Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 11. Explore system hotkeys online or download free PDF Cheat Sheet to navigate and work on your Windows device.

Open Microsoft Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot. Or if Copilot isn't available, it will open Settings so you can choose what the key does: Copilot

Delete characters to the left of the cursor: Bksp
Select all text: Ctrl+A
Apply the bold format to the selected text: Ctrl+B
Delete words to the left of the cursor: Ctrl+Bksp
Copy the selected text: Ctrl+C
or
Ctrl+Insert
Delete words to the right of the cursor: Ctrl+Del
Move the cursor forward to the beginning of the next paragraph: Ctrl+Down
Move the cursor forward to the end of the document: Ctrl+End
Find text: Ctrl+F
Find and replace text: Ctrl+H
Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the document: Ctrl+Home
Apply the italic format to the selected text: Ctrl+I
Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the previous word: Ctrl+Left
Move the cursor forward to the beginning of the next word: Ctrl+Right
Paste as plain text: Ctrl+Shift+V
Apply the underline format to the selected text: Ctrl+U
Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the previous paragraph: Ctrl+Up
Paste the last item from the clipboard: Ctrl+V
or
Shift+Insert
Cut the selected text: Ctrl+X
Redo typing that was undone with Ctrl + Z: Ctrl+Y
Undo the last typing: Ctrl+Z
Delete characters to the right of the cursor: Del
Move the cursor forward to the next line: Down

Move the cursor forward to the end of the line: End
Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the line: Home
Move the cursor backward to the previous character: Left
Move the cursor forward by one page: Pg Dn
Move the cursor backward by one page: Pg Up
Move the cursor forward to the next character: Right
Select paragraphs forward from the current cursor position: Ctrl+Shift+Down
Select text between the current cursor position and the end of the document: Ctrl+Shift+End
Select text between the current cursor position and the beginning of the document: Ctrl+Shift+Home
Select words backward from the current cursor position: Ctrl+Shift+Left
Select words forward from the current cursor position: Ctrl+Shift+Right
Select paragraphs backward the current cursor position: Ctrl+Shift+Up
Select lines forward from the current cursor position: Shift+Down
Select text from the current cursor position to the end of the current line: Shift+End
Select text from the current cursor position to the beginning of the current line: Shift+Home
Select characters backward from the current cursor position: Shift+Left
Select one page of text forward from the current cursor position: Shift+Pg Dn
Select one page of text backward from the current cursor position: Shift+Pg Up
Select characters forward from the current cursor position: Shift+Right
Select lines backward from the current cursor position: Shift+Up
Indent the cursor one tab stop: Tab
Move the cursor backward to the previous line: Up

Set focus to the first icon in the Suggested actions menu: Alt+A
Cycle through windows in the order in which they were opened: Alt+Esc
Close the active window. If no windows are open, prompt to shutdown: Alt+F4
Show your password on the sign-in screen: Alt+F8
Go back: Alt+Left
Move down one screen: Alt+Pg Dn
Move up one screen: Alt+Pg Up
Capture a screenshot of the active window and copy it to the clipboard: Alt+PrtSc
Go forward: Alt+Right
When a group or tile is in focus on the Start menu, move it in the specified direction: Alt+Shift+Up
or
Alt+Shift+Down
or
Alt+Shift+Left
or
Alt+Shift+Right
Open the context menu for the active window: Alt+Space
Switch between open windows. To cycle through multiple windows, continue to hold the Alt key and press Tab multiple times: Alt+Tab
Do the action in menus, when keyboard shortcut is specified by highlighting a character in the action name: Alt+letter
Select all items in a window: Ctrl+A
Switch to the security screen where you can lock the desktop, switch user, sign out, change a password, or open Task Manager: Ctrl+Alt+Del

View a thumbnail of all open apps. Use the arrow keys to switch between open apps: Ctrl+Alt+Tab
Open the Start menu: Ctrl+Esc
In apps that are full-screen and let you have multiple documents open at the same time, close the active document but not the entire app: Ctrl+F4
Refresh the current window: Ctrl+F5
or
Ctrl+R
When multiple keyboard layouts are available, switch the keyboard layout: Ctrl+Shift
When a tile is in focus on the Start menu, move it into another tile to create a folder: Ctrl+Shift+Up
or
Ctrl+Shift+Down
or
Ctrl+Shift+Left
or
Ctrl+Shift+Right
Open Task Manager: Ctrl+Shift+Esc
Enable or disable the Chinese input method editor (IME). For more information, see Microsoft Simplified Chinese IME and Microsoft Traditional Chinese IME: Ctrl+Space
Redo an action that was previously undone with Ctrl + Z: Ctrl+Y
Undo the previous action: Ctrl+Z
Stop or leave the current task, or dismiss a dialog box: Esc
Refresh the active window: F5
Cycle through elements in a window or on the desktop: F6
Activate the menu bar in the active window: F10
Select a region of the screen to capture a screenshot to the clipboard. You can then open the Snipping Tool to share or markup the image. Note: You can turn off this default behavior. Select Start > Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard , and set Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping to Off: PrtSc

