Keyboard Shortcuts: Common Combinations
| Windows Keyboard Shortcuts | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Ctrl + X | Cut | Cut the selected item. |
| Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) | Copy | Copy the selected item. |
| Ctrl + V (or ⇧Shift + Insert) | Insert | Insert the selected element. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo | Undo the action. |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo | Redo the undone action. |
| Alt + ⇥Tab | Application Switching | Switch between running applications. |
| Alt + F4 | Close Application | Close the active window or exit the application. |
| Win + L | Lock | Lock the computer. |
| Win + D | Show Desktop | Show and hide the desktop. |
| F2 | Rename | Rename the selected item. |
| F3 | Find in Explorer | Find a file or folder in Explorer. |
| F4 | Address Bar | Show the address bar in File Explorer. |
| F5 | Refresh | Refresh the active window. |
| F6 | Cycle Elements | Cycle through screen elements in a window. |
| F10 | Menu | Activate the menu bar in active application. |
| Alt + F8 | Show password | Show password on the login screen. |
| Alt + Esc | Cycle windows | Cycle through elements in the order they were opened. |
| Alt + ⏎Enter | Properties | Show the properties of the selected element. |
| Alt + Spacebar | Window context menu | Open the context menu of the active window windows. |
| Alt + ←Left | Back | Go back. |
| Alt + →Right | Forward | Go forward. |
| Alt + Pg Up | Screen Up | Move up one screen. |
| Alt + Pg Dn | Screen Down | Move down one screen. |
| Editing and Navigation | ||
| Ctrl + F4 | Close Document | Close the active document (in multi-screen applications) documents). |
| Ctrl + A | Select All | Select all items in the document or window. |
| Ctrl + D (or Delete) | Delete | Delete the selected item to the Recycle Bin. |
| Ctrl + R (or F5) | Refresh | Refresh the active window. |
| Ctrl + →Right | Word Right | Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word. |
| Ctrl + ←Left | Word Left | Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous words. |
| Ctrl + ↓Down | Paragraph down | Move cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph. |
| Ctrl + ↑Up | Paragraph up | Move cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph. |
| Ctrl + Esc | Start Menu | Open the Start menu. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift + Esc | Task Manager | Open Task Manager. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift | Language Input | Switch keyboard layout (if multiple layouts are enabled). |
| Ctrl + Spacebar | IME enable | Turn on/off IME for Chinese input. |
| ⇧Shift + F10 | Context menu | Open the context menu for the selected item. |
| ⇧Shift + any arrow key | Selection | Select an element in a window or text in a document. |
| ⇧Shift + Delete | Delete without Recycle Bin | Delete without moving to Recycle Bin. |
| →Right | Open Submenu | Open the next menu to the right or a submenu. |
| ←Left | Close Submenu | Open the next menu to the left or close a submenu. |
| Esc | Stop | Stop the current action. |
| Prt Sc | Screenshot | Take a screenshot and copy it to the clipboard Exchange. |
Hotkeys: Managing Windows and Applications
| Windows Hotkeys | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Keys | ||
| Win | Start | Open or close the Start menu. |
| Win + A | Action Center | Open the action center. |
| Win + B | Notification Area | Set focus to the area Notifications. |
| Win + C | Cortana | Open Cortana in listening mode. |
| Win + E | File Explorer | Open File Explorer. |
| Win + F | Feedback Hub | Open Feedback Hub and take a screenshot. |
| Win + G | Xbox Game Bar | Open Game Bar when a game is running. |
| Win + H | Dictation | Start dictation. |
| Win + I | Settings | Open Windows Settings. |
| Win + K | Connection | Open Quick Connect (projection). |
| Win + M | Collapse all | Collapse all windows. |
| Win + P | Projection | Select a display mode for the presentation. |
| Win + Q | Help | Open Quick Help. |
| Win + R | Run | Open the Run dialog box. |
| Win + S | Search | Open Search. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + S | Screenshot area | Take a screenshot of part of the screen. |
