My Favorite Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

I'm pretty much a keyboard freak, I don't really use the mouse unless I'm forced to :) or in other words, unless I want to do something that cannot be done using the keyboard. In case you didn't know that, you can actually move the mouse cursor using the keyboard, this a feature called MouseKeys which I use when I have a problem with the mouse. To activate MouseKeys, press and hold the left Shift and left Alt keys then press the Num Lock key (you may search google for MouseKeys to get more details about that and to know what keys you should use to move the mouse, they are the Numpad keys by the way)

I use keyboard shortcuts in most applications (IE, FireFox, HTML Help .. etc), but I'm going to list here only the Windows Keyboard shortcuts (by the way, I use Windows XP but most of these keyboard shortcuts are from earlier versions starting from Windows 95, note though that a few of these keyboard shortcuts don't work in Vista but the majority do). So, here's a list of the keyboard shortcuts that I use quite frequently in Windows (or more accurately what I remember now):

• Ctrl + Shift + Esc (to show the task manager)
• Alt + Enter (while an icon is selected, e.g. a file, a folder or an icon on the desktop, to open the properties window for that icon)
• Windows Key + Pause (to show the System Properties window)
• Windows Key + E (to open a Windows explorer window, I follow this by Ctrl + E twice to hide the folders view)
• Windows Key + F (to show the serach window)
• Ctrl + E or Ctrl + F (while in a folder window to show the search side panel)
• Alt + D (while in a folder window to move the focus to the address textbox in the address bar)
• Alt + Space (to activate the system menu of an application)
• Alt + Space + X (to maximize the current window, press them in the same sequence)
• Alt + Space + N (to minimize the current window, press them in the same sequence)

MDI Applications Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl + F4 (to close the currently active MDI child window)
• Alt + - (to activate the system menu for the currently active MDI child window)
• Alt + - + X (to maximize the current MDI child window, press them in the same sequence)
• Alt + - + N (to minimize the current MDI child window, press them in the same sequence)
• Ctrl + F6 (to move focus between child MDI windows)

Using the Keyboard with the Mouse

• Double clicking an icon while holding the Alt key (this will open the properties window for this item instead of opening/running the item itself)
• Double clicking a folder icon while holding the Ctrl key (this will open the folder in a new window, note that the folder has to be unselected before you double click it)

How to Open The Current Page in a New Tab in FireFox

In FireFox when you click Ctrl + T, a new tab is opened showing a blank page. But what if you want to open a new tab that shows the current page, it's simple but you'll have to do it in two steps:
1. Press Alt + D (notice that the current page address will be highlighted in the address bar)
2. Now, Press Alt + Enter (a new tab will be opened showing the current page)