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Handy Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 8 (Historical)

A concise reference to Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts for Charms, Search, app switching, snapping, settings, and the power-user menu.

By Shantanu2 min read
Handy Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 8 (Historical)

Historical support note: Many shortcuts below are specific to the Windows 8 Start screen, Charms bar, and snapped-app interface. Later Windows releases changed or reassigned some of them.

Windows 8 was designed to be usable with touch, mouse, or keyboard. For keyboard-heavy workflows, these shortcuts made the new interface much faster.

Shortcut Windows 8 action
Windows + C Open the Charms bar
Windows + F Open Search for files
Windows + H Open the Share charm
Windows + I Open the Settings charm
Windows + K Open the Devices charm
Windows + J Switch focus between the main app and snapped app
Windows + O Lock/unlock screen orientation on supported hardware
Windows + Q Search apps
Windows + W Search settings
Windows + X Open the power-user/Quick Link menu
Windows + Z Show app commands in a Windows Store app
Windows + Tab Cycle through Windows Store apps
Windows + Shift + Tab Cycle through Windows Store apps in reverse
Windows + . Move/snap the current app to the right
Windows + Shift + . Move/snap the current app to the left

The exact snapping behavior depended on display resolution and the version of Windows 8/8.1.

Official reference

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