Alongside the new features and refreshed UI, Windows 11 has also brought several new keyboard shortcuts that can greatly help improve the efficiency of your workflow. We will learn about all the new keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft’s latest OS and discuss the existing ones. While some of the keyboard shortcuts in this article are familiar to long-term Windows users, others may not be as widely known to some. With that said, here are the most useful keyboard shortcuts you should use in Windows 11.

We will start with the new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 and then navigate our way through the existing ones. The list includes some keyboard shortcuts introduced in Windows 10, while most others have been around for ages. Irrespective of whether they are new or old, the one common thread between all these keyboard shortcuts is that they will improve your workflow in Windows 11. So let’s get started right away.

  • New Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11
  • General Shortcuts
  • Screenshot Shortcuts
  • Dialog Box Shortcuts
  • Browser Shortcuts
  • Desktop and Virtual Desktop Shortcuts
  • Command Prompt Shortcuts
  • File Explorer Shortcuts
  • Taskbar Shortcuts
  • Accessibility Shortcuts
  • Windows Game Bar Shortcuts
  • Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Note: The following keyboard shortcuts have all been tested on Windows 11. If you are still using Windows 10, you should check out our article on the best Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts you can use. On the other hand, if you are a Linux user, learn about the 12 must-use keyboard shortcuts in Ubuntu.

There are multiple new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 that weren’t present in earlier versions of the OS. We will list all of them below, along with their functions. Just so you know, the “Win” or “Win” key in this article refers to the Windows key on your keyboard.

Technically, the Win + A shortcut is also available in Windows 10, but it works slightly differently in Windows 11. In Windows 10, this keyboard shortcut opens up the Control Center and the Notification Panel. But in Windows 11, it launches just the Action Center with the Quick Settings panel. That’s the case because Microsoft has separated Action Center and Notifications Panel in its latest desktop OS.

The Win + N keyboard shortcut is a new addition to Windows 11. It opens up the Notification Panel, which is now tucked away under the clock icon in the System tray. Using this keyboard shortcut will show all your unread notifications.

Windows 11 comes with a dedicated widgets panel, giving you access to the weather, news, and your calendar at a glance. While the Widgets panel has a dedicated button on the taskbar in Windows 11, you can also access it using the Win key + W keyboard shortcut.

4. Quick Access to Snap Layout – Win + Z Shortcut

Snap Layouts in Windows 11 is a new feature that improves upon the Snap window management in Windows 10. It shows a pop-up that displays possible Snap window layouts when you hover over the “Maximize” button on any active window. Microsoft is calling this “Snap Assist”, and you can also access this feature with the dedicated Win + Z keyboard shortcut.

We are dividing the list of existing keyboard shortcuts into 11 segments to help you better remember and access them. There are dozens of keyboard shortcuts available in Windows under the following categories:

General Shortcuts

Following are the must-know Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts that everyone should be using for an efficient workflow and enhanced productivity. They work with most apps, under most conditions, and in all recent versions of Windows.

  • Alt + F4: Close active window. When you are on the desktop with no active window selected, this shortcut opens the shutdown dialog box with options to restart, sleep, hibernate, log out, or shut down your PC.
  • Win + L: Lock your computer
  • Win + D: Minimizes all open windows and takes you. to the Desktop
  • Alt + Tab: Switch between the running applications (Task Switcher)
  • Win + Tab: Open Task View
  • Ctrl + Z: Undo an action
  • Ctrl + Y: Redo an action
  • Ctrl + Delete: Move selected item to Recycle Bin:
  • Shift + Delete: Delete the selected item permanently
  • Win + X: Open Start Button context menu
  • Esc: Stop or close the current task
  • F11: Enter/ Exit full-screen mode
  • F2: Rename selected item
  • F5: Refresh the active window. This shortcut also refreshes the Windows desktop when no active window is selected.
  • F10: Open the Menu bar in the current app
  • Win + I: Open Windows 11 Settings
  • Win + R: Open Run command
  • Alt + Page Up: Move up one screen
  • Alt + Page Down: Move down one screen
  • Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Keyboard shortcut to open Task Manager in Windows 11
  • Win + S or Win + Q: Open Windows Search
  • Ctrl + P: Print the current page
  • Shift + Arrow keys: Select more than one item
  • Ctrl + S: Save the current file (works on apps like Office 365, Notepad, Paint, etc.)
  • Ctrl + Shift + S: Save As
  • Ctrl + O: Open a file in the current app
  • Alt + Esc: Cycle through the apps on the taskbar
  • Alt + F8: Display your password on the login screen
  • Alt + Spacebar: Open the shortcut menu for the current window
  • Alt + Enter: Open properties for the selected item
  • Alt + F10: Open the context menu (right-click menu) for the selected item
  • Ctrl + N: Open a new program window of the current app
  • Backspace: Go back to the Settings home page (while on any Windows Settings page)
  • Win + period (.) or Win + semicolon (;): Windows 11 keyboard shortcut to access the Emoji keyboard
  • Win + P: Project a screen
  • Win + H: Launch Voice Typing

Screenshot Shortcuts

You can learn more about how to take screenshots in Windows 11 as well as how to take scrolling screenshots from our dedicated articles on the subject, but here are some of the common native screenshot keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11:

Dialog Box and Text Editor Shortcuts

Most of the following keyboard shortcuts work with all the dialog boxes and text fields, whether on the web or your PC. That includes website forms, CMS softwares such as WordPress, as well as Notepad, WordPad, MS Word, etc. However, some of these are exclusive only to Rich Text Editors and won’t work on apps like Notepad.

