100 Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows)

Getting familiar with keyboard shortcuts not only help you get the work done faster, but also more efficient. If your daily job rely heavily on using Windows, here are some 100+ Windows Keyboard Shortcuts you might want to check out. If there’s any nifty shortcuts we have missed, appreciate a heads up.

The General Shortcuts

We’ll kickoff the list with some really general shortcuts that you often used.

• CTRL+C (Copy)
• CTRL+X (Cut)
• CTRL+V (Paste)
• CTRL+Z (Undo)
• Delete (Delete)
• Shift+Delete (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
• CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
• CTRL+Shift while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
• F2 key (Rename the selected item)
• CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
• CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
• CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
• CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
• CTRL+Shift with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
• Shift with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
• CTRL+A (Select all)
• F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
• Alt+Enter (View the properties for the selected item)
• Alt+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
• Alt+Enter (Display the properties of the selected object)
• Alt+Spacebar (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
• CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
• Alt+Tab (Switch between the open items)
• Alt+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
• F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
• F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
• Shift+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
• Alt+Spacebar (Display the System menu for the active window)
• CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
• Alt+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
• Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
• F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
• RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
• LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
• F5 key (Update the active window)
• Backspace (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
• ESC (Cancel the current task)
• Shift when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts

• CTRL+Tab (Move forward through the tabs)
• CTRL+Shift+Tab (Move backward through the tabs)
• Tab (Move forward through the options)
• Shift+Tab (Move backward through the options)
• Alt+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
• Enter (Perform the command for the active option or button)
• 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)
• F1 key (Display Help)
• F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
• Backspace (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts

• Win (Display or hide the Start menu)
• Win+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
• Win+D (Display the desktop)
• Win+M (Minimize all of the windows)
• Win+Shift+M (Restore the minimized windows)
• Win+E (Open My Computer)
• Win+F (Search for a file or a folder)
• CTRL+Win+F (Search for computers)
• Win+F1 (Display Windows Help)
• Win+ L (Lock the keyboard)
• Win+R (Open the Run dialog box)
• Win+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts

• Right Shift for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
• Left Alt+left Shift+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
• Left Alt+left Shift+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
• Shift five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
• NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
• Win +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts

• END (Display the bottom of the active window)
• HOME (Display the top of the active window)
• NUM LOCK+* (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
• NUM LOCK++ (Display the contents of the selected folder)
• NUM LOCK+- (Collapse the selected folder)
• LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
• RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)

Shortcut Keys For Character Map

• After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:
• RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
• LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
• UP ARROW (Move up one row)
• DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
• PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
• PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
• HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
• END (Move to the end of the line)
• CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
• CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
• Spacebar (Switch between Enlarged and Nor mal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts

• CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
• CTRL+N (Open a new console)
• CTRL+S (Save the open console)
• CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
• CTRL+W (Close window/tab)
• F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
• Alt+Spacebar (Display the MMC window menu)
• Alt+F4 (Close the console)
• Alt+A (Display the Action menu)
• Alt+V (Display the View menu)
• Alt+F (Display the File menu)
• Alt+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts

• CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
• Alt+- (Display the window menu for the active console window)
• Shift+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
• F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
• F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
• CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
• CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
• Alt+Enter (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
• F2 key (Rename the selected item)
• CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

• CTRL+Alt+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box)
• Alt+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
• Alt+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
• Alt+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
• Alt+HOME (Display the Start menu)
• CTRL+Alt+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
• Alt+Delete (Display the Windows menu)
• CTRL+Alt+- (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
• CTRL+Alt++ (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing Alt+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Internet Explorer Navigation

• CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
• CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
• CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
• CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
• CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
• CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
• CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
• CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
• CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
• CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
• CTRL+W (Close the current window)

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How To Share Dropbox Files On Your Facebook Group

Just two weeks after the announcement, Dropbox has fully implemented its integration with Facebook Groups. With this, instead of choosing files from your computer to upload to your Facebook Group, you can select files from your Dropbox account to be shared to your group.

In this article, we’ll be showing you how to start sharing files from Dropbox to members of your Facebook Group.

Add Dropbox Files To Your Facebook Group

This option is not available on the regular post box when you enter your Facebook. It is an option that is available in Facebook Group only (for now). When you want to add a file to your Facebook Group, you’ll be able to see the ‘Add File’ option. Click it to start sharing your file.

