Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts
General
F1 Display Help
F2 Rename the selected item
F3 Search for a file or folder
F4 Display the address bar list in File Explorer
F5 Refresh the active window
F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 Activate the Menu bar in the active app
Alt+F4 Close the active item, or exit the active app
Alt+Esc Cycle through items in the order in which they were opened
Alt+underlined letter Perform the command for that letter
Alt+Enter Display properties for the selected item
Alt+Spacebar Open the shortcut menu for the active window
Alt+Left arrow Back
Alt+Right arrow Forward
Alt+Page Up Move up one screen
Alt+Page Down Move down one screen
Alt+Tab Switch between open apps (except desktop apps)
Ctrl+F4 Close the active document (in apps that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
Ctrl+A Select all items in a document or window
Ctrl+C (or Ctrl+Insert) Copy the selected item
Ctrl+D (or Delete) Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
Ctrl+R (or F5) Refresh the active window
Ctrl+V (or Shift+Insert) Paste the selected item
Ctrl+X Cut the selected item
Ctrl+Y Redo an action
Ctrl+Z Undo an action
Ctrl+plus (+) or Ctrl+minus (-) Zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen
Ctrl+ mouse scroll wheel Change the size of desktop icons or zoom in or out of a large number of items, like apps pinned to the Start screen
Ctrl+Right arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl+Left arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl+Down arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl+Up arrow Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl+Alt+Tab Use the arrow keys to switch between all open apps
Ctrl+arrow key (to move to an item)+Spacebar Select multiple individual items in a window or on the desktop
Ctrl+Shift with an arrow key Select a block of text
Ctrl+Esc Open the Start screen
Ctrl+Shift+Esc Open Task Manager
Ctrl+Shift Switch the keyboard layout when multiple keyboard layouts are available
Ctrl+Spacebar Turn the Chinese input method editor (IME) on or off
Shift+F10 Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
Shift with any arrow key Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document
Shift+Delete Delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin first
Right arrow Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu
Left arrow Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu
Esc Stop or leave the current task
Windows logo key
Windows logo key + F1 Open Windows Help and Support
Windows logo key Display or hide the Start screen
Windows logo key + B Set focus in the notification area
Windows logo key + C Open the Charms
Windows logo key + D Display and hide the desktop
Windows logo key + E Open File Explorer
Windows logo key + F Open the Search charm and search for files
Windows logo key + H Open the Share charm
Windows logo key + I Open the Settings charm
Windows logo key + K Open the Devices charm
Windows logo key + L Lock your PC or switch people
Windows logo key + M Minimize all windows
Windows logo key + O Lock device orientation
Windows logo key + P Choose a presentation display mode
Windows logo key + Q Open the Search charm to search everywhere or within the open app (if the app supports app search)
Windows logo key + R Open the Run dialog box
Windows logo key + S Open the Search charm to search Windows and the web
Windows logo key + T Cycle through apps on the taskbar
Windows logo key + U Open Ease of Access Center
Windows logo key + V Cycle through notifications
Windows logo key + Shift + V Cycle through notifications in reverse order
Windows logo key + W Open the Search charm and search for settings
Windows logo key + X Open the Quick Link menu
Windows logo key + Z Show the commands available in the app
Windows logo key + , Temporarily peek at the desktop
Windows logo key + Pause Display the System Properties dialog box
Windows logo key + Ctrl + F Search for PCs (if you're on a network)
Windows logo key + Shift + M Restore minimized windows on the desktop
Windows logo key + number Open the desktop and start the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number. If the app is already running, switch to that app.
