Since its initial release in 1983, Microsoft Word has come a long way in terms of features and usability. It also supports keyboard shortcuts to help you navigate the program and complete tasks quickly. This comprehensive list of Word keyboard shortcuts and function keys will help you tackle tasks confidently. Whether you want to format text, edit documents, or create complex documents, these shortcut keys will help you complete tasks quickly.

While Word may seem like a fairly straightforward program to use, keyboard shortcuts and function keys can make your life much easier while working with documents.

Table of Content

MS Word Basic Commands or Shortcuts

Below are a bunch of MS Word shortcut keys, commands, and functions that are frequently used while working with documents.

  1. Ctrl + O: Open the files page for selecting a document to open.
  2. Ctrl + N: Open a new document in MS Word.
  3. Ctrl + S: Save the open document. You can also use Shift+F12.
  4. Ctrl + W: Close the currently open document.
  5. Ctrl + C: Copy the selected content to the clipboard.
  6. Ctrl + X: Cut the selected content and copy it to the clipboard.
  7. Ctrl + V: Paste the copied content.
  8. Ctrl + A: Select all the contents of a document.
  9. Ctrl + B: Bold the highlighted text.
  10. Ctrl + I: Italicize the highlighted text.
  11. Ctrl + U: Underline the selected text.
  12. Ctrl + K: Insert a hyperlink.
  13. Ctrl + F: Open the find box.
  14. Ctrl + [: Decrease the selected text size by 1 point.
  15. Ctrl + ]: Increase the selected text size by 1 point.
  16. Ctrl + E: Center the text.
  17. Ctrl + J: Align the selected text or line to justify the screen.
  18. Ctrl + L: Align the selected line or text to the left.
  19. Ctrl + P: Open the print window.
  20. Ctrl + R: Align the selected line, paragraph, or text to the right.
  21. Ctrl+T: Create a hanging indent.
  22. Ctrl + Z: Undo the previous action.
  23. Ctrl + Y: Redo the previous action.
  24. Ctrl + Alt + S: Split the document window. Repeat the command to remove the split.
  25. Alt + Ctrl + F2: Open a saved document.
  26. Esc: Cancel a command.

MS Word’s Ribbon Shortcut Keys

The ribbon in MS Word is the hub of all tools and shortcuts to format and edit documents. You can access its features using your mouse. However, you can also navigate the items on the ribbon and use all functions using shortcut keys. Press the Alt or F10 key while using Word and it’ll highlight shortcut keys for all the items. You can then either press the corresponding keys or simply use the arrow keys to move among the commands on the ribbon and use them.

microsoft word ribbon shortcut keys

Below are some more MS Word shortcut keys to access various items and functions of the ribbon more efficiently.

  1. Alt + ↓: Open the menu for the button in focus.
  2. Alt + F: Open MS Word’s home page.
  3. Alt + G: Go to the Design tab.
  4. Alt + H: Go to the Home tab.
  5. Alt + M: Go to the Mailings tab.
  6. Alt + N: Go to the Insert tab.
  7. Alt + P: Go to the Layout tab.
  8. Alt + Q: Go to the Search field on the Ribbon.
  9. Alt + R: Go to the Review tab.
  10. Alt + S: Go to the References tab.
  11. Alt + W: Go to the View tab.
  12. Alt + Y: Go to the Help tab.
  13. Ctrl + F1: Show or hide the ribbon.
  14. Shift + F10: Open the context menu.
  15. Enter/Space: Activate the selected button.
  16. Tab/Shift + Tab: Move the focus to the button on the ribbon backward and forward.

Manipulating Text & Formatting Documents

Typing text is the easiest thing to do in Word but if you want to select a line or paragraph, add or remove text formatting, insert special characters, signs or symbols, you should check out the following keyboard shortcuts for MS Word.

