Everyone knows how to Ctrl + C to copy and Ctrl + V to paste. But, did you know that you can quickly lock your PC in a similar way? Did you know that there’s a quick way to toggle multi-monitor displays?

No? Then let’s take a look at some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts you’ve probably been missing out on.

Multi-Screen Toggle

Pressing Win + P will open a tab allowing you to toggle between various multi-screen options. You can use P, the arrow keys, or your mouse to navigate the tab.

That means no more going into control panel every time you want to use your second monitor!

Lock Your PC

To quickly lock your PC, press Win + L.

If you can’t quite get your password right when you try to sign back in, hold Alt + F8 to show your password.

Minimizing Windows

To minimize all windows, press Win + M. To bring them back, press Win + Shift + M.

To show/hide your desktop, press Win + D.

If you only want to minimize your current window, press Win + Down Arrow x2.

Any of these methods will be quicker than scrambling to click the close or minimize buttons 😉

1-step Task Manager

I’m sure everyone knows the 2-step way to open task manager; Ctrl + Alt + Del then click “Task Manager”.

As far as I’m concerned, that way takes too long.

Ctrl + Shift + Esc will open it in just 1 step.

Alt. Alt-Tab Screen

You already know that you can use Alt and Tab to toggle between different windows if you hold Alt and tap Tab, right?

But, did you know you can press Ctrl + Alt + Tab to get an alternative Alt-Tab screen that won’t go away until you click on something? Might come in handy.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, owning a PC is awesome. Knowing how to get around unavoidable clicking makes it even better. That’s why I hope this list of keyboard shortcuts was helpful.

This is by no means an exhaustive list as there are a lot of shortcuts. To get a more complete list of keyboard shortcuts, you should check out Microsoft’s list.