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Keyboard shortcuts tied to new Windows 11 features
Chrome window in Windows 11 with Snap layouts open and a blue arrow pointing to the Snap overlay
Bringing up Snap allows you to choose between six layouts for arranging your windows.
These keyboard commands give you instant access to a few of Windows 11’s brand-new features, like widgets. Our pick for the standout winner? Instant access to Snap, which lets you pick from six layouts when arranging your app windows next to one another.
It’s a tangible upgrade from Windows 10, which required the installation of PowerToys for those kinds of snap layouts in FancyZones. (You’ll still need to install PowerToys for custom layouts in Windows 11, though.) And you get more default templates to start with.
Outside of Snap’s preset arrangements, you get two more default keyboard shortcuts for snapping windows on the fly. In addition to snapping to the left or right (Win + left or right arrow, respectively), you can now also snap them to the top or bottom half of your screen, too.
One note for Windows 10 keyboard shortcut veterans: A couple of these use the same keystrokes as Windows 10 but with a different result—we’ve marked these with an asterisk.
Windows key + W Open Widgets
Windows key + Z* Open Snap layouts
Windows key + Alt + Up arrow Snap active window to top half of screen
Windows key + Alt + Down arrow Snap active to bottom half of screen
Windows key + Ctrl + C Turn on color filter (must enable this shortcut Color Filter settings first).
Screen colors will toggle between default and which ever color filter you’ve selected, e.g, grayscale or blue-yellow.
Windows key + C* Open Chat from Microsoft Teams
Interested in seeing all the keyboard shortcuts available in Windows 11? Check out the full list on Microsoft’s support site.
Keyboard shortcuts tied to Windows 11’s interface overhaul
Microsoft retooled Windows’s interface for its newest version—and as a result, the keyboard commands to access certain elements have changed, too.
The information once centralized in Windows 10’s Action Center is now chopped up and split into different overlays in Windows 11. Quick actions are all on their own, while notifications get their own separate overlay that’s paired with the calendar overlay.
Windows key + A Open Quick Settings
Windows key + N Open notification center and calendar