Top 20 Computer Shortcuts Keyboard Everyone Should Know

The following list highlights twenty important keyboard shortcuts that computer users should be familiar with.

 Commonly Used OS-Level Shortcuts

1. Alt + Tab (toggle between programs)

2. Windows button + M (show desktop, i.e., minimize all windows)

3. Windows button + Tab (show all active windows in task bar)

4. PrtScn (save screen capture to clipboard; "paste" the image into an image-editing program to make it into a file)

5. Windows button (opens applications menu)

Browser Shortcuts

6. Ctrl + T (open a new tab)

7. Ctrl + Shift + t (reopens the tab you last closed; works multiple times)

8. F5 (reload page)

9. Backspace (go to previous page; works multiple times)

10. Ctrl + Tab (cycle between tabs)

Commonly Used Shortcuts in Most Applications

11. Ctrl+ Z (undo last operation)

12. Ctrl + Y (redo last operation)

13. Crtl + O (open file)

14. Crtl + S (save)

15. Ctrl + W (close active window or file)

16. Crtl + Q (quit application)

Copy-and-Pasters' Delight

17. Ctrl + A (select all in active window; e.g., select all text on page)

18. Ctrl + X (cut to clipboard)

19. Ctrl + C (copy)

20. Ctrl + V (paste)

Find, Select, and Navigate Text

21. Ctrl + F (find; helpful if you're searching for a particular word on a website or document)

22. Ctrl + Shift + down arrow (select until end of line)

23. Ctrl + Shift + up arrow (select until beginning of line)

24. Ctrl + Home (move cursor to top/start of document)

25. Ctrl + End (move cursor to bottom/end of document)