Open Forum: What's your most-used keyboard shortcut?

[Julio Franco]

Some keyboard shortcuts are so ingrained that we barely think about using them anymore. Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + Z, and Alt + Tab probably account for an absurd number of keystrokes on any given workday. But it's the less universal ones that tend to reveal how someone actually uses their computer.

For me, Ctrl + Shift + V for pasting without formatting is probably near the top. I also use Ctrl + T constantly for new browser tabs, while Ctrl + Shift + T has rescued more accidentally closed tabs than I'd care to admit. Another favorite is Ctrl + Shift + S, which I've mapped to a third-party screenshot app for quickly grabbing and annotating part of the screen.

Not all of my most-used shortcuts even involve a keyboard. On my MacBook, the three-finger trackpad swipe between virtual desktops has become just as automatic.

There are plenty of other favorites among power users: Win + V for clipboard history, Ctrl + Shift + Esc for Task Manager, Win + E for File Explorer, and Ctrl + Backspace to delete an entire word at once. We even put together a massive shortcut compilation years ago, and quite a few of them still hold up today.

So here's this weekend's question: excluding copy, paste, undo, and Alt + Tab, what's the keyboard shortcut you use the most? And better yet, what's one you think everyone else should know?

Permalink to story:

Open Forum: What's your most-used keyboard shortcut?

 

[RudyBob]

Calculator. Wait that's no shortcut.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Probably ctrl + alt+ delete

 

[brunocasarini]

Ctrl+Shift+Esc.

 

[Axeia]

Mostly browser shortcuts.

Ctrl+tab — to switch to the next tab
Ctrl+shift+tab — to move back a tab

Although technically I often use the mouse for these uhum keyboard shortcuts
(Got a Roccat Tyon with a sideways flipper on top macro'd to those).

Also Ctrl+f4 to close a tab and Ctrl+L to jump to the address bar.

For Windows itself, not much. Mostly:
Win+arrow keys — to move windows
Win+shift+arrow keys — to move the window between screens

--

Calculator. Wait that's no shortcut.

I'll admit, I'm lazy. Rather than firing up calculator more often than not I tend to just alt tab to the browser and let Google do the calculation.

 

[Honest Abe]

Definitely Alt+Tab and Cmd+C/Cmd+V (copy/paste)

 

[airbornex]

Win + V is one of those shortcuts that sounds unnecessary until you start using clipboard history. After that, going back to a single clipboard feels prehistoric.

 

[AnilD]

The real answer nobody wants to admit: Alt + F4 muscle memory during a rage moment in a video game.

 

[GeoffreyA]

Alt + F4
Alt + PrntScrn

But, if it counts, the Calculator key is number one. After getting used to, it became indispensable. Previously, it was Run and calc.

 

[GeoffreyA]

Probably ctrl + alt+ delete

Used to be number one on XP.

 

[KnightSayNI]

ctrl-alt-HEAVE

 

[BlackyNoir]

Ctrl + F to find things in a lot of software is my most used, but this is so common it only answer the question on a technicality.

As others, I use Ctrl + T to open a new Firefox tab all the time. And Win + arrows to move windows between monitors.

Another big set I use all the time, is the Ctrl modifier in text editing. Ctrl + Backspace to delete a word, but also Ctrl + arrow to move word from word, Ctrl + Shift + Arrow to fast select word by word, and so on.

Win + V is one of those shortcuts that sounds unnecessary until you start using clipboard history. After that, going back to a single clipboard feels prehistoric.

Yeah, I should really use it way more often.

 

[GeoffreyA]

ctrl-alt-HEAVE

This is the way.

 

[OortCloud]

Win-I - To get up settings window.
Win-X - To get to all system tools.
ALT-F4 to close applications and shutdown.

 

[Antias]

F5 to refresh my open browser window
(I use a cloud based boarding kennel solution for my Cattery but for some reason it doesn't automatically refresh itself every 5 minutes or so... I need to see if someone has submitted a booking request via portal)

 

[Antias]

This is the way.

ah, a Wayist...
(asking what TV show thats from to this crowd would be fairly redundent..)

 

[Anton Longshot]

Call me lazy but mine is Ctrl + C -(and subsequently Ctrl + V of course) the second's the WIn + . which opens the little emoji picker.

 

[GeoffreyA]

ah, a Wayist...
(asking what TV show thats from to this crowd would be fairly redundent..)

To be honest, I picked that phrase up from popular culture and haven't seen the TV programme in question :- )

 

[fireworksordie]

Ctrl A, select all

Ctrl Enter to send email

Win H for voice input

Alt P toggles preview window in Explorer

 

[Axeia]

F5 to refresh my open browser window
(I use a cloud based boarding kennel solution for my Cattery but for some reason it doesn't automatically refresh itself every 5 minutes or so... I need to see if someone has submitted a booking request via portal)

Save that precious F5 key and install an auto refresh extension for your browser

Or if you're feeling adventurous, install TamperMonkey and then with the help of Claude (or similar) write yourself a script that auto refreshes the page and pops up a notification if there's something new.

There's few joys greater than automating trivial tasks.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Ctrl+Shift+S

 

[LordVile95]

Alt + F4
Alt + PrntScrn

But, if it counts, the Calculator key is number one. After getting used to, it became indispensable. Previously, it was Run and calc.

Wait you guys don’t use an abacus?

 

[Antias]

To be honest, I picked that phrase up from popular culture and haven't seen the TV programme in question :- )

Andromeda

https://andromeda.fandom.com/wiki/The_Way

 

[Matt Mahgerfteh]

For me its probably Ctrl + Shift + T and I dont even think its close. I close tabs by accident constantly, especially when I have way too many open, and that shortcut has saved me more times then I can count. At this point I use it without even thinking about it. Ctrl + T is probably right behind it because apparently I have a problem opening new tabs instead of actually finishing what I was already looking at lol. TechSpot mentions both of those along with stuff like Win + V, Ctrl + Shift + Esc and Win + E. ([TechSpot][1])

One shortcut I think way more people should know is Win + V. Clipboard history is one of those things that sounds boring until you actually start using it. Being able to go back and grab something you copied earlier instead of hunting around for it again is honestly really useful. I didnt use it for years because I never bothered learning what it did, and now its one of those things where I wonder why Windows doesnt make a bigger deal about it.

Also Ctrl + Backspace deserves more love. Deleting an entire word at once seems like such a small thing, but if your typing all day it adds up fast. I think thats whats funny about keyboard shortcuts in general, the best ones arent always the flashy ones. Its usually the little shortcuts you use 100 times a day that end up saving the most time. Once they get into muscle memory, going back to using the mouse for everything feels painfully slow.

 

[jdrch]

Probably CTRL SHIFT V for me.