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This page lists every one of the 275 Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts that Microsoft documents, and it is built to be searched rather than scrolled. Type what a shortcut does, or the keys themselves, and the list narrows as you type.
Almost nobody knows more than a dozen shortcuts, and the lists that exist elsewhere are walls of text. Searching for screenshot here returns the four ways to take one. Searching for Win+S returns only the shortcuts that use S. Every entry is checked against Microsoft’s own documentation.
Only after the common ones? Skip the full list and jump to the fifteen shortcuts worth learning first, which covers screenshots, snapping windows, clipboard history and Task Manager.
Search Every Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcut
The full list of Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts is grouped by what they are for. Use the search box to narrow it, press / anywhere on the page to jump straight to that box, and press Esc to clear it again.
Win = Windows logo key · 11 = not in Windows 10 · = worth learning first
Showing all 275 shortcuts.
Nothing matches that. Try a shorter word, or .
Windows Key 66
Everything that starts with the Windows logo key. The largest group by far, and where most of what is new in Windows 11 lives.
- Win
- Open or Close the Start Menu
- Win + A
- Open Quick Settings Open the Windows 11 action center. Opened the Action Center in Windows 10; opens Quick Settings in Windows 11.
- Win + Alt + B 11
- Toggle HDR Turn high dynamic range (HDR) on or off. For more information, see What is HDR in Windows?.
- Win + Alt + D 11
- Display and Hide the Date Display and hide the date and time on the desktop.
- Win + Alt + Down arrow 11
- Snap the Active Window Snap the active window to the bottom half of the screen.
- Win + Alt + H
- When Voice Typing Is Open, Set When voice typing is open, set the focus to the keyboard.
- Win + Alt + K 11
- Mute or Unmute the Microphone Mute or unmute the microphone in supported apps.
- Win + Alt + Up arrow 11
- Snap the Active Window Snap the active window to the top half of the screen.
- Win + C 11
- Open Copilot Open Microsoft Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot. Opened Cortana in Windows 10; opens Copilot in Windows 11.
- Win + C 11
- Open Copilot (when Copilot is not available or disabled) Opened Cortana in Windows 10; opens Copilot in Windows 11.
- Win + Ctrl + C
- Toggle Color Filters If turned on in settings, enable or disable color filters.
- Win + Ctrl + Enter
- Open Narrator
- Win + Ctrl + F
- Find Devices on the Network Search for devices on a network.
- Win + Ctrl + Q 11
- Open Quick Assist
- Win + Ctrl + Shift + B
- Wake up the Device When Wake up the device when the screen is blank or black.
- Win + Ctrl + Spacebar
- Back to Last Input Method Change to a previously selected input option.
- Win + Ctrl + V 11
- Open the Volume Mixer Open the sound output page of quick settings, which includes settings for the output device, spatial sound, and the volume mixer.
- Win + D
- Display and Hide the Desktop
- Win + Down arrow
- Minimize the Active Window
- Win + E
- Open File Explorer
- Win + Esc
- Close Magnifier
- Win + F
- Open Feedback Hub
- Win + G
- Open the Game Bar Open the Game Bar. For more information, see Keyboard shortcuts for Game Bar.
- Win + H
- Open Voice Dictation
- Win + Home
- Minimize All but This Window Minimize or restore all windows except the active window.
- Win + I
- Open Settings
- Win + J 11
- Open Recall
- Win + K
- Cast to a Display 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 + L
- Lock the Computer
- Win + Left arrow
- Snap the Window to the Left Snap the window to the left side of the screen.
- Win + M
- Minimize All Windows
- Win + Minus (-)
- Zoom Out with Magnifier Zoom out in Magnifier.
- Win + N 11
- Open Notifications Open notification center and calendar. New in Windows 11. Notifications moved here from Windows key + A.
- Win + O
- Lock the Device Orientation
- Win + P
- Choose a Display Mode Open project settings to choose a presentation display mode.
