Shortcut Key Reference
The following table lists the default shortcut keys (which are also called keyboard shortcuts or key combinations) that are available in Word. For the Microsoft help topic about the keyboard shortcuts available in Word 2016 and Word 2013, see Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Word 2016 for Windows. For the Microsoft help topic about the keyboard shortcuts available in Word 2010, see Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Word. For the Microsoft help topic about the keyboard shortcuts available in Word 2007, see Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Office Word.
Note. Some of these shortcut keys work only in outline view. For more information about outline view, see How to Save Yourself Hours by Using Outline View Properly by Dave Rado.
Word shortcut keys
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+A | Selects all (same as Ctrl+(num)5). |
| Ctrl+Shift+A | Toggles changing the selected text to all caps. |
| Alt+Shift+A | Shows all heading levels and body text. |
| Ctrl+B Ctrl+Shift+B |
Toggles bold formatting. |
| Ctrl+C | Copies the selection to the clipboard (same as Ctrl+Insert). When enabled, pressing Ctrl+C twice opens the Clipboard task pane. |
| Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy the formatting of the selected text. |
| Alt+Ctrl+C | Inserts a copyright symbol (©). |
| Ctrl+D | Opens the Font dialog box with the focus at the Font combo box (see also Ctrl+Shift+F and Ctrl+Shift+P). |
| Ctrl+Shift+D | Toggles double underlining. |
| Alt+Ctrl+D | Inserts an endnote. |
| Alt+Shift+D | Inserts the current date (DATE field). |
| Ctrl+E | Applies center alignment, which is also called center justification. |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Toggles track revisions. |
| Alt+Shift+E | Opens a data source for mail merge. |
| Ctrl+F | In Word 2010 and newer versions, opens the Navigation pane to the search box. In Word 2007, opens the Find and Replace dialog box to the Find tab. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Opens the Font dialog box with the focus at the Font combo box. |
| Alt+Ctrl+F | Inserts a footnote. |
| Alt+Shift+F | Inserts a merge field. |
| Ctrl+G | Opens the Find and Replace dialog box to the Go To tab (same as F5). |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Opens the Word Count dialog box for the active document. |
| Ctrl+H | Opens the Find and Replace dialog box to the Replace tab. |
| Ctrl+Shift+H | Formats text as hidden. |
| Alt+Ctrl+H | Highlights the selected text. |
| Ctrl+I Ctrl+Shift+I |
Toggles italic formatting. |
| Alt+Ctrl+I | Toggles print preview (same as Ctrl+F2). |
| Alt+Shift+I | Marks a citation. |
| Ctrl+J | Applies justified alignment, which is also called full justification. |
| Ctrl+Shift+J | Spreads all the lines in the current paragraph or selected paragraphs across the entire width between the margins. |
| Ctrl+K | Inserts a hyperlink. |
| Ctrl+Shift+K | Toggles small caps. |
| Alt+Ctrl+K | Automatically formats the active document. |
| Alt+Shift+K | Checks for errors in mail merge. |
| Ctrl+L | Applies left alignment, which is also called left justification. |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Applies the Bulleted List style (but not the default bullet style). |
| Alt+Ctrl+L | Inserts a list number (LISTNUM) field. |
| Alt+Shift+L | Toggles between showing only the first line of each paragraph and showing all the text in an outline in outline view. |
| Ctrl+M | Indents the current paragraph. |
| Ctrl+Shift+M | Decreases the indentation to previous tab stop (similar to Shift+Tab). |
| Alt+Ctrl+M | Insert an annotation. |
| Alt+Shift+M | Sends mail merge results to the printer. |
| Ctrl+N | Creates a new document with the Normal template. |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Applies the Normal style (same as Alt+Shift+(num)5). |
| Alt+Ctrl+N | Switches to Normal view. |
| Alt+Shift+N | Assembles mail merge results in the document. |
| Ctrl+O | Opens the Open dialog box to locate or specify a document or template to open (same as Ctrl+F12 and Alt+Ctrl+F2). |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Opens the Research pane for the current word. |
