Microsoft Word shortcut keys
Microsoft Word shortcut keys
Below is a listing of the more commonly used shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See the computer shortcuts page if you are looking for a list of shortcut keys used in other programs. Please be aware that some shortcuts may not work in all versions of Microsoft Word.
Note
If the device you are using does not have function keys (F1-F12) on its keyboard, like a Chromebook, certain shortcuts are unavailable to you.
Note
Some Microsoft Word shortcut keys below may not work in Word 365, and most shortcut keys do not work in Word on a mobile device.
Shortcut Description
Ctrl+0 Toggle 6pts of spacing above the paragraph.
Ctrl+A Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl+B Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl+C Copy selected text.
Ctrl+D Open the font preferences window.
Ctrl+E Align the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl+F Open find box.
Ctrl+I Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl+J Align the selected text or line to justify the screen.
Ctrl+K Insert a hyperlink.
Ctrl+L Align the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl+M Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl+N Open new, blank document window.
Ctrl+O Open the dialog box or page for selecting a file to open.
Ctrl+P Open the print window.
Ctrl+R Align the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl+S Save the open document. Like Shift+F12.
Alt+F, A Save the document under a different file name.
Alt+X Show the Unicode code of a highlighted character.
Ctrl+T Create a hanging indent.
Ctrl+U Underline the selected text.
Ctrl+V Paste.
Ctrl+W Close the currently open document.
Ctrl+X Cut selected text.
Ctrl+Y Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl+Z Undo last action.
Ctrl+Shift+A Sets the selected text to all capital letters.
Ctrl+Shift+D Adds double underline to the selected text.
Ctrl+Shift+E Enable or disable revision tracking.
Ctrl+Shift+F Open Font window to change the font.
Ctrl+Shift+L Quickly create a bullet point.
Ctrl+Shift+> Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increase font +2pts.
Ctrl+] Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl+Shift+< Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower; if above 12, decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl+[ Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl+/+C Insert a cent sign (¢).
Ctrl+’+<char> Insert a character with an accent (acute) mark, where <char> is the character you want. For example, if you wanted an accented é you would use Ctrl+’+e as your shortcut key. To reverse the accent mark, use the opposite accent mark, often found on the tilde key.
Ctrl+Shift+* View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl+Left arrow Move one word to the left.
Ctrl+Right arrow Move one word to the right.
Ctrl+Up arrow Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl+Down arrow Move to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl+Del Delete word to right of cursor.
Ctrl+Backspace Delete word to left of cursor.
Ctrl+End Move the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl+Home Move the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl+Spacebar Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl+Enter Insert a page break.
Ctrl+1 Single-space lines.
Ctrl+2 Double-space lines.
Ctrl+5 1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl+= Set selected text as subscript.
Ctrl+Pg Up Move one page up in the document.
Ctrl+Pg Dn Move one page down in the document.
Ctrl+Shift+= Set selected text as superscript.
Ctrl+Alt+T Insert trademark (TM) symbol.
Ctrl+Alt+1 Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl+Alt+2 Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl+Alt+3 Changes text to heading 3.
Ctrl+Alt+F2 Open new document.
Ctrl+F1 Open the Task Pane.
Ctrl+F2 Display the print preview.
Ctrl+Shift+> Increase the font size of selected text by one point.
Ctrl+Shift+< Decrease the font size of selected text by one point.
Ctrl+Shift+F6 Switch to another open Microsoft Word document.
Ctrl+Shift+F12 Print the document.
F1 Open help.
F4 Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+).
F5 Open the Find, Replace, and Go To window in Microsoft Word.
F7 Spellcheck and grammar check selected text or document.
F12 Save As.
Shift+F3 Change the text in Microsoft Word from uppercase to lowercase or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
Shift+F7 Run a Thesaurus check on the selected word.
Shift+F12 Save the open document. Like Ctrl+S.
Shift+Enter Create a soft break instead of a new paragraph.
Shift+Insert Paste.
Shift+Alt+D Insert the current date.
Shift+Alt+T Insert the current time.
You can also utilize the mouse to perform many common actions. The following section contains examples of mouse shortcuts.
Mouse shortcuts Description
Click, hold, and drag Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go.
Double-click If double-clicking a word, selects the complete word.
Double-click Double-clicking the left, center, or right of a blank line makes the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned.
Double-click Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line sets a tab stop.
Triple-click Selects the line or paragraph of the text where the mouse is triple-clicked.
Ctrl+Mouse wheel Zooms in and out of document.
