Windows 8 50 keyboard shortcuts

Windows 8 is the latest alms from Microsoft and has reinvented itself as an operating arrangement for both book and PC users. While touchscreen users can yield advantage of the abounding abyssal rewrites e.g. the Charms Menu, Metro UI with tiles, and swipes, Microsoft has aswell done their allotment to ensure that users who adopt accepting about with the keyboard would not be larboard out.

To baby to this group, Microsoft has chip new keyboard shortcuts to let them cross through the reconstructed OS faster and easier. And as abundant fun as touchscreens can be, sometimes you can do added with keyboard shortcuts than you can with swipes. Besides, if you are allotment of the keyboard generation, shortcuts just appear added by itself anyways.

Read on for 50 keyboard shortcuts that you apparently acquisition yourself application on Windows 8, if out of bash mode.

Shortcut	Description
Windows Key + D	Show Desktop
Windows Key + C	Open Charms Menu
Windows Key + F	Charms Menu – Search
Windows Key + H	Charms Menu – Share
Windows Key + K	Charms Menu – Devices
Windows Key + I	Charms Menu – Settings
Windows Key + Q	Search For Installed Apps
Windows Key + W	Search Settings
Windows Key + Tab	Cycle through open Modern UI Apps
Windows Key + Shift + Tab	Cycle through open Modern UI Apps in reverse order
Windows Key + .	Snaps app to the right (split screen multitasking)
Windows Key + Shift + .	Snaps app to the left (split screen multitasking)
Windows Key + ,	Temporarily view desktop
Alt + F4	Quit Modern UI Apps
Windows Key + E	Launch Windows Explorer Window
Windows Key + L	Lock PC and go to lock screen
Windows Key + T	Cycle through icons on taskbar (press Enter to launch app)
Windows Key + X	Show Advanced Windows Settings Menu
Windows Key + E	Launch Windows Explorer Window
Windows Key + Page Down	Moves Start screen and apps to secondary monitor on the right
Windows Key + M	Minimize all Windows
Windows Key + Shift + M	Restore all minimized Windows
Windows Key + R	Open Run dialog box
Windows Key + Up Arrow	Maximize current window
Windows Key + Down Arrow	Minimize current window
Windows Key + Left Arrow	Maximize current window to left side of the screen
Windows Key + Right Arrow	Maximize current window to right side of the screen
Ctrl + Shift + Escape	Open Task Manager
Windows Key + Print Screen	Takes a Print Screen and saves it to your Pictures folder
Windows Key + Page Up	Moves Start screen and apps to secondary monitor on the left
Windows Key + Pause Break	Display System Properties
Shift + Delete	Permanently delete files without sending it to Recycle Bin
Windows Key + F1	Open Windows Help and Support
Windows Key + V	Cycle through notifications
Windows Key + Shift + V	Cycle through notifications in reverse order
Windows Key + 0 to 9	Launch/show app pinned to taskbar at indicated number
Windows Key + Shift + 0 to9	Launch new instance of app pinned to taskbar at indicated number
Alt + Enter	Display Properties of selected item in File Explorer
Alt + Up Arrow	View upper level folder of current folder in File Explorer
Alt + Right Arrow	View next folder in File Explorer
Alt + Left Arrow	View previous folder in File Explorer
Windows Key + P	Choose secondary display modes
Windows Key + U	Open Ease of Access Center
Alt + Print Screen	Print Screen focused Window only
Windows Key + Spacebar	Switch input language and keyboard layout
Windows Key + Shift +Spacebar	Switch to previous input language and keyboard layout
Windows Key + Enter	Open Narrator
Windows Key + +	Zoom in using Magnifier
Windows Key + -	Zoom out using Magnifier
Windows Key + Escape	Exit Magnifier

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Windows Phone 7.8 due to roll out on Jan 31st

The Windows Phone 7.8 update will arrive on handsets such as the Nokia Lumia 900 and Lumia 800 by the end of the month.

Handsets stuck on Windows Phone 7.5 have not been treated to the plush Windows Phone 8 OS which is reserved for new handsets. Version 7.8 their only salvation, but it's been slow coming.


UK carrier O2 tweeted last week: "The 7.8 Windows Phone update will be released by the end of January and will be available via Zone."

Microsoft which confirmed that "the Windows Phone 7.8 update will arrive by the end of the month January."

Over in Columbia however the Windows Phone team seem more certain over the Windows Phone 7.8 release date, posting on its Facebook page that the update will arrive on January 31.

We've also been in contact with Nokia over the update who told us: "Windows Phone 7.8 is becoming available on new phones around the world, and Microsoft has announced it is working to get the software update tested, approved and rolled out to as many devices as possible early this year.

                          "Exact time frames for rollout will be announced in due course"

It usually takes a few weeks for an update to hit every handset, so you may be looking at mid-February before you're treated to Windows Phone 7.8, although carriers can potentially delay the roll out as they run their own tests before offering it to customers.

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Hands on: Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro review

Microsoft isn't ready to talk about the exact launch date for the Surface Windows 8 Pro, as the Windows 8 version of Surface is going to be called, but we have had a chance to use the Surface Pro and to try out the new pen.