Under ‘From your Dropbox’, click the ‘Choose File’ button. You’ll get a permission request from Dropbox to access some of your Facebook information. Click Allow to continue.

You’ll then be prompted to login to your Dropbox account with your email and password.

After logging in, you can browse through your Dropbox files. Select one file to share on your Facebook Group.

After you hit Select, you will be able to add a message to accompany the file, just like a regular Facebook post.

Your file is now shared on the wall of the Facebook Group. Members can click on the link to download the file to their computer.

When group members click on the shared link, they’ll be taken to a Dropbox webpage where they can download the file. They can preview certain files that the Dropbox website supports (pictures, videos and basic text files) before downloading.

Just like any other post on a group, group members will receive a notification of the wall post. Members of your Facebook Group do not need to have a Dropbox account to download the file.

Note that anyone outside of the Facebook Group can also download this file provided they have the link from your Facebook Group wall.

Privacy Of The Dropbox/Facebook User

When you share your Dropbox files on Facebook, Facebook does not have any access to your Dropbox account information or files. When you add a file to the Facebook Group, Facebook only receives the name and size of the file and a download link.

On the other side of the fence, Dropbox only receives your basic information from Facebook to confirm your identity and uses your email address only to identify your Dropbox account.

The members in your Facebook Group also cannot edit or add anything to your Dropbox account. They only can download the one file you have shared. And when you share a file to the group, the link is secured with a Dropbox token, so that even if a person without access to this link guesses the token, they need to identify the file and folder it is in to be able to download any particular file. A simple file name change to the document would render the link unusable.

These privacy measures established between the two services will put your security worries to rest.

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How to Make Skype Multi Login

With every version , Skype has added a new switch for supporting multiple users on a single PC. The following steps would show how to create a new shortcut for starting a new Skype instance with a different Skype user account.

• Open Windows Explorer and go to “C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone.”
• Right click on the Skype icon and select “Create Shortcut.”
• Right click on the new shortcut and select “Properties.”
• Append ” /secondary” to “Target” to become ‘”C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe” /secondary.’
• Click OK to save the change.
• Give the new shortcut a new name and move it to anywhere you desired.
• When you click on this new shortcut, a new Skype window will appear and you can log on using another Skype account.

You can also run the new Skype instance under another Windows user account. Right-click on the new icon while holding down the shift key, then select “Run as.” See below for more details.

Setting up multiple Skype account on a PC

You have a Skype account on your computer, but so does your wife / husband, and so does your kids? None of you want to miss your important Skype calls from your friends. There is no need to fight over who should / shouldn’t be logged-in on your only computer at home. So here is the way around the brewing storm:

Build up a new user account in Windows XP:

1. Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Create a new account (Under Pick a task.)
2. Key-in your new account name in the “type a name for the new account:” box -> Next
3. Click Computer Administrator -> Create Account

Give the account you just created a password:

1. Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Left-click on the new account you just created.
2. Left-click on Create a password -> Enter the password two times and enter the password hint -> Create Password

Run the second Skype program using the new account you just set up:

1. Right-click on the Skype Icon on your desktop while holding down the shift key -> Left-click on Run as
2. Click The following user -> Choose User name and enter password / OK
Click on the New Users – Create a Skype Account tab if you need to register a new user in Skype, and follow the instructions on screen.
Click on the Existing Users – Log in to Skype tab if you already have a second account, and follow the instructions on screen.
Hope You Will Enjoy.  Have Fun.

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How To Disable YouTube Video Autoplay [Quicktip]

As video junkies would attest to, sometimes you want to open more than just one video at the same time, to let the video load up first before you play it one shot.

And those who use this tactic would understand how annoying it is for a video to auto play when buffering has yet to complete, especially when you have several loading and you have no idea which tab is playing and which is not. This article will introduce to you a few browser extensions to help you stop the Youtube auto play feature.

Stop Youtube Autoplay On Chrome

If you are using Chrome browser, head over to get the Stop Autoplay For Youtube chrome extension. Add to Chrome.

Once the installation complete, it just works! Open any Youtube video from your Chrome browser and you will see that the video would not play until it is fully loaded.

