Almost all of us use Word in one form or another and there are countless shortcuts and hacks to make your Word experience more efficient.
We have compiled the top 20 Microsoft Word shortcuts that you need to know:
Document Navigation
These Microsoft Word shortcuts will help you go from top to bottom, left to right quickly
- Ctrl+End: Move to the end of the document
Home: Move to the beginning of the current line
Ctrl+Home: Move to the beginning of the document - F5: Open the Find dialog box with the “Go To” tab selected, so you can quickly move to a specific page, section, bookmark, and so on.
Shift+F5: Cycle through the last three locations where the insertion point was placed. If you just opened a document, Shift+F5 moves you to the last point you were editing before closing the document.
Page Up/Page Down: Move up or down one screen
Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down: Move to the previous or next browse object (after performing a search) - Left/Right Arrow: Move the insertion point (cursor) one character to the left or right
Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow: Move one word to the left or right
Up/Down Arrow: Move up or down one line
Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow: Move up or down one paragraph
End: Move to the end of the current line
Alt+Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down: Move to the top or bottom of the current window
Formatting
Use these Microsoft Word shortcuts to quickly format your text. My personal favourite is Shift+F3.
- Ctrl+Shift+A: Formats all letters as uppercase
Ctrl+Shift+K: Formats all letters as lowercase - Ctrl+B: Apply bold formatting
Ctrl+I: Apply italic formatting
Ctrl+U: Apply underline formatting - Ctrl+Shift+D: Apply double underline formatting
- Ctrl+=: Apply subscript formatting
Ctrl+Shift+W: Apply underline formatting to words, but not the spaces between words
Ctrl+D: Open the Font dialog box
Ctrl+Shift+< or >: Decrease or increase font size one preset size at a time
Ctrl+[ or ]: Decrease or increase font size one point at a time
Ctrl+Shift+Plus key: Apply superscript formatting
Shift+F3: Cycle through case formats for your text (this is so handy)
Ctrl+Shift+C: Copies the character formatting of a selection
Ctrl+Shift+V: Pastes formatting onto selected text
Ctrl+Space: Removes all manual character formatting from a selection
Editing Text
General text editing Microsoft Word shortcuts, The Spike is a very handy and not well known tool that Microsoft Office has.
- Ctrl+Backspace: Delete one word to the left
Delete: Delete one character to the right
Ctrl+Delete: Delete one word to the right
Ctrl+C: Copy or graphics to the Clipboard text - Alt+Shift+R: Copy the header or footer used in the previous section of the document
- Ctrl+X: Cut selected text or graphics to the Clipboard
Ctrl+V: Paste the Clipboard contents
Ctrl+F3: Cut selected text to the Spike. The Spike is a variant on your regular clipboard. You can keep cutting text to ‘the Spike’ and Word will remember it all. When you paste from ‘the Spike’, Word pastes everything you have cut, and places each item on its own line.
Ctrl+Shift+F3: Paste the Spike contents
General Office Shortcuts
These shortcuts are standard throughout the Microsoft Office suite and are very useful!
- Ctrl+N: Create a new document
Ctrl+O: Open an existing document
Ctrl+S: Save a document
F12: Open the Save As dialog box
Ctrl+W: Close a document - Ctrl+F2: Print Preview View
F1: Open the Help pane
Alt+Q: Go to the “Tell me what you want to do” box
F9: Refresh the field codes in the current selection - Ctrl+Z: Undo an action
- Ctrl+Y: Redo an action
Alt+Ctrl+S: Split a window or remove the split view
Ctrl+Alt+V: Print Layout View
Ctrl+Alt+O: Outline View
Ctrl+Alt+N: Draft View
Ctrl+F: Search a document
F7: Run a spelling and grammar check
Text Selection
You can try using some of these Microsoft Word text selection shortcuts, with some of the formatting shortcuts. Might save you a bit of time and a few mouse clicks!
- Shift+Left/Right Arrow: Extend your current selection by one character to the left or right
Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right Arrow: Extend your current selection by one word to the left or right
Shift+Up/Down Arrow: Extend selection up or down one line
Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down Arrow: Extend selection to the beginning or end of the paragraph
Shift+End: Extend selection to the end of the line
Shift+Home: Extend selection to the beginning of the line
Ctrl+Shift+Home/End: Extend selection to the beginning or end of the document
Shift+Page Down/Page Up: Extend selection down or up one screen
Ctrl+A: Select the entire document
Which are your favorites? Add a comment and let us know!
