Windows keyboard shortcuts that make Windows Vista or XP faster and easier to use.

Control your computer at the touch of a button

ALT AND F4 One of the most useful shortcuts you'll ever know. To quickly close a window, use this command to close them without using the mouse. When you're on the desktop, it even opens the box to allow you to shut down or restart your Pc.

CTRL AND C OR V To copy and paste text from one file to another, just highlight the text, press Ctrl and C, then open the second file and press Ctrl and V.

F2 When you've selected an item, pressing F2 will allow you to rename it without having to left-click it twice with a gap in between, hoping that you don't open it instead.

F2 Press this every time you want to refresh a page - ideal if you're waiting for an eBay auction to end.

CTRL AND ENTER In Websites Instead of writing a whole web site address (such as www.google.com) just write the 'Google' bit and hold down Ctrl and Enter for the 'www.' and '.com' to be filled in for you.

WINDOWS KEY AND TAB If you've got Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, holding the Windows key and pressing Tab repeatedly will cycle through all open windows in Flip 3D. Taking your finger off the Windows key will open the window highlighted.

CTRL AND N If you're in Internet Explorer or a program like Microsoft Office Word, you can create a new window by using this shortcut.

WINDOWS KEY AND M To get to the desktop quickly, you don't have to click on the show desktop icon. Just hold the Windows Key and press M.

CTRL AND A When you've opened a folder brimming full with all sorts of files, but want to quickly delete them all, or move them somewhere else, hold Ctrl and press A to select all the files in the folder.

CTRL AND P Whenever you need to print - be it an internet site or an open email just hold Ctrl and press P to quickly open the print box. 

ALT AND TAB Used to switch between recent tasks. The tasks are listed once ALT and TAB is pressed, holding ALT and keep pressing TAB until the desired task is highlighted.

CTRL AND F4 Closes currant window.

PRINTSCREEN Pressing print screen will capture the entire screen, while pressing the alt key in combination with print screen will capture the currently selected window. The captured image can then be pasted into an editing program such as a word processor, email, or graphics software. Pressing print screen, with both the alt key and shift key depressed, turns on a high contrast mode for people with visual impairments.

And don't forget... WINDOWS KEY Just press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, and if you want to search for something, type it into the Start Menu search box.