WINDOWS 11 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS TO BOOST PRODUCTIVITY

Keyboard shortcuts are basically combinations of keys that can help you quickly perform an action with your keyboard without the need to use your mouse or touchpad. If you've been using Windows for several years, you probably already know a few of these.

In fact, everyone from your grandparents to the neighbor's 10-year-old knows how to use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V in Windows to copy and paste things. However, besides these staple shortcuts, Windows offers several other useful shortcuts that can help you perform actions faster in Windows.

Think about it. Wouldn't you love it if you could access your paste history to check what you copied and pasted without having to go into a few windows and click on icons? With shortcuts, you can do this and more at once. In this guide, we walk you through the X shortcuts that can boost your productivity while using Windows 11.

View paste history with Win + V

Do you get dizzy copying from one file to several files and need to revisit something you pasted into one of the files? It's nearly impossible to keep track of everything you paste, especially when copying and pasting content multiple times.

The good thing is that Windows creates a history of everything you paste. Paste history stores up to 25 previous entries, so if you're copying and pasting something in Windows, you'll find it here.

To access Paste history, you need to press the Windows key + V on your keyboard. Pressing the shortcut opens a small window with a list of entries. If you want to use one of these entries, start by placing your cursor where you want to paste the entry. Then press Win + V and click on the entry.

Here are a few more options as well. You can also type emoji or kaomoji, or choose from the many GIF resources on Tenor.

Access emojis and GIFs with Win+ . /Win+ >

As remote teams continue to become the norm, both individuals and businesses are increasingly using tools like Slack and VoIP phone systems. Of course, other messaging platforms can be accessed via a desktop or laptop computer, such as Facebook messages and WhatsApp.

Texting on the phone is always fun because emojis are easily accessible. There, they're at your fingertips. However, on computers, it takes an extra click or two. This is usually enough for people to skip using them altogether.

What if you still love to use emojis and GIFs while using Windows? Well, you don't need to give up fun conversations. Pressing the Windows key + > (one point) opens a small window where you can access emojis and GIFs.

This is the same window we discussed in the previous shortcut, only this shortcut opens a different tab in the same window where you can access emojis and GIFs.

Start voice typing with Win + H

Are you too tired to write at all? That's when you can use the voice typing tool built into Windows. You can use the voice typing tool in Windows 11 as a dictation tool that is nice to work with. The voice typing tool not only improves accessibility but also makes you more productive as most people can speak faster than they usually type.

When you use a program like Microsoft Word or Google Docs on a Windows 11 computer, you can press the Windows key + H to launch the voice typing tool. The tool currently supports almost all popular languages ​​including English, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Japanese, Spanish and more. A full list of supported languages ​​is available on Microsoft's website.

When you press the Win + H keys, you will see a small window pop up. You can start voice typing directly by clicking the microphone icon or changing the settings by clicking the gear icon. You can enable automatic punctuation from Settings or add quick access for voice typing by enabling the voice typing launcher.

As you type, you can also use commands like "newline" to create new paragraphs. When you're done dictating, you can stop voice typing by simply saying "Stop dictation". If you just want to take a break, simply say "Pause dictation".

Take a screenshot with Ctrl + Shift + S

Remember when you had to use the PrtScn key, paste the screenshots into Microsoft Paint, crop them and save it to your computer? Fortunately, this is no longer an issue since Microsoft introduced the Snipping tool.

The Snipping Tool allows you to take a screenshot of a specific part of the screen, the full screen, a specific window, or any selected area (even with curves). No need to paste the screenshot.

You can use this tool to take a screenshot by pressing Ctrl + Shift + S. When you select the area and release the left-click button, you will see a notification in the notifications panel showing the screenshot. Click on it and you will see a Snipping tool window open. Make any final adjustments (crop, delete, rotate or draw) and press Ctrl + S to save the screenshot.

If you don't want to save the screenshot, you can press Ctrl + C while in the Snipping tool window and then paste the screenshot into a document or elsewhere. You also get the option to share the screenshot directly through the apps installed on your PC.

Start Microsoft Teams chat with Win + C

Microsoft Teams is Microsoft's team collaboration app that helps remote teams stay connected with text and video-based interaction. When your team uses Microsoft Teams, you'll likely use it frequently throughout the day to collaborate with teammates and share updates with your seniors.

However, you can use the shortcut instead of clicking the icon on the taskbar, launching the application, and then closing it again. Pressing the Windows key + C opens a built-in window of Microsoft Teams chats.

Here you can view both individual and group chats. You can quickly read the conversation or add a reply and press Esc to exit the window. No clicks are required. The docked window also has the option to start a meeting immediately or schedule a meeting later. If you need to start a meeting quickly, using this built-in Windows 11 feature can come in handy.

Cast your screen with Win + K

Let's say you're sitting on the couch watching a movie on Netflix and your brother asks you to share the screen. Or you're in the office and need to quickly show your team something on the big screen.

You can stream your screen, but you might be thinking, why go through all this trouble? I'll direct the computer screen to the entire team.

You no longer have to worry about the long process of entering the settings app and connecting to your wireless display. Pressing Windows key + K in Windows 11 will open a small window where you will find all the wireless displays around you.

