Below is a list of keyboard shortcuts which if you learn can speed up how you navigate around Windows considerably. Pretty soon you will only use your mouse for drawing applications and the like.
| Key Combination | Action |
| Alt + Tab | Probably the most used key combination this will allow you to cycle through all the applications that are currently running. A special message box will appear with the image and name of each program. |
| Alt + Enter | Toggles a DOS application between full-screen and window mode. |
| Alt + Esc | Cycles through all currently running applications on the taskbar. |
| Alt + Space | Opens the Control Menu for the active window or application. From here you can restore, move, re-size, minimize, and maximize the window by pressing 'r', 'm', 's', 'n' and 'x' respectively. |
| Alt + Print Screen | Unlike full-screen shots this will only copy an image of the current window to the clipboard. |
| Alt + F4 | Closes the current window. If no windows are currently highlighted this will open the Shut Down Windows dialog box. |
| Ctrl + Esc | For those of you who do not own a 'Windows keyboard' this combination lets you do the same thing as the 'Windows key' you see on those keyboards i.e. it opens the Start Menu. |
These key combinations require the Windows keyboard:
| Key Combination | Action |
| Windows Key + E | Opens Windows Explorer |
| Windows Key + F | Opens Windows Find dialog window |
| Windows Key + M | Minimizes all open windows |
| Windows Key + P | Opens Printer Settings |
| Windows Key + R | Opens the Run dialog box |
A few simple tricks:
By selecting an empty space on the desktop and pressing F5 you can refresh the
screen. Handy when some icons become broken and aren't displayed correctly.
When the start menu is open pressing the corresponding key of an underlined letter will open that submenu. E.g. pressing 'P' on the first menu will open the Programs submenu. Pressing the first letter of any program will normally open that submenu too. In the case where there are multiple programs with the same first letter the focus is simply moved to the next program with that first letter. This also applies when navigating in Windows Explorer. Alternatively you can move around the menus using the arrow keys.