10 Secret Keyboard Shortcuts You Might Discover for the First Time in Windows

Keyboard shortcuts can save you time and effort by minimizing the use of a mouse. If you are a fan of fast typing and high productivity, you probably use dozens of shortcuts daily. We have already reviewed many of them, whether new shortcuts in Windows 10, general keyboard shortcuts, or those that every Windows user should know. Keyboard shortcuts are numerous, especially in Windows, as almost every update adds a new shortcut like the one that restarts the graphics card driver. However, there are 10 keyboard shortcuts in Windows systems that only a few people know about, perhaps because they are not officially announced by Microsoft, so let us enlighten you about them.

Microsoft offers many accessories for purchase through its online store, such as mice, keyboards, headphones, etc. We have already reviewed our experience with the Microsoft Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000, which are excellent products without a doubt. However, starting from October 2019, some Microsoft keyboards include a dedicated key for Office programs, usually placed next to the right Alt key and printed with the Office logo. The purpose of adding this key is to increase productivity for people dealing with various Microsoft Office applications, but this key requires the use of Windows 10 operating system for compatibility.

Using this key is very simple, as the user simply clicks it once to open the main Office application, but it can also be used as a shortcut to open specific Office applications. For example, pressing the Office key with the letter W or X will open Word and Excel programs, and you can also open Microsoft-related services through this key, such as pressing the Office key with the letters L or T or Y to open LinkedIn, Microsoft Teams, and Yammer on the default web browser. However, the Office key holds a strange secret:

Most of the buttons that companies allocate to themselves on the keyboard are nothing but a “shortcut” for a real keyboard shortcut. For example, if your keyboard does not have a Windows key, you can press Ctrl + Escape to achieve the same effect, which is to open the Start menu. Likewise, you do not necessarily have to buy a Microsoft keyboard to try the “Office” key as it equals pressing Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Win on a regular keyboard.

Therefore, you can press this keyboard shortcut and access the shortcuts that were previously limited to keyboards with an Office button on any other keyboard. For example, when you press Office + L, this is equivalent to pressing Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+L and opens LinkedIn in your browser.

Like the previous LinkedIn shortcut, you can open Microsoft Office applications and other Microsoft services using the actual shortcut for the “Office” key, which is Shift + Ctrl + Alt + Windows. To simplify things, let us review the rest of the shortcuts that you can press on a regular keyboard to launch Office and Microsoft applications:

• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+W opens Word program.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+X opens Excel program.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+T opens Microsoft Teams program.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+P opens PowerPoint program.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+O opens Outlook program.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+Y opens Microsoft Yammer site.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+N opens OneNote service.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+D opens OneDrive service.
• Shift+Ctrl+Alt+Win+Esc switches between open windows.

If any of the Microsoft programs are not available (such as Yammer), the service page will be opened on the default web browser instead. In any case, these shortcuts may be long and some may be useless to you, depending on your personal needs. Nevertheless, knowing these keyboard shortcuts is good and may help you someday if you do not want to use the mouse.