Unlock Productivity with 35+ Essential Word Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know!
Introduction
Mastering Word keyboard shortcuts can dramatically improve your efficiency when working on documents. These shortcuts allow you to perform tasks quickly, letting you focus more on content creation rather than navigation. In this article, we’ll cover essential shortcuts to streamline your Word experience. Additionally, a convenient PDF is available for download at the end of the guide for easy access and reference.
What is Word?
Microsoft Word is a widely-used word processing program that helps you create, edit, and format documents like letters, reports, and resumes. It’s part of the Microsoft Office suite and is designed to make writing and organising text easy and efficient, offering tools for spell-checking, adding images, and customising layouts. Whether you’re drafting a simple note or a detailed document, Word provides a straightforward way to bring your ideas to life.
Why do shortcuts exist?
Word Keyboard shortcuts are usually used to speed up everyday actions or operations by reducing the number of mouse presses or keystrokes. To ensure the shortcut was intended, the user is required to press and hold several keys at once or follow a sequence one after the other.
Keyboard shortcuts
Editing Essentials
- Ctrl + B to bold text
- Ctrl + I for italics
- Ctrl + U to underline
- Ctrl + Z to undo
- Ctrl + Y to redo
- Ctrl + A to select all
- Ctrl + C to copy
- Ctrl + V to paste
- Ctrl + X to cut
Formatting Fast
- Ctrl + E to centre text
- Ctrl + L to left align
- Ctrl + R to right align
- Ctrl + J to justify text
- Ctrl + 1 for single spacing
- Ctrl + 2 for double spacing
- Ctrl + Shift + S to apply styles
- Alt + Shift + D to insert date
- Alt + Shift + T to insert time
Navigation Boosters
- Ctrl + F to find text
- Ctrl + H to replace text
- Ctrl + G to go to page
- F5 to open the “Go To” tab
- Shift + F5 to cycle last edit
- Ctrl + Home to go to start
- Ctrl + End to go to end
- Ctrl + P to print
- F12 to save as
Efficiency Hacks
- Ctrl + Shift + C to copy formatting
- Ctrl + Shift + V to paste formatting
- Alt + Ctrl + S to split window
- Ctrl + Shift + L to create bullet list
- Shift + F3 to toggle case
- Ctrl + Enter to insert page break
- Alt + F4 to close Word
- Ctrl + W to close document
- Ctrl + Shift + F to change font
External Resources
If you would like more information about Word keyboard shortcuts, take a look at the resources below. Please note that these websites were available at the time of publishing but may have since moved. Please let us know if any of the links do not work.
- Keyboard Shortcuts in Word from Microsoft
- This page provides a comprehensive list of frequently used Word keyboard shortcuts.
- Handy Word Shortcuts by ClickUp
- This article lists the top 50 Word keyboard shortcuts to save time.
Download
Use the link below to download a handy PDF you can print for your desk.
