Knowing how to handle some key combinations can be very practical when we work long hours in front of the computer. the use of these shortcuts translates into saving time and effort. In this article we present you the best keyboard shortcuts for windows 11, to increase productivity and get the best out of your PC.
What we are going to find in Windows 11 is basically an expanded and improved list of keyboard shortcuts we already knew and used in Windows 10. Before launching the new version of the operating system, Microsoft thought it was better to continue in the same vein, so that users could follow those old shortcuts that were already known and incorporate some new ones.
Once we get used to handling them, keyboard shortcuts undoubtedly make our lives easier. They allow a more agile management of our computer and suppose an important saving of time. The ones that we are going to mention later in this article are used in the operating system in general., although it is true that there are many other specific keyboard shortcuts that work in the different applications of the system. There may even be a situation in which the same shortcut has a different utility depending on the application in which we use it.
This is our pick of the best Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts, sorted by category. Surely you already knew many of them, but maybe you will discover new ones that you will undoubtedly use in your day to day:
General Windows Shortcuts
We start with the shortcuts that we are going to use most frequently. Through the general Windows shortcuts we can execute many actions related to the desktop, the search engine or the widget panel, among other elements. These are the most prominent:
- Windows key + A: To open the Windows 11 shortcut panel.
- Windows key + C: To open teams, the default messaging app for Windows 11.
- Windows key + I: Used to open the settings panel.
- Windows key + N: Access the notification panel.
- Windows key + Q (Windows + S is also valid): To start the search engine.
- Windows + W keyboard: Gives us access to the widget panel.
- Windows key + X: To open the context menu of the start button.
- Windows key + Z: Gives access to the Windows 11 Snaps selector, that is, to the split screen formations that have been added.
Shortcuts to manage windows
There are many combinations or keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 to perform the most diverse actions with the windows:
- Alt + Tab: It is used to select the different open windows.
- Alt+F4: With this shortcut you can close an active window.
- Windows + D key: To minimize all windows.
- Windows key + Start: It also serves to minimize all windows, except the one that is active.
- Ctrl + Shift + M: With this combination we restore all minimized windows to full screen.
- Windows Key + Left: To position the active window on the left half of the screen.
- Windows Key + Right: To place the active window in the right half of the screen.
- Windows key + T: To navigate through the different windows from the taskbar.
- Windows key + number: To open the window that is located in the position corresponding to the number on the taskbar.
- Windows Key + Shift + Left or Right: To move the active window to another monitor (if enabled) to the right or left of the main monitor.
Shortcuts to control virtual desktops
One of the salient features of Windows 11 are virtual desktops, which allow us to work with several desktops with different open applications. These are the shortcuts to manage them in a more agile way:
- Windows key + Ctrl + D: To create a new virtual desktop.
- Windows key + Tab: To open the view of our current virtual desktops.
- Windows Key + Ctrl + Left: To move to the virtual desktop on the left.
- Windows Key + Ctrl + Right: To move to the virtual desktop on the right.
- Windows Key + Ctrl + F4: To close the active virtual desktop.
File Explorer Shortcuts
To search for folders and files within our PC, sometimes it is more convenient to use these shortcuts than to move the mouse and click:
- Windows key + E: It is the shortcut to launch the file explorer.
- Alt + P: It is used to open and close the preview panel.
- Alt + D: Shortcut to the address bar.
- Alt + Enter: To access the properties.
- Alt + Right Arrow: To go to the next file.
- Alt + Left Arrow: To go to the previous file.
- Alt + Up Arrow: To return to the folder to which the file we are viewing belongs.
- Ctrl + E: S
- Windows key + E: Open the file explorer
- Alt + D: Go to the address bar.
- Ctrl + E: To select all files and folders.
- Ctrl + F: Access to the search bar.
- Ctrl + N: To open a new file explorer window.
- Ctrl + W: To close the active window.
- Ctrl + mouse wheel: Used to change the size of the displayed items.
- F11: To maximize or minimize the active window.
- Home: Takes us directly to the beginning of the content window.
- Lesson finish date: Takes us directly to the end of the content window.
Shortcuts for text control
We finish our review of the best keyboard shortcuts in Windows 11 with those related to text control. Probably the keyboard shortcuts that we will use the most in our day to day:
- Ctrl + A: To select all the text on the page.
- Ctrl + C (Ctrl + Insert also works): To copy the selected text to the clipboard.
- Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert): To paste the copied text in the place where we have the cursor.
- Ctrl + X: To cut the selected text.
- Ctrl + F: To open a window in which to write a text and search for it on the page.
- Ctrl + Shift + Left or Right: To move the cursor one word to the left or right of the text.
- Ctrl + Shift + Home or End: to move the cursor to the top or bottom of the text.
- Shift + Left, Right, Up or Down: Select the text through which we are passing with the help of the keys.
- Shift + Home or End: To move the cursor to the beginning or end of the line, selecting the text through which it passes.
- Shift + Page Up or Page Down: To move the cursor to the top or bottom of the visible screen, selecting the text to scroll through.