Word Shortcuts: an overview of the best ones
Whether you use Microsoft Word professionally or privately, knowing the right Word shortcuts allows you to use the popular word processing programme in a faster and more effective way. The entire operation is designed to be extremely simple and intuitive. But the range of available Word shortcuts extends well beyond the popular copy-and-paste or print command.
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However, much like learning Excel shortcuts, it needs a little practice to learn Word shortcuts. However, it’s worth the effort if you regularly work with Microsoft Word. An overview of the most important Microsoft Word shortcuts is summarised in the table below.
General Word keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut | Command |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + X | Cut |
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + V | Insert |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + F | Find |
| Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
| Ctrl + G | Go to |
| F4 | Redo or repeat |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + S | Save |
| F12 | Save as |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Ctrl + N | New document |
| Ctrl + O | Open |
| Ctrl + W | Close document |
| Ctrl + Alt + F | Insert footnote |
| Ctrl + Alt + E | Insert endnote |
| Ctrl + F2 | Page view/Page preview |
| Ctrl + K | Insert hyperlink |
Word Shortcuts: positioning and navigating
| Shortcut | Command |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + left arrow | One word to the left |
| Ctrl + right arrow | One word to the right |
| Ctrl + up arrow | One paragraph up |
| Ctrl + down arrow | One paragraph down |
| Shift + F5 | Go back to previous edit |
| Shift + right arrow | Select text: one character to the right |
| Shift + left arrow | Select text: one character to the left |
| Ctrl + Shift + right arrow | Select text: to the end of the word |
| Ctrl+ Shift + left arrow | Select text: to the beginning of the word |
| Shift + down arrow | Select text: one line down |
| Shift + up arrow | Select text: one line up |
Word Shortcuts: formatting commands
| Shortcut | Command |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Apply bold formatting to text |
| Ctrl + I | Apply italic formatting to text |
| Ctrl + U | Apply underline formatting to text |
| Ctrl + Shift + W | Underline word |
| Ctrl + Shift + D | Double underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + + | Apply superscript formatting |
| Ctrl + = | Apply subscript formatting |
| Ctrl + Shift + A | All large caps |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | All small caps |
| Ctrl + D | Change font |
| Shift + F3 | Switch between upper and lower case |
| Ctrl + [ | Decrease font size by 1 pt |
| Ctrl + ] | Increase font size by 1 pt |
| Ctrl + E | Centre the text |
| Ctrl + R | Align text to the right |
| Ctrl + L | Align text to the left |
| Ctrl + B | Justification |
| Ctrl + M | Indent paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | Remove paragraph indent from the left |
| Ctrl + T | Hanging indent |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Undo hanging indent |
| Ctrl + 1 | Single line spacing |
| Ctrl + 2 | Double space |
| Ctrl + 5 | 1.5 line spacing |
| Ctrl + 0 | Remove paragraph formatting |
| Ctrl + Shift + J | Distribute paragraph alignment |