MS-Word is document creation software by Microsoft Corporation, used by people world over. Engineering documents are created in MS-Word e.g. various types of specifications. Here is a list of shortcuts to boost your productivity on MS-Word.
Manage Word Documents
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 1 | Ctrl+N | Create new document |
| 2 | Ctrl+O | Open document |
| 3 | Ctrl+W | Close document |
| 4 | Ctrl+S | Save document |
| 5 | F12 | Save document as |
| 6 | Ctrl+P | Print document/ print preview |
| 7 | Ctrl+F6 | Switch between multiple Word documents |
| 8 | Alt, then f, r | Open Recent (file, recent) |
Navigate Within Documents
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 9 | Arrow Left/Arrow Right | Jump one character to the left / to the right |
| 10 | Ctrl+Arrow Left/Ctrl+Arrow Right | Jump one word to the left / to the right |
| 11 | End/Home | Jump to the end of a line / beginning of a line |
| 12 | Arrow Down/Arrow Up | Jump one line down / one line down |
| 13 | Ctrl+Arrow Down/Ctrl+Arrow Up | Jump one paragraph down / one paragraph up |
| 14 | Page Down/Page Up | Jump one screen down/ one screen up |
| 15 | Alt+Ctrl+Page Down/Alt+Ctrl+Page Up | Jump to top / to bottom of visible window |
| 16 | Ctrl+End/Ctrl+Home | Jump to end / to beginning of document |
| 17 | F6 | Cycle through Ribbon/open panes/Status Bar/document window |
| 18 | Ctrl+G/F5 | Go to a page, bookmark, footnote, table, comment, graphic, or other location |
| 19 | Alt+Ctrl+Z | Go back to previously edited location in document (up to 4 places) |
| 20 | Shift+F5 | Go to a the last change or revision. Also works after opening document. |
| 21 | Ctrl+Shift+F5 | Set, go to and edit bookmarks |
| 22 | Alt+Ctrl+Home | Set Browse Options. Press the arrow keys to select an option, and then press enter to browse through a document by using the selected option |
| 23 | Ctrl+Page Down/Ctrl+Page Up | Move to next / move to previous browser object as set in Browse Options |
Dialog Boxes
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 24 | Tab | Cycle forward through all options and elements |
| 25 | Shift+Tab | Cycle backwards through all options and elements |
| 26 | Ctrl+Tab | Cycle forward through available pages |
| 27 | Ctrl+Shift+Tab | Cycle backwards through available pages |
| 28 | Alt+underlined letter | Selects the option indicated by the letter |
Select Text
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 29 | Shift+Arrow Right/Shift+Arrow Left | Extend selection one character to the right / to the left |
| 30 | Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Right/Ctrl+Shift+Arrow Left | Extend selection one word to the right / to the left |
| 31 | Shift+End/Shift+Home | Extend selection to the end / to beginning of a line |
| 32 | Shift+Arrow Down/Shift+Arrow Up | Extend selection one line down / one line up |
| 33 | Shift+Page Down/Shift+Page Up | Extend selection one screen down / one screen up |
| 34 | Ctrl+Shift+End/Ctrl+Shift+Home | Extend selection to end / to beginning of document |
| 35 | Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Page Down/Alt+Ctrl+Shift+Page Up | Extend selection to end / to beginning of visible window |
| 36 | Ctrl+A | Extend selection to entire document |
| 37 | Arrow Keys | Cancel selection and return to beginning / to end of selection |
| 38 | F8 | Turn Extend Mode on: Extend selection without pressing shift |
| 39 | Arrow keys , Page up/Page Down | Extend selection in Extended Mode: |
| 40 | F8 | Extend selection further by word, paragraph, document in Extended Mode |
| 41 | Shift+F8 | Reduce the size of a selection in Extended Mode |
| 42 | Ctrl+Shift+f8, and arrow keys | Select a vertical block of text in Extended Mode |
| 43 | Esc | Turn extend mode off |
| 44 | F8 | Extend a selection to a specific location in a document |
Undo, Copy and Paste
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 45 | Ctrl+Z | Undo the last action |
| 46 | Ctrl+Y | Redo the last action |
| 47 | Ctrl+C | Copy selected text or object |
