Practical guide

Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts That Save Time

Word's built-in shortcuts make common editing tasks quicker and can reduce repetitive formatting. These combinations work in many recent desktop versions of Word; some vary on Mac or in Word for the web.

What to do

  1. Use Ctrl + B, Ctrl + I, and Ctrl + U to toggle bold, italic, and underline.
  2. Press Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End to move to the start or end of the document. Hold Shift with navigation keys to select text.
  3. Apply common paragraph alignment with Ctrl + L for left, Ctrl + E for center, and Ctrl + R for right.
  4. Use Ctrl + Shift + > to increase selected text size and Ctrl + Shift + < to decrease it in desktop Word.

Checks and limitations

  • Use heading styles from the Styles gallery for document structure instead of making headings bold and large by hand.
  • Word for the web, macOS, and customized keyboard settings may use different shortcuts.