  1. Ctrl + Shift + ↑: Select text from the cursor position to the beginning of the paragraph.
  2. Ctrl + Shift+ ↓: Select text from the cursor position to the end of the paragraph.
  3. Ctrl + Shift + ←: Select the word on the left side of the cursor.
  4. Ctrl + Shift + →: Select the word to the right side of the cursor.
  5. Ctrl + Shift + Home: Select from the current cursor position to the beginning of the document.
  6. Ctrl + Shift + End: Select from the cursor position to the end of the document.
  7. Shift + Arrow keys: Select text to the right or left side of the cursor position.
  8. Shift + Home: Select text from the cursor position to the beginning of the current line.
  9. Shift + End: Select text from the cursor position to the end of the current line.
  10. Shift + PgUp: Select text from the cursor position to the start of the page.
  11. Shift + PgDn: Select text from the cursor position to the end of the page.
  12. F8 + ←/→: Expand the text selection to the left or right.
  13. Shift + F8: Reduce the text selection.
  14. Alt + Shift + R: Copy header/footer from the previous document
  15. Ctrl + Backspace: Delete one word to the left.
  16. Ctrl + Delete: Delete one word to the right.
  17. Ctrl + H: Show the Find and Replace dialog box with the Replace tab in focus.
  18. Ctrl + Shift + C: Copy the selected text formatting.
  19. Ctrl + Shift + V: Paste the selected formatting.
  20. Ctrl + 0: Add or remove 6-point spacing before a paragraph.
  21. Ctrl + 1: Add single spacing to the paragraph.
  22. Ctrl + 2: Add double spacing to the paragraph.
  23. Ctrl + 5: Add 1.5 line spacing to the paragraph.
  24. Ctrl + Alt + 1/2/3: Apply the H1, H2, or H3 style.
  25. Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S: Show the Apply Styles task pane.
  26. Ctrl + M: Change the margin.
  27. Ctrl + Shift + M: Remove blank space or indent from the start of a paragraph.
  28. Ctrl + Q: Remove formatting from the paragraph.
  29. Ctrl + Shift + N: Remove formatting.
  30. Ctrl + Shift + S: Display the Apply Styles task pane.
  31. Ctrl + D: Display the Font dialog box. Alternatively, you can also use Ctrl + Shift + F for the purpose.
  32. Ctrl + =: Apply subscript formatting.
  33. Ctrl + Shift + + (plus sign): Apply superscript formatting.
  34. Ctrl + [: Decrease the font size by 1 point.
  35. Ctrl + ]: Increase the font size by 1 point.
  36. Ctrl + Shift + A: Change the selected text to all uppercase.
  37. Ctrl + Shift + K: Change the selected text to all lowercase.
  38. Ctrl + Shift + D: Add double underline to the selected text.
  39. Ctrl + Shift + L: Create a bullet point.
  40. Ctrl + Shift + <: Decrease the font size.
  41. Ctrl + Shift + >: Increase the font size.
  42. Ctrl + Shift + W: Underline the words but not the spaces.
  43. Ctrl + Space: Remove formatting from the selected text.
  44. Shift + F3: Switch between uppercase, lowercase, and titlecase.
  45. Ctrl + Alt + C: Insert a copyright (©) symbol.
  46. Ctrl + Alt + R: Insert a registered trademark (®) symbol.
  47. Ctrl + Alt + T: Insert a trademark (™) symbol.
  48. Ctrl+ / + c: Insert a cent (¢) sign.
  49. Ctrl +’ + <character>: Insert a character with an accent (grave) mark.
  50. Ctrl + Enter: Insert a page break.
  51. Ctrl + Shift + Enter: Insert a column break.
  52. Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar: Insert a nonbreaking space.
  53. Shift + Enter: Insert a line break.
  54. Shift + Alt + D: Insert the current date.
  55. Shift + Alt + T: Insert the current time.
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Navigating Word Document

The following MS Word keyboard shortcuts can help you move around your document quickly.

  1. Ctrl + Alt + PgDn: Go to the bottom of the screen.
  2. Ctrl + Alt + PgUp: Go to the top of the screen.
  3. Ctrl + Alt + Z: Switch between the last four changes you made to the document.
  4. Ctrl + ↑: Go to the start of the current line or paragraph.
  5. Ctrl + ↓: Go to the end of the current line or paragraph.
  6. Ctrl + ←: Move the cursor one word to the left.
  7. Ctrl + →: Move the cursor one word to the right.
  8. Ctrl + F: Search within the document via the Navigation task pane.
  9. Ctrl + G: Display Show the Find and Replace dialog box with the Go To tab in focus. In a large Word document, you can easily navigate a page, line, heading, bookmark, table, graphic, etc.
  10. Ctrl + End: Go to the end of the document.
  11. Ctrl + Home: Go to the beginning of the document.
  12. Ctrl + PgUp: Go to the top of the previous page.
  13. Ctrl + PgDn: Go to the top of the next page.
  14. Home: Go to the beginning of the current line.
  15. End: Go to the end of the current line.
  16. Esc: Exit the floating shape navigation and return to the normal navigation.
  17. PgUp: Scroll up by one screen.
  18. PgDn: Scroll down by one screen.
  19. Shift + F5: Move the cursor to the last change.

