Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts
Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts
81 shortcuts
Windows
The Windows 11 desktop shell. Most of the interesting bindings hang off the Windows key, and several — snap layouts, widgets, the notification centre, Copilot — arrived with Windows 11 and do nothing on Windows 10. A few are switched off until you enable the feature they belong to.
Window management
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + Z | Open snap layouts for the active window |
| Win + Left arrow | Snap the window to the left half of the screen |
| Win + Right arrow | Snap the window to the right half of the screen |
| Win + Up arrow | Maximise the active window |
| Win + Down arrow | Minimise the active window |
| Win + Alt + Up arrow | Snap the window to the top half of the screen |
| Win + Alt + Down arrow | Snap the window to the bottom half of the screen |
| Win + Shift + Up arrow | Stretch the window to the full height of the screen |
| Win + Shift + Left arrow | Move the window to the monitor on the left |
| Win + Shift + Right arrow | Move the window to the monitor on the right |
| Win + D | Show or hide the desktop |
| Win + Home | Minimise everything except the active window |
| Win + M | Minimise every window |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open windows |
| Alt + F4 | Close the active window — With no window focused this opens the shut-down dialog |
| Alt + Space | Open the window menu for the active window |
Virtual desktops
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + Tab | Open Task View |
| Win + Ctrl + D | Create a new virtual desktop |
| Win + Ctrl + Right arrow | Switch to the desktop on the right |
| Win + Ctrl + Left arrow | Switch to the desktop on the left |
| Win + Ctrl + F4 | Close the current virtual desktop |
File Explorer
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + E | Open File Explorer |
| Ctrl + N | Open a new File Explorer window |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Create a new folder |
| Ctrl + T | Open a new tab |
| Ctrl + W | Close the active tab |
| Ctrl + Tab | Move to the next tab |
| F2 | Rename the selected item |
| Alt + Enter | Show properties for the selected item |
| Alt + P | Show or hide the preview pane |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Expand every folder in the navigation pane |
| Alt + Left arrow | Go back to the previous folder |
| Ctrl + L | Put the cursor in the address bar |
| Shift + Delete | Delete permanently, bypassing the Recycle Bin |
System and settings
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + I | Open Settings |
| Win + L | Lock the computer |
| Win + X | Open the Quick Link menu |
| Win + A | Open quick settings |
| Win + N | Open the notification centre and calendar |
| Win + W | Open Widgets |
| Win + C | Open Copilot — Only where Copilot is available for your region and account |
| Win + V | Open clipboard history — Clipboard history has to be switched on the first time |
| Win + . | Open the emoji panel |
| Win + K | Open Cast to connect to a wireless display |
| Win + P | Choose a presentation display mode |
| Win + R | Open the Run dialog |
| Ctrl + Alt + Del | Open the security screen |
| Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Open Task Manager |
Text editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Copy the selection |
| Ctrl + X | Cut the selection |
| Ctrl + V | Paste the clipboard |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste as plain text |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + A | Select everything |
| Ctrl + B | Bold the selected text |
| Ctrl + I | Italicise the selected text |
| Ctrl + U | Underline the selected text |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Move the cursor to the start of the previous word |
| Ctrl + Right arrow | Move the cursor to the start of the next word |
| Ctrl + F | Find text |
Screenshots and capture
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + Shift + S | Capture part of the screen to the clipboard — Opens the Snipping Tool overlay |
| Win + PrtScn | Capture the whole screen and save it to a file |
| Alt + PrtScn | Copy the active window to the clipboard |
| PrtScn | Copy the screen to the clipboard — On recent builds this opens the Snipping Tool region picker instead |
| Win + Shift + R | Record a region of the screen |
| Win + G | Open the Game Bar |
Accessibility
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + Plus | Zoom in with Magnifier |
| Win + Minus | Zoom out with Magnifier |
| Win + Esc | Close Magnifier |
| Win + Ctrl + Enter | Start or stop Narrator |
| Win + Ctrl + C | Turn colour filters on or off — Has to be enabled in Settings first |
| Win + U | Open Accessibility settings |
| Win + Ctrl + Q | Open Quick Assist |
| Win + O | Lock the device orientation |
Taskbar
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Win + 1 to 9 | Open the app pinned at that position |
| Win + Shift + 1 to 9 | Start a new instance of that pinned app |
| Win + Ctrl + 1 to 9 | Switch to the last active window of that pinned app |
| Win + Alt + 1 to 9 | Open the jump list for that pinned app |
| Win + T | Cycle through apps on the taskbar |
| Win + B | Move focus to the notification area |
Common questions
- How many keyboard shortcuts does Windows 11 have?
- This page lists 81 shortcuts across 8 groups, covering the ones people actually use day to day rather than every binding the application defines.
Related pages
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place