Microsoft Word Keyboard shortcuts- A complete list of hot keys

How To

March 6, 2021

Microsoft Word Keyboard shortcuts

Microsoft Office basics

To do this	Press
Switch to the next window.	ALT+TAB
Switch to the previous window.	ALT+SHIFT+TAB
Close the active window.	CTRL+W or CTRL+F4
Restore the size of the active window after you maximize it.	ALT+F5
Move to a task pane from another pane in the program window (clockwise direction). You may need to press F6 more than once.	F6
Move to a task pane from another pane in the program window (counterclockwise direction).	SHIFT+F6
When more than one window is open, switch to the next window.	CTRL+F6
Switch to the previous window.	CTRL+SHIFT+F6
Maximize or restore a selected window.	CTRL+F10
Copy a picture of the screen to the Clipboard.	PRINT SCREEN
Copy a picture of the selected window to the Clipboard.	ALT+PRINT SCREEN

To do this	Press
Move to the next option or option group.	TAB
Move to the previous option or option group.	SHIFT+TAB
Switch to the next tab in a dialog box.	CTRL+TAB
Switch to the previous tab in a dialog box.	CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move between options in an open drop-down list, or between options in a group of options.	Arrow keys
Perform the action assigned to the selected button; select or clear the selected check box.	SPACEBAR
Select an option; select or clear a check box.	ALT+ the letter underlined in an option
Open a selected drop-down list.	ALT+DOWN ARROW
Select an option from a drop-down list.	First letter of an option in a drop-down list
Close a selected drop-down list; cancel a command and close a dialog box.	ESC
Run the selected command.	ENTER

An edit box is a blank in which you type or paste an entry, such as your user name or the path of a folder.

To do this	Press
Move to the beginning of the entry.	HOME
Move to the end of the entry.	END
Move one character to the left or right.	LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW
Move one word to the left.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move one word to the right.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Select or unselect one character to the left.	SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Select or unselect one character to the right.	SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Select or unselect one word to the left.	CTRL+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Select or unselect one word to the right.	CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Select from the insertion point to the beginning of the entry.	SHIFT+HOME
Select from the insertion point to the end of the entry.	SHIFT+END

To do this	Press
Display the Open dialog box.	CTRL+F12 or CTRL+O
Display the Save As dialog box.	F12
Open the selected folder or file.	ENTER
Open the folder one level above the selected folder.	BACKSPACE
Delete the selected folder or file.	DELETE
Display a shortcut menu for a selected item such as a folder or file.	SHIFT+F10
Move forward through options.	TAB
Move back through options.	SHIFT+TAB
Open the Look in list.	F4 or ALT+I

To do this	Press
Cancel an action.	ESC
Undo an action.	CTRL+Z
Redo or repeat an action.	CTRL+Y

To do this	Press
Move to a task pane from another pane in the program window. (You may need to press F6 more than once.)	F6
When a menu is active, move to a task pane. (You may need to press CTRL+TAB more than once.)	CTRL+TAB
When a task pane is active, select the next or previous option in the task pane.	TAB or SHIFT+TAB
Display the full set of commands on the task pane menu.	CTRL+SPACEBAR
Perform the action assigned to the selected button.	SPACEBAR or ENTER
Open a drop-down menu for the selected gallery item.	SHIFT+F10
Select the first or last item in a gallery.	HOME or END
Scroll up or down in the selected gallery list.	PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN

To do this	Press
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	SHIFT+F10
Display the menu or message for an available action or for the AutoCorrect Options buttonor the Paste options button. If more than one action is present, switch to the next action and display its menu or message.	ALT+SHIFT+F10
Move between options in a menu of available actions.	Arrow keys
Perform the action for the selected item on a menu of available actions.	ENTER
Close the available actions menu or message.	ESC

Another way to use the keyboard to work with programs that feature the Office ribbon is to move the focus among the tabs and commands until you find the feature that you want to use. The following table lists some ways to move the keyboard focus without using the mouse.

