You can accomplish a surprising amount without moving your hands off the keyboard in the Microsoft Word app for Windows or macOS. Credit: Microsoft Word’s Ribbon interface is great for finding everything you might ever want to do in the word processor — particularly things you don’t do frequently, like inserting footnotes or doing a mail merge. But if you’re looking to do common tasks fast, you’ll find keyboard shortcuts far more useful. Why bother to lift your hands from the keyboard if you want to open or close a document, apply formatting to text and paragraphs, do a spell check, navigate through a document, or undo and redo actions? With keyboard shortcuts you won’t have to. There are keyboard shortcuts to accomplish a vast array of tasks in the Word desktop client, in both the Windows and Mac versions. (Fewer shortcuts are available for the Mac, but you can create your own custom keyboard shortcuts if you like.) We’ve listed the shortcuts we’ve found the most useful below. Most work whether you’re using a subscription (Microsoft 365/Office 365) or non-subscription version of Word. For even more shortcuts, see Microsoft’s Office site. Note: On Macs, the ⌘ key is the same as the Command or Cmd key. Useful Word keyboard shortcuts Composing and editing ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationCreate a new documentCtrl-N⌘-NOpen a documentCtrl-O⌘-OSave a documentCtrl-S⌘-SOpen the Save As dialog boxF12⌘-Shift-SClose a documentCtrl-W⌘-WPrint a documentCtrl-P⌘-PSelect everything in the documentCtrl-A⌘-ACopy selection to the clipboardCtrl-C⌘-C or F3Paste from the clipboardCtrl-V⌘-V or F4Delete selection and copy it to the clipboardCtrl-X⌘-X or F2Undo the last actionCtrl-Z⌘-Z or F1Redo the last actionCtrl-Y⌘-YAdd a commentCtrl-Alt-M⌘-Option-ATurn revision tracking on or offCtrl-Shift-E⌘-Shift-ERun spelling and grammar checkF7⌘-Option-L or F7 Text formatting ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationMake text boldCtrl-B⌘-BMake text italicCtrl-I⌘-IUnderline textCtrl-U⌘-UDouble underline textCtrl-Shift-D⌘-Shift-DUnderline words but not spacesCtrl-Shift-W⌘-Shift-WMake text strikethroughAlt-H, 4⌘-Shift-XMake text all capsCtrl-Shift-A⌘-Shift-AMake text superscriptCtrl-Shift-+⌘-Shift-+Make text subscriptCtrl-=⌘-=Make font size largerCtrl-Shift->⌘-Shift->Make font size smallerCtrl-Shift-<⌘-Shift-<Open the Font dialog boxCtrl-D or Ctrl-Shift-F⌘-DInsert a hyperlinkCtrl-K⌘-K Paragraph formatting ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationLeft-align textCtrl-L⌘-LRight-align textCtrl-R⌘-RCenter-align textCtrl-E⌘-EJustify textCtrl-J⌘-JIndent a paragraphCtrl-MCtrl-Shift-MRemove paragraph indentationCtrl-Shift-M⌘-Shift-MChange to single-line spacingCtrl-1⌘-1Change to double-line spacingCtrl-2⌘-2Change to 1.5-line spacingCtrl-5⌘-5Remove paragraph formattingCtrl-Q Open the Apply Styles task paneCtrl-Shift-S Open the Styles paneCtrl-Alt-Shift-S⌘-Option-Shift-S Document navigation and views ActionWindows key combinationMac key combinationMove up one paragraphCtrl-Up arrow⌘-Up arrowMove down one paragraphCtrl-Down arrow⌘-Down arrowMove right one wordCtrl-Right arrowOption-Right arrowMove left one wordCtrl-Left arrowOption-Left arrowMove to the top of the documentCtrl-Home⌘-Home or ⌘-Fn-Left arrowMove to the bottom of the documentCtrl-End⌘-End or ⌘-Fn-Right arrowOpen the Navigation pane to search for text, images, more (Windows) / use the search box (Mac)Ctrl-F⌘-FOpen the Search and Replace dialog box (Windows) / Find and Replace pane (Mac)Ctrl-HCtrl-HOpen the Go To dialog boxCtrl-G or F5⌘-Option-G or F5Switch among the last four places in the document you editedCtrl-Alt-Z Switch to Print Layout viewCtrl-Alt-P Switch to Outline viewCtrl-Alt-O Switch to Draft viewCtrl-Alt-N Switch to Read Mode viewAlt-W, F Split the document window or remove the splitCtrl-Alt-S Display HelpF1 Ribbon navigation ActionWindows key combinationHide or display the RibbonCtrl-F1Display the Ribbon shortcut keysAltGo to the File tabAlt-FGo to the Home tabAlt-HGo to the Insert tabAlt-NGo to the Design tabAlt-GGo to the Layout tabAlt-PGo to the References tabAlt-SGo to the Mailings tabAlt-MGo to the Review tabAlt-RGo to the View tabAlt-WGo to the Help tabAlt-YGo to the Ribbon’s search boxAlt-Q Source: Microsoft Looking for more help with Word for Windows? If you have an Office subscription, see “Word for Microsoft 365 cheat sheet.” If you have a non-subscription version of Office, see “Word 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet.” We’ve also got cheat sheets for an array of other Microsoft products, including older versions of Office. Related: Handy Excel keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac Handy PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac Handy Outlook keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac Related content feature Microsoft's Patch Tuesday updates: Keeping up with the latest fixes Here's a look at the most recent Patch Tuesday release from Microsoft as well as a collection of recent updates so you can track what's changed. By Dan Muse Aug 16, 2024 5 mins Microsoft Microsoft Office Windows 10 opinion For August, Patch Tuesday means patch now Microsoft’s monthly update for August includes fixes for six — yes, six — zero-day flaws affecting Windows and Office. 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