Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcut Keys

Windows 8 the latest operating system from Microsoft is made big news because of its new User interface. This operating system is mainly built to use on touch screen devices. However, it runs and functions properly on even on normal non touch screen laptops and desktops. Those who are familiar with older versions of Windows, feel little difficult to adopt. So here is a simple tricks using keyboard shortcut keys to make life easier on Windows 8.

Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcut Keys:

1. Windows Key+C: This brings the side bar menu. Alternatively, you can move the cursor to right bottom or top corner to get this menu.
2. Windows Key+I: This will show you the quick settings menu in the right side. Using this menu provides access to  Control panel, brightness of the screen, Power options, Volume etc. This is one of the most handy shortcut key and it is very useful for me because I do not have the touch screen device.
3.Windows Key+D: This shows the desktop. It works even if you are in modern UI page or any other pages are open and if you want to go back to desktop, you can use this shortcut key.
4. Windows Key: This will bring the modern UI.
5. Windows Key+.(Period): This will snap the active app to right side bar. For example, you might have opened news app and you want to open other things. You can keep that modern UI app in the right side, so that even if you are opened other software or app, the side bar shows the your modern UI app.
6. Windows Key+X: This gives you the power menu through which you can access Device manager, Run command, Disk Management etc.
7. Windows Key+E: This quickly takes you to the My computer screen. This is another very useful shortcut key in Windows 8. Because there is no direct shortcut key to My computer in Windows 8 like its predecessors.
8. Windows Key+Q: This shows the page which shows all the apps installed on the system
9. Windows Key+F: You can this shortcut key to search for an app
10. Windows Key+R: This opens the run command

Other Miscellaneous Shortcut Keys For Various Tasks:

1. For shutting down or restarting the system: Press Windows Key+I. This brings the right side settings menu. Choose power and select shutdown or restart.
2. For showing the system information: Windows Key+X. This brings the power menu options in the left bottom corner. In that select the ‘System’. The new page opens which shows the system information such as Processor, RAM etc.
3. Switching between  pages or apps:  Press Alt+Tab: using these two keys you can toggle between the active applications or pages. Use Alt+Tab+Shift to select the applications in the backward directions.
4. Typing Indian Rupee Symbol: You can use Shit+Ctrl+$: This writes the rupee symbol if you are enabled the Indian keyboard layout.   I have written a detailed post on how i enabled rupee symbol on my Windows system You can read on this here . It works on all the keyboards irrespective of whether rupee symbol is written in the keyboard or not.