According to Microsoft's first quarter results, Office 365 has 200 million monthly active users. That is a lot of users leveraging a subscription service to access Microsoft Office products.
The core apps and services included in Office 365 include:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Outlook
- OneNote
- OneDrive
- Teams
In this article we will dive deeper into one of these products, Microsoft Word.
The four-panel Word 2019 Intermediate Desktop Reference and Cheat Sheet contains step-by-step instructions and shortcuts for commonly used intermediate-level features of Word 2019. Instructions and examples apply to both the Windows and macOS versions of Word 2019, and includes a list of keyboard shortcuts. In Microsoft Word, you can use the keyboard shortcut Shift+F3 to change selected text between uppercase, lowercase, and title case. Selecting a case. Highlight all the text you want to change. Hold down the Shift and press F3. To assign a keyboard shortcut do the following: Begin keyboard shortcuts with CTRL or a function key. Press the TAB key repeatedly until the cursor is in the Press new shortcut key box. Press the combination of keys that you want to assign.
Perhaps Word was the first word processor you learned how to type on. Maybe you use it daily at work to conduct research, draft important documents, or write essays. Clearly companies love and experience the benefits Word affords because this tool keeps staff thinking, communicating, and writing.
In college I remember sending myself Word files and saving each with a laughably hard to understand name (like Final Draft 1.21a). Regardless of your past associations with Word, there are ways you can start using this popular tool better today. Specifically you can use keyboard shortcuts to greatly accelerate your typing and word processing speeds.
I consider myself something of a keyboard shortcut guru and want to pass some of these lessons on to you. Unlike webinar software which is largely web based and requires simple click and point interactions, Word can be fully immersive.
Believe it or not, Word is more akin to augmented reality in that regard. When you play a piano you can push keys or you can have a more full body experience and deeply interact with the instrument. Word is similar.
If you are working from home and want to expedite the speed and accuracy of your engagement with Word, you can take time to learn about keyboard shortcuts that follow.
Of course which shortcuts to learn and when to use each depends on the type of computer you are using - and your goals.
First, a disclaimer.
Writing an article about general Word shortcuts reminds me of a quote attributed to the poet John Lydgate and later adapted by President Lincoln:
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time”.
These shortcuts will work on most of your computers for most of your use-cases most of the time.
A friendly note that it is possible that your keyboard layout, operating system (Windows or Mac), and version of the software (desktop, client, version, and so on) you are running will impact some shortcuts and the utility of this advice.
I often think about different versions of Word like Dropbox vs Box: similar but different.
With this disclaimer complete, here are a number of Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts that you can learn today to enhance your word processing experience. So grab a seat and get comfortable as I will start with a deep dive of my favorite Word shortcuts and then cover how to leverage the Word Ribbon as well.
Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts
Font Style
The three most popular formatting options for font style and emphasis are italics (Ctrl+I), bold (Ctrl+B), and underlining (Ctrl+U).
Capitalization
There may be times when, for the purposes of clarity or emphasis, you want all of the text to be UPPER CASE. But what if you just typed out a whole paragraph with caps lock on, and now it looks like you’re screaming?
There’s no need to delete it all and type it out again: just highlight the relevant text and press Ctrl+Shift+A to turn it all into regular lower case/upper case.
Text Alignment
Do you need text right in the middle of the page for a title? You can center text with Ctrl+E. After that, you’ll most likely want to return to normal formatting for the main body of your text, in which case you can align left with Ctrl+L.
Hyperlinking
This one is handy in a number of situations - not just in Word, but also in PowerPoint and Excel.
Highlight a word or sentence that you want to link to a webpage and press Ctrl+K. A dialog box will appear for you to input the web address that the text is to be linked to. Once you’ve entered the information, the selected text will turn into a blue, underlined hyperlink.
Navigation
Are you trying to find a specific section in a long document? Hit Ctrl+F for Find, which allows you to enter the word or phrase that you’re looking for and be taken directly to it.
Ctrl+F is also extremely useful in web browsers and across the Office suite.
Deep Search
Pressing F5 in Word opens a more comprehensive search tool that allows you to navigate to a specific page, section, or line of your document, as well as use the Find and Replace function.
