Shortcut Keys in MS Word

Microsoft is a really big name in the technology field in today’s world, all thanks to Mr. Bill Gates’ vision to change the world forever by his inventions in the computer world.

Microsoft has given the world a lot, take the Windows Operating System for example. But there is one thing that most people know about, but do not appreciate that much, although, without it, their life wouldn’t be easy.

That thing is – Microsoft Office. Here, we are going to talk about Microsoft Office Word (MS Word) in particular. Further, we will discuss shortcut keys in MS Word.

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What is MS WORD?

MS Word is a word processor software and was first released in 1983. It is used to create Documents like reports, letters, and resumes, but its uses are not only limited to the professional field. MS word offers numerous features like Spell Check, Find, Font Formatting, Creating Tables, Using hyperlinks and Watermarks, and I could go on naming them. There are so many of them that it will take you a lot of time to figure them out.

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Now, this article focuses on some of the shortcut keys in MS word and tells you what you can do with them. Read on to know more.

There are so many MS word shortcut keys that a bunch of tables had to be created to explain them. The categories of these shortcuts in MS Word have been divided based on the primary function they perform.

Basic Shortcut Keys in MS Word

These shortcuts are the ones that help you get started with MS word, and are usually performed to do the initial or final tasks while you’re working with a document.

Ctrl + NStart New Document
Ctrl + SSave Current Doc
Ctrl + OOpen existing Doc
Ctrl + WClose a Doc
Ctrl + ZUndo
Ctrl + YRedo
Ctrl + FFind Something
F1Open Help Dialogue Box
Ctrl + F2Print Preview
F7Spell Check

How to Navigating In a Document?

Navigating in a Document means how to go from one word, character, line, or paragraph to another one. This can be done without using the mouse.

Arrow KeysTo move up, down, left, or right
EndTo move to the end of the line
HomeTo move to the start of the line
Ctrl + HomeTo move to the start of the Document
Ctrl + EndTo move to the end of the document
F5To open the find Dialogue Box
Page UpMove to the previous page
Page DownMove to the next page

Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys for Text Selection in a Document

While creating a file or document, you might want to select some text to perform operations like copying, deleting, or formatting. The keys that can be used for this are:

Shift + Arrow KeysSelect words in a certain direction
Shift + EndSelection till the end of the line
Shift + HomeSelection till the start of the line
Ctrl + Shift + HomeSelection till the start of the Doc
Ctrl + Shift + EndSelection till the end of the Doc
Ctrl + ATo select everything in the Doc

Shortcut Keys for MS Word For Text Editing

Basic Shortcut keys will help you to update and delete the text in the word file.

Backspace helps you to delete a character to the left.

Delete Key helps you to remove or delete or eliminate characters to the right.

Shortcut Key For Delete: If You want to Delete a word then Press Ctrl+Delete or Ctrl+Backspace together.

Copy Shortcut Key: Ctrl+C, Press both keys together to copy the selected text.

Select All Shortcut: Ctrl+A, Press Key ‘Ctrl’, and alphabet ‘A’ together to select the whole text.

Cut Shortcut: Ctrl+X, Press together to cut selected portion.

Save As Shortcut Key: Press Only F12 Key

Paste Shortcut: Ctrl+V, Press Shortcut Keys for Paste together.

Search Shortcut: Ctrl+F is used to search word or text

Find and Replace Shortcut Keys: Press Ctrl+H together to find and replace keywords.

Print Shortcut key: Press Ctrl+P together is the shortcut for print.

Shortcut Key for New Folder: Press Ctrl+Shift+N, all keys together to create a new folder.

MS Word Shortcut Key For Character Formatting

If you want to write your text in italics, want to be bold in the character or text then these shortcut keys in MS Word will help you.

Ctrl + BMake text Bold
Ctrl + UUnderline Text
Ctrl + IMake text Italic
Ctrl +Shift +Ddouble texting formatting
Ctrl+ Shift + AConvert all letters to uppercase
Ctrl + Shift + KCovert all letters to the local BVI
Ctrl + Shift +CCopying formatting
Ctrl + Shift + VTO paste the formatting
Ctrl+Shift+>To increase font size
Ctrl+Shift+<To decrease font size
Ctrl+SpacebarRemove character formatting
Shift+F3Convert  the case of a letter
Ctrl+Shift+WOnly Underline Words (Except Spaces)
Ctrl+Shift+HHidden Text Formatting
Ctrl + equal(=)Subscript Formatting
Ctrl+Shift+Plus SignSubscript Formatting
Ctrl+Shift+QConvert to the symbol font

Shortcut Keys in MS Word For Paragraph Formatting

If you want to format or align the text you have written, then this is for you.

