7 Essential Windows Hotkey Keyboard Combinations You Should Know and Use

Windows + E –> Opens Windows Explorer (the file browser)

• Windows + L –> Locks your computer screen. This is essential if you are walking away from your computer quickly (be sure you have a password!)
• Windows + D –> Minimizes all open windows to show your Desktop quickly. This is especially useful for those people who save lots of files to their Desktop.
• Windows + F –> Brings up the Windows file search for quickly finding files on your computer’s hard drive.
• Windows + (#) –> Launches the first 10 applications in your taskbar. First, the “#” symbol stands for an actual number. The number is tied to the order of applications in your taskbar. So, if Internet Explorer is the first application in your taskbar (next to the Start button), then clicking Windows + 1 (the one key) will launch IE. In the picture below, Windows + 6 will launch Windows Live Writer.
  
• Windows + Pause/Break –> Launches your System Properties. This is handy to find out your machine name, system information like RAM, system type and what version of Windows you have. The Pause/Break button is usually at the top left of your keyboard.
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc –> Opens the Windows Task Manager. This is great if you need to close a program or see how your system resources are. Note that this is a 3-key combo.