Microsoft Word shortcut keys
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + 0 | Adds or removes 6pts of spacing before a paragraph. |
| Ctrl + A | Select all contents of the page. |
| Ctrl + B | Bold highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + C | Copy selected text. |
| Ctrl + D | Open the font preferences window. |
| 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 + S | Save the open document. Just like Shift + F12. |
| Ctrl + T | Create a hanging indent. |
| Ctrl + U | Underline the selected text. |
| Ctrl + V | Paste. |
| Ctrl + X | Cut selected text. |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo the last action performed. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo last action. |
| Ctrl + Shift + L | Quickly create a bullet point. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Change the font. |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increase 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 + / + c | Insert a cent sign (¢). |
| Ctrl + ' + <char> | Insert a character with an accent (grave) mark, where <char> is the character you want. For example, if you wanted an accented è you would use Ctrl + ' + e as your shortcut key. To reverse the accent mark use the opposite accent mark, often on the tilde key. |
| Ctrl + Shift + * | View or hide non printing characters. |
| Ctrl + <left arrow> | Moves one word to the left. |
| Ctrl + <right arrow> | Moves one word to the right. |
| Ctrl + <up arrow> | Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph. |
| Ctrl + <down arrow> | 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. |
| Alt + Ctrl + F2 | Open new document. |
| Ctrl + F1 | Open the Task Pane. |
| Ctrl + F2 | Display the print preview. |
| Ctrl + Shift + > | Increases the selected text size by one. |
| Ctrl + Shift + < | Decreases the selected text size by one. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F6 | Switches to another open Microsoft Word document. |
| Ctrl + Shift + F12 | Prints the document. |
| F1 | Open Help. |
| F4 | Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) |
| F5 | Open the Find, Replace, and Go To window in Microsoft Word. |
| F7 | Spellcheck and grammar check selected text or document. |
| F12 | Save As. |
| Shift + F3 | Change the text in Microsoft Word from uppercase to lowercase or a capital letter at the beginning of every word. |
| Shift + F7 | Runs a Thesaurus check on the selected word. |
| Shift + F12 | Save the open document. Just like Ctrl + S. |
| Shift + Enter | Create a soft break instead of a new paragraph. |
| Shift + Insert | Paste. |
| Shift + Alt + D | Insert the current date. |
| Shift + Alt + T | Insert the current time. |
| 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-clicking a word, selects the complete word. |
| Double-click | Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line makes 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 that the mouse triple-clicked on. |
| Ctrl + Mouse wheel | Zooms in and out of document. |
Basic PC shortcut keys
| Shortcut Keys | Description |
|---|---|
| Alt + F | File menu options in current program. |
| Alt + E | Edit options in current program |
| Alt + Tab | Switch between open programs |
| F1 | Universal Help in almost every Windows program. |
| F2 | Rename a selected file |
| F5 | Refresh the current program window |
| Ctrl + N | Create a new, blank document in some software programs |
| Ctrl + O | Open a file in current software program |
| Ctrl + A | Select all text. |
| Ctrl + B | Change selected text to be Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Change selected text to be in Italics |
| Ctrl + U | Change selected text to be Underlined |
| Ctrl + F | Open find window for current document or window. |
| Ctrl + S | Save current document file. |
| Ctrl + X | Cut selected item. |
| Shift + Del | Cut selected item. |
| Ctrl + C | Copy selected item. |
| Ctrl + Ins | Copy selected item |
| Ctrl + V | Paste |
| Shift + Ins | Paste |
| Ctrl + K | Insert hyperlink for selected text |
| Ctrl + P | Print the current page or document. |
| Home | Goes to beginning of current line. |
| Ctrl + Home | Goes to beginning of document. |
| End | Goes to end of current line. |
| Ctrl + End | Goes to end of document. |
| Shift + Home | Highlights from current position to beginning of line. |
| Shift + End | Highlights from current position to end of line. |
| Ctrl + Left arrow | Moves one word to the left at a time. |
| Ctrl + Right arrow | Moves one word to the right at a time. |
| Ctrl + Esc | Opens the START menu |
| Ctrl + Shift + Esc | Opens Windows Task Manager |
| Alt + F4 | Close the currently active program |
| Alt + Enter | Open the Properties for the selected item (file, folder, shortcut, etc.) |
PC shortcut keys for Special Characters
| Shortcut Keys | Special Character |
|---|---|
| Alt + 0224 | à |
| Alt + 0232 | è |
| Alt + 0236 | ì |
| Alt + 0242 | ò |
| Alt + 0241 | ñ |
| Alt + 0228 | ä |
| Alt + 0246 | ö |
| Alt + 0252 | ü |
| Alt + 0248 | ø |
| Alt + 0223 | ß |
| Alt + 0198 | Æ |
| Alt + 0231 | ç |
| Alt + 0191 | ¿ |
| Alt + 0176 | ° (degree symbol) |
| Alt + 0177 | ± (plus/minus symbol) |
| Alt + 0153 | ™ |
| Alt + 0169 | © |
| Alt + 0174 | ® |
| Alt + 0128 | € (Euro currency) |
| Alt + 0162 | ¢ (Cent symbol) |
| Alt + 0163 | £ (British Pound currency) |
| Alt + 0165 | ¥ (Japanese Yen currency) |
F1 through F12 keys
F1
- Almost always used as the help key, almost every program opens a help screen when this key is pressed.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
- Windows Key + F1 would open the Microsoft Windows help and support center.
