Windows shortcuts that save real time
The ones you wish you had learned years ago, on Windows 10 as much as on 11.
Capture part of the screen
Win+Shift+S clips the area you draw and drops it on the clipboard.
Lock the session
Win+L, the reflex to build for the moment you leave your desk.
Switch between windows
Holding Alt+Tab lets you choose; Win+Tab opens the full Task View.
Snap a window to one side
Win then the left or right arrow: the window takes half the screen.
Open File Explorer
Win+E, from wherever you are, without going near the taskbar.
Open Settings
Win+I lands in the settings app without a detour through the Start menu.
Minimize everything
Win+D shows the desktop, and the same shortcut puts it all back.
Close the active window
Alt+F4. On an empty desktop it brings up the shutdown dialog instead.
Open Task Manager
Ctrl+Shift+Esc goes straight there, skipping the blue security screen.
Run a command
Win+R. Handy for appwiz.cpl, ncpa.cpl, or simply cmd.
Get back something you copied
Win+V opens the clipboard history, worth enabling once and for all.
Rename a file
F2 in File Explorer; Tab carries straight on to the next file.
Delete without the Recycle Bin
Shift+Delete. Irreversible, which is sometimes exactly the point.
Insert an emoji
Win+period opens the picker, which also holds symbols and GIFs.
Reach the address bar
Ctrl+L in File Explorer as in the browser, to type a path straight in.
Create a folder
Ctrl+Shift+N in File Explorer, shorter than the right-click menu.
Choose the external display
Win+P: duplicate, extend, or use nothing but the second screen.
Create a virtual desktop
Win+Ctrl+D, then Win+Ctrl and the arrows to move from one to the next.