- 3-minute read
- 27th November 2018
Handy Shortcuts in Microsoft Word
As proofreaders, we’re generally against shortcuts. After all, editing a document requires painstaking attention to detail, so we can’t afford to cut corners! Nevertheless, whether you’re writing or editing a document, knowing a few shortcuts in Microsoft Word is a good idea. Check out our suggestions below to save a little time and effort while you write.
Function Shortcuts
One type of shortcut is the function shortcut. These control common (and less common) commands, such as saving a document or cutting and pasting text. They include:
Function | PC Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
Undo | Ctrl + Z | Command + Z |
Redo | Ctrl + Y | Command + Y |
Cut | Ctrl + X | Command + X |
Paste | Ctrl + V | Command + V |
Select all | Ctrl + A | Command + A |
Save | Ctrl + S | Command + S |
New document | Ctrl + N | Command + N |
Open a saved document | Ctrl + O | Command + O |
Insert comment | Ctrl + Alt + M | Command + Option + A |
Search document | Ctrl + F | Ctrl + F |
Find and replace | Ctrl + H | Ctrl + H |
Insert current date | Shift + Alt + D | Control + Shift + D |
Insert current time | Shift + Alt + T | Control + Shift + T |
In case you are new to Mac computers, the ‘Command’ key is sometimes represented by the ⌘ symbol. You can find out more about the Command and Option keys here.
Formatting Shortcuts
The other type of shortcut you are likely to need is a formatting shortcut. These control how text appears on the page. Some important options here include the following:
Formatting | PC Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
Heading 1 | Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Command + Option + 1 |
Heading 2 | Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Command + Option + 2 |
Heading 3 | Ctrl + Alt + 3 | Command + Option + 3 |
Bold | Ctrl + B | Command + B |
Italics | Ctrl + I | Command + I |
Underlining | Ctrl + U | Command + U |
ALL CAPS | Ctrl + Shift + A | Command + |
Increase font size | Ctrl + ] | Command + |
Decrease font size | Ctrl + [ | Command + |
Align centre | Ctrl + E | Command + E |
Align left | Ctrl + L | Command + L |
Align right | Ctrl + R | Command + R |
Justify text | Ctrl + J | Command + J |
Single space lines | Ctrl + 1 | Command + 1 |
Double space lines | Ctrl + 2 | Command + 2 |
Set line spacing to 1.5 | Ctrl + 5 | Command + 5 |
Setting Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
But what if there isn’t a shortcut for what you want to do in Microsoft Word? Good news! You can create your own shortcuts as required! In Word for Windows, you can do this as follows:
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- Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts…
- Click Customize to access the shortcuts menu
- Find the function required under in the Categories and Commands lists
- Go to Press new shortcut key and hold down a key combination
- Select whether to save the shortcut to the template (so that it is usable in all documents) or just the current document in the Save changes in menu
- Click Assign to assign the shortcut

You can assign shortcuts in Word for Mac, meanwhile, via the standard shortcut options in Mac OS X.