Prime Time Word Keyboard Shortcuts
Our students often ask for a list of keyboard shortcut keys. There are hundreds of shortcut key combinations. Keyboard shortcuts can really help your productivity. The list below starts out with a few common keyboard shortcuts that everyone should be using. I have also cherry-picked some of the less-common Word shortcuts that I think are useful. There are many more keyboard shortcuts. For a more complete, categorized list of Excel keyboard shortcuts, check the Microsoft web site: Word Keyboard shortcuts.
| To Do This | Press |
|---|---|
| Copy text or graphics. | CTRL+C |
| Display the Office Clipboard. | CTRL+C, CTRL+C (again) |
| Move text or graphics. | F2 (then move the insertion point and press ENTER) |
| Cut selected text to the Office Clipboard. | CTRL+X |
| Paste the Office Clipboard contents. | CTRL+V |
| Cancel an action. | ESC |
| Undo an action. | CTRL+Z |
| Redo or repeat an action. | CTRL+Y |
| Save a document. | CTRL+S |
| Print a document. CTRL+P |
CTRL+P |
| Go to beginning of document. | CTRL+HOME |
| Go to end of document. | CTRL+END |
| Go to beginning of a line. | HOME |
| Go to end of a line. | END |
| Insert a line break | SHIFT+ENTER |
| Insert a page break | CTRL+ENTER |
| Insert a section break | CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER |
| Insert an em dash | ALT+CTRL+MINUS SIGN |
| Insert an en dash | CTRL+MINUS SIGN |
| Insert the copyright symbol | ALT+CTRL+C |
| Insert the registered trademark symbol | ALT+CTRL+R |
| Insert the trademark symbol | ALT+CTRL+T |
| Select text and graphics | Select text by holding down SHIFT and pressing any key (Home, End, Arrow keys, etc.) that moves the insertion point. |
| Select multiple areas that aren't next to each other | After making your first selection, hold down CTRL, and then select any other items you want. |
| Turn extend mode on. | F8 |
| Increase the size of a selection. | F8 (press once to select a word, twice to select a sentence, and so on) |
| Reduce the size of a selection. | SHIFT+F8 |
| Turn extend mode off. | ESC |
| Copy the header or footer used in the previous section of the document. | ALT+SHIFT+R |