Administrator DKT27 Posted January 4, 2011 Administrator Share Posted January 4, 2011 The other day a visiting relative asked if he could use my laptop to check his Facebook account. He couldn't make it past the desktop. "Hey, don't you have Firefox on this machine?" "Press the Windows key, type f, and press Enter," I told him. I had been using Windows 7's Start menu search box to launch Firefox and other apps for so long I neglected to add a Firefox shortcut to my taskbar. (I prefer to keep my desktop clear of icons by placing my desktop shortcuts on a menu that pops out of the taskbar, as I explained in a post from May 2008.) Keyboard shortcuts are such great time-savers that I mistakenly assume everyone uses them. Back in April 2008 I described how to create an easy-access list of keyboard shortcuts and Windows commands. I enhanced the list last May with a bunch of keyboard shortcuts specifically for Microsoft Word. The most recent additions to my handy-dandy roster of keystroke combos help you navigate in Windows 7. They let you launch applications, jump between and rearrange open windows, and sort through layers of folders in Windows Explorer faster than you can with a mouse. Resize, rearrange, and reorganize open windows from the keyboard One of the most popular of Windows 7's interface enhancements is the ability to dock windows to the left and right side of the screen simply by dragging them to either screen edge. You can achieve the same effect by pressing the Windows key and the left or right arrow keys. To maximize the window, press the Windows key and the up arrow key; to restore or minimize the window, hit the Windows key and the down arrow key. (Pressing the Windows+Shift+up arrow/down arrow keys docks the window to the top and bottom of the screen, respectively.) Get a quick glimpse of the desktop Windows 7's taskbar adds the Aero Peek box on the far right (or the bottom of taskbars arranged vertically). Scrolling over the box hides all open windows to show the desktop. This differs from the Windows key+D shortcut in that the Aero Peek focus doesn't shift to the desktop but returns to the active window when you scroll away. You can get the same temporary desktop glimpse by pressing the Windows key and the spacebar. Release the Windows key to revert to the active window. The fastest way to launch one of the first five shortcuts on the taskbar is to press the Windows key and then the corresponding number. For example, a Google Chrome shortcut is the fourth one on my taskbar, so I open the browser simply by pressing Windows key+4. (To open one of the programs on your taskbar with administrator privileges, press Ctrl+Shift while you click; this shortcut also works in previous versions of Windows. Likewise, you can open a new instance of a program that's already open by pressing Shift while clicking its taskbar icon. Another option is to press the Windows key+T to move the focus to the taskbar and then use the arrow keys to select the shortcut you want.) Race through Windows Explorer's folder tree Here are my favorite keystroke combinations for navigating through folders in Windows Explorer (most of these work in all versions of Windows, and several also work in browsers and other applications): Ctrl+N opens a new windowCtrl+W closes the current windowCtrl+Shift+N creates a new folderEnd moves to the bottom of the active windowHome moves to the top of the active windowF11 maximizes/minimizes the active windowCtrl+period (.) rotates an image clockwiseCtrl+comma (,) rotates an image counter-clockwiseNum Lock+asterisk (*) on the numeric keypad shows all subfolders under the selected folderNum Lock+plus sign (+) on the numeric keypad shows the contents of the selected folderNum Lock+minus sign (-) on the numeric keypad collapses the selected folderLeft arrow collapses the current selection if it's expanded, or selects the parent folderAlt+Enter opens the Properties dialog for the selected itemAlt+P shows the preview paneAlt+left arrow shows the previous folder (same as pressing the backspace key)Right arrow shows the current selection if it's collapsed, or selects the first subfolderAlt+right arrow moves to the next folderAlt+up arrow shows the parent folderCtrl+Shift+E shows all folders above the selected folderAlt+D moves the focus to the address barCtrl+E and Ctrl+F move the focus to the search box Microsoft provides a longer list of Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts on its Help & How-to site, including some specific to WordPad, Paint, and other Windows applications. View: Orignal Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusperX Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Has anyone noticed that Crtl+Z (undo) doesn't work in Win7 anymore..? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Works on mine... Your talking about in Explorer, right?There was a post earlier last yer on this too.. which is a nice place for them all.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JusperX Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Yeah. The thing is, a firend of mine who has the greek version installed, undo is working fine. Me and another friend of mine have the english version and it just doesn't work.. :frusty: Anyway, thanks for the link! ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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