There's been a lot of talk recently about use use of shortcut keys in Windows 8, primarily because 90+% of the people who will be using that OS for the next few year won't have access to a touch screen.
What this has brought home though is just how many people still reply on the old shortcut keys, and I'm not just talking about Ctrl+X/C/V here.
With this in mind I thought I'd publish here the definitive list of all Windows 7 shortcut keys as taken from my Microsoft Press book, Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out.
| To do this | Press this key |
| Copy selected icon(s) | CTRL+C |
| Cut selected icons(s) | CTRL+X |
| Paste cut or copied text or item(s) to current folder | CTRL+V |
| Undo your most recent action | CTRL+Z |
| Delete selected icon(s) to Recycle Bin | DELETE or DEL |
| Delete selected icons(s) without moving to Recycle Bin | SHIFT+DELETE |
| Rename selected icon(s) | F2 |
| Extend selection through additional icons | SHIFT+any arrow key |
| Select all items in a document or window | CTRL+A |
| Search for a file or folder | F3 |
| Display properties for selected icon | ALT+ENTER |
| Close program in the active window | ALT+F4 |
| Open the shortcut menu for the active window | ALT+SPACEBAR |
| Close the active document in multiple document program | CTRL+F4 |
| Show Flip 3D | ~WS+TAB |
| Switch between open programs | ALT+TAB |
| Cycle through open programs in the order they were opened | ALT+ESC |
| Cycle through screen elements on the desktop or in a window | F6 |
| Display the shortcut menu for the selected item | SHIFT+F10 |
| Open/close the Start menu | CTRL+ESC or ~WS |
| Open menu or perform menu command | ALT+underlined letter |
| View menu bar in active program | F10 or Alt |
| Move left or right in menu bar | ¬ and ® |
| Move up or down in menu | and ¯ |
| Select highlighted menu command | ENTER |
| Refresh the active window | F5 |
| View the folder one level up Windows Explorer | BACKSPACE |
| Cancel the current task | ESC |
| Open Task Manager | CTRL+SHIFT+ESC |
| Copy dragged item to destination | CTRL+drag |
| Move dragged item to destination | CTRL+SHIFT+drag |
| Description | Key |
| Choose option with underlined letter | ALT+letter |
| Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons | Arrow keys |
| Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box | BACKSPACE |
| Go to previous tab | CTRL+SHIFT+TAB |
| Go to next tab | CTRL+TAB |
| Same as clicking OK | ENTER |
| Same as clicking Cancel | ESC |
| Help | F1 key |
| Display the items in the active list | F4 key |
| Move to previous option | SHIFT+TAB |
| Select or deselect the check box | SPACEBAR |
| Move to next option | TAB |
| Description | Key |
| Collapse the selected folder | – on numeric keypad |
| Display all the subfolders under selected folder | * on numeric keypad |
| Select or collapse parent folder | ¬ |
| Expand current folder or move to next subfolder | ¯ |
| Display the contents of the selected folder | + on numeric keypad |
| Display the bottom of the active window | END |
| Display the top of the active window | HOME |
| Open selected folder in new instance | SHIFT+Double-Click |
| Description | Key |
| Open Ease ofAccessCenter | ~WS+U |
| Switch the MouseKeys either on or off | LEFT ALT+LEFT SHIFT+NUM LOCK |
| Switch High Contrast either on or off | LEFT ALT+LEFT SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN |
| Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off | NUM LOCK for five seconds |
| Switch FilterKeys either on or off | RIGHT SHIFT for eight seconds |
| Switch the StickyKeys either on or off | SHIFT five times |
| To do this | Press this key |
| Open Windows Help and Support | F1 or ~WS+F1 |
| Display the Table of Contents | ALT+C |
| Display the Connection Settings menu | ALT+N |
| Display the Options menu | F10 |
| Move back to the previously viewed topic | ALT+¬ |
| Move forward to the next (previously viewed) topic | ALT+¯ |
| Display the customer support page | ALT+A |
| Display the Help home page | ALT+HOME |
| Move to the beginning of a topic | HOME |
| Move to the end of a topic | END |
| Search the current topic | CTRL+F |
| Print a topic | CTRL+P |
| Move to the Search box | F3 |
| Description | Key |
| Display or hide the Start menu | ~WS |