Ctrl + ECenter align
Ctrl + LLeft Align
Ctrl +RRight Align
Ctrl+JJustify Paragraph
Ctrl + MIndent a Paragraph from the left
Ctrl+Shift+MRemove indent Paragraph indent from the left
Ctrl + Shift + SOpen popup for styling
Ctrl +Shift + NNormal paragraph style
Ctrl + QRemove all formatting

Uses of Function Keys in MS Word

Function keys of keyboard F1-F12 will help you in performing various basic functions like select a spelling command, selecting a menu bar, etc.

Online help or Office AssistantF1
To move the graphics or textF2
Afterword displays an entry, this is used to insert the auto-text entryF3
To repeat the previous actionF4
To choose the Go-To commandF5
To navigate to the next frameF6
To select the spelling commandF7
To extend an existing selectionF8
To update the selected fieldsF9
To activate the menu barF10
To navigate to the next fieldF11
To use the Save-As commandF12

Use of Shift & Function Keys

They help in performing various functions

To reveal formatting or context switching helpShift + F1
To copy a textShift + F2
To change the case of the lettersShift + F3
To repeat the Find action or Go-To actionShift + F4
To navigate to a previous revisionShift + F5
To Navigate to the previous frameShift + F6
To select the Thesaurus CommandShift + F7
To shrink an already existing selectionShift + F8
To switch between the final result of the code and the code itselfShift + F9
To Display shortcut menuShift + F10
To navigate to the previous fieldShift + F11
To use the save commandShift + F12

Shortcut Keys of MS Word using Ctrl+F?

Below mentioned shortcut keys will help you to see the print preview, to close the current window, etc.

Toggle displayCtrl + F1
Print Preview Shortcut KeyCtrl + F2
To cut to the SpikeCtrl + F3
Shortcut Key to Close TabCtrl + F4
To Restore the size of the doc windowCtrl + F5
To navigate to the next windowCtrl + F6
To use the move commandCtrl + F7
To use the size commandCtrl + F8
To insert an empty fieldCtrl + F9
To maximize the current document windowCtrl + F10
To lock a fieldCtrl + F11
To use the open command from the file menuCtrl + F12

Shortcut Keys in MS Word Using Ctrl+Shift+F?

To insert the spike contentsCtrl + Shift + F3
To edit an already added bookmarkCtrl + Shift + F5
To navigate to the previous windowCtrl + Shift + F6
To update the information in a source doc (word document)Ctrl + Shift + F7
To extend the already existing selection or blockCtrl + Shift + F8
To unlink a fieldCtrl + Shift + F9
To activate the ruler commandCtrl + Shift + F10
To unlock a fieldCtrl + Shift + F11
To use the print command from the file menuCtrl + Shift + F12

Shortcut Keys in MS Word Using Alt+F?

To navigate to the next fieldAlt + F1
To Create an auto text entryAlt + F3
To quit MS WordAlt + F4
To Restore the size of the program windowAlt + F5
To find the next grammatical error/misspellingAlt + F7
To run a macroAlt + F8
To switch between every final result and its codeAlt + F9
To maximize the program windowAlt + F10
To display Microsoft Visual Basic CodeAlt + F11

Shortcut Keys in Word Using Alt+Shift+F?

They help in performing various functions like

To navigate to the previous fieldAlt + Shift+ F1
To use the save command from the File menuAlt + Shift + F2
To use GOTO and Macro buttonAlt + Shift + F9
To display Microsoft Visual Studio CodeAlt + Shift + F11

Ctrl+Alt+F? Keys

These Shortcut Keys in MS Word help you to display the Microsoft system information and to use the open command from the file menu.

To display the Microsoft System InformationCtrl + Alt + F1
To use Open Command from the file menuCtrl + Alt + F2

To Control The Line Spacing

If you want to give line spacing to your text, So, here are the shortcut keys in MS Word for line spacing.

