17 Windows 10-Specific Keyboard Shortcuts That Every User Should Know

Even though a mouse makes things easier to navigate and interact, I personally like to do things with the keyboard as much as possible. Why? So that I can be much faster and avoid moving my hand constantly to use the mouse. If you are a keyboard user like me, then you will love all the new keyboard shortcuts that are introduced in Windows 10 to access all the new features easily. Take a look at the below list, and you might find a couple keyboard shortcuts that might help you in your daily activities.

Windows 10 Specific Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Win + I – Using this simple shortcut you can quickly open the All Settings window. Since Microsoft is slowly unifying all the control panel items with the modern Settings app, this is one of the most useful shortcuts of Windows 10.

 2. Win + A – One of the best things about Windows 10 is its universal notification center or the action center. Using the keyboard shortcut “Win + A,” you can easily open and see all the current notifications in the panel. There is no need to click on that small icon on the taskbar.

3. Win + S – Cortana, which acts as a personal digital assistant, is one of the biggest additions in Windows 10. To quickly launch Cortana, you can use this keyboard shortcut. When you do, Cortana launches in the keyboard input mode which simply means that you can type in your search query, and Cortana will search for it both in your PC and on the Web.

4. Win + C – This shortcut also launches Cortana, but the difference is that the above shost it launches Cortana in Keyboard input mode, but this shortcut will launch Cortana in the listening mode. This shortcut is quite useful if you haven’t enabled or aren’t using the “Hey, Cortana” feature.

5. Win + Ctrl + D – The addition of Virtual Desktops is one of the best things to happen to Windows 10. Using this quick keyboard shortcut, you can create and open a new virtual desktop.
6. Win + Ctrl + Left or Right Arrow Keys – If you have multiple virtual desktops opened for different works, then use this keyboard shortcut to navigate between the virtual desktops.
7. Win + Ctrl + F4 – You can use this shortcut to quickly close a virtual desktop. Don’t worry – any opened programs in the virtual desktop will be transferred to the main desktop workspace.
8. Win + Tab – This shortcut lets you access the new Task View feature in Windows 10 which displays all your opened programs and your virtual desktops.

9. Ctrl + Alt + Tab – This quick shortcut lets you see all the apps that are currently opened on your desktop. It looks like “Alt + Tab,” but you need to use your mouse or arrow keys to choose the program.

10. Win + Arrow Keys – Window snapping has been greatly improved in Windows  You can use the “Win + Arrow Keys” shortcut to quickly snap windows to any corner of you screen.

11. Win + G – Game DVR is one of the lesser known tools, but it is one of the best video capture tools added to Windows 10. Using this handy shortcut, you can quickly open the Game DVR tool and start recording. Though this tool is particularly aimed at gamers, it can also be used to quickly record other programs. However, you cannot record the entire screen, just a single program window.
12. Win + Alt + G – If you want to quickly start recording the activity in the current program or game window, then use this shortcut. It will launch the Game DVR and start recording the activity of the active window.
13. Win + Alt + R – After starting the Game DVR, you can use this quick shortcut to stop recording the activity in the current program or game window.
In Windows 10, Microsoft made some small but welcome improvements to the good old Command Prompt. Here are some of the shortcuts that are quite helpful in daily activities.
14. Ctrl + A (in Command Prompt) – Most of you know what this shortcut does, select all in the active window. Even in the comment prompt, this shortcut does the same thing, it selects all the text.
15. Ctrl + C (in Command Prompt) – Unlike in the previous versions, you can simply use the general keyboard short “Ctrl + C” to copy the text or the output in the Command Prompt. Alternatively, you can also use the shortcut “Ctrl + Insert.”

16. Ctrl + V (in Command Prompt) – Just like the copy action, you can use the general shortcut “Ctrl + V” to paste text or commands into the Command prompt. Alternatively, you can also use the shortcut “Shift + Insert.”
17. Ctrl + M (in Command Prompt) – Using this shortcut, you can enter into Marker mode so that you can select the text or output using the Shift and Arrow Keys.