Keyboard...!?!

Before starting the lessons about Documentation, let’s make a list of the Keyboard Shortcuts as it is a great timesaver and facilitates the workflow by increasing the efficiency. You can Copy / print it and keep it easily accessible as it would serve as a ready reference until you master it.

Microsoft Word shortcut keys

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word.

Shortcut Keys Description

Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + C Copy selected text.
Ctrl + E Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl + F Open find box.
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + J Aligns the selected text or line to justify the screen.
Ctrl + K Insert link.
Ctrl + L Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl + P Open the print window.
Ctrl + R Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl + T Create a hanging indent.
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + V Paste.
Ctrl + X Cut selected text.
Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl + Z Undo last action.
Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font.
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts.
Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl + Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl + Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl + Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl + Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl + Del Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl + End Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl + Home Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Spacebar Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines.
Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines.
Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl + Alt + 1 Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl + Alt + 2 Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl + Alt + 3 Changes text to heading 3.
F1 Open Help.
Alt + Ctrl + F2 Open new document.
Ctrl + F2 Display the print preview.
Shift + F3 Change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
F4 Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
F5 Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
Ctrl + Shift + F6 Opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
F7 Spell and grammar check selected text and/or document.
Shift + F7 Runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
F12 Save as.
Shift + F12 Save.
Ctrl + P Prints the document.
Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date.
Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time.
In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.
Mouse shortcuts Description
Click, hold, and drag Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go.
Double-click If double-click a word, selects the complete word.
Double-click Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned.
Double-click Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop.
Triple-click Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked.
Ctrl + Mouse wheel Zooms in and out of document.