| Alt+Ctrl+O | Switches to outline view. |
| Alt+Shift+O | Marks text that will be included in the table of contents. |
| Ctrl+P | Opens the Print dialog box (same as Ctrl+Shift+F12). |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Opens the Font dialog box with the focus at the font Size combo box. |
| Alt+Ctrl+P | Switches to Print Layout view. |
| Alt+Shift+P | Inserts a page number (PAGE) field. |
| Ctrl+Q | Resets the paragraph formatting to the default paragraph formatting of the applied style. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Q | Applies the Symbol font. |
| Ctrl+R | Applies right alignment, which is also called right justification. |
| Ctrl+Shift+R | Updates the word count for the active document. |
| Alt+Ctrl+R | Inserts a registered symbol (®). |
| Alt+Shift+R | Links this header/footer to the previous section. |
| Ctrl+S | Saves the active document or template (same as Shift+F12 and Alt+Shift+F2). |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Opens the Apply Styles task pane for applying, creating, or modifying styles and formatting (use Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S to modify a style without applying it to the selection). |
| Alt+Ctrl+S | Splits the active window along a horizontal line. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S | Opens the Styles pane. |
| Ctrl+T | Increases the hanging indentation. |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Decreases the hanging indentation. |
| Alt+Ctrl+T | Inserts a trademark symbol (™). |
| Alt+Shift+T | Inserts the current time (a TIME field). |
| Ctrl+U Ctrl+Shift+U |
Toggles underlining. |
| Alt+Ctrl+U | Updates the formatting of the table to match the applied formatting. |
| Alt+Shift+U | Updates all fields in the selection (same as F9). |
| Ctrl+V | Pastes the clipboard contents (same as Shift+Insert). |
| Ctrl+Shift+V | Applies the formatting previously copied using Ctrl+Shift+C to the selected text. |
| Alt+Ctrl+V | Opens the Paste Special dialog box. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Shift+V | Inserts the Quick Part (AutoText) for the preceding text or selected text (same as F3). |
| Ctrl+W | Closes the active document (same as Ctrl+F4). |
| Ctrl+Shift+W | Toggles underlining whole words. |
| Ctrl+X | Cuts (copies to the clipboard and deletes) the selection (same as Shift+Del). |
| Alt+X | Toggles between the character preceding the cursor and its hexadecimal Unicode number. |
| Alt+Shift+X | Marks text that will be included in the index. |
| Ctrl+Y | Redoes the last action performed (same as F4 and Alt+Enter). |
| Alt+Ctrl+Y | Repeats the previous search or cursor movement (same as Shift+F4). |
| Ctrl+Z | Undoes the last action performed (same as Alt+Backspace). |
| Ctrl+Shift+Z | Resets the font formatting to the default font formatting of the applied style. If support for Chinese is not enabled in Windows, Ctrl+Space also does this. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Z | Goes back to the previous cursor position (up to the last three positions) (same as Shift+F5). |
| Ctrl+1 | Applies single line spacing. |
| Alt+Ctrl+1 | Applies the Heading 1 style. |
| Ctrl+2 | Applies double spacing. |
| Alt+Ctrl+2 | Applies the Heading 2 style. |
| Ctrl+3 | Locks selected fields to prevent updating (same as Ctrl+F11). |
| Alt+Ctrl+3 | Applies the Heading 3 style. |
| Ctrl+4 | Unlocks selected fields to enable updating (same as Ctrl+Shift+F11). |
| Ctrl+5 | Applies 1.5 line spacing. |
| Ctrl+6 | Deletes field code and leaves the current result (same as Ctrl+Shift+F9). |
| Ctrl+0 | Adds or removes additional space before the current paragraph or selected paragraphs. |
| F1 | Opens Help. |
| Ctrl+F1 | Shows or hides the Ribbon (double-clicking any Ribbon tab also shows or hides the Ribbon). |
| Shift+F1 | Shows or hides the formatting properties in the task pane. |
| Alt+F1 | Moves to the next field (same as F11). Note. Hyperlinks are fields. |
| Alt+Shift+F1 | Moves to the previous field (same as Shift+F11). |
| F2 | Selects text that will be moved to the cursor location when Enter is pressed. |
| Ctrl+F2 | Toggles print preview (same as Alt+Ctrl+I). |
