Many of us have a habit of using the keypad a lot and we normally don’t mouse for small purposes like clearing the window or to refresh the current screen.But all those who have recently switched from Windows XP to Windows 7 face some difficulties as some of the keyboard shortcuts which used to work in XP don’t work in Windows 7.So,t These are some interesting shortcut keys for Windows 7 which most users are unaware of.
Windows Management Shortcuts
- Win+Home: Clear all but the active window.
- Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.
- Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window.
- Shift+Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window vertically.
- Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it’s maximized.
- Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor.
- Shift+Win+Left/Right arrows: Move the window to the monitor on the left or right.
You can also interact with windows by dragging them with the mouse:
- Drag window to the top: Maximize
- Drag window left/right: Dock the window to fill half of the screen.
- Shake window back/forth: Minimize everything but the current window.
- Double-Click Top Window Border (edge).
Taskbar Shortcuts
You can use any of these shortcut combinations to launch the applications in their respective position on the taskbar, or more:
- Win+number (1-9): Starts the application pinned to the taskbar in that position, or switches to that program.
- Shift+Win+number (1-9): Starts a new instance of the application pinned to the taskbar in that position.
- Ctrl+Win+number (1-9): Cycles through open windows for the application pinned to the taskbar is that position.
- Alt+Win+number (1-9): Opens the Jump List for the application pinned to the taskbar.
- Win+T: Focus and scroll through items on the taskbar.
- Win+B: Focuses the System Tray icons
In addition, you can interact with the taskbar using your mouse and a modifier key:
- * Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program or quickly open another instance of a program.
- * Ctrl+Shift+Click on a taskbar button: Open a program as an administrator.
- * Shift+Right-click on a taskbar button: Show the window menu for the program (like XP does).
- * Shift+Right-click on a grouped taskbar button: Show the window menu for the group.
- * Ctrl+Click on a grouped taskbar button: Cycle through the windows of the group.
Here’s a few more interesting hotkeys for you:
- Ctrl+Shift+N: Creates a new folder in Windows Explorer.
- Alt+Up: Goes up a folder level in Windows Explorer.
- Alt+P: Toggles the preview pane in Windows Explorer.
- Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds Copy as Path, which copies the path of a file to the clipboard.
- Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds extra hidden items to the Send To menu.
- Shift+Right-Click on a folder: Adds Command Prompt Here, which lets you easily open a command prompt in that folder.
- Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display.
- Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out.
- Win+G: Cycle between the Windows Gadgets on your screen.