- Win + Pause
- Open the Settings App Open the Settings app to the System > About page.
- Win + Period (.)
- Open the Emoji Panel
- Win + Plus (+)
- Zoom In with Magnifier Zoom in with the Magnifier.
- Win + PrtScn
- Save a Full Screenshot Capture a full screen screenshot and save it to a file in the Screenshots subfolder of the Pictures folder.
- Win + Q
- Open Search
- Win + R
- Open the Run Dialog Box
- Win + Right arrow
- Snap the Window to the Right Snap the window to the right side of the screen.
- Win + S
- Open Search
- Win + Semicolon (;)
- Open the Emoji Panel
- Win + Shift + A
- Set Focus to a Windows Tip Set focus to a Windows tip when one is available.
- Win + Shift + Down arrow
- Restore a Snapped Window If a window is snapped or maximized, restore it.
- Win + Shift + Enter
- Make a UWP App Full Screen If the active window is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, make it full screen.
- Win + Shift + Left arrow
- Move the Active Window Move the active window to the monitor on the left.
- Win + Shift + M
- Restore Minimized Windows
- Win + Shift + R 11
- Record Part of the Screen 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 + Right arrow
- Move the Active Window Move the active window to the monitor on the right.
- Win + Shift + S
- Screenshot Part of the Screen 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 + Spacebar
- Previous Keyboard Layout Switch backward through input languages and keyboard layouts.
- Win + Shift + Up arrow
- Stretch a Window Vertically Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen.
- Win + Shift + V
- Cycle Through Notifications
- Win + Spacebar
- Next Keyboard Layout Switch forward through input languages and keyboard layouts.
- Win + Tab
- Open Task View
- Win + U
- Open Accessibility Settings Open the Settings app to the Accessibility section.
- Win + Up arrow
- Maximize the Active Window
- Win + V
- Open the Clipboard History
- Win + W 11
- Open Widgets Opened Windows Ink Workspace in Windows 10; opens Widgets in Windows 11.
- Win + X
- Open the Quick Link Menu Open the Quick Link menu. This shortcut is the same action as right-click on the Start menu.
- Win + Y
- Switch to Mixed Reality Switch input between Windows Mixed Reality and your desktop.
- Win + Z 11
- Open the Snap Layouts New in Windows 11. Opens Snap Layouts, which Windows 10 does not have.
- Win + Comma (,)
- Peek at the Desktop Temporarily peek at the desktop.
- Win + Forward slash (/)
- Start IME Reconversion Start input method editor (IME) reconversion.
General 31
Desktop-wide shortcuts that work in most places, including switching and closing windows.
- Alt + A
- Set Focus to the First Icon Set focus to the first icon in the Suggested actions menu.
- Alt + Esc
- Cycle Windows by Age Cycle through windows in the order in which they were opened.
- Alt + F4
- Close the Active Window Close the active window. If no windows are open, prompt to shutdown.
- Alt + F8
- Reveal the Sign-in Password Show your password on the sign-in screen.
- Alt + Left arrow
- Go Back
- Alt + Page Down
- Move Down One Screen
- Alt + Page Up
- Move up One Screen
- Alt + PrtScn
- Screenshot the Active Window Capture a screenshot of the active window and copy it to the clipboard.
- Alt + Right arrow
- Go Forward
- Alt + Shift + Arrow keys
- Move a Start Menu Tile When a group or tile is in focus on the Start menu, move it in the specified direction.
- Alt + Spacebar
- Open the Context Menu Open the context menu for the active window.
- Alt + Tab
- Switch Between Open Windows Switch between open windows. To cycle through multiple windows, continue to hold the Alt key and press Tab multiple times.
- Alt + underlined letter
- Trigger a Menu Item For actions in command or context menus, some windows and apps specify keyboard shortcuts by underlining a character in the action name. Press Alt and then the letter to do that action.
- Ctrl + A
- Select All Items in a Window
- Ctrl + Alt + Del
- Open the Security Screen Switch to the security screen where you can lock the desktop, switch user, sign out, change a password, or open Task Manager.
