command lab

Word Shortcut Practice

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Word Keyboard Shortcuts: Full List (42 shortcuts)

Every Word keyboard shortcut used in the practice above, listed in full. Each row shows the Windows and Mac keys plus a short explanation of what the shortcut does. Find one you want to learn, then drill it above until your fingers remember it.

Basics

Word — Basics
Action Windows Mac What it does
Open a document Ctrl+O ⌘+O Opens the dialog for opening a saved Word document. Use it when you want to resume earlier work or reference another document.
Save the document Ctrl+S ⌘+S Saves the document you're currently editing under its existing file name. It's good practice to run it frequently at natural breakpoints so you don't lose your work.
Cut Ctrl+X ⌘+X Moves the selected text or object to the clipboard and removes it from its original spot. Since you can paste the cut content elsewhere, use it when you want to move part of your text to a different paragraph.
Copy Ctrl+C ⌘+C Copies the selected text or object to the clipboard. The original stays untouched, so use it whenever you want to duplicate the same content elsewhere or in another document.
Paste Ctrl+V ⌘+V Pastes whatever was copied or cut to the clipboard at the current cursor position. It's the finishing step you pair with copy or cut to duplicate or move text and images.
Undo the last action Ctrl+Z ⌘+Z Cancels the most recent action and reverts to the previous state. Use it when you make an editing mistake or want to compare against how the text looked before the change.
Select all Ctrl+A ⌘+A Selects all the text and objects in the document at once. Use it when you want to change the font for the whole document, or copy everything at once.
Split the document window Ctrl+Alt+S ⌘+⌥+S Splits the document window you're editing into two panes, one above the other. It's handy when you want to view and edit two distant parts of the document side by side.
Remove the document window split Ctrl+Alt+S ⌘+⌥+S Merges the two panes created with "Split the document window" back into a single window. Use it once you've finished checking or editing in split view and want to return to the normal display.
Print the document Ctrl+P ⌘+P Opens the print settings screen for the current document. Use it when you want to choose the number of copies and page range, and print the document.
Find Ctrl+F ⌘+F Opens the navigation pane for finding text within your document. Use it when you want to quickly locate where a specific word or phrase appears in the document.
Open the Find and Replace dialog Ctrl+H ⌃+H Opens the Find and Replace dialog, which lets you swap a searched string for another one in bulk. It's convenient when you need to fix inconsistent wording or typos throughout the whole document at once.
Cancel the command Esc Esc Cancels whatever menu or dialog is currently active and returns you to the normal editing screen. It's a general-purpose escape hatch for closing a menu you opened by mistake, among other situations.

Navigation

Word — Navigation
Action Windows Mac What it does
Move the cursor one word to the left Ctrl+← ⌥+← Moves the cursor to the start of the current word, or to the start of the word to the left. It's faster than moving character by character with a plain arrow key, useful when editing text word by word.
Move the cursor one word to the right Ctrl+→ ⌥+→ Moves the cursor to the end of the current word, or to the start of the word to the right. Use it to advance the cursor quickly word by word.
Move the cursor to the end of the line End ⌘+→ Moves the cursor to the end of the current line. Use it when you need to add or edit text right at the end of a line.
Move the cursor to the start of the line Home ⌘+← Moves the cursor to the beginning of the current line. Use it when you need to add text at the start of a line, or as a starting point before selecting the whole line.
Move up one screen PageUp PageUp Scrolls the current view up by one screen's worth. Use it when you want to move quickly back up through a long document.
Move down one screen PageDown PageDown Scrolls the current view down by one screen's worth. Use it when you want to move quickly forward through a long document.
Move the cursor to the end of the document Ctrl+End ⌘+End Moves the cursor to the very end of the entire document. Use it when you want to add text at the very end, or to check the overall length of the document.
Move the cursor to the start of the document Ctrl+Home ⌘+Home Moves the cursor to the very beginning of the entire document. Use it when you need to check or edit the opening part of a long document.
Move the cursor to the previous revision Shift+F5 ⇧+F5 Moves the cursor to the location you most recently edited (the previous revision point). It's handy right after reopening a document, when you want to quickly find where you left off editing last time.
Open the Go To dialog Ctrl+G ⌘+⌥+G Opens the Go To dialog, which lets you jump straight to a specific page number, section, heading, and more. Use it when you need to navigate quickly to a particular spot in a long document.

