Microsoft Windows Keyboard shortcut keys - Useful PC shortcuts for Windows

There are 100+ keyboard shortcuts available for Windows. Learn how to use Keyboard shortcuts in Windows tasks on your PC.

Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of two or more keys that, when pressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer, saving you time and effort as you work with Windows and other programs. Most programs also provide accelerator keys that can make it easier to work with menus and other commands. Check the menus of programs for accelerator keys. If a letter is underlined in a menu, that usually means that pressing the Alt key in combination with the underlined key will have the same effect as clicking that menu item. Pressing the Alt key in some programs, such as Paint and WordPad, shows commands that are labeled with additional keys that you can press to use them. 

Basic PC shortcut keys
The below basic shortcut keys are a listing of shortcut keys that will work with almost all IBM compatible computers and software programs. It is highly recommended that all users keep a good reference of the below shortcut keys or try to memorize the below keys. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + F	File menu options in current program.
Alt + E	Edit options in current program
F1	Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
Ctrl + A	Select all text.
Ctrl + F	Open find window for current document or window.
Ctrl + S	Save current document file.
Ctrl + X	Cut selected item.
Shift + Del	Cut selected item.
Ctrl + C	Copy selected item.
Ctrl + Ins	Copy selected item
Ctrl + V	Paste
Shift + Ins	Paste
Ctrl + P	Print the current page or document.
Home	Goes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home	Goes to beginning of document.
End	Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End	Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home	Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End	Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow	Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow	Moves one word to the right at a time.

Microsoft Windows shortcut keys

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + Tab	Switch Between Open Applications.
Alt + Shift + Tab	Switch Backwards Between Open Applications
Alt + PrtScSysRq	Create Screenshot for current program.
Ctrl + Alt + Del	Windows Task Manager.
Ctrl + Esc	Bring up Windows Start Menu.
Alt + Esc	Switch Between Applications on Taskbar.
F2	Rename selected item.
F3	Start Find From Desktop.
F4	Open The Drive Selection when Browsing.
Alt + F4	Close Current Open Program.
Ctrl + F4	Close Window in Program.
Alt + Enter	Open Properties Window of Selected icon or program.
Shift + F10	Simulate right-click on Selected Icon.
Shift + Del	Delete programs/files permanently.

Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and Other shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Office Program. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for a list of shortcut keys used in other programs. Please be aware that some of these shortcuts may not work in all versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook.