Windows 7 – Shortcut Keys

With all the less pleasant verdicts about Vista, Windows 7 is perhaps PC users’ next best news. Codenamed Blackcomb, this new Microsoft operating system is surely a successor over its predecessor Windows XP and definitely Vista. With Microsoft to end their support for Windows XP in 2014, we figured Windows 7 will be completely taking over things in the next year or so.
If you are a Windows users it’s probably time for a change or at least tryout this new operating system. Here are some shortcut keys to help improve your productivity and user experience with Windows 7. Full list after jump.

General Windows 7 Shortcuts

Shortcut	Description
Win + UP Arrow	Maximize the current window
Win + Down Arrow	Restore down or minimize current windows
Win + Left Arrow	Dock the current window to the left half of the screen
Win + Right Arrow	Dock the current window to the right half of the screen
Win + [number]	Activate and run the program pinned on Windows 7 Taskbar, running program won’t be affected
Win + Home	Minimize all but the current window
Win + Space	Makes all windows transparent so you can see through to the desktop
Win + Pause/Break	Open System Properties
Win + Tab	Flip Aero 3D [press Tab to cycle between Windows]
Win + B	Move focus to notification tray (the right-most portion of the taskbar)
Win + D	Show/Hide desktop
Win + E	Windows Explorer is launched
Win + F	Search
Win + G	Bring all gadgets on top and foreground
Win + L	Lock Computer
Win + M	Minimize all windows
Win + P	Open the projection menu (generally used for laptops connected to projectors)
Win + R	Run Command is launched.
Win + S	OneNote Screen Clipping Tool
Win + T	Show preview thumbnail of running applications in Windows Taskbar one by one without mouse over
Win + X	Mobility Center
Win + #	Quick launch
Win + =	Magnifier
Win + [+/-]	Enables the magnifier and zooms in/out
Win + Shift + Up Arrow	Maximize vertical size
Win + Shift + Down Arrow	Restore vertical size
Win + Shift + Left Arrow	Jump to left monitor
Win + Shift + Right Arrow	Jump to right monitor
Win + Shift + M	Undo all window minimization
Win + Shift + T	Cycles backwards
Win + Ctrl + F	Opens the Active Directory Find Computers dialog
Ctrl + Right Arrow	Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl + Left Arrow	Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl + Up Arrow	Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl + Down Arrow	Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl + Click	A pinned taskbar icon to cycle through the program’s open windows (e.g. IE)
Ctrl + Win + Tab	Persistent flip 3D
Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key	Select a block of text
Ctrl with any arrow key + Spacebar	Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop
Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Open Task Manager directly
Ctrl + Shift + N	Create new folder

Shortcuts for Ease of Access

Shortcut	Description
Right SHIFT for eight seconds	Turn Filter Keys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (or PRTSCRN)	Turn High Contrast on or off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK	Turn Mouse Keys on or off
SHIFT five times	Turn Sticky Keys on or off
NUM LOCK for five seconds	Open the Ease of Access Center
Win + U	Cycle through all open windows

For: Windows Explorer

Shortcut	Description
Alt + Left Arrow	Go back
Alt + Right Arrow	Go forward
Alt + Up Arrow	Go up a directory
Alt + Enter	Open the Properties window of the current selection
Alt + Spacebar	Open the shortcut menu for the active window
Alt + F4	Close the active window
Alt + Tab	Switch to previous active window
Alt + Esc	Cycle through all open windows
Alt + D	Move focus to address bar
Alt + P	Show/hide the preview panel
Ctrl + N	Open a new window
Ctrl + Mouse wheel	Change the view type (extra large, small, list view, detail, etc.)
Num Lock + Asterisk (*) on numeric keypad	Display all subfolders under the selected folder
Num Lock + Plus Sign (+) on numeric keypad	Display the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock + Minus Sign (+) on numeric keypad	Collapse the selected folder

For: Taskbar Modifiers

Shortcut	Description
Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance
Middle click on icon	Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance with Admin privileges

For: Dialog Box

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl + Tab	Move forward through tabs
Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Move back through tabs
Shift + Tab	Move back through options
Tab	Move forward through options
Alt + underlined letter	Perform the command (or select the option) that goes with that letter
Enter	Replaces clicking the mouse for many selected commands
Spacebar	Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Arrow keys	Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
Backspace	Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box

For: Photo Gallery

Shortcut	Description
Ctrl + F	Open the Fix pane
Ctrl + P	Print the selected picture
Ctrl + I	Open or close the Details pane
Ctrl + Period (.)	Rotate the picture clockwise
Ctrl + Comma (,)	Rotate the picture counter-clockwise
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel	Change the size of the picture thumbnail
Ctrl + B	Best fit
Ctrl + E	Search for an item
Alt + Left Arrow	Go back
Alt + Right Arrow	Go forward
Plus Sign (+)	Zoom in or resize the picture thumbnail
Minus Sign (-)	Zoom out or resize the picture thumbnail
Shift + Delete	Permanently delete the selected item
Enter	View the selected picture at a larger size

Logging In and Out Windows 7

Shortcut	Description
Win + Right Arrow + Enter	Shutdown
Win + Right Arrow + Right Arrow + R	Restart
Win + Right Arrow + Right Arrow + S	Sleep
Win + Right Arrow + Right Arrow + W	Switch users