Single-space linesCtrl + 1
Double-space linesCtrl + 2
Set 1.5 line spacingCtrl + 5
To add or remove one line space preceding a paragraphCtrl + 0

Shortcut Keys in MS Word To Apply Various Paragraph styles

To apply a selected styleCtrl + Shift + S
To start auto-formatAlt + Ctrl + K
To apply the normal StyleCtrl + Shift + N
To apply the Heading 1 styleAlt + Ctrl + 1
To apply the Heading 2 styleAlt + Ctrl + 2
To apply the Heading 3 styleAlt + Ctrl + 3
To apply the list styleCtrl + Shift + L

Shortcut Keys in MS Word For Texts & Graphics

To Delete one character to the leftBackspace
To Delete one word to the leftCtrl + Backspace
To Delete one character to the rightDel
To delete one word to the rightCtrl + Del
To cut selected text to clipboardCtrl + x
To undo the last actionCtrl + Z
To cut to the spikeCtrl + F3
To copy text or graphicsCtrl  + c
To display the clipboardCtrl + c
To move text or graphicsF2
To create an Auto textAlt + F3
To paste the contents of the clipboardCtrl + V
To paste the spike contentsCtrl + Shift + F3
To copy the header or footer used in previousAlt + Shift + R

To Insert Special Characters

Here is the list of shortcut keys in MS Word, if you want to insert some special characters in your word file.

FieldCtrl + F9
Auto text entryEnter
A line breakShift + Enter
Page breakCtrl + Enter
Column breakCtrl + shift + Enter
HyphenCtrl + hyphen
Non-breaking HyphenCtrl + Shift + Hyphen
Non-breaking spaceCtrl + Shift + Space bar
Copyright symbolAlt + Ctrl + C
Trademark symbol (registered)Alt + Ctrl + R
Trademark symbolAlt + Ctrl + T
EllipsisAlt + Ctrl + period

Shortcut Keys in MS Word For Text Selection

If you want to select the text written, Here is the list of shortcut keys.

One character to the leftShift + right arrow
One character to the rightShift + left arrow
To end of a wordCtrl + Shift + right arrow
To the word’s startingCtrl + Shift + left arrow
To the end of the lineShift + end
To the beginning of the lineShift + home
One line belowShift + down arrow
One line aboveShift + up arrow
To the end of the paragraphCtrl + Shift + down arrow
To the beginning of the paragraphCtrl + shift + up arrow
To one screen belowShift + page down
To one screen aboveShift + page up
To the beginning of the documentCtrl + Shift + home
To the end of the documentCtrl + shift + end
Entire documentCtrl + A

How To Select Table Content Using Shortcut Keys in MS Word?

To select the next cell’s contentsTab
To select the content of the previous cellShift + tab
To extend a selection to the cells adjacentShift (hold) + arrow key (repeatedly in the wanted direction)
To select a columnShift + Arrow key
To extend a selectionCtrl + shift + F8
To reduce the selection sizeShift + F8
To select the entire tableAlt + 5

Shortcut keys To Navigate in a Table

Here is the list of shortcut keys in MS Word to navigate in a table.

To move to the next cell in the rowTab
To move to the previous cell in the rowShift + Tab
To move to the first cell in the rowAlt + Home
To move to the last cell in the rowAlt + End
To move to the first cell in the columnAlt + page up
To move to the last cell in the columnAlt + page down
To navigate to the previous rowUp arrow
To navigate to the next rowDown arrow

To Change the View

If you want to view the print layout of one of your documents, then press (All Together) Alt+Ctrl+P (shortcut keys in MS Word).

To switch to print layout viewAlt + Ctrl + P
To switch to outline viewAlt + Ctrl + O
To switch to normal viewAlt + Ctrl + N
To switch between master and sub docCtrl + \

Shortcut Keys in MS Word To review Documents

To insert a commentAlt+Ctrl+M
To turn track changes on and offCtrl+Shift+E
To go to a comment’s beginningHome
To go to the end of a commentEnd
To navigate to the beginning of the list of commentsCtrl+Home
To navigate to the end of the list of commentsCtrl+End

If you want to insert footnotes and endnotes in your Word file, here, is the list of shortcut keys in MS Word.

To mark an entry in a table of contentsAlt + Shift + O
To mark an entry in a table of authoritiesAlt + Shift + I
To mark an index entryAlt + Shift + X
To insert a footnoteAlt + Ctrl + F
To insert an endnoteAlt + Ctrl + D
To insert a HyperlinkCtrl + k
To navigate to the previous pageAlt + left arrow
To navigate to the next pageAlt + right arrow
To refreshF9

Using Office Assistant

If you want help from an office assistant, Press F1. To get information about any topic press Alt+Any number (press these shortcut keys in MS Word altogether).

