7.2 WINDOWS KEYSTROKES The following Windows 7 keystrokes may also work with earlier versions of Windows.
THE WINDOWS KEY The WINDOWS key can be used on its own or as a modifier with other keys to activate specific Windows functions. WINDOWS KEY or CTRL or ESCAPE: opens or closes the Start Menu. WINDOWS KEY ALT ENTER: opens Windows Media Centre. WINDOWS KEY B: moves focus to the first icon in the Notification Area. WINDOWS KEY D: toggles focus between the active program or dialog and the Desktop. WINDOWS KEY E: opens Windows Explorer. WINDOWS KEY F: opens the Search Results window with focus in the Instant Search box (presumably this accelerator key was chosen when Search used to be called Find). WINDOWS KEY F1: opens Windows Help and Support. WINDOWS KEY G: cycles through gadgets. WINDOWS KEY L: locks the computer and displays the Welcome screen. WINDOWS KEY M: minimizes all programs and puts focus on the Desktop. Use WINDOWS KEY Shift M to toggle focus back to the last active program. WINDOWS KEY PAUSE: opens Control Panel to show the System utility. WINDOWS KEY R: opens the Run dialog. WINDOWS KEY SPACEBAR (Windows Vista): moves focus to the sidebar. WINDOWS KEY T: moves focus to the next icon in the Taskbar. WINDOWS KEY Tab: shows a 3D preview of open windows (requires Aero). WINDOWS KEY U: opens the Ease of Access Centre, which was called the Utility manager in previous versions of Windows. WINDOWS KEY X: opens the Windows Mobility Centre giving an overview of useful settings for laptops. WINDOWS 7: WINDOWS KEY COMMANDS WINDOWS KEY P: cycles through external display options. WINDOWS KEY PLUS: starts Magnifier, and then zooms in. WINDOWS KEY MINUS: zooms out when Magnifier is active. WINDOWS KEY ESCAPE: exits Magnifier. START MENU TASKBAR AND DESKTOP WINDOWS KEY or CTRL ESCAPE: opens or closes the Start Menu. CONTEXT MENU key: opens an item's context menu, or a Taskbar icon's jump list. Shift F10: opens an enhanced context menu for the selected item. Alt ENTER: opens the Properties dialog for the selected item. Tab: moves focus between the different areas. SHIFT TAB moves in the opposite direction. Once TAB or SHIFT TAB have been pressed, first letter navigation can be used, e.g., pressing I for internet. DESKTOP Pressing a letter at the Desktop takes you to icons starting with that letter, press ENTER to activate. HOME: moves focus to the first icon, at the top left of the Desktop. END: moves focus to the last icon, at the bottom right of the Desktop. ARROW KEYS: move focus to the next icon in the direction of the arrow. F2: renames selected icon. DELETE: deletes selected item and moves it to the Recycle Bin. SHIFT DELETE: deletes a selected item permanently without storing it in the Recycle Bin. CONTEXT MENU KEY: with an icon selected, opens the context menu for that item. With nothing selected, opens the context menu for the Desktop. ALT ENTER: opens the Properties dialog for the selected item. CONTROL SPACEBAR: toggles selection status of item with focus. SWITCHING BETWEEN PROGRAMS ALT TAB: switches between running programs in a cycle (press and release to move between two programs, or hold ALT down and press TAB repeatedly to move to any program). CONTROL ALT TAB: switches between running programs in a list (press and release CONTROL ALT TAB, then use arrow keys to select from the list). WINDOWS KEY TAB: switches between running programs (requires Aero; similar to Alt Tab). CONTROL WINDOWS KEY TAB: switches between running programs (requires Aero; similar to CONTROL ALT TAB). ALT ESCAPE: cycles between running programs. CTRL SHIFT ESCAPE: opens the Windows Task Manager. The Applications page contains a list of running applications; press ENTER on one of them to switch to it. CTRL ALT DELETE: opens the Windows Security screen. MENUS