Computer keyboard shortcuts: Save time with Microsoft

Office
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organiz ation/compshortcuts.aspx April 3, 2013

If you’re like most people, you’re always looking for ways to save time, even when using Microsoft
Office software. Keyboard shortcuts could be your new best friend when it comes to time
management.

Not everyone uses shortcut keys to save time, but some people find them easier to use than a
mouse, especially when spending long stretches of time at the computer.

Ready-made Microsoft Office tools

If the thought of memorizing key combinations makes you wince, you can still save time and effort
while working in all Office programs by using these built-in tools.

Short cut menus. Right-click in any Microsoft Office program to display a shortcut menu that
gives you quick access to many of the most commonly used features. If an arrow appears
next to your selection, you can click to see more options. For example, right-clicking a Word
document displays Past e Opt ions, Look Up, Synonyms, formatting, and other options.

No matter which Microsoft Office program you’re working in, right-clicking is one of the greatest
shortcuts available.

KeyTips. Introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, KeyTips are built-in keyboard shortcuts
available in all programs that have the Ribbon or the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar. In
Office 2010, KeyTips are also available in the Backstage view. Press Alt to display a letter or
number by each Ribbon tab or Quick Access Toolbar command. After you press a letter or
number, you get new KeyTips letters and numbers to access each command in the location
you selected.
 Pressing Alt displays KeyTips that you can press to quickly access any command.

Quick Access Toolbar. Add the commands you use all the time to your Quick Access
Toolbar in all Office programs that have the Ribbon. Just right-click almost any Ribbon
command, and then click Add t o Quick Access Toolbar. This is also a great way to create
custom keyboard shortcuts for your favorite commands across all Office programs, since the
KeyTips for your Quick Access Toolbar items remain the same as long as the command
remains in the same position in the Quick Access Toolbar.

Cust om keyboard short cut s on t he Of f ice Ribbon. You can even change shortcut key
combinations or create new ones of your own. Here’s how to do it in the latest versions of
Microsoft Office.

In Microsof t Of f ice 2010:

1. Click the File tab to open Backst age view, and then click Opt ions.

2. Click Cust omize Ribbon and then, next to the Keyboard Shortcuts heading, click
Cust omize. You can enter the new key combination here. You can revert to the default
key combinations for specific tabs (or for all customizations) by clicking Reset .

In Microsof t Of f ice 2007:

1. Click the Of f ice button , and then, in the lower-right section, click Word Opt ions.

2. In the list, select Cust omize.

3. In the Cust omize dialog box, click the Keyboard short cut s: Cust omize button.

4. In the Categories listing, select the tab containing the command you want to change.

5. In the Commands list, select the command with the keystroke combination you want to
change or create. If a default keystroke combination exists, it appears in the box under
"Current keys."

6. In the Press new short cut key box, enter the new keystroke combination.

7. Click Close.

General keyboard shortcuts

 To... Use t his short cut

Open Help Press F1.

Select all content in a document, Press Ctrl+A.

window, or text box

Search for a file or folder Press F3. In Windows 7, you can also press the
Windows logo key to open the St art menu and then
type in the Search box.

Rename a file or folder Select the file or folder, press F2, and then retype the
name.

Find out when the file or folder was Select the file, and then press Alt+Enter.
created, by whom, and how big it is

Display the St art menu Press Ctrl+Esc. In Windows 7, you can also press the
Windows logo key.

Scroll between open windows Press Alt+Tab, and then hold down Alt while pressing
Tab to reach the desired file or program.

Undo an action Press Ctrl+Z.

Redo an action Press Ctrl+Y.

Check the spelling of titles or words in Press F7.

any Office application with the Spelling
& Grammar checker

Create a shortcut on your desktop to In Windows 7: Right-click the file or folder. On the
your favorite file or folder shortcut menu, click Send t o, and then click Deskt op
(Creat e short cut ).

In Windows Vista: Right-click the file or folder. On the

shortcut menu, click Creat e Short cut . Drag the new
shortcut to your desktop.

Capture a screen shot Press Alt+Print Screen, and then press Ctrl+C to copy
and Ctrl+V to paste.

Lock the computer, switch users, log In Windows 7, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

off the computer, change a password,
start Task Manager

Lock the computer Press the Windows logo key+L.

Quit program Press Alt+F4.

Working with Microsoft Word

 To... Use t his short cut

Select text Press Shift+Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow to highlight
text. To select one word at a time, press Shift+Ctrl+Arrow. To select to
the end of the line, press Shift+End.

Copy selected Press Ctrl+C.

text

Cut selected text Press Ctrl+X.

Paste selected Press Ctrl+V.

text

Bold text Press Ctrl+B.

Search for text in Press Ctrl+F.

a document

Find and replace Press Ctrl+H.

text in a
document

Got to a page, Press Ctrl+G.

line, or bookmark
in a document

Italicize text Press Ctrl+I.

