Windows 7 Beta hotkey cheat sheet

by Brandon on January 10th, 2009

Got yourself a shiny new Windows 7 Beta install? Here’s a little cheat sheet I made up for some of the handy new hotkey combinations, many of which I’ve become quite dependent on!

General

Win+Up	Maximize
Win+Down	Restore / Minimize
Win+Left	Snap to left
Win+Right	Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left	Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right	Jump to right monitor
Win+Home	Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T	Focus the first taskbar entry Pressing again will cycle through them, you can can arrow around. Win+Shift+T cycles backwards.
Win+Space	Peek at the desktop
Win+G	Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P	External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X	Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)
Win+# (# = a number key)	Launches a new instance of the application in the Nth slot on the taskbar. Example: Win+1 launches first pinned app, Win+2 launches second, etc.
Win + + Win + – (plus or minus key)	Zoom in or out.

Windows Explorer

Alt+P

Show/hide Preview Pane

Taskbar modifiers

Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance
Middle click on icon	Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon	Open a new instance with Admin privileges
Shift + Right-click on icon	Show window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc) Note: Normally you can just right-click on the window thumbnail to get this menu
Shift + Right-click on grouped icon	Menu with Restore All / Minimize All / Close All, etc.
Ctrl + Click on grouped icon	Cycle between the windows (or tabs) in the group

Note that this list focuses on stuff that’s specific to Windows 7. For a complete list of Windows Vista hotkeys (which should be largely unchanged except where noted above), visit this page on Microsoft.com or look in the Windows Help file.

If there’s something you think I should add, post a comment!

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201 Comments

witkacy permalink

Hello
I don’t understand how these are comments, but I’ll post anyway. New keyboard shortcuts are much welcomed & long overdue. Underutilisation of Win key was a shame (it’s usefullness should be extended to let developers use it as a new modifier key for applications also). But the most needed shortcuts, in my opinion, haven’t made it. These would be shortcuts to Win Explorer panes (navigator, details, search pane). Alp+P for preview is not enough. Currently switching panels on & off is a pain. As you have now an engineer of Lightroom on your team, you should learn the importance of panels shortcuts.
Thank you and keep the good work (there is still a lot you can do to Win Explorer to make it easier to use and more robust).
Reagards
m.
Diane permalink

Good Job on the list! I tried to read all the posts but didn’t see Windows + Tab key to bring up the Aero desktop view. If I missed it, sorry —
coredump permalink

Nice job Microsoft! Hotkeys and keyboard support is great! But where is the hotkey “create directory”?
No one else lacks this feature?
David permalink

Well done. Thanks for this. I always prefer keyboard shortcuts.
Beat permalink

I’m absolutely not one turn down shortcuts – I use the existing ones extensively. That said, it would be a huge benefit
to disable or customize these new hotkeys. Unfortunately, these new ones have stepped on some global hotkeys I’ve used in another application for years, and there’s no workaround as far as I can tell. Bummer…
Balaji permalink

Good compile. I never knew some existed being using Win7 for a while 🙂
Brent Rockwood permalink

You missed my favourite… Win+Shift+Up Arrow. Extends your window to the full height of the screen.
Fadi Elyyan permalink

ther are alote of missing shortcuts i will give it as soon as possible
fadi elyyan

microsoft .NET club champ
Al- zaytoonah university
amman – jordan
Ian permalink

Thanks, it might be worth adding ones like Win + R for the run menu etc… as some might not realise these still exist 🙂
Fernando permalink

Hi Brandon, good list of shortcuts!

In my Internet Explorer, Alt+P defaults to the “Page” menu item… and not the “Show/hide Preview Pane”
ChrisNova permalink

for those of you sadly missing your Winkey + E Shortcut to bring up the explorer window — you will be enlightened and delighted to know that this functionality has not been replaced by The Libraries window but rather moved over to CTRL – ALT – E – which will now bring up your explorer window with my computer view, showing your harddrives.. slightly different key stroke.. same beloved functionality. Enjoy! took me a few to figure out!
Shawn Frueh permalink

Win+tab cycles through your windows in 3d
lurker permalink

Another key combination: Ctrl-Shift-F9 toggles Aero theme on and off.

Is there a way to switch between windows in LRU order? Alt-Tab works in WinXP, but in Win7 it only remembers the last 3 to 5 windows, and past that they are in an order that appears random to me (not sorted by process name or title).
Shelborg permalink

I can win+right and win+left but I cannot win+shift+left [or right]. (my shift button DOES work)

any thoughts?
Christos Nanouris permalink

searching everywhere to find a shortcut for showing / hiding the preview pane in Windows Explorerâ€¦ thanks mate
Babylya permalink

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Dinox permalink

Great list!! any of them working in previous versions???
Gostixel permalink

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Nick Marques permalink

You can click and drag a taskbar item up to reveal the context menu (Shortcut, Pin, Close). This would be useful for laptop users with no right click button.
othetapeara permalink

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^..^ 🙂
othetapeara permalink

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Steven James Burks permalink

New Folder Shortcut?

No … Why would they include something that imperative, obvious, fundamental, and hugely requested over the years in this new version of Windows?

Come on everyone, it’s never going to happen!
Brandon permalink

Actually we added one because it was a popular request:

Ctrl+Shift+N

You’re welcome.
Steven James Burks permalink

No way! It’s finally there! Thank you! =)
othetapeara permalink

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