keyboard shortcuts

A post on lifehacker about CTRL+Backspace yesterday inspired me to compile a list of the key sequences in Windows I find most useful. For a long time I have used these universal commands:

CTRL+A – select all
CTRL+C – copy
CTRL+X – cut
CTRL+V – paste
CTRL+Y - redo
CTRL+Z – undo

And, lots of folks also use ALT+TAB to toggle between open windows. But, some recent discoveries include:

Windows Logo key – display the start menu
Windows Logo+D – toggle the desktop
Windows Logo+E – launch file explorer
Windows Logo+F – find files
Windows Logo+L – lock the console
Windows Logo+M – minimize all
Windows Logo+R – open the Run dialog

Finally, there are the tricks that provided the motivation for the post. In MS Word, CTRL+Backspace deletes the entire word to the left of the cursor. CTRL+Delete removes the word to the right.

Miscrosoft provides a much longer of things you can do with your keyboard that you currently do with your mouse. For Mac folks, check out this list from Apple of ways to use the Command and Option keys.

Bonus tip: highlight a file and hit F2 to rename