ALT: toggles focus to and from the menu bar. LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW: on the menu bar, moves through menu headings. DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW: on the menu bar, opens a sub-menu and moves through menu options. RIGHT ARROW: within sub-menu, opens current item's sub-menu or moves to next menu. LEFT ARROW: within sub-menu, closes current item's sub-menu or moves to previous menu. ENTER: activates menu option. ESCAPE: closes sub-menu or removes focus from menu bar. ALT ACCELERATOR KEY: when not in the menu system, activates one particular menu. ACCELERATOR KEY alone: when on the menu bar, selects menu. When in sub-menu, selects an option within it. ALT SPACEBAR: opens the System menu of the active program. ALT F4: closes what’s in focus. CTRL W or CTRL F4: closes the active document window. ALT ENTER: opens the Properties dialog for the selected item. DIALOG BOXES TAB/SHIFT TAB: moves focus to the next/previous control. ALT ACCELERATOR KEY: moves focus to a particular control. On certain controls such as buttons, checkboxes and radio buttons, this also activates the control. ENTER: if not on a button, selects the default button (usually OK, which saves chosen settings and closes dialog). If on a button, selects that button. ESCAPE: cancels settings changes and closes dialog. CTRL TAB or CTRL PAGEDOWN: switches between pages of a multi-page dialog. SHIFT CTRL TAB or CTRL PAGEUP: switches between pages of a multi-page dialog in reverse order. SPACEBAR: selects a button or toggles a checkbox. ARROW KEYS: move up and down in a listbox, move between radio buttons, move cursor in an editbox, change value in a spinbox or on a slider. ALT DOWN ARROW or F4: toggles showing items from a drop-down listbox. BACKSPACE: in a listview, goes up one level. F1: opens Help for the current dialog. DOCUMENT EDITING ARROW KEYS: move cursor left, right, up or down. CTRL LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW: moves cursor by word. CTRL UP ARROW/DOWN ARROW: moves cursor by paragraph. HOME/END: moves cursor to start or end of line. CTRL HOME/END: moves cursor to start or end of document. PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN: moves cursor up or down one screen. SHIFT NAVIGATION COMMAND (i.e. any of the above): selects text. ENTER: creates a new paragraph. CTRL A: selects everything in the edit area. CTRL C: copies selected text to the clipboard. CTRL F: opens Find dialog. CTRL H: Find and Replace Dialog. CTRL N: creates new document. CTRL O: opens saved document. CTRL P: opens Print dialog. CTRL S: saves document. CTRL V: pastes text from the clipboard. CTRL X: cuts selected text to the clipboard. CTRL Y: redoes last edit command. CTRL Z: undoes last edit command. DELETE/BACKSPACE: erase the character to the right/left of the cursor, or erase selected text. CTRL DELETE/BACKSPACE: erase the word to the right/left of the cursor. WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER Windows Media Player is part of the Windows installation on your computer which enables you to enjoy CDs or other entertainment SHIFT when you insert a CD: prevents the CD from automatically playing. ENTER: starts playback. CTRL P OR SPACEBAR: pauses or continues playback. F7: Mutes the volume. F8: Decreases the volume. F9: Increases the volume. CTRL S: stops playback. CTRL F: plays the next item. CTRL B: plays the previous item. CTRL SHIFT B: toggles rewind on and off (not available for all files). CTRL SHIFT F: toggles fast forward on and off. CTRL SHIFT G: plays faster than normal speed. CTRL SHIFT S: plays slower than normal speed. CTRL SHIFT N: plays at normal speed. CTRL J: ejects the CD or DVD on the Play menu. ALT F4: closes Windows Media Player. WINDOWS EXPLORER WINDOWS KEY E: opens