PowerToys: Show a list of keyboard shortcuts on Windows 10 and Windows 11

A hotkey is a key to quickly open a program, or perform an operation in a software or operating system. It can be a single key on the keyboard, or a combination of many keys.

If you are a frequent user of keyboard shortcuts, you will notice that shortcuts save you a lot of time and effort, increase work efficiency and certainly look more professional, right? !

The Windows operating system that we are using also has a lot of function shortcuts, but I know that most of us only remember a few basic keystrokes.

So in this article, I will introduce you to a software that helps display the shortcuts available in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Make sure after a period of use, you will remember a lot of those shortcuts.

Show a list of quick shortcuts on Windows 10 with PowerToys

PowerToys application was first introduced by Microsoft in Windows 95 version and was removed in the legendary Windows XP version, many of you probably still remember this software.

PowerToys as a place for Microsoft to create and test new features, such as changes to the user interface, etc.

And Windows 10 is the version that marks the return of PowerToys, plus, Microsoft has made this software a free and open source software, allowing users to freely add the features they want – good news. Pretty fun, right?

Perform:

+ Step 1: First, visit the Github page with the link below to download the installation file in .msi format of PowerToys. In the download page, scroll down to the Assets section and choose to download PowerToysSetup-xxxmsi (the new version is in the form of PowerToysSetup-xxxexe)!

Github Link here.

 Backup Mediafire Link here (version 0.49.1)

NOTE: The current version is v0.49 already, I wrote this post a long time ago, but now I can only edit to post it, please understand.

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+ Step 2: After downloading, open the PowerToysSetup-xxxmsi file and install it as usual.

The installation process is too simple, you just need to Next continuously, at this point, you keep everything and select Finish to complete the installation and run the PowerToys software.

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+ Step 3: After the installation is complete, make sure the application is running – if it runs, there will be an icon of PowerToys in the system tray, you hold the Windows key on the keyboard for a while (900ms), an overlay includes the shortcuts of Windows will appear.

You can press the keys displayed on the screen to use or try the function, if you release the Windows key, the overlay will also disappear. Eg:

1. Windows + A : To open the notification page.
2. Windows + I : Open Windows Settings
3. Windows + D : Hide, show the Desktop screen .

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+ Step 4: You can reset the time to hold the Windows key to show the list of shortcuts, light or dark interface and the transparency of the Overlay by:

Click on the system tray => right click on the icon of PowerToys under the Taskbar => click Settings => switch to the Shortcut Guide section and in this window you can edit the settings I mentioned above, very simple.

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Epilogue

Above are detailed instructions on how to display a list of shortcuts on Windows 10 and Windows 11 using PowerToys software.

These are the most basic and common keyboard shortcuts that you should know to be more productive with the Windows operating system. PowerToys application also has many other interesting functions, but let me introduce in the following articles. Good luck !

Lesley Montoya

Update 29 November 2021