| 48 | Ctrl+X | Cut selected text or object |
| 49 | Ctrl+V | Paste selected text or object |
| 50 | Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy text format |
| 51 | Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste text format |
| 52 | Ctrl+Alt+V | Paste special |
| 53 | Ctrl+v, then Ctrl, then k | Paste and keep Source Formatting |
| 54 | Ctrl+v, then Ctrl, then t | Paste and keep Text only |
| 55 | Ctrl+F3 | Cut to the Spike (separate clipboard) |
| 56 | Ctrl+Shift+F3 | Paste from the Spike |
| 57 | F3 | Paste AutoText ( after start typing) |
| 58 | Alt+Shift+R | Copy the header or footer from previous section of the document |
Insert Special Characters
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 59 | Alt+Ctrl+C | Insert copyright symbol |
| 60 | Alt+Ctrl+R | Insert registered trademark symbol |
| 61 | Alt+Ctrl+T | Insert trademark symbol |
| 62 | Alt+Ctrl+. (Period) | Insert horizontal ellipsis (�) |
| 63 | Alt+Ctrl+- | Insert em dash |
| 64 | Alt+Ctrl+[+] | Insert en dash |
| 65 | Alt, then n,u | Insert Symbol (insert menu) |
| 66 | ‘/Ctrl+2x` | Insert single opening quotation mark |
| 67 | Ctrl+2x ‘ | Insert single closing quotation mark |
| 68 | Type character code and press Alt+X | Insert Unicode character, e.g. 20ac |
| 69 | Select character and press alt+X | Transform character to Unicode |
| 70 | Alt+character code on numeric keyboard | Insert ANSI character |
Insert Breaks
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 71 | Enter | Insert paragraph break |
| 72 | Shift+Enter | Insert line break without breaking paragraph |
| 73 | Ctrl+Enter | Insert page break |
| 74 | Ctrl+Shift+Enter | Insert column break (break table) |
| 75 | Ctrl+Shift+Space | Insert nonbreaking space |
| 76 | Ctrl+Shift+- (Hyphen) | Insert nonbreaking hyphen |
| 77 | Ctrl+- | Insert optional hyphen |
Insert Text Elements
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 78 | Alt+Ctrl+F | Insert a footnote |
| 79 | Alt+Ctrl+D | Insert an endnote |
| 80 | Ctrl+K | Insert a hyperlink |
| 81 | Alt+Shift+I | Insert Citation Mark |
| 82 | Alt+Shift+X | Insert Index Mark |
Move and Delete Text
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 83 | F2, then move to position and press Enter | Move selected text to different position |
| 84 | Shift+F2, then move to position and press Enter | Copy selected text to different position |
| 85 | Delete/Backspace | Delete one character to the right / to the left (or delete selection) |
| 86 | Ctrl+Delete/Ctrl+Backspace | Delete one word to the right / to the left |
| 87 | Delete | Delete one character to the right or delete selection |
| 88 | Ctrl+Shift+ | Decrease / Increase font size one value |
Format Text
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 89 | Ctrl+D/Ctrl+Shift+K | Open the Font dialog box |
| 90 | Ctrl+Shift+ | Decrease / Increase font size one value |
| 91 | Ctrl+[/Ctrl+] | Decrease / Increase font size one point |
| 92 | Ctrl+B | Apply/remove bold |
| 93 | Ctrl+I | Apply/remove italic |
| 94 | Ctrl+U | Apply/remove underline |
| 95 | Ctrl+= | Apply/remove subscript |
| 96 | Ctrl+Shift+= | Apply/remove superscript |
| 97 | Ctrl+Shift+C | Copy formatting |
| 98 | Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste formatting |
| 99 | Ctrl+Shift+D | Apply/remove double-underline |
| 100 | Ctrl+Shift+W | Apply/remove words underline (only words, no spaces) |
| 101 | Ctrl+Shift+H | Apply/remove hidden formatting |
| 102 | Ctrl+Shift+A | Apply/remove all capitals |
| 103 | Ctrl+Shift+K | Apply/remove small capitals |
| 104 | Shift+F3 | Change between all upper-, first letter upper- and all lower-case |
| 105 | Ctrl+d, then Alt+k and enter | Apply strike-through formatting (font dialog) |
| 106 | Ctrl+Shift+Q | Change the selection to the Symbol font |
| 107 | Shift+F1 | Reveal Formatting (show all formats of selection) |
| 108 | Ctrl+Alt+H | Apply/remove Highlight Text Feature |
Format Paragraphs
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 109 | Ctrl+R | Right-align paragraph |
