Many of us use Windows in our daily lives. And, because of the force of habit, we always work similarly.
However, some improvements have gradually been implemented in Windows, which could make our lives a little easier, with keyboard shortcuts. So, here we want to share some of our favorite Windows tricks, which we use almost daily. Many of them will save you several minutes and others only a few seconds.
But, when you multiply those seconds by every time you use the shortcuts, you’ll see how much time you can free up during the week. 😊.
1. A new way to copy and paste 😎
We all know the shortcuts “Ctrl+C” and “Ctrl+V” for copy and paste. In fact, they’re probably the most commonly used key combinations, together with the life-saving “Ctrl+Z” to ‘undo’ mistakes.
However, just by slightly moving one of our fingers, we have the new combination “Windows+V”. So, instead of the “Ctrl” key, use the one beside it with the Windows logo on it. This will show you the entire history of texts and images copied to the clipboard, from where you can choose whatever you want to paste👏.
The main advantage of this interactive clipboard is that, if you want to copy many things from one application to another, you don’t have to constantly switch windows. You simply copy as many items as you wish in one window and then, when you switch to the other window, paste using “Windows V”. Easy and, above all, practical 🔝.
2. Screenshot just about everything ⚔️
Speaking of copy and paste, if you want to copy the contents on the screen as an image, there are many ways to do it, each one better than the previous.
The classic way of doing it is by pressing the “PrtScn” button, which copies everything on the screen to a clipboard. But if you press “Alt-PrtScn” instead, only the specific window you are working in will be saved. And if you only need a part of that window, then the combination you need is “Windows-Caps-S”.
Now, if you want to save your screenshots as files, you don’t have to later use a tool like Paint to paste the image and save it. Just by pressing “Windows-PrtScn” the screenshot will be automatically saved in the Images/Screenshots folder.
And if you want to screenshot a video? 🤔 No problem! With the key combination “Windows-G” a tool will open in which if you press the “Start recording” button, a video with everything that appears on the screen until you press the “Stop” button will be stored on your hard disk. This is perfect for recording tutorials, for example.
3. Getting your windows in order
You’ve been working for several hours, and what do you have now? Yes, a dozen applications open, and a load of other windows is scattered all over your desktop. You can’t even see half of them in the taskbar now.
So what do you do if you want to go back to one in particular?
Don’t worry, the “Tab” key, sitting just below the “Caps Lock” key, comes to the rescue. Using the “Windows-Tab” combo, you‘ll be able to see a miniature of each window, allowing you to select the one you need.
But if you don’t want to use the mouse, with “Alt-Tab” you can do the same thing, but also select the window by pressing “Tab” repeatedly, keeping “Alt” pressed the whole time.
Finally, if you know the order of the window, you can access it directly using the “Windows” key. So, “Windows 1” will take you to the first window, “Windows 2” to the second window, etc. (up to the fifth window). If you then want to focus on this window and minimize the others, you just click on the upper part of the window and, keeping the mouse click pressed, you shake it. Magic!✨
And if you want to move it to the side so that you have two windows open at the same time? 🤔 Well, you only have to use the left and right cursor arrows and click “Windows-right arrow” or “Windows left arrow”.
4. All the emojis within reach 💃
Love them or loathe them, the famous emojis are part of our lives. And you must admit that they add a bit of emotion and tone to the texts we write. They’re always readily accessible on mobile devices, but not so much in environments such as Windows. Or are they?
In fact, you’ve no excuse to use them now, because the “Windows + .” key opens a panel with all the available emojis, in any application. And if you don’t want to waste time looking for a specific one, just continue to write the concept you want to represent, and the panel will display the closest options to what you’re looking for.
5. Why write when you can speak? 📣
Long gone are the days when speech recognition (decent quality) was a luxury reserved for the most powerful machines, which were beyond our reach. Now it’s a feature in our mobiles, in the voice assistants, and also in Windows. If you want to avoid the task of, let’s say, transcribing a long text, you can try dictating it to the computer, using the key combination “Windows-H”. The first time you do this you will be asked to activate the feature and do a quick test so that it can adapt to your voice and produce a more accurate result.
Other 8 interesting shortcuts 👇👇
«Windows D» minimizes all windows and displays the Desktop
«Windows E» opens the file explorer
«Windows L» locks the system (to prevent anyone from accessing it)
«Windows P» allows the connection of an external display
«Windows A» shows notifications
«Windows K» shows the connected devices
«Alt 1» displays the properties of the selected item (within the file explorer)
«Alt 2» creates a new folder (within the file explorer)
If you liked these Windows tricks, do not miss 5 PowerPoint tricks to become a real crack🤟.
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Sergio Cabrera
Santander Global T&O
Long-life passionate about creativity and eager to always learn new things. Graduated in Computer Science and a faithful defender of UX, I love reading, cinema and music. Ah! And I am a fan of playing “Scrabble and the like” in my spare time.