Windows logo key + Shift + number Open the desktop and start a new instance of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows logo key + Ctrl + number Open the desktop and switch to the last active window of the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows logo key + Alt + number Open the desktop and open the Jump List for the app pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number
Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + number Open the desktop and open a new instance of the app located at the given position on the taskbar as an administrator
Windows logo key + Tab Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps)
Windows logo key + Ctrl + Tab Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps)
Windows logo key + Shift + Tab Cycle through recently used apps (except desktop apps) in reverse order
Windows logo key + Ctrl + B Switch to the app that displayed a message in the notification area
Windows logo key + Up arrow Maximize the window
Windows logo key + Down arrow Remove current app from screen or minimize the desktop window
Windows logo key + Left arrow Maximize the app or desktop window to the left side of the screen
Windows logo key + Right arrow Maximize the app or desktop window to the right side of the screen
Windows logo key + Home Minimize all but the active desktop window (restores all windows on second stroke)
Windows logo key + Shift + Up arrow Stretch the desktop window to the top and bottom of the screen
Windows logo key + Shift + Down arrow Restore/minimize active desktop windows vertically, maintaining width
Windows logo key + Shift + Left arrow or Right arrow Move an app or window in the desktop from one monitor to another
Windows logo key + Spacebar Switch input language and keyboard layout
Windows logo key + Ctrl + Spacebar Change to a previously selected input
Windows logo key + Enter Open Narrator
Windows logo key + Shift + period (.) Cycle through open apps
Windows logo key + period (.) Cycle through open apps
Windows logo key + / Initiate IME reconversion
Windows logo key + Alt + Enter Open WindowsMedia Center
Windows logo key + plus (+) or minus (-) Zoom in or out using Magnifier
Windows logo key + Esc Exit Magnifier
Dialog box
F1 Display Help
F4 Display the items in the active list
Ctrl+Tab Move forward through tabs
Ctrl+Shift+Tab Move back through tabs
Ctrl+number (number 1-9) Move to nth tab
Tab Move forward through options
Shift+Tab Move back through options
Alt+underlined letter Perform the command (or select the option) that goes with that letter
Spacebar Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Backspace Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box
Arrow keys Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
File Explorer
Alt+D Select the address bar
Ctrl+E Select the search box
Ctrl+F Select the search box
Ctrl+N Open a new window
Ctrl+W Close the current window
Ctrl+mouse scroll wheel Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons
Ctrl+Shift+E Display all folders above the selected folder
Ctrl+Shift+N Create a new folder
Num Lock+asterisk (*) Display all subfolders under the selected folder
Num Lock+plus (+) Display the contents of the selected folder
Num Lock+minus (-) Collapse the selected folder
Alt+P Display the preview pane
Alt+Enter Open the Properties dialog box for the selected item
Alt+Right arrow View the next folder
Alt+Up arrow View the folder that the folder was in
Alt+Left arrow View the previous folder
Backspace View the previous folder
Right arrow Display the current selection (if it's collapsed), or select the first subfolder
Left arrow Collapse the current selection (if it's expanded), or select the folder that the folder was in
End Display the bottom of the active window
Home Display the top of the active window
F11 Maximize or minimize the active window
Taskbar
Shift+click a taskbar button Open an app or quickly open another instance of an app
Ctrl+Shift+click a taskbar button Open an app as an administrator
Shift+right-click a taskbar button Show the window menu for the app
Shift+right-click a grouped taskbar button Show the window menu for the group
Ctrl+click a grouped taskbar button Cycle through the windows of the group
Ease of Access
Right Shift for eight seconds Turn Filter Keys on and off
Left Alt+left Shift+Print Screen Turn High Contrast on or off
Left Alt+left Shift+Num Lock Turn Mouse Keys on or off
Shift five times Turn Sticky Keys on or off
Num Lock for five seconds Turn Toggle Keys on or off
Windows logo key + U Open the Ease of Access Center
Magnifier
Windows logo key + plus (+) or minus (-) Zoom in or out
Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar Preview the desktop in full-screen mode
Ctrl+Alt+D Switch to docked mode
Ctrl+Alt+F Switch to full-screen mode
Ctrl+Alt+I Invert colors
Ctrl+Alt+L Switch to lens mode
Ctrl+Alt+R Resize the lens
Ctrl+Alt+arrow keys Pan in the direction of the arrow keys
Windows logo key + Esc Exit Magnifier
Narrator
Spacebar or Enter Activate current item
Tab and arrow keys Move around on the screen
Ctrl Stop reading
Caps Lock+D Read item
Caps Lock+M Start reading
Caps Lock+H Read document
Caps Lock+V Repeat phrase
Caps Lock+W Read window
Caps Lock+Page Up or Page Down Increase or decrease the volume of the voice
Caps Lock+plus (+) or minus (-) Increase or decrease the speed of the voice
Caps Lock+Spacebar Do default action
Caps Lock+Left or Right arrows Move to previous/next item
Caps Lock+F2 Show commands for current item
Press Caps Lock twice in quick succession Turn Caps Lock on or off
Caps+Esc Exit Narrator
Narrator touch
Tap once with two fingers Stop Narrator from reading
Tap three times with four fingers Show all Narrator commands (including the ones not in this list)
Double-tap Activate primary action
Triple-tap Activate secondary action
Touch or drag a single finger Read what’s under your fingers
Flick left/right with one finger Move to next or previous item
Swipe left/right/up/down with two fingers Scroll
Swipe down with three fingers Start reading on explorable text
Remote Desktop Connection on the desktop
Alt+Page Up Move between apps from left to right
Alt+Page Down Move between apps from right to left
Alt+Insert Cycle through apps in the order that they were started
Alt+Home Display the Start screen
Ctrl+Alt+Break Switch between a window and full screen
Ctrl+Alt+End Display the Windows Securitydialog box
Ctrl+Alt+Home In full-screen mode, activate the connection bar
Alt+Delete Display the system menu
Ctrl+Alt+minus (-) on the numeric keypad Place a copy of the active window, within the client, on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing Alt+Print Screen on a local PC)
Ctrl+Alt+plus (+) on the numeric keypad Place a copy of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard (provides the same functionality as pressing Print Screen on a local PC)
Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow “Tab” out of the Remote Desktop controls to a control in the host app (for example, a button or a text box). Useful when the Remote Desktop controls are embedded in another (host) app.
Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow “Tab” out of the Remote Desktop controls to a control in the host app (for example, a button or a text box). Useful when the Remote Desktop controls are embedded in another (host) app.
Windows Help viewer
F3 Move the cursor to the search box
F10 Display the Options menu
Home Move to the beginning of a topic
End Move to the end of a topic
Alt+Left arrow Move back to the previously viewed topic
Alt+Right arrow Move forward to the next (previously viewed) topic
Alt+Home Display the Help and Support home page
Alt+A Display the customer support page
Alt+C Display the Table of Contents
Alt+N Display the Connection Settings menu
Ctrl+F Search the current topic
Ctrl+P Print a topic
App rearranging
Windows logo key + . (period) Enter rearrange mode and select apps or dividers across monitors
Windows logo key + Left arrow Move app divider left
Windows logo key + Right arrow Move app divider right
Windows logo key + Up arrow Maximize app
Windows logo key + Down arrow Close app
Windows logo key + Esc Exit rearrange mode
Calculator
F1 Open Calculator Help
F2 Edit the calculation history
Alt+1 Switch to Standard mode
Alt+2 Switch to Scientific mode
Alt+3 Switch to Programmer mode
Alt+4 Switch to Statistics mode
Alt+C Calculate or solve date calculations and worksheets
Ctrl+E Open date calculations
Ctrl+H Turn calculation history on or off
Ctrl+L Press the MC button
Ctrl+M Press the MS button
Ctrl+P Press the M+ button
Ctrl+Q Press the M- button
Ctrl+R Press the MR button
Ctrl+U Open unit conversion
Ctrl+Shift+D Clear the calculation history
F9 Press the +/– button
R Press the 1/× button
@ Press the square root button
Del Press the CE button
Up arrow Move up in the calculation history
Down arrow Move down in the calculation history
Esc Press the C button or stop editing the calculation history
Enter Recalculate the calculation history after editing
F3 Select Degrees in Scientific mode
F4 Select Radians in Scientific mode
F5 Select Grads in Scientific mode
Ctrl+B Press the 3vx button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+G Press the 10x button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+O Press the cosh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+S Press the sinh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+T Press the tanh button in Scientific mode
Ctrl+Y Press the yvx button in Scientific mode
D Press the Mod button in Scientific mode
I Press the Inv button in Scientific mode
L Press the log button in Scientific mode
M Press the dms button in Scientific mode
N Press the ln button in Scientific mode
O Press the cos button in Scientific mode
P Press the pi button in Scientific mode
Q Press the x^2 button in Scientific mode
S Press the sin button in Scientific mode
T Press the tan button in Scientific mode
V Press the F-E button in Scientific mode
X Press the Exp button in Scientific mode
Y Press the x^y button in Scientific mode
# Press the x^3 button in Scientific mode
; Press the Int button in Scientific mode
! Press the n! button in Scientific mode
F2 Select Dword in Programmer mode
F3 Select Word in Programmer mode
F4 Select Byte in Programmer mode
F5 Select Hex in Programmer mode
F6 Select Dec in Programmer mode
F7 Select Oct in Programmer mode
F8 Select Bin in Programmer mode
F12 Select Qword in Programmer mode
A-F Press the A-F buttons in Programmer mode
J Press the RoL button in Programmer mode
K Press the RoR button in Programmer mode
< Press the Lsh button in Programmer mode
> Press the Rsh button in Programmer mode
% Press the Mod button in Programmer mode
| Press the Or button in Programmer mode
^ Press the Xor button in Programmer mode
~ Press the Not button in Programmer mode
& Press the And button in Programmer mode
Spacebar Toggles the bit value in Programmer mode
A Press the Average button in Statistics mode
