Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys – Complete Practical Guide

Microsoft Word shortcut keys make everyday work faster and easier. Instead of opening menus again and again, you can use keyboard shortcuts to perform common tasks such as copying, pasting, saving, formatting, searching, inserting content, and navigating through a document.

This Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys guide covers the most useful keyboard shortcuts for students, office users, computer learners, and anyone who works with Word documents.

Basic Microsoft Word Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + N	New Document	Creates a new Word document.
Ctrl + O	Open	Opens an existing Word document.
Ctrl + S	Save	Saves the current document.
Ctrl + Shift + S	Save As	Saves the document with a new name or location.
Ctrl + P	Print	Opens the Print settings.
Ctrl + W	Close Document	Closes the current document.
Alt + F4	Close Word	Closes Microsoft Word.
Ctrl + Z	Undo	Reverses the last action.
Ctrl + Y	Redo/Repeat	Repeats or restores the last action.
Ctrl + F	Find	Searches for text in the document.
Ctrl + H	Replace	Finds text and replaces it with other text.
Ctrl + A	Select All	Selects all content in the document.

Copy, Cut and Paste Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + C	Copy	Copies selected text or an object.
Ctrl + X	Cut	Removes selected content and places it on the Clipboard.
Ctrl + V	Paste	Inserts copied or cut content.
Ctrl + Shift + V	Paste Special	Opens options for pasting content in a different format.
Ctrl + Alt + V	Paste Special	Opens the Paste Special dialog box in supported Word versions.
Ctrl + C twice	Clipboard	Opens the Office Clipboard in supported versions/settings.

Text Selection Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Shift + Left Arrow	Select Left	Selects one character to the left.
Shift + Right Arrow	Select Right	Selects one character to the right.
Shift + Up Arrow	Select Up	Extends selection one line upward.
Shift + Down Arrow	Select Down	Extends selection one line downward.
Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow	Select Previous Word	Selects the previous word.
Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow	Select Next Word	Selects the next word.
Shift + Home	Select to Line Start	Selects from the cursor to the beginning of the line.
Shift + End	Select to Line End	Selects from the cursor to the end of the line.
Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow	Select Paragraph Up	Extends selection toward the previous paragraph.
Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow	Select Paragraph Down	Extends selection toward the next paragraph.
Ctrl + Shift + Home	Select to Document Start	Selects from the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Shift + End	Select to Document End	Selects from the cursor to the end of the document.

Font Formatting Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + B	Bold	Makes selected text bold.
Ctrl + I	Italic	Makes selected text italic.
Ctrl + U	Underline	Underlines selected text.
Ctrl + Shift + W	Underline Words	Underlines words but not spaces.
Ctrl + Shift + D	Double Underline	Applies double underline.
Ctrl + Shift + A	All Caps	Changes selected text to uppercase.
Ctrl + Shift + K	Small Caps	Applies small capital letters.
Ctrl + Shift + =	Superscript	Moves text above the normal line.
Ctrl + =	Subscript	Moves text below the normal line.
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase Font Size	Makes selected text larger.
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease Font Size	Makes selected text smaller.
Ctrl + D	Font Dialog Box	Opens the Font settings window.
Shift + F3	Change Case	Changes text between lowercase, UPPERCASE and other cases.
Ctrl + Spacebar	Clear Character Formatting	Removes direct font formatting from selected text.

Paragraph Formatting Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + L	Align Left	Aligns the paragraph to the left.
Ctrl + E	Center	Centers the paragraph.
Ctrl + R	Align Right	Aligns the paragraph to the right.
Ctrl + J	Justify	Aligns text evenly on both sides.
Ctrl + M	Increase Indent	Moves the paragraph farther from the left margin.
Ctrl + Shift + M	Decrease Indent	Moves the paragraph back toward the margin.
Ctrl + T	Hanging Indent	Creates a hanging indent.
Ctrl + Shift + T	Reduce Hanging Indent	Reduces a hanging indent.
Ctrl + 1	Single Line Spacing	Applies single line spacing.
Ctrl + 2	Double Line Spacing	Applies double line spacing.
Ctrl + 5	1.5 Line Spacing	Applies one-and-a-half line spacing.
Ctrl + 0	Space Before Paragraph	Adds or removes space before a paragraph.

