Microsoft Word has a keyboard shortcut for a lot of what you click every day. Here are 58 that work on Windows, grouped by what you’re trying to do.
We checked every one against Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Word on October 21, 2026.
Files and Basics
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | Create a new document |
| Ctrl + O | Open a document |
| Ctrl + S | Save the document |
| Ctrl + P | Print the document |
| Ctrl + W | Close the document |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo the last action |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + X | Cut |
| Ctrl + C | Copy |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Paste as plain text only |
Find and Navigation
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + F | Search the document in the Navigation pane |
| Ctrl + H | Find and replace text |
| Ctrl + G | Go to a page, section or bookmark |
| Ctrl + Home | Go to the start of the document |
| Ctrl + End | Go to the end of the document |
| Ctrl + Left Arrow | Move one word to the left |
| Ctrl + Right Arrow | Move one word to the right |
| Ctrl + Up Arrow | Move up one paragraph |
| Ctrl + Down Arrow | Move down one paragraph |
Text Formatting
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Open the Font dialog |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase the font size |
| Ctrl + Shift + < | Decrease the font size |
| Ctrl + ] | Increase the font size by 1 point |
| Ctrl + [ | Decrease the font size by 1 point |
| Shift + F3 | Change case (upper, lower, capitalize each word) |
| Ctrl + Space | Remove character formatting |
| Ctrl + Alt + C | Copy formatting |
| Ctrl + Alt + V | Paste formatting |
Paragraphs and Styles
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + E | Center the paragraph |
| Ctrl + L | Align the paragraph left |
| Ctrl + R | Align the paragraph right |
| Ctrl + J | Justify the paragraph |
| Ctrl + 1 | Set single line spacing |
| Ctrl + 2 | Set double line spacing |
| Ctrl + 5 | Set 1.5 line spacing |
| Ctrl + Q | Remove paragraph formatting |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Apply a bulleted list |
| Ctrl + Shift + N | Apply the Normal style |
| Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Apply Heading 1 |
| Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Apply Heading 2 |
Insert
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Enter | Insert a page break |
| Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Insert a column break |
| Ctrl + K | Insert a hyperlink |
| Alt + Shift + D | Insert the date |
| Alt + Shift + T | Insert the time |
| Alt + Shift + P | Insert a page number |
Tables and Review
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tab | Move to the next table cell |
| Shift + Tab | Move to the previous table cell |
| Alt + Shift + Up Arrow | Move the table row up |
| Alt + Shift + Down Arrow | Move the table row down |
| Ctrl + Alt + M | Insert a comment |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Turn Track Changes on or off |
| F7 | Check spelling and grammar |
Good to know: Mac uses Cmd for most of these instead of Ctrl.
Get the Excel and PDF Version
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If you’d rather have it on your desk, the download below is a sortable Excel file plus a printable one-page PDF of all 58 shortcuts, for $0.99.
Want One Key to Do More?
Built-in shortcuts only work while Microsoft Word is the active window, and you can’t add new ones. These tools let you pick your own hotkeys:
- Prompt Assistant: type a short abbreviation and get your full signature block or a boilerplate paragraph pasted into Word
- Writer Tools: more of our picks for people who write all day