Browser Shortcuts

The following shortcuts work on all major Windows browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. You can easily change your default browser in Windows 11 without worrying about the compatibility of these keyboard shortcuts. In general, these are among the keyboard shortcuts that I use the most.

All the dialog box shortcuts mentioned above also work with browsers, as do many of the general ones, like Alt+F4 to close windows, etc. The tab shortcuts, meanwhile, also work on other tabbed apps, like Windows Terminal.

  • Windows key: Open Start Menu
  • Ctrl + Shift: Switch the keyboard layout
  • Alt + Tab: View all open apps
  • Ctrl + Arrow keys + Spacebar: Select more than one item on the desktop
  • Win + M: Minimize all open windows
  • Win + Shift + M: Maximize all minimized windows
  • Win + Home: Minimize or maximize all but the active window
  • Win + Left Arrow Key: Snap the current app or window to the Left
  • Win + Right Arrow Key: Snap the current app or window to the Right
  • Win + Shift + Up arrow key: Stretch the active window to the top and bottom of the screen
  • Win + Shift + down arrow key: Restore or minimize active desktop windows vertically, maintaining width
  • Win + Tab: Open Desktop view
  • Win + Ctrl + D: Add a new virtual desktop
  • Win + Ctrl + F4: Close the active virtual desktop
  • Win + Ctrl + Right Arrow: Switch to the virtual desktops on the Right
  • Win + Ctrl + Left Arrow: Switch to the virtual desktops on the Left
  • Ctrl + Shift: Create a shortcut (while dragging file or folder icon)
  • Win + Comma (,): Windows Peek (Take a peek at the desktop)
  • Win + Ctrl + Shift + B: Keyboard shortcut to restart your graphics driver instantly in Windows 11

Command Prompt Shortcuts

The Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell, and Terminal support the standard text editing shortcuts to copy, paste, and edit commands. Additionally, they also support the following dedicated keyboard shortcuts:

  • Ctrl + Home: Scroll to the top of the Command Prompt window
  • Ctrl + End: Scroll to the bottom of the Command Prompt window
  • Ctrl + A: Select everything on the current line
  • Page Up: Move the cursor up a page
  • Page Down: Move the cursor down a page
  • Ctrl + M: Enter “Mark” mode
  • Ctrl + Home: Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer in Mark mode
  • Ctrl + End: Move the cursor to the end of the buffer in Mark mode
  • Up/ Down Arrow keys: Cycle through command history of active session
  • Left/ Right arrow keys: Move cursor left or right in the current command line
  • Shift + Home: Move the cursor to the start of the current line
  • Shift + End: Move the cursor to the end of the current line
  • Shift + Page Up: Move the cursor up one screen and select text
  • Shift + Page Down: Move the cursor down one screen and select text
  • Ctrl + Up arrow: Move the screen up one line
  • Ctrl + Down arrow: Move the screen down one line
  • Shift + Up arrow: Move cursor up one line and select the text
  • Shift + Down arrow: Move cursor down one line and select the text
  • Ctrl + Shift + Arrow Keys: Move the cursor one word at a time

File Explorer Shortcuts

The File Explorer comes with its own set of keyboard shortcuts that make navigating the Windows file system a breeze. Here are the nearly two dozen shortcuts that work with the Windows File Explorer:

Taskbar Shortcuts

The following shortcuts help you easily launch apps in specific ways or under specific conditions using the Windows taskbar icons:

Accessibility Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts help activate and make use of accessibility features in Windows 11:

Windows Game Bar Shortcuts

Originally introduced in Windows 10, the Windows Game Bar offers many dedicated keyboard shortcuts for convenience and ease of use.

Miscellaneous Shortcuts

Apart from the ones listed above, Windows 11 offers many other shortcuts, not all of which can be classified under any particular category. Here they are:

  • Win + forward slash (/): Start IME reconversion
  • Win + F: Open Feedback Hub
  • Win + K: Open the “Connect” quick setting
  • Win + O: Lock your device orientation
  • Win + Pause: Display System Properties (About page) in Windows Settings
  • Win + Ctrl + F: Search for PCs (if you are on a network)
  • Win + Shift + Left/ Right arrow key: Move an app or window from one monitor to another
  • Win + Spacebar: Switch input language and keyboard layout
  • Win + V: Open Clipboard History
  • Win + Y: Switch input between desktop and Windows Mixed Reality
  • Win + C: Launch Cortana (has to be installed separately)

Use the Best Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 11

Now that you know about the best keyboard shortcuts on Windows 11, you should use them to get the best out of Microsoft’s new operating system. Of course, most of the shortcuts work on Windows 10 and older versions as well, so they will come in handy even if you are yet to make the jump to Windows 11.