| Lock the computer | ~WS+L |
| Display the System Properties dialog box | ~WS+BREAK |
| Show the desktop | ~WS+D |
| Open Computer folder | ~WS+E |
| Search for file or folder | ~WS+F |
| Search for computers | CTRL+~WS+F |
| Display Windows Help | ~WS+F1 |
| Minimize all the windows | ~WS+M |
| Restore all minimized windows | ~WS+SHIFT+M |
| Open the Run dialog box | ~WS+R |
| Show Flip 3D | ~WS+TAB |
| Open Ease ofAccessCenter | ~WS+U |
| OpenWindowsMobility Center | ~WS+X |
| Description | Key |
| Move cursor down one line | ¯® |
| Move cursor left one character | ¬ |
| Move cursor right one character | ®¯ |
| Move cursor up one line | |
| Delete character to left of cursor | BACKSPACE |
| Move cursor to start of next paragraph | CTRL+¯® |
| Move cursor to start of previous paragraph | CTRL+ |
| Move cursor to start of previous word | CTRL+¬ |
| Move cursor to start of next word | CTRL+®¯ |
| Select all | CTRL+A |
| Copy to Clipboard | CTRL+C |
| Copy the selected text to destination | CTRL+drag |
| Select to end of paragraph | CTRL+SHIFT+® |
| Select to end of word | CTRL+SHIFT+Æ |
| Select to beginning of word | CTRL+SHIFT+¬ |
| Select to beginning of paragraph | CTRL+SHIFT+ |
| Select to end of document | CTRL+SHIFT+END |
| Select to top of document | CTRL+SHIFT+HOME |
| Paste Clipboard contents to cursor position | CTRL+V |
| Cut to Clipboard | CTRL+X |
| Undo last action | CTRL+Z |
| Delete selected text or character at cursor | DEL |
| Cancel the current task | ESC |
| Select to character in line above | SHIFT+ |
| Select to character in line below | SHIFT+¯® |
| Select character to left | SHIFT+¬ |
| Select character to right | SHIFT+®¯ |
| Select from cursor to here | SHIFT+Click |
| Select to end of line | SHIFT+END |
| Select to beginning of line | SHIFT+HOME |
| Select text down one screen | SHIFT+PAGE DOWN |
| Select text up one screen | SHIFT+PAGE UP |
| Key | Description |
| | Move up one row |
| ¯ | Move down one row |
| ¬ | Move to the left or to the end of the previous line |
| ® | Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line |
| CTRL+END | Move to the last character |
| CTRL+HOME | Move to the first character |
| END | Move to the end of the line |
| HOME | Move to the beginning of the line |
| PAGE DOWN | Move down one screen at a time |
| PAGE UP | Move up one screen at a time |
| SPACEBAR | Switch between Enlarged and Normal modes |
| To do this | Press this |
| Add “www.” to the beginning and “.com” to the end of text in address bar | CTRL+ENTER |
| Add the current page to favorites | CTRL+D |
| Click the Information bar | SPACEBAR |
| Close current tab (or the current window if tabbed browsing is disabled) | CTRL+W |
| Close other tabs | CTRL+ALT+F4 |
| Close Print Preview | ALT+C |
| Close the current window (if you have only one tab open) | CTRL+W |
| Copy selection to Clipboard | CTRL+C |
| Display a list of addresses you’ve typed | F4 |
| Display a shortcut menu for a link | SHIFT+F10 |
| Display first page to be printed | ALT+HOME |
| Display last page to be printed | ALT+END |
| Display next page to be printed | ALT+¯ |
| Display previous page to be printed | ALT+¬ |
| Display zoom percentages | ALT+Z |
| Find on this page | CTRL+F |
| Go to home page | ALT+HOME |
| Go to selected link | ENTER |
| Go to the next page | ALT+¯ |
| Go to the previous page | ALT+¬ or BACKSPACE |
| Go to the Toolbar Search box | CTRL+E |
| Help | F1 |
| Move back through the items on a Web page, the address bar, or the links bar | SHIFT+TAB |
| Move back through the list of AutoComplete matches | ® |
| Move backward between frames (if tabbed browsing is disabled) | CTRL+SHIFT+TAB |
| Move focus to the Information bar | ALT+N |
| Move forward through frames and browser elements (if tabbed browsing is disabled) | CTRL+TAB or F6 |
| Move forward through the items on a Web page, the address bar, or the links bar | TAB |
| Move forward through the list of AutoComplete matches | ¯ |
| Move selected item down in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box | ALT+¯ |
| Move selected item up in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box | ALT+ |
| Move the cursor left to the next punctuation in the address bar | CTRL+¬ |
