Microsoft Office is being used by over 1.2 billion people worldwide and Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processing and document creation software in the world. It is used to create documents, such as letters, articles, resumes, reports, forms, tests, students’ homework assignments, and countless other purposes.
Learning how to use Microsoft Word is one of the basic and required skills for any job position. All kinds of businesses, professionals, and students rely on Microsoft Word for content creation. That being said, not everyone knows how to fully utilize the capabilities of the software.
Word gives a number of functions and features to make document creation faster and easier. One such function is Keyboard Shortcuts. It is a more convenient and faster way to perform certain actions in MS Word, like copying and pasting text, printing and saving, and much more.
Because when you are typing, you might have both hands on the keyboard and you probably don’t want to reach for the mouse every time you need to invoke a command in the program. That’s why Microsoft Word has shortcuts, to help you be more efficient in your work. Let’s take a look at lists of shortcut keys everyone should learn.
Most Frequently Used Shortcut Keys in Microsoft Word
Let us start off with the most frequently used shortcut keys for MS Word which help users save time and work productively. We are going to list Microsoft Word shortcut keys for both Windows and Mac pc. The shortcuts keys are mostly similar for both Operating systems, one of the few differences is that you press the ‘Ctrl’ key on Windows while you press ‘Command’ (which is ⌘ symbol) on a Mac computer.
Here are the most commonly used hotkeys in MS Word for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
| Windows Shortcuts | MAC Shortcuts | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + C | Command + C | Copy the selected content to the clipboard |
| Ctrl + X | Command + X | Cut the selected content to the clipboard |
| Ctrl + V | Command + V | Paste the select the content from the clipboard |
| Ctrl + S | Command + S | Save the Word document |
| F12 | Command + Shift + S | Save As the Word document |
| Ctrl + Z | Command + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl + P | Command + P | Open the Print window to print current page |
| Ctrl + A | Command + A | Select all the content on all pages |
| Ctrl + O | Command + O | Opens an existing document |
| Ctrl + N | Command + N | Open a new document |
| Ctrl + W | Command + W | Close the current document |
| Alt + F4 | Command + Q | Close the Microsoft Word software |
| Ctrl+ F | Command + F | Open the Find dialog box to find text within the current document |
| Ctrl + Y | Command + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + B | Command + B | Bold the highlighted text |
| Ctrl + I | Command + I | Italicise the highlighted text |
| Ctrl + U | Command + U | Underline the highlighted text |
| Ctrl + Home | fn + Left Arrow Key | Move to the beginning of a document |
| Ctrl + End | fn + Right Arrow Key | Move to the end of a document |
| Ctrl + H | Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
| Esc | Esc | Cancel a command |
Formatting Shortcuts in Microsoft Word
You can use the following shortcuts to apply formatting to text in MS document.
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl + ] | Command + ] | Increase the font size by 1 unit |
| Ctrl + [ | Command + [ | Decrease the font size by 1 unit |
| Ctrl + D | Command + D | Open the font dialog box |
| Shift + F3 | fn + Shift + F3 | Cycle through case format (all UPPERCASE, all lowercase, or Capital First Letter In Each Word) |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | Command + Shift + A | Change all letter to Capitals |
| Ctrl + = | Command + = | Apply subscript format to the text |
| Ctrl + Shift + = | Command + Shift + = | Apply superscript format to the text |
| Ctrl + E | Command + E | Aligns the selected text to the center |
| Ctrl + L | Command + L | Aligns the selected text to the Left |
| Ctrl + R | Command + R | Aligns the selected text to the Right |
| Ctrl + J | Command + J | Justify the alignment |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Command + Shift + D | Apply double underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + C | Command + Shift + D | Copy only formatting of the selected text |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Command + Shift + V | Paste formatting onto a selected text |
| Ctrl + K | Command + K | Add a hyperlink to the selected text. |
| Ctrl + 1 | Command + 1 | Set line spacing to single |
| Ctrl + 2 | Command + 2 | Set line spacing to double |
| Ctrl + 5 | Command + 5 | Set line spacing to 1.5 |
| Ctrl + Shift + S | Command + Shift + S | Open the Apply styles dialog box to change styles |
| Ctrl + Alt+ 1 | Command + Option + 1 | Apply the Heading 1 style |
| Ctrl + Alt+ 2 | Command + Option + 2 | Apply the Heading 2 style |
| Ctrl + Alt+ 3 | Command + Option + 3 | Apply the Heading 3 style |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Command + Option + L | Apply the list style to the paragraph |
| Ctrl + M | Command + Right/Left Arrow | Indent the paragraph from the margin |
Selection Shortcuts in Microsoft Word
You can use the following hotkeys to extend selection to text in different ways:
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Shift + Left Arrow key | Shift + Left Right Arrow key | Extent selection one character to the left |
| Shift + Right Arrow key | Shift + Right Arrow key | Extend selection one character to the Right |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left | Command + Shift + Left | Select one word to the left |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right | Command + Shift + Right | Select one word to the right. |
| Shift + Up Arrow | Shift + Up Arrow | Select one line up |
| Shift + Down Arrow | Shift + Down Arrow | Select one line down |
