Modern-day professionalism requires a basic understanding of various computer applications like Microsoft Office. The powerful editing features provided by the Microsoft Office reduces the amount of time spent on-screen significantly.
There is a dire need for rapid workflow in this fast-moving generation and individuals who can do things faster earn better profits.
There are a good number of ways to speed up the workflow, but the use of Best Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts has always proven to be the fastest.
If you aspire to handle professional tools like a pro and manage your tasks efficiently, go through the following list of all of the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts. It is not feasible to learn all of them at once, but those that are more frequently used in your work should be prioritized.
Moreover, as you keep using them while you work, you wouldn’t even need to learn them, since they get ingrained in memory.
General Program Shortcuts
There are some primary shortcut keys everybody would know like, ctrl+z will undo the action you performed. But there is more than just redoing your actions that can be done on Microsoft Word by shortcut keys.
Here is the complete list of All of the Best Microsoft Word' Keyboard Shortcuts that enable you to control your document like a power user.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Ctrl+N | To create a new document. |
Ctrl+O | To open an existing document |
Ctrl+S | To save the current document |
F12 |
To open the ‘Save As’ dialog box |
Ctrl+W |
To close the current document |
Ctrl+Z |
To undo the last actions performed |
Ctrl+Y |
To Redo last actions performed |
Alt+Ctrl+S |
To Split a window |
Ctrl+Alt+V |
To open the Print Layout View |
Ctrl+Alt+O |
To open the Outline View |
Ctrl+Alt+N |
To open the Draft View |
Ctrl+F2 |
To open the Print Preview View |
F1 |
To open the Help pane |
Alt+Q |
To open the “Tell me what you want to do” box |
F9 |
To refresh the field codes in the current selection |
Ctrl+F |
To search a document |
Shift+F7 |
To open the thesaurus in a word |
Ribbon Key Shortcuts
The Ribbon is the top navigation-cum-tool bar you can find at the top of the Microsoft Word. It contains all of the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts paired with the alt key. You can see the keys to press with the alt key by pressing alt on the home screen.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Alt / F10 | To select the active tab on the ribbon |
Tab / Shift+Tab | Moving the pointer to commands on the ribbon |
Ctrl+Left / Right arrow key | Moving between command groupings on the ribbon |
Arrow keys |
Moving among different items on the ribbon |
Spacebar / Enter |
To activate the selected button |
Down arrow key |
To open the list for the currently selected command |
Alt+Down arrow |
To open the menu for the currently selected button. |
Down arrow key |
Moving to the next command when a menu/ submenu is open |
Ctrl+F1 |
To open or collapse the ribbon |
Shift+F10 |
To open the context menu |
Left arrow key |
Moving to the submenu when the main menu is open |
Navigating the Document
While editing a hefty business proposal or some other important document, effectively navigating through your document increases your speed and also instills confidence in you. Here is the exhaustive list of keyboard shortcuts that will level up your navigating document skills:
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Left/Right Arrow | To get the cursor one character to the left or right from current state |
Ctrl+Left/ Right Arrow | Moving one word to the left or right |
Up/Down Arrow | Moving up or down one line from the current position |
Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow |
Moving up or down one paragraph from the current position |
End |
Moving to the end of the current line |
Ctrl End |
To get to the end of the document |
Home |
Moving to the beginning of the current line |
Ctrl+Home |
To go to the beginning of the document |
Page Up/Page Downl |
Moving up or down one screen |
Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down |
Moving to the previous or next browsed object |
Alt+Ctrl+Page Up/Page Down |
To get to the top or bottom of the current window |
Selecting Text
Arrow keys are the most frequently used keys for moving up and down in documents. This list provides all the options that increase your efficiency of selecting text for better and fast formatting.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Shift+Left/Right Arrow | To select one more character from the left or right |
Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right Arrow | To select one more word from the left or right |
Shift+Up/Down Arrow | To select one more line from above or below |
Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down Arrow |
To select from the beginning or end of the paragraph |
Shift+End |
To select from the end of the line |
Shift+Home |
To select from the beginning of the line |
Ctrl+Shift+Home/End |
To select from the beginning or end of the document |
Shift+Page Down/Page Up |
To select from down or up to one screen |
Ctrl+A |
To select the entire document |
Editing and Formatting Text
With the selection keys, you can now select text very efficiently. The next step with upgraded workflow is all of the best Word’s shortcuts for editing and formatting the document.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Backspace | To delete one character |
Ctrl+Backspace | To delete one word |
Delete | To delete one character to the right |
Ctrl+Delete |
To select from the beginning or end of the paragraph |
Ctrl+C |
To copy to the Clipboard text |
Ctrl+X |
To cut selected text to the Clipboard |