Open or close the Start menu: Win
Open the Windows 11 action center: Win+A
Set focus to a Windows tip when one is available. When a Windows tip appears, bring focus to the tip. Press the keys again to bring focus to the element on the screen to which the Windows tip is anchored: Win+Shift+A
Turn high dynamic range (HDR) on or off. For more information, see What is HDR in Windows?: Win+Alt+B
Open Microsoft Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot. Tip: To customize what happens when you press the Windows key + C shortcut, go to Settings > Personalization > Text input > Customize Copilot key on keyboard: Win+C
Open or close Windows search (when Copilot is not available or disabled): Win+C
Display and hide the date and time on the desktop: Win+Alt+D
Snap the active window to the bottom half of the screen: Win+Alt+Down
When voice typing is open, set the focus to the keyboard: Win+Alt+H
Mute or unmute the microphone in supported apps: Win+Alt+K
Snap the active window to the top half of the screen: Win+Alt+Up
Temporarily peek at the desktop: Win+,
If turned on in settings, enable or disable color filters: Win+Ctrl+C
Open Narrator: Win+Ctrl+Enter
Search for devices on a network: Win+Ctrl+F
Open Quick Assist: Win+Ctrl+Q
Wake up the device when the screen is blank or black: Win+Ctrl+Shift+B
Change to a previously selected input option: Win+Ctrl+Space
Open the sound output page of quick settings, which includes settings for the output device, spatial sound, and the volume mixer: Win+Ctrl+V
Display and hide the desktop: Win+D
Minimize the active window: Win+Down
Open File Explorer: Win+E
Close Magnifier: Win+Esc
Open Feedback Hub: Win+F
Start input method editor (IME) reconversion: Win+/
Open the Game Bar. For more information, see Keyboard shortcuts for Game Bar: Win+G
Open voice dictation: Win+H
Minimize or restore all windows except the active window: Win+Home
Open Settings: Win+I
Open Recall. (Available on devices that meet the minimum system requirements ): Win+J
Open Cast from Quick Settings to connect to a display. For more information, see Screen mirroring and projecting to your PC or wireless display: Win+K
Lock the computer: Win+L
Snap the window to the left side of the screen: Win+Left

Minimize all windows: Win+M
Zoom out in Magnifier: Win+-
Open notification center and calendar: Win+N
Lock the device orientation: Win+O
Open project settings to choose a presentation display mode: Win+P
Opens the Settings app to the System > About page: Win+Pause
Open the emoji panel: Win+.
or
Win+;
Zoom in with the Magnifier: Win+=
Capture a full screen screenshot and save it to a file in the Screenshots subfolder of the Pictures folder: Win+PrtSc
Open search: Win+Q
Open the Run dialog box: Win+R
Snap the window to the right side of the screen: Win+Right
Open search: Win+S
If a window is snapped or maximized, restore it: Win+Shift+Down
If the active window is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, make it full screen: Win+Shift+Enter
Move the active window to the monitor on the left: Win+Shift+Left
Restore minimized windows: Win+Shift+M
Select a region of the screen to record a video. It then opens the screen recording in the Snipping Tool . By default, this screen recording is automatically saved as an MP4 file in the Screen Recordings subfolder of your Videos folder: Win+Shift+R
Move the active window to the monitor on the right: Win+Shift+Right
Select a region of the screen to capture a screenshot to the clipboard. You can then open the Snipping Tool to share or markup the image: Win+Shift+S
Switch backward through input languages and keyboard layouts: Win+Shift+Space
Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen: Win+Shift+Up
Cycle through notifications: Win+Shift+V
Switch forward through input languages and keyboard layouts: Win+Space
Open Task View: Win+Tab
Open the Settings app to the Accessibility section: Win+U
Maximize the active window: Win+Up
Open the clipboard history. Note: Clipboard history isn't turned on by default. To turn it on, use this keyboard shortcut and then select the prompt to turn on history. You can also turn it on in the Settings app > System > Clipboard , and set Clipboard history to On . Open the Settings app: Win+V
Open Widgets: Win+W
Open the Quick Link menu. This shortcut is the same action as right-click on the Start menu: Win+X
Switch input between Windows Mixed Reality and your desktop: Win+Y
Open the snap layouts: Win+Z

Copy the selected text: Ctrl+C
or
Ctrl+Insert
Paste the selected text: Ctrl+V
or
Shift+Insert
Enter Mark mode: Ctrl+M
Begin selection in block mode: Alt+Selection key
Move the cursor in the direction specified: Up
or
Down
or
Left
or
Right
Move the cursor by one page up: Pg Up
Move the cursor by one page down: Pg Dn

Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (Mark mode): Ctrl+Home
Move the cursor to the end of the buffer (Mark mode): Ctrl+End
Move up one line in the output history: Ctrl+Up
Move down one line in the output history: Ctrl+Down
If the command line is empty, move the viewport to the top of the buffer. Otherwise, delete all the characters to the left of the cursor in the command line (History navigation): Ctrl+Home
If the command line is empty, move the viewport to the command line. Otherwise, delete all the characters to the right of the cursor in the command line (History navigation): Ctrl+End