| Win + T | Cycle tasks | Switch between apps on the panel tasks. |
| Win + U | Accessibility | Open Ease of Access Center. |
| Win + V | Clipboard History | Open clipboard history. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + V | Cycle notifications | Toggle between notifications. |
| Win + X | Quick Link | Open the quick links menu. |
| Win + . or ; | Emoji | Open the emoji panel. |
| Win + , | Preview | Temporary preview of the desktop. |
| Win + Pause | System Properties | Open System Properties. |
| Window Management | ||
| Win + Ctrl + F | Find PCs | Find computers on the network. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + M | Restore windows | Restore minimized windows on the desktop. |
| Win + number | Launch application | Open the application in the taskbar (by position). If running — Switch. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + number | New Instance | Open a new instance of the app on the taskbar. |
| Win + Ctrl + number | Switch Window | Switch to the active application window on the taskbar. |
| Win + Alt + number | Jump List | Open Jump List for the application on the taskbar. |
| Win + Ctrl + ⇧Shift + number | Run as administrator | Open a new instance of the application as an administrator. |
| Win + ⇥Tab | Task View | Open Task View (task overview). |
| Win + ↑Up | Maximize window | Maximize window to full screen. |
| Win + ↓Down | Minimize window | Minimize or restore the window. |
| Win + ←Left | Press left | Maximize the window to the left half of the screen. |
| Win + →Right | Press right | Maximize the window to the right half of the screen. |
| Win + Home | Minimize All | Minimize all windows except the active one (second click restores). |
| Win + ⇧Shift + ↑Up | Stretch Height | Stretch the window to fill the entire screen height. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + ↓Down | Restore Height | Restore or minimize the window vertically. |
| Win + ⇧Shift + ←Left or →Right | Move monitor | Move a window between monitors. |
| Win + Spacebar | Input language | Switch input language and layout. |
| Win + Ctrl + Spacebar | Previous language | Switch to the previous input language. |
| Win + Ctrl + ⏎Enter | Speech | Enable the "Speech" feature (Narrator). |
| Win + + | Magnifying glass | Open magnifying glass. |
| Win + Ctrl + V | Shoulder taps | Open “shoulder taps” (for touchscreen devices). |
| Win + ⇧Shift + B | Wake up video | Wake up the computer from a black screen. |
Hotkeys: Command Prompt. Editing and Navigation
| Windows Keyboard Shortcuts | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Command Prompt Keyboard Shortcuts | ||
| Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert) | Copy Text | Copy the selected text. |
| Ctrl + V (or ⇧Shift + Insert) | Insert text | Insert text. |
| Ctrl + M | Selection mode | Turn on selection mode (Mark mode). |
| Alt + selection key | Block Selection | Start selection in block mode. |
| ↑Up / ↓Down / ←Left / →Right | Navigation | Move cursor to specified direction. |
| Pg Up | Screen Up | Move the cursor up one page. |
| Pg Dn | Screen Down | Move the cursor down one page. |
| Ctrl + Home (Mark mode) | Beginning of Buffer | Move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer. |
| Ctrl + End (Mark mode) | End of buffer | Move the cursor to the end of the buffer. |
| Ctrl + Home (History) | Start of history | Move the viewport to the beginning of the buffer (if the line is empty). |
| Ctrl + End (History) | End of history | Move the viewport to the command line line. |
| Ctrl + ↑Up | History Up | Move up one line in the command history. |
| Ctrl + ↓Down | History Down | Move down one line in the command history. |
Keyboard shortcuts: Dialog Boxes
| Windows Keyboard Shortcuts | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| F4 | List Items | Show items in the active list. |
| Ctrl + ⇥Tab | Forward Tab | Go to the next tab. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift + ⇥Tab | Back Tab | Go to the previous tab. |
| Ctrl + number (1–9) | Go to Tab | Go to the Nth tab. |
| ⇥Tab | Forward item | Go to the next option. |
| ⇧Shift + ⇥Tab | Backward item | Go to the previous option. |