- Ctrl + Alt + Tab
- Browse Open Apps View a thumbnail of all open apps. Use the arrow keys to switch between open apps.
- Ctrl + Esc
- Open the Start Menu
- Ctrl + F4
- Close the Active Document 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 + F5
- Refresh the Current Window
- Ctrl + R
- Refresh the Current Window
- Ctrl + Shift
- Switch Keyboard Layout When multiple keyboard layouts are available, switch the keyboard layout.
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc
- Open Task Manager
- Ctrl + Shift + Arrow keys
- Group Two Start Menu Tiles When a tile is in focus on the Start menu, move it into another tile to create a folder.
- Ctrl + Spacebar
- Toggle the Chinese IME Enable or disable the Chinese input method editor (IME). For more information, see Microsoft Simplified Chinese IME and Microsoft Traditional Chinese IME.
- Ctrl + Y
- Redo Redo an action that was previously undone with Ctrl + Z.
- Ctrl + Z
- Undo the Previous Action
- Esc or Escape
- Stop or Leave the Current Task Stop or leave the current task, or dismiss a dialog box.
- F10
- Activate the Menu Bar Activate the menu bar in the active window.
- F5
- Refresh the Active Window
- F6
- Cycle Screen Elements Cycle through elements in a window or on the desktop.
- PrtScn
- Screenshot Part of the Screen 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.
Text Editing 47
Selecting, moving and formatting text. These work in almost any app that accepts typing.
- Backspace
- Delete Characters to the Left Delete characters to the left of the cursor.
- Ctrl + A
- Select All Text
- Ctrl + B
- Apply the Bold Format Apply the bold format to the selected text.
- Ctrl + Backspace
- Delete Words to the Left Delete words to the left of the cursor.
- Ctrl + C
- Copy the Selected Text
- Ctrl + Del
- Delete Words to the Right Delete words to the right of the cursor.
- Ctrl + Down arrow
- Jump to the Next Paragraph Move the cursor forward to the beginning of the next paragraph.
- Ctrl + End
- Move the Cursor Forward Move the cursor forward to the end of the document.
- Ctrl + F
- Find Text
- Ctrl + H
- Find and Replace Text
- Ctrl + Home
- Move the Cursor Backward Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the document.
- Ctrl + I
- Apply the Italic Format Apply the italic format to the selected text.
- Ctrl + Insert
- Copy the Selected Text
- Ctrl + Left arrow
- Jump to the Previous Word Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the previous word.
- Ctrl + Right arrow
- Jump to the Next Word Move the cursor forward to the beginning of the next word.
- Ctrl + Shift + V 11
- Paste as Plain Text
- Ctrl + U
- Apply the Underline Format Apply the underline format to the selected text.
- Ctrl + Up arrow
- Jump to the Previous Paragraph Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the previous paragraph.
- Ctrl + V
- Paste the Last Item Paste the last item from the clipboard.
- Ctrl + X
- Cut the Selected Text
- Ctrl + Y
- Redo Typing That Was Undone Redo typing that was undone with Ctrl + Z.
- Ctrl + Z
- Undo the Last Typing
- Del or Delete
- Delete Characters to the Right Delete characters to the right of the cursor.
- Down arrow
- Move the Cursor Forward Move the cursor forward to the next line.
- End
- Move the Cursor Forward Move the cursor forward to the end of the line.
- Home
- Move the Cursor Backward Move the cursor backward to the beginning of the line.
- Left arrow
- Move the Cursor Backward Move the cursor backward to the previous character.
- Page down or PgDn
- Move Down One Page Move the cursor forward by one page.
- Page up or PgUp
- Move Up One Page Move the cursor backward by one page.
- Right arrow
- Move the Cursor Forward Move the cursor forward to the next character.
- Shift + Ctrl + Down arrow
- Select to the Next Paragraph Select paragraphs forward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Ctrl + End
- Select to the Document End Select text between the current cursor position and the end of the document.
