How to use Windows Key Shortcut Guide in PowerToys

With PowerToys, you can quickly see a convenient pop-up guide to many of the rich collection of most useful Windows key keyboard shortcuts; making using a Windows 10 PC a breeze. In this post, we will walk you through the steps on how to enable & use Windows Key Shortcut Guide on Windows 10 using PowerToys.

Using Windows Key Shortcut Guide in PowerToys

Essentially, how this works is that the Shortcut Guide module in PowerToys allows you to hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and see an on-screen overlay that shows you partially context-aware Windows key shortcuts that you can refer to for some major shortcuts to get work done easily on your PC.

To enable & use the Windows Key Shortcut Guide using PowerToys on your Windows 11/10 device, do the following:

• First, download and install PowerToys on your PC (if you haven’t already).
• Once you have PowerToys installed, launch PowerToys.
• Click the Shortcut Guide module on the left pane.
• On the right pane, toggle the Enable Shortcut Guide button to On.

If you like, in PowerToys Settings, you can change the Shortcut Guide’s opacity to appear in dark or light mode. You can also change the length of time you have to hold down the Windows key before the guide appears.

• Once done, close PowerToys Settings.

Now, you have the Shortcut Guide active in the background – whenever you need a handy reference for Windows Key commands, just hold down the Windows key for roughly a second, and the guide will appear.

When the Shortcut Guide appears, below are some of the keyboard shortcuts you’ll be presented with:

• Windows+A: Open Action center
• Windows+D: Hide or display the desktop
• Windows+E: Open File Explorer
• Windows+G: Open the Xbox Game Bar
• Windows+H: Open the Dictation bar
• Windows+i: Open Windows Settings
• Windows+K: Open the Connect sidebar
• Windows+L: Lock your PC
• Windows+M: Minimize all windows
• Windows+R: Open the Run dialog box
• Windows+S: Open Search
• Windows+U: Display Ease of Access Center
• Windows+X: Open Power User menu
• Windows+Comma (,): Peek at the desktop

That’s it!

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