Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts
Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts
80 shortcuts
Windows, macOS and Linux
Microsoft Word is the desktop word processor. Most bindings swap Ctrl for Command on macOS, but a stubborn handful do not — Replace stays on ⌃ + H, word-by-word cursor movement uses ⌥ rather than ⌘, and the indent commands are different keys entirely.
Navigation
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + Home | Go to the start of the document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + End | Go to the end of the document |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Move the cursor one word left — On macOS: ⌥ + ← |
| Ctrl + Right arrow | Move the cursor one word right — On macOS: ⌥ + → |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Up arrow | Move up one paragraph |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Down arrow | Move down one paragraph |
| Home | Move to the start of the line |
| End | Move to the end of the line |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Page Up | Jump to the top of the previous page |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Page Down | Jump to the top of the next page |
| Shift + F5 | Return to the last editing location |
Selection
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + A | Select the whole document |
| Ctrl + Shift + Left arrow | Select the word to the left — On macOS: ⇧ + ⌥ + ← |
| Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow | Select the word to the right — On macOS: ⇧ + ⌥ + → |
| 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 |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Home | Select to the start of the document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + End | Select to the end of the document |
| F8 | Turn on extend-selection mode |
Editing
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + X | Cut the selection |
| Ctrl/⌘ + C | Copy the selection |
| Ctrl/⌘ + V | Paste the clipboard |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + V | Paste without formatting |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Delete the word to the left |
| Ctrl + Delete | Delete the word to the right |
| Ctrl + Alt + C | Copy the formatting of the selected text — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + C |
| Ctrl + Alt + V | Apply the copied formatting — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + V |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Enter | Insert a page break |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + Enter | Insert a column break |
Formatting text
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + B | Apply or remove bold |
| Ctrl/⌘ + I | Apply or remove italic |
| Ctrl/⌘ + U | Apply or remove underline |
| Ctrl/⌘ + D | Open the Font dialog |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + > | Increase the font size |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + < | Decrease the font size |
| Ctrl/⌘ + ] | Increase the font size by one point |
| Ctrl/⌘ + [ | Decrease the font size by one point |
| Shift + F3 | Cycle the selection through sentence, lower and upper case |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + A | Format the selection as all capitals |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + K | Apply small caps |
| Ctrl + = | Apply or remove subscript |
| Ctrl + Shift + + | Apply or remove superscript |
Paragraph formatting
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + E | Centre the paragraph |
| Ctrl/⌘ + J | Justify the paragraph |
| Ctrl/⌘ + L | Left-align the paragraph |
| Ctrl/⌘ + R | Right-align the paragraph |
| Ctrl + M | Indent the paragraph — On macOS: ⌃ + ⇧ + M |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + M | Remove a paragraph indent |
| Ctrl/⌘ + T | Create a hanging indent |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + T | Remove a hanging indent |
| Ctrl/⌘ + 1 | Apply single line spacing |
| Ctrl/⌘ + 2 | Apply double line spacing |
| Ctrl/⌘ + 5 | Apply 1.5 line spacing |
| Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Apply the Heading 1 style — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + 1 |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + N | Apply the Normal style |
Review and references
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Alt + M | Insert a comment — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + A |
| Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + E | Turn track changes on or off |
| Alt + Shift + C | Close the Reviewing pane |
| Ctrl + Alt + F | Insert a footnote — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + F |
| Ctrl + Alt + D | Insert an endnote — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + E |
| F7 | Run the spelling and grammar checker |
| Shift + F7 | Open the thesaurus |
Find and replace
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + F | Search the document |
| Ctrl + H | Open Find and Replace — On macOS: ⌃ + H — Control, not ⌘ |
| Ctrl + G | Open the Go To dialog — On macOS: ⌥ + ⌘ + G |
| Shift + F4 | Repeat the last Find or Go To |
View and file
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl/⌘ + N | Create a new document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + O | Open a document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + S | Save the document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + W | Close the document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + P | Print the document |
| Ctrl/⌘ + + | Zoom in |
| Ctrl/⌘ + - | Zoom out |
| Ctrl/⌘ + 0 | Reset the zoom to 100 per cent |
| Ctrl + Alt + P | Switch to Print Layout view |
| Ctrl + F1 | Expand or collapse the ribbon — On macOS: ⌘ + ⌥ + R |
Common questions
- How many keyboard shortcuts does Microsoft Word have?
- This page lists 80 shortcuts across 8 groups, covering the ones people actually use day to day rather than every binding the application defines.
- Are Microsoft Word shortcuts the same on Mac and Windows?
- Mostly. The usual difference is that Ctrl on Windows becomes ⌘ on macOS, which is why the shortcuts here are written as "Ctrl/⌘". Where a binding genuinely differs beyond that swap, it is spelled out separately.
Related pages
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place