Below lists the common 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.
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.
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 page contents. |
| 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 (save as). |
| 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 + Alt + D | Insert endnote into document. |
| Ctrl + Alt + F | Insert a footnote into a document. |
| Ctrl + Alt + N | Switch to the draft view. |
| Ctrl + Alt + O | Switch to the outline view. |
| Ctrl + Alt + P | Switch to the print view. |
| Ctrl + Alt + S | Toggles between normal and split mode. |
| Ctrl + Shift + → | Select the word to the right. |
| Ctrl + Shift + ← | Select the word to the left. |
| 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 or lower; if above 12, increases 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 + ' + | Insert a character with an accent (acute) mark, where 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 + 8 | View or hide non-printing characters. |
| Ctrl + ← | Move the cursor one word to the left. |
| Ctrl + → | Move the cursor one word to the right. |
| Ctrl + ↑ | Move the cursor to the beginning of the line or paragraph. |
| Ctrl + ↓ | Move the cursor 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 | Removes all formatting on highlighted text. |
| Ctrl + Shift + space | Creates hard space. |
| 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 + PgUp | Move one full page up in the document. |
| Ctrl + PgDn | Move one full 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 | Show / hide the Ribbon or Task Pane. |
| Ctrl + F2 | Display the print preview. |
| Ctrl + F3 | Copy the selected text or graphic into Spike. |
| Ctrl + F9 | Create a new field code formatting marks in Microsoft Word. |
| Ctrl + F12 | Opens document. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F3 | Paste anything copied into Spike. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F5 | Open bookmark window to view and edit bookmarks. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F6 | Switch to another open Microsoft Word document. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F9 | Unlink a linked field or text. |
| 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. |
| Alt + F7 | Finds the next spelling or grammatical error after text cursor position. |
| 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 + PgUp | Highlights all text above current text cursor position or a page length of text above current position. |
| Shift + PgDn | Highlights a text below current text cursor position or a page length of text below active cells. |
| Ctrl + Shift + End | Highlight all text from current text cursor position to end of document. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Home | Highlight all text from current text cursor position to beginning of document. |
| Shift + Tab | Removes indents on the selected line. |
| Shift + Insert | Paste text from clipboard. |
| Alt + Shift + D | Insert the current date field code. |
| Alt + Shift + T | Insert the current time field code. |
| Alt + F9 | Hides and shows field codes. |
| Alt + F10 | Hides and shows the Selection pane. |
| Windows key + F4 | Repeats last typed text. |
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. |
