How-to: Windows Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts for the Windows CMD shell and PowerShell.

Alt ENTER Switch to/from full screen mode. Ctrl C Cancel the current command (if nothing is selected). Ctrl M Enter Mark mode. Shift ←/→ Select text in mark mode. Ctrl C Copy the selected text. (or Ctrl-Insert) Ctrl V Paste the selected text. (or Shift-Insert) Arrow keys Move the cursor in the direction specified. Page up Move the cursor by one page up. Page down Move the cursor by one page down. Ctrl Home (Mark mode) Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer. Ctrl End (Mark mode) Move the cursor to the end of the buffer. [Tab] Autocomplete folder/file name. ↓ / ↑ Scroll through history of typed commands. Alt Enter Toggle full screen. F11 Toggle full screen. ESC Clear command line. INSERT Toggle Insert/Overwrite. Ctrl Home Erase line to the left. Ctrl End Erase line to the right. Ctrl ← Move one word to the left (backward). Ctrl → Move one word to the right (forward). ⌫ Erase character to the left. [Home] Move to beginning of line. [End] Move to end of line. ⇧ PgUp Scroll window up. ⇧ PgDn Scroll window Down.

Keyboard shortcuts for the new Windows Terminal with tabs (download on Windows Store) [Github]

Application-level: Ctrl ⇧ F Find. Ctrl ⇧ Space Open the dropdown. Ctrl , Open settings files. Ctrl Alt , Open settings files. Tab management: Ctrl ⇧ T New tab. Ctrl ⇧ 1 thru 9 New tab. Ctrl ⇧ D Duplicate tab. Ctrl Tab Open next tab. Ctrl ⇧ tab Open previous tab. Ctrl Alt 1 thru 9 Open a specific tab. Pane management: Alt Up/Down/Left/Right Move pane focus. Alt ⇧ Up/Down/Left/Right Resize a pane. Alt ⇧ D Split a pane. Alt ⇧ - Split a pane. Alt ⇧ + Split a pane. Ctrl ⇧ W Close pane. Clipboard integration: Ctrl C Copy the selected text. (or Ctrl-Insert) Ctrl ⇧ C Copy the selected text. (or Ctrl-Insert) Ctrl V Paste the selected text. (or Shift-Insert) Ctrl ⇧ V Paste the selected text. (or Shift-Insert) Scrollback: Ctrl ⇧ Up/Down Scroll up/Down. Ctrl ⇧ pgup Scroll up one page. Ctrl ⇧ pgdn Scroll down one page. Visual adjustment: Ctrl = Adjust font size. Ctrl - Adjust font size. Ctrl 0 Reset font size. Left Alt + Left ⇧ + PrtScn Toggle High Visibility screen mode.

CMD shell Command History shortcuts:



F1 Print characters of the previous command one by one. F2 Z Repeat part of the previous command; up to character Z F3 Repeat the previous command. F4 Z Beginning from the current cursor position, delete up to character Z. F5 Scroll through history of typed commands (↑). Ctrl ↑ / ↓ Scroll the screen up or down one line. F7 Show history of previous commands. ALT F7 Clear command history. F8 Move backwards through the command history, but only display commands matching the current text at the command prompt. F9 Run a specific command from the command history. Ctrl Z Signal end-of-file.

Windows Explorer / Desktop / General.



⊞ Win PrtScn Save a fullscreen screenshot. ⊞ Win Alt PrtScn Save a screenshot of the active window. ⊞ Win ⇧ S Screenshot region of screen. ⊞ Win Open or Close the Start Menu. ⇧ Ctrl+Start Menu application - will launch the app 'As Admin' ⊞ Win A Open the Action Center. ⊞ Win C Activate Cortana listening mode. ⊞ Win D Show Desktop / Minimize all. Press a second time to restore. ⊞ Win E Open Windows File Explorer. ⊞ Win F Open the Feedback Hub. ⊞ Win Ctrl F Open Find computers. ⊞ Win I Open Settings. ⊞ Win K Open Connect. ⊞ Win L Lock the PC. ⊞ Win M Minimize all windows. ⊞ Win ⇧ M Restore windows that were minimized with ⊞ Win +M. ⊞ Win P Presentation display mode. ⊞ Win R Open the "Run Program Or File" Window. ⊞ Win S Open Search. ⊞ Win U Open the Ease of Access center. ⊞ Win V Cycle through notifications. Reverse with ⊞ Win+⇧ Shift+V (Win 1810+) ⊞ Win X Quick link menu (like right clicking on START). ⊞ Win # Open an app that is pinned to taskbar position # ⊞ Win . Open the Emoji panel. ⊞ Win Tab ↹ Open the task view. ⊞ Win Home Minimize all but the active desktop window. ⊞ Win → or ← Snap the active window to the right or left of the screen. ⊞ Win ↑ or ↓ Maximize or Minimize the active window. ⊞ Win ⇧ ↑ or ↓ Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen. ⊞ Win Ctrl ⇧ Shift+B Auto-correct a display issue/lockup. ⊞ Win Pause or ⊞ Win+Break opens properties of My Computer. ⊞ Win F1 Open Windows Help. ⊞ Win + Magnifier Zoom in. ⊞ Win - Magnifier Zoom out. ⊞ Win , Open a quick look at the desktop. ⊞ Win . or ; Open the Emoji panel. Alt F4 Close window.

Virtual Desktops



⊞ Win Ctrl D Create a new virtual desktop. ⊞ Win Ctrl ← / → Switch between virtual desktops. ⊞ Win Shift ← / → Switch Monitors. ⊞ Win Ctrl F4 Close the active virtual desktop. ⊞ Win Tab Task View/Timeline, then Right-click an app to show across all desktops. With multiple monitors, ⊞ Win +Tab shows which apps are open on each monitor.

Group Policy GPO



F5 Mark all settings on the page as "green" (apply all). F6 Mark current settings on the page as "green" (apply this setting). F7 Mark current settings as "red" (don't apply this setting). F8 Mark all settings on the page as "red" (don't apply). F3 Display a list of available variables.

⇧ is the Shift key

⌫ is the Backspace key

⊞ Win is the Windows Key

Disable one or more ⊞ Win Keyboard Shortcuts:

In the Windows registry add a new String Value called “DisabledHotkeys" under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Set the value data for this key to the hotkey characters you want to disable.

For example: to disable the hotkeys Win + X and Win + R, set the value to RX

(n.b. This will also affect other modifier key combinations like Win + Shift + X) Restart Explorer or Logoff/reboot and the new settings will apply to this user account. The hotkeys specified will be disabled and unassigned and thus available to any third party app which allows you to assign global hotkeys.

"If NumLock is on, pressing a key on the numeric keypad while holding SHIFT overrides NumLock and instead generates an arrow key" ~ OldNewThing



Related:

MMCs - Shortcuts to popular Microsoft Management Consoles.

EXPLORER - Open Windows Explorer.

Windows Start | Run commands

Windows key - Wikipedia, this includes older versions back to windows 95.

Keyboard shortcuts in Windows - Microsoft.com

Doskey /history - Show history of previous commands.

Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator - Remap keys. (see also remapkey.exe in the Windows 2003 resource Kit)

Equivalent bash Keyboard shortcuts