Here are 20 of the most indispensable keyboard shortcuts for a Microsoft Windows computer. Try a keyboard command a few times, and youвЂ™ll find out just how useful it can be. This might not seem like much, but add up all those saved moments over a week or a month, and youвЂ™re gaining a substantial chunk of time.ThatвЂ™s why itвЂ™s important to know as many shortcuts as possible for your operating system. Accessible UI components: :focus styles, modals, date pickers, navigation, tables, buttons, SVGs.Compared to reaching for the mouse or navigating a menu, a single keyboard shortcut shaves a moment off your task.

Windows navigation shortcutsThis keyboard combo minimizes all your open windows, bringing your home screen into view. DonвЂ™t worry about losing unsaved work with this commandвЂ”it will prompt you to save your documents before closing them. Just press Alt+Tab and youвЂ™ll be able to quickly flick through all your open windows.Another old-school shortcut, Alt+F4 shuts down active apps so you can skip the process of hunting down their on-screen menus. Hitting Ctrl+A can save you time youвЂ™d otherwise spend clicking and dragging your mouse.This baby is one of the classic Windows shortcuts, and it can be hugely useful when youвЂ™re running multiple applications. Shut that File Explorer window, browser tab, or open image file without bothering to hone in on the close button.This command lets you highlight all the text in a document or select all the files in a folder. Whether youвЂ™ve just overwritten an entire paragraph in Microsoft Word or deleted a file you didnвЂ™t mean to, this one is an absolute lifesaver.Another shortcut that works just about everywhere, Ctrl+W will close down whatever youвЂ™re viewing.

After the refresh, youвЂ™ll see the latest version of the page youвЂ™re viewing.Keep your computer safe from any prying eyes by using this keyboard combo right before you step away. This key will refresh a pageвЂ”a good trick when youвЂ™re using File Explorer or your web browser. This command also lets you edit text in other programsвЂ”tap F2 in Microsoft Excel, for example, and youвЂ™ll be able to edit the contents of the cell youвЂ™re in.While youвЂ™re exploring the function key row, take a look at F5. Patrick Amoy via UnsplashSimply highlight a file and hit F2 to give it a new name. Advanced Windows shortcut tricks You donвЂ™t need to be someone with multiple monitors and a sweet setups to take advantage of these advanced Windows keyboard shortcuts. From there, you can stay on the keyboard and navigate the Start menu with the cursor keys, Tab, and Shift+Tab.

To do so, open Cortana from the taskbar search box, click the cog icon, and turn on the keyboard shortcut. This shortcut will call up the Task Manager, no matter what application youвЂ™re using.This shortcut puts Cortana in listening mode, but you must activate it before you can give it a whirl. If you donвЂ™t want to snap the whole screen, the Alt+PrtScn combination will take a screenshot of just the active window, but it will only copy this image to the clipboard, so you wonвЂ™t get a saved file.The Task Manager is your window into everything running on your Windows system, from the open programs to the background processes. At the same time, Windows will also copy the image to the clipboard. Jump straight to it with this keyboard shortcut, then type in your search terms.No need to open a dedicated screenshot tool: Win+PrtScn grabs the whole screen and saves it as a PNG file in a Screenshots folder inside your Pictures folder. Alternatively, use Win+A to open up the Action Center panel, which shows notifications and provides quick access to certain settings.The Windows taskbar has a handy search box that lets you quiz Cortana or sift through your applications and saved files.

Or stick with shortcuts: Win+Ctrl+arrow will cycle through your open desktops, and Win+Ctrl+F4 will close whichever one youвЂ™re currently viewing and shift your open windows and apps to the next available virtual desktop.Windows has a hidden Start menu, called the Quick Link menu, that allows you to access all the key areas of the system. Once you have, click the Task View button to the right of the taskbar search box to switch from one desktop to another. This shortcut lets you create one. You can do this instead of, or in addition to, saying, вЂњHey Cortana.вЂќVirtual desktops create secondary screens where you can stash some of your open applications and windows, giving you extra workspace.

Or you can quickly bring up the PowerShell command prompt window to access advanced Windows commands.

Windows Navigation Tips