Microsoft Word shortcut keys
Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word. See our main shortcut page if you're looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.
Shortcut Keys
Description
Ctrl + A
Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl + B
Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + C
Copy selected text.
Ctrl + E
Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl + F
Open find box.
Ctrl + I
Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + J
Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen.
Ctrl + K
Insert link.
Ctrl + L
Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl + M
Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl + P
Open the print window.
Ctrl + R
Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl + T
Create a hanging indent.
Ctrl + U
Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + V
Paste.
Ctrl + X
Cut selected text.
Ctrl + Y
Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl + Z
Undo last action.
Ctrl + Shift + F
Change the font.
Ctrl + Shift + >
Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then 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 + Shift + *
View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl + <left arrow>
Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl + <right arrow>
Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl + <up arrow>
Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl + <down arrow>
Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl + Del
Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace
Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl + End
Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl + Home
Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Spacebar
Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl + 1
Single-space lines.
Ctrl + 2
Double-space lines.
Ctrl + 5
1.5-line spacing.
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 + F1
Open the Task Pane.
F1
Open Help.
Alt + Ctrl + F2
Open new document.
Ctrl + F2
Display the print preview.
Shift + F3
Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
Shift + Insert
Paste.
F4
Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
F5
Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
Ctrl + Shift + F6
Opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
F7
Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document.
Shift + F7
Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
F12
Save as.
Shift + F12
Save.
Ctrl + Shift + F12
Prints the document.
Alt + Shift + D
Insert the current date.
Alt + Shift + T
Insert the current time.
In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.