Working with Tables in Word

There are times when we have to work with tables in a Word document. The following MS Word keyboard shortcut can help you navigate your table more efficiently.

  1. ↑ /↓:  Go to the previous or next row.
  2. Alt + End: Go to the last cell in a row.
  3. Alt + Home: Go to the first cell in a row.
  4. Alt + PgUp: Go to the first cell in a column.
  5. Alt + PgDn: Go to the last cell in a column.
  6. Alt + Shift + ↑: Move one row up.
  7. Alt + Shift + ↓: Move one row down.
  8. Enter: Insert a new paragraph in a cell.
  9. Shift + Arrow keys: Epand selection to the nearby cells.
  10. Tab: Jump to the next cell in a row.
  11. Ctrl + Tab: Insert a tab character in a cell.
  12. Shift + Tab: Move to the last cell and select its content

MS Word Function Key Shortcuts

Function keys can be helpful when you need to perform specific tasks in MS Word. Awareness of the function keys and their assigned actions will save you time and do things more efficiently when working with Word.

  1. F1: View the Help pane to get tips related to various tasks in Word.
  2. F2: Move the selected item using the arrow keys.
  3. F4: Repeat the last action.
  4. F5: Show the Find and Replace dialog box with the Go To tab in focus.
  5. F6: Cycle between the ribbon, task pane, status bar, and document.
  6. F7: Check spelling and grammar in the selected text or document.
  7. F8: Extend the selection to the whole sentence.
  8. F9: Updates the selected fields in the document.
  9. F10: Toggle key tips on the ribbon.
  10. F11: Jump to the next field.
  11. F12: Display the Save As dialog box.
  12. Alt + F1: Hop to the next field.
  13. Alt + Shift + F1: Hop to the previous field.
  14. Alt + F3: creates a new Building Block.
  15. Alt + F4: Close MS Word.
  16. Alt + F7: Go to the next spelling or grammatical error.
  17. Alt + F8: Run a macro.
  18. Shift + F9: Switch between a field code and its result.
  19. Alt + F9: Switch between all field codes and their results.
  20. Alt + F10: Turn the Selection task pane on or off.
  21. Alt + Shift + F2: Save the document.
  22. Alt + Shift + F7: Show the Translator task pane.
  23. Ctrl + Alt + F2: Display the Open window to select a document to open. You can also use Ctrl + F12 for this purpose.
  24. Ctrl + F1: Toggle the ribbon on or off.
  25. Ctrl + F4: Closes the open document.
  26. Ctrl + F6: Switch to the next document. Using Ctrl + Shift + F6 does the same job.
  27. Ctrl + F9: Add an empty field.
  28. Ctrl + F10: Maximize and restore the document window and show the key tips for the active tab.
  29. Ctrl + Shift + F5: Display the Bookmark dialog box.
  30. Ctrl + Shift + F9: Remove the link from the current field.
  31. Ctrl + Shift + F12: Display the printing options.
  32. Shift + F2: Copy the selected text or image.
  33. Shift + F3: Switch between uppercase, lowercase, and titlecase.
  34. Shift + F6: Cycle between the ribbon, task pane, status bar, and document.
  35. Shift + F7: Runs a Thesaurus check on the selected word.
  36. Shift + F10: displays the shortcut menu for the selected item.
  37. Shift + F11: moves to the previous field.
  38. Shift + F12: Save the open document like Ctrl+S.

Download Word Shortcut Keys PDF

You can download the complete list of MS Word keyboard shortcuts and function keys for future reference.

MS-Office-Shortcut-Keys.pdf

MS Excel Shortcuts PDF

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