Keyboard Shortcuts
Updated Feb. 23, 2007.
Prepared by Mary Whisner for Library Lifesavers.
Note: We use Word on PCs running Windows. Some of the tips might not work on Macs.
Keyboard shortcuts are often faster than the mouse. Plus using the mouse less will reduce your risk of repetitive stress injuries.
There and other shortcuts are a regular feature of Word. See Microsoft’s list of keyboard shortcuts for Word 2002 and Word 2003.
ALT-TAB – Moves to another open application, which can be another Word document, a browser window, an Excel spreadsheet, etc.Select Text
For general editing:
F8 and ARROW KEYS – Selects text
CTRL-A – Selects whole document
CTRL-Y – Repeat
CTRL-Z – Undo
Format Text
Change the appearance of the text:
CTRL-I – Italics
CTRL-B – Bold
CTRL-U – Underline
CTRL-SHIFT-K - Small caps
CTRL-[ – Makes font one point smaller. Hit it twice to go from 12 point to 10 point
CTRL-] – Makes font one point larger
CTRL-SHIFT-L - Starts a bulleted list
CTRL-SHIFT-) - Increases indent (in a bulleted list, may change type of bullet to show new level)
CTRL-SHIFT-( - Decreases indent (in a bulleted list - may change type of bullet)
CTRL-M - Indents (in a bulleted list, does not change type of bullet)
CTRL-SHIFT-M - Un-indents
Copy, Cut, or Paste Text
CTRL-C – Copy
CTRL-X – Cut
CTRL-V – Paste
See here for how to paste without carrying over the original formatting.
Create a Footnote
ALT-CTRL-F - Inserts a footnote (The up arrow returns you to text.)
Create Your Own Shortcuts
It is easy to change existing keyboard shortcuts or create new ones for certain actions:
Explore Tools > Customize > Keyboard
f an action you see listed doesn’t already have a shortcut, you can create one. But be careful not to overwrite another shortcut you use (or might use). For instance, if you use the shortcut CTRL-F for InsertFootnote (because “footnote” starts with “f”), you lose the ability to use the existing CTRL-F shortcut (EditFind), which searches for a word or phrase in your document. So watch the “Currently assigned” line below the box where you enter shortcuts.