Word and Document Navigation Shortcuts

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Left Arrow	Move Left	Moves the cursor one character left.
Right Arrow	Move Right	Moves the cursor one character right.
Up Arrow	Move Up	Moves the cursor one line upward.
Down Arrow	Move Down	Moves the cursor one line downward.
Ctrl + Left Arrow	Previous Word	Moves the cursor one word to the left.
Ctrl + Right Arrow	Next Word	Moves the cursor one word to the right.
Home	Line Start	Moves to the beginning of the current line.
End	Line End	Moves to the end of the current line.
Ctrl + Home	Document Start	Moves to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + End	Document End	Moves to the end of the document.
Page Up	Previous Screen	Moves up approximately one screen.
Page Down	Next Screen	Moves down approximately one screen.
Ctrl + Page Up	Previous Page	Moves to the previous page.
Ctrl + Page Down	Next Page	Moves to the next page.
Ctrl + G	Go To	Opens the Go To option for quickly moving to a page or location.

Delete and Editing Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Backspace	Delete Left	Deletes the character before the cursor.
Delete	Delete Right	Deletes the character after the cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace	Delete Previous Word	Deletes the word before the cursor.
Ctrl + Delete	Delete Next Word	Deletes the word after the cursor.
Enter	New Paragraph	Starts a new paragraph.
Shift + Enter	Line Break	Starts a new line without creating a new paragraph.
Ctrl + Enter	Page Break	Starts a new page.
Ctrl + Backspace	Delete Word	Quickly removes the previous word.

Microsoft Word Style Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + Shift + N	Normal Style	Applies the Normal style.
Ctrl + Alt + 1	Heading 1	Applies Heading 1 style.
Ctrl + Alt + 2	Heading 2	Applies Heading 2 style.
Ctrl + Alt + 3	Heading 3	Applies Heading 3 style.
Ctrl + Shift + S	Apply Styles	Opens style options.
Alt + Ctrl + Shift + S	Styles Pane	Opens the Styles pane.

Lists and Indentation Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Shift + F12	Save	Saves the document.
Ctrl + Shift + L	Bullet List	Applies bullet formatting to a paragraph.
Tab	Increase Indent	Increases indentation in a list or moves to the next cell in a table.
Shift + Tab	Decrease Indent	Moves to the previous cell or decreases indentation where applicable.

Insert Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Ctrl + K	Hyperlink	Inserts or edits a hyperlink.
Ctrl + Enter	Page Break	Inserts a page break.
Shift + Enter	Line Break	Inserts a manual line break.
Ctrl + F9	Field	Inserts an empty field.
Alt + Shift + D	Date Field	Inserts the current date field.
Alt + Shift + T	Time Field	Inserts the current time field.
Alt + Shift + P	Page Number Field	Inserts a page number field.

Table Shortcut Keys in Microsoft Word

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Tab	Next Cell	Moves to the next table cell.
Shift + Tab	Previous Cell	Moves to the previous table cell.
Alt + Home	First Cell in Row	Moves to the first cell of the row.
Alt + End	Last Cell in Row	Moves to the last cell of the row.
Alt + Page Up	First Cell in Column	Moves to the top cell of the column.
Alt + Page Down	Last Cell in Column	Moves to the bottom cell of the column.
Ctrl + Tab	Tab Character in Cell	Inserts a tab character inside a table cell.

Practical Tip: When typing inside a Word table, pressing Tab normally moves to the next cell. If you want to insert an actual tab inside the cell, use Ctrl + Tab.

Review and Proofreading Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
F7	Spelling & Grammar	Checks spelling and grammar.
Shift + F7	Thesaurus	Opens thesaurus suggestions.
Alt + F7	Next Spelling/Grammar Error	Moves to the next detected error.
Ctrl + Alt + M	New Comment	Adds a comment to selected content.
Ctrl + Shift + E	Track Changes	Turns Track Changes on or off.

