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The best new shortcuts in Windows Vista
These are the most useful new shortcuts that I have found in Windows Vista.
This is not aimed at beginners in the world of keyboard shortcuts. If you were generally proficient in Windows XP then you'll find this update course handy and you can skip the next few paragraphs.
If you need a more comprehensive overview of the keyboard shortcuts in Windows Vista then I suggest you check out this resource. The list may be a bit overwhelming at first glance but there is a certain art to integrating keyboard shortcuts into your workflow.
Pick a few of the ones that stand out to you the most and then make an effort to use them over the next few days / weeks. When you're using them naturally its time to return to the list and pick some more.
Alternatively you might want to print out a list of your favourites and stick them up somewhere near your monitor.
The Shortcuts
Remember this is only the new shortcuts to Windows Vista, there are some great ones I haven't included here that were part of XP.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| CTRL+NUMPAD PLUS | When in the details view it resizes all columns to fit the data. |
| CTRL+E | Jump to the search box. |
| ALT-Enter | By default the search box only searches the current folder. Pressing alt-enter will search all indexed locations. |
| ALT+UP ARROW | This is the most annoying change in Vista that I have found. Backspace no longer goes up through the directory structure, it goes back through the history instead. The only way to go reliably up through the directory structure is to use this awkward two handed shortcut (alt-gr doesn't work). |
| Windows Logo Key + # | Launches the shortcut in Quick Launch with the position corresponding to the # entered (eg. Winkey + 1 launches the first item in the Quick Launch menu). |
| CTRT + SHIFT + ESC | Ctrl-alt-del brings up a different menu in Vista. To jump straight to the task manager use this shortcut. |
| Windows Logo Key + Spacebar | If you don't have a widescreen monitor then you might not have the Windows Sidebar on top all the time. Use this shortcut to bring up the Windows Sidebar. |
That should get you settled into your new operating system quite nicely, but as I said earlier you should consult the full list to keep adding to your repertoire, these are just the first batch that I have learnt.