To do this	Press
Select the active tab of the ribbon and activate the access keys.	ALT or F10. Press either of these keys again to move back to the document and cancel the access keys.
Move to another tab of the ribbon.	F10 to select the active tab, and then LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW
Expand or collapse the ribbon.	CTRL+F1
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	SHIFT+F10
Move the focus to select each of the following areas of the window: Active tab of the ribbon Any open task panes Status bar at the bottom of the window Your document	F6
Move the focus to each command on the ribbon, forward or backward, respectively.	TAB or SHIFT+TAB
Move down, up, left, or right, respectively, among the items on the ribbon.	DOWN ARROW, UP ARROW, LEFT ARROW, or RIGHT ARROW
Activate the selected command or control on the ribbon.	SPACEBAR or ENTER
Open the selected menu or gallery on the ribbon.	SPACEBAR or ENTER
Activate a command or control on the ribbon so you can modify a value.	ENTER
Finish modifying a value in a control on the ribbon, and move focus back to the document.	ENTER
Get help on the selected command or control on the ribbon. (If no Help tag is associated with the selected command, a general Help tag about the program is shown instead.)	F1

Quick reference for Microsoft Word

To do this	Press
Create a nonbreaking space.	CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR
Create a nonbreaking hyphen.	CTRL+SHIFT+HYPHEN
Make letters bold.	CTRL+B
Make letters italic.	CTRL+I
Make letters underline.	CTRL+U
Decrease font size one value.	CTRL+SHIFT+<
Increase font size one value.	CTRL+SHIFT+>
Decrease font size 1 point.	CTRL+
Remove paragraph or character formatting.	CTRL+SPACEBAR
Copy the selected text or object.	CTRL+C
Cut the selected text or object.	CTRL+X
Paste text or an object.	CTRL+V
Paste special	CTRL+ALT+V
Paste formatting only	CTRL+SHIFT+V
Undo the last action.	CTRL+Z
Redo the last action.	CTRL+Y
Open the Word Count dialog box.	CTRL+SHIFT+G

Working with documents and Web pages

To do this	Press
Create a new document.	CTRL+N
Open a document.	CTRL+O
Close a document.	CTRL+W
Split the document window.	ALT+CTRL+S
Remove the document window split.	ALT+SHIFT+C or ALT+CTRL+S
Save a document.	CTRL+S

To do this	Press
Open the Navigation task pane (to search document).	CTRL+F
Repeat find (after closing Find and Replace window).	ALT+CTRL+Y
Replace text, specific formatting, and special items.	CTRL+H
Go to a page, bookmark, footnote, table, comment, graphic, or other location.	CTRL+G
Switch between the last four places that you have edited.	ALT+CTRL+Z
Open a list of browse options. Press the arrow keys to select an option, and then press ENTER to browse through a document by using the selected option.	ALT+CTRL+HOME
Move to the previous browse object (set in browse options).	CTRL+PAGE UP
Move to the next browse object (set in browse options).	CTRL+PAGE DOWN

To do this	Press
Switch to Print Layout view.	ALT+CTRL+P
Switch to Web Layout view.
Switch to Outline view.	ALT+CTRL+O
Switch to Draft view.	ALT+CTRL+N

To do this	Press
Promote a paragraph.	ALT+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Demote a paragraph.	ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Demote to body text.	CTRL+SHIFT+N
Move selected paragraphs up.	ALT+SHIFT+UP ARROW
Move selected paragraphs down.	ALT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
Expand text under a heading.	ALT+SHIFT+PLUS SIGN
Collapse text under a heading.	ALT+SHIFT+MINUS SIGN
Expand or collapse all text or headings.	ALT+SHIFT+A
Hide or display character formatting.	The slash (/) key on the numeric keypad
Show the first line of body text or all body text.	ALT+SHIFT+L
Show all headings with the Heading 1 style.	ALT+SHIFT+1
Show all headings up to Heading n.	ALT+SHIFT+n
Insert a tab character.	CTRL+TAB

To do this	Press
Print a document.	CTRL+P
Switch to print preview.	ALT+CTRL+I
Move around the preview page when zoomed in.	Arrow keys
Move by one preview page when zoomed out.	PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN
Move to the first preview page when zoomed out.	CTRL+HOME
Move to the last preview page when zoomed out.	CTRL+END

To do this	Press
Insert a comment.	ALT+CTRL+M
Turn change tracking on or off.	CTRL+SHIFT+E
Close the Reviewing Pane if it is open.	ALT+SHIFT+C

To do this	Press
Go to beginning of document.	HOME
Go to end of document.	END
Go to page n.	n, ENTER
Exit Read mode.	ESC

To do this	Press
Mark a table of contents entry.	ALT+SHIFT+O
Mark a table of authorities entry (citation).	ALT+SHIFT+I
Mark an index entry.	ALT+SHIFT+X
Insert a footnote.	ALT+CTRL+F
Insert an endnote.	ALT+CTRL+D

To do this	Press
Insert a hyperlink.	CTRL+K
Go back one page.	ALT+LEFT ARROW
Go forward one page.	ALT+RIGHT ARROW
Refresh.	F9