Ctrl+A Press the Average Sq button in Statistics mode
S Press the Sum button in Statistics mode
Ctrl+S Press the Sum Sq button in Statistics mode
T Press the S.D. button in Statistics mode
Ctrl+T Press the Inv S.D. button in Statistics mode
D Press the CAD button in Statistics mode
Calendar
Ctrl+1 or Ctrl+D Show the day view
Ctrl+2 or Ctrl+O Show the work week view
Ctrl+3 or Ctrl+W Show the week view
Ctrl+4 or Ctrl+M Show the month view
Ctrl+T or Home Go to today
Ctrl+N Create a new event
Page up In month view, go to the previous month
Page up In week view, go to the previous week
Page up In day view, go to the previous two days
Ctrl+H In month view, go to the previous month
Ctrl+H In week view, go to the previous week
Ctrl+H In day view, go to the previous two days
Page down In month view, go to the next month
Page down In week view, go to the next week
Page down In day view, go to the next two days
Ctrl+J In month view, go to the next month
Ctrl+J In week view, go to the next week
Ctrl+J In day view, go to the next two days
Right arrow In a view, go to the next day
Left arrow In a view, go to the previous day
Down arrow In a view, go to the next hour
Up arrow In a view, go to the previous hour
Esc Go back
Ctrl+S Save or send the event
Ctrl+P, use up and down arrows to select Respond to an event
Ctrl+D Delete an event
Mail
Ctrl+R Reply
Ctrl+Shift+R Reply all
Ctrl+F Forward
Ctrl+M Move item to a different folder
Ctrl+J Toggle between marking a message as junk or not junk
Ctrl+Shift+U Show only unread messages
Ctrl+Shift+A Show all messages
Ctrl+Shift+E Show Folder options
Ctrl+U Mark as unread
Ctrl+Q Mark as read
Ctrl+A Select all messages
Insert Toggle between Flag and Remove flag for messages
Ctrl+N New message
F5 Sync
Alt+B Put focus on the bcc button
Alt+C Put focus on the cc button
Alt+C Accept (meeting mode)
Alt+D Decline
Alt+T Put focus on the To button
Alt+T Tentative (meeting mode)
Alt+V Open the invitation in Calendar
Alt+S Send mail
Alt+i Insert attachment
Ctrl+Shift+F Select a font
Ctrl+Spacebar Clear formatting
Ctrl+Y Redo
F4 Redo
Ctrl+[ Increase font size one point
Ctrl+] Decrease font size one point
Ctrl+Shift+, Decrease font size
Ctrl+Shift+. Increase font size
Ctrl+K Add a link
Ctrl+E Center
Ctrl+L Left
Ctrl+R Right
Ctrl+Shift+L Bullets
Ctrl+M Indent when text is selected
Ctrl+Shift+M Outdent
Tab or Shift+Tab Indent/outdent when text is selected or when focus is in a list
Ctrl+' Acute accent
Ctrl+, Cedilla accent
Ctrl+Shift+6 Circumflex accent
Ctrl+Shift+; Diaeresis accent
Ctrl+` Grave accent
Ctrl+Shift+7 Ligature accent
Ctrl+Shift+2 Ring accent
Ctrl+/ Forward slash accent
Ctrl+Shift+` Tilde accent
Alt+Ctrl+Shift+1 Inverted exclamation mark
Alt+Ctrl+Shift+/ Inverted question mark
People
Ctrl+N Add a contact
Ctrl+S Save changes
Delete Delete a contact
Ctrl+F Make a contact a favorite
Ctrl+Shift+1 Pin a contact to Start
Esc Go back
Home Go to beginning of contact list
Page down Go forward in the contact list
Page up Go backwards in the contact list
End Go to end of the contact list
Messaging
Ctrl+N Start a new conversation
Ctrl+N Select people
Ctrl+E Select an emoticon
Ctrl+> Next conversation
Ctrl+< Previous conversation
Paint
F1 Open Paint Help
F11 View a picture in full-screen mode
F12 Save the picture as a new file
Ctrl+A Select the entire picture
Ctrl+B Bold selected text
Ctrl+C Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl+E Open the Properties dialog box
Ctrl+G Show or hide gridlines
Ctrl+I Italicize selected text
Ctrl+N Create a new picture
Ctrl+O Open an existing picture
Ctrl+P Print a picture
Ctrl+R Show or hide the ruler
Ctrl+S Save changes to a picture
Ctrl+U Underline selected text
Ctrl+V Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Ctrl+W Open the Resize and Skew dialog box
Ctrl+X Cut a selection
Ctrl+Y Redo a change