Ctrl+V |
To paste the Clipboard contents |
Ctrl+Shift+F3 |
To paste the Spike contents |
Alt+Shift+ R |
For copying the header or footer used in the document |
Formatting
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Ctrl+B | To apply bold formatting on selected text |
Ctrl+I | To apply italic formatting on selected text |
Ctrl+U | To apply underlines on selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+W |
To apply underline to words, but not the spaces between words |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
To apply double underline formatting on selected text |
Ctrl+D |
To open the Font dialog box |
Ctrl+Shift+< or > |
To decrease or increase font size |
Ctrl+[ or ] |
To decrease or increase font size by a factor of one point at a time |
Ctrl+= |
To apply subscript formatting on selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+Plus key |
To apply superscript formatting on selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+A |
To format all letters as uppercase of selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+K |
To format all letters as lowercase of selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+C |
To Copy the character formatting of selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+V |
To paste formatting onto the selected text |
Ctrl+Space |
To remove all manual character formatting from a selected text |
Paragraph Formatting
Every document contains a primary component of the text - a paragraph. Here are some paragrpah formatting shortcuts that you must master:
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Ctrl+M | To increase a paragraph indenting one level |
Ctrl+Shift+M | To reduce a paragraph’s indent one level |
Ctrl+T | To increases a hanging indent |
Ctrl+Shift+T |
To reduce a hanging indent |
Ctrl+E |
To center a paragraph |
Ctrl+L |
To left-align a paragraph |
Ctrl+R |
To right-align a paragraph |
Ctrl+J |
To justify a paragraph |
Ctrl+1 |
To set single-spacing for selected text |
Ctrl+2 |
To set double-spacing for selected text |
Ctrl+5 |
To set 1.5 line Spacing for selected text |
Ctrl+0 |
To remove one-line spacing preceding a paragraph |
Ctrl+Shift+S |
To open a popup window for applying styles on selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+N |
To apply the normal paragraph style on selected text |
Alt+Ctrl+1 |
To apply the Heading 1 style on selected text |
Alt+Ctrl+2 |
To apply the Heading 2 style on selected text |
Alt+Ctrl+3 |
To apply the Heading 3 style on selected text |
Ctrl+Shift+L |
To apply the List style on selected text |
Ctrl+Q |
To remove all paragraph formatting from selected text |
Insertion
The selecting, editing, and formatting shortcut keys have been naturally occurring actions, shortcuts for inserting things into documents are only for people who are working professionally on Microsoft applications
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Shift+Enter | For inserting a line break between two lines |
Ctrl+Enter | To insert a page break between different pages |
Ctrl+Shift+Enter | To insert a column break between columns |
Ctrl+hyphen (-) |
To insert an optional hyphen in the content |
Alt+Ctrl+hyphen (-) |
To insert an em dash in the content |
Ctrl+Shift+hyphen (-) |
To insert a non-breaking hyphen in the content |
Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar |
To insert a non-breaking space in the content |
Alt+Ctrl+C |
To insert a copyright symbol in the content |
Alt+Ctrl+R |
To insert a registered trademark symbol in the content |
Alt+Ctrl+T |
To insert a trademark symbol in the content |
Managing Outlines
Outlines of a document manage the orientation and printability so that it looks the best. All of the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts for working with outlines will enable you to orient your document and shape it perfectly.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Alt+Shift+Left/Right Arrow | Moving to the left or Moving to the right of a line |
Ctrl+Shift+N | To demote an outline level to the regular body text |
Alt+Shift+Up/Down Arrow | Moving the line with the cursor up or down in the outline |
Alt+Shift+Plus or Minus keys |
To open or collapse text under a heading |
Alt+Shift+A |
To open or collapse all text or headings in an outline |
Alt+Shift+L |
To show the first line of the content |
Alt+Shift+1 |
To show all headings that have the Heading 1 style applied to them |
Alt+Shift+any other number keys |
To show all headings up to the selected level |
Using Tables
Tables have been a significant component of a document lately as varsity is present in every field of work.
Handling the tables in Microsoft Word like a pro will save a lot of time that would otherwise get lost in clicking and finding the best keys for your requirement. All of the Best Microsoft Word’ Keyboard Shortcuts for managing tables will take your skills to a legendary level.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Tab | Getting to the next cell in a row and select its contents |
Shift+Tab | Moving to the previous cell in a row and select its contents |
Alt+Home/End | Getting to the first or last cell in a row |
Alt+Page Up/Page Down |
Moving to the first or last cell in a column |
Up/Down Arrow |
Moving to the previous or next row of the table |
Shift+Up/Down Arrow |
To select the cell in the row above or below the cursor in the table |
Alt+5 on the keypad (with NumLock off) |
To select the entire table |
Preview and Print Documents
After you finalize your business proposal, the next step is the printing of the documents for presentation and formalities. Knowing all the shortcuts for printing and previewing documents will make printing the best documents easier.