Edit and move text and graphics

To do this	Press
Delete one character to the left.	BACKSPACE
Delete one word to the left.	CTRL+BACKSPACE
Delete one character to the right.	DELETE
Delete one word to the right.	CTRL+DELETE
Cut selected text to the Office Clipboard.	CTRL+X
Undo the last action.	CTRL+Z
Cut to the Spike.	CTRL+F3

To do this	Press
Open the Office Clipboard	Press ALT+H to move to the Hometab, and then press F,O.
Copy selected text or graphics to the Office Clipboard.	CTRL+C
Cut selected text or graphics to the Office Clipboard.	CTRL+X
Paste the most recent addition or pasted item from the Office Clipboard.	CTRL+V
Move text or graphics once.	F2 (then move the cursor and press ENTER)
Copy text or graphics once.	SHIFT+F2 (then move the cursor and press ENTER)
When text or an object is selected, open the Create New Building Blockdialog box.	ALT+F3
When the building block — for example, a SmartArt graphic — is selected, display the shortcut menu that is associated with it.	SHIFT+F10
Cut to the Spike.	CTRL+F3
Paste the Spike contents.	CTRL+SHIFT+F3
Copy the header or footer used in the previous section of the document.	ALT+SHIFT+R

To insert this	Press
A field	CTRL+F9
A line break	SHIFT+ENTER
A page break	CTRL+ENTER
A column break	CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER
An em dash	ALT+CTRL+MINUS SIGN
An en dash	CTRL+MINUS SIGN
An optional hyphen	CTRL+HYPHEN
A nonbreaking hyphen	CTRL+SHIFT+HYPHEN
A nonbreaking space	CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR
The copyright symbol	ALT+CTRL+C
The registered trademark symbol	ALT+CTRL+R
The trademark symbol	ALT+CTRL+T
An ellipsis	ALT+CTRL+PERIOD
A single opening quotation mark	CTRL+`(single quotation mark), `(single quotation mark)
A single closing quotation mark	CTRL+’ (single quotation mark), ‘ (single quotation mark)
Double opening quotation marks	CTRL+` (single quotation mark), SHIFT+’ (single quotation mark)
Double closing quotation marks	CTRL+’ (single quotation mark), SHIFT+’ (single quotation mark)
An AutoText entry	ENTER (after you type the first few characters of the AutoText entry name and when the ScreenTip appears)

To do this	Press
Insert the Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol (), type 20AC, and then hold down ALT and press X.	The character code, ALT+X
Find out the Unicode character code for the selected character	ALT+X
Insert the ANSI character for the specified ANSI (decimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down ALT and press 0128 on the numeric keypad.	ALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad)

Select text by holding down SHIFT and using the arrow keys to move the cursor.

To do this	Press
Turn extend mode on.	F8
Select the nearest character.	F8, and then press LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW
Increase the size of a selection.	F8 (press once to select a word, twice to select a sentence, and so on)
Reduce the size of a selection.	SHIFT+F8
Turn extend mode off.	ESC
Extend a selection one character to the right.	SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Extend a selection one character to the left.	SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Extend a selection to the end of a word.	CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW
Extend a selection to the beginning of a word.	CTRL+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW
Extend a selection to the end of a line.	SHIFT+END
Extend a selection to the beginning of a line.	SHIFT+HOME
Extend a selection one line down.	SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
Extend a selection one line up.	SHIFT+UP ARROW
Extend a selection to the end of a paragraph.	CTRL+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW
Extend a selection to the beginning of a paragraph.	CTRL+SHIFT+UP ARROW
Extend a selection one screen down.	SHIFT+PAGE DOWN
Extend a selection one screen up.	SHIFT+PAGE UP
Extend a selection to the beginning of a document.	CTRL+SHIFT+HOME
Extend a selection to the end of a document.	CTRL+SHIFT+END
Extend a selection to the end of a window.	ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE DOWN
Extend a selection to include the entire document.	CTRL+A
Select a vertical block of text.	CTRL+SHIFT+F8, and then use the arrow keys; press ESC to cancel selection mode
Extend a selection to a specific location in a document.	F8+arrow keys; press ESC to cancel selection mode

To do this	Press
Select the next cell’s contents.	TAB
Select the preceding cell’s contents.	SHIFT+TAB
Extend a selection to adjacent cells.	Hold down SHIFT and press an arrow key repeatedly
Select a column.	Use the arrow keys to move to the column’s top or bottom cell, and then do one of the following: Press SHIFT+ALT+PAGE DOWN to select the column from top to bottom. Press SHIFT+ALT+PAGE UP to select the column from bottom to top.
Extend a selection (or block).	CTRL+SHIFT+F8, and then use the arrow keys; press ESC to cancel selection mode

