Microsoft reveals keyboard shortcuts in Windows 10 Technical Preview

By Joseph Keller
last updated

Microsoft has posted some of the new keyboard shortcuts that can be found in the Windows 10 Technical Preview. New shortcuts allow you to snap a window, switch to a recent window, and create a new virtual desktop, and more.

From Microsoft:

  • Snapping window: WIN + LEFT or RIGHT (can be used with UP or DOWN to get into quadrants)
  • Switch to recent window: ALT + TAB (unchanged) – Hold shows new Task view window view, let go and switches to app.
  • Task view: WIN + TAB – New Task view opens up and stays open.
  • Create new virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + D
  • Close current virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + F4
  • Switch virtual desktop: WIN + CTRL + LEFT or RIGHT

Additonally, Microsoft's Scott Hanselman posted a list of hotkeys for the Technical Preview's Command Prompt. What do you think of the Technical Preview's shortcuts? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Microsoft, Scott Hanselman

Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller
43 Comments
  • I use like alt+tab the whole time
  • Alt + tab the most useful shortcut
  • How can you *not* use keyboard shortcuts? It's just more efficient. I'd get a lot less done in the day if I were being slowed down by having to use the mouse for everything.
  • You're supposed to know hoe to position you hands on the keyboard correctly, lol. Then you don't have to see the keys. I sit in the dark all the time on my PC. I use keyboard shortcuts constantly.
  • If you need to cut, copy and paste.. alot.. I cannot imagine how you would do that faster with a mouse than using the KB shortcuts. Yes I have tried..
  • That's why I have a backlit keyboard.
  • So much this!
  • I have a back lit keyboard...makes life so much easier...pretty too lol
  • What do you save? a minute or two during an entire day use. We are talking about maybe 2 seconds diffence between the mouse action and the shortcut.
  • Depends largely on what you do in a day. Text editing, for instance, with keyboard shortcuts is incredibly helpful (copy/paste, bold, italicize, underline, strikethrough...). Photoshop you can save literally 15-30 min in a day with keyboard shortcuts if you know them well enough. There is something to be said about the learning curve and slow-down of relearning tasks, but like anything else you can do it and it will become natural over time. But if you're just surfing the web, I suppose they wouldn't help much. Let's just take your obscenely low estimate of 2 minutes a day saved, by the way...
    2*5d/wk = 10min/wk*50wks = 500min/yr / 60min/hr = 8.34hr/yr
    So, 2 min a day doesn't seem like much, but that teeny-tiny amount of time saves you a full work day and some change every year. Since you're effectively saving about 4.16hr every minute you save per day, I'd say it's worth it in the long run from a purely economic point of view since the real number is likely to be 5-10min/day, if not more. (((I work at in an office and I can definitely say that I can get things done faster within word/excel purely due to keyboard shortcuts than other people in the office...I work help desk, so I watch it every day. Nothing wrong with not knowing keyboard shortcuts, but to deny their utility is willful ignorance, not wanting to learn something new, and/or aversion to change)))
  • cant install on my pc always got error
  • Keyboard shortcut king reporting in. I love using them as a desktop support tech. It shortens my interactions with my supportees. I also makes it look like I know what I am doing :P
  • Ctrl+shift+N used it all the time..Ctrl+X my all time fav on win 8
  • Incognito in browsers , for PORN haha
  • Wow... Not surprising at all
  • Win+Left/Right are in Windows 7 and 8, too. Win+Up maximizes, Win+Down minimizes.
  • Up and Down now contextually switches to the upper and lower quadrant if the current app is already snapped to the side. Pressing it a second time does Maximise/Minimise.
  • I'll be interested to see how this works with multi screen and a mix of metro and standard windows up. Hope it still works the same. Use these plus win+shift+arrow all day long
  • I really miss the Win+shift+arrow keyboard shortcut to move a window to the next monitor. I use 4 on my main pc and used that constantly everyday.
  • Wait are you saying that's gone?
  • That's exactly what I was saying. I did give feedback on it. Hopefully it gets fixed. So far it's the only thing about Windows 10 that i don't like.
  • Universal keyboard shortcuts are...
    Ctrl+c, ctrl+x, ctrl+v !! :D
  • Ctrl+Z ;)
  • Ok thanks.
  • Me gusta
  • Wish there was a option for swipe style keyboard on screen for touch. Like the Windows phone
  • Handy
  • The only kb shortcut I use is CTRL C, and V.
  • I'm sorry, but this is cool. I have a Asus G73 laptop and its never run Win 8 properly, always crashed even with multiple updates/reinstalls/fresh installs. This version of Windows seems much lighter and for a preview it's hell stable, even the sleep/wake works properly! The instant switching between desktops is really cool.
  • Why they just can't make Alt+Ctrl+Left Right to move between virtual desktops just like the linux have it.
  • Because Alt Ctrl Left Right changes the screen orientation
  • More keyboard shortcut and amazing multi desktop...i love windows 10 technical preview and I'm waiting for consumer preview
  • Win+Ctrl+D? Too hard
  • Agree but I doubt anyone will really be creating new desktops over and over. Maybe a couple times a day, I'd assume. I wish switch desktops was a two-key shortcut like ctrl-arrow on OS X though.
  • I know this will never happen, but I feel like they need a complete reboot on keyboard shortcuts. Legacy users would freak out. But, I think there's a bunch of old, out of date CTRL+ or ALT+ commands that should be attached to the Windows key. Using the Alt+Tab key to swap tasks, while handy, doesn't make any logical sense and I find the key combination a little awkward. I think it should be CTRL + Left/Right Arrow to get bi-directionality and make it more intuitive.   As it is, things seem bound to the CTRL, ALT and Windows keys almost arbitrarily. Make it a logical progression: Windows key moves, changes and swaps Windows. CTRL key gets you to global commands, ALT gets you to context menu shortcuts....something, anything that you can infer without a cheat sheet.
  • Your thoughts are great but old aged PC users will not be ready to learn !! But it could be intuitive for kids using their first computer !! Oh wait, kids doesn't use computer anymore !!
  • Alt+Tab is bidirectional if you add shift.
  • Really cool, since I installed w10 I wanted to know what was the shorcut for switching between desktops! Thanks @WPC !
  • Is Cortana coming for pc in windows 10? :)
  • I use keyboard shortcuts everyday even though my ultrabook has a touchscreen. Shortcuts are just more intuitive, and is cool to see Microsoft enabling more of them.
  • Is there still windows key + s?
  • Win+Left-Right snaps windows in older versions too
  • If you would like to switch between Win 10 virtual desktops by tilting your mouse wheel check out this free app:
    https://www.facebook.com/Win10VirtualDesktopSwitcher
    Thanks.