Windows 7 shortcuts

WINDOWS   7  SHORTCUTS

Typing & editing the text using Keyboard

In addition to letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and symbols, the typing keys also include Shift, Caps Lock, Tab, Enter, the Spacebar, and Backspace keys.

Key name	How to use it
Shift	Press Shift in combination with a letter to type an uppercase letter. Press Shift in combination with another key to type the symbol shown on the upper part of that key.
Caps Lock	Press Caps Lock once to type all letters as uppercase. Press Caps Lock again to turn this function off. Your keyboard might have a light indicating whether Caps Lock is on.
Tab	Press Tab to move the cursor several spaces forward. You can also press Tab to move to the next text box on a form.

Key name	How to use it
Enter	Press Enter to move the cursor to the beginning of the next line. In a dialog box, press Enter to select the highlighted button.
Spacebar	Press the Spacebar to move the cursor one space forward.
Backspace	Press Backspace to delete the character before the cursor, or the selected text.

Find program shortcuts

You can do things in most programs by using the keyboard. To see which commands have keyboard shortcuts, open a menu. The shortcuts (if available) are shown next to the menu items.

Some other useful shortcuts

Press this	To do this
Windows logo key	Open the Start menu
Alt+Tab	Switch between open programs or windows
Alt+F4	Close the active item, or exit the active program
Ctrl+S	Save the current file or document (works in most programs)
Ctrl+C	Copy the selected item
Ctrl+X	Cut the selected item
Ctrl+V	Paste the selected item
Ctrl+Z	Undo an action
Ctrl+A	Select all items in a document or window
Esc	Cancel the current task
Application key (near to right Ctrl key)	Open a menu of commands related to a selection in a program. Equivalent to right-clicking the selection
F1	Display Help for a program or Windows
Windows key +F1	Display Windows Help and Support

Using navigation keys

Press this	To do this
Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow	Move the cursor or selection one space or line in the direction of the arrow, or scroll a webpage in the direction of the arrow
Home	Move the cursor to the beginning of a line or move to the top of a webpage
End	Move the cursor to the end of a line or move to the bottom of a webpage
Ctrl+Home	Move to the top of a document
Ctrl+End	Move to the bottom of a document
Page Up	Move the cursor or page up one screen
Page Down	Move the cursor or page down one screen
Delete	Delete the character after the cursor, or the selected text; in Windows, delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
Insert	Turn Insert mode off or on. When Insert mode is on, text that you type is inserted at the cursor. When Insert mode is off, text that you type replaces existing characters.

Shortcuts for the Advanced User

Window Management Shortcuts

• Win+Home: Clear all but the active window.
• Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.
• Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window.
• Shift+Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window vertically.
• Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it's maximized.
• Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor.
• Shift+Win+Left/Right arrows: Move the window to the monitor on the left or right.

You can also interact with windows by dragging them with the mouse:

• Drag window to the top: Maximize
• Drag window left/right: Dock the window to fill half of the screen.
• Shake window back/forth: Minimize everything but the current window.
• Double-Click Top Window Border (edge): Maximize window vertically.

Taskbar Shortcuts

In Windows 7, using the Windows key along with the numbers 1-9 will let you interact with the applications pinned to the taskbar in those positions – for example, the Windows key + 4 combination would launch Outlook in this example, or Win+Alt+4 can be used to get quick access to Outlook Jump List from the keyboard.

You can use any of these shortcut combinations to launch the applications in their respective position on the taskbar, or more:

• Win+number (1-9): Starts the application pinned to the taskbar in that position, or switches to that program.
• Shift+Win+number (1-9): Starts a new instance of the application pinned to the taskbar in that position.
• Ctrl+Win+number (1-9): Cycles through open windows for the application pinned to the taskbar in that position.
• Alt+Win+number (1-9): Opens the Jump List for the application pinned to the taskbar.
• Win+T: Focus and scroll through items on the taskbar.
• Win+B: Focuses the System Tray icons.

In addition, you can interact with the taskbar using your mouse and a modifier key:

• Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program or quickly open another instance of a program.
• Ctrl+Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program as an administrator.
• Shift+Right-click on a taskbar button: Show the window menu for the program (like XP does).
• Shift+Right-click on a grouped taskbar button: Show the window menu for the group.
• Ctrl+Click on a grouped taskbar button: Cycle through the windows of the group.

More Useful Hotkeys You Should Know

• Ctrl+Shift+N: Creates a new folder in Windows Explorer.
• Alt+Up: Goes up a folder level in Windows Explorer.
• Alt+P: Toggles the preview pane in Windows Explorer.
• Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds Copy as Path, which copies the path of a file to the clipboard.
• Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds extra hidden items to the Send To menu.
• Shift+Right-Click on a folder: Adds Command Prompt Here, which lets you easily open a command prompt in that folder.
• Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display.
• Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out.
• Win+G: Cycle between the Windows Gadgets on your screen.

How to create keyboard shortcut to open a program:

1. Locate the shortcut to the program for which you want to create a keyboard shortcut.

2. Right-click the shortcut and then click Properties.

3. In the Shortcut Properties dialog box, click the Shortcut tab.

4. Click in the Shortcut key box, press the key on your keyboard that you want to use in combination with Ctrl+Alt (keyboard shortcuts automatically start with Ctrl+Alt), and then click OK. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Notes

 The word none appears in the Shortcut key box until you press a key; then it's replaced with Ctrl+Alt+the key that you pressed.

 The new shortcut might not work for programs that have their own keyboard shortcuts.

 You cannot use the Esc, Enter, Tab, Spacebar, PrtScn, Shift, or Backspace keys to create a keyboard shortcut.

 You can also create keyboard shortcuts to open files and folders.

Make the keyboard easier to use

You can use your keyboard to control the mouse and make it easier to type certain key combinations. Windows 7 make it much easier to control every bit of your computer, you can also adjust these settings to make the keyboard easier to use, follow the steps to do so:

1. Go to Control Panel and open Ease of Access Center.

2. Select the options that you want to use:

 Turn on Mouse Keys: This option sets Mouse Keys to run when you log on to Windows. Instead of using the mouse, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard or the numeric keypad to move the pointer.

 Turn on Sticky Keys: This option sets Sticky Keys to run when you log on to Windows. Instead of having to press three keys at once (such as when you must press the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys together to log on to Windows), you can use one key by turning on Sticky Keys and adjusting the settings. This way, you can press a modifier key and have it remain active until another key is pressed.

 Turn on Toggle Keys: This option sets Toggle Keys to run when you log on to Windows. Toggle Keys can play an alert each time you press the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys. These alerts can help prevent the frustration of inadvertently pressing a key and not realizing it.
 Turn on Filter Keys: This option sets Filter Keys to run when you log on to Windows. You can set Windows to ignore keystrokes that occur in rapid succession, or keystrokes that are held down for several seconds unintentionally.
 Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys: This option makes keyboard access in dialog boxes easier by highlighting access keys for the controls in them.
 Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen: This option prevents windows from automatically resizing and docking along the sides of your screen when
you move them there.



Windows 7 definitely makes it a lot easier to interact with your PC from your keyboard—so what are your favorite shortcuts, and how do they save you time? Share your experience in the comments.