Hot keys and keyboard shortcuts used to be the norm. Before there was a mouse, and yes those days are thankfully far behind us, there was nothing more than a keyboard and nerds could rattle through stuff and navigate the screen with mind boggling precision using shortcut keys that were put together by other geeks.
UNIX and Linux users are familiar with the concept and Mac users are too, though I've never understood why there are so many short cut keys on a Mac. That, admittedly, stems from my own preconceptions about Mac users.
There are a a few keys that you'll need get to used to using. They are:
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Capital letters are used in the examples below to make them more obvious, but they only indicate the key you should press.
Cycle Through Windows - Cool Aero Effect
Windows Key + Tab
You can flip through all the open windows and apps with the Windows Key and the Tab Key. Press the tab key to cycle through the available choices, including the desk top.
Cycle Through Windows the Old Fashioned Way
Alt Key + Tab
The Old fashioned way of flipping through windows and apps is still there, but it's on steroids. The panel looks the same, but the windows become translucent and movies and TV is visible in the thumbnail.
Taskbar Cycle Items
Windows Key + T
Cycles through the Super Task bar items and shows the pop-up thumbnails.
Windows Key + #
You can also use the corresponding number key to open the app in the Task bar. For example, in the example below the Windows Key and the number "2" would open Firefox.
Windows Key + Shift + #: Opens a new instance of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Windows Key + Ctrl + #: Switches to the last active window of the program pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Windows Key + Alt + #: Opens a Jump List of recently accessed items of the apps pinned to the task bar.
Moving, maximizing, and minimizing windows
Windows Key + Up arrow: Maximizes (full screen) the current window.
Windows Key + Down arrow: Minimizes the current window.
Windows Key + M: Minimizes all open windows to the task bar.
Windows Key + Shift + M: Opens all the minimized windows
Windows Key + D: Show/Hide the desktop.
Windows Key + Right arrow: Sticks the current window to the right edge of the screen. It also re-sizes the window to take up exactly half the screen to tile windows.
Windows Key + Left arrow: Same as above but sticks the window to the left.
Windows Key + Shift + Right or Left arrow: Moves the window to another monitor.
Windows + Shift + Up Arrow: Stretches the Window from top to bottom.
Windows + Spacebar: Shows the desktop without minimizing the windows.
Random and Misc.
Windows Key + G: Cycles through the gadgets on the desktop.
Windows Key + R: Opens the Run dialog.
Windows + U: Opens the Ease of Access Center (The new Utility Manager).
Here are a couple of cools one:
To minimize all open windows except the one you're working in, click Windows + Home. Click it again to re-open them.
To cycle through all open windows from the same application use the Ctrl key while clicking the application's icon in the Task bar. For example, if you had 23 instances of Firefox open, you could toggle through each of them this way.
Magnifier
Windows Key + "+"
Windows 7 with the plus/equal key will open the magnifier. You can move it around the screen and use the same two keys to zoom in and the minus key to zoom out.
The magnifier will go where ever the mouse goes, magnifying as you move it. To get rid of it look for the magnifying glass on your desk top (not always easy) and click it to open the control bar.
Quick Key Commands You May Already Know
These are shortcuts left over from older versions of Windows.
Windows Key + E: Opens Windows Explorer.
Window Key + R: Opens the Run command.
Windows Key + F: Opens the Search dialog to search the contents of your computer.
Windows + L: Locks the computer. If you've set up a password for your computer this key combination will lock down the computer and show the log on screen.
