Keyboard Shortcuts
Formatting Text: Changing Decoration
| Ctrl+B | Bold the selected text bold |
| Ctrl+I | Italicize the selected text italic |
| Ctrl+U | Underline the selected text |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Double underline |
| Ctrl+= | Subscript |
| Ctrl+Shift+= | Superscript |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Apply "Normal" style |
Formatting Text: Changing Fonts
| Ctrl+D | Open font options dialog box |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Select font face in toolbar |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Select font size in toolbar |
| Ctrl+] | Increase font size by one pt |
| Ctrl+[ | Decrease font size by one pt |
| Ctrl+Shift+> | Increase font size |
| Ctrl+Shift+<< | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl+Spacebar | Reset to default font face |
Formatting Text: Manipulating Paragraphs
| Ctrl+E | Center paragraph |
| Ctrl+M | Justify paragraph |
| Ctrl+L | Flush paragraph left |
| Ctrl+R | Flush paragraph right |
| Ctrl+M | Indent paragraph |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Un-indent paragraph |
| Ctrl+1 | Single-space lines |
| Ctrl+2 | Double-space lines |
| Ctrl+5 | 1.5-space lines |
Remember that you can use these keyboard shortcuts both for existing text and for new text. To understand, let's look at the example of bolding text:
- If you have existing text that you want to bold: 1) select that text, 2) hit theCtrl+B keyboard shortcut to make the text bold.
- If you are going to type some text that you want to be bold: 1) hit the Ctrl+Bkeyboard shortcut, 2) type the text, 3) then hit Ctrl+B again to turn off the bolding.
Editing Text
| Ctrl+Backspace | Delete the previous word |
| Ctrl+Del | Delete the next word |
| Ctrl+F | Find text in the current document |
| Ctrl+H | Replace text in the current document |
| Ctrl+Enter | Page break |
Moving the Cursor
These keyboard shortcuts are great for navigating around documents. For example, I use Ctrl+RightArrow (move the cursor right one word) when I'm trying to edit a word in the middle of a line since it gets me there faster than picking up my mouse and clicking there. I also use Ctrl+DownArrow (move the cursor to the next paragraph) to scan the entire document quickly.
| PageUp | Move the cursor up a page |
| PageDown | Move the cursor down a page |
| Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the line |
| End | Move the cursor to the end of the line |
| Ctrl+Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the document |
| Ctrl+End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
| Ctrl+LeftArrow | Move the cursor left one word |
| Ctrl+RightArrow | Move the cursor right one word |
| Ctrl+UpArrow | Move the cursor to beginning of, or previous paragraph |
| Ctrl+DownArrow | Move the cursor to end of, or next paragraph |
Selecting Text
The keyboard shortcuts for selecting text are directly related to those that move the cursor around. Just add a Shift:
| Shift+PageUp | Select everything between the cursor and a page previous |
| Shift+PageDown | Select everything between the cursor and a page after |
| Shift+Home | Select everything between the cursor and the beginning of the line |
| Shift+End | Select everything between the cursor and the end of the line |
| Shift+Ctrl+Home | Select everything betweeen the cursor and the beginning of the document |
| Shift+Ctrl+End | Select everything between the cursor and the end of the document |
| Shift+Ctrl+LeftArrow | Select the word to the left |
| Shift+Ctrl+RightArrow | Select the word to the right |
Using the Clipboard
| Ctrl+C | Copy what's selected |
| Ctrl+X | Cut what's selected |
| Ctrl+V | Paste what you last copied or cut |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
Working with Documents
| Ctrl+N | New document |
| Ctrl+O | Open existing document |
| Ctrl+S | Save document |
| F12 | Save document as... |
| Ctrl+W | Close document |
| Ctrl+P | Print document |
| Ctrl+F6 | Switch to the next open documewnt |
| Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Switch to the previous open documewnt |
| Alt+F4 | Exit Microsoft Word |
Miscellaneous
| F7 | Open spellcheck dialog box |
| Shift+F7 | Open thesaurus dialog box |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo your last action |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo your last action |
Mouse Shortcuts
Microsoft Word also has support for some mouse shortcuts. Overall, I recommend learning the keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to switch from keyboard to mouse to keyboard. But, sometimes these can come in handy:
| Double-click a word | Select the word |
| Triple-click a word | Select the paragraph |
| Left-click the space on the left of a line | Select the line |
| Double-click the space on the left of a line | Select the paragraph |
| Ctrl+ScrollUp | Zoom in on the document |
| Ctrl+ScrollDown | Zoom out of the document |
| Click and drag some text | Select text from where you click and hold to where you let go |
| Click and drag the space on the left of a line | Select the lines you drag over |
Example Scenarios
Scenario: Bold some text you are about to type
- Ctrl+B to turn on the bold feature
- Type the text you want to be bold
- Ctrl+B to turn off the bold feature
|
Scenario: Selecting A Line Of Text
- Home to move the cursor to the beginning of the line
- Shift-End to move the cursor to the end of the line and select everything alonig the way
|
Keyboard Shortcuts
Formatting Text: Changing Decoration
| Ctrl+B | Bold the selected text bold |
| Ctrl+I | Italicize the selected text italic |
| Ctrl+U | Underline the selected text |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Double underline |
| Ctrl+= | Subscript |
| Ctrl+Shift+= | Superscript |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Apply "Normal" style |
Formatting Text: Changing Fonts
| Ctrl+D | Open font options dialog box |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Select font face in toolbar |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Select font size in toolbar |
| Ctrl+] | Increase font size by one pt |
| Ctrl+[ | Decrease font size by one pt |
| Ctrl+Shift+> | Increase font size |
| Ctrl+Shift+<< | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl+Spacebar | Reset to default font face |
Formatting Text: Manipulating Paragraphs
| Ctrl+E | Center paragraph |
| Ctrl+M | Justify paragraph |
| Ctrl+L | Flush paragraph left |
| Ctrl+R | Flush paragraph right |
| Ctrl+M | Indent paragraph |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Un-indent paragraph |
| Ctrl+1 | Single-space lines |
| Ctrl+2 | Double-space lines |
| Ctrl+5 | 1.5-space lines |
Remember that you can use these keyboard shortcuts both for existing text and for new text. To understand, let's look at the example of bolding text:
- If you have existing text that you want to bold: 1) select that text, 2) hit theCtrl+B keyboard shortcut to make the text bold.