View and Display Shortcut Keys

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Alt + W	View Tab	Opens the View tab using the Ribbon keyboard interface.
Ctrl + F1	Show/Hide Ribbon	Collapses or expands the Ribbon.
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel	Zoom	Changes the document zoom level.
Alt + Ctrl + P	Print Layout View	Switches to Print Layout view.
Alt + Ctrl + O	Outline View	Switches to Outline view.
Alt + Ctrl + N	Draft View	Switches to Draft view.

Microsoft Word Function Key Shortcuts

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
F1	Help	Opens Word Help.
F2	Move Text/Object	Moves selected text or an object.
F4	Repeat Action	Repeats the previous action where supported.
F5	Go To	Opens the Go To dialog box.
F7	Spelling & Grammar	Checks spelling and grammar.
F8	Extend Selection	Turns on selection extension mode.
F9	Update Field	Updates the selected field.
F10	KeyTips	Shows keyboard shortcuts for Ribbon commands.
F11	Next Field	Moves to the next field.
F12	Save As	Opens Save As.

Function Key Combinations

Shortcut Key	Function	Simple Explanation
Shift + F1	Reveal Formatting	Shows formatting information.
Shift + F3	Change Case	Changes the case of selected text.
Shift + F4	Repeat Find/Action	Repeats the previous Find or action.
Shift + F5	Previous Location	Returns to the previous editing location.
Shift + F7	Thesaurus	Opens thesaurus suggestions.
Shift + F8	Shrink Selection	Reduces the current selection.
Shift + F9	Show Field Code	Displays the selected field code.
Shift + F10	Context Menu	Opens the shortcut menu.
Shift + F11	Previous Field	Moves to the previous field.
Shift + F12	Save	Saves the document.

Alt Key Shortcuts

Microsoft Word also provides many commands through the Alt key. Pressing Alt displays KeyTips on the Ribbon. You can then press the displayed letters to access tabs and commands without using the mouse.

Shortcut	Function
Alt + F	File menu
Alt + H	Home tab
Alt + N	Insert tab
Alt + G	Design tab
Alt + P	Layout tab
Alt + S	References tab
Alt + M	Mailings tab
Alt + R	Review tab
Alt + W	View tab
Alt + Q	Search/Tell Me
Alt + Tab	Switch between open applications

Useful Shortcuts for Office Work

For regular office work, students and computer operators should especially remember these shortcuts:

Ctrl + N – New document
Ctrl + O – Open document
Ctrl + S – Save document
Ctrl + P – Print document
Ctrl + C – Copy
Ctrl + X – Cut
Ctrl + V – Paste
Ctrl + Z – Undo
Ctrl + Y – Redo
Ctrl + A – Select all
Ctrl + F – Find
Ctrl + H – Find and Replace
Ctrl + B – Bold
Ctrl + I – Italic
Ctrl + U – Underline
Ctrl + L – Align left
Ctrl + E – Center
Ctrl + R – Align right
Ctrl + J – Justify
Ctrl + K – Insert hyperlink
Ctrl + Enter – Page break
F7 – Spelling and Grammar
Ctrl + G – Go To
Ctrl + Shift + E – Track Changes

Practical Example: Creating a Document Using Shortcut Keys

Suppose you want to create a simple office letter.

Press Ctrl + N to create a new document.
Type the letter.
Select the heading and press Ctrl + B to make it bold.
Press Ctrl + E to center the heading.
Use Ctrl + L to align the body text to the left.
Press Ctrl + S to save the document.
If you make a mistake, press Ctrl + Z to undo it.
Press Ctrl + P when you are ready to print.
Press Ctrl + W to close the document.

Important Notes About Word Shortcut Keys

Keyboard shortcuts can vary slightly depending on the Microsoft Word version, Windows settings, keyboard layout, and operating system. Some shortcuts may also perform a different function when the cursor is inside a table, text box, header, footer, or other Word object.

For computer training, it is best to learn the most frequently used shortcuts first and then gradually add advanced shortcuts.

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