Click To Load And Play

If you prefer to be in control and only let a video play only when you want it to, you can choose to activate "Click to play" on your browser. This works with your Opera and Chrome browsers.

1. Opera

For Opera, open your browser, go to Preferences.

Now go to Advanced tab, look for the Content section at the left bar, check option for Enable plug-ins only on demand then click OK.

2. Chrome

If you are on Chrome browser, type chrome://chrome/settings/content in the address bar and enter. After the settings page appear, scroll down and look for the Plug-ins section, and change the option to Click to Play.

With all this set in Opera and Chrome, whenever you open a new video on Youtube, it will not load nor will it play, until you click the big button on the video screen.

3 Firefox

For Firefox, go to Tubestop extension page and install the extension to your browser.

Once installation is complete, all videos will not be played or loaded, until you click on the link on the video screen.

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How To Disable Metro UI in Windows 8

The metro style UI is the new breakthrough user interface that Microsoft has offered along with its new Windows 8 operating system but sadly it has not come up to everyone’s liking. Removing it will render the new OS unstable and rather unusable. So here I outline some ways to remove this new add on without permanently scarring the system. All the methods outlined below are totally reversible.

It is important to know that the following methods men changing registry values and in doing so you can bring harm to the system if you make a mistake. Windows 8 is still in a preview only mode, not even in the public beta. Primarily this is a version to get the developers familiar with the new environment and give them an idea on what to expect.

Here are my previous articles on Windows 8 Screen:

One who has already used Windows 8 knows that if you exit the new Metro UI, a classical windows 7 interface lurks beneath it. The main difference being that now the start button launches the Metro UI instead of the start menu. Following this tutorial will let you configure the start button to disable the metro UI and to call upon once more the classic windows 7 style start menu. You may revert back any time by reversing the process. Here is how you can get the classic menu:

Steps To Disable Metro UI in Windows 8

1. First, press the Start + R buttons, to open the Run menu.
2. In the Run window, type “regedit” and hit Enter.
3. Now scroll on the top of the list and double click on “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”. This will expand the folder.
4. Do the same for “SOFTWARE “.
5. In the list, search for “Microsoft” and open it.
6. Now using the same procedure, navigate to Windows->CurrentVersion->Explorer and some registry entries will appear in the right side of the screen.
7. Click on the one called “RPenabled” and change its value from “1″ to “0″.

This will cause the metro UI to be replaced with a familiar looking Windows 7 start menu. To revert this all you need to do it to change the value of RPenabled back to 1.

If this seems too hard one can always download a program called start menu selector available from DeviantArt that is a portable utility to switch between these two menus with the click of a button. This software basically just does the same steps detailed above.

Simply download the program from the website, extracts the folders contents and click the executable. This also adds a quicker option for switching between menus when you right click anywhere on the desktop. To ensure that it gets the job done make sure that you use it with admin privelages.

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Change Windows 8 Logon Screen Background Image

Windows 8 comes with a background image of a subtle green shade. But as it stands not every user might like this same image to be seen each and every time they log into any windows 8 computers. To truly customize your machine beyond the masses you have too at least set a custom background image for Windows 8 logon screen and Windows 8 Metro start screen background.

The windows 8 green pixelated image is pretty cool but surely one would get bored of it after using the system for a couple of weeks. Your family picture, your pet, your favorite music band are a few options.

To truly change your boring old Windows 8 Metro screen background, give Windows 8 Start Tweaker a try. It’s a portable utility that can be used to change your Windows 8 start screen and also choose as the color of your choice for the Windows 8 logon screen.

Change Windows 8 Logon Screen

To do this you just have to extract the small program and run it as administrator and browse to the location of the image you wish to use. Note that the program has Chinese as the default language and to use it in English you will have to select the US flag option.

When you have chosen the custom image of your choice for your Windows 8 Metro background and the color of choice for your Windows 8 logon screen, simply log out and back in to see the effective changes.

If you do not like the new Metro UI then there is always the option to revert back to the older Windows 7 start menu interface. Untill the release of a stable version of the new OS I recommend using the classic windows style for important work and dwelling on the new look only in spare time.

To ensure the best fit of the custom background image make sure that the image you use is twice the current resolution of your screen. This will make sure that the image fills the whole background and not just a part of it.

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