| Alt + underlined letter | Command by letter | Run the command for the underlined letter. |
| Spacebar | Checkbox | Check/uncheck the checkbox. |
| ⌫Backspace | Folder Up | Go up one level in the Open/Save dialog. |
| ↑Up / ↓Down / ←Left / →Right | Buttons | Select a button in a group of options. |
Keyboard Shortcuts: Explorer
| Windows Hotkeys | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + D | Address Bar | Select the address bar. |
| Ctrl + E (or F) | Search Bar | Select the search bar. |
| Ctrl + N | New Window | Open a new File Explorer window. |
| Ctrl + W | Close Window | Close the active File Explorer window. |
| Ctrl + mouse scroll | Icon Size | Change the size of file and folder icons. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift + E | Folder Tree | Show all folders above the selected one. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift + N | New Folder | Create a new folder. |
| Num Lock + * (asterisk) | All Subfolders | Show all subfolders of the selected folder. |
| Num Lock + + | Contents | Show the contents of the selected folder. |
| Num Lock + - | Collapse Folder | Collapse the selected folder. |
| Alt + P | Preview Pane | Show the preview pane. |
| Alt + ⏎Enter | Properties | Open the properties of the selected item. |
| Alt + →Right | Next Folder | View Next folder. |
| Alt + ↑Up | Previous folder | View the folder that the current folder was in. |
| Alt + ←Left | Back | View the previous folder. |
| →Right | Expand | Expand the current selection or select the first subfolder. |
| ←Left | Collapse | Collapse the current selection or select the parent folder. |
| End | Bottom of screen | Go to the bottom of the active window. |
| Home | To the top of the screen | Move to the top of the active window. |
| F11 | Full Screen | Maximize or minimize the active window to full screen. |
Keyboard Shortcuts: Virtual Desktops
| Windows Keyboard Shortcuts | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Win + ⇥Tab | Task View | Open Task View. |
| Win + Ctrl + D | New Desktop | Create a new virtual desktop. |
| Win + Ctrl + →Right | Desktop to the right | Switch to the virtual desktop on the right. |
| Win + Ctrl + ←Left | Table left | Switch to virtual tableL on the left. |
| Win + Ctrl + F4 | Close desktop | Close the current virtual desktop. |
Hotkeys: Taskbar
| Windows Hotkeys | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ⇧Shift + click the taskbar button | Open application | Open the application or a new instance. |
| Ctrl + ⇧Shift + click the taskbar button | Open as admin | Open the application as an administrator. |
| ⇧Shift + right-click taskbar button | Window menu | Open the application context menu. |
| ⇧Shift + right-click grouped button | Group menu | Open the context menu of the grouped button. |
| Ctrl + click grouped button | Cycle window Groups | Switch between windows in a group. |
PowerShell: Administrative Commands
| Run a command | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Manage processes and services | ||
| Get-Process | View processes | Displays a list of running processes. |
| Get-Process -Name chrome | Sort WS -Desc | Select -First 10 | Top Processes | Get the 10 processes with the highest memory consumption (Working Set). |
| Stop-Process | End Process | Force stops a process by PID. The -Force flag ignores dialogs. |
| Stop-Process -Id 1234 -Force | Kill by PID | Kills the process with the specified PID without confirmation. |
| Get-Service | List of Services | Get a list of services. Filter by status and startup type. |
| Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Running"} | Running services | Filters only running services. |
| Restart-Service | Restarts a service | Restarts a service without confirmation. Useful for IIS and Docker. |
| Restart-Service -Name W3SVC -Confirm:$false | Restart IIS | Silently restarts the IIS web server. |
| Start-Process | Run as Administrator | Run a process with UAC elevation (RunAs). |
| Start-Process powershell -Verb RunAs | PS (Admin) | Open a new PowerShell terminal as an administrator. |
| Get-Command | Find Commands | Finds available PowerShell commands by name or subject. |
| Get-Command -Noun Process | Process Commands | All commands for managing processes. |
