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Microsoft (MS) Word Shortcut Keys

Updated on September 7, 2016

Most of us use Microsoft Word all the time for various tasks. We type out letters, write articles, prepare drafts, among many other tasks. Much of this can be time consuming and tiring, especially if you have to use your mouse all the time to select text, copy and paste it, make sentences bold, etc. Using the mouse often can also lead you to develop serious debilitating conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and that could in turn impact your ability to work normally. For all the above reasons and more, it is always a good idea to learn keyboard shortcuts. In this article, I will talk about certain MS Word shortcuts that could help you save time and energy. Some of the more common ones may be known to you, but am sure there'd be a lot of shortcuts that you never knew existed or had the occasion to use previously. So, here is a list of shortcuts for Word that I use, some often; others, rarely!

List of 31 Useful Word Shortcut Keys & Their Functions

 

Shortcut Key
What it Does 
CTRL + C 
Copies the highlighted word or text you select 
CTRL + V 
This pastes the highlighted word or text you select  
CTRL + B 
Bolds the selected word or sentence 
CTRL + U
Underlines the selected word or sentence
CTRL + I
Changes the selected word or sentence to italic
SHIFT + F7
Doing this brings up the Thesaurus option
CTRL + Z
Use this to undo the last action performed
CTRL + Y
Opposite of above - redo the last action performed
CTRL + Enter
Creates a Page Break
CTRL + E
Aligns selected word or text to the center
CTRL + L
Aligns selected word or text to the left
CTRL + R
Aligns selected word or text to the right
F7
Runs spelling and grammar check
CTRL + SHIFT + G
Opens Word Count Statistics Box
CTRL + Backspace
Deletes one word to the left of the cursor
CTRL + DEL
Deletes one word to the right of the cursor
CTRL + [
Used to decrease font size by one point
CTRL+ ]
Used to increase font size by one point
CTRL + M
Used to indent selected text or paragraph
CTRL + X
Cuts the selected text or word
CTRL + SHIFT + 8
Shows hidden characters indicating spaces, hard returns, etc.
SHIFT + F3
Select text, Shift + F3 once, makes the selected word or text Initial Case. Doing Shift + F3 on the same selected word/text a second time, makes the selection ALL CAPS.
CTRL + S 
Saves the text
CTRL + N
Opens a new Word document 
ALT + F4 
Closes the Word document  
CTRL + D
Opens the Font window, where you can change the font, font style, font size, etc.
CTRL + P
To print a document.
CTRL + A
To select all text in a Word document.
CTRL + F
Opens the 'Find and Replace' dialog box.
CTRL + K
To insert a hyperlink.
CTRL + ALT + I or CTRL + F2
To preview a document.

Well, there you have it folks - a list of 31 useful Word shortcuts that could help save a lot of your time and effort. Mastering these should be your goal and once you have done so is when you can see improvements in your speed. It is definitely worth trying out a few of these shortcuts and find out just how much time and wrist pain it saves you over time!!

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