keyboard shortcuts in Windows XP

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - General
CTRL and A	Selects all the items in the active window.
CTRL and C	Copies the item or items to the Clipboard and can be pasted using CTRL and V.
CTRL and F	Displays the Find all files dialog box.
CTRL and G	Displays the Go to folder dialog box.
CTRL and N	Displays the New dialog box.
CTRL and O	Displays the Open dialog box.
CTRL and P	Displays the Print dialog box.
CTRL and S	Displays the Save dialog box.
CTRL and V	Pastes the copied item or items from the Clipboard.
CTRL and X	Cuts the item or items selected to the Clipboard.
CTRL and Z	Undoes the last action.
CTRL and F4	Closes the active document window.
CTRL while dragging an item	Copy the selected item
CTRL+SHIFT with arrow keys	Highlight a block of text
CTRL+F4	Close the active document
CTRL+ESC	Display the Start menu
CTRL and F6	Opens the next document window in the active application.

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - General
ALT+ENTER	View the properties for the selected item
ALT+F4	Close the active item, or quit the active program
ALT+SPACEBAR	Open the shortcut menu for the active window
ALT+TAB	Switch between the open items
ALT+ESC	Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - General
F1 key	Gives help on the active window or selected item.
F2 key	Rename the selected item
F3 key	Search for a file or a folder
F4 key	Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer
F5 key	Update the active window
F6 key	Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F10 key	Activate the menu bar in the active program

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - General
Windows Logo	Display or hide the Start menu
Windows Logo+BREAK	Display the System Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+D	Display the desktop
Windows Logo+M	Minimize all of the windows
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M	Restore the minimized windows
Windows Logo+E	Open My Computer
Windows Logo+F	Search for a file or a folder
CTRL+Windows Logo+F	Search for computers
Windows Logo+F1	Display Windows Help
Windows Logo+ L	Lock the keyboard
Windows Logo+R	Open the Run dialog box
Windows Logo+U	Open Utility Manager

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - Dialogue Box
TAB	Move forward through the options
SHIFT+TAB	Move backward through the options
CTRL+TAB	Move forward through the tabs
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB	Move backward through the tabs
ALT+Underlined letter	Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option
ENTER	Perform the command for the active option or button
SPACEBAR	Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
F1 key	Display Help
F4 key	Display the items in the active list
Arrow keys	Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
BACKSPACE	Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box

Keyboard Shortcut	Result in Windows ® XP - Windows Explorer
END	Display the bottom of the active window
HOME	Display the top of the active window
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*)	Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+)	Display the contents of the selected folder
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-)	Collapse the selected folder
LEFT ARROW	Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder
RIGHT ARROW	Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder

Windows system key combinations

• F1: Help
• CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
• ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
• ALT+F4: Quit program
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
• Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

Windows program key combinations

• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+V: Paste
• CTRL+Z: Undo
• CTRL+B: Bold
• CTRL+U: Underline
• CTRL+I: Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

• SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
• SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
• ALT+double click: Displays properties
• SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

• F1: Starts Windows Help
• F10: Activates menu bar options
• SHIFT+F10 Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
• CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
• CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
• CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager
• ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box
• ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
• SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
• ALT+SPACE: Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
• ALT+- (ALT+hyphen): Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
• CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
• ALT+underlined letter in menu: Opens the menu
• ALT+F4: Closes the current window
• CTRL+F4: Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
• ALT+F6: Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

For a selected object:

• F2: Rename object
• F3: Find all files
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+V: Paste
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
• ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

To copy a file

Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

To create a shortcut

Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

General folder/shortcut control

• F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
• F5: Refreshes the current window.
• F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
• CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
• CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
• CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
• BACKSPACE: Switch to the parent folder
• SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Windows Explorer tree control

• Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection
• Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection
• Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
• RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
• LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

Properties control

• CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tabs

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Accessibility shortcuts

• Press SHIFT five times: Toggles StickyKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds: Toggles FilterKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds: Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK: Toggles MouseKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN: Toggles high contrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

• Windows Logo: Start menu
• Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
• Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
• SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
• Windows Logo+F1: Help
• Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
• Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
• Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
• CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer
• CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
• Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
• Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box
• Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item

Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed

• Windows Logo+L: Log off Windows
• Windows Logo+P: Starts Print Manager
• Windows Logo+C: Opens Control Panel
• Windows Logo+V: Starts Clipboard
• Windows Logo+K: Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box
• Windows Logo+I: Opens Mouse Properties dialog box
• Windows Logo+A: Starts Accessibility Options (if installed)
• Windows Logo+SPACEBAR: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys
• Windows Logo+S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

Dialog box keyboard commands

• TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box
• SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box
• SPACEBAR: If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
• ENTER: Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline)
• ESC: Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button
• ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item: Move to the corresponding item