| Move the cursor right to the next punctuation in the address bar | CTRL+® |
| Move to the beginning of the page | HOME |
| Move to the end of the page | END |
| Open a new tab in the foreground | CTRL+T |
| Open a new tab in the foreground from the address bar | ALT+ENTER |
| Open a new Web site or page | CTRL+O |
| Open a new window | CTRL+N |
| Open Favorites | CTRL+I |
| Open Feeds | CTRL+J |
| Open History | CTRL+H |
| Open links in a new background tab | CTRL+click |
| Open links in a new foreground tab | CTRL+SHIFT+click |
| Open search query in a new tab | ALT+ENTER |
| Open the Organize Favorites | CTRL+B |
| Page Setup | ALT+U |
| Paste Clipboard contents | CTRL+V |
| Print the current page or active frame | CTRL+P |
| Refresh the current Web page | F5 |
| Refresh the current Web page regardless of timestamp | CTRL+F5 |
| Save the current page | CTRL+S |
| Scroll down a line | ¯ |
| Scroll down a page | PAGE DOWN |
| Scroll up a line | |
| Scroll up a page | PAGE UP |
| Select all items on the current Web page | CTRL+A |
| Select frames to print in framed Web site | ALT+F |
| Select the text in the address bar | ALT+D |
| Set printing options and print the page | ALT+P |
| Stop downloading a page | ESC |
| Switch between tabs | CTRL+TAB or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB |
| Switch to a specific tab number | CTRL+n (where n is a number between 1 and 8) |
| Switch to the last tab | CTRL+9 |
| Toggle between full-screen and regular views | F11 |
| Toggle Quick Tabs on or off | CTRL+Q |
| Type the number of the page you want displayed | ALT+A |
| Zoom in | ALT+PLUS SIGN |
| Zoom in 10 percent | CTRL+PLUS SIGN |
| Zoom out | ALT+MINUS SIGN |
| Zoom out 10 percent | CTRL+MINUS SIGN |
| Zoom to 100 percent | CTRL+0 |
Advertising revenue is falling fast across the Internet, and independently-run sites like Ghacks are hit hardest by it. The advertising model in its current form is coming to an end, and we have to find other ways to continue operating this site.
We are committed to keeping our content free and independent, which means no paywalls, no sponsored posts, no annoying ad formats or subscription fees.
If you like our content, and would like to help, please consider making a contribution:
Please click on the following link to open the newsletter signup page: Ghacks Newsletter Sign up
Ghacks is a technology news blog that was founded in 2005 by Martin Brinkmann. It has since then become one of the most popular tech news sites on the Internet with five authors and regular contributions from freelance writers.
The Natural Keyboard list only seems to have Windows XP shortcuts.
Windows 7 also allows:
WS+UP – Maximize window
WS+SHIFT+UP – Maximize window only vertically
WS+DOWN – Minimize window
WS+LEFT/RIGHT – Aero Snap window to left/right
WS+SHIFT+LEFT/RIGHT – Move window between monitors
WS+HOME – Minimize all windows except the current one (same as Aero Shake)
WS+[1-0] on main keyboard – Activate or launch corresponding pinned taskbar icon.
WS+G – Bring desktop gadgets to front
WS+P – Open projector/monitor swticher
There’s probably a few more still waiting to be discovered.
I find that alt-F4 does not always work, esp for microsoft office under XP. I have used alt-F4 since forever!!!
Probably a dumb question, but you use non-keyboard characters in this shortcut list, including:
¬
®
¯
~WS
How do I enter these? I assume WS is the Windows key, but does ~ mean the keyboard tilde or something else, and if so what?
Thanks.
I find that the keyboard has become a series of shortcuts. Every letter I hit becomes a command… For example, I hit the “h” key and it brings up the history box. I did not access this feature intentionally, and I don’t know how to turn it on and off (other than restarting the whole computer). I cannot find the easy answer on the microsoft instructional pages…
I would love to disable some of the hotkeys in Win7 but can’t figure out how to do it. Specifically, the “select all” combo of Ctrl + A. I hit those keys accidently all the time, and the next key I hit deletes everything I just typed. It’s seriously driving me crazy!
Any help on this would be much appreciated. Thanks!
To the “General Shortcut Keys” I have one to add:
Create shortcut of selected item(s) in destination : Alt+drag