Managing Your Workspace with Keyboard Shortcuts

One of the keys to productivity is being organized from the start.

Many of us must organize our desks so that we can work to our best ability. Whether it’s having files in a neat stack or the stapler in just the right place, having things where they go is essential to our work.

Organize Your Desktop

Have you thought about how organized your computer workspace is?

If you frequently use multiple programs simultaneously, managing your workspace will help you maneuver between them.

There are several keyboard shortcuts that can help you do this more effectively.

Here are some useful shortcuts for managing your desktop:

• Win + E: Opens File Explorer.
  • Ctrl + Shift + N: New folder
  • F2: Rename file
  • Shift + Delete” Permanently deletes item (skips recycle bin)
  • Alt + Enter: Opens property menu for folder or item
• Win + S: Opens search (Cortana, on Windows 10).
• Win + D: Minimizes all open programs. Press again to restore.
• Win + Up Arrow: Maximizes program. Also restores minimized program.
• Win + Down Arrow: Minimizes program. Also restores maximized program.
• Win + (number 1-0): Opens program pinned to taskbar, one through ten (left to right). For example, PowerPoint is the fourth pinned program on my taskbar, so Win + 4 would open PowerPoint on my computer.
• Win + Shift + Left/Right Arrow: Moves window to the other monitor if you have multiple screens.
• Win + Left/Right Arrow: Places program on left/right half of screen. Use these together to place two programs or documents side by side.
• Win + L: Locks computer.
• Opens monitor settings. If you have a laptop, you probably need to adjust these settings when connecting to another screen.

Tips to Make that IT Phone Call Better

Since not all computers are the same, IT personnel will typically need to know more about your device before they can assess your problem.

Sometimes you are asked to navigate to menus that are somewhat hard to find.

Here are a few shortcuts to make working with IT easier:

• Win + I: Opens Settings menu.
• Win + PauseBreak: Opens System menu. This provides information about your computer. Clicking on the options available here can change important computer settings, so be careful.
• Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Opens Task Manager. This lists your active program and their memory usage.
• Win + U. Opens Utilities menu. This defaults to display settings, but you can also adjust your keyboard or mouse settings here.
• Alt + PrintScreen: Takes a screenshot of the active window. Have a strange message that pops up you want to ask IT about? This is the easiest way to capture it and place it in that email.