Most people use a mouse for about 80 percent of their Windows work, even though the keyboard is faster for many tasks. The shortcuts below are the ones worth memorizing first. They are organized the same way as the Printable Windows Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet, which covers three pages of hotkeys for Windows 11 users, sysadmins and developers.

System navigation

  • Win + E opens File Explorer.
  • Win + X opens the Power User menu, with Terminal, Settings and Device Manager.
  • Win + I opens Settings.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Esc opens Task Manager directly.
  • Win + L locks the screen. Use it before stepping away.

Window snapping and task switching

  • Win + Left or Right snaps the active window to half the screen.
  • Win + Z opens Snap Layouts so you can choose a grid for several windows.
  • Win + D shows the desktop, and pressing it again restores your windows.
  • Alt + Tab switches between open windows.

Virtual desktops

Virtual desktops keep work contexts separate, for example one for email and one for a project. Use Win + Ctrl + D to create a new desktop, Win + Ctrl + Left or Right to move between them, and Win + Ctrl + F4 to close the current one.

Text, clipboard and screenshots

  • Ctrl + Left or Right moves the cursor one word at a time.
  • Ctrl + Shift + Home or End selects text to the start or end of a document.
  • Win + V opens clipboard history, so you can paste something you copied earlier.
  • Win + Shift + S captures a region of the screen.
  • Win + G opens the Game Bar, which includes a screen recorder.

Browsers and terminals

In most browsers, Ctrl + T opens a new tab, Ctrl + W closes one, and Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 9 jump to a tab by position. Ctrl + Shift + N opens a private window. Be aware that Ctrl + Shift + T means "reopen closed tab" in a browser but "new tab" in Windows Terminal, so the context matters.

Win + R commands worth knowing

Press Win + R, type one of these, and press Enter:

  • services.msc: manage background services
  • devmgmt.msc: open Device Manager
  • ncpa.cpl: view and change network adapters
  • msconfig: control startup and boot options
  • resmon: open Resource Monitor
  • sysdm.cpl: open System Properties

Make these changes only if you understand them. Changing services or boot settings can affect how your PC starts.

How to learn them without overwhelm

  1. Pick three shortcuts you would use this week, such as Win + Left, Win + V and Win + Shift + S.
  2. Use them deliberately for five working days.
  3. Add three more the following week.

Keep the full list where you will see it. The Windows Keyboard Shortcuts Cheatsheet is built for that purpose. For more on reference formats, see our printable cheatsheet guide.