Underline text Press Ctrl+U.

Subscript text Press Ctrl+equal sign (=).

Superscript text Press Ctrl+plus sign (+).

Center text Press Ctrl+E.

Align text left Press Ctrl+L.

Align text right Press Ctrl+R.

Justify text Press Ctrl+J.

Decrease the Press Ctrl+Shift+less than sign (

font size

Increase the font Press Ctrl+Shift+greater than sign (>). If your mouse has a scroll wheel,
size you can also press Ctrl and scroll up.

Change the font Press CTRL+SHIFT+F, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font.

Change font size Press Ctrl+Shift+P, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font
size. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up
or down.
Create a page Press Ctrl+Enter.
break

Create a new Press Ctrl+N.

document

Open the My Press Ctrl+O.

Documents
window

Close a Press Ctrl+W.

document

Save a document Press Ctrl+S.

Print a document Press CTRL+P.

Preview what Press ALT+Ctrl+I. In Windows 7, this keyboard shortcut opens the
you're about to integrated Print and Preview window, which you can also access by
print pressing Ctrl+P.

Resize a shape Select the shape, and then press Shift+Arrow.

(Office 2010)

Rotate a shape Select the shape, and then hold the Alt key while you press the Left Arrow
(Office 2010) key or the Right Arrow key.

Accelerating Microsoft Excel

To... Use t his short cut

Open a new workbook Press Ctrl+N.

Move left to right, cell by cell Press Tab, or press the Right Arrow key.

Move right to left, cell by cell Press Shift+Tab, or press the Left
Arrow key.

Move down, cell by cell Press Enter, or press the Down Arrow
key.

Move up, cell by cell Press Shift+Enter, or press the Up

Arrow key.

Move down or up to the last empty or non-empty Press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow or Up

cell Arrow.

Move to the last empty or non-empty cell to the Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Left
right or left Arrow.
 Erase data in the current cell Press Backspace.

Insert a return within a cell Press Alt+Enter.

Return to the beginning of the row Press HOME.

Advance to the next worksheet Ctrl+Page Down

Go to the previous worksheet Ctrl+Page Up

Enter the date Press Ctrl+Semicolon (;).

Enter the time Press Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:).

Find out about the style within the cell Press Alt+Apostrophe (‘).

Display the Format Cells dialog box Press Ctrl+1.

Apply the general number format Press Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~).

Apply the currency number format Press Ctrl+Shift+Dollar Sign ($).

Apply the percentage number format Press Ctrl+Shift+Percent (%).

Apply a border Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&).

Remove a border Press Ctrl+Shift+ underscore (_).

Hide the selected columns Press Ctrl+0 (zero).

Hide the selected rows Press Ctrl+9.

Unhide hidden rows within a selection Press Ctrl+Shift+opening parenthesis.

Find more Excel keyboard shortcuts at the MSDN blog.

Expediting Internet Explorer

To... Use t his short cut

Add sites to your Favorites

1. Go to the site.

2. Press Ctrl+D to add to your Favorites.

3. Click Favorit es, and then, to create a separate folder

for the site or to add it to an already-formed list, click
Add t o Favorit es.

Select a home page

1. Go to the webpage that you would like to make your
 1. Go to the webpage that you would like to make your
home page.

2. Open the Tools menu, and select Int ernet Opt ions.

3. Under Home page, on the General tab, click Use

Current .

Use the Hist ory function if

you visit a few select sites 1. Press Ctrl+H to open the History pane.
constantly
2. Select the site that you would like, right-click the site,
and then select Add t o Favorit es.

Customize your toolbar to the

tools you use most frequently 1. Right-click the command bar.

2. Point to Customize.

3. Click Add or Remove Commands.

Go to your home page Press Alt+Home.

Switch between tabs Press Ctrl+Tab.

Move forward through the Press Tab.

items on a webpage or the
Address bar

Move back through the items Press Shift+Tab.

on a webpage or the Address
bar

Find on this page Press Ctrl+F.

Stop downloading a page Press Esc.

Use zoom on a webpage Increase zoom (+ 10%): Press Ctrl+plus sign (+).

Decrease zoom (- 10%): Press Ctrl+minus sign (-).

Increase to 100%: Press Ctrl+0.

Find more Internet Explorer 8 keyboard shortcuts.

For Outlook keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog.

Shortcuts aren’t limited to Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer, of course. Ample time savers are
built into many popular Microsoft programs, including Access, Visio, and PowerPoint. For Outlook
keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog.

Another convenient way to save time is to add Office.com and Microsoft Answers to your
Favorites in Internet Explorer, so you’ll always have ready help nearby.

The more you use these tools and make Microsoft work for you, the more time you can save.
Have fun exploring the options available to you!

Adapted from an article written by Liz Eustace based upon an original piece from Microsoft Home
Magazine.

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