| Shift+F2 | Selects text that will be copied to the cursor location when Enter is pressed. |
| Alt+Shift+F2 | Saves the active document or template (same as Ctrl+S and Shift+F12). |
| Alt+Ctrl+F2 | Opens the Open dialog box to locate or specify a document or template to open (same as Ctrl+O and Ctrl+F12). |
| F3 | Inserts the AutoText for the preceding text or selected text (same as Alt+Ctrl+Shift+V). |
| Ctrl+F3 | Deletes the selected text and adds it to the spike (a special AutoText entry). |
| Shift+F3 | Changes the text to all capital letters, to all small letters, or to a capital letter at the beginning of every word. |
| Alt+F3 | Saves the selected text in an AutoText entry. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F3 | Inserts the contents of the spike (a special AutoText entry) and empties it. |
| F4 | Redoes the last action performed (same as Ctrl+Y and Alt+Enter). |
| Ctrl+F4 | Closes the active document (same as Ctrl+W). |
| Shift+F4 | Repeats the previous search or cursor movement (same as Alt+Ctrl+Y). |
| Alt+F4 | Closes the active document and exits Word when all documents are closed. |
| F5 | Opens the Find and Replace dialog box to the Go To tab (same as Ctrl+G). |
| Ctrl+Shift+F5 | Opens the Bookmark dialog box. |
| Shift+F5 | Goes back to the previous cursor position (up to the last three positions) (same as Alt+Ctrl+Z). |
| Alt+F5 | Restores all Word documents to the normal window size. |
| F6 | Switches to the next open task pane or editing pane. |
| Ctrl+F6 | Switches to the next document window (same as Alt+F6). |
| Shift+F6 | Switches to the previous open task pane or editing pane. |
| Alt+F6 | Switches to the next document window (same as Ctrl+F6). |
| Ctrl+Shift+F6 Alt+Shift+F6 |
Switches to the previous document window. |
| F7 | Checks spelling and grammar of the selected text or the active document. |
| Shift+F7 | Opens the theasarus. |
| Alt+F7 | Finds the next spelling or grammar error. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F7 | Copies modified text from a linked file back to its source. |
| Alt+Shift+F7 | Translates. |
| F8 | Extends the selection. To collapse an extended selection, press Esc and move the cursor. For more information about how to use the F8 key to extend a selection, see Using the F8 Key. |
| Shift+F8 | Shrinks the selection to the next smaller unit. |
| Alt+F8 | Opens the Macro dialog box to run, create, modify, or delete a macro. |
| F9 | Updates all fields in the selection (same as Alt+Shift+U). |
| Ctrl+F9 | Converts the selected text to a field code and adds the special curly brackets that are part of the field code. |
| Shift+F9 | Shows or hides the selected field codes or the field code at the cursor. |
| Alt+F9 | Shows or hides all field codes. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F9 | Deletes the field code and leaves the current result (same as Ctrl+6). |
| Alt+Shift+F9 | Performs a click on the field. |
| Shift+F10 | Displays the shortcut menu for the selected item (right-click also displays the shortcut menu). |
| Ctrl+F10 | Toggles the size of the active document window between normal and maximized. |
| Alt+F10 | Toggles the size of the all document windows between normal and maximized. |
| F11 | Moves to the next field (same as Alt+F1). |
| Ctrl+F11 | Locks the selected fields to prevent updating (same as Ctrl+3). |
| Shift+F11 | Moves to the previous field (same as Alt+Shift+F1). |
| Alt+F11 | Opens or switches to the Microsoft Visual Basic editor. |
| Ctrl+Shift+F11 | Unlocks the selected fields to enable updating (same as Ctrl+4). |
| F12 | Opens the Save As dialog box. |
| Ctrl+F12 | Opens the Open dialog box to locate or specify a document or template to open (same as Ctrl+O and Alt+Ctrl+F2). |
| Shift+F12 | Saves the active document or template (same as Ctrl+S and Alt+Ctrl+F12). |
| Ctrl+Shift+F12 | Opens the Print dialog box (same as Ctrl+P). |
| Ctrl+Tab | Inserts a tab character within a table cell. |
| Shift+Tab | Decreases the indentation to previous tab stop (similar to Ctrl+Shift+M). |
| Ctrl+Enter | Inserts a page break. |
| Shift+Enter | Inserts a soft return (vertical tab) (ASCII 11). |