| Ctrl + Shift + Up | Command + Shift + Up | Expand selection to the beginning of the paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow | Command + Shift + Down Arrow | Expand selection to the end of the paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + Home | Command + Shift + Home | Extend your selection to the beginning of a document |
| Ctrl + Shift + End | Command + Shift + End | Extend your selection to the end of a document |
| Ctrl + Shift + * | Command + 8 | View or Hide non-printing characters |
Navigation Shortcuts
You can use any of the below shortcuts to move around in MS Word document:
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Left/Right Arrow key | Left/Right Arrow key | Move the cursor one character to the left or right |
| Up/Down Arrow key | Up/Down Arrow key | Move the cursor up or down one line |
| Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow key | Command + Left/Right Arrow key | Move the cursor one word to the left or right |
| Ctrl + Up/Down Arrow | Command + Up/Down Arrow | Move the cursor one paragraph up or down |
| Home | Command + Left Arrow key | Move the cursor to the beginning of the line |
| End | Command + Right Arrow key | Move the cursor to the end of the line |
| Ctrl + Home | Command + Home | Move the cursor to the top of the document |
| Ctrl + End | Command + End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
| Ctrl + G | Command + G | Open the ‘Go to’ dialog box, where you can specify to move to a specific page, section, line, etc. |
| Shift + F5 | Shift + F5 | Cycle through the last three locations where your cursor was placed. |
Insertion Shortcuts in Microsoft Word
Sometimes, you may want to insert some commonly used symbols or some fields using keyboards, instead of combing through the menus. Use these hotkeys to insert things in MS word:
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + Shift + D | Control + Shift + D | Insert a Date field |
| ALT + Shift + T | Control + Shift + T | Insert a Time field |
| ALT + Shift + L | Control + Shift + L | Insert a list field |
| ALT + Shift + P | Control + Shift + P | Insert a page field |
| Ctrl + F9 | fn + Command + F9 | Insert an empty field |
| Alt + N, M | Command + Control + M | Open the SmartArt graphic dialog box to insert a graphic |
Alt + Ctrl + F | Command + Option + F | Insert a footnote |
| Alt + Ctrl + D | Command + Option + D | Insert an endnote |
| Alt + Ctrl + C | Option + G | Insert a copyright symbol (©) |
| Alt + Ctrl + T | Option + 2 | Insert a trademark symbol (™) |
| Alt + Ctrl + . | Option + ; | Insert an ellipsis |
| Shift + Enter | Shift + Return | Insert a line break |
| Ctrl + Enter | Command + Enter | Insert a page break |
Help Shortcuts in MS Word
Here are the shortcut keys you can use to access help menus in Microsoft Word:
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| F7 | Command + Option + L | Open spellcheck |
Shift + F7 | Fn + Shift + F7 | Open Thesaurus |
| F1 | F1 | Open Help guide |
| Ctrl + O | Command + O | Open Options |
Ribbon Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows
Microsoft Windows has an ‘Alt’ key control which allows access to all the tabs and their functions in the Ribbon. Unfortunately, Mac PCs lack this ‘Alt’ key control of the menus in Office. But if you are a Windows user, you can use these Acces key shortcuts via keyboards. When you press the ‘Alt’ key, it will show you ‘Key Tips’ letters. You can combine the ‘Alt’ key with these ‘Key Tips’ letter to make the following Access Keys for the ribbon options:
| Windows Shortcuts | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + F | Open the File tab to access the Backstage view |
| Alt + H | Open the Home tab |
| Alt + N | Open the Insert tab |
| Alt + G | Open the Design tab |
| Alt + P | Open the Layout tab |
| Alt + S | Open the References tab |
| Alt + M | Open the Mailings tab |
| Alt + R | Open the Review tab |
| Alt + W | Open the View tab |
| Alt + Q | Open the Tell me or Search box on the Ribbon to search for Help content. |
Shortcuts for Tables in MS Word
These are the shortcut keys to move around in tables in Microsoft Word:
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + Home | Control + Home | Move to the first cell in a row |
| Alt + End | Control + End | Move to the last cell in a row |
| Alt + Page up | Control + Page up | Move to the first cell in a column |
| Alt + Page down | Control + Page down | Move to the last cell in a column |
| Tab key | Tab key | Move to the next cell in a row and select its contents, |
| Shift + Tab | Shift + Tab | Move to the previous cell in a row and select its content |
| Shift + Up/Down | Shift + Up/Down | Extend selection to the row above or below |
| Shift + Left/Right | Shift + Left/Right | Extend selection to the column left or right |
Shortcuts for Outlines in MS Word
You can use any of these keyboard shortcuts to edit your outlines in MS Word.
| WINDOWS SHORTCUTS | MAC SHORTCUTS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + Shift + Left arrow key | Control + Shift + Left arrow key | Promote the numbered paragraph |
| Alt + Shift + Right arrow key | Control + Shift + Right arrow key | Demote the numbered paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Command + Shift + N | Demote paragraph to body text |
| Alt + Shift + Up arrow | Control + Shift + Up arrow key | Move selected paragraphs up |
| Alt + Shift + Down arrow key | Control + Shift + Down arrow key | Move selected paragraphs Down |
| Alt + Shift + Plus Sign | Control + Shift + Plus Sign | Expand text under a heading |
| Alt + Shift + Minus Sign | Control + Shift + Minus Sign | Collapse text under a heading |
| Alt + Shift + A | Control + Shift + A | Toggle between expand or collapse all text or headings in an outline |
| Alt + Shift + L | Control + Shift + L | Show the first line of text or all body text |
| Alt + Shift + 1 | Control + Shift + 1 | Show all headings with Heading 1 style |
| Alt + Shift + n | Control + Shift + n | Show all headings up to ‘n’ level |
| Ctrl + Tab | Command + Tab | Insert a Tab character |
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