Windows Explorer. ALT F4: closes Window Explorer. ALT P: toggles Preview Pane (Windows 7 only). TAB/SHIFT TAB: moves focus forwards/backwards between areas. ALT D or F4: opens the address bar and shows the current path; press Escape to return to breadcrumb trail mode. CTRL E or F3: moves focus to Search box. CTRL TAB: moves focus to the listview (may need to press it twice). ALT: toggles focus to and from the menu bar. WINDOWS EXPLORER LIST VIEW ALT LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW: moves back to previous folder or forward to next folder viewed in current session. ALT UP ARROW: moves up one level to the parent folder. HOME/END: moves focus to start or end of list. ARROW KEYS: select a single item. SHIFT ARROW KEYS: select multiple items that are next to each other. CTRL ARROW KEYS: retain selection and move focus to another item without selecting it. CTRL SPACEBAR: toggles selection status of item with focus. CONTEXT MENU KEY OR SHIFT F10: opens the context menu for selected item. ENTER: opens selected folder or file. ALT ENTER: shows properties dialog for selected item. F2: renames selected item. CTRL A: selects everything in the listview. CTRL C: copies selected items to the clipboard. CTRL V: pastes from the clipboard. CTRL X: cuts selected items to the clipboard. CTRL Y: redoes last edit action. CTRL Z: undoes last edit action. DELETE: deletes selected item and moves it to the Recycle Bin. SHIFT DELETE: deletes selected item permanently without storing it in the Recycle Bin. F5: refreshes the window contents. CTRL NUMPAD PLUS: when in Details view, auto-fits the columns. NAVIGATION PANE (TREEVIEW) RIGHT ARROW: expands selected folder or moves to first sub-folder. LEFT ARROW: collapses selected folder or moves to parent folder. ENTER or SPACEBAR: updates the listview to show the current folder. HOME/END: moves focus to start or end of list. UP ARROW: moves up one item. DOWN ARROW: moves down one item. NUMPAD PLUS: expands selected folder to show next level of subfolders. NUMPADMINUS: collapses selected folders. NUMPAD STAR: expands all sub-folders (may take a long time if you have lots of nested folders). ADDRESS BAR RIGHT ARROW/LEFT ARROW: cycles forwards/backwards through breadcrumb trail. DOWN ARROW/UP ARROW: opens menu for selected item in breadcrumb trail and moves through it. ENTER: activates selected item in breadcrumb trail. ESCAPE: closes menu for selected item in breadcrumb trail. CONTROL PANEL TAB/SHIFT TAB: moves between links, controls and other areas of the window. ARROW KEYS: in alphabetic view of home page, moves between links. CTRL E or F3: moves focus to Search box. ALT D or F4: opens the address bar and shows the current path; press ESCAPE to return to breadcrumb trail mode. CTRL TAB: moves focus from a general option to the first option specific to a utility. ALT LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW: moves to the previous/next window viewed in the current session. EASE OF ACCESS CENTRE WINDOWS KEY U: opens the Ease of Access Centre. LEFT ALT LEFT SHIFT PRINTSCREEN: toggles High Contrast on or off. NUMLOCK for five seconds: toggles Toggle Keys on or off. SHIFT five times: toggles Sticky Keys on or off. RIGHT SHIFT for eight seconds: toggles Filter Keys on and off. LEFT ALT LEFT SHIFT NUMLOCK: toggles Mouse Keys on or off. ALT F4: closes Ease of Access Centre. MAGNIFIER WINDOWS KEY PLUS: starts Magnifier, and then zooms in, Windows 7 only. WINDOWS KEY U, ALT G: opens Ease of Access Centre and starts Magnifier. WINDOWS KEY MINUS: zooms out, Windows 7 only. CTRL PLUS: zooms in, Windows Vista only. CTRL MINUS: zooms out, Windows Vista only. CTRL ALT ARROW KEY: pan in the direction of the arrow. CTRL ALT D: switches to docked mode. CTRL ALT F: switches to full-screen mode. CTRL ALT