Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Microsoft Word is undoubtedly one of the best word processors around. Whether you want to write a letter, story, essay, or something else entirely, Microsoft Word can handle it.

To become a Word expert, you need to master its keyboard shortcuts. They can help you speedily navigate the Ribbon, apply formatting to text, justify lines and paragraphs, and much more.

Using keyboard shortcuts can save you time, meaning you don't have to fiddle with your mouse and get distracted from the all important task of writing. That's why we've put together this list of Windows shortcuts that you must know for Word.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows.

Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Shortcut	Action
General
Ctrl + N	Create a new document
Ctrl + O	Open a document
Ctrl + S	Save the document
Ctrl + P	Print the document
Ctrl + W	Close the document
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y	Redo
Esc	Cancel
Ribbon
Alt + F	Open the File page
Alt + H	Switch to the Home tab
Alt + N	Switch to the Insert tab
Alt + G	Switch to the Design tab
Alt + P	Switch to the Layout tab
Alt + S	Switch to the References tab
Alt + M	Switch to the Mailings tab
Alt + R	Switch to the Review tab
Alt + W	Switch to the View tab
Alt + Q	Search the Ribbon
Navigation
Ctrl + F	Open the Navigation pane to search
Ctrl + G	Open the Go To window to navigate to an element
Home	Move the cursor to the start of the line
End	Move the cursor to the end of the line
Ctrl + Left arrow	Move the cursor left by one word
Ctrl + Right arrow	Move the cursor right by one word
Ctrl + Up arrow	Move the cursor up by one paragraph
Ctrl + Down arrow	Move the cursor down by one paragraph
Ctrl + Alt + Page up	Move the cursor to the top of the screen
Ctrl + Alt + Page down	Move the cursor to the bottom of the screen
Page up	Scroll up a page
Page down	Scroll down a page
Ctrl + Home	Move the cursor to the start of the document
Ctrl + End	Move the cursor to the end of the document
Shift + F5	Move the cursor to the last change
Ctrl + Alt + Z	Cycle through the last four changes
Select Text
Ctrl + A	Select all
Shift + Arrow keys	Select text in the specified direction
Ctrl + Shift + Left arrow	Select the left word
Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow	Select the right word
Shift + Home	Select to the start of the line
Shift + End	Select to the end of the line
Ctrl + Shift + Up arrow	Select to the start of the paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + Down arrow	Select to the end of the paragraph
Shift + Page up	Select to the top of the screen
Shift + Page down	Select to the bottom of the screen
Ctrl + Shift + Home	Select to the start of the document
Ctrl + Shift + End	Select to the end of the document
Edit Text
Ctrl + H	Open the Replace window to find and replace
Ctrl + X	Cut the selected content
Ctrl + C	Copy the selected content
Ctrl + V	Paste from the clipboard
Ctrl + Shift + C	Copy the selected formatting
Ctrl + Shift + V	Paste the selected formatting
Alt + Shift + R	Copy the header/footer from the previous section
Ctrl + Backspace	Delete the word on the left
Ctrl + Delete	Delete the word on the right
Format Paragraphs
Ctrl + J	Justify paragraph
Ctrl + E	Center paragraph
Ctrl + L	Align paragraph left
Ctrl + R	Align paragraph right
Ctrl + M	Indent paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + M	Remove paragraph indent
Ctrl + 1	Apply single spacing
Ctrl + 2	Apply double spacing
Ctrl + 0	Add or remove a space before the paragraph
Ctrl + Shift + N	Apply the Normal style
Ctrl + Alt + 1 / 2 / 3	Apply the Heading 1 / 2 / 3 style
Ctrl + Q	Remove paragraph formatting
Format Text
Ctrl + D	Open the Font window
Ctrl + B	Apply bold
Ctrl + I	Apply italic
Ctrl + U	Apply underline
Ctrl + Shift + W	Apply underline to words, not spaces
Ctrl + Shift + D	Apply double underline
Ctrl + Shift + A	Format text upper case
Ctrl + Shift + K	Format text small caps
Ctrl + Shift + >	Increase font size
Ctrl + Shift + <	Decrease font size
Tables
Up arrow	Move up a row
Down arrow	Move down a row
Alt + Home	Move to the row's first cell
Alt + End	Move to the row's last cell
Tab	Move to the row's next cell
Shift + Tab	Move to the row's previous cell
Alt + Page up	Move to the column's first cell
Alt + Page down	Move to the column's last cell

Tips and Tricks to Master Microsoft Office

Soon these keyboard shortcuts will become second nature and you will be able to speed through documents, formatting and customizing with ease.

Of course, Word comes part of the Microsoft Office package, so there's much more to learn. That's why we have collected the ultimate Microsoft Office tips and tricks.