- Open the Task Pane.
F2
- In Windows renames a highlighted icon, file, or folder in all versions of Windows.
- Alt + Ctrl + F2 opens document window in Microsoft Word.
- Ctrl + F2 displays the print preview window in Microsoft Word.
- Quickly rename a selected file or folder.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
F3
- Often opens a search feature for many programs including Microsoft Windows when at the Windows Desktop..
- In MS-DOS or Windows command line F3 will repeat the last command.
- Shift + F3 will change the text in Microsoft Word from upper to lower case or a capital letter at the beginning of every word.
- Windows Key + F3 opens the Advanced find window in Microsoft Outlook.
- Open Mission Control on an Apple computer running Mac OS X.
F4
- Open find window in Windows 95 to XP.
- Open the address bar in Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.
- Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+)
- Alt + F4 closes the program window currently active in Microsoft Windows.
- Ctrl + F4 closes the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows.
F5
- In all modern Internet browsers, pressing F5 will refresh or reload the page or document window.
- Open the find, replace, and go to window in Microsoft Word.
- Starts a slideshow in PowerPoint.
F6
- Move the cursor to the Address bar in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and most other Internet browsers.
- Ctrl + Shift + F6 opens to another open Microsoft Word document.
- Reduce laptop speaker volume (on some laptops)
F7
- Commonly used to spell check and grammar check a document in Microsoft programs such as Microsoft Word, Outlook, etc.
- Shift + F7 runs a Thesaurus check on the word highlighted.
- Turns on Caret browsing in Mozilla Firefox.
- Increase laptop speaker volume (on some laptops)
F8
- Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly used to access Windows Safe Mode.
- Used by some computers to access the Windows Recovery system, but may require a Windows installation CD
- Displays a thumbnail image for all workspaces in Mac OS
F9
- Refresh document in Microsoft Word.
- Send and receive e-mail in Microsoft Outlook.
- Opens the Measurements toolbar in Quark 5.0.
- Reduce laptop screen brightness (on some laptops)
- With Mac OS 10.3 or later, displays a thumbnail for each window in a single workspace.
- Using the Fn key and F9 at the same time opens Mission Control on an Apple computer running Mac OS X.
F10
- In Microsoft Windows activates the menu bar of an open application.
- Shift + F10 is the same as right-clicking on a highlighted icon, file, or Internet link.
- Access the hidden recovery partition on HP and Sony computers.
- Enter CMOS Setup.
- Increase laptop screen brightness (on some laptops)
- With Mac OS 10.3 or later, shows all open Windows for the active program.
F11
- Enter and exit full screen mode in all modern Internet browsers.
- Ctrl + F11 as computer is starting to access the hidden recovery partition on many Dell computers.
- Access the hidden recovery partition on eMachines, Gateway, and Lenovo computers.
- With Mac OS 10.4 or later, hides all open windows and shows the Desktop.
F12
- Open the Save as window in Microsoft Word.
- Ctrl + F12 opens a document In Word.
- Shift + F12 saves the Microsoft Word document (like Ctrl + S).
- Ctrl + Shift + F12 prints a document in Microsoft Word.
- Preview a page in Microsoft Expression Web.
- Open Firebug or browser debug tool.
- With an Apple running Mac OS 10.4 or later, F12 shows or hides the Dashboard.
- Access the list of bootable devices on a computer at startup, allowing you to select a different device to boot from (Hard drive, CD or DVD drive, Floppy drive, USB drive, Network)
F13 - F24
Early IBM computers also had keyboards with F13 through F24 keys. However, because these keyboards are no longer used, they are not listed on this page.
Top 10 keyboard shortcuts everyone should know
Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert
Both Ctrl + C and Ctrl + Insert will copy the highlighted text or selected item. If you want to cut instead of copy press Ctrl + X.
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert
Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y
Ctrl + F
Pressing Ctrl + F opens the Find in any program. This includes your Internet browser to find text on the current page.
Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab
Quickly switch between open programs moving forward.
Tip: Press Ctrl + Tab to switch between tabs in a program.
