Windows has a plethora of useful hotkeys that can significantly enhance your productivity. Here are some of the most practical ones, categorized for ease of reference:
- Win + D: Show Desktop. "Win + D - show desktop. Press again to go back to showing windows."
- Win + E: Open File Explorer. "Windows + E to open File Explorer"
- Win + Shift + Arrows: Move window between monitors. "Win-Shift-Arrows: moves window from one monitor to the next"
- Win + Arrow Keys: Snap window to the left, right, up, or down. "Win +(arrow key) to auto fit your window to one side of the display"
- Alt + Tab: Switch between open windows. "Alt + Tab to access another apps without using your cursor."
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open Task Manager. "Control-Shift-Esc: opens Task Manager"
- Ctrl + Esc: Open Start Menu. "Control-Esc: opens Start menu"
- Ctrl + C: Copy.
- Ctrl + X: Cut.
- Ctrl + V: Paste. "Windows+V to paste from the Windows Clipboard, when having to do repetitive data entry."
- Ctrl + Shift + S: Take a screenshot of a selected area. "Windowskey+shift+s (screenshot region)"
- Win + Shift + S: Open Snipping Tool for taking screenshots. "Win Shift S"
- Shift + Enter: Continue writing on newline in any platform like AI chatbox except Copilot CLI
- Ctrl + Enter: Continue writing on newline in Copilot CLI
- Win + L: Lock PC. "Windows + L to lock Windows (not logoff, processes keep running)"
- Win + I: Open Settings. "Windows + I to open System section on Settings."
- Win + X: Open Quick Access Menu. "Windows + X to open Taskbar settings."
- Win + X + UU: Shutdown.
- Win + X + UR: Restart.
- Win + Ctrl + Shift + B: Restart Graphics Adapter. "Win-Control-Shift-B: restarts graphics adapter"
- Win + Ctrl + D: Create a new virtual desktop. "Win + Ctrl + D creates a new virtual desktop."
- Win + Ctrl + Left/Right: Switch between virtual desktops. "Windows Key + Ctrl + Left / Right – Switch to the virtual desktop on the left or right."
- Win + Ctrl + F4: Close current virtual desktop. "Win + Ctrl + F4 closes the current virtual desktop if you have multiple."
- Win + S: Open Search. "Windows + S to open the search box"
- Win + R: Open Run dialog. "Windows + R to open Run."
- Win + Tab: Open Task View. "Windows Key + Tab – Opens task view interface. Like Alt + Tab, but stays open."
- Win + 1-9: Launch pinned taskbar apps. "Win + 1->0 Launches pinned Quick Access/Quick Launch Items left to right with the corresponding number"
- Alt + 143/134: Types the letter "Å" and “å” respectively, important in Swedish för min själs själ Effemuiellia.
- Alt + 0233: Types the letter "é", important in Touché. I mean Français. Elle m'a touché l'âme (She touches my soul)
- Alt + 212: Types the letter "È", important in Italian. "In Italian Alt+212 is very important too. It types the letter "È", very used here"
- Alt + 0200, 0201, 0192: Types È, É, and À respectively, useful in French. "Same in France where alt+ 0200, 0201 and 0192 are really useful (it's È, É and À)"
- Alt + 0149: Creates a bullet point symbol "•". "One I use all the time (at work) is alt+0149 It makes the "•" symbol. Useful for quick bullet points."
- Alt + 7: Another way to create a bullet point symbol. "Alt+7 should work for the bullet character too."
- Alt + 9: Creates a different bullet point symbol. "And alt + 9 if you want a different bullet to the alt + 7 one"
- Alt + 24: ↑ | Alt + 25: ↓. We know -> = → and <- = ←
- Win + .: Open Emoji Panel. "Win + . = Emoji Keyboard"
- Win + V: Open Clipboard History. "Win + V - open the Clipboard history menu."
- Win + Shift + Arrows: Move window to another monitor. "Windows key + Shift + arrows for moving windows between screens"
- Character Map: Accessible via Windows key + R, then typing
charmap. "Start > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map is also another way to get the same symbols."
Here are punctuation marks not directly on standard keyboards with their hotkeys:
Windows Hotkeys
Linux Hotkeys
Linux uses the Compose key method (typically Right Alt or configured key):
Note: Linux sequences may vary by distribution and desktop environment. You can also use Ctrl + Shift + U followed by the Unicode hex code, then Enter.