Besides the special character shortcuts listed here, some are also on the number keys (below the F1 - F12 keys). You can enter these special characters by pressing the Shift key and the number key with the special character listed.
| Shortcut Keys | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt+F | File menu options in the current program. |
| Alt+E | Open Edit options in the current program. |
| Alt+Tab | Switch between open programs. |
| F1 | View help information (F1 is used by almost every Windows program to display help). |
| F2 | Rename a selected file. |
| F5 | Refresh the current program window. |
| Ctrl+D | Bookmark the current page in most Internet browsers. |
| Ctrl+N | Create a new or blank document in some software, or open a new tab in most Internet browsers. |
| Ctrl+O | Open a file in the current software. |
| Ctrl+A | Select all text. |
| Ctrl+B | Change selected text to be bold. |
| Ctrl+I | Change selected text to be in italics. |
| Ctrl+U | Change selected text to be underlined. |
| Ctrl+F | Open find window for current document or window. |
| Ctrl+S | Save current document file. |
| Ctrl+X | Cut selected item. |
| Shift+Del | Cut selected item. |
| Ctrl+C | Copy selected item. |
| Ctrl+Ins | Copy selected item. |
| Ctrl+V | Paste |
| Shift+Ins | Paste |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo the last action. |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo the last action. |
| Ctrl+K | Insert hyperlink for the selected text. |
| Ctrl+P | Print the current page or document. |
| Home | Go to the beginning of the current line. |
| Ctrl+Home | Go to the beginning of the document. |
| End | Go to the end of the current line. |
| Ctrl+End | Go to the end of the document. |
| Shift+Home | Highlight from the current position to the beginning of line. |
| Shift+End | Highlight from the current position to the end of line. |
| Ctrl+Left arrow | Move one word to the left at a time. |
| Ctrl+Right arrow | Move one word to the right at a time. |
| Ctrl+Esc | Open the Start menu. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Esc | Open Windows Task Manager. |
| Alt+F4 | Close the currently active program. |
| Alt+Enter | Open the properties for the selected item (file, folder, shortcut, etc.). |
| Windows key+L | Lock the computer, requiring password entry to access again. |
| Windows key+X | Access the Power User Tasks Menu in Windows 8 and Windows 10. |
| Windows key+Down arrow | Minimize the active program window. |
| Windows key+Up arrow | Maximize the active program window. |
PC shortcut keys for special characters
Many special characters can be created using keyboard shortcuts. Below are some of the more common and popular special characters and the keyboard shortcuts to create them.
| Shortcut Keys | Special Character |
|---|---|
| Alt+0224 | à |
| Alt+0232 | è |
| Alt+0236 | ì |
| Alt+0242 | ò |
| Alt+0241 | ñ |
| Alt+0228 | ä |
| Alt+0246 | ö |
| Alt+0252 | ü |
| Alt+0248 | ø |
| Alt+0223 | ß |
| Alt+0198 | Æ |
| Alt+0231 | ç |
| Alt+0191 | ¿ |
| Alt+0176 | ° (degree symbol) |
| Alt+0177 | ± (plus/minus symbol) |
| Alt+0153 | ™ |
| Alt+0169 | © |
| Alt+0174 | ® |
| Alt+0128 | € (Euro currency) |
| Alt+0162 | ¢ (Cent symbol) |
| Alt+0163 | £ (British Pound currency) |
| Alt+0165 | ¥ (Japanese yen currency) |
Here’s a list of some keyboard shortcuts for both Windows and Mac (Apple) OS that can help you toggle between tabs, zoom, switch to full screen mode, reload pages, bookmark, create files and more without having to use the mouse.
