Keyboard Shortcuts

By Gina Barrow, Last updated: April 8, 2020

On Windows 10, keyboard shortcuts provide a quick way to navigate and operate the experience and features using a single press of one or multiple keys, which otherwise will take several clicks. International keyboard – the standard keyboard layout is US keyboard, thus, if you are using other languages, the keyboard sequence might be slightly different. 3 rd -party software – they are also known as trolls because they are programs with their own sets of shortcuts that counteract the ones on a Windows or Mac keyboard. Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs. When I’m not writing in WordPress, I’m writing in Google Docs. A lot of the most useful keyboard shortcuts in Docs are similar to the common ones you use in a lot of other places: copy, cut, paste, etc. That being said, here are three unique ones that save me a bit of time. +k = insert link.

Keyboard shortcuts make our daily working life easier and better because they shorten some long inputs. However, it isn’t always a smooth sailing operation. Sometimes, keyboard shortcuts don’t work.

These short keys are actually present in any operating system like Windows and Mac computers. If you are one of those users who type in so fast that you highly depend on keyboard shortcuts, then you might have a problem once the shortcuts stop working.

CTRL + Tab, CTRL + ALT+ DEL, are just some of the frequently used short keys that everyone is well familiar with. To better learn how to fix keyboard shortcuts that are not working, then better read this post!

Part 1. 5 Ways: How to Fix Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working

There could be different reasons why your hotkeys are not working. Fortunately, there are also various quick fixes you can do to resolve this issue.

Solution 1. Clean the Physical Keyboard

Dust and dirt may be the reasons why your keyboard is not at its best state. If there is a presence of dirt, it might get stuck in between keys and cause some interruptions.

  • The best way to maintain your keyboard is to regularly clean it with a clean q-tip dipped in alcohol or a brush. Make sure to go through the spaces in between keys to completely remove the dirt and dust.
  • You can also use compressed air to remove any debris.

Solution 2. Turn off Sticky Keys

Turning off the sticky keys will also fix keyboardshortcuts that are notworking. Sticky Keys is a Windows accessibility feature that lets the modifier keys to remain active but sometimes, this feature interrupts some of the known keyboard shortcuts.

Shortcuts

In order to fix your keyboard shortcuts, you can turn off the sticky keys by following this guide:

  1. Open the Ease of Access from your Control Panel
  2. Find the option Make it Easier to Type
  3. Make sure that the box beside Turn on Sticky keys is not checked
  4. Choose Apply
  5. Click OK and exit

Solution 3. Reset Keyboard Settings

Perhaps you have tried to use other keyboard settings or enabled other keyboard languages, reasons why your shortcuts were disabled and no longer working. What you can do to resolve the issue is to reset the keyboard settings.

Here’s how:

  1. Launch the Control Panel and go to Languages
  2. Click Add Language or move the preferred or default language up to make it the primary keyboard language

Solution 4. Update Keyboard Driver

An outdated keyboard driver can also cause shortcutsnotworking. A simple update via the Device Manager can quickly fix your problem.

  1. Point your cursor to Start and right-click
  2. Click Device Manager
  3. Scroll and navigate to Keyboards
  4. Click to open your options and select the appropriate keyboard
  5. Right-click on the selected keyboard and choose Update Driver
  6. Select the automatic driver update

If required, you will be prompted to restart your computer to apply the update. Another option is to go to the manufacturer’s site or the driver’s website to find and download the latest driver update.

Try to test your short keys after the update to see if everything works by now.

Keyboard shortcuts for special characters

Solution 5. Perform a Clean Boot

Using 3rd-party programs can sometimes affect the way your keyboard works. In order to refresh your computer, you need to perform a clean boot.

  1. Type System Configuration in the search field
  2. Go to General tab
  3. Find and mark Selective startup
  4. Remove the check beside Load startup items
  5. Click Ok
  6. Go to Services tab
  7. Find and check the box for Hide all Microsoft services
  8. Under Startup, find and disable all startup items
  9. Click Apply and Click OK
  10. Restart your computer

Now that you have just performed a clean boot, check to see if your keyboard shortcuts are now working.

Part 2. Common Reasons Why Keyboard Shortcuts Fail

We have just given the 5 basic and quick fixes you can do to resolve keyboard shortcuts not working issue. However, understanding why this issue is happening could actually gear you up with more knowledge and equip you with more troubleshooting options.

Keyboard shortcuts are categorized into two, first the standard short keys on your PC and the second is the manufacturer-based shortcuts. The above quick fixes are used for PC or Windows-related shortcuts.

However, if you are having trouble with keyboard volume keys or the Wi-Fi button, then you can search on the manufacturer’s site on how to update the keyboard software.

