News and Updates
7 simple Windows shortcuts to boost your productivity
Mike Klökler
Sep 20, 2021
There are a lot of productivity tools out there that we all love. However, there’s another powerful productivity hack that people often overlook: keyboard shortcuts.
Shortcuts are free, easy to learn, and can save you a lot of time. The main advantage is that you don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard and look for a button with the mouse pointer.
There are shortcuts in nearly every tool and Windows has some that you should know to save time and get more done. We use these* all the time*.
If you already know all the shortcuts here (you productive person, you), check out our post on more advanced Windows shortcuts.
Copy and Paste (CTRL + C, CTRL + V)
Okay you probably know this one… but just in case.
Highlight some text and hit **Ctrl + C** to copying it to the clipboard. Now you can hit **CTRL + V** to insert it somewhere else.
Use **Ctrl + X** to cut text (instead of copying it) and paste it with **Ctrl + V**.
Undo (CTRL + Z)
Do you know the feeling when you deleted something unintentionally? Ouch!
Fortunately, it’s not gone forever. In almost all programs, the undo shortcut **Ctrl + Z** will undo your last action. It can be a lifesaver if you’ve made a mistake. Note that there are usually limits on how many actions you can undo (normally about 20).
If you undid one action too many or if you change your mind, you can redo the last undone action with **Ctrl + Y**.
Switch Screens and Tabs (Alt + Tab, CTRL + Tab)
If you work with a computer you likely have multiple windows and tabs open at any given time. Use **Alt + Tab** to quickly switch between windows on your computer.
If you’re working in the browser, **Ctrl + Tab** lets you switch between browser tabs. Want an overview of all screens you have open? Simply hit **Win + Tab .**
Open a New Window (CTRL + N)
If you quickly want to open a new window while working in the browser, just click **Ctrl + N** . If you just want a new tab, click **Ctrl + T** . Open a new incognito tab with **Ctrl + Shift + N** and use **Ctrl + Shift + T** to re-open the last tab you closed.
Take a Screenshot (Win + Shift + S)
Great news: Never again do you have to scratch around for a tool to take a screenshot: Windows has a one built in! We wish someone had told us about this earlier…
Use **Win + Shift + S**** to create a screenshot from anywhere. Windows saves the screenshot to your clipboard and you can paste it somewhere else.
Faster highlighting and editing
If you find yourself clicking the backspace key or the arrow keys more than two times there are probably a faster ways to navigate through your text.
Use **Ctrl + arrow keys** to jump between words, and **Ctrl + Shift + ←** to highlight the last word. To highlight the entire line use **Shift + ↑** and to highlight the paragraph use **Ctrl + Shift + ↑** .
Find Anything
For most programs you can hit **Ctrl + F** to search.
And finally a shameless plug: To find anything across all your files and apps, just download Curiosity and hit **Alt + Space**!
Last but not least, when leaving your desk you should always (always!) lock your screen with the **Win + L** shortcut.
We hope you’ve found this helpful.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
There are a lot of productivity tools out there that we all love. However, there’s another powerful productivity hack that people often overlook: keyboard shortcuts.
Shortcuts are free, easy to learn, and can save you a lot of time. The main advantage is that you don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard and look for a button with the mouse pointer.
There are shortcuts in nearly every tool and Windows has some that you should know to save time and get more done. We use these* all the time*.
If you already know all the shortcuts here (you productive person, you), check out our post on more advanced Windows shortcuts.
Copy and Paste (CTRL + C, CTRL + V)
Okay you probably know this one… but just in case.
Highlight some text and hit **Ctrl + C** to copying it to the clipboard. Now you can hit **CTRL + V** to insert it somewhere else.
Use **Ctrl + X** to cut text (instead of copying it) and paste it with **Ctrl + V**.
Undo (CTRL + Z)
Do you know the feeling when you deleted something unintentionally? Ouch!