| 110 | Ctrl+L | Left-align paragraph |
| 111 | Ctrl+E | Center-align paragraph |
| 112 | Ctrl+J | Justify-align paragraph |
| 113 | Ctrl+M/Ctrl+Shift+M | Indent paragraph from the left and increase / decrease indent |
| 114 | Ctrl+T | Increase hanging indent |
| 115 | Ctrl+Shift+T | Decrease hanging indent |
| 116 | Ctrl+1 | Set line-spacing to single-space |
| 117 | Ctrl+2 | Set line-spacing to double-space |
| 118 | Ctrl+5 | Set line-spacing to 1.5 |
| 119 | Ctrl+0 (zero) | Add or remove one line space preceding a paragraph |
Styles
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 120 | Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S | Open or close Styles task pane |
| 121 | Alt+Ctrl+1 | Apply Heading 1 style |
| 122 | Alt+Ctrl+2 | Apply Heading 2 style |
| 123 | Alt+Ctrl+3 | Apply Heading 3 style |
| 124 | Alt+Shift+Arrow Right/Alt+Shift+Arrow Left | Promote / demote Headings |
| 125 | Ctrl+Space | Remove all manual styles |
| 126 | Ctrl+Shift+N | Apply Normal style |
| 127 | Ctrl+Shift+S | Open Apply Styles task pane (will not close with pressing it a second time) |
| 128 | Alt+Ctrl+K | Start Auto Format |
Search and Replace
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 129 | Ctrl+H | Open traditional find and replace window |
| 130 | Ctrl+h, then Alt+D | Open traditional find window |
| 131 | Alt+Ctrl+y, /Shift+F4 | Repeat last find after closing find window |
| 132 | Ctrl+Tab | Jump between find menu and document |
| 133 | Alt+Space, Arrow keys and Enter | Move find menu window |
| 134 | Esc | Close traditional search window if active |
| 135 | Ctrl+F | Open (new) search menu in navigation task pane |
| 136 | alt, then w,k | Open and close Navigation pane (View, Navigation) |
Switch Views
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 137 | Alt+Ctrl+P | Switch to Print Layout view |
| 138 | Alt+Ctrl+O | Switch to Outline view |
| 139 | Alt+Ctrl+N | Switch to Draft view (used to be normal view) |
| 140 | Ctrl+scroll mouse | Zoom in and zoom out |
| 141 | alt then w, q | Open Zoom Menu (no native shortcut exists for zoom in/ zoom out) |
| 142 | Alt+Ctrl+S | Split the document window |
Ribbons
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 143 | Ctrl+F1 | Show or hide the ribbon |
| 144 | F10/Alt | Select item in Ribbon |
| 145 | Esc | Leave Ribbon or Submenu |
| 146 | Arrow Left/Arrow Right | Move left or right between main Ribbon Menus if active |
| 147 | Arrow Keys | Move left/right/up/down between Ribbon Menus and Sub-Menus |
| 148 | Space/Enter | When in ribbon Open or activate selected item |
Navigation Pane
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 149 | Alt, then w,k | Open and close Navigation pane (View, Navigation) |
| 150 | F6/Shift+F6 | With Navigation Pane open: Switch forward / backwards between (1) Navigation Pane, (2) Bottom Taskbar, (3) Ribbon, and (4) Document |
| 151 | Tab/Shift+Tab | In Navigation Pane: Move through Navigation Pane options |
Navigate in Tables
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 152 | Arrow Down/Arrow Up | Jump one row down / one row up |
| 153 | Tab/Shift+Tab | Jump to (and select) next / previous table cell |
| 154 | Alt+Home/Alt+End | Jump to first column/ jump to last column |
| 155 | Alt+Page Up/Alt+Page Down | Jump to first row / jump to last row |
| 156 | Ctrl+Arrow Left/Ctrl+Arrow Right | One cell to the left / to the right |
Select Table Contents
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 157 | Shift+End | Select current table cell |
| 158 | end, then shift+Home | Select content of current table cell |
| 159 | Press and hold shift and press arrow keys repeatedly | Extend selection to adjacent cells |
| 160 | Ctrl+Shift+f8, then press | Extend selection or block |
| 161 | Alt+5 on numeric keypad (with numLock off) | Select an entire table |
Edit Tables
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 162 | Alt+Shift+Arrow Up/Alt+Shift+Arrow Down | Move current row up or down |
| 163 | In first column, press shift+End | Select row* |