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Ctrl+P | To print the entire document |
Ctrl+Alt+I | Switching to the print preview menu |
Arrow keys | Moving around the preview page after zooming in |
Page up / Page down |
Moving by one preview page after zooming out |
Ctrl+Home |
Moving to the first preview page after zooming out |
Ctrl+End |
Moving to the last preview page when zoomed out |
Power Usage of Microsoft Word
There is a lot that Microsoft Softwares can do. Hence, the skillset of an individual varies from beginner to professional levels.
The power users are individuals that use Microsoft software at advanced levels. They handle and manage tasks very fast and effectively save time for appropriate usage. All of the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts for power usage are listed below:
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Alt+Shift+O | Marking a table of contents entry |
Alt+Shift+I | To mark a table of authorities entry /citation |
Alt+Shift+F12, Spacebar | To choose different citation options. |
Alt+Shift+X |
To mark an index entry in the citation |
Ctrl+Alt+F |
To insert a footnote in the document |
Ctrl+Alt+D |
To insert an endnote in the document |
Alt+Shift+Right angle bracket (>) |
Moving to the next footnote of the document |
Alt+Shift+Left angle bracket (<) |
Moving to the previous footnote of the document |
Mail Merging
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Alt+Shift+K | To preview the mail merge option |
Alt+Shift+N | To merge a document with other |
Alt+Shift+M | To print the merged document |
Alt+Shift+E |
To edit a mail-merge data document |
Alt+Shift+F |
To insert a merge field in the document |
Fields
Shortcut Key | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|
Alt+Shift+D | To insert a DATE field in the document |
Ctrl+Alt+L | To insert a LISTNUM field in the document |
Alt+Shift+P | To insert a PAGE field in the document |
Alt+Shift+T |
To insert a TIME field in the document |
Ctrl+F9 |
To insert an empty field in the document |
Ctrl+Shift+F7 |
Updating the linked information in a Microsoft Word source document |
F9 |
To update the selected fields in the document |
Ctrl+Shift+F9 |
To unlink a field in the document |
Shift+F9 |
Switching between a selected field code and its result in the document |
Alt+F9 |
Switching between all field codes and their results in the document |
Alt+Shift+F9 |
To run GOTO BUTTON or MACRO BUTTON from a field displaying field results in the document. |
F11 |
Moving to the next field of the document |
Shift+F11 |
Moving to the previous field of the document |
Ctrl+F11 |
To lock a field of the document |
Inserting International Characters
Characters | Shortcuts to Enter |
---|---|
à, è, ì, ò, ù, | Press Ctrl+Grave accent (`) with the letter to be inserted |
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý | Press Ctrl+Single quotation mark (‘) with the letter to be inserted |
â, ê, î, ô, û | Press Ctrl+Shift+Caret (^)with the letter to be inserted |
ã ñ, õ |
Press Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~) with the letter to be inserted |
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, |
Press Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:) with the letter to be inserted |
å, Å |
Press Ctrl+Shift+At sign (@) with a or A keys |
æ, Æ |
Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&) with a or A keys |
œ, Œ |
Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&) with o or O keys |
ç, Ç |
Press Ctrl+Comma (,) with c or C keys |
ð, Ð |
Press Ctrl+Single quotation mark (‘) with d or D keys |
ø, Ø |
Press Ctrl+Forward slash (/) with o or O keys |
¿ |
Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Question mark (?) for inverted sign |
¡ |
Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Exclamation point (!) for inverted sign |
ß |
Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&),with s |
Function Shortcut Keys
These special keys are used for a variety of functions that are both handy and useful. The following is the list of function keys and a combination of all of the best shortcuts for managing your tasks efficiently:
F Keys | What to Input | Actions to be Performed |
---|---|---|
F1 | F1 | To display the Word help task pane in home view |
Shift+F1 | Displaying or hiding context-sensitive help or the Reveal Formatting task pane. | |
Ctrl+F1 | To display or hide the ribbon in home view | |
Alt+F1 |
Moving to the next field in the document | |
Alt+Shift+F1 |
Moving to the previous field in the document | |
F2 | F2 |
Moving the selected text or graphic |
Shift+F2 |
To copy the selected text or graphic | |
Ctrl+F2 |
Displaying the print preview area on the Print tab in the Backstage view | |
Alt+Shift+F2 |
To save the document on the hard drive | |
Ctrl+Alt+F2 |
To display the Open dialog box | |
F3 | Shift+F3 |
Switching the selected text between upper case, lower case, and title case in the document |
Ctrl+F3 |
Cutting the selected content to the Spike in the document | |
Ctrl+Shift+F3 |
To paste the contents of the Spike in the document | |
Alt+F3 |
To create a new Building Block in the document | |
