AN IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE GETTING STARTED:

As this is a list of keyboard shortcuts, I think it’s important to start this off with introducing you all to Sticky Keys. Sticky Keys is an accessibility shortcut for people who, for any number of reasons, cannot click/hold down multiple keys at once. Enabling Sticky Keys allows you to press keys in succession, rather than at the same time. In order to turn this on or off, you need to tap your shift key five times. When you do so a window will pop up, and you need to click yes to turn it on, or no to turn it off. After doing so, you will be able to start off a command by clicking the first key, then the second, and third (if there is one) without needing to hold down the first key! This is useful for those with mobility difficulties, the use of only one hand, or to reduce the stress on your fingers if you use shortcuts excessively.

All of these shortcuts are for use on a computer running Windows (sorry Mac users!) and for use on a laptop. I also use Firefox, which won't change things for general computer use but might be different for browser shortcuts. Also, I know some of these things might seem basic to most people, but I’m sure there are some people who don’t know what any of these things are so I’m here to put these in a list because they really do make using a laptop or computer much easier!

Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows key shortcuts: (from here on out I will be using the following character → ⊞ to refer to the Windows key so I don’t need to type it out each time.)
• ⊞ on it's own; this opens up your start menu.
• ⊞ + [semicolon (;) key]: this opens up the emoji keyboard, which also gives you access to a GIF search function (similar to what Tumblr has!), kaomoji/emoticons, alternate characters (letters with accents, math symbols, different kinds of arrows, etc.,), and your clipboard!
• ⊞ + [V]: brings up the same window as the above, but opens up your clipboard instead of a quick history of emoji, kaomojis, and alternate symbols. This is how you opened your clipboard before Windows 11!
• ⊞ + [SPACEBAR]: this scrolls through the different keyboards you have installed on your computer, i.e., changing from an English keyboard to a Japanese keyboard. This way, you don’t need to use a website to type in another language; you just need to install the right keyboard!
• ⊞ + [L]: this locks your computer. This is different from signing you out or going to sleep; when you do this, your computer goes immediately to your sign-in screen, so it’s useful to do if you need to quickly leave your computer and don’t want anyone else to open it up and be able to use it as you will need to input your pin or password again in order to access whatever it is you were doing!
• ⊞ + [N]: this opens up your notifications sidebar.
• ⊞ +[A]: this opens your quick settings. If you’re not sure what this is, it’s the part of your taskbar in the lower right that groups together your Wi-Fi network, volume level, and battery bar! Opening this allows you to see what media you have playing (if you have multiple things playing at once you can scroll through and pause or play whatever you want!), change the brightness of your screen, your volume, change Wi-Fi networks, and more. It’s also customizable with many different widgets to add or take away.
• ⊞ +[B]: focuses on the first icon in your taskbar corner. If you're not sure what this is, it's the small triangle on your taskbar (most likely right beside the words that show the keyboard you're using!) that opens up 'trays' of some programs you have open. Once you have this selcted, if you hit the enter key (↵), you can then choose whichever tray you would like by using the arrow keys! Or, if you don't want to select any trays, you can use the arrows to select other icons in this section to open whatever else you want to.
• ⊞ +[D]: this hides/displays your desktop! If you're unsure what this means, hitting this will minimize your windows all at once and bring you to your desktop, and hitting it again with maximize all your windows, bringing you back to whatever window you were on.
• ⊞ +[E]: this opens up your file explorer! This is the icon on your taskbar that looks like a file folder and is how you access all the files, photos, videos, programs, etc., on your computer!