| 164 | In first row press alt+Shift+Page Down | Select column |
| 165 | Shift+Delete | Delete rows* with rows selected |
| 166 | Shift+Delete | Delete columns with columns selected |
| 167 | Alt, j, l, d, r | Delete row at cursor |
| 168 | Alt, j, l, d, c | Delete column at cursor |
| 169 | Alt, j, l, a | Insert row above cursor |
| 170 | Alt, j, l, e | Insert row below cursor |
| 171 | Alt, j, l, l | Insert column to the left of cursor |
| 172 | Alt, j, l, r | Insert column to the right of cursor |
| 173 | Ctrl+Tab | Insert tab character |
| 174 | tab in last table cell | Add row at the end |
Outline View
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 175 | Ctrl+Shift+O | Switch to Outline View |
| 176 | Tab/Shift+Tab | Promote / Demote a paragraph (or Alt+Shift+Arrow Left/Arrow Right) |
| 177 | Alt+Shift+Arrow Up/Alt+Shift+Arrow Down | Move selected paragraphs up / down |
| 178 | Ctrl+Shift+N | Demote to body text (set style to normal) |
| 179 | Alt+Shift+[+]/Alt+Shift+- | Expand / Collapse text under a heading |
| 180 | Alt+Shift+A | Expand or collapse all text or headings |
| 181 | [/ key on the numeric keypad | Hide or display character formatting |
| 182 | Alt+Shift+L | Show the first line of body text or all body text |
| 183 | Alt+Shift+1 | Show all headings with the Heading 1 style |
| 184 | Alt+Shift+N | Show all headings up to Heading n |
| 185 | Ctrl+Tab | Insert a tab character |
Review Documents
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 186 | F7 | Choose the Spelling command (Review tab). |
| 187 | Alt+Ctrl+M | Insert a comment |
| 188 | Ctrl+Shift+E | Turn change tracking on or off |
| 189 | Alt+Shift+C | Close the Reviewing Pane if it is open. |
| 190 | Ctrl+Shift+* | Display nonprinting characters. |
| 191 | Alt+F10 | Display the Selection and Visibility task pane. |
| 192 | Ctrl+Shift+G | Open the Word Count dialog box. |
Print Documents
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 193 | Ctrl+P | Print a document (print preview) |
| 194 | Esc | Close print preview |
| 195 | Arrow keys, Page up /Page Down | Move around the preview pages (with focus on preview page*) |
| 196 | Ctrl+Home/Ctrl+End | Move to first page / last page (with focus on preview page) |
Fields
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 197 | Alt+Shift+D | Insert current date (insert DATE field) |
| 198 | Alt+Shift+P | Insert page number (insert PAGE field) |
| 199 | Alt+Shift+T | Insert time (insert TIME field) |
| 200 | Alt+Ctrl+L | Insert LISTNUM field |
| 201 | Ctrl+F9 | Insert an empty field |
| 202 | Ctrl+Shift+L | Insert a LISTNUM field |
| 203 | Shift+F9 | Show or hide field code/result of selected field |
| 204 | Alt+F9 | Show or hide field codes/results of all fields in document |
| 205 | F9 | Update selected fields* |
| 206 | Alt+Shift+F9 | Run GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from the field that displays the field results |
| 207 | F11/Shift+F11 | Go to the next field/ previous field |
| 208 | Ctrl+Shift+F7 | Update linked information in a Microsoft Word source document |
| 209 | Ctrl+Shift+F9 | Unlink a field |
| 210 | Ctrl+F11/Ctrl+Shift+F11 | Lock a field / Unlock a field |
Mail Merge
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 211 | Alt+Shift+K | Preview a mail merge |
| 212 | Alt+Shift+N | Merge a document |
| 213 | Alt+Shift+M | Print the merged document |
| 214 | Alt+Shift+E | Edit a mail-merge data document |
| 215 | Alt+Shift+F | Insert a merge field |
| 216 | Alt+Shift+K | Preview a mail merge |
| 217 | Alt+Shift+N | Merge a document |
| 218 | Alt+Shift+M | Print the merged document |
| 219 | Alt+Shift+E | Edit a mail-merge data document |
| 220 | Alt+Shift+F | Insert a merge field |
Miscellaneous
| Sr. | Number | Title |
| 221 | F1 | Get Help or visit Microsoft Office.com |
| 222 | Alt+Space | Open the window menu |
| 223 | Alt+F4 | Exit Word |
| 224 | Shift+F10 | Display a shortcut menu (Simulate right mouse button) |
| 225 | Alt+F3 | Create new Building block with selected texts |