Microsoft Windows Shortcut Keys

This is a listing of some common shortcut keys in different versions Microsoft Windows.

Some shortcut keys below are not supported in all versions of Windows.
The shortcut keys on this page are only applicable for Windows in general, if you are looking for shortcut keys for a specific application (i.e. Excel, Word, etc..) please see the links at the bottom of this page.

Use at your own risk.

Shortcut Key	Supported Window Versions	Short Key Description
Alt + (double-click)	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Open Properties dialog of selected item.
Alt + Enter	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Opens properties window of selected item.
Alt + Esc	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch Between open tasks available on the taskbar.
Alt + F4	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Close the top (focused) window.
Alt + Tab	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch between open windows.
Alt + Tab + Shift	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch between open windows, backward.
Ctrl + Alt + Delete (or Del)	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Bring up the Windows Task Manager, or reboot computer.
Ctrl + Esc	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Bring up the Windows Start menu.
Ctrl + '+' ('+' key on the keypad)	98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Autofit the widths of all columns (if available) in current window.
Ctrl + F4	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Close sub window/tab.
Ctrl + Tab	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch between existing tabs (within a window).
Ctrl + Tab + Shift	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch between existing tabs (within a window), backward
F1	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Open Help for Windows or focused application.
F2	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Rename.
F3	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Find/Search.
F4	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Select drives or display the list of drives
F5	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Refresh.
F6	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch focus to the address bar (if exists).
F10	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Switch focus to the top menu bar.
Shift + F10	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Same as mouse right-click on the select item.
Print Screen	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Capture a screenshot of the entire desktop to clipboard.
Print Screen + Alt	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Capture a screenshot of just the top(focused) window to clipboard.
Shift + Delete (or Del)	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Permanently delete selected file(s)/folder(s) (bypass recycle bin)
Shift (hold while inserting an audio CD to drive)	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Prevent autoplay.
* (keypad) on Windows Explorer.	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Expand all sub-directories from the selected item.
+ (keypad) on Windows Explorer.	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Expand only the first level of selected item.
- (keypad) on Windows Explorer.	95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista	Collapse

Most keyboards have a Windows Key (key with a Windows icon). This key provides additional shortcuts for Microsoft Windows. Below is a list of the shortcut keys by combining the Windows key and other keys.

Shortcut Keys	Description
WINDOWS-KEY	Bring up the Windows Start menu.
WINDOWS-KEY + F1	Bring up the Windows Help.
WINDOWS-KEY + e	Open Microsoft Explorer.
WINDOWS-KEY + f	Windows Search.
WINDOWS-KEY + Ctrl + f	Search for computers
WINDOWS-KEY + d	Minimizes all and bring up desktop, or restore all
WINDOWS-KEY + l	Lock the computer (Windows XP & newer).
WINDOWS-KEY + m	Minimizes all windows.
WINDOWS-KEY + Shift + M	Restore all. Opposite with WINDOWS-KEY + M and WINDOWS-KEY + D.
WINDOWS-KEY + r	Open the run window.
WINDOWS-KEY + u	Utility Manager.
WINDOWS-KEY + Tab	Cycle through the programs on task bar.
WINDOWS-KEY + Pause/Break	Open the System Properties window.