Selecting Text
There’s no need to always use the mouse to highlight selected text. The Shift+Arrow keys will also perform this function.
Shift+Left/Right will highlight one character at a time, Shift+Alt+Left/Right one word at a time, and Shift+Ctrl+Left/Right an entire line at a time.
Word Count
Pressing Ctrl+Shift+G will instantly bring up your word count to provide you with that all-important visual affirmation that you are, indeed, moving steadily towards your goal.
Save, Open, and Print Files
Use Ctrl + S to save whatever file you're working on – and do it often so you don't lose your work!
In a browser, you can also use this to save a page for offline viewing. The keyboard shortcut for Save As (saving a file with a new name) depends on the app you're using. In Word it's F12. But many other programs use Ctrl + Shift + S. Ctrl + O will open a file into whatever program you're using.
Cut, Copy, and Paste Using the Keyboard (personal favorites)
- Ctrl + X to cut highlighted text (remove it and place it on the clipboard).
- Ctrl + C to copy text (place a copy of the text on the clipboard).
- Ctrl + V to paste text (copy the clipboard to the cursor position, and very handy for converting large amounts of content or when engaging in copywriting.
- Select All: To select everything in the current space, use Ctrl + A.
- Undo: Ctrl + Z will undo any action.
Word also has a Ribbon, much like other Microsoft products.
The Ribbon is the menu that appears when you click on each tab in the main Word menu (check out the image below if you're not sure). Here are some useful Ribbon keyboard shortcuts when writing documents in Word.
You can combine the Key Tips letters with the Alt key to make shortcuts called Access Keys for the ribbon options.
When building templates or newsletter examples with lots of colors, formatting, and design requirements, the Ribbon shortcuts are particularly powerful and helpful.
For example, press Alt+H to open the Home tab, and Alt+Q to move to the Tell me or Search field.
Press Alt again to see Key Tips for the options for the selected tab.
The ribbon groups related options on tabs. For example, on the Home tab, the Font group includes the Font Color option.
Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts, called Key Tips, as letters in small images next to the tabs and options as shown in the image below.
MS Word Shortcut Keys: Microsoft Word is a word processor application that was built by Microsoft. MS Word is Used to create a comprehensive document that is visually appealing to the eye.
Even if you’re accustomed to Microsoft Word, the abundance and range of keyboard short-cuts readily available to ramp up your work and make matters more simple may come as a surprise to you.
Being a smart worker is vastly preferable to someone who is a hard-working person. You can save time, labour, and resources by doing so.
It is not important to master all of the keys. You’ll have to figure out which ones you actually require and then learn them. You can bet be guaranteed that knowing the keys will be worthwhile and will help you save a good deal of time.
Table of Contents
Short-cut Keys for General Purpose
Short-cut key | Function |
Ctrl+N | Used to Create a new document |
Ctrl+O | Used to Open an existing document |
Ctrl+S | Used to Save a document |
Ctrl+W | Used to Close a document |
Ctrl+Z | Used to Undo an action |
Ctrl+Y | Used to Redo an action |
Alt+Ctrl+S | Used to Split a window or remove the split view |
Ctrl+Alt+V | Used to Print Layout View |
Ctrl+Alt+O | Used to Outline View |
Ctrl+Alt+N | Used to Draft View |
Ctrl+F2 | Used to Print Preview View |
Alt+Q | Used to Go to the “Tell me what you want to do” box |
Ctrl+F | Used to Search a document |
Shift+F7 | Used to Open the thesaurus. If you have a word selected previously, Shift+F7 looks up that word in the thesaurus |
Function Short-cut Keys
Short-cut key | Function |
F1 | Used to Get Help or visit Office.com |