Select an entire table.	ALT+5 on the numeric keypad (with NUM LOCK off)

To move	Press
One character to the left	LEFT ARROW
One character to the right	RIGHT ARROW
One word to the left	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
One word to the right	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
One paragraph up	CTRL+UP ARROW
One paragraph down	CTRL+DOWN ARROW
One cell to the left (in a table)	SHIFT+TAB
One cell to the right (in a table)	TAB
Up one line	UP ARROW
Down one line	DOWN ARROW
To the end of a line	END
To the beginning of a line	HOME
To the top of the window	ALT+CTRL+PAGE UP
To the end of the window	ALT+CTRL+PAGE DOWN
Up one screen (scrolling)	PAGE UP
Down one screen (scrolling)	PAGE DOWN
To the top of the next page	CTRL+PAGE DOWN
To the top of the previous page	CTRL+PAGE UP
To the end of a document	CTRL+END
To the beginning of a document	CTRL+HOME
To a previous revision	SHIFT+F5
After opening a document, to the location you were working in when the document was last closed	SHIFT+F5

To move	Press
To the next cell in a row	TAB
To the previous cell in a row	SHIFT+TAB
To the first cell in a row	ALT+HOME
To the last cell in a row	ALT+END
To the first cell in a column	ALT+PAGE UP
To the last cell in a column	ALT+PAGE DOWN
To the previous row	UP ARROW
To the next row	DOWN ARROW
Row up	ALT+SHIFT+UP ARROW
Row down	ALT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW

To insert	Press
New paragraphs in a cell	ENTER
Tab characters in a cell	CTRL+TAB

Character and paragraph formatting

To do this	Press
Copy formatting from text.	CTRL+SHIFT+C
Apply copied formatting to text.	CTRL+SHIFT+V

To do this	Press
Open the Font dialog box to change the font.	CTRL+SHIFT+F
Increase the font size.	CTRL+SHIFT+>
Decrease the font size.	CTRL+SHIFT+<
Increase the font size by 1 point.	CTRL+]
Decrease the font size by 1 point.	CTRL+[

To do this	Press
Open the Font dialog box to change the formatting of characters.	CTRL+D
Change the case of letters.	SHIFT+F3
Format all letters as capitals.	CTRL+SHIFT+A
Apply bold formatting.	CTRL+B
Apply an underline.	CTRL+U
Underline words but not spaces.	CTRL+SHIFT+W
Double-underline text.	CTRL+SHIFT+D
Apply hidden text formatting.	CTRL+SHIFT+H
Apply italic formatting.	CTRL+I
Format letters as small capitals.	CTRL+SHIFT+K
Apply subscript formatting (automatic spacing).	CTRL+EQUAL SIGN
Apply superscript formatting (automatic spacing).	CTRL+SHIFT+PLUS SIGN
Remove manual character formatting.	CTRL+SPACEBAR
Change the selection to the Symbol font.	CTRL+SHIFT+Q

To do this	Press
Display nonprinting characters.	CTRL+SHIFT+* (asterisk on numeric keypad does not work)
Review text formatting.	SHIFT+F1 (then click the text with the formatting you want to review)
Copy formats.	CTRL+SHIFT+C
Paste formats.	CTRL+SHIFT+V

To do this	Press
Single-space lines.	CTRL+1
Double-space lines.	CTRL+2
Set 1.5-line spacing.	CTRL+5
Add or remove one line space preceding a paragraph.	CTRL+0 (zero)

To do this	Press
Switch a paragraph between centered and left-aligned.	CTRL+E
Switch a paragraph between justified and left-aligned.	CTRL+J
Switch a paragraph between right-aligned and left-aligned.	CTRL+R
Left align a paragraph.	CTRL+L
Indent a paragraph from the left.	CTRL+M
Remove a paragraph indent from the left.	CTRL+SHIFT+M
Create a hanging indent.	CTRL+T
Reduce a hanging indent.	CTRL+SHIFT+T
Remove paragraph formatting.	CTRL+Q

To do this	Press
Open Apply Styles task pane.	CTRL+SHIFT+S
Open Styles task pane.	ALT+CTRL+SHIFT+S
Start AutoFormat.	ALT+CTRL+K
Apply the Normal style.	CTRL+SHIFT+N
Apply the Heading 1 style.	ALT+CTRL+1
Apply the Heading 2 style.	ALT+CTRL+2
Apply the Heading 3 style.	ALT+CTRL+3