| Alt+Enter | Redoes the last action performed (same as Ctrl+Y and F4). |
| Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Inserts a section break or a column break. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Enter | Inserts a style separator and combines with the next paragraph (inserts a style separator and hides the paragraph break). For more information about how to use a style separator, see Using a Style Separator. |
| Shift+Insert | Copies the selection to the clipboard (same as Ctrl+C). |
| Shift+Insert | Pastes the clipboard contents (same as Ctrl+V). |
| Ctrl+Del | Deletes the next word. |
| Shift+Del | Cuts (copies to the clipboard and deletes) the selection (same as Ctrl+X). |
| Ctrl+Backspace | Deletes the previous word. |
| Alt+Backspace | Undoes the last action performed (same as Ctrl+Z). |
| Alt+Shift+Backspace | Redoes the last action that was undone. |
| Right | Moves to the next character. |
| Ctrl+Right | Moves to the beginning of the next word. |
| Shift+Right | Extends the selection one character to the right. |
| Alt+Right | Goes to the last location reached from a hyperlink. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Right | Extends the selection to the beginning of the next word. |
| Alt+Shift+Right | Increases the numbering level in a multilevel list. In outline view, demotes the selected text to the next lower outline level. |
| Left | Moves to the previous character. |
| Ctrl+Left | Moves to the beginning of the current word or the previous word. |
| Shift+Left | Extends the selection to the previous character. |
| Alt+Left | Goes back to the last hyperlink used. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Left | Extends the selection to the beginning of the current word or the previous word. |
| Alt+Shift+Left | Decreases the numbering level in a multilevel list. In outline view, promote the selected text to the next higher outline level. |
| Up | Moves up one line. |
| Ctrl+Up | Moves to the beginning of the paragraph or to the beginning of the previous paragraph. |
| Shift+Up | Extends the selection up one line. |
| Alt+Up | Moves to the previous object (table cell or end of the previous row) on the current page. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Up | Extends the selection to the beginning of the paragraph or to the beginning of the previous paragraph. |
| Alt+Shift+Up | In a table, moves the current row up. In outline view, moves the selected text to the place above the previous outline item. |
| Down | Moves down one line. |
| Ctrl+Down | Moves to the beginning of the next paragraph. |
| Shift+Down | Extends the selection down one line. |
| Alt+Down | Moves to the next object (table cell or end of row) on the current page. When a drop-down list is selected, opens the list. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Down | Extends the selection to the beginning of the next paragraph. |
| Alt+Shift+Down | In a table, moves the current row down. In outline view, moves the selected text to the place below the next outline item. |
| Home | Moves to the beginning of the line. |
| Ctrl+Home | Moves to the beginning of the document. |
| Shift+Home | Extends the selection to the beginning of the line. |
| Alt+Home | Moves to the first cell in the row. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Home | Extends the selection to the beginning of the document. |
| Alt+Shift+Home | Extends the selection to the first cell in the row. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Home | Opens Select Browse. |
| End | Moves to the end of the line. |
| Ctrl+End | Moves to the end of the document. |
| Shift+End | Extends the selection to the end of the line. |
| Alt+End | Moves to the end of the row. |
| Alt+Shift+End | Extends the selection to the end of the row. |
| Ctrl+Shift+End | Extends the selection to the end of the document. |
| Page Up | Moves to the previous text screen. |
| Shift+Page Up | Extends the selection to the previous text screen. |
| Ctrl+Page Up | Goes to or browses previous, according to settings on the Go to tab of the Find and Replace dialog box or the Select Browse pane. |
| Alt+Page Up | Moves to the first cell in the column. |