Here are some usual reasons why keyboard shortcuts won’t work:

  • Program-specific – there are many sites that have disabled using basic keyboard short keys to avoid plagiarism and other content-protection methods.
  • Outdated Drivers
  • Physical Damage
  • Inversed functions – recent keyboards use media keys as dominant setup wherein you need to add the function keys to make it work
  • International keyboard – the standard keyboard layout is US keyboard, thus, if you are using other languages, the keyboard sequence might be slightly different.
  • 3rd-party software – they are also known as trolls because they are programs with their own sets of shortcuts that counteract the ones on a Windows or Mac keyboard. Popular programs like EverNote, Camtasia, and GoToWebinar are the common program trolls you need to look for.

Part 3. Conclusion

Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way of finishing a task. It has been a reliable partner since then and experiencing issues with the short keys will really slow you down especially is you have been dependent on them already.

However, fixing your keyboard shortcutsnot working is easy as long as you follow the 5 methods we presented above. All you need to do is to first identify the issue and find a compatible solution based on your concern.

I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot in this tutorial on how to resolve keyboard shortcuts.

Mac Keyboard Shortcuts

>Tricks >How to Fix Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working - 5 Ways in 2020

All Shortcuts On Computer

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Shortcut keys ABCs

Shortcut keys help provide an easier and quicker method of navigating and executing commands in the computer software. Shortcut keys are performed by using the Alt key (on IBM compatible computers), Command (on Apple computers), Ctrl key, or Shift key in conjunction with another key. The de facto standard for listing a shortcut is listing the modifier key, a plus symbol, and another key. In other words, 'Ctrl+S' is telling you to press and hold the Ctrl, and then press the S at the same time.

Hot Keys For Windows 10

You can also find the shortcut keys in popular programs by looking for underlined letters in their menus. For example, the file menu image has an underline on the 'F' in File, which means you can press the Alt key and F key to access the file menu.

Some programs require the user to press and hold Alt to see the underlined characters. In the image above, you can see that some of the common features, such as Open (Ctrl+O) and Save (Ctrl+S), have shortcut keys assigned to them. As you begin to memorize shortcut keys, you'll notice that many applications share them. We have a list of the most commonly shared ones in the basic PC shortcut keys section.

Note

Non-English versions of Microsoft Windows may not be able to use all of the below shortcut keys.

Basic PC shortcut keys

Below is a list of some of the most commonly used basic shortcut keys that work with IBM compatible computers and software. We highly recommended that all users keep a reference to these shortcut keys or try to memorize them. Doing so will dramatically increase your productivity.

Tip

Besides the special character shortcuts listed here, some are also on the number keys (below the F1 - F12 keys). You can enter these special characters by pressing the Shift key and the number key with the special character listed on it.

Shortcut KeysDescription
Alt+FFile menu options in current program.
Alt+EOpen Edit options in current program.
Alt+TabSwitch between open programs.
F1View help information (F1 is used by almost every Windows program to display help).
F2Rename a selected file.
F5Refresh the current program window.
Ctrl+DBookmarks the current page in most Internet browsers.
Ctrl+NCreate a new or blank document in some software, or open a new tab in most Internet browsers.
Ctrl+OOpen a file in the current software.
Ctrl+ASelect all text.
Ctrl+BChange selected text to be bold.
Ctrl+IChange selected text to be in italics.
Ctrl+UChange selected text to be underlined.
Ctrl+FOpen find window for current document or window.
Ctrl+SSave current document file.
Ctrl+XCut selected item.
Shift+DelCut selected item.
Ctrl+CCopy selected item.
Ctrl+InsCopy selected item
Ctrl+VPaste
Shift+InsPaste
Ctrl+YRedo last action.
Ctrl+ZUndo last action.
Ctrl+K Insert hyperlink for selected text.
Ctrl+PPrint the current page or document.
HomeGoes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl+HomeGoes to beginning of document.
EndGoes to end of current line.
Ctrl+EndGoes to end of document.
Shift+HomeHighlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift+EndHighlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl+Left arrowMoves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl+Right arrowMoves one word to the right at a time.
Ctrl+EscOpen the Start menu.
Ctrl+Shift+EscOpen Windows Task Manager.
Alt+F4Close the currently active program.
Alt+EnterOpen the properties for the selected item (file, folder, shortcut, etc.).

PC shortcut keys for special characters

Many special characters can be created using keyboard shortcuts. Below are some of the more common and popular special characters and the keyboard shortcuts to create them.

Printable List Of Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut KeysSpecial Character
Alt+0224à
Alt+0232è
Alt+0236ì
Alt+0242ò
Alt+0241ñ
Alt+0228ä
Alt+0246ö
Alt+0252ü
Alt+0248ø
Alt+0223ß
Alt+0198Æ
Alt+0231ç
Alt+0191¿
Alt+0176° (degree symbol)
Alt+0177± (plus/minus symbol)
Alt+0153
Alt+0169©
Alt+0174®
Alt+0128(Euro currency)
Alt+0162¢ (Cent symbol)
Alt+0163£ (British Pound currency)
Alt+0165¥ (Japanese Yen currency)

Keyboard Shortcuts Excel

Additional information