- Shift + Ctrl + Home
- Select to the Document Start Select text between the current cursor position and the beginning of the document.
- Shift + Ctrl + Left
- Select the Previous Word Select words backward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Ctrl + Right
- Select the Next Word Select words forward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Ctrl + Up
- Select to the Previous Paragraph Select paragraphs backward the current cursor position.
- Shift + Down arrow
- Select the Line Below Select lines forward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + End
- Select to the End of the Line Select text from the current cursor position to the end of the current line.
- Shift + Home
- Select to the Start of the Line Select text from the current cursor position to the beginning of the current line.
- Shift + Insert
- Paste the Last Item Paste the last item from the clipboard.
- Shift + Left arrow
- Select the Character to the Left Select characters backward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Page Down
- Select One Page Down Select one page of text forward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Page Up
- Select One Page Up Select one page of text backward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Right arrow
- Select the Character to the Right Select characters forward from the current cursor position.
- Shift + Up arrow
- Select the Line Above Select lines backward from the current cursor position.
- Tab
- Indent the Cursor One Tab Stop
- Up arrow
- Move the Cursor Backward Move the cursor backward to the previous line.
File Explorer 43
Navigating folders, managing tabs and changing the view.
- Alt + D
- Select the Address Bar
- Alt + Enter
- Open Item Properties Display properties for the selected item.
- Alt + Left arrow
- Go Back a Folder Navigate to the previous folder.
- Alt + P
- Show or Hide the Preview Pane
- Alt + Right arrow
- View the Next Folder
- Alt + Shift + P
- Show or Hide the Details Pane
- Alt + Up arrow
- Move up a Level Move up a level in the folder path.
- Alt + mouse drag a file
- Drop a Shortcut to a File When you drop the file, create a shortcut to the original file in that location.
- Backspace
- Go Back a Folder Navigate to the previous folder.
- Ctrl + Arrow key (to move to an item) + Spacebar
- Pick Items One by One Select multiple individual items.
- Ctrl + D
- Send to the Recycle Bin Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin.
- Ctrl + E
- Select the Search Box
- Ctrl + F
- Select the Search Box
- Ctrl + L
- Focus on the Address Bar
- Ctrl + N
- Open a New Window
- Ctrl + Number (1-9) 11
- Move to That Tab Number
- Ctrl + Plus (+)
- Resize All Columns to Fit Text
- Ctrl + Shift + E
- Expand the Whole Folder Tree Expands all folders from the tree in the navigation pane.
- Ctrl + Shift + N
- Create a New Folder
- Ctrl + Shift + Number (1-9)
- Change the View Style Change the view style. For example, 2 is Large icons and 6 is Details.
- Ctrl + Shift + Tab 11
- Move to the Previous Tab
- Ctrl + T 11
- Open a New Tab and Switch Open a new tab and switch to it. New in Windows 11 22H2, which added tabs to File Explorer.
- Ctrl + Tab 11
- Move to the Next Tab
- Ctrl + W 11
- Close the Active Tab Closes the active tab. Closes the window if there's only one tab open. New in Windows 11 22H2, which added tabs to File Explorer.
- Ctrl + mouse drag a file
- When You Drop the File, Create When you drop the file, create a copy in that location.
- Ctrl + mouse scroll wheel
- Change the Size and Appearance Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons.
- Delete
- Send to the Recycle Bin Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin.
- End
- Scroll to the Bottom Scroll to the bottom of the active window.
- F11
- Toggle Window Size Maximize or minimize the active window.
- F2
- Rename the Selected Item
- F3
- Search for a File or Folder
- F4
- Edit the Current Path Select the address bar to change the current path.
- F5
- Refresh the Window
- F6
- Cycle Window Elements Cycle through elements in the window.
- Home
- Scroll to the Top Scroll to the top of the active window.