| Alt+Shift+Page Up | Extends the selection to the first cell in the column. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Page Up | Moves to the beginning of the first line on the screen. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Page Up | Extends the selection to the beginning of the first line on the screen. |
| Page Down | Moves to the next text screen. |
| Shift+Page Down | Extends the selection to the next text screen. |
| Ctrl+Page Down | Goes to or browses next, according to settings on the Go to tab of the Find and Replace dialog box or the Select Browse pane. |
| Alt+Page Down | Moves to the end of the column. |
| Alt+Shift+Page Down | Extends the selection to the end of the column. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Page Down | Moves to the end of the last line on the screen. |
| Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Page Down | Extends the selection to the end of the last line on the screen. |
| Ctrl+Space | Resets the font formatting to the default font formatting of the applied style (same as Ctrl+Shift+Z). If support for Chinese is enabled in Windows, Ctrl+Space switches the character input mode. |
| Ctrl+Shift+Space | Inserts a hard space. |
| Ctrl+(num)5 | Selects all (same as Ctrl+A). |
| Alt+(num)5 | Selects the entire current table. |
| Alt+Shift+(num)5 | Applies the Normal style (same as Ctrl+Shift+N). |
| Ctrl+(num)- | Inserts an en dash (–). |
| Alt+Ctrl+(num)- | Inserts an em dash (—). |
| Alt+Shift+(num)- | In outline view, hides the text in the next lower outline level (same as Alt+_). |
| Alt+Ctrl+(num)+ | Customizes the keyboard shortcut pressed after this key combination. |
| Alt+Shift+(num)+ | In outline view, shows the text in the next lower outline level (same as Alt++). |
| Esc | Cancels. |
| Alt+! | Shows only level 1 headings. |
| Alt+@ | Shows level 1 and level 2 headings. |
| Alt+# | Shows level 1 through level 3 headings. |
| Alt+$ | Shows level 1 through level 4 headings. |
| Alt+% | Shows level 1 through level 5 headings. |
| Alt+^ | Shows level 1 through level 6 headings. |
| Alt+& | Shows level 1 through level 7 headings. |
| Ctrl+* | Shows or hides non-printing characters. |
| Alt+* | Shows level 1 through level 8 headings. |
| Alt+( | Shows level 1 through level 9 headings. |
| Ctrl+- | Inserts an optional hyphen. |
| Ctrl+_ | Inserts a hard hyphen. |
| Alt+_ | In outline view, hides the text in the next lower outline level (same as Alt+Shift+(num)-). |
| Ctrl+= | Toggles subscript formatting. |
| Alt+= | Inserts an equation. |
| Ctrl++ | Toggles superscript formatting. |
| Alt++ | In outline view, shows the text in the next lower outline level (same as Alt+Shift+(num)+). |
| Ctrl+[ | Decreases the font size by 1 pt. |
| Ctrl+Shift+> | Increases the font size by 1 pt up to 12 pt or by 2 pt above 12 pt. |
| Ctrl+] | Increases the font size by 1 pt. |
| Ctrl+Shift+< | Decreases the font size by 1 pts at 12 pt or less, of by 2 pt above 12 pt. |
| Ctrl+[ | Decreases the font size by 1 pt. |
| Ctrl+\ | Moves between hyperlinks and subdocuments. |
| Ctrl+: | Adds a dieresis (¨) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+' | Adds an acute (´) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported, or inserts an upper-case eth (Ð) or a lower-case eth (ð) if the next letter typed is D or d, respectively. |
| Ctrl+` | Adds a grave (`) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+^ | Adds a circumflex (ˆ) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+& | Creates a ligature, such as Æ, æ, Œ, œ, or ß of the next letter typed (A, a, O, o, or s, respectively, in the examples just listed), if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+~ | Adds a tilde (˜) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+, | Adds a cedilla (¸) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+/ | Adds a stroke (/) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Ctrl+@ | Adds a ring (°) to the next letter typed, if the combination is supported. |
| Alt+Ctrl+. | Inserts an ellipsis (…). |
| Alt+Ctrl+? | Inserts an inverted question mark (¿). |
| Alt+Ctrl+! | Inserts an inverted exclamation mark (¡). |