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I tried "Windows Hotkey Explorer" (WHE) and it exploded in my face in a spectacular fashion. (Do NOT ever run this if you are on Windows 8 or higher. It will just PRESS each and every hotkey. You will end up with a zoomed, flipped, narrator-activated, unusable desktop.)

So. Is there something that does what WHE tries to do that actually works in Windows 10?

I have googled without success.

Related links

  • This question suggests either WHE or Delphi. WHE fails terribly on Win 10. And I don't have Delphi.
  • This question suggests WHE. WHE fails terribly on Win 10.
  • This question suggests either WHE or Delphi. WHE fails terribly on Win 10. And I don't have Delphi.
  • Only dead links here.
  • WHE is not listed at AlternativeTo.Net.

Update 2016-06-07. Why do I care?

Yesterday I spent about an hour looking for the program that caused notepad to no longer accept Ctrl+P. Normally that hotkey opens the "Print" dialog. Yesterday it did nothing at all.

It turned out that the QNAP NAS utility QfinderPro.exe had somehow grabbed that key combination. As soon as I had stopped that program Ctrl+P started working again.

And I would like a tool that could tell me what hotkey is registered by what program. Basically I am looking for a version of WHE that works on Windows 10.

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2 Answers 2

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NirSoft HotKeysList will tell you that a hotkey is in use, but unfortunately:

  • it is also completely unsuitable for the OP's purpose (Windows 10), as the software explains: "This utility works on any version of Windows, starting from Windows 2000 and up to Windows 8."
  • It will not tell you by what process. It could be quite valuable if you paired this with the troubleshooting processes recommended in this SuperUser link.

The software is free for use, as are most NirSoft offerings.

enter image description here

(originally recommended by @obe)

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  • It is listing hotkeys for me on windows 10. Tough I'm unsure it is listing them all.
    – beppe9000
    Sep 12, 2016 at 17:22
  • HotKeysList works on Windows 10 Home.
    – spiralofhope
    Oct 12, 2018 at 14:00
  • Note that this does not show hotkeys bound to F13-F24
    – DarkDestry
    Jan 13, 2020 at 13:29
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The tool OpenARK worked great for me. It is simple to use for this purpose, and works on recent OS versions like Win 10/11.

Under "Kernel" tab, "System Hotkey" page, you can find all registered hotkeys and corresponding processes, and also can delete the messed ones. Remember to click "Enter KernelMode" button first.

Right-click an hotkey to delete it.

OpenARK

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  • On Windows 11 the Hotkey column remains empty (yes, I have entered Kernel mode).
    – Casady
    Jun 8 at 10:04

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