How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to browse the Internet
When Internet has managed to make our lives so easier with access to some interesting and useful information at our finger tips why not make browsing that easier with some of the shortcuts used for browsing the internet in Windows and Mac (Apple) OS.
| Function | Windows | Mac |
| New Tab | Control (Ctrl)+Tab | Command (Cmd)+T |
| Reload a page in the current tab | Control (Ctrl)+R / F5 | Command (Cmd)+R |
| Address Bar | Control (Ctrl)+L | Command (Cmd)+L |
| Bookmark Manager | Control (Ctrl)+Shift+O | Command (Cmd)+Option+Left Arrow |
| Bookmark Current Page | Control (Ctrl)+Shift+D | Command (Cmd)+D |
| Display Bookmark Pages | Control (Ctrl)+Shift +B | Command (Cmd)+Shift+B |
| Access Tabs in Forward direction in same window | Control (Ctrl)+Tab | Command (Cmd)+Tab |
| Access Tabs in backward direction in the same window | Control (Ctrl)+shift+Tab | Command (Cmd)+Shift+Tab |
| Close Tab | Control (Ctrl)+W | Command (Cmd)+W |
| Reopen previous tab | Control (Ctrl)+W | Command (Cmd)+W |
| New Window | Control (Ctrl)+N / Control (Ctrl)+Shift+N | Command (Cmd)+N / Command (Cmd)+Shift+N |
| Incognito Window | Control (Ctrl)+Shift+N | Command (Cmd)+Shift+P |
| View History | Control (Ctrl)+H | Command (Cmd)+Y |
| View Downloads | Control (Ctrl)+J | Command (Cmd)+Option+L |
| Clear Browsing Data | Control (Ctrl)+Shift+Del | Command (Cmd)+Shift+Backspace |
| Access Multiple Tabs | Control (Ctrl)+1 to 9 for e.g. If you press Crtl+5 it will take you to the fifth tab | Command (Cmd)+1 to 9 for e.g. If you press Crtl+8 it will take you to the eighth tab. |
| To Jump to the top of the page | Home Key | Fn+Left arrow |
| To Access the end of the page | End Key | Fn+Right arrow |
| Zoom In | Control (Ctrl)+Plus Sign | Command (Cmd)+Plus Sign |
| Zoom Out | Control (Ctrl)+Minus Sign | Command (Cmd)+Minus Sign |
| Next Page | Alt+Right Arrow | Command (Cmd) + ] |
| Previous Page | Alt+Left Arrow | Command (Cmd) + [ |
How to Use Keyboard Shorts to Access Files & Folders
Folders and files makes accessing the data an easy task isn’t it? How about finding easier ways of accessing the files and folders like a pro?
| Function | Windows | Mac |
| Open a file or folder | Control (Ctrl)+O | Command (Cmd)+O |
| Create New Folder | Control (Ctrl)+Shift+N | Command (Cmd)+Shift+N |
| Delete folder | Control (Ctrl)+D | Command (Cmd)+D |
| Rename Folder or File | F2 | N/A |
| Close File or folder | Alt+F4 | N/A |
Generic shortcuts for Windows & Mac.
Apart from the above mentioned shortcuts, here are some shortcuts commands that you can for generic purpose like copy, cut, paste, find etc.
| Function | Windows | Mac |
| Cut | Control (Ctrl)+X | Command (Cmd)+X |
| Copy | Control (Ctrl)+C | Command (Cmd)+C |
| Paste | Control (Ctrl)+V | Command (Cmd)+V |
| Select All | Control (Ctrl)+A | Command (Cmd)+A |
| Save | Control (Ctrl)+S | Command (Cmd)+S |
| Undo | Control (Ctrl)+Z | Command (Cmd)+Z |
| Redo | Control (Ctrl)+Y | Command (Cmd)+Y |
| Close Current Tab | Control (Ctrl)+W | Command (Cmd)+W |
| Open Find Bar | Control (Ctrl)+F | Command (Cmd)+F |
| Show Desktop by minimizing the Windows | Windows Logo +D | Command (Cmd)+Alt+M / F11 |
| Refresh/Reload | F5 | Command (Cmd)+R |
| Full screen mode | F11 | Command (Cmd)+Control (Ctrl)+F / ESC |
| Control (Ctrl)+P | Command (Cmd)+P | |
| Quit | Alt+F4 | Command (Cmd)+Q |
| Print Screen/ Screenshot | Alt+PrintScreen/Control (Ctrl)+PrintScreen/Windows Logo+Printscreen | Command (Cmd)+Shift+3/Command (Cmd)+Shift+4 |
Although these shortcuts may seem to be a little baffling initially you will easily master the art with a few practice by using it in your daily routine. However, if you too got some shortcuts then do share them with us. Also, if you found the article interesting then do share it with your family and friends as well.
