The Most Commonly Used Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

Utilize keyboard shortcuts to manage open windows and work with multiple applications or monitors simultaneously. Let’s explore the Windows logo key that, on its own, opens the Start menu.

Win + Tab	Open Task view
Alt + Tab	Switch between open apps/windows
Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow (←)/Right Arrow (→)	Move an app or window in the desktop from one monitor to another
Win + Up Arrow (↑)/Down Arrow (↓)	Maximize/minimize the window
Win + Right Arrow (→)/Left Arrow (←)	Maximize the app or desktop window to the right/left side of the screen
Win + „+“ or „-“	Zoom in or out using Magnifier
Win + E	Open File Explorer
Win + D	Minimize all windows and display the desktop
Win + M	Minimize all windows
Win + L	Lock your PC without shutting down the running processes
Win + X	Open the Quick Access menu where you can find settings for basic functions such as volume, Wi-Fi, display backlight, etc.
Win + R	Open the Run dialog box in the bottom left corner where you can enter the name of a folder, program, or document, and Windows opens it immediately
Win + Pause/Break	Display the System Properties dialog box
Win + Space/Alt + Shift	Switch input language
Shift + Delete	Delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin first

The Most Commonly Used MS Word Keyboard Shortcuts

Utilize the following shortcuts in text editors.

Home	Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line
End	Move the cursor to the end of the current line
Ctrl + H	Display the Replace dialog where you can replace keywords/characters
Ctrl + B	Apply bold formatting to text
Ctrl + I	Apply italic formatting to text
Ctrl + U	Apply underline formatting to text
Ctrl + L/R	Align the text to the left/right
Ctrl + E	Centre the text
Ctrl + J	Justify the paragraph
Ctrl + X	Cut the selected content to the Clipboard
Ctrl + Left Arrow (←)/Right Arrow (→)	Move the cursor one word to the left or right
Ctrl + Enter	Insert a page break
Ctrl + Shift + Space	Insert a nonbreaking space
Shift + Enter	Insert a line break
Shift + Left Arrow (←)/Right arrow (→)	Select text
Shift + Ctrl + Left Arrow (←)/Right Arrow (→)	Select the word to the left/right
Shift + Ctrl + Up Arrow (↑)/Down Arrow (↓)	Select from the current position to the beginning/end of the current paragraph
Shift + End	Select from the current position to the end of the current line
Shift + Home	Select from the current position to the beginning of the current line
Shift + Ctrl + End	Select from the current position to the end of the document
Shift + Ctrl + Home	Select from the current position to the beginning of the document
Shift + Ctrl + C	Copy the selected formatting
Shift + Ctrl + V	Paste the selected formatting

Just a little practice and these keyboard shortcuts will keep you from ever touching the mouse again.

If you liked this article, follow our blog and Facebook page, or subscribe to our newsletter. Soon, we will bring you an article on keyboard shortcuts for special characters. Can you find the en-dash (–), double quotation marks ("), at sign (@), or hashtag (#) on your keyboard?