F2 | Used to Move text or graphics |
F4 | Used to Repeat the last action |
F5 | Used to Choose the Go To command (Home tab). |
F6 | Used to Go to the next pane or frame |
F7 | Used to Choose the Spelling command (Review tab). |
F8 | Used to Extend a selection |
F9 | Used to Update the selected fields |
F10 | Used to Show KeyTips |
F11 | Used to Go to the next field |
F12 | Used to Choose the Save As command |
Short-cut keys for Navigating in a Document
Short-cut key | Function |
Left/Right Arrow | Used to Move the insertion point (cursor) of one Character to the Left or right |
Ctrl+Left/Right Arrow | Used to Shift one Word to the Left or right |
Up/Down Arrow | Used to Move up or down one line |
Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow | Used to Move up or down one paragraph |
End | Used to skip to the End of the current line |
Ctrl+End | Used to skip to the End of the document |
Home | Used to skip to the beginning of the current line |
Ctrl+Home | Used to skip to the beginning of the document |
Page Up/Page Down | Used to Move up or down one screen |
Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down: | Used to Move to the last or next to browse object (after performing a search) |
Alt+Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down | Used to Move to the extreme top or bottom of the current window |
Shift+F5 | Used to rotate through the previous three locations where the insertion point was placed last. If you just freshly opened a document, Shift+F5 moves you to the last point you were editing before closing the document |
Short-cut Keys for Editing
Short-cut key | Function |
Backspace | Used to Erase One Character to the Left |
Ctrl + Backspace | Used to Erase one Word to the Left |
Delete | Used to Erase one Character to the Right |
Ctrl + Delete | Used to Erase one Word to the Right |
Ctrl + C | Used to Copy Selected Text |
Ctrl + X | Used to Cut Selected Text |
Ctrl + V | Used to Paste Cut or Copied Text |
Ctrl + Shift + F3 | Used to Paste Spike Contents |
Alt + Shift + R | Used to Copy Header or Footer Used in the Previous Document |
Short-cut Keys for Tables
Short-cut key | Function |
Tab | Used to move to the Following Cell in a Row |
Shift + Tab | Used to Navigate to the Previous Cell |
Alt + Home | Used to Go to the First cell of the Row in a table |
Alt + End | Used to Go to the Last cell of the Row in a table |
Alt + Page up | Used to Go to the First cell of the Column in a table |
Alt + Page Down | Used to Go to the Last cell of the Column in a table |
Up Arrow Keys | Used to Move to the previous cell in an Upward Direction |
Down Arrow Keys | Used to Move to next cell downward Direction |
Shift + Up | Up Used to Select the Cells above the current cell |
Shift + Down | Used to Select the Cell Below the Current Cell |
Alt + F5 | Used to Select full table |
Shift + F3 | Used to Change Keyboard Case |
Ctrl + F3 | Used to cut Selected texts to the Spike |
Short-cut keys to work with documents in different views
Short-cut key | Function |
Alt+W, F | Used to Switch to Read Mode view |
Alt+Ctrl+P | Used to switch to Print Layout view |
Alt+Ctrl+O | Used to switch to Outline view. |
Alt+Ctrl+N | Used to Switch to Draft view. |
Inserting Short-cut keys
Short-cut key | Function |
Shift + Enter | Used to Insert link Break |
Ctrl + Enter | Used to Insert Page Break |
Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Used to Insert Column Break |
Alt + Ctrl + Hyphen ‘-‘ | Used to Insert an em Dash |
Ctrl + Shift + Space | Used to Insert Non-Breaking Space |
Alt + Ctrl + C | Used to Insert Copyright Symbol |
Alt + Ctrl +R | Used to Insert Registered Trademark Symbol |
Alt + Ctrl + T | Used to Insert Trademark Symbol |
Keyboard Shortcuts For Wordpress
Outline Short-cut keys
Short-cut key | Function |
Alt + Shift + Left/Right Arrow | Used to Move a line Left or Right |
Ctrl + Shift + N | Used to Demote Outline lever to Regular Text |
Alt + Shift + Up/Down Arrow | Used to Move the Line-Up or Down in the Outline |