Ctrl+Z Undo a change
Ctrl+plus (+) Increase the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl+minus (-) Decrease the width of a brush, line, or shape outline by one pixel
Ctrl+Page Up Zoom in
Ctrl+Page Down Zoom out
Alt (or F10) Display keytips
Alt+F4 Close a picture and its Paint window
Right arrow Move the selection or active shape right by one pixel
Left arrow Move the selection or active shape left by one pixel
Down arrow Move the selection or active shape down by one pixel
Up arrow Move the selection or active shape up by one pixel
Shift+F10 Show the current shortcut menu
Reader
F8 Use two-page layout
Ctrl+R Rotate the file 90 degrees clockwise
Ctrl+F Search for text in a file
F7 Use keyboard selection mode
Ctrl+P Print a file
Ctrl+O Open a file
Ctrl+W Close a file
Ctrl+M Reader app home
Remote Desktop Connection
Ctrl+Alt+Home Toggle appbars between the remote PC and the one in front of you
Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow Switch your view to the previous session (when viewing a session)
Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow Switch your view to the next session (when viewing a session)
Ctrl+Alt+Up arrow Switch your view to the first session (when viewing a session)
Ctrl+Alt+Down arrow Switch your view to the last session (when viewing a session)
SkyDrive
Ctrl+A Select all
Ctrl+Alt+1 Change view (details/thumbnails)
Ctrl+U Upload
Ctrl+Shift+N New folder
Esc Clear selection
Ctrl+O Open with
Ctrl+Alt+O View folder
Ctrl+Shift+V Copy
Ctrl+Shift+Y Move
Ctrl+S Download
Alt+Up arrow Go up
F2 Rename
F5 Refresh
Windows Journal
F1 Open Journal Help
F5 Refresh the note list
F6 Toggle between a note list and a note
F11 View a note in full-screen mode
Ctrl+A Select all items on a page
Ctrl+C Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl+F Search for text in a file
Ctrl+G Go to a page
Ctrl+N Start a new note
Ctrl+O Open a recently used note
Ctrl+P Print a note
Ctrl+S Save changes to a note
Ctrl+V Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Ctrl+X Cut a selection
Ctrl+Y Redo a change
Ctrl+Z Undo a change
Alt+F4 Close a note and its Journal window
Ctrl+Shift+C Display a shortcut menu for column headings in a note list
Ctrl+Shift+V Move a note to a specific folder
WordPad
F1 Open WordPad Help
F3 Search for the next instance of the text in the Find dialog box
F10 Display keytips
F12 Save the document as a new file
Ctrl+1 Set single line spacing
Ctrl+2 Set double line spacing
Ctrl+5 Set line spacing to 1.5
Ctrl+A Select the entire document
Ctrl+B Make selected text bold
Ctrl+C Copy a selection to the Clipboard
Ctrl+D Insert a Microsoft Paint drawing
Ctrl+E Align text center
Ctrl+F Search for text in a document
Ctrl+H Replace text in a document
Ctrl+I Italicize selected text
Ctrl+J Justify text
Ctrl+L Align text left
Ctrl+N Create a new document
Ctrl+O Open an existing document
Ctrl+P Print a document
Ctrl+R Align text right
Ctrl+S Save changes to a document
Ctrl+U Underline selected text
Ctrl+V Paste a selection from the Clipboard
Ctrl+X Cut a selection
Ctrl+Y Redo a change
Ctrl+Z Undo a change
Ctrl+= Make selected text subscript
Ctrl+Shift+= Make selected text superscript
Ctrl+Shift+> Increase the font size
Ctrl+Shift+< Decrease the font size
Ctrl+Shift+A Change characters to all capitals
Ctrl+Shift+L Change the bullet style
Ctrl+Left arrow Move the cursor one word to the left
Ctrl+Right arrow Move the cursor one word to the right
Ctrl+Up arrow Move the cursor to the previous line
Ctrl+Down arrow Move the cursor to the next line
Ctrl+Home Move to the beginning of the document
Ctrl+End Move to the end of the document
Ctrl+Page Up Move up one page
Ctrl+Page Down Move down one page
Ctrl+Delete Delete the next word
Alt+F4 Close WordPad
Shift+F10 Show the current shortcut menu
Visit http://www.shortcutmania.com for more printable keyboard shortcuts.