Word Shortcuts: The Keyboard Keys That Save the Most Time

I write proposals, blog drafts and client reports in Word most days, and the shortcuts that matter aren't the obscure ones. They're the handful that stop you reaching for the mouse twenty times a page: pasting without dragging in someone else's formatting, jumping to the end of a long document, changing a heading to capitals without retyping it. These are Microsoft's Windows shortcuts; on a Mac most swap Ctrl for Cmd.

Everyday Word shortcuts

What you want to do	Press
Save	Ctrl+S
Undo, then redo	Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y
Bold, italic, underline	Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U
Paste text only	Ctrl+Shift+V
Select everything	Ctrl+A
Find in the document	Ctrl+F
New document	Ctrl+N
Print	Ctrl+P
Check spelling and grammar	F7
Close the document	Ctrl+W

The paste shortcut that saves the most tidying

If you copy text from an email or a website, a normal paste brings its fonts and colours with it. Microsoft lists Ctrl+Shift+V as paste text only, which drops the formatting and matches the text around it. It's the one I'd teach anyone first, because it saves so much tidying later.

Formatting without the ribbon

• Ctrl+E centres a paragraph, Ctrl+L aligns left, Ctrl+R aligns right and Ctrl+J justifies.
• Ctrl+1, Ctrl+5 and Ctrl+2 set single, 1.5 and double line spacing.
• Ctrl+[ and Ctrl+] shrink or grow the font by 1 point at a time.
• Shift+F3 cycles selected text through upper case, lower case and title case. Brilliant for headings someone typed in capitals.
• Ctrl+Alt+C copies formatting from the selected text so you can apply it elsewhere.

Moving round long documents

Scrolling through a twenty-page report is slow. These get you there faster:

1. Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End jump to the start or end of the document.
2. Ctrl+G opens Go To, where you can jump to a page, a comment or a table.
3. Ctrl+F opens the Navigation pane for searching, and it also lists your headings so you can click between sections.
4. Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right move one word at a time; add Shift to select as you go.

Selecting text with F8

This is the shortcut almost nobody knows. Microsoft says pressing F8 repeatedly expands the selection: once to start, then the word, the sentence, the paragraph, the section and finally the whole document. It's far more precise than dragging with a mouse, especially on a laptop trackpad. Press Esc to stop extending the selection.

Inserting things quickly

Insert	Press
A page break	Ctrl+Enter
A hyperlink	Ctrl+K
A comment	Ctrl+Alt+M

Ctrl+Enter is the one that fixes the classic mistake of pressing Enter over and over to push a heading onto a new page. Use a page break and the heading stays put however much you edit above it.

Using Alt to reach every ribbon tab

Press Alt and let go. Word shows a letter on each tab: H for Home, N for Insert, G for Design, P for Layout, S for References, M for Mailings and R for Review. Press one, and letters appear on every button in that tab. Alt, then Q, puts you in the search box, where you can type the name of any command.

Where shortcuts trip people up

Microsoft's list is for Word on Windows. On a Mac, most use Cmd, and Microsoft keeps a separate list. On laptops, the function keys may need the Fn key, so F7 becomes Fn+F7. And a couple of familiar Excel habits don't carry over: in Word, Ctrl+E centres text rather than doing anything clever with data.

If a shortcut suddenly stops working, check you haven't got a dialog box open in the background, and that you're not in a read-only view. Shortcuts that change text only work in editing mode.

Two habits that protect your work

Ctrl+S every few minutes is the simplest insurance there is, and Alt, Z, A toggles AutoSave for files stored in OneDrive. If Word ever closes before you've saved, my guide to recovering an unsaved Word document walks through where to look. And if you're laying out a flyer or proposal, adding a text box in Word is the next skill worth picking up.

Building your own shortcut habit

Don't try to learn the whole list. Pick three shortcuts that match something you do every day, write them on a sticky note, and use only those for a week. Then add three more. If you draft in Word and paste into email or a website, Ctrl+Shift+V will prove itself on day one, and you'll wonder how you managed without it. It's the same with Ctrl+Backspace, which deletes a whole word to the left instead of one letter at a time. If you edit long reports, F8 and Ctrl+G will. The point isn't to know every key; it's to stop breaking your train of thought to go hunting through the ribbon.

My short answer

Learn Ctrl+Shift+V, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+Enter, Shift+F3 and F8 this week, on top of the copy, paste and save you already use. Press Alt whenever you're hunting for a button, and let Word show you the letters instead of memorising them. I'd say those five, used every day, save me more time in Word than any template or add-in.

Frequently asked questions

How do I paste without formatting in Word?

Press Ctrl+Shift+V to paste text only, so it matches the surrounding text.

What is the shortcut for a page break in Word?

Ctrl+Enter inserts a page break.

How do I change text to capitals in Word?

Select the text and press Shift+F3 to cycle through upper case, lower case and title case.

What does F8 do in Word?

It extends the selection. Press it repeatedly to select the word, sentence, paragraph, section and whole document.

Do Word shortcuts work on a Mac?

Many do, but most use Cmd instead of Ctrl. Microsoft publishes a separate Mac list.