Alt + Shift + Plus or Minus Key | Used to Enlarge or Collapse Characters under Heading. |
Alt + Shift + A | Used to Enlarge or Collapse All Characters under Heading |
Alt + Shift + L | Used to Highlight First line of a Body or Text |
Alt + Shift + 1 | Used to Highlights all texts Having Heading 1 texts |
Alt + Shift + Any Number Key | Used to Shows All Texts according to the Heading Size. |
Short-cut keys for Working with headings in Outline view
Short-cut key | Function |
Alt+Shift+Left Arrow | Used to Promote a paragraph |
Alt+Shift+Right Arrow | Used to Demote a paragraph |
Ctrl+Shift+N Demote | Used to body text |
Alt+Shift+Up Arrow | Used to Move selected paragraphs up |
Alt+Shift+Down Arrow | Used to Move selected paragraphs down |
Alt+Shift+Plus Sign | Used to Expand text under a heading |
Alt+Shift+Minus Sign | Used to Collapse text under a heading |
Alt+Shift+A | Used to Expand or collapse all text or headings |
The slash (/) key on the numeric keypad | Used to Hide or displays character formatting. |
Alt+Shift+L | Used to Show the first line of text or all text |
Alt+Shift+1 | Used to Show all headings with the Heading 1 style |
Alt+Shift+n | Used to Show all headings up to Heading n |
Ctrl+Tab | Used to Insert a tab character |
Keyboard Shortcuts For Word 2019
Short-cut Keys for paragraph editing
Short-cut key | Function |
Ctrl + M | Used to Increase Indent Level of Paragraph every time you press it |
Ctrl + Shift + M | Used to Decreases Indent Level of Paragraph every time you press it. |
Ctrl + T | Used to Hanging Indent is Increased Every time you Press it |
Ctrl + Shift + T | Used to Hanging Indent is Decreased Every time you Press it |
Ctrl + E | Used to Centre a Paragraph |
Ctrl + L | Used to Left Alignment of a Paragraph |
Ctrl + R | Used to Right Alignment of a Paragraph |
Ctrl + J | Used to Justify a Paragraph |
Ctrl + 1 | Used to Single Spacing Between Two Lines |
Ctrl + 2 | Used to Double Spacing Between Two Lines |
Ctrl + 5 | Used to 1.5 Line Spacing Between two Lines |
Ctrl + 0 | Used to Remove one line Spacing of a Preceding paragraph |
Ctrl + Shift + S | Used to Open window for applying Styles |
Ctrl + Shift + N | Used to Apply Normal paragraph Style |
Alt + Ctrl + 1 | Used to Heading 1 Style |
Alt + Ctrl + 2 | Used to Heading 2 Style |
Alt + Ctrl + 3 | Used to Heading 3 Style |
Ctrl + Shift + L | Used to Apply List Style |
Ctrl + Q | Used to remove all formatting from the paragraph |
Short-cut keys for Characters Formatting
Short-cut keys | Function |
Ctrl + B | Used to Bold Texts |
Ctrl + I | Used to Italicize Texts |
Ctrl + U | Used to Underline Texts |
Ctrl + Shift + W | Used to Apply to underline below words only and not under Space |
Ctrl + Shift + D | Used to Apply Double Underline |
Ctrl + D | Open Font Dialogue Box |
Ctrl + Shift + > or < | Used to Increase or Reduce the font Size of the Character |
Ctrl + ] or [ | Used to Increase or Reduce the font size of a particular segment only. |
Ctrl + “=” | Used to Apply Subscript Formatting |
Ctrl + Shift + Plus Key | Used to Apply Superscript Formatting |
Ctrl + Shift + A | Used to Changes All Letters to Uppercase |
Ctrl + Shift + K | Used to Changes All Letters to Lowercase |
Ctrl + Shift + C | Used to Copies the Character Format in an Existing Document |
Ctrl + Shift + V | Used to Paste the Character Format in a new Document |
Ctrl + Space | Used to Removes Manual Formatting from the Selected Segment |
Short-cut keys for Mail Merge and Fields
Short-cut key | Function |
Alt+Shift+K | Used to Preview a mail merge. |
Alt+Shift+N | Used to Merge a document. |
Alt+Shift+M | Used to Print the merged document. |
Alt+Shift+E | Used to Edit a mail-merge data document. |
Alt+Shift+F | Used to Insert a merge field. |
Conclusion on MS Word Shortcut Keys
You will stand to benefit from using these short-cut keys. It will improve your performance while reducing the amount of time you spend in front of the computer.