14 Windows 11 Hidden Hotkeys

If you’ve used Windows for a while, you’re probably familiar with some features you can access through right-click. Highlight text and right-click it, and you’ll have the option to cut and copy that text for pasting. If you’re really familiar with Windows, you may know that you don’t need your mouse to do this! Holding down the ctrl key and pressing the C key instantly copies the text for use anywhere else.

CTRL + C is one of the most well known Windows hotkeys. A Windows hotkey is a key or combination of keys on your keyboard that perform a function in Windows. The Windows key that’s on your keyboard next to the ctrl and alt keys is a Windows hotkey because it opens up the Windows menu: a function-specific to Windows.

There are a lot of Windows hotkeys that you can take advantage of in your daily use. We’re going to highlight 14 of the most useful hotkeys that you may want to try and then incorporate into your daily Windows computer use.

List of Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 11

Use hotkeys by pressing down both keys at the same time, or holding down one key and then pressing the second or third key in the hotkey sequence. For the ctrl + C hotkey, you should hold down the ctrl key on your keyboard and then press C. While you can press these at the same time, if you press C first, you’ll probably just type “c” on your keyboard. This can be annoying if you have a document open that you keep typing Cs in as you’re trying to copy a piece of text! So we would press and hold the hotkeys in the order that we list them in this article.

If a hotkey begins with or includes the Windows key, we recommend holding down this key first and then pressing the other key in the hotkey sequence. This is because other keys on your keyboard have other functions, and the Windows key won’t do anything until you release it.

There’s no rush! Hotkeys will only execute when you complete the sequence. Hold the ctrl or Windows key as long as you need to find its partner hotkey!

Windows + D Shortcut

Press the Windows key + D to immediately go to your desktop. It’s useful for when you want to minimize all your Windows at once without closing them, so you don’t get caught playing idle games, perhaps.

Windows + Number Shortcut

What apps do you have on your taskbar? If you want to open a specific program, you can press the Windows key + [number] to open the app in the order that it’s pinned on your taskbar, from left to right. If you’ve pinned your web browser to your taskbar in the first position, Windows + 1 will open this app.

Windows + T

Speaking of apps on your taskbar, if you want to cycle through all the different apps that are open on the bar, Windows key + T will highlight specific programs every time you press it and will show you preview thumbnails of what those apps show.

Windows + A

Want to copy all the text in a page? Or select all the different things in your window? Windows key + A selects all text and images on a window, so you can copy them.

Windows + Arrow Key

To quickly change the position of a window on your monitor or to maximize a window, Windows key + arrows allows you to quickly manipulate a window to resize it.

Windows + Up: full screen
Windows + Left: split screen to align to the left
Windows + Right: split screen to align to the right
Windows + Down: minimize window

Windows + E

If you want to open your computer’s file explorer, where your documents, photos, videos, and other files are stored, you don’t need to find the icon! Press Windows key + E to quickly open up file explorer.

Windows + Shift + S

To take a screenshot of a specific area of your screen, press Windows + Shift + S to enter snipping mode. In this mode, you click and drag over the section of your window that you want to screenshot. Releasing will screenshot only this area. The screenshot will be saved on your Windows clipboard for later use!

Did you know OneLaunch has a built-in snipping tool? We think it’s even better than Windows’ built-in snipping tool. We compare the two in this post, Easy Hacks to Access Your Windows Clipboard History.

Windows + V

The Windows clipboard (where the aforementioned screenshots go) can be accessed by pressing the Windows key + V. You’ll need to enable the option to show your clipboard history.

Windows + .

This hotkey is a newer one, but you may get a kick out of it! Press the Windows key + . to open Windows’ emoji keyboard. This emoji keyboard has a few preset emojis that are displayed, and you can search for specific emojis using the search bar. This menu also helps you add a symbol like the © or ® symbols to your text.

Windows + L

Did you know you can instantly log out of your Windows with a hotkey? The Windows key + L locks your computer, so you have to enter your password again to log back in. This is useful for when you have to step away from your computer for a bit but don’t want anyone else accessing your desktop or files.

Windows + I

Did you know that there’s a hotkey for immediately opening your Windows settings, so you can customize your desktop and more? Windows key + I open your settings so you can change your apps, accounts, privacy, and more. See how to customize your OneLaunch settings.

Windows + U

If your text is too small, or you want to change the size of apps and programs on your computer, we recommend using the Windows key + U hotkey to open the Ease of Access menu. This is where you personalize your Windows accessibility settings to change the size of all text on your computer.

Windows + C

We covered Microsoft Copilot in a separate article. This is Windows’ built-in AI assistant that’s completely free to use with a copy of Windows. Press Windows + C to open it up! This will only work With Windows 11.

Windows + (+) or (-)

Want to temporarily zoom on some text or a specific section of your screen? Windows key + (+) opens the magnifier app, which will zoom in on a section of your screen, magnifying it for easier reading. You can press Windows key + (-) to zoom out. Or Windows key + Esc to exit the magnifier entirely.