I: inverts colours. CTRL ALT L: switches to lens mode. CTRL ALT R: resizes the lens (move the mouse and click when finished). CTRL ALT SPACEBAR: switches to preview mode. SHIFT ALT ARROW KEYS: resize the lens. WINDOWS KEY ESCAPE: exits Magnifier, Windows 7 only. ALT F4: closes Magnifier. NARRATOR WINDOWS KEY U, ALT N: opens the Ease of Access Centre, starts Narrator. CTRL SHIFT ENTER: gives information. CTRL SHIFT SPACEBAR: reads current window. CTRL ALT SPACEBAR: reads current window layout. CTRL: stops Narrator reading text. ALT F4: closes Narrator. HELP AND SUPPORT WINDOWS KEY F1: opens Windows Help and Support. TAB: cycles through links and edit area. ENTER: activates the current link. ALT LEFT ARROW: moves back to the previous page in your history. ALT RIGHT ARROW: moves forward to the next page in your history. ALT O OR F10: opens the Options menu. ALT M OR ALT A: opens "More Support Options" page. ALT N: opens "Online Help" or "Offline Help" menu. ALT C: displays the Table of Contents. ALT HOME: displays the Help and Support home page. F3: moves focus to the Search box. HOME or CTRL HOME: moves to the top of page. END or CTRL END: moves to the bottom of page. CTRL A: selects everything on the current screen. CTRL C: copies selected text to the clipboard. CTRL F: searches the current topic. CTRL P: prints the current topic. ALT SPACEBAR: opens the System menu. ALT F4: closes Windows Help and Support. INTERNET EXPLORER VIEWING AND EXPLORING WEBPAGES TAB: moves focus forward through a webpage, including all links and controls, and then the Address Bar, the Search Area, the Favourites icon, the Favourites bar, the Active tab and the Command bar. SHIFT TAB: moves focus backwards through a webpage. ENTER: activates a selected link, loading the new page in place of the current page. CTRL ENTER: activates a selected link, loading the new page in a new tab but not moving focus to that tab. CTRL SHIFT ENTER: activates a selected link, loading the new page in a new tab and moving focus to that tab. SHIFT ENTER: activates a selected link, loading the new page in a new window. ALT ENTER: while focus is in the address bar or drop-down, opens the address in a new tab and moves focus to it. ALT LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE: moves Back to the previous page in your history. ALT RIGHT ARROW or SHIFT BACKSPACE: moves Forward to the next page in your history. ALT HOME: goes to your home page. F6: from a webpage, jumps to the address bar and selects it. CTRL F6: from the address bar, returns to the webpage. UP ARROW: scrolls toward the beginning of a page. DOWN ARROW: scrolls toward the end of a page. PAGEUP: scrolls toward the beginning of a page in larger increments. PAGEDOWN: scrolls toward the end of a page in larger increments. HOME: moves focus to the beginning of a page. Most screenreaders use CTRL HOME to go to the beginning of a page. END: moves focus to the end of a page. Most access technologies use CTRL END to go to the end of a page. CTRL F: finds on this page (may not work with some screenreaders which will substitute an alternative keystroke). F5: refreshes the current webpage. ESCAPE: stops downloading the current page. CTRL H: opens the Favourites Centre showing the History page. CTRL I: opens the Favourites Centre showing the Favourites page. CTRL J: opens the Favourites Centre showing the Feeds page. CTRL N: opens a new browser window. CTRL O or CTRL L: opens a new webpage or location. Most other browsers use CTRL O for opening a document saved on your computer, and CTRL L for a web location. CTRL P: prints the current page. CTRL S: saves the current page. CTRL SHIFT P: opens a new InPrivate Browsing window. CTRL W: closes the current tab, or closes Internet Explorer if there is only one tab open. ALT O: opens