Microsoft also wouldn't let us take any images of the new device during our preview here at CES 2013 and it isn't giving any additional details about price, battery life or the internal components beyond what we already know: $899 for the 64GB model and $999 for the 128GB model, both with 4GB of RAM and neither with a keyboard included.

Unlike the already-released Surface RT, the Surface Windows 8 Pro is a full-power PC that you use like a notebook, or a tablet, or both. It runs Windows 8 Pro and all the desktop Windows applications you want, but it's still a touch-friendly tablet that you can rip the keyboard off of when you don't need it.
Surface Pro has the same styling as Surface RT, with the same premium feel and the same 22-degree angle on the edges to put it at a good viewing angle with a keyboard.

Yes, it's a little heavier than Surface RT, at two pounds rather than 1.5, but it's balanced which means it doesn't feel significantly heavier in your hands. Lighter devices use plastic cases rather than the magnesium alloy that makes Surface so robust; like Surface RT, Surface Pro feels solid and sturdy.

And when we say balanced, we had the Surface Pro on the side of one hand and it didn't tip sideways or slide off, so it's certainly not going to tip backwards while you're holding it single-handedly. It's also just as stable propped up on the kickstand. As promised, the existing Type and Touch covers from Surface RT are compatible with Surface Pro and they click in and out in exactly the same way.


Performance to go

With an Intel Core i5 processor inside, the Surface Pro has more heat to deal with than the Surface RT. Microsoft still isn't being more precise than saying it's a "third generation" chip with Intel HD graphics 4000, so essentially they're not saying whether it's the updated low-power 7W processors Intel announced here at CES.

In action, what Microsoft calls the peripheral venting - a ventilation strip that runs all around the beveled edge of the Surface Pro - works well to dissipate heat without hotspots building up. Even with demanding desktop programs running we didn't feel any parts of Surface Pro getting hot and it doesn't feel like a warm air blower the way many laptop fans do.


We couldn't hear any fan noise either. Surface Pro certainly doesn't feel like a laptop crammed into the body of a tablet - although it gives you the power of one.

Even with the vent, Microsoft has found room to move the microSD slot from underneath the kickstand (where it's hard to find) to the right side of the case next to the video connector where you can easily swap it in and out.

With Windows 8, it's more likely that you'll swap cards - and unlike Windows RT, you can make a microSD card part of a library so any media files show up in the Music and Videos apps properly. This is a VGA rather than HDMI port, because there are still so many VGA screens and projectors in businesses, and the angle of the case edges means you'll still need Microsoft's own cable to connect with to make sure it plugs in correctly.

Also different from Surface RT is the USB port, which is USB 3.0. Transferring large files, like the 30-megabyte files a DSLR camera produces, takes just a few seconds. USB 3 isn't as sexy as Apple's Thunderbolt connector, but you're getting similar speeds - and there are plenty of fast USB 3 drives out now.
The screen is the same 10.6-inch size and it still looks beautiful, with true deep blacks and vivid, saturated colours, but the resolution is higher; 1,920 by 1,080 makes this a true HD display. It's still a touch screen, but it can detect ten fingers at once rather than just five (so you get even more control with music apps, for example).

The new pen

But Surface Pro also has its own active pen so you can tap as precisely as with a mouse, or draw and write smoothly on screen. Surface Pro doesn't come with Office but we tested the pen in OneNote 2013 as well as in FreshPaint and you can write quickly without the pen tip skidding over the surface of the screen.

When the pen is near the screen, finger touch is blocked so your hand doesn't interfere with what you're writing or drawing. It's a pressure-sensitive pen (although it's not the Wacom pen we've seen on most PC tablets), so the harder you press the thicker the line you draw.

The pen itself is a good size; not the tiny stylus Asus is including with its pen systems or the over-large pen that comes with the HP EliteBook Revolve.
It's light, comfortable and very well balanced in your hand. Turn it round to use the end as an eraser; this is a large eraser button with quite a lot of travel which makes rubbing out ink feel very smooth and natural.
There's a large button on the side with a very positive click for when you need the right-mouse button. This is also a magnet that fits into the power charging port on the side so you can clip the pen in place.

The magnet holds the pen on very securely; we couldn't quite dangle the Surface Pro by the pen the way you can hold the Surface RT by the keyboard, but when we picked up the pen, it didn't pull off at once and it isn't going to twist off in your bag or fall off at the first knock.
Full Windows 8

Like the keyboard, the magnets hold the pen in sideways as well, so it takes a firm and deliberate pull to get it off. Yes, we'd prefer to have the pen dock inside the body of the tablet, but we wouldn't want to make Surface Pro larger or thicker to make room so this is an elegant alternative.

Using the pen button as the holder means that the usual pocket clip on the pen is offset by 90 degrees so it doesn't get in the way when it's connected (and it doesn't stick out further to be knocked off more easily). That's also more comfortable in your hand, because the clip isn't catching against your hand.
That's the same kind of attention to detail that makes the Surface RT stand out, but this time you're getting a full Windows 8 PC that can run all your software.

We didn't have enough time to test battery life but Windows Store apps feels just as responsive as on Surface RT, and desktop programs feel as responsive as you'd expect from a Core i5. Microsoft' s first real PC is shaping up to be what looks like a really great and really portable PC.

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