Display the items in the active list: F4
Move forward through tabs: Ctrl+Tab
Move back through tabs: Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Move to that tab number: Ctrl+Number (1-9)
Move forward through options: Tab

Move back through options: Shift+Tab
Perform the command (or select the option) that is used with that letter: Alt+underlined letter
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box: Space
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box: Bksp
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons: Up
or
Down
or
Left
or
Right

Select the address bar: Alt+D
Display properties for the selected item: Alt+Enter
Navigate to the previous folder: Alt+Left
or
Bksp
When you drop the file, create a shortcut to the original file in that location: Alt+mouse drag a file
Show or hide the preview pane: Alt+P
View the next folder: Alt+Right
Show or hide the details pane: Alt+Shift+P
Move up a level in the folder path: Alt+Up
Select multiple individual items: Ctrl+Right+Space
or
Ctrl+Left+Space
or
Ctrl+Up+Space
or
Ctrl+Down+Space
Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin: Ctrl+D
or
Del
Select the search box: Ctrl+E
or
Ctrl+F
Focus on the address bar: Ctrl+L
When you drop the file, create a copy in that location: Ctrl+mouse drag a file
Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons: Ctrl+mouse scroll wheel
Open a new window: Ctrl+N
Move to that tab number: Ctrl+Number (1-9)
Resize all columns to fit text. Note: This shortcut requires using a numeric keypad: Ctrl+=
Expands all folders from the tree in the navigation pane: Ctrl+Shift+E
Create a new folder: Ctrl+Shift+N
Change the view style. For example, 2 is Large icons and 6 is Details: Ctrl+Shift+Number (1-9)

Move to the previous tab: Ctrl+Shift+Tab
Open a new tab and switch to it: Ctrl+T
Closes the active tab. Closes the window if there's only one tab open: Ctrl+W
Move to the next tab: Ctrl+Tab
Scroll to the bottom of the active window: End
Rename the selected item: F2
Search for a file or folder: F3
Select the address bar to change the current path: F4
Refresh the window: F5
Cycle through elements in the window: F6
Maximize or minimize the active window: F11
Scroll to the top of the active window: Home
Collapse the current selection (if it's expanded), or select the folder that the folder was in: Left
Display the current selection (if it's collapsed), or select the first subfolder: Right
Select multiple items: Shift+Up
or
Shift+Down
or
Shift+Left
or
Shift+Right
Permanently delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin: Shift+Del
Display the context menu for the selected item: Context Menu
or
Shift+F10
When you drop the file, move it to that location: Shift+mouse drag a file
Display the Show more options context menu for the selected item: Shift+mouse right-click
Open File Explorer: Win+E

Open Task view: Win+Tab
Create another desktop: Win+Ctrl+D
Switch between other desktops you've created on the right: Win+Ctrl+Right

Switch between other desktops you've created on the left: Win+Ctrl+Left
Close the desktop you're using: Win+Ctrl+F4

When an app icon is in focus, move it's position in the direction of the arrow: Alt+Shift+Up
or
Alt+Shift+Down
or
Alt+Shift+Left
or
Alt+Shift+Right
When multiple windows for the same app are grouped on the taskbar, press Ctrl as you select the taskbar icon to shift focus through the windows in the app group: Ctrl+select a grouped app
Open the app as an administrator: Ctrl+Shift+select an app
Show the window menu for the app: Shift+right-click an app
Show the window menu for the group: Shift+right-click a grouped app
Open another instance of the app: Shift+select an app
Open taskbar settings (on taskbar item focus): Win+Alt+Enter
Open the jump list for the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number: Win+Alt+number (0-9)

Set the focus to the first icon in the notification area of the taskbar: Win+B
Switch to the last active window of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number: Win+Ctrl+number (0-9)
Open as an administrator a new instance of the app located at the given position on the taskbar: Win+Ctrl+Shift+number (0-9)
Open the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the app is already running, switch to that app: Win+number (0-9)
Start a new instance of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number: Win+Shift+Number (0-9)
Cycle through apps in the taskbar. When connected to multiple monitors, continued use will cycle through apps on all available displays: Win+T
Move to the previous app in the taskbar. When connected to multiple monitors, continued use will cycle through apps on all available displays: Win+Shift+T

Move focus through the currently selected region. Scroll the page: Up
or
Down
or
Left
or
Right
Navigate backwards: Bksp
Select the current item in focus: Enter
or
Space

Cycle backward through regions: Shift+Tab
Cycle forward through regions: Tab
Open the Settings app: Win+I

Need more than shortcuts?
Visit the Windows 11 app page for an overview and helpful links.

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Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Windows Copilot keyboard shortcuts

Text editing keyboard shortcuts

Desktop and other general Windows keyboard shortcuts

Windows key keyboard shortcuts

Command prompt keyboard shortcuts

Dialog box keyboard shortcuts

File Explorer keyboard shortcuts

Multiple desktop keyboard shortcuts

Taskbar keyboard shortcuts

Settings keyboard shortcuts