Shortcuts

Everyone loves shortcuts, whether one is driving to their favourite destination or completing a critical task on a friday night. When it comes to the keyboard shortcuts, the three shortcut keys for Copy, Paste and Undo rule the world. We are so used to with these three shortcuts that we do not even realise that the key combinations Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V and Ctrl + Z are shortcuts for their respective menu options.

In this post, I intend to introduce (or remind) you to some shortcuts that works with some of the popular applications in Windows. Even if not used daily, at least these should be helpful when you are using your laptop and want to avoid using those clumsy mouse pads. As it could be difficult to memorize too many shortcuts, I have included only select few ones in each section. Links for complete list of shortcuts are provided for each app, just in case you are interested to explore.

Browser

Works in Chrome/Edge/Firefox

Toggle between current web page and Address bar (and the Bookmarks bar if it is visible)	F6
Open or close a tab	Ctrl + t or Ctrl + w
Jump to a specific tab	Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 8
Clear browsing data	Ctrl + Shift + Del
Go Back/Forward	Alt + Left or Alt + Right

Editor

Works in Office apps like MS Word, Outlook, etc. Most of the apps where typing is allowed will support one or more of these shortcuts. So, go ahead and try in other apps too

Delete the next/previous whole word	Ctrl + Delete or Ctrl + BkSp
Move cursor left/right by one word	Ctrl + Left or Ctrl + Right
Decrease or Increase font size	Ctrl + [ or Ctrl + ]
Right or left align a paragraph or line	Ctrl + r or Ctrl + l
Find and replace	Ctrl + h

General

Works in Windows 7/8/10

Open snipping tool	Win Key + Shift + s
Maximize app to the left/right side	Win Key + Left or Win Key + Right
Display/hide desktop	Win Key + d
Open explorer (aka My Computer)	Win Key + e
Lock computer	Win Key + l

If there are any other apps for which you would like to know the frequently used shortcuts, then let me konw in comments below.