- Left arrow
- Collapse or Go Up Collapse the current selection (if it's expanded), or select the folder that the folder was in.
- Right arrow
- Expand or Go In Display the current selection (if it's collapsed), or select the first subfolder.
- Shift + Arrow keys
- Select Multiple Items
- Shift + Delete
- Delete Without the Recycle Bin Permanently delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin.
- Shift + F10
- Display the Context Menu Display the context menu for the selected item.
- Shift + mouse drag a file
- When You Drop the File, Move When you drop the file, move it to that location.
- Shift + mouse right-click
- Show More Options Display the Show more options context menu for the selected item.
- Win + E
- Open File Explorer
Virtual Desktops 5
Creating and moving between separate desktops.
- Win + Ctrl + D
- Create Another Desktop
- Win + Ctrl + F4
- Close the Desktop You're Using
- Win + Ctrl + Left arrow
- Go to the Desktop on the Left Switch between other desktops you've created on the left.
- Win + Ctrl + Right arrow
- Go to the Desktop on the Right Switch between other desktops you've created on the right.
- Win + Tab
- Open Task View
Taskbar 15
Launching and switching pinned apps by position, plus the notification area.
- Alt + Shift + Arrow
- Move a Taskbar Icon When an app icon is in focus, move it's position in the direction of the arrow.
- Ctrl + Shift + select an app icon on the taskbar
- Run an App as Administrator Open the app as an administrator.
- Ctrl + select a grouped app icon on the taskbar
- Cycle a Grouped App's Windows 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.
- Shift + right-click a grouped taskbar button
- Show the Window Menu Show the window menu for the group.
- Shift + right-click an app icon on the taskbar
- Show the Window Menu Show the window menu for the app.
- Shift + select an app icon on the taskbar
- Open a Second Instance Open another instance of the app.
- Win + Alt + Enter (on taskbar item focus)
- Open Taskbar Settings
- Win + Alt + Number (0-9)
- Open an App's Jump List Open the jump list for the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
- Win + B
- Focus the Notification Area Set the focus to the first icon in the notification area of the taskbar.
- Win + Ctrl + Shift + Number (0-9)
- New Instance as Administrator Open as an administrator a new instance of the app located at the given position on the taskbar.
- Win + Ctrl + Number (0-9)
- Back to an App's Last Window Switch to the last active window of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
- Win + Shift + Number (0-9)
- Open a New Instance by Position Start a new instance of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
- Win + Shift + T
- Previous Taskbar App Move to the previous app in the taskbar. When connected to multiple monitors, continued use will cycle through apps on all available displays.
- Win + T
- Cycle Taskbar Apps Cycle through apps in the taskbar. When connected to multiple monitors, continued use will cycle through apps on all available displays.
- Win + Number (0-9)
- Open a Pinned App by Position Open the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the app is already running, switch to that app.
Accessibility 35
Magnifier, Narrator, voice typing and the ease-of-access toggles.
- Any key
- Stop Magnifier Reading
- Ctrl + Alt + D
- Switch to Docked View
- Ctrl + Alt + F
- Switch to Full Screen View
- Ctrl + Alt + I
- Invert Colors
- Ctrl + Alt + L
- Switch to Lens View
- Ctrl + Alt + M
- Cycle Through Views
- Ctrl + Alt + Minus (-)
- Toggle the Magnification Level Toggle between the set magnification level and 1x magnification.
- Ctrl + Alt + R
- Resize the Lens with the Mouse
- Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar
- Peek at the Whole Desktop Quickly see the entire desktop when using full screen view.
- Ctrl + Alt + Arrow keys
- Pan the Magnified View Pan in the direction of the arrow keys.
- Ctrl + Alt + mouse scroll wheel
- Zoom by Scroll Wheel Zoom in and out using the mouse scroll wheel.
- Ctrl + E
- Open Search (in Most Apps)
- Left Alt + Left Shift + Num lock
- Turn Mouse Keys on or Off
- Left Alt + Left Shift + PrtScn
- Turn High Contrast on or Off
- Modifier key + Enter
- Start or Pause Reading Start, pause, and resume Magnifier reading.
