Essential PC shortcuts

Hello there! Today, we'll be checking out some basic windows shortcuts that will thrill you and make navigation easier and interesting on your windows PC.

Get to know the basics

There are certain shortcuts we use all the time. They work on almost all applications on the PC.

• · Copy a selected item: Ctrl+C
• · Cut a selected item: Ctrl+X
• · Paste a selected item: Ctrl+V
• · Undo an action: Ctrl+Z
• · Redo that thing I just undid: Ctrl+Y
• · Select everything: Ctrl+A
• · Print: Ctrl+P

Manage open windows
Chances are, you use your PC to do a lot of things at once. Shortcuts go a long way towards cutting the clutter. Go ahead and try these out as you read about them.

Switch between open windows
Alt+Tab

This works if you have lots of open windows and you're not sure exactly which one you need, press Alt+Tab, and get a quick thumbnail view of all open windows. While holding down the Alt key, press the Tab key multiple times until you get to the window you want.

 

Minimize all Tabs and show the desktop ASAP
when working on the PC, there might be a need of minimizing multiple Tabs to work on the desktop. the simple shortcut is

Windows logo key  +D 

Use this shortcut when you want to minimize a lot of open windows at once to check something on your desktop. Clutter-to-clean with two fingers.

a PC screen before Windows logo key  +D 

a PC screen after Windows logo key  +D was pressed

       

Minimize the window
Windows logo key +Down Arrow 

Minimizing a window is a surefire way to see what's underneath it. And it's fast to use the shortcut. If the window is maximized already (covering the entire screen) it'll go to “normal” size. And if it's normal size, it'll minimize entirely.

Maximize the window
Windows logo key+Up Arrow 

Maximizing windows works the same way.

Compare and contrast in a snap
Windows logo key+Left Arrow or Right Arrow

Snap is the easiest way I know to compare two documents—or to write up something while also looking at a web browser. The shortcut for Snap makes it even snappier. Go ahead and try this now.

While pressing the Windows logo key , click the Right Arrow key or the Left Arrow key and your browser will slide over to one side. Select another window (such as a Word document) and use the shortcut only with the opposite arrow.

Side by side comparison with snap feature

Manage tasks

You might already be using a shortcut—Ctrl+Alt+Delete—to open up Task Manager or to lock your computer. But there are shortcuts for this shortcut.

•  Open Task Manager 

            Ctrl+Shift+Esc

This simple shortcut whisks you straight to Task Manager—without any intermediary steps.

Lock your PC or switch users
Windows logo key +L This shortcut locks your PC and instantly displays the login screen.

You should find these shortcuts useful.  More will be posted in subsequent posts.