To display assistant balloonF1
To select the help topicAlt + (any number)
To see more help topicsAlt + down arrow
To see previous help topicsAlt + up arrow
To close an assistant messageEsc

Shortcut Keys For Mail Merge

To preview a mail mergeAlt + Shift + K
To merge a documentAlt + Shift + N
To print the merged documentAlt + shift + M
To edit a mail-merge data documentAlt + Shift + E
To insert a merge fieldAlt + shift + F

Shortcut Keys in MS Word To Navigate in a Dialog Box

To switch to the next tabCtrl + Pg down
To switch to the previous tabCtrl + Pg up
To move to the next tabTab
To move to the previous tabShift + Tab
To navigate through tabs and optionsArrow keys
To perform assigned actionSpacebar
To move to the option starting with the desired letter‘Press that letter key’
To select or clear an optionAlt + ‘Letter key’
To open the selected listAlt + down arrow
To close the selected listEscape
To perform assigned action on the default optionEnter
To close the dialog box and to cancel commandEscape

To Navigate in a Text Box

Here is the list of shortcut keys in MS Word to navigate in a Text Box.

To navigate to the beginning of the lineHome
To navigate to the end of the lineEnd
To navigate one characterLeft/ Right Arrow key
To navigate one wordShit + (Left/ Right) Arrow key
To select to the beginning of the lineShift + Home
To select to the end of the lineShift + End
To select one character to the leftShift + Left Arrow Key
To select one character to the rightShift + Right Arrow Key
To select one word to the leftCtrl + Shift + Left Arrow Key
To select one word to the rightCtrl + Shift + Right Arrow Key

Some Shortcut Keys in MS Word To control the dialog box 

To display the Open dialog boxCtrl + F12
To display the save-as dialog boxF12
To navigate to the previous folderAlt + 1
To up one level buttonAlt + 2
To open the www search pageAlt + 3
To delete selected folder/ fileAlt + 4
To create a subfolderAlt + 5
To switch between list, preview views, and propertiesAlt + 6
To show the tools menuAlt + 7
To update the visible files in the dialog boxF5

Shortcut Keys in MS Word For Toolbars

To activate the menu barF10
To select the next or the previous ToolbarCtrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab
To select the next/previous button on the toolbar menuTab / Shift + Tab
To open the menuEnter
To perform the assigned actionEnter
To enter text in the text boxEnter
To select the desired optionEnter
To navigate through the drop-down menuArrow Keys

For Managing Email

If you want to open your email address book, Press altogether Ctrl+Shift+B (Shortcut Keys in MS Word).

To activate the email headerShift + Tab
To send the current document or messageAlt + S
To open the address bookCtrl + Shift + B
To check the namesAlt + K
To open the address book in the ‘To’ fieldAlt +.
To open the address book in the CC fieldAlt + C
To open the address book in the BCC FieldAlt + B
To go to the subject fieldAlt + J
To open the MS outlook message options dialog boxAlt + P
To create a Message flagCtrl + Shift + G
To select the next boxTab
To select the previous boxShift + Tab

Conclusion

Shortcut keys in MS Word can help as they cut down the total time consumed while creating a document or formatting a document. You do not need to memorize them. You will learn them naturally after you practice enough. Peace! Adios!

People Also Ask For

Q1. What is Ctrl Q?

Ans. When you press Ctrl+Q together, it removes all formatting.

Q2. What is Ctrl f4?

Ans. Ctrl+F4 keys help you to close any tab.

Q3. What is Ctrl N?

Ans. If you want to open a New document then press Ctrl+N together.

Q4.  What Does F7 do?

Ans. Function Key F7 is used for Spelling Check.

Q5. What Does Ctrl B do in Word?

Ans. If you Want to Bold a Text, Word or Character then Press Ctrl+B altogether to bold content.

Q6. What is Ctrl F?

Ans. When you need to find a word or character or text then press Ctrl+F altogether, a dialogue box will open. Type your needed text and search particular text or word in a 10000 long document or more than that.

Q7. What is Ctrl+P?

Ans. This Key is used for print.

Q8. What is the Shortcut to Close a Tab?

Ans. Press Ctrl+F4 or Ctrl+W altogether to close a tab or a window.

Hello, My Name is Abhinav. I am an Author in the Education Category of Trickyedu. I have Done My Engineering in Computer Science from DIT University. I have a good command on Science, Programming Language, and microprocessors. So, I choose this platform to share my knowledge and experience.

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