Tip: Adding the Shift key to Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Tab will move backwards. For example, if you are pressing Alt + Tab and pass the program you want to switch to, press Alt + Shift + Tab to move backwards to that program.
Tip: Windows Vista and 7 users can also press the Windows Key + Tab to switch through open programs in a full screenshot of the Window.
Ctrl + Back space and Ctrl + Left or Right arrow
Pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete a full word at a time instead of a single character.
Holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the left or right arrow will move the cursor one word at a time instead of one character at a time. If you wanted to highlight one word at a time, you can hold down Ctrl + Shift and then press the left or right arrowkey to move one word at a time in that direction while highlighting each word.
Ctrl + S
While working on a document or other file in almost every program, pressing Ctrl + Ssaves that file. This shortcut key should be used frequently anytime you're working on anything important.
Ctrl + Home or Ctrl + End
Ctrl + Home will move the cursor to the beginning of the document and Ctrl + End will move the cursor to the end of a document. These shortcuts work with most documents, as well as web pages.
Ctrl + P
Open a print preview of the current page or document being viewed. For example, pressCtrl + P now to view a print preview of this page.
Page Up, Space bar, and Page Down
Pressing either the page up or page down key will move that page one page at a time in that direction. When browsing the Internet, pressing the space bar also moves the page down one page at a time.
Tip: If you are using the space bar to go down one page at a time, press the Shift key and space bar to go up one page at a time.
Other Recommended Shortcuts
We also recommend the following keyboard shortcuts, as they can be very useful:
Ctrl + O
Allows you to select and open a file within the current software program. This works in most programs, including Internet browsers.
F2
After highlighting or selecting a file, pressing F2 changes the file name to be editable, allowing you to rename the file.
Microsoft Excel shortcut keys
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|
| F2 | Edit the selected cell. |
| F3 | After a name has been created, F3 will paste names. |
| F4 | Repeat last action. For example, if you changed the color of text in another cell, pressing F4 will change the text in cell to the same color. |
| F5 | Go to a specific cell. For example, C6. |
| F7 | Spell check selected text or document. |
| F11 | Create chart from selected data. |
| Ctrl + Shift + ; | Enter the current time. |
| Ctrl + ; | Enter the current date. |
| Alt + Shift + F1 | Insert New Worksheet. |
| Alt + Enter | While typing text in a cell, pressing Alt + Enter will move to the next line, allowing for multiple lines of text in one cell. |
| Shift + F3 | Open the Excel formula window. |
| Shift + F5 | Bring up search box. |
| Ctrl + 1 | Open the Format Cells window. |
| Ctrl + A | Select all contents of the worksheet. |
| Ctrl + B | Bold highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + I | Italic highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + K | Insert link. |
| Ctrl + S | Save the open worksheet. |
| Ctrl + U | Underline highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + 1 | Change the format of selected cells. |
| Ctrl + 5 | Strikethrough highlighted selection. |
| Ctrl + P | Bring up the print dialog box to begin the printing process. |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo last action. |
| Ctrl + F3 | Open Excel Name Manager. |
| Ctrl + F9 | Minimize current window. |
| Ctrl + F10 | Maximize currently selected window. |
| Ctrl + F6 | Switch between open workbooks or windows. |
| Ctrl + Page up | Move between work sheets in the same document. |
| Ctrl + Page down | Move between work sheets in the same document. |
| Ctrl + Tab | Move between Two or more open Excel files. |
| Alt + = | Create a formula to sum all of the above cells. |
| Ctrl + ' | Insert the value of the above cell into the cell currently selected. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 1 | Format number in comma format. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 4 | Format number in currency format. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 3 | Format number in date format. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 5 | Format number in percentage format. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 6 | Format number in scientific format. |
| Ctrl + Shift + 2 | Format number in time format. |
| Ctrl + Arrow key | Move to next section of text. |
| Ctrl + Space | Select entire column. |
| Shift + Space | Select entire row. |
| Ctrl + - | Delete the selected column or row. |
| Ctrl + Shift + = | Insert a new column or row. |
| Ctrl + Home | Move to cell A1. |
| Ctrl + ~ | Switch between showing Excel formulas or their values in cells. |
Unix and Linux shortcut keys
Keyboard shortcut keys
| CTRL+B | Moves the cursor backward one character. |
| CTRL+C | Cancels the currently running command. |
| CTRL+D | Logs out of the current session. |
| CTRL+F | Moves the cursor forward one character. |
| CTRL+H | Erase one character. Similar to pressing backspace. |
| CTRL+P | Paste previous line(s). |
| CTRL+S | Stops all output on screen (XOFF). |
| CTRL+Q | Turns all output stopped on screen back on (XON). |
| CTRL+U | Erases the complete line. |
