Windows 8 Shortcut keys

Moving between Metro and Desktop

• <Windows>
  Brings up the Metro start screen. You can start typing to search for an app, just like the Win7 start menu.
• <Windows> + <B>
  Go to the Desktop from the Metro Start Screen
• <Windows> + <D>
  Brings you to Windows desktop from the Metro Screen

Snapping

• <Windows> + < . >
  snap right
• <Windows> + <Shift> + < . >
  snap left

Switching between applications

• <Windows> + <Tab>
  Opens the Metro application switcher menu, switches between applications.
• <Windows> + <J>
  Switches focus between snapped Metro applications.
• <ALT> + <F4>
  Close an application
• <Windows> + <R>
  To bring up the run window from the desktop, so you can type in an application name to run

Semantic Zoom

• <CTRL> + <+>
  Zoom in
• <CTRL> + <->
  Zoom out
• or hold down <CTRL> and use Mouse Wheel to zoom in and out

Displaying App & Charms Bar

• <Windows> + <C>
  Brings up the Charms menu, where you can search, share, and change settings.
• <Windows> + <Z>
  Opens the App Bar for the current Metro application.

All the other shortcuts I could find!

• <Windows> + E – Launch Windows Explorer with Computer view displayed.
• <Windows> + F – Brings up the Metro File search screen.
• <Windows> + H – Opens the Metro Share panel.
• <Windows> + I – Opens the Settings panel, where you can change settings for the current app, change volume, wireless networks, shut down, or adjust the brightness.
• <Windows> + K – Opens the Devices panel (for connecting to a projector or some other device)
• <Windows> + L – Lock PC and return to Lock screen.
• <Windows> + M – Minimize all Windows on the desktop
• <Windows> + O – Locks device orientation.
• <Windows> + P – Choose between available displays.
• <Windows> + Q – Brings up the Metro App Search screen.
• <Windows> + R – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and display the Run box.
• <Windows> + U – Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and launch the Ease of Access Center.
• <Windows> + V – Cycles through toasts.
• <Windows> + W – Brings up the Metro Settings search screen.
• <Windows> + X – Launch Start Menu.
• <Windows> + Y – Temporarily peek at the desktop.
• <Windows> + Page Up / Down – Moves tiles to the left / right.
• <Windows> + , (comma) – Aero Peek at the deskto

DVD and Video players for Windows

Are you looking for a good program to play DVD's on  your PC or do you want to convert   few DVD's to a format you can watch on your computer.  You might even want to convert a file to a smaller format.

DVD Player and File Players.
The most popular one is Power DVD of course Media Player does a good job as well and is included in Windows.
A nice region free player that plays every file format that is in use
http://www.dvd-x-player.com/


Burning Ripping and Converting
For Ripping DVD's or converting files the easiest programs that I have found to use is Fast DVD Ripper and Fast Video Convertor

You can get the files from the following site
http://www.dvdfast.net/index.html

Other free Video Convertors
http://www.dvd-x-player.com/download.html

There are more out there but these are ones that I have tried and a found easy to learn if you are a beginner or an advanced users you will have no problem with any of these.

Useful WIndows Shrotcut Keys

Key combinations have been a useful part of Windows since the early days and most people don't even know they exist here is a list that will work with every version of Windows that is in use today

Windows system key combinations

• F1: Help
• CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
• Windows Logo Opens Start menu 
• ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
• ALT+F4: Quit program
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
• Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)
• Windows Logo + P brings up monitor options for multiple monitors 

Windows program key combinations

• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+V: Paste
• CTRL+Z: Undo
• CTRL+B: Bold
• CTRL+U: Underline
• CTRL+I: Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

• SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
• SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
• ALT+double click: Displays properties
• SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

• F1: Starts Windows Help
• F10: Activates menu bar options
• SHIFT+F10 Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
• CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
• CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
• CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager
• ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box
• ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
• SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
• ALT+SPACE: Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
• ALT+- (ALT+hyphen): Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
• CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
• ALT+underlined letter in menu: Opens the menu
• ALT+F4: Closes the current window
• CTRL+F4: Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
• ALT+F6: Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

For a selected object:

• F2: Rename object
• F3: Find all files
• CTRL+X: Cut
• CTRL+C: Copy
• CTRL+V: Paste
• SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
• ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

To copy a file

Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

To create a shortcut

Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

General folder/shortcut control

• F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
• F5: Refreshes the current window.
• F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
• CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
• CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
• CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
• BACKSPACE: Switch to the parent folder
• SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Windows Explorer tree control

• Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection
• Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection
• Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
• RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
• LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

Properties control

• CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tabs

Accessibility shortcuts

• Press SHIFT five times: Toggles StickyKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds: Toggles FilterKeys on and off
• Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds: Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK: Toggles MouseKeys on and off
• Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN: Toggles high contrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

• Windows Logo: Start menu
• Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
• Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
• SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
• Windows Logo+F1: Help
• Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
• Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
• Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
• CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer
• CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
• Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
• Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box
• Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item

Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed

• Windows Logo+L: Log off Windows
• Windows Logo+P: Starts Print Manager
• Windows Logo+C: Opens Control Panel
• Windows Logo+V: Starts Clipboard
• Windows Logo+K: Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box
• Windows Logo+I: Opens Mouse Properties dialog box
• Windows Logo+A: Starts Accessibility Options (if installed)
• Windows Logo+SPACEBAR: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys
• Windows Logo+S: Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

Dialog box keyboard commands

• TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box
• SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box
• SPACEBAR: If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
• ENTER: Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline)
• ESC: Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button
• ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item: Move to the corresponding item