the Tools menu if the Command toolbar is on screen. ALT P: opens the Page menu if the Command toolbar is on screen. ALT S: opens the Safety menu if the Command toolbar is on screen. F1: opens Help and Support at the Internet Explorer page. F7: toggles Caret Browsing on and off. F11 or ALT ENTER: toggles between full-screen and regular views of the browser window. CONTEXT MENU KEY OR SHIFT F10: displays a context menu for a link. INTERNET EXPLORER TABS CTRL T: opens a new tab. CTRL K: creates a duplicate tab, opening the current page in a new tab. CTRL TAB/CTRL SHIFT TAB: switches to next/previous tab. CTRL # where # is a number between 1 and 8: switches to a specific tab number. CTRL 9: switches to the last tab. CTRL Q: toggles Quick Tabs (thumbnail view) on or off. CTRL W: closes the current tab, or closes Internet Explorer if there is only one tab open. CTRL ALT F4: closes all tabs but the current one. INTERNET EXPLORER ZOOM CTRL PLUS: increases zoom by 25% increments in Internet Explorer 8, 10% in Internet Explorer 7. CTRL MINUS: decreases zoom. CTRL 0: sets zoom to 100%. INTERNET EXPLORER SEARCH CTRL E: moves focus to the Search box. SHIFT TAB: once a search term has been entered, moves focus to a horizontal list of search engines. ALT ENTER: opens your search query in a new tab. INTERNET EXPLORER ADDRESS BAR ALT D or F6: moves focus to the address bar and selects the current entry. F4: moves focus to the address bar, selects the current entry and drops down the list of addresses you have typed previously. CTRL F6: moves focus from the address bar to the webpage. CTRL LEFT ARROW/RIGHT ARROW: moves the cursor to the previous/next logical break in the address: Full stop or slash. CTRL ENTER: adds "www." to the beginning and ".com" to the end of the text typed in the address bar. UP ARROW: while typing an address, moves forwards through the list of matches from your history or favourites. DOWN ARROW: while typing an address, moves backwards through the list of matches from your history or favourites. ENTER: opens page in current tab. ALT ENTER: opens page in new tab and moves focus to it. ALT SHIFT ENTER: opens page in new tab and does not move focus to it. INTERNET EXPLORER MENUS ALT M: opens the Home menu. ALT R: opens the Print menu. ALT J: opens the Feeds/Web Slices menu. ALT O: opens the Tools menu. ALT S: opens the Safety menu. ALT L: opens the Help menu. INTERNET EXPLORER FAVOURITES, HISTORY AND FEEDS CTRL D: adds the current page to your favourites, or subscribes to the feed when in feed preview ALT A: opens the Favourites menu from the menu bar. ALT Z: opens the Add to Favourites menu or subscribes to feed when in feed preview. CTRL SHIFT DELETE: opens the Delete Browsing History dialog, Internet Explorer 8 only. CTRL SHIFT P: opens the InPrivate Browsing window, Internet Explorer 8 only. CTRL B: opens the Organize Favourites dialog. ALT UP ARROW/DOWN ARROW: moves selected item up/down in the Favourites list in the Organize Favourites dialog. ALT C or CTRL I: opens the Favourites Centre showing the Favourites page. CTRL H: opens the Favourites Centre showing the History Page. CTRL J: opens the Favourites Centre showing the Feeds page. CTRL SHIFT H: toggles docked Favourites Centre showing the History page. CTRL SHIFT I: toggles docked Favourites Centre showing the Favourites page. CTRL SHIFT J: toggles docked Favourites Centre showing the Feeds page. ALT I: displays all feeds when in feed view. ALT M: marks a feed as read when in feed view. ALT S: puts cursor in Search box when in feed view. INTERNET EXPLORER SELECTING CTRL A: selects all items on the current webpage. CTRL C: copies selection to the clipboard. INTERNET EXPLORER INFORMATION BAR ALT N: moves focus to the Information bar. SPACEBAR: opens the Information bar menu. |