Fortunately, it’s not gone forever. In almost all programs, the undo shortcut **Ctrl + Z** will undo your last action. It can be a lifesaver if you’ve made a mistake. Note that there are usually limits on how many actions you can undo (normally about 20).
If you undid one action too many or if you change your mind, you can redo the last undone action with **Ctrl + Y**.
Switch Screens and Tabs (Alt + Tab, CTRL + Tab)
If you work with a computer you likely have multiple windows and tabs open at any given time. Use **Alt + Tab** to quickly switch between windows on your computer.
If you’re working in the browser, **Ctrl + Tab** lets you switch between browser tabs. Want an overview of all screens you have open? Simply hit **Win + Tab .**
Open a New Window (CTRL + N)
If you quickly want to open a new window while working in the browser, just click **Ctrl + N** . If you just want a new tab, click **Ctrl + T** . Open a new incognito tab with **Ctrl + Shift + N** and use **Ctrl + Shift + T** to re-open the last tab you closed.
Take a Screenshot (Win + Shift + S)
Great news: Never again do you have to scratch around for a tool to take a screenshot: Windows has a one built in! We wish someone had told us about this earlier…
Use **Win + Shift + S**** to create a screenshot from anywhere. Windows saves the screenshot to your clipboard and you can paste it somewhere else.
Faster highlighting and editing
If you find yourself clicking the backspace key or the arrow keys more than two times there are probably a faster ways to navigate through your text.
Use **Ctrl + arrow keys** to jump between words, and **Ctrl + Shift + ←** to highlight the last word. To highlight the entire line use **Shift + ↑** and to highlight the paragraph use **Ctrl + Shift + ↑** .
Find Anything
For most programs you can hit **Ctrl + F** to search.
And finally a shameless plug: To find anything across all your files and apps, just download Curiosity and hit **Alt + Space**!
Last but not least, when leaving your desk you should always (always!) lock your screen with the **Win + L** shortcut.
We hope you’ve found this helpful.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
There are a lot of productivity tools out there that we all love. However, there’s another powerful productivity hack that people often overlook: keyboard shortcuts.
Shortcuts are free, easy to learn, and can save you a lot of time. The main advantage is that you don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard and look for a button with the mouse pointer.
There are shortcuts in nearly every tool and Windows has some that you should know to save time and get more done. We use these* all the time*.
If you already know all the shortcuts here (you productive person, you), check out our post on more advanced Windows shortcuts.
Copy and Paste (CTRL + C, CTRL + V)
Okay you probably know this one… but just in case.
Highlight some text and hit **Ctrl + C** to copying it to the clipboard. Now you can hit **CTRL + V** to insert it somewhere else.
Use **Ctrl + X** to cut text (instead of copying it) and paste it with **Ctrl + V**.
Undo (CTRL + Z)
Do you know the feeling when you deleted something unintentionally? Ouch!
Fortunately, it’s not gone forever. In almost all programs, the undo shortcut **Ctrl + Z** will undo your last action. It can be a lifesaver if you’ve made a mistake. Note that there are usually limits on how many actions you can undo (normally about 20).
If you undid one action too many or if you change your mind, you can redo the last undone action with **Ctrl + Y**.
Switch Screens and Tabs (Alt + Tab, CTRL + Tab)
If you work with a computer you likely have multiple windows and tabs open at any given time. Use **Alt + Tab** to quickly switch between windows on your computer.
If you’re working in the browser, **Ctrl + Tab** lets you switch between browser tabs. Want an overview of all screens you have open? Simply hit **Win + Tab .**
Open a New Window (CTRL + N)
If you quickly want to open a new window while working in the browser, just click **Ctrl + N** . If you just want a new tab, click **Ctrl + T** . Open a new incognito tab with **Ctrl + Shift + N** and use **Ctrl + Shift + T** to re-open the last tab you closed.
