The very useful guide to windows 11 shortcuts.

Windows 11 shortcuts

Windows key + A — Open the Quick Settings panel. This lets you turn Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, airplane mode, and more features on or off. You can also adjust the brightness of your screen and computer volume in this panel.

Windows key + C — Open Chat with Microsoft Teams. This new feature in Windows 11 gives you a quick panel to see your recent messages and contacts in Microsft Teams, plus you can start meetings and calls directly from here.

Windows key + D — Show or hide the desktop. Showing the desktop means all your apps are no longer visible, and hiding it restores all your apps in their correct place.

Windows key + E — Open File Explorer.

Windows key + F — Open the Feedback Hub and immediately take a screenshot. This lets you more easily send feedback to Microsoft about a problem you may have encountered.

Windows key + G — Open the Xbox Game Bar. This lets you record videos, take screenshots, and access various features while playing a game.

Windows key + Alt + B — Turn HDR on or off. This requires an HDR-compatible monitor and a recent version of the Xbox Game Bar app.

Windows key + Alt + R — Start recording a video of your app or game using the Xbox Game Bar.

Windows key + H — Launch voice typing. This allows you to dictate text rather than write it by hand.

Windows key + I — Open the Settings app.

Windows key + Pause — Open the About page in Settings. This includes information about your computer hardware and Windows itself.

Windows key + K — Open the Cast panel. This lets you connect to wireless displays that support Miracast.

Windows key + Alt + K – Mute your microphone in apps that support Call Mute (includes Teams for work and school, Unigram, and others).

Windows key + L — Lock your PC. This keeps all your apps open, but requires you to unlock your PC before using them again.

Windows key + M — Minimize all your windows.

Windows key + Shift + M — Restore your minimized windows. This only works if you’re still on the desktop.

Windows key + N — Show the notification center and calendar. This is a new keyboard shortcut in Windows 11.

Windows key + O — Lock device orientation. For tablets and convertibles, this prevents the display from rotating when you rotate your PC.

Windows key + P — Change the display mode for multiple monitors. If you have multiple displays connected, you can choose to only have one of the screens active, duplicate the display across all screens, or use the screens to extend your display area.

Windows key + Q — Open Quick Assist. This allows you to receive or provide help to another user by connecting remotely over the internet.

Windows key + R — Open the Run dialog. This allows you to open any app on your PC, as long as you know the name of the executable file for the app.

Windows key + S — Open Windows Search. You can search for files, apps, and search the web here.

Windows key + Shift + S — Take a screenshot using the Snipping Tool. After pressing the key, you can still choose your preferred capture mode, including free form, rectangle, window, and full-screen (this includes all connected monitors).

Windows key + U — Open the Accessibility Settings page.

Windows key + Ctrl + C — Turn color filters on or off. This feature needs to be enabled in the Accessibility settings first, and it lets you change how colors are displayed to account for various forms of color blindness.

Windows key + V — Open your clipboard history. This allows you to see multiple items you’ve copied, including text, links, and images. Out of the box, this feature is disabled, but you can turn it on from here, too.

Windows key + W — Open the Widgets panel. This new Windows 11 feature contains widgets for things like the weather, OneDrive photos, calendar, and more. You can also see news from topics you’re interested in here.

Windows key + X — Open the Quick Link menu (equivalent to right-clicking the Start icon on your taskbar). This contains links to system features like Settings, File Explorer, Task Manager, and more.

Windows key + Y (Windows Mixed Reality devices only) — Switch input between Windows Mixed Reality and the desktop.

Windows key + Z — Open the snap layouts panel. This feature, added in Windows 11, makes it easier to put multiple apps side by side on your screen.

Windows + . (period) or ; (semi-colon) — Open the emoji panel. This lets you add emoji to any text field.

Windows + , (comma) — Peek at the desktop. Your desktop is only visible as long as you hold one of the keys after pressing them, then your windows are restored.

Windows key+ Ctrl + F— Search for PCs on your network. This is meant for Azure Active Directory domains.

Windows key + Spacebar — Cycle between languages and input methods (if multiple are installed).

Windows key + Shift + Spacebar — Cycle backwards through the list.

Windows key + Ctrl + Spacebar — Switch to the last used input method.

Ctrl + Shift — Switch to a different keyboard layout if multiple are available (for the same language).

Ctrl + Spacebar — Turn the Chinese IME on or off (if the Chinese language is installed).

Windows key + Ctrl+ Enter — Turn on Narrator. This accessibility feature reads on-screen elements to make navigation easier for those with vision impairments.

Windows key + + (plus) — Turn on the Magnifier and zoom into the screen.

Windows key + – (minus) — Zoom out with the Magnifier.

Windows key + Esc — Close the Magnifier.

Windows key + / (forward slash) — Begin IME reconversion.

Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B — Wake up your PC from a blank or black screen.

Windows key + PrtScn(Print Screen, may be represented differently on different keyboards) — Take a full-screen screenshot and automatically save it to a file.

Items are saved in the Pictures library in a folder called Screenshots.

Windows key + Alt+ PrtScn — Take a screenshot of the active game or window and save it into a file. This feature uses the Xbox Game Bar, and files are saved in the Videos library, in a folder called Captures (by default).

PrtScn — Take a full-screen screenshot and copy it to the clipboard, so you can paste it somewhere else without saving it as a file. You can also go to the Settings app > Accessibility > Keyboard to set the PrtScn key to open the Snipping Tool (making it the same as Windows key + Shift + S)

Ctrl + Esc — Open the Start menu.

Ctrl + Shift + Esc — Open the Task Manager.