I’m a touch-typist and I find it much faster to use keyboard shortcuts whenever possible. Here are my favorite keyboard shortcuts–most of which work just as well in earlier versions of Windows. The “Windows” key is that funny key at the bottom-left of your keyboard, between the Ctrl and Alt keys.

• Windows-F. Open a search window to quickly search files, e-mail, pictures, and music on your computer. Probably my favorite Vista feature.
• Windows-E. Open an Explorer window showing your computer.

(more after the jump)

• Windows-R. Open the Run dialog. For example, to run the Calculator tool, press Windows-R, type Calc, and then press Enter. In Vista, you really don’t need to open the Run dialog–just press the Windows key, type the name of your app, and press Enter.
• Windows-D. Show the desktop (minimizes all windows). Press Windows-D again to re-open them all.
• Windows-L. Lock your computer (a good thing to do before you walk away).
• Windows-N. Opens a OneNote window for taking quick notes, if you have Microsoft Office OneNote installed.
• Windows-U. Opens the accessibility tools.
• Windows-X. Opens the Windows Mobility Center if you have a portable computer. This is a very useful tool which gives you access to wireless network and power settings, and other stuff you need if you’re mobile.
• Alt-Tab. Switch to the last window you had open. Hold down the Alt key and press Tab repeatedly to browse between different windows. Use Shift-Alt-Tab to browse in the opposite direction.
• Ctrl-Tab. Switch to the last document you had open within the current window. For example, if you have multiple tabs open within your Web browser, this will keep your browser open but switch to the last used tab.
• Alt-Space, N. Minimize a window to the taskbar.
• Alt-Space, X. Maximize a window to cover the whole desktop.
• Alt-F4. Close the current window.
• Ctrl-Z. Undo the last change. Use Ctrl-Y to redo the last change.
• Ctrl-C. Copy text. Use Ctrl-V to paste it somewhere else.
• Ctrl-X. Cut text. Use Ctrl-V to paste it somewhere else.
• Ctrl-S. Save the current file.
• Ctrl-W. Close the current document or tab without closing your program.
• Tab. When filling out a form, takes you to the next field. Use Shift-Tab to go back to the previous field.
• Ctrl-P. Print.
• Home. Jump to the begging of the line. This button is near your Page Up and Page Down keys.
• End. Jump to the end of the line.
• F1. Open help.
• F2. If you have a file selected, rename the file.
• F5. Refreshes the current window.
• Ctrl-Alt-Del. Opens the secure desktop, which lets you lock your computer, open Task Manager, change your password, or log-off.