This is a list of useful shortcut keys for Windows XP. You can use these keys to save you some time when multitasking. I know it has help me get things done a lot faster.
| Shortcut Keys | Action/Result | |
| Windows Key | Opens the Start menu | |
| Windows Key + E | Opens My Computer in Windows Explorer | |
| Windows Key + Pause/Break | Opens the System Properties dialog box | |
| Windows Key + U | Opens the Utility Manager | |
| Windows Key + R | Opens the Run… prompt | |
| Windows Key + F | Opens the Search for Files and Folder window | |
| Windows Key + Ctrl + F | Opens the search for computers on the network | |
| Windows Key + M | Minimize all windows | |
| Windows Key + Shift + M | Maximize all windows (after minimizing them) | |
| Windows Key + D | Minimize all windows to the desktop, and then restore all Windows | |
| Windows Key + L | Lock Computer | |
| Windows Key + Tab | Cycle through the open programs on the Taskbar | |
| Windows Key + B | Selects the first item in the System Tray; use the arrow keys to cycle through the items | |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open programs | |
| Alt + F4 (in a program) | Closes the program | |
| Alt + F4 (from desktop) | Opens the Windows Shutdown/Restart dialog box | |
| Alt + Enter | Opens the Properties page of a selected item | |
| Alt + Esc | Cycle between open programs in the order that they were opened | |
| Alt + Spacebar | In the active window, this brings up the corner dialog box for Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize, or Close | |
| Shift + Insert CD/DVD | Inserts a CD/DVD without triggering Autoplay or Autorun | |
| Shift + Delete | Permanently deletes an item (rather than sending it to the Recycle Bin) | |
| Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Opens the Windows Task Manager | |
| Ctrl + drag an icon | Copies that item | |
| Ctrl + Shift + drag an icon | Creates a shortcut for the item | |
| Right-click + drag a file | Brings up a menu to copy, move, or create a shortcut | |
| PrtScn | Takes a screen shot of the entire screen | |
| Alt + PrtScn | Takes a screen shot of only the active Window; hit Paste in a photo program to edit and save the screen shot | |
| F1 | Opens the Windows XP Help | |
| F2 | Rename selected item | |
| F3 | Opens Windows search for files and folders | |
| F5 (or Ctrl + R) | Refresh Internet Explorer page, or refresh any other window | |
| F6 | Cycle through the different types of elements that can be selection on a screen or window | |
| F10 | Selects the menu bar in the active program | |
| Shift + F10 | For a selected item, this does the same thing as a right-click with the mouse | |
| Tab | Move through the different elements on a page or the fields in a form | |
| Shift + Tab | Move backward through the different elements on a page or the fields in a form>/td> | |
| Ctrl + A | Select All | |
| Ctrl + C | Copy | |
| Ctrl + X | Cut | |
| Ctrl + V | Paste | |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo | |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo | |
| Ctrl + P | ||
| Ctrl + O | Open | |
| Ctrl + Esc | Opens the Start menu | |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Deletes the entire word to the left | |
| Ctrl + Delete | Deletes the entire word to the right | |
| Ctrl + Right arrow | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next word | |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous word | |
| Ctrl + Down arrow | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph | |
| Ctrl + Up arrow | Moves the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph | |
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow keys | Highlight a block of text | |
| Click Shift 5 times | Turns StickyKeys on or off | |
| Hold down the right Shift key for 8 seconds | Turns FilterKeys on or off | |
| Hold down Num Lock for 5 seconds | Turns ToggleKeys on or off | |
| Make your own custom keystroke for a program | Right-click on the icon of a program or shortcut; go to Properties; click on the Shortcut tab; enter your custom keystroke combination in the “Shortcut key” field (it will only let you assign key combos that aren’t already taken) | |
Johnathan Ward is an experienced developer and consultant that writes tutorials to help other developers. In his day job, he is an IBM Watson Consultant with several years of experience deploying and customizing Watson Explorer solutions.