Windows 8 Shortcuts, The Complete Lists

Just like any other Windows contraption, Windows 8 comes with lots of keyboard shortcuts that can be used to quickly access specific tools or features.

Since Windows 8 integrates several improvements as compared to its predecessors, the overall number of keyboard shortcuts is also bigger, so beginners may have to search for guides like this to find out the quickest way to launch a specific app. Of course, using a multimedia keyboard with pre-defined hotkeys is the easiest way to make the most of Windows 8, but aside from the factory configured buttons, there still are a bunch of features you can only access by pressing multiple keys at the same time.

Here’s what can be very well considered the longest list with the most helpful keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8. All of them are provided by Yash Tolia, a Microsoft employee, so you can be pretty sure that all of them work.

Windows key: Switch between Modern Desktop Start screen and the last accessed application 
Windows key + C: Access the charms bar 
Windows key + Tab: Access the Modern Desktop Taskbar 
Windows key + I: Access the Settings charm 
Windows key + H: Access the Share charm 
Windows key + K: Access the Devices charm 
Windows key + Q: Access the Apps Search screen 
Windows key + F: Access the Files Search screen 
Windows key + W: Access the Settings Search screen 
Windows key + P: Access the Second Screen bar 
Windows key + Z: Brings up the App Bar when you have a Modern Desktop App running 
Windows key + X: Access the Windows Tools Menu 
Windows key + O: Lock screen orientation 
Windows key + . : Move the screen split to the right 
Windows key + Shift + . : Move the screen split to the left 
Windows key + V: View all active Toasts/Notifications 
Windows key + Shift + V: View all active Toasts/Notifications in reverse order 
Windows key + PrtScn: Takes a screenshot of the screen and automatically saves it in the Pictures folder as Screenshot 
Windows key + Enter: Launch Narrator 
Windows key + E: Open Computer 
Windows key + R: Open the Run dialog box 
Windows key + U: Open Ease of Access Center 
Windows key + Ctrl + F: Open Find Computers dialog box 
Windows key + Pause/Break: Open the System page 
Windows key + 1..10: Launch a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number 
Windows key + Shift + 1..10: Launch a new instance of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number 
Windows key + Ctrl + 1..10: Access the last active instance of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number 
Windows key + Alt + 1..10: Access the Jump List of a program pinned on the Taskbar in the position indicated by the number 
Windows key + B: Select the first item in the Notification Area and then use the arrow keys to cycle through the items Press Enter to open the selected item 
Windows key + Ctrl + B: Access the program that is displaying a message in the Notification Area 
Windows key + T: Cycle through the items on the Taskbar 
Windows key + M: Minimize all windows 
Windows key + Shift + M: Restore all minimized windows 
Windows key + D: Show/Hide Desktop (minimize/restore all windows) 
Windows key + L: Lock computer 
Windows key + Up Arrow: Maximize current window 
Windows key + Down Arrow: Minimize/restore current window 
Windows key + Home: Minimize all but the current window 
Windows key + Left Arrow: Tile window on the left side of the screen 
Windows key + Right Arrow: Tile window on the right side of the screen 
Windows key + Shift + Up Arrow: Extend current window from the top to the bottom of the screen 
Windows key + Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Move the current window from one monitor to the next 
Windows key + F1: Launch Windows Help and Support
PageUp: Scroll forward on the Modern Desktop Start screen 
PageDown: Scroll backward on the Modern Desktop Start screen 
Esc: Close a charm 
Ctrl + Esc: Switch between Modern Desktop Start screen and the last accessed application 
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel: Activate the Semantic Zoom on the Modern Desktop screen
Alt: Display a hidden Menu Bar 
Alt + D: Select the Address Bar 
Alt + P: Display the Preview Pane in Windows Explorer 
Alt + Tab: Cycle forward through open windows 
Alt + Shift + Tab: Cycle backward through open windows 
Alt + F: Close the current window Open the Shut Down Windows dialog box from the Desktop 
Alt + Spacebar: Access the Shortcut menu for current window 
Alt + Esc: Cycle between open programs in the order that they were opened 
Alt + Enter: Open the Properties dialog box of the selected item 
Alt + PrtScn: Take a screen shot of the active Window and place it in the clipboard 
Alt + Up Arrow: Move up one folder level in Windows Explorer (Like the Up Arrow in XP) 
Alt + Left Arrow: Display the previous folder 
Alt + Right Arrow: Display the next folder 
Shift + Insert: CD/DVD Load CD/DVD without triggering Autoplay or Autorun 
Shift + Delete: Permanently delete the item (rather than sending it to the Recycle Bin) 
Shift + F6: Cycle backward through elements in a window or dialog box 
Shift + F10: Access the context menu for the selected item 
Shift + Tab: Cycle backward through elements in a window or dialog box 
Shift + Click: Select a consecutive group of items 
Shift + Click on a Taskbar button: Launch a new instance of a program 
Shift + Right-click on a Taskbar button: Access the context menu for the selected item 
Ctrl + A: Select all items 
Ctrl + C: Copy the selected item 
Ctrl + X: Cut the selected item 
Ctrl + V: Paste the selected item 
Ctrl + D: Delete selected item 
Ctrl + Z: Undo an action 
Ctrl + Y: Redo an action 
Ctrl + N: Open a new window in Windows Explorer 
Ctrl + W: Close current window in Windows Explorer 
Ctrl + E: Select the Search box in the upper right corner of a window 
Ctrl + Shift + N: Create new folder 
Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open the Windows Task Manager 
Ctrl + Alt + Tab: Use arrow keys to cycle through open windows 
Ctrl + Alt + Delete: Access the Windows Security screen 
Ctrl + Click: Select multiple individual items 
Ctrl + Click and drag an item: Copies that item in the same folder 
Ctrl + Shift + Click and drag an item: Creates a shortcut for that item in the same folder 
Ctrl + Tab: Move forward through tabs 
Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Move backward through tabs 
Ctrl + Shift + Click on a Taskbar button: Launch a new instance of a program as an Administrator 
Ctrl + Click on a grouped Taskbar button: Cycle through the instances of a program in the group 
F1: Display Help 
F2: Rename a file 
F3: Open Search 
F4: Display the Address Bar list 
F5: Refresh display 
F6: Cycle forward through elements in a window or dialog box 
F7: Display command history in a Command Prompt 
F10: Display hidden Menu Bar 
F11: Toggle full screen display 
Tab: Cycle forward through elements in a window or dialog box 
PrtScn: Take a screen shot of the entire screen and place it in the clipboard 
Home: Move to the top of the active window 
End: Move to the bottom of the active window 
Delete: Delete the selected item 
Backspace: Display the previous folder in Windows Explorer Move up one folder level in Open or Save dialog box 
Esc: Close a dialog box 
Num Lock Enabled + Plus (+): Display the contents of the selected folder 
Num Lock Enabled + Minus (-): Collapse the selected folder 
Num Lock Enabled + Asterisk (*): Expand all subfolders under the selected folder 
Press Shift 5 times: Turn StickyKeys on or off 
Hold down right Shift for 8 seconds: Turn FilterKeys on or off 
Hold down Num Lock for 5 seconds: Turn ToggleKeys on or off

Windows 8 Start screen

Posted in: Review, Software