Microsoft Word & WordPad: Cool Keyboard Shortcuts

For frequent Microsoft Word or WordPad user, keyboard shortcuts can really improve productivity! Learn the most popular and useful keyboard shortcuts. Many of these shortcuts also work with Microsoft Works.

Author: Patricia Lynn

A couple of facts to remember: 1) The + sign in the descriptions below means "and," so don't press the + key on your keyboard; and 2) don't try to press the keys at the same time ... just press and hold the first key while you press the second key.

Important Note: Some shortcut descriptions refer to "selected" text. To select an area of text, press and hold the left mouse button at the beginning of the area, drag the cursor over the text to the end of the area, and release the mouse button.

If you are interested in a list of cool keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Excel, please see our tutorial Microsoft Excel: Cool Keyboard Shortcuts.

OK! Let's start improving our productivity with some cool keyboard shortcuts!

Formatting Text

Ctrl + B  ⇒ Format the selection with Bold.

Ctrl + I  ⇒ Format the selection with Italics.

Ctrl + U  ⇒ Underscore (underlines) the selection.

Ctrl + Shift + D  ⇒ Double-underscore (underline) the selected text. (Word only)

Ctrl + Shift + W  ⇒ Underscore (underline) only words (not spaces) of the selected text. (Word only)

Ctrl + =  ⇒ Change the selected text to Subscript.

Ctrl + Shift + =  ⇒ Change the selected text to Superscript.

Ctrl + D or Ctrl + Shift + F  ⇒ select the text first, then press Ctrl + D to open the Font window. (Word only)

Ctrl + Shift + A  ⇒ Change the selected text to all CAPS. If text is already capitalized, will change to no CAPS.

Ctrl + Shift + K  ⇒ Change the selected text to small CAPS. If shortcut pressed again, will change to no CAPS. (Word only)

Working With Text

Ctrl + C  ⇒ Copy the selection to the Clipboard.

Ctrl + V  ⇒ Paste the selection from the Clipboard.

Ctrl + X  ⇒ Cut the selection.

Ctrl + Z or Alt + Backspace  ⇒ Undo the last action. Can be pressed multiple times to undo multiple actions.

Ctrl + Y  ⇒ Redo the last action.

Ctrl + A  ⇒ Select all text in the document.

Ctrl + E  ⇒ Center the text in the paragraph that the cursor is in, or center the selected text.

Ctrl + L  ⇒ Left align the text in the paragraph that the cursor is in, or left align the text in the selected text.

Ctrl + R  ⇒ Right align the text in the paragraph that the cursor is in, or right align the text in the selected text.

Ctrl + J  ⇒ Justify the text in the paragraph that the cursor is in, or justifies the text in the selected text.

Ctrl + M  ⇒ Indent the text. If no tabs are set, default indent is .5 inches. Press Ctrl + M repeatedly to indent repeately.

Ctrl + Shift + M  ⇒ De-indent the text. Press Ctrl + Shift + M repeatedly to de-indent repeately.

Ctrl + K  ⇒ Insert a hyperlink - a link to a webpage. (Word only)

Alt + Shift + D  ⇒ Enter the current date from your computer.

Alt + Shift + T  ⇒ Enter the current time from your computer.

Working With a Document

Ctrl + Home  ⇒ Move to the beginning of the document.

Ctrl + End  ⇒ Move to the end of the document.

Ctrl + F  ⇒ Display the Find window.

Ctrl + H  ⇒ Open the Replace window.

Ctrl + Enter  ⇒ Insert a Page Break where the cursor is.

Ctrl + S  ⇒ Save the document. Get into the habit of pressing this key sequence often so you won't accidentally lose your work.

Ctrl + P  ⇒ Open the Print window.

Ctrl + W or Alt + F4  ⇒ Close the document. Only Alt + F4 works in Microsoft WordPad.

Ctrl + O  ⇒ Open an existing document.

Ctrl + N  ⇒ Open a new document.

We hope this article has been helpful. By the way, if you need to learn Microsoft Word and are interested in a video-based course, we recommend Microsoft Word 2010 Tutorial for Beginners. It's well-done. Cheers!

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