Selection

Word — Selection
Action Windows Mac What it does
Extend the selection F8 F8 Enters a mode where you can extend the selection step by step from the cursor position using the arrow keys. Use it when you want to select text using only the keyboard, without dragging the mouse.
Shrink the selection Shift+F8 ⇧+F8 Shrinks a selection made with "Extend the selection" back down one step at a time. Use it when you've selected too much and want to scale back to the previous unit.

Editing

Word — Editing
Action Windows Mac What it does
Define an AutoText entry Alt+F3 ⌥+F3 Registers the selected text or graphic as an AutoText entry, which you can later insert by typing a set keyword. Use it to speed up entering content you type repeatedly, such as a signature or boilerplate text.
Copy formatting Ctrl+Shift+C ⌘+⇧+C Copies only the formatting (font, color, size, etc.) of the selected text, without copying the content itself. Use it when you want to apply the same look to a different part of the document.
Paste formatting Ctrl+Shift+V ⌘+⇧+V Applies the formatting copied with "Copy formatting" to a different, currently selected piece of text. It carries over just the look — font, color, size, and so on — from the source.

Paragraph

Word — Paragraph
Action Windows Mac What it does
Center align Ctrl+E ⌘+E Centers the selected paragraph horizontally on the page. Use it for titles, headings, or any text you want balanced in the middle.
Justify Ctrl+J ⌘+J Automatically adjusts character spacing so both edges of the selected paragraph's lines line up neatly. Use it for business documents or reports where you want the body text to look tidy and formal.
Align right Ctrl+R ⌘+R Aligns the selected paragraph to the right edge. Use it for text you deliberately want pushed to the right, such as a date or a signature line.
Align left Ctrl+L ⌘+L Aligns the selected paragraph to the left edge. It's the most standard alignment for many languages and the basic formatting choice for readable body text.
Indent Ctrl+M ⌃+⇧+M Shifts the entire selected paragraph to the right as a block. Use it to visually show the paragraph's hierarchy, or to set off a quoted passage.
Remove indent Ctrl+Shift+M ⌘+⇧+M Removes one level of indent applied with "Indent." Use it when a paragraph has been indented too far and you want to bring it back closer to the margin.
Apply Heading 1 Ctrl+Alt+1 ⌘+⌥+1 Applies the "Heading 1" style to the selected paragraph. Use it to mark top-level headings, such as chapter titles, in your document.
Apply Heading 2 Ctrl+Alt+2 ⌘+⌥+2 Applies the "Heading 2" style to the selected paragraph. Use it to mark the next level of headings below Heading 1, such as section titles within a chapter.

Text formatting

Word — Text formatting
Action Windows Mac What it does
Decrease font size by 1 point Ctrl+[ ⌘+[ Decreases the font size of the selected text by exactly 1 point at a time. Use it when you need to fine-tune the text size in small increments.
Increase font size by 1 point Ctrl+] ⌘+] Increases the font size of the selected text by exactly 1 point at a time. Use it when you need to fine-tune the text size in small increments.
Bold Ctrl+B ⌘+B Makes the selected text bold. Use it as a simple way to make an important keyword or heading stand out.
Underline Ctrl+U ⌘+U Underlines the selected text. Use it as a simple way to make an important keyword stand out.
Italic Ctrl+I ⌘+I Makes the selected text italic. Use it to emphasize a phrase or to visually set off a quotation or the title of a work.
Add a bulleted list Ctrl+Shift+L ⌘+⇧+L Applies bulleted-list formatting (with a marker at the start of each line) to the selected paragraphs. Use it to lay out multiple items in parallel and make them easy to scan.

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