| CTRL+W | Deletes the last word typed in. For example, if you typed 'mv file1 file2' this shortcut would delete file2. |
| CTRL+Z | Cancels current operation, moves back a directory or takes the current operation and moves it to the background. See bg command for additional information about background. |
Command line shortcuts
| ~ | Moves to the user's home directory. |
| !! | Repeats the line last entered at the shell. See history command for previous commands. |
| !$ | Repeats the last argument for the command last used. See history command for previous commands. |
| reset | Resets the terminal if terminal screen is not displaying correctly. |
| shutdown -h now | Remotely or locally shuts the system down. |
Apple Macintosh shortcut keys
| Open Apple + Down | Opens the selected icon. |
| Shift + Click | Select the icon and add it to the set of those selected. |
| Tab | Highlight the next icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order. |
| Shift + Tab | Highlight the previous icon inside the folder, in alphabetical order. |
| Left arrow | Used when viewing by icon to select the icon to the left of the one highlighted. |
| Right arrow | Used when viewing by icon to select icon to the right of the one highlighted. |
| Up arrow | Used to select the icon above the one currently highlighted. |
| Down arrow | Used to select the icon below the one currently highlighted. |
| Open Apple + ? | Mac help |
| Open Apple + E | Eject |
| Open Apple + Shift + Up Arrow | Used to direct the input focus to the desktop level. |
| Open Apple + M | Minimize window |
| Open Apple + N | New finder window |
| Open Apple + Shift + N | New folder |
| Open Apple + W | Close the current window. |
| Open Apple + C | Copy the selected item to the clipboard. |
| Open Apple + X | Cut the selected item. |
| Open Apple + V | Paste item from the clipboard |
| Open Apple + L | Make alias |
| Open Apple + R | Show original item |
| Open Apple + T | Add to favorites |
| Open Apple + O | Open the selected icon. |
| Open Apple + F | Display the find dialog box. |
| Open Apple + G | Repeat the last find operation. |
| Open Apple + Shift + G | Takes a snapshot of the screen and saves it to a PICT file. |
| Command + A | Select all text and objects |
| Command + B | Change selected text to boldface |
| Command + F | Open the Find window |
| Command + I | Italicize the selected text |
| Command + P | Open the Print dialog window |
| Command + U | Underline the selected text |
| Command + Shift + P | Open the Page Setup window, to change document parameters |
| Command + Shift + Control + 3 | Capture screenshot of current screen and save to the Clipboard |
Microsoft Windows shortcut keys
General Windows keyboard shortcuts
Alt + Tab
Switch between open applications in all versions of Windows. Reverse the direction by pressing Alt + Shift + Tab at the same time.
Ctrl + Tab
Switches between program groups, tabs, or document windows in applications that support this feature. Reverse the direction by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Tab at the same time.
Alt + double-click
Display the properties of the object you double-click on in Windows 95 and later. For example, doing this on a file would display its properties.
Alt + Print Screen
Create a screen shot only for the active program window in all versions of Windows. For example, if you opened the calculator and did this only the calculator window would be created as a screen shot. If just the Print Screen key is pressed the whole screen will be made into a screen shot.
Ctrl + Alt + Del
Open the Windows option screen for locking computer, switching user, Task Manager, etc. in later versions of Windows. Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del multiple times will reboot the computer.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc
Immediately bring up the Windows Task Manager in Windows 2000 and later.
Ctrl + Esc
Open the Windows Start menu in most versions of Windows. In Windows 8 this opens the Start screen and in Windows 3.x this would bring up the Task Manager.
Alt + Esc
Switch between open applications on Taskbar in Windows 95 and later.
Alt + Space bar
Drops down the window control menu for the currently open Windows program in Windows 95 and later.
Alt + Enter
Opens properties window of selected icon or program in Windows 95 and later.
Shift + Del
Will delete any file or other object without throwing it into the Recycle Bin in Windows 95 and later.
Hold down the Shift key
When putting in an audio or data CD that uses Autoplay, holding down the Shift key will prevent that CD from playing.
Windows function key shortcuts
F1
Activates help for current open application. If you're at the Windows Desktop, this will activate the help for Windows.
F2
F3
Starts find or search when at the Windows Desktop in all versions of Windows.
F4
In Windows 95 and later this opens the drive selection or address bar when browsing files in Windows Explorer.
- Pressing Alt + F4 closes the current open program window without a prompt in all versions of Windows.
- Pressing Ctrl + F4 closes the open window within the current active window in Microsoft Windows. This only works in programs that support multiple windows or tabs in the same program window.
F6
While in Windows Explorer, this will move the cursor to different Windows Explorer pane or in Windows 7 browse available drives.
F8
Pressing F8 over and over as the computer is booting will start the computer in Safe Mode.
F10
Activates the File menu bar in all versions of Windows.
Nice post: what is safe mode
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