Microsoft Word Cheat Sheet

Shortcuts for Windows (on macOS mostly ⌘ instead of Ctrl). Press Alt to see ribbon key tips.

61 entries
10 sections
Updated 1 Oct 2026

F

61 entries

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File #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + N` / `Ctrl + O`	New / open
`Ctrl + S` / `F12`	Save / Save As
`Ctrl + P`	Print
`Ctrl + W`	Close the document
`Ctrl + F1`	Show / hide the ribbon

Move & Select #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + ←/→`	Word left / right
`Ctrl + ↑/↓`	Previous / next paragraph
`Ctrl + Home` / `Ctrl + End`	Start / end of the document
`Shift + F5`	Back to your last edit location
`Ctrl + G`	Go to a page, section or heading
Double-click / triple-click	Select word / paragraph
`Ctrl + click`	Select a sentence
`Alt + drag`	Block (vertical) selection
`F8` (repeat)	Extend selection: word → sentence → paragraph
`Ctrl + A`	Select all

Text Formatting #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + B` / `I` / `U`	Bold / italic / underline
`Ctrl + =` / `Ctrl + Shift + =`	Subscript / superscript
`Ctrl + ]` / `Ctrl + [`	Font size +1 / −1
`Ctrl + Shift + >` / `<`	Next bigger / smaller font size
`Shift + F3`	Cycle case: lower / UPPER / Title
`Ctrl + D`	Font dialog
`Ctrl + Space`	Remove character formatting
`Ctrl + Shift + C` / `Ctrl + Shift + V`	Copy / paste formatting

Paragraphs & Styles #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + L` / `E` / `R` / `J`	Align left / center / right / justify
`Ctrl + 1` / `Ctrl + 5` / `Ctrl + 2`	Line spacing 1 / 1.5 / 2
`Ctrl + M` / `Ctrl + Shift + M`	Indent / unindent
`Ctrl + T`	Hanging indent
`Ctrl + Q`	Remove paragraph formatting
`Ctrl + Alt + 1` / `2` / `3`	Heading 1 / 2 / 3
`Ctrl + Shift + N`	Normal style
`Ctrl + Shift + L`	Bulleted list
`Alt + Shift + ↑/↓`	Move the paragraph up / down
`Ctrl + Shift + 8`	Show / hide formatting marks (¶)

Breaks & Special Characters #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + Enter`	Page break
`Ctrl + Shift + Enter`	Column break
`Shift + Enter`	Line break (same paragraph)
`Ctrl + Shift + Space`	Non-breaking space
`Ctrl + -`	Optional hyphen
`Alt + Ctrl + C` / `R` / `T`	© ® ™
`Alt + Ctrl + .`	Ellipsis …

Insert & Review #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + K`	Hyperlink
`Alt + Ctrl + F`	Footnote
`Alt + Ctrl + D`	Endnote
`Alt + Shift + D`	Insert date
`Ctrl + Alt + M`	New comment
`Ctrl + Shift + E`	Track Changes on / off
`F7`	Spelling & grammar
`Shift + F7`	Thesaurus
`Ctrl + Shift + G`	Word count
`F9`	Update fields (select all first to update the table of contents)
`Alt + F9`	Show / hide field codes

Find #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + F`	Navigation pane search
`Ctrl + H`	Replace (More >> for wildcards and formatting)
`^p` / `^t` in Replace	Paragraph mark / tab

Paste Options #

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl + V`, then `Ctrl`, then `T`	Paste as plain text (keep text only)
`Ctrl + Alt + V`	Paste Special

Handy Tricks #

Type	Result
`=rand(5,3)` + `Enter`	5 paragraphs of sample text
`=lorem(3)` + `Enter`	Lorem ipsum paragraphs
`---` + `Enter`	Horizontal line
`1.` + `Space`	Start a numbered list
`*` + `Space`	Start a bulleted list

Tips #

Use Heading styles instead of manual bold text. You then get a clickable navigation pane and References → Table of Contents for free.
Double-click the Format Painter to apply formatting to several places. Esc stops it.
Hidden layout problems? Turn on ¶ (Ctrl + Shift + 8) to see the breaks and spaces.