- Modifier key + H
- Read the Previous Sentence
- Modifier key + K
- Read the Next Sentence
- Modifier key + Left Mouse click
- Read from the Mouse Pointer
- Num lock for five seconds
- Turn Toggle Keys on or Off
- Right Shift for eight seconds
- Turn Filter Keys on and Off
- Shift + Alt + Arrow keys
- Resize the Lens by Keyboard Resize the lens with the keyboard.
- Shift five times
- Turn Sticky Keys on or Off
- Win + A
- Open Quick Settings Opened the Action Center in Windows 10; opens Quick Settings in Windows 11.
- Win + Alt + H
- Focus the Voice Typing Box Move keyboard focus to the voice typing dialogue.
- Win + Ctrl + C
- Turn Color Filters on or Off
- Win + Ctrl + M
- Open Magnifier Settings
- Win + Ctrl + N
- Open Narrator Settings
- Win + Ctrl + O
- Turn on the On-Screen Keyboard
- Win + Ctrl + S
- Turn On Speech Recognition Turn on Windows Speech Recognition.
- Win + Esc
- Turn Magnifier Off
- Win + H
- Open Voice Typing
- Win + Plus (+)
- Turn On Magnifier Turn Magnifier on.
- Win + Plus (+) or Minus (-)
- Zoom Magnifier In or Out When Magnifier is on, zoom in or out.
- Win + U
- Open Accessibility Settings
- Win + W 11
- Open Widgets Opened Windows Ink Workspace in Windows 10; opens Widgets in Windows 11.
Command Prompt 15
Selecting, copying and navigating history inside the console.
- Alt + Selection key
- Start a Block Selection Begin selection in block mode.
- Arrow keys
- Move the Cursor Move the cursor in the direction specified.
- Ctrl + C
- Copy the Selected Text
- Ctrl + Down arrow
- Scroll Output Down One Line Move down one line in the output history.
- Ctrl + End (History navigation)
- Jump Down or Clear Right 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.
- Ctrl + End (Mark mode)
- Go to the End of the Buffer Move the cursor to the end of the buffer.
- Ctrl + Home (History navigation)
- Jump Up or Clear Left 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.
- Ctrl + Home (Mark mode)
- Go to the Start of the Buffer Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer.
- Ctrl + Insert
- Copy the Selected Text
- Ctrl + M
- Enter Mark Mode
- Ctrl + Up arrow
- Scroll Output Up One Line Move up one line in the output history.
- Ctrl + V
- Paste the Selected Text
- Page down
- Move the Cursor by One Page Move the cursor by one page down.
- Page up
- Move the Cursor by One Page Move the cursor by one page up.
- Shift + Insert
- Paste the Selected Text
Dialog Boxes 9
Moving around alerts, prompts and Save As windows.
- Alt + underlined letter
- Trigger an Option Perform the command (or select the option) that is used with that letter.
- Arrow keys
- Choose a Radio Button Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons.
- Backspace
- Go Up a Folder Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box.
- Ctrl + Shift + Tab 11
- Move Back Through Tabs
- Ctrl + Tab 11
- Move Forward Through Tabs
- F4
- Open the Active List Display the items in the active list.
- Shift + Tab
- Move Back Through Options
- Spacebar
- Tick or Untick a Box Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box.
- Tab
- Move Forward Through Options
Settings App 7
Navigating the Settings app itself.
- Arrow keys
- Move Focus in a Region Move focus through the currently selected region.
- Backspace
- Navigate Backwards
- Enter
- Select the Focused Item Select the current item in focus.
- Shift + Tab
- Cycle Backward Through Regions
- Spacebar
- Select the Focused Item Select the current item in focus.
- Tab
- Cycle Forward Through Regions
- Win + I
- Open the Settings App
Copilot Key 2
The dedicated Copilot key found on keyboards sold from 2024 onward.
