Microsoft Windows keyboard shortcuts
From HelpDeskWiki
Microsoft Windows defines a number of standard windows shortcuts. There are also a number of shortcuts which appear to be commonly supported, but which seem to not be documented. Not all programs support all applicable shortcuts; some poorly designed programs don't support any shortcuts at all, or worse yet, use the standard shortcuts for other purposes. For example, Ctrl+S normally means Save, and Ctrl+F means Find, but a badly designed program may confuse things totally by using Ctrl+S to mean Search, thus not only confusing newbies who thought they had something memorized that would work for any program, but slowing down old-timers who have to memorize something different for a specific program.
Many Windows users seem to believe that the keyboard is only good for typing text, and that the mouse is used to perform all actions. In reality, nearly everything that can be done with a mouse can be done with the keyboard, especially if the program is designed to conform to the official standards for Windows interface programming. An expert user can do certain tasks many dozens of times faster than someone using only a mouse. Part of the reason for this is the fact that it is time-consuming to move the hand from the keyboard to the mouse, and back again, and the mouse movements themselves are time-consuming, having been originally designed for graphics editing, not menu selection. Further, some mouse clicks are temporarily ignored in an attempt to filter out accidental extra clicks, thus slowing things down even more; Microsoft Excel does this during searches.
Many people do not use the Ctrl, Alt, and Windows key properly. These keys are used EXACTLY like the shift key; you hold them down and then tap the final key, then release the Shift/Ctrl/Alt/Windows key(s). Many people attempt to press all of the keys simultaneously, which does not work consistently.
Note that the shift key should not be used with the shortcuts listed below unless it is specifically mentioned. The caps-lock state does not matter. The num-lock state does not matter unless specifically mentioned.
| Keystroke | Meaning | Via menu | Via mouse |
| Text editing | |||
| Ctrl+A | Select (highlight) all items | Select All on the Edit menu | Drag mouse from top to bottom, or bottom to top |
| Ctrl+C | Copy selected item(s) | Copy on the Edit menu | Right-click (on selection) -> Copy |
| Ctrl+X | Cut selected item(s) | Cut on the Edit menu | Right-click (on selection) -> Cut |
| Ctrl+V | Paste copied or cut item(s) | Paste on the Edit menu | Right-click -> Paste |
| Ctrl+F | Find text on page | Find on the Edit menu | N/A |
| Ctrl+H | Find & replace text on page | Replace on the Edit menu | N/A |
| F3 | Find next (repeat find) | Find Next on the Edit menu | N/A |
| Ctrl+G | Go to | Go to on the Edit menu | Click on desired location |
| Ctrl+N | Open new | New on the File menu | Click on blank page icon in formatting bar |
| Ctrl+O | Open existing | Open on the File menu | Click on open folder icon in formatting bar |
| Ctrl+S | Save | Save on the File menu | Click on diskette icon in formatting bar |
| Ctrl+P | Print on the File menu | Click on printer icon in formatting bar | |
| Ctrl+Y | Repeat last action | Repeat or Redo on the Edit menu | N/A |
| Ctrl+K | Insert hyperlink | Hyperlink on the Insert menu | Click on icon in formatting bar |
| Menu key (next to right CTRL key) | List of shorcut options | Display each menu | Right click in work area |
| Alt+Shift+D | Reset current date | Date & Time on the My Computer menu | N/A |
| Excel Options | |||
| Includes Many Text Editing Options | |||
| Ctrl+~ | Display all formulas | Options -> View -> Windows Options -> Formulas on the Tools menu | Select a cell; formula for that cell appears in the formula bar. |
| Ctrl+1 | Format cells | Format cells on the Format menu | N/A |
| Ctrl+Tab | Make active, next in display of multiple windows | N/A | Click in desired window. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Make active, previous in display of multiple windows | N/A | Click in desired window. |
| F7 | Spelling | Spelling on the Tools menu | N/A |
| Desktop Navigation | |||
| Windows+B | Select first item in notification area (system tray) | N/A | Move mouse pointer to point at first item in notification area (system tray) |
| Windows+D | Minimize all windows | N/A | Show Desktop icon on QuickLaunch toolbar (if enabled) |
| Windows+E | Open Windows Explorer window | N/A | Right-click a folder icon and select Explore |
| Windows+F | Search/Find File | N/A | Search (or Find) on Start menu. |
| Windows+L | Log off | N/A | XP: Log Off on Start Menu.
2000: Shut Down -> Log Off on Start Menu. |
| Windows+M | Minimize all windows which have a Minimize option | N/A | Show Desktop icon on QuickLaunch toolbar (if enabled)(minimizes all windows) |
| Windows+R | Open Run dialog | N/A | Run on Start Menu |
| Windows+U | Open the Accessibility Utility Manager | N/A | All Programs -> Accessories -> Accessibility -> Utility Manager |
| Alt+F4 | Close program | Exit (sometimes Close) on the File menu | Click on the X in the upper right corner |
This page is VERY incomplete; can anyone add others?
Ctrl+"+" (plus sign on number pad) resizes all columns in a list.
Windows+Pause/Break opens System Properties.
Alt+Space Bar (plus cursor and Enter keys) enables resize options.
Ctrl+Tab skips to next tab.
Tab or cursor key skips to next entry.
Space bar toggles entries on and off (or chooses them).
Ctrl + Shift + Esc (on older Windows systems only Ctrl + Alt + Del) opens Windows Task Manager.
Alt + Enter opens the properties dialog of a selected item.
Shift before inserting a CD or DVD turns off autoplay/autorun.
Alt + Tab switches between open programs.
F5 refreshes view (status).
Make your own custom keyboard shortcut: Rightclick on program icon or shortcut -> Properties -> Shortcut -> Shortcut key (If you accidentally enter an already assigned combination, Windows will refuse to accept it.)
In MS Word: Ctrl+Shift+8 or Ctrl+"," (Ctrl + comma key) shows all characters. In some language versions, there is a different keyboard shortcut for this, e.g. Ctrl+* (asterisk).
In MS Word: pressing Shift+F3 repeatedly changes "text" to "Text" to "TEXT" and back to "text".
Many more: http://www.joyedaniels.com/keys_word.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q126449
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=269750
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP051866641033.aspx