Mail merge and fields

To do this	Press
Preview a mail merge.	ALT+SHIFT+K
Merge a document.	ALT+SHIFT+N
Print the merged document.	ALT+SHIFT+M
Edit a mail-merge data document.	ALT+SHIFT+E
Insert a merge field.	ALT+SHIFT+F

To do this	Press
Insert a DATE field.	ALT+SHIFT+D
Insert a LISTNUM field.	ALT+CTRL+L
Insert a PAGE field.	ALT+SHIFT+P
Insert a TIME field.	ALT+SHIFT+T
Insert an empty field.	CTRL+F9
Update linked information in a Microsoft Word source document.	CTRL+SHIFT+F7
Update selected fields.	F9
Unlink a field.	CTRL+SHIFT+F9
Switch between a selected field code and its result.	SHIFT+F9
Switch between all field codes and their results.	ALT+F9
Run GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from the field that displays the field results.	ALT+SHIFT+F9
Go to the next field.	F11
Go to the previous field.	SHIFT+F11
Lock a field.	CTRL+F11
Unlock a field.	CTRL+SHIFT+F11

Language bar

To do this	Press
Switch between languages or keyboard layouts.	Left ALT+SHIFT
Display a list of correction alternatives.	+C
Turn handwriting on or off.	+H
Turn Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) on 101 keyboard on or off.	ALT+~
Turn Korean IME on 101 keyboard on or off.	Right ALT
Turn Chinese IME on 101 keyboard on or off.	CTRL+SPACEBAR

Function key reference

To do this	Press
Get Help or visit Office.com.	F1
Move text or graphics.	F2
Repeat the last action.	F4
Choose the Go To command (Home tab).	F5
Go to the next pane or frame.	F6
Choose the Spelling command (Review tab).	F7
Extend a selection.	F8
Update the selected fields.	F9
Show KeyTips.	F10
Go to the next field.	F11
Choose the Save As command.	F12

To do this	Press
Start context-sensitive Help or reveal formatting.	SHIFT+F1
Copy text.	SHIFT+F2
Change the case of letters.	SHIFT+F3
Repeat a Find or Go To action.	SHIFT+F4
Move to the last change.	SHIFT+F5
Go to the previous pane or frame (after pressing F6).	SHIFT+F6
Choose the The saurus command (Review tab, Proofing group).	SHIFT+F7
Reduce the size of a selection.	SHIFT+F8
Switch between a field code and its result.	SHIFT+F9
Display a shortcut menu.	SHIFT+F10
Go to the previous field.	SHIFT+F11
Choose the Save command.	SHIFT+F12

To do this	Press
Expand or collapse the ribbon.	CTRL+F1
Choose the Print Preview command.	CTRL+F2
Cut to the Spike.	CTRL+F3
Close the window.	CTRL+F4
Go to the next window.	CTRL+F6
Insert an empty field.	CTRL+F9
Maximize the document window.	CTRL+F10
Lock a field.	CTRL+F11
Choose the Open command.	CTRL+F12

To do this	Press
Insert the contents of the Spike.	CTRL+SHIFT+F3
Edit a bookmark.	CTRL+SHIFT+F5
Go to the previous window.	CTRL+SHIFT+F6
Update linked information in a Word 2013 source document.	CTRL+SHIFT+F7
Extend a selection or block.	CTRL+SHIFT+F8, and then press an arrow key
Unlink a field.	CTRL+SHIFT+F9
Unlock a field.	CTRL+SHIFT+F11
Choose the Print command.	CTRL+SHIFT+F12

To do this	Press
Go to the next field.	ALT+F1
Create a new Building Block.	ALT+F3
Exit Word 2013.	ALT+F4
Restore the program window size.	ALT+F5
Move from an open dialog box back to the document, for dialog boxes that support this behavior.	ALT+F6
Find the next misspelling or grammatical error.	ALT+F7
Run a macro.	ALT+F8
Switch between all field codes and their results.	ALT+F9
Display the Selection and Visibility task pane.	ALT+F10
Display Microsoft Visual Basic code.	ALT+F11

To do this	Press
Go to the previous field.	ALT+SHIFT+F1
Choose the Save command.	ALT+SHIFT+F2
Display the Research task pane.	ALT+SHIFT+F7
Run GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from the field that displays the field results.	ALT+SHIFT+F9
Display a menu or message for an available action.	ALT+SHIFT+F10
Choose Table of Contents button in the Table of Contents container when the container is active.	ALT+SHIFT+F12