Top 15 Most Useful Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 27 Oct 2011

It is true that the mouse is one of the most used peripheral and it is just as true that if you want to get things done and get them done fast, using keyboard shortcuts is a lot more efficient than clicking. Below I have put together a list of the most useful keyboard shortcuts you can use on your Windows 7-powered PC.

Tech savvy users will undoubtedly be familiar with some of them – keep in mind that this is not a list of unknown keyboard shortcuts, it is a list of the most useful keyboard shortcuts. With that explanation out of the way, let’s get going.

Cut, copy and paste – Ctrl + X, Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V
These keyboard shortcuts will come in handy when you want to move a file from one place to another, when you want to copy some text, and on several other occasions. I use these keyboard shortcuts many times a day and I’m sure others do as well.

Undo and Redo – Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
Say you’re writing something and you accidentally delete a piece of the text. You can undo that action by hitting Ctrl and Z on your keyboard. To achieve the opposite effect, to redo an action, hit Ctrl and Y on your keyboard. Let me tell you, undo saved my hide on more occasions than I like to remember.

Show the desktop, minimize the window, switch tabs – Win + D, Win + Down arrow, Alt + Tab
When someone walks in and you don’t want them to see what’s on your monitor, you have three keyboard shortcuts at your disposal. You can press the Windows key and D to clear away everything and display the desktop. Or you could press Windows and the down arrow to minimize the window. Or you could press Alt and Tab to switch to another open window.

Snap Window to the left or right – Win + Left arrow or Win + Right arrow
One of the nice new features in Windows 7 is that you can grab a window with the mouse cursor and snap it to the left or right of the screen. You can do what without using the mouse, by pressing the Windows button, then pressing either the left arrow or the right arrow.

Find files and find in page – Win + F and Ctrl + F
Windows 7 has a very powerful search feature that you can use by pressing the Windows button and the F key. When you’re browsing a webpage or when you have a document open, you can find a word in the page by hitting Ctrl and F (after that you have to type the word you’re looking for).

Zoom in and Out – Win + Minus or Plus sign
When you want to zoom in, simply press the Windows button and the plus sign on your keyboard. When you want to zoom out, press the Windows button and the minus sign. This also works by using the scroll wheel on your mouse instead of the plus and minus signs.

Task Manager – Ctrl + Shift + Esc
To access the Task Manager and see what’s going on “under the hood”, hit Ctrl and Shift and Escape. You could also press Ctrl + Alt + Del, but Ctrl + Shift + Esc is more efficient; it takes you to the Task Manager by skipping any intermediary step.

Lock PC – Win + L
When you leave your PC it is a good idea to lock it. You can easily do that by pressing the Windows button and the L key. This shortcut locks your PC and instantly displays the login screen.


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