Choose one to quickly cast your screen. If you don't see any devices, check if Bluetooth is enabled on your computer. Just press the back button in the upper left corner of the small window you open with the Win + K shortcut and see if Bluetooth is enabled.

After you finish casting the screen, you can use the same window to stop sharing your screen.

Open additional layouts with Win + Z

This shortcut works differently in Windows 10 and Windows 11. In Windows 10, the shortcut shows commands available in an app in full-screen mode. However, when used in Windows 11, the shortcut opens additional layouts that allow you to quickly select a layout for stacking active windows.

Snap layout is a new feature introduced in Windows 11, so you won't find it in Windows 10 at all. Of course, in Windows 10 you can stack windows horizontally and vertically. Still, there was no built-in functionality such as additional layout. . Snap layouts provide a way to quickly arrange multiple screens on your screen.

For example, if you are trying to get login banking information in a window, the banking website will not allow you to paste any details. So you can stack the two windows side by side and manually copy your account details into the browser window.

There are two layouts for stacking two windows, three layouts for stacking three windows, and one layout for stacking four windows. There is no built-in way to change the size of additional layouts, though. For that, you'll need PowerToys FancyZone, a tool from Microsoft that inspires additional layouts.

Open the widget panel with Win + W

The widget panel in Windows 11 ensures that the desktop is kept clean. Widgets are placed in a floating panel from the left edge of your screen. When you need to check the stock market's movement or just the weather, a quick glance at the widget panel can provide an overview of all the information you need.

In Windows 11, you can pull up the widget panel by pressing the Windows key + W. If you need to add more widgets, you can do so by clicking the plus button in the upper right corner of the widget panel.

You'll see lots of stories populated by default, but you can click "My Interests" at the bottom of the panel and select topics that better suit your interests. There are not many widgets currently available. There are 11 widgets at the time of writing. Hopefully, Microsoft will add third-party widgets to the list soon. The options available are quite limited.

Open Xbox Game Bar with Win + G

Windows added the Xbox Game Bar to Windows to allow gamers to shoot gameplay videos and take screenshots on the go. It is an effective tool because gamers need a way to start recording their game without leaving the game and launching a third-party screen recording application.

To make things easier for gamers, Windows has added a shortcut that allows gamers to quickly launch the Xbox Game Bar. When you press Windows key + G, you will see several small windows open. In addition to screen recording, you'll also see options to control the volume, get an overview of the computer's current performance, and a list of apps sorted by resource usage, among other things.

Of course, you don't have to use the Xbox Game Bar just for gaming. You can also use it to record your screen for other purposes, such as creating a tutorial or explaining something from a document to an employee.

Open Task View with Win + Tab

Windows has come a long way in allowing users to organize their workspaces. From additional layouts to virtual desktops, Windows users now have more options to keep their windows organized, providing a clutter-free interface.

Task View is one of several workspace organizing features that allow you to organize your windows on multiple virtual desktops. For example, if you are working on two projects simultaneously, you can create two virtual desktops and open related windows (documents, browser tabs, and other items) on separate desktops. Doing this makes it easy to switch between projects without having to go through tons of windows where it's hard to figure out which project you're opening the window for.

The taskbar also has a Task View icon, while pressing the Windows key + Tab shortcut makes it easy to switch between Task View and desktops. You can also run it entirely from the keyboard under Task View if that's your bottleneck.

Start Task Manager Ctrl + Shift + Esc

Task Manager is one of the most powerful tools in Windows. It gives you a lot of valuable information about your system's overall resource usage as well as process-based data. If you're like most people, most of the time you use the Task Manager when your system crashes or an app is not responding and you need to "End the task".

There are several ways to start Task Manager, but almost all of these methods will take frustratingly long to open Task Manager when your system is unresponsive. This is where the Task Manager shortcut comes in handy.

Pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc will launch the Task Manager. By default, it opens in the Processes tab, where you can check the resource used by all processes and terminate those that are using excessive resources. Of course, you can perform other actions with the Task Manager, such as switching to a specific window, opening the location of a specific program's .exe file, or running a new task, among other things.

Change desktop with Ctrl + Win + Left/Right Arrow

Windows 11 allows you to create multiple desktops called virtual desktops. Essentially, you can use one computer as if it were several computers by grouping Windows by desktop. If you run dozens of windows and are working on multiple projects at the same time, virtual desktops can help you keep everything organized so you can quickly find the window you need.

You can switch virtual desktops by going to Task View and selecting the appropriate virtual desktop from the bottom. This requires clicking the Task View button on the taskbar or using the Task View shortcut.

Still, what if you could switch virtual desktops quickly without having to go through Task View first? Fortunately, you can do this in Windows by pressing Win + Shift + Right Arrow. Using the right arrow key takes you to higher desktop numbers (i.e. takes you from desktop 1 to desktop 2), while the left arrow key takes you to lower desktop numbers (i.e. takes you from desktop 2 to desktop 1).

All the shortcuts discussed above can help you increase productivity, and if you like these shortcuts, you may also want to learn a few Windows 11 tips and tricks from Microsoft to get the most out of the new operating system.