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Windows Vista tip of the week: Keyboard shortcuts

If you're looking to get the most out of Windows, you should master some of the many keyboard shortcuts that are available. These are all specifically based around the Windows Key, which appears on newer PC keyboards:

Quick Launch shortcuts
Shortcut: WinKey + 1, 2, 3 ... etc.

If you use the Quick Launch taskbar toolbar, you can quickly launch up to the first nine shortcuts you keep there using the Windows Key plus a number. So the first shortcut, from left to right, would be WinKey + 1, the second is WinKey + 2, and so on.

Show desktop
Shortcut: WinKey + D

This one hides everything to get you to the desktop, including Windows Sidebar.

Minimize all windows
Shortcut: WinKey + M

This one is subtly different from "Show Desktop." With Show Desktop, the Sidebar is hidden as well, whereas WinKey + M minimizes all active windows ... but not the Sidebar.

Windows Flip 3D
Shortcut: WinKey + Tab

Most people are probably familiar with Windows Flip (Alt + Tab) but you can also enable Windows Flip 3D via the keyboard as well.

New Explorer window
Shortcut: WinKey + E


More shortcuts
Jason C. notes via email that Microsoft maintains a full list of Windows Vista keyboard shortcuts. You can find that list here.

Published Jul 14 2008, 10:47 AM by pthurrott
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Comments

 

Najlepsze Programy, Recenzje, Informacje. » Blog Archive » Windows Vista tip of the week: Keyboard shortcuts said:

Pingback from  Najlepsze Programy, Recenzje, Informacje.  » Blog Archive   » Windows Vista tip of the week: Keyboard shortcuts

July 14, 2008 9:00 AM
 

sttevo said:

Thanks Paul.  I actually didn't know about a few of these (the quick launch is particularly handy)!

July 14, 2008 10:18 AM
 

mikegalos@msn.com said:

The one I've found really hand is WinKey+S which launches the Windows Vista screen capture utility (a previous Paul tip)

July 14, 2008 10:45 AM
 

Waethorn said:

"Minimize all windows

Shortcut: WinKey + M

This one is subtly different from "Show Desktop." With Show Desktop, the Sidebar is hidden as well, whereas WinKey + M minimizes all active windows ... but not the Sidebar."

Ok, so in earlier versions of Windows, the "Show Desktop" shortcut was just a command script.  So is there a way to script this so as to create a new "Show Desktop, but don't hide Sidebar" icon?

July 14, 2008 11:28 AM
 

Waethorn said:

"The one I've found really hand is WinKey+S which launches the Windows Vista screen capture utility (a previous Paul tip)"

If you have OneNote installed, it takes over this shortcut.

July 14, 2008 11:29 AM
 

feralboy said:

The Quick Launch shortcut is really handy if you're using a tablet PC. You can now assign a program to a flick gesture. I have, for instance, assigned a stroke to the number one direction (clock face reference) to OneNote.

July 14, 2008 12:20 PM
 

RunTimeError said:

Bravo, sir.

You've shown us a list that most people knew about since this thing was in Beta.

Also, with the exception of WinKey + M and Flip 3D these have been around since the Windows 9.x days.

Who hoo! Who needs a mouse!

July 14, 2008 11:10 PM
 

Flenser said:

The annoying thing is there's no way to override these built in shortcuts if you want to use them for something else.

July 15, 2008 8:41 AM
 

Christopher3199 said:

Good tips.  Just wish the shortcut for Quick Launch worked with the number pad keys too instead of just the numbers above.  Or maybe it is just my keyboard and an Id10t error.

July 17, 2008 9:08 PM
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