Take a Screenshot (Win + Shift + S)
Great news: Never again do you have to scratch around for a tool to take a screenshot: Windows has a one built in! We wish someone had told us about this earlier…
Use **Win + Shift + S**** to create a screenshot from anywhere. Windows saves the screenshot to your clipboard and you can paste it somewhere else.
Faster highlighting and editing
If you find yourself clicking the backspace key or the arrow keys more than two times there are probably a faster ways to navigate through your text.
Use **Ctrl + arrow keys** to jump between words, and **Ctrl + Shift + ←** to highlight the last word. To highlight the entire line use **Shift + ↑** and to highlight the paragraph use **Ctrl + Shift + ↑** .
Find Anything
For most programs you can hit **Ctrl + F** to search.
And finally a shameless plug: To find anything across all your files and apps, just download Curiosity and hit **Alt + Space**!
Last but not least, when leaving your desk you should always (always!) lock your screen with the **Win + L** shortcut.
We hope you’ve found this helpful.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
There are a lot of productivity tools out there that we all love. However, there’s another powerful productivity hack that people often overlook: keyboard shortcuts.
Shortcuts are free, easy to learn, and can save you a lot of time. The main advantage is that you don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard and look for a button with the mouse pointer.
There are shortcuts in nearly every tool and Windows has some that you should know to save time and get more done. We use these* all the time*.
If you already know all the shortcuts here (you productive person, you), check out our post on more advanced Windows shortcuts.
Copy and Paste (CTRL + C, CTRL + V)
Okay you probably know this one… but just in case.
Highlight some text and hit **Ctrl + C** to copying it to the clipboard. Now you can hit **CTRL + V** to insert it somewhere else.
Use **Ctrl + X** to cut text (instead of copying it) and paste it with **Ctrl + V**.
Undo (CTRL + Z)
Do you know the feeling when you deleted something unintentionally? Ouch!
Fortunately, it’s not gone forever. In almost all programs, the undo shortcut **Ctrl + Z** will undo your last action. It can be a lifesaver if you’ve made a mistake. Note that there are usually limits on how many actions you can undo (normally about 20).
If you undid one action too many or if you change your mind, you can redo the last undone action with **Ctrl + Y**.
Switch Screens and Tabs (Alt + Tab, CTRL + Tab)
If you work with a computer you likely have multiple windows and tabs open at any given time. Use **Alt + Tab** to quickly switch between windows on your computer.
If you’re working in the browser, **Ctrl + Tab** lets you switch between browser tabs. Want an overview of all screens you have open? Simply hit **Win + Tab .**
Open a New Window (CTRL + N)
If you quickly want to open a new window while working in the browser, just click **Ctrl + N** . If you just want a new tab, click **Ctrl + T** . Open a new incognito tab with **Ctrl + Shift + N** and use **Ctrl + Shift + T** to re-open the last tab you closed.
Take a Screenshot (Win + Shift + S)
Great news: Never again do you have to scratch around for a tool to take a screenshot: Windows has a one built in! We wish someone had told us about this earlier…
Use **Win + Shift + S**** to create a screenshot from anywhere. Windows saves the screenshot to your clipboard and you can paste it somewhere else.
Faster highlighting and editing
If you find yourself clicking the backspace key or the arrow keys more than two times there are probably a faster ways to navigate through your text.
Use **Ctrl + arrow keys** to jump between words, and **Ctrl + Shift + ←** to highlight the last word. To highlight the entire line use **Shift + ↑** and to highlight the paragraph use **Ctrl + Shift + ↑** .
Find Anything
For most programs you can hit **Ctrl + F** to search.
And finally a shameless plug: To find anything across all your files and apps, just download Curiosity and hit **Alt + Space**!
Last but not least, when leaving your desk you should always (always!) lock your screen with the **Win + L** shortcut.
We hope you’ve found this helpful.
To try Curiosity for free, download it at curiosity.ai. Follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn to hear first about new features.
