Before we get in too deep, I wanted to quickly review a handful of common shortcuts that are helpful to know in a variety of different apps and services. You might already be familiar with these, but just in case:

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + C = Copy

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + X = Cut

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + V = Paste

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + S = Save

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + Q = Quit

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + P = Print

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + N = Open new

Ctrl / ⌘ Command + W = Close window

Shortcuts for Windows users:

Ctrl + A — Select all content.

⊞ Win + M — Minimizes all windows.

⊞ Win + I — Opens Windows settings.

⊞ Win + S — Opens Windows search bar.

⊞ Win + Comma — Quickly peek at your desktop.

⊞ Win + Prt Scn — Creates a screenshot and instantly saves it in the Screenshots folder.

⊞ Win + Left / Right arrow keys — Moves window of a currently open app left and right.

⊞ Win + Up / Down arrow key (double klick) — Maximizes or minimizes window of a currently open app.

⊞ Win + Number — Opens the app pinned to your task bar. The number you choose corresponds to the app position.

⊞ Win + “+” / “-” keys — Zooms in and out with the magnifier tool (you can zoom in on any app, desktop, or folder).

Alt + Spacebar — Opens the menu window for a currently open app.

Alt + Esc — Switches between apps in the order they were opened (faster version of Alt + Tab).

Shift + ⊞ Win + S — Selects any desired area of the screen and takes a screenshot of it.

Shortcuts while working with documents in Microsoft Word:

F1 — Opens the Help panel.

F7 — Opens Editor tool for spelling and grammar check.

Ctrl + 5 — Sets 1.5 spacing between lines.

Ctrl + N — Creates a new document.

Ctrl + O — Opens an existing document.

Ctrl + K — Inserts a hyperlink.

Ctrl + 1 / + 2 — Sets single-spacing / double-spacing respectively (text must be selected).

Ctrl + E / L / R — Centers a paragraph (Left-align and right-align respectively).

Ctrl + Shift + C — Copies the character formatting of a selection.

Ctrl + Shift + V — Applies the character formatting onto selected text.

Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right arrow keys — Selects a word to the left or to the right.

Ctrl + Shift + “<” or “>” — Makes font size smaller or bigger one preset size at a time.

Ctrl + Shift + K — Turns small letters into capitals.

Ctrl + Shift + N — Applies Normal paragraph style.

Alt + Shift + R — Copies the header or footer used in the previous section of the document.

Alt + Ctrl + 1 / + 2 / + 3 — Applies Heading 1 / Heading 2 / Heading 3 paragraph styles respectively.

Shift + F7 — Selects the previous word, opens the thesaurus, and looks up its meaning.

Shortcuts for working in browsers:

Ctrl + N — Opens a new browser window.

Ctrl + Shift + T — Opens previously closed tab (can do it multiple times).

Ctrl + Tab — Switches between open tabs.

Ctrl + 1 to 8 — Switches to the tab with the corresponding number from left to right.

Ctrl + L — Focuses the address bar so you can begin typing.

Ctrl + 0 — Resets zoom.

Ctrl+ Enter — Adds www and .com to the name of the website typed in the search bar.

Ctrl + Left Click (on a mouse) — Opens a link in a new tab.

Ctrl + Shift + Delete — Opens the Clear Browsing Data option.

Alt + Home — Redirects to the home page.

Alt + Enter — Opens a typed search query in the search bar in a new active tab.

Shift + Left click — Opens a link in a new window.

F5 — Reloads the page.

Shortcuts for Mac users:

⌘ Command + Tab — Switches to the last used app among your open apps.

⌘ Command + Y — Uses Quick Look to preview the selected files.

⌘ Command + Left Bracket ([) — Goes to the previous folder.

⌘ Command + Right Bracket (]) — Goes to the next folder.

Control + ⌘ Command + Q — Locks your screen.

Option + ⌘ Command + L — Opens the Downloads folder.

Option + Shift + ⌘ Command + Delete — Empties the Trash without confirmation dialog.

Shift + ⌘ Command + Q — Logs out of your macOS user account.

Shift + ⌘ Command + I — Opens iCloud Drive.

Shift + ⌘ Command + N — Creates a new folder.

Shift + ⌘ Command + O — Opens the Documents folder.

Shortcuts while working with documents:

⌘ Command + K — Inserts a hyperlink.

⌘ Command + T — Show or hide the Fonts window.

⌘ Command + Left Curly Bracket ({) — Applies left alignment.

⌘ Command + Right Curly Bracket (}) —Applies right alignment.

Control + ⌘ Command + D — Shows or hides the definition of the selected word.

Control + A — Moves cursor to the beginning of the line or paragraph.

Control + E — Moves cursor to the end of a line or paragraph.

⌘ Command + F — Opens the search field.

⌘ Command + C — Copies the formatting style of the selected piece.

⌘ Command + V — Applies the copied style to the selected piece.

Shift + ⌘ Command + “-” — Decreases the size of the selected item.

Shift + ⌘ Command + “+” — Increases the size of the selected item.

Shift + ⌘ Command + Colon (:) — Opens the Spelling and Grammar window.

Shift + ⌘ Command + Vertical bar (|) — Center aligns.

Preview photo credit: 9to5buzz