Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts
Master these keyboard shortcuts to work faster and more efficiently in Microsoft Word.
💡 Pro Tips
- Practice shortcuts regularly to build muscle memory
- Start with the most common shortcuts (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + S)
- Print this page for quick reference at your desk
- Most shortcuts work in other Microsoft Office applications too
Basic Operations
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new document |
| Ctrl + O | Open a document |
| Ctrl + S | Save document |
| Ctrl + W | Close document |
| Ctrl + P | Print document |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
Text Formatting
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold text |
| Ctrl + I | Italic text |
| Ctrl + U | Underline text |
| Ctrl + D | Open Font dialog box |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + < | Decrease font size |
| Ctrl + ] | Increase font size by 1 point |
| Ctrl + [ | Decrease font size by 1 point |
| Ctrl + Spacebar | Remove character formatting |
Paragraph Formatting
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + E | Center align |
| Ctrl + L | Left align |
| Ctrl + R | Right align |
| Ctrl + J | Justify |
| Ctrl + M | Indent paragraph |
| Ctrl + Shift + M | Remove paragraph indent |
| Ctrl + T | Create hanging indent |
| Ctrl + Shift + T | Reduce hanging indent |
| Ctrl + 1 | Single line spacing |
| Ctrl + 2 | Double line spacing |
| Ctrl + 5 | 1.5 line spacing |
| Ctrl + 0 | Add/remove space before paragraph |
Selection & Navigation
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + Home | Go to beginning of document |
| Ctrl + End | Go to end of document |
| Ctrl + Left Arrow | Move one word left |
| Ctrl + Right Arrow | Move one word right |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Move one paragraph up |
| Ctrl + Down Arrow | Move one paragraph down |
| Shift + Arrow keys | Select text |
| Ctrl + Shift + Arrow | Select word/paragraph |
Editing
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + X | Cut |
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + F | Find |
| Ctrl + H | Replace |
| Ctrl + G | Go to (page, section, etc.) |
| Ctrl + K | Insert hyperlink |
| Delete | Delete one character to the right |
| Backspace | Delete one character to the left |
| Ctrl + Delete | Delete one word to the right |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Delete one word to the left |
Special Features
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| F7 | Spell check |
| Shift + F7 | Thesaurus |
| Alt + Shift + D | Insert current date |
| Alt + Shift + T | Insert current time |
| Ctrl + Enter | Insert page break |
| Shift + Enter | Insert line break |
| Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Insert column break |
| Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar | Insert non-breaking space |
| Ctrl + Shift + - | Insert non-breaking hyphen |
Tables
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Tab | Move to next cell |
| Shift + Tab | Move to previous cell |
| Alt + Home | Move to first cell in row |
| Alt + End | Move to last cell in row |
| Alt + Page Up | Move to first cell in column |
| Alt + Page Down | Move to last cell in column |
View & Window
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + Ctrl + P | Print Layout view |
| Alt + Ctrl + O | Outline view |
| Alt + Ctrl + N | Draft view |
| Ctrl + F2 | Print Preview |
| Alt + Ctrl + S | Split window |
Additional Resources
- You can customize keyboard shortcuts in Word: File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard Shortcuts
- On Mac, replace Ctrl with Command (⌘) for most shortcuts
- Some shortcuts may vary depending on your Word version and operating system