F4 | F4 | To repeat the last command or action performed |
Shift+F4 | Repeating the last Find or Go To action performed | |
Ctrl+F4 | To close the current document | |
Alt+F4 | To close Microsoft Word application | |
F5 | F5 | To displays the Go To dialog box |
Shift+F5 | Moving the cursor to the last changing point | |
Ctrl+Shift+F5 | To display the Bookmark dialog box in home view | |
Alt+F5 | To restore the document window size of the default document | |
F6 | F6 | Switching between the document, task pane, status bar, and ribbon in home view |
Shift+F6 | Switching between the document, ribbon, status bar, and task panel | |
Ctrl+F6 | Switching to the next document window when more than one document is open. | |
Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Switching to the previous document window when more than one document is open. | |
Alt+F6 | Moving from an open dialog box back to the document, for dialog boxes that support this behavior. | |
F7 | F7 | Displaying the Editor task pane to check spelling and grammar in the document or the selected text. |
Shift+F7 |
To display the Thesaurus task pane. | |
Ctrl+Shift+F7 |
To update the linked information in a Word source document. | |
Alt+F7 |
Finding the next spelling or grammatical error in the document. | |
F8 |
F8 |
To extend the selection of text |
Shift+F8 |
To reduce the selection of text | |
Ctrl+Shift+F8 |
Turning to extend selection mode on and off | |
Alt+F8 |
Displaying the Macro dialog to create, run, edit, or delete a macro in the document | |
F9
|
F9 |
To update the selected fields of the document |
Shift+F9 |
Switching b/n a field code and its result in the document | |
Ctrl+F9 |
To insert an empty field in the document | |
Ctrl+Shift+F9 |
To unlink the current field in the document | |
Alt+F9 |
To switch b/n all field codes and their result in the document | |
Alt+Shift+F9 |
Running GOTOBUTTON/ MACROBUTTON from a field displaying field results. | |
F10 |
F10 |
To turn KeyTips features on or off. |
Shift+F10 |
Displaying the shortcut menu for the selected item in the current view | |
Ctrl+F10 |
To maximize or restore the document window size | |
Alt+F10 |
To display the Selection task pane | |
Alt+Shift+F10 |
Displaying the menu or message for available actions | |
F11 |
F11 |
Moving to the next field in the document |
Shift+F11 |
Moving to the previous field in the document | |
Ctrl+F11 |
To lock the current field in the document | |
Ctrl+Shift+F11 |
To unlock the current field in the document | |
F12 |
F12 |
To display the Save As dialog box |
Shift+F12 |
To save the current document | |
Ctrl+F12 |
To display the Open dialog box | |
Ctrl+Shift+F12 |
Displaying the Print tab in the Backstage view | |
Alt+Shift+F12 |
To select the Table of Contents button |
Office 365 vs Office 2013 Keyboard Shortcuts: Differences
There are very few alternatives that provide all the basic tools and productive features for business productivity. Software as a service is used by many companies and organizations to give affordable applications to a wider range of users.
Microsoft has always upgraded its versions with the best features and growing trends to cover all the aspects of business productivity and communication. Windows 7 had the benchmark of Microsoft Office 7, which included the revolutionary Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
With constant updates in the Microsoft Office suite, new versions came into existence like Microsoft Office Suite 2013 and a completely new Microsoft Office 365. The concept and hosting of both suites are very different from each other. Yet, they provide the same functionality when tools are appropriately used.
Microsoft Office 2013 is a desktop application and runs on a device by installing on the local device, taking space in the hard disk. On the contrary, Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based subscription to all the tools of the desktop version. There is limited accessibility in Office 365 as without the internet; it is useless.
In simple terms, Microsoft Office 2013 is a computer-application, whereas Microsoft Office 365 is a web-application. There are different subscriptions in the form of licenses that need to be bought to use Microsoft Office 365.
Different licenses offer facilities based on user requirements like how many systems the application is going to run and others. This property of Microsoft Office 365 makes it better than Office 2013 as five different purchases of Office 2013 will be required to run it on five machines.
Moreover, the features of Microsoft office 365 can be controlled over the internet, making group editing very efficient. Hence, the various advantages of different versions make them suitable for usage in their terms.
Conclusion
The young aspirers who wish to beat the competition and achieve success in their careers need to speed up and get handy at Microsoft tools.
All of the best Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts given in the article will enhance your effectiveness and boost your progress when dealing with documents. The various shortcut keys can be learned according to the needs of an individual.