Windows key shortcuts for window customization (this one might get a little confusing, but I’ll try my best to make it sound easy):
• ⊞ + [up (↑) arrow]: this cuts whatever window you’re using in half horizontally and places it on the top half of your screen. The bottom half of your screen is then taken up by the same quick scroll menu as what happens when you scroll side to side with three fingers (skip to the section below on trackpad functionality to see what that means!) and - if you choose to pick a window - that window will then take up the lower half of your screen. From here, if you hold the ⊞ + either the left or right arrow, whichever window you have selected (this will be the one you’ve just opened; if you want to change this, tap anywhere on your other window to switch to that one) will then take up a quarter of whichever side of the screen you've chosen, i.e. the right arrow will take up the top or bottom right quarter of the screen.
• ⊞ + [down (↓) arrow]: this minimizes whatever window you're on so that it is not 'locked' to the four sides of your screen. Pressing ⊞ + down again in this state fully minimizes your window, and pressing ⊞ + up (↑) arrow will maximize it.
• ⊞ + [left (←) or right (→) arrow]: this will lock whichever window you're on to the arrow you've pressed! Once pressed, it will bring up the same scrolling window as what happened when you hit ⊞ + ↑, and from there you can choose another window; that window will then take up the other half of your screen. If you choose not to bring up another window, hitting ⊞ and whichever arrow you hit first will place your open window on the opposite side of your screen; hitting ⊞ and the opposite arrow from what you chose will make your open window fill your screen, however it will not be maximized.

Control (further referred to as simply CTRL) key short cuts:
• [CTRL] + [C]: this is how you copy a selection of text, file, or something you've selected in editing software.
• [CTRL] + [X]: this is how to cut a selection of text, file, or something you've selected in editing software.
• [CTRL] + [V]: this is how you paste a selection of text, file, or something you've cut or copied in editing software.
• [CTRL] + [H] (browser): this brings up your history tab.
• [CTRL] + [B] (browser): this brings up your bookmarks tab.
• [CTRL] + [N]: using this command in your browser will open a new browser window; in writing or editing programs it will open a new document.
• [CTRL] + [T]: this opens a new tab in your current browser window and switches to it from your current tab. This is something you can toggle on or off, however!
• [CTRL] + [D]: this bookmarks whatever tab you’re on.
• [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + [P]: this opens up a new private browsing window.
• [CTRL] + [Z]: this undoes something you’ve deleted.
• [CTRL] + [Y] this redoes something you’ve deleted.
• [CTRL] + [A]: this selects the entirety of a document, picture, or files in a folder.
• [CTRL] + [O]: this opens a new file in any program. In your browser, it brings up whatever last folder you had open in file explorer, which allows you to open files directly in a browser tab (Firefox allows you to directly open any files [even PDF’s!!!] in a tab, not sure about other browsers!) or to open files in a program, like selecting a profile picture.
• [CTRL] + [L]: this quick-selects your address bar.
• [CTRL] + [INSERT]: this is another way to copy anything youve selected.

Other Shortcuts!:
• Hovering over the maximize button of a window: in Windows 11 (I’m not sure if its prior versions!), this brings up a small tab showing four options, which are the same things the ⊞ + arrow keys shortcut does!
• Function (FN) + F12: this puts your screen in full screen mode! To get out of full screen mode, do the shortcut again or simply hit the escape button.
• [SHIFT] + [INSERT]: this is another way to paste in things you have selected. IMPORTANT: do note that, if you’re using a writing program (such a LibreOffice or Notepad), hitting insert on its own will activate overtype mode. If this happens, simply hit the insert key again! However, if you want your text to delete whatever is in front of it, leave this on!
• [CTRL] + [ALT] + [ENTER] in the address bar: this enters whatever you’re searching for and opens it in a new tab, without switching to that tab immediately. I personally find this very useful if I suddenly think of something to search; writing it down and opening something this way lets me look up whatever it is I need to without distracting me from what I’m currently doing!
• Dragging a link to a new tab: does the same thing as the above shortcut; opens the link you drag without switching to the tab.
• If you select a chunk of text on a website then drag that selection up to your tabs, you can immediately search for whatever it is you’ve highlighted! This also doesnt switch to the tab immediately.
• [ALT] + [TAB (↹)]: this quickly switches through whatever windows you have open by bringing up the quick change tab.
• Tapping the menu key (≣) acts the same way as right clicking or two-finger tapping does.