| Working with files and directories | ||
| New-Item | Create file/folder | Creates a new item. Types: File, Directory, SymbolicLink. |
| New-Item -Path . -Name "config.json" -ItemType File -Force | Create File | Creates a file with the -Force flag (overwrites if it exists). |
| Remove-Item | Delete an item | Recursive deletion. -WhatIf shows the result without deletion. |
| Remove-Item -Path ./logs -Recurse -Force-WhatIf | Delete folder | Simulates deleting the logs folder with recursion. |
| Get-ChildItem | Directory view | Similar to ls/dir. Supports -Recurse and hidden files. |
| Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Directory -Force | Select Name, Mode | C: Directories | List all directories on the C: drive with access rights. |
| Copy-Item | Copy | Copy while preserving the structure. An alternative to robocopy. |
| Copy-Item -Path .\src -Destination .\dst -Recurse -Force | Copy Recursively | Recursively copy the folder src to dst. |
| Move-Item | Move | Move or rename files and folders. |
| Compress-Archive | Create ZIP | Create ZIP archives for logs or artifacts. |
| Compress-Archive -Path .\logs -DestinationPath logs.zip -Force | Log Archive | Create a ZIP archive from the logs folder for sending to support. |
| Expand-Archive | Unzip ZIP | Unzip ZIP archives to the specified folder. |
| Expand-Archive -Path .\archive.zip -DestinationPath .\extracted | Unzip archive | Unzip archive.zip into the extracted folder. |
| Text / log search and analysis | ||
| Select-String | Text search | Powerful search (similar to grep). -Context shows the lines "before" and "after." |
| Select-String -Path .\*.log -Pattern "Error" -Context 2.5 | Search with context | Find Error in log files with 2 lines before and 5 lines after. |
| Get-Content | Read (tail) | Read a file. -Wait allows you to monitor the log in real time. |
| Get-Content -Path .\app.log -Tail 50 -Wait | Log Monitoring | Monitoring the last 50 lines in real time (similar to tail -f). |
| Where-Object | Filtering | Filtering objects in the pipeline. Operators: -gt, -lt, -eq. |
| Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.WorkingSet -gt 1GB } | Heavy Processes | Find all processes consuming more than 1 GB of RAM. |
| Sort-Object | Sort by properties. For example, processes by memory. | |
| Get-Process | Sort WorkingSet -Descending | Sort by memory | Sort all processes in descending order of RAM consumption. |
| Group-Object | Group | Group objects by property (for example, by extension). |
| Get-ChildItem -File | Group-Object Extension | Sort Count -Desc | Extension Group | Count file types in the current directory by prevalence. |
| Working with the Registry | ||
| Get-ItemProperty | Reading the Registry | Getting Registry Key Values. Paths: HKCU:\ and HKLM:\. |
| Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion" | CurrentVersion | Read Windows settings from the current user's registry. |
| Set-ItemProperty | Modify the registry | Set or change a value in the registry. |
| New-PSDrive | Registry Resource | Access the registry as a disk for navigation. |
| Network Commands | ||
| Test-NetConnection | Port Check | TCP Port Check. Alias: tnc. Useful for QA. |
| Test-NetConnection google.com -Port 443 | Check port | Check the availability of the HTTPS port for the domain. |
| Resolve-DnsName | DNS query | Query DNS records: A, MX, TXT. nslookup is more informative. |
| Resolve-DnsName -Name example.com | Resolve DNS | Get all DNS records for a domain. |
| Invoke-WebRequest | HTTP Request | Making HTTP requests (similar to curl). Alias: iwr. |
| iwr -Uri http://localhost/api/health | Healthcheck API | Quick check of the service endpoint. |
| Invoke-RestMethod | HTTP REST | Working with REST API. Automatic JSON parsing. |
| irm -Uri http://localhost/api/data -Method Post | REST POST | Send a POST request to the REST API (alias: irm). |
| Get-NetTCPConnection | TCP connections | Find processes by port. Shows the state and PID. |
| Get-NetTCPConnection -State Established | Established | List of all active TCP connections. |
| Test-Connection | Ping (PS) | Checks availability via ICMP. -Quiet returns True/False. |