- Copilot key 11
- Open Copilot Open Microsoft Copilot or Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- Copilot key (when Copilot is not available or Disabled)
- Choose What the Key Does Open Settings so you can choose what the Copilot key does.
Every shortcut on this page is taken from Microsoft's own keyboard shortcut documentation and checked against it, not collected from other lists.
Fifteen Shortcuts Worth Learning First
Learning all 275 Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts is not the goal, and trying to is how people give up. These fifteen cover actions most people repeat dozens of times a day, so they pay for themselves within a week. They carry a blue dot in the list above.
- Win + E opens File Explorer.
- Win + D shows the desktop, and pressing it again puts everything back.
- Win + L locks the computer instantly.
- Win + Shift + S captures part of the screen to the clipboard.
- Win + V opens clipboard history, which holds the last several things copied rather than just the most recent one.
- Win + Tab opens Task View to see every open window at once.
- Win + Left snaps the current window to the left half of the screen.
- Win + Right snaps it to the right half.
- Win + Z opens Snap Layouts for the more useful arrangements.
- Win + Period opens the emoji panel in any text field.
- Alt + Tab switches between open windows.
- Alt + F4 closes the active window.
- Ctrl + Shift + Esc opens Task Manager directly, skipping the security screen.
- Ctrl + Shift + V pastes as plain text, dropping the formatting that came with it.
- F2 renames the selected file or folder.
Two of these are worth a moment longer. Clipboard history is switched off until the first time Win + V is pressed, so the first attempt shows a prompt to turn it on rather than a list. Pasting as plain text with Ctrl + Shift + V is honored by most applications but not all, since an app is free to assign that combination to something else.
Once those feel automatic, the next ones worth adding are the virtual desktop shortcuts and the taskbar shortcuts that launch pinned apps by position.
What Changed in Windows 11
Most Windows 10 shortcuts still work exactly as they did. A small number were reassigned to different features, which is where most of the confusion comes from, because pressing them still does something, just not what it used to.
| Shortcut | Windows 10 | Windows 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Win + A | Action Center | Quick Settings |
| Win + N | Nothing | Notification center and calendar |
| Win + W | Windows Ink Workspace | Widgets |
| Win + C | Cortana | Copilot |
| Win + Z | Nothing | Snap Layouts |
| PrtScn | Copies the whole screen | Opens screen snipping |
| Ctrl + T | Nothing in File Explorer | Opens a new File Explorer tab |
Windows 11 also added shortcuts with no Windows 10 equivalent at all. Win + Alt + Up and Win + Alt + Down snap a window to the top or bottom half of the screen, Win + Shift + R records a section of the screen to a video file, and Win + Alt + K mutes the microphone in apps that support it.
One shortcut needs a warning. Win + J opens Recall, which only exists on Copilot+ PCs. On any other machine it does nothing at all, and that is expected rather than broken.
How to Print This Page
A printed sheet of Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts still beats a browser tab for anyone learning them, so this page is built to print cleanly. The navigation, search box and site furniture are stripped out automatically, and the shortcuts reflow into two compact columns.
- Search the list first if only one group is needed. Typing File Explorer and printing produces a sheet for that group alone, which is far more useful pinned to a wall than all 275.
- Press Ctrl + P to open the print dialog, or use the button below.
- Confirm the preview shows the shortcuts without the site header and footer, then print or save to PDF.
Printing the unfiltered list runs to several pages, so searching first is usually the better move.
Do Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts Work on Windows 10
Most of them do. The list marks every shortcut that Windows 11 introduced with a blue 11 badge, and there are 24 of them. Anything without that badge works on both versions.
The exceptions are the seven shortcuts in the table above, which exist in both versions but do different things in each. Those carry a note explaining what the Windows 10 behavior was, so the list stays accurate for anyone still on the older version. Microsoft keeps its own accessibility shortcut documentation separate, and those entries are folded into the Accessibility group here.