- If you are going to type some text that you want to be bold: 1) hit the Ctrl+Bkeyboard shortcut, 2) type the text, 3) then hit Ctrl+B again to turn off the bolding.
Editing Text
| Ctrl+Backspace | Delete the previous word |
| Ctrl+Del | Delete the next word |
| Ctrl+F | Find text in the current document |
| Ctrl+H | Replace text in the current document |
| Ctrl+Enter | Page break |
Moving the Cursor
These keyboard shortcuts are great for navigating around documents. For example, I use Ctrl+RightArrow (move the cursor right one word) when I'm trying to edit a word in the middle of a line since it gets me there faster than picking up my mouse and clicking there. I also use Ctrl+DownArrow (move the cursor to the next paragraph) to scan the entire document quickly.
| PageUp | Move the cursor up a page |
| PageDown | Move the cursor down a page |
| Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the line |
| End | Move the cursor to the end of the line |
| Ctrl+Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the document |
| Ctrl+End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
| Ctrl+LeftArrow | Move the cursor left one word |
| Ctrl+RightArrow | Move the cursor right one word |
| Ctrl+UpArrow | Move the cursor to beginning of, or previous paragraph |
| Ctrl+DownArrow | Move the cursor to end of, or next paragraph |
Selecting Text
The keyboard shortcuts for selecting text are directly related to those that move the cursor around. Just add a Shift:
| Shift+PageUp | Select everything between the cursor and a page previous |
| Shift+PageDown | Select everything between the cursor and a page after |
| Shift+Home | Select everything between the cursor and the beginning of the line |
| Shift+End | Select everything between the cursor and the end of the line |
| Shift+Ctrl+Home | Select everything betweeen the cursor and the beginning of the document |
| Shift+Ctrl+End | Select everything between the cursor and the end of the document |
| Shift+Ctrl+LeftArrow | Select the word to the left |
| Shift+Ctrl+RightArrow | Select the word to the right |
Using the Clipboard
| Ctrl+C | Copy what's selected |
| Ctrl+X | Cut what's selected |
| Ctrl+V | Paste what you last copied or cut |
| Ctrl+A | Select all |
Working with Documents
| Ctrl+N | New document |
| Ctrl+O | Open existing document |
| Ctrl+S | Save document |
| F12 | Save document as... |
| Ctrl+W | Close document |
| Ctrl+P | Print document |
| Ctrl+F6 | Switch to the next open documewnt |
| Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Switch to the previous open documewnt |
| Alt+F4 | Exit Microsoft Word |
Miscellaneous
| F7 | Open spellcheck dialog box |
| Shift+F7 | Open thesaurus dialog box |
| Ctrl+Z | Undo your last action |
| Ctrl+Y | Redo your last action |
Mouse Shortcuts
Microsoft Word also has support for some mouse shortcuts. Overall, I recommend learning the keyboard shortcuts so you don't have to switch from keyboard to mouse to keyboard. But, sometimes these can come in handy:
| Double-click a word | Select the word |
| Triple-click a word | Select the paragraph |
| Left-click the space on the left of a line | Select the line |
| Double-click the space on the left of a line | Select the paragraph |
| Ctrl+ScrollUp | Zoom in on the document |
| Ctrl+ScrollDown | Zoom out of the document |
| Click and drag some text | Select text from where you click and hold to where you let go |
| Click and drag the space on the left of a line | Select the lines you drag over |
Example Scenarios
Scenario: Bold some text you are about to type
- Ctrl+B to turn on the bold feature
- Type the text you want to be bold
- Ctrl+B to turn off the bold feature
|
Scenario: Selecting A Line Of Text
- Home to move the cursor to the beginning of the line
- Shift-End to move the cursor to the end of the line and select everything alonig the way
|