| Test-Connection google.com -Count 4 | Ping | Standard ping via PowerShell. |
| Get-DnsClientCache | DNS Cache | View cached records. Useful for network diagnostics. |
| System Information | ||
| Get-WinEvent | Windows Events | Reading event logs with filtering. Supports XPath. |
| Get-WinEvent -LogName Application -MaxEvents 50 | Application Logs | The last 50 events from the application log. |
| Get-CimInstance | WMI/CIM Query | Query system classes for inventory. |
| Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | CPU-Info | Get detailed information about the processor. |
| Get-ComputerInfo | About the system | Complete information about the OS, architecture, and hardware. |
| Get-ComputerInfo | Select OSVersion | OS Version | Get the OS version. |
| Get-HotFix | Updates | List of installed Windows Updates. |
| Get-HotFix | Sort InstalledOn -Desc | Latest Updates | Sorts the most recently installed Windows patches. |
| Get-LocalUser | Users | Manage local users and groups. |
| Configuration | ||
| Set-ExecutionPolicy | Script Policy | Allows running local scripts. RemoteSigned for QA/Dev. |
| Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned | RemoteSigned | Allow execution of scripts signed by a trusted publisher. |
| ForEach-Object | Loop | Stream object processing (alias: %). |
| Get-ChildItem *.log | ForEach-Object { ... } | Log Processing | Stream processing of each log file in a folder. |
| Get-Help | Help | Documentation and command examples. Aliases: help, man. |
| Get-Help Get-Process -Examples | Get-Process Examples | Show examples of using Get-Process. |
| ConvertFrom-Json | JSON → Object | Parsing JSON for working with the API. |
| '{"v":42}' | ConvertFrom-Json | Parse JSON | Convert a JSON string to a PowerShell object. |
| ConvertTo-Json | → JSON Object | Export data to JSON for APIs or configurations. |
| Get-Process | Select -First 5 | ConvertTo-Json | Export to JSON | Serialize the first 5 processes to JSON. |
SSL / Certificates (Windows)
| Command Invocation | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| certutil -urlcert https://example.com | SSL URL | Check a site's SSL certificate by URL. |
| certutil -dump cert.pfx | Dump PFX | View certificate file details. |
| certutil -p pass -exportPFX My "cert" exp.pfx | Export PFX | Export a certificate with a password. |
| certlm.msc | CertLM | Computer Certificate Console (Local Machine). |
| certmgr.msc | CertMgr | Current user certificate console. |
| certutil -store My | Store | List of certificates in the store (e.g., Personal). |
| New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName "loc" | Self-signed | Create a self-signed certificate for development. |
| Export-PfxCertificate -Cert cert:\CurrentUser\My\ -FilePath cert.pfx | Export PFX | Export to PFX with a private key (PowerShell). |
File security (ACLs, permissions)
| Command invocation | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| icacls C:\app /grant Users:F /T | Grant Permissions | View and change NTFS permissions (ACL). /T — Recursion. |
| icacls C:\app /save ACL.txt /T | Export ACL | Export access rights to a file for backup. |
| icacls C:\app /restore ACL.txt | Restore ACL | Restore access rights from a file. |
| takeown /F C:\app /R /D Y | takeown | Change file ownership to the current user. |
| cipher /W:C | Disk Cleanup | Clean up (wipe) free space on the C: drive. |
| cipher /C /S:C:\path | EFS Encryption | Find and encrypt files with EFS. |
| cipher /R (/U /N) | EFS Keys | Managing EFS keys and encryption mode. |
Network: ARP, Routing, and PowerShell
| Invoking a command | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| arp -a | ARP table | Viewing the ARP table (IP and MAC mapping). |
| arp -d * | Flush ARP | Flush the ARP cache when there are network problems. |
| route print | Routing Table | View the Windows routing table. |
| route add 10.0.0.0 mask 255.0.0.0 192.168.1.1 | Add route | Add a static route. |
| route delete 10.0.0.0 | Delete route | Delete a static route. |
| Get-NetIPConfiguration | IP Configuration | A more advanced PowerShell equivalent of ipconfig. |
| Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq "Up"} | Active Adapters | List of active adapters, speed, and MAC addresses. |