If you often create or edit Word documents, take some time to learn a few keyboard shortcuts in MS Word. Below, we will show you some of the best ways. As a bonus, many of these shortcuts work in other Microsoft Office applications like Excel and PowerPoint.
This shortcut guide is mainly for Windows users, but we have included some shortcuts for macOS. If you use keyboard shortcuts on your macOS computer, you’ll notice that many of them will also work on iPhones and iPads paired with external keyboard.
Android users using an external keyboard will find that many of these keystrokes will work, and most of these shortcuts also work on Word for Web.
Extra tip: Hovering over a tool on the menu bar displays a drop-down list with information about the keyboard shortcut for that option.
Table of Contents
1-26. Learn the alphabet: Ctrl / Command + A to Z
First, let’s run through the alphabet of Ctrl/Command + keyboard shortcuts. Windows users should use Control Key. Apple users running Word for Mac or iOS should use Request Key.
- Control + One: Select all.
- Control + REMOVE: Bold.
- Control + OLD: Copy to clipboard.
- Control + EASY: Change the character format. We use this to access effect options like Strikethrough, Double strikethrough, Superscript, and Subscript. It is also useful to change lowercase text to uppercase or lowercase. You can also use it to change the font, font style, and size of the selected text.
- Control + E: Center alignment.
- Control + F: Find. Control + WOOD: Go. Control + H: Replace. These three shortcuts go together and are especially useful when you are working with long documents. The Find the shortcut can launch the Navigation pane instead of the dialog shown below. The dialog has many options that the navigation drawer lacks. You can always use Control + WOOD or Control + H keyboard shortcut to launch the Find and Replace dialog box. Each function (find/replace/go to) is a separate tab in the box.
- Control + I: Italics.
- Control + J: Evenly.
- Control + KY: Insert hyperlink. This isn’t just for links to websites and email addresses. You can link to another place in the same document or to a different document altogether. You can even use it to create a new blank file and link to it, and Word will let you choose to edit the new document later or immediately.
- Control + OFFER: Left alignment.
- Control + USA: Indent the paragraph.
- Control + WOMEN: New document.
- Control + O: Open the document.
- Control + P: Print.
- Control + Q: Remove paragraph formatting. Imagine you formatted a paragraph using any of the tools below. Regardless of how long ago you applied the formatting, if you position the cursor in the paragraph and press Control + Qparagraph formatting will be removed.
- Control + CHEAP: Right, justification.
- Control + S: Save.
- Control + BILLION: Create a hanging indent (tab).
- Control + U: Underlined.
- Control + DRAW: Paste.
- Control + W: Close the document.
- Control + X: Cut.
- Control + Y: Redo the previously undone action.
- Control + Z: Undo an action.
If you memorize those 26 keyboard shortcuts, you will find using Microsoft Word much easier and faster. To become a Experts However, check out these other, lesser-known Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts.
27. Ctrl / Command + [ (Left Bracket) and Ctrl/Command + ] (Right bracket): Increase & Decrease Font Size
These two key combinations are a quick way to decrease or increase the font size by one point. Control + [ decreases the font size of the selected text, and Ctrl + ] increase size.
28. Ctrl / Command + Enter to Insert a Page Break
Add page breaks quickly by pressing Control + enter.
28. Use Alt Shortcuts for the Keyboard Ribbon
This set of keyboard shortcuts is for Windows users only. Press Alt key itself will display Key Tips, which are shortcuts to various tools on the Ribbon. Squeeze Alt will show you shortcuts to different tabs on the Ribbon. You can then combine Alt with the Ribbon tab shortcut to navigate to a specific tab on the Ribbon.
Click Exit key at any time to exit selection mode and use Control + Spacebar shortcut to close the task pane.
For example, press Alt to bring up Key Tips for tabs on the Ribbon. Then combine Alt with the keyboard shortcut for a specific tab. Squeeze Alt + WOMEN will take you to the Insert tab. From there, you’ll see Key Tips for options on the Insert tab. Just enter the letter(s) for the tool or option you want.
Here is another example. You can adjust the zoom magnification on your document without moving your hand from the keyboard. Once you learn it, you will use it all the time. Click Alt Key. Then press W And after that Q. Then use Navigation to navigate around the Zoom dialog to select the value you are looking for. Press enter to choose ALRIGHT button.
29. Navigating Documents with the Ctrl Keyboard Shortcut
Maybe you used End, Home, Page upand Bottom page keys to move around your document. End will move the cursor to the end of the line. Home move the cursor to the beginning of that line. Page up and Bottom page Scroll the document up or down. Use key combinations with Control to fine-tune document navigation.
- Control + End Move the cursor to the end of the document. Request + End on a Mac and Request + Fn + Right arrow on MacBook.
- Control + Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the document. Request + Home on a Mac and Request + Fn + Left side arrow on MacBook.
- Control + Page up will move the cursor to the top of the previous page. Request + Page up on a Mac and Request + Fn + Up arrow on MacBook.
- Control + Bottom page will move the cursor to the top of the next page. Request + Bottom page on a Mac and Request + Fn + Down arrow on MacBook.
- Control + Left arrow key moves the cursor to the left one word. Right to buy + Left arrow on a Mac.
- Control + Right arrow key moves the cursor to the right one word. Right to buy + Right arrow on a Mac.
- Control + Up arrow moves the cursor up one paragraph. Request + Up arrows on a Mac.
- Control + Down arrow moves the cursor down one paragraph. Request + Down arrows on a Mac.
30. Use Ctrl to select graphics and text
The Ctrl key is also handy for selecting text and graphics. Use it in combination with Shift and the arrow keys to make selections.
- Control + Change + Left arrow key will select from the left of the cursor. Change + Right to buy + Left arrow on a Mac.
- Control + Change + Right arrow key selects the word to the right of the cursor. Change + Right to buy + Right arrow on a Mac.
- Control + Change + Arrow up key will select from the position of the cursor to the beginning of that paragraph. Request + Change + Arrow up on a Mac.
- Control + Change + Down Arrow the key will select from the position of the cursor to the end of the paragraph. Request + Change + Down Arrow on a Mac.
