Microsoft Word 2003 keyboard shortcuts 
Tags: Microsoft Word | Office | Word Processing
List of shortcut keys
| Shortcut | Command | How useful(?) |
In the Help task pane Microsoft Word 2003 | ||
| F1 | Display the Help task pane. | + – |
| F6 | Switch between the Help task pane and Word. | + – |
| TAB | Select the next item in the Help task pane. | + – |
| SHFT+TAB | Select the previous item in the Help task pane. | + – |
| ENTER | Perform the action for the selected item. | + – |
| DOWN ARROW and UP ARROW | In a table of contents, select the next and previous item, respectively. | + – |
| RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW | In a table of contents, expand and collapse the selected item, respectively. | + – |
| ALT+LEFT ARROW | Move back to the previous task pane. | + – |
| ALT+RIGHT ARROW | Move forward to the next task pane. | + – |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Open the menu of task panes. | + – |
| CTRL+F1 | Close and reopen the current task pane. | + – |
| RIGHT ARROW | Expand a +/- list. | + – |
| LEFT ARROW | Collapse a +/- list. | + – |
In the Help window Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| TAB | Select the next hidden text or hyperlink, or Show All or Hide All at the top of a topic. | + – | |
| SHFT+TAB | Select the previous hidden text or hyperlink, or the Browser View button at the top of a Microsoft Office Web site article. | + – | |
| ENTER | Perform the action for the selected Show All, Hide All, hidden text, or hyperlink. | + – | |
| ALT+LEFT ARROW | Move back to the previous Help topic. | + – | |
| ALT+RIGHT ARROW | Move forward to the next Help topic. | + – | |
| CTRL+P | Print the current Help topic. | + – | |
 | |||
| UP ARROW AND DOWN ARROW | Scroll small amounts up and down, respectively, within the currently displayed Help topic. | + – | |
| PAGE UP AND PAGE DOWN | Scroll larger amounts up and down, respectively, within the currently displayed Help topic. | + – | |
| ALT+U | Change the Help window from being separate from (untiled) to connected to (tiled) Word. | + – | |
| SHFT+F10 | Display a menu of commands for the Help window; requires that the Help window have active focus (click an item in the Help window). | + – | |
Access and use menus and toolbars Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| F10 or ALT | Select the menu bar (menu bar: The horizontal bar below the title bar that contains the names of menus. A menu bar can be the built-in menu bar or a custom menu bar.), or close an open menu and submenu at the same time. | + – | |
| CTRL+TAB or CTRL+SHFT+TAB | Select a task pane or toolbar after pressing F10 or ALT to select the menu bar. Pressing the keys repeatedly moves the focus among the open toolbars, menu bars, and task pane. | + – | |
| TAB or SHFT+TAB | When a toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.) or menu bar is selected, select the next or previous button or menu. | + – | |
| ENTER | Open the selected menu, or perform the action for the selected button or command. | + – | |
| SHFT+F10 | Display the shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.) for the selected item. | + – | |
| ALT+SPACEBAR | Display the title bar shortcut menu. | + – | |
| DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW | When a menu or submenu (submenu: A menu that appears when a user points to a command on a higher-level menu.) is open, select the next or previous command. | + – | |
| LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW | Select the menu to the left or right. When a submenu is open, switch between the main menu and the submenu. | + – | |
| HOME or END | Select the first or last command on the menu or submenu. | + – | |
| ESC | Close an open menu. When a submenu is open, close only the submenu. | + – | |
| SHFT+DOWN ARROW | Open the selected menu. | + – | |
| CTRL+DOWN ARROW | When a shortened menu is open, display the full set of commands. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+= (equal sign) | Add a toolbar button to a menu. When you type this shortcut key and then click a toolbar button, Microsoft Word adds the button to the appropriate menu. For example, click Bullets on the Formatting toolbar to add the Bullets command to the Format menu. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+- (dash key) | Remove a command from a menu. When you type this shortcut key and then select a menu command, the command is removed. You can add the menu command back to the menu if you change your mind. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL++ (plus key on numeric keypad) | Customize the shortcut key for a menu command. When you type this shortcut key and then select a menu command, the Customize Keyboard dialog box opens so you can add, change, or remove the shortcut key. | + – | |
Access and use task panes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+F1 | Open the task pane or hide the current task pane. | + – | |
| F6 | Move to a task pane (task pane: A window within an Office application that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size allow you to use these commands while still working on your files.) from another pane in the program window. (You may need to press F6 more than once.) Note If pressing F6 doesn't display the task pane you want, try pressing ALT to place focus on the menu bar, and then pressing CTRL+TAB to move to the task pane. In addition, if you open a dialog box from the Reveal Formatting task pane, the focus may be in your document after you close the dialog box, rather than in the task pane. You can use F6 or CTRL+TAB to return to the task pane. | + – | |
| CTRL+TAB | When a menu or toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.) is active, move to a task pane. (You may need to press CTRL+TAB more than once.) | + – | |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Open the menu of task panes. | + – | |
| ALT+HOME | Go to the Getting Started task pane. | + – | |
| ALT+LEFT ARROW | Reverse the sequence of task panes you opened. | + – | |
| ALT+RIGHT ARROW | Repeat the sequence of task panes you opened. | + – | |
| ESC | Close a menu if one is currently open, or go back to the document. | + – | |
| TAB or SHFT+TAB | When a task pane is active, select the next or previous option in the task pane. | + – | |
| DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW | Move among choices in a selected submenu; move among certain options in a group of options. | + – | |
| SPACEBAR or ENTER | Open the selected menu, or perform the action assigned to the selected button. | + – | |
| SHFT+F10 | Open a shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.) in a document; open a drop-down menu for the selected gallery item. | + – | |
| HOME or END | When a menu or submenu is visible, select the first or last command on the menu or submenu. | + – | |
| PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN | Scroll up or down in the selected gallery list. | + – | |
| CTRL+RIGHT ARROW or CTRL+LEFT ARROW | Expand or collapse a collapsible item in the gallery list. | + – | |
| CTRL+HOME or CTRL+END | Move to the top or bottom of the selected gallery list. | + – | |
Use dialog boxes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+F6 | Move from an open dialog box back to the document for dialog boxes such as Find and Replace that support this behavior. | + – | |
| TAB | Move to the next option or option group. | + – | |
| SHFT+TAB | Move to the previous option or option group. | + – | |
| CTRL+TAB | Switch to the next tab in a dialog box. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+TAB | Switch to the previous tab in a dialog box. | + – | |
| Arrow keys | Move between options in an open drop-down list, or between options in a group of options. | + – | |
| SPACEBAR | Perform the action assigned to the selected button; check or clear the selected check box. | + – | |
| First letter of an optn in a drop-down list | Open the list if it is closed and move to that option in the list. | + – | |
| ALT+ the letter underlined in an optn | Select an option; select or clear a check box. | + – | |
| ALT+DOWN ARROW | Open a selected drop-down list. | + – | |
| ESC | Close a selected drop-down list; cancel a command and close a dialog box. | + – | |
| ENTER | Run the selected command. | + – | |
Use edit boxes within dialog boxes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| HOME | Move to the beginning of the entry. | + – | |
| END | Move to the end of the entry. | + – | |
| LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW | Move one character to the left or right. | + – | |
| CTRL+LEFT ARROW | Move one word to the left. | + – | |
| CTRL+RIGHT ARROW | Move one word to the right. | + – | |
| SHFT+LEFT ARROW | Select or unselect one character to the left. | + – | |
| SHFT+RIGHT ARROW | Select or unselect one character to the right. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+LEFT ARROW | Select or unselect one word to the left. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+RIGHT ARROW | Select or unselect one word to the right. | + – | |
| SHFT+HOME | Select from the insertion point to the beginning of the entry. | + – | |
| SHFT+END | Select from the insertion point to the end of the entry. | + – | |
Use the Open, Save As, and Insert Picture dialog boxes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+F12 | Display the Open dialog box. | + – | |
| F12 | Display the Save As dialog box. | + – | |
| ALT+1 | Go to the previous folder (). | + – | |
| ALT+2 | Open the folder up one level from the open folder (Up One Level button ). | + – | |
| ALT+3 | Close the dialog box and open your World Wide Web (World Wide Web (WWW): The multimedia branch of the Internet that presents not only text, but also graphics, sound, and video. On the Web, users can easily jump from item to item, page to page, or site to site by using hyperlinks.) search page (Search the Web button ). | + – | |
| ALT+4 | Delete the selected folder or file (Delete button ). | + – | |
| ALT+5 | Create a new subfolder in the open folder (Create New Folder button ). | + – | |
| ALT+6 | Switch between List, Details, Properties, Preview Thumbnails, Tiles, and Icons views (click the arrow next to Views ). | + – | |
| ALT+7 or ALT+L | Show the Tools menu (Tools button). | + – | |
| SHFT+F10 | Display a shortcut menu (shortcut menu: A menu that shows a list of commands relevant to a particular item. To display a shortcut menu, right-click an item or press SHIFT+F10.) for a selected item such as a folder or file. | + – | |
| TAB | Move between options or areas in the dialog box. | + – | |
| F4 or ALT+I | Open the Look in or Save in list. | + – | |
| F5 | Update the files visible in the Open or Save As dialog box (File menu). | + – | |
Common tasks done in a Microsoft Word document Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+SHFT+SPACEBAR | Create a nonbreaking space. | + – | |
| CTRL+HYPHEN | Create a nonbreaking hyphen. | + – | |
| CTRL+B | Make letters bold. | + – | |
| CTRL+I | Make letters italic. | + – | |
| CTRL+U | Make letters underline. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+< | Decrease font size. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+> | Increase font size. | + – | |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Remove paragraph or character formatting. | + – | |
| CTRL+C | Copy the selected text or object. | + – | |
| CTRL+X | Cut the selected text or object. | + – | |
| CTRL+V | Paste text or an object. | + – | |
| CTRL+Z | Undo the last action. | + – | |
| CTRL+Y | Redo the last action. | + – | |
Speech and handwriting recognition Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| Left ALT+SHFT | Switch between languages or keyboard layouts. | + – | |
| +V | Switch microphone on or off. | + – | |
| +T | Switch between Voice Command mode and Dictation mode. | + – | |
| +C | Display a list of correction alternatives. | + – | |
| +H | Turn handwriting on or off. | + – | |
| ALT+~ | Turn Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) (IME: A program that enters East Asian text (Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) into programs by converting keystrokes into complex East Asian characters. The IME is treated as an alternate type of keyboard layout.) on 101 keyboard on or off. | + – | |
| Right ALT | Turn Korean IME on 101 keyboard on or off. | + – | |
| CTRL+SPACEBAR | Turn Chinese IME on 101 keyboard on or off. | + – | |
Sending e-mail messages Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+S | Send the active document (active document: The document in which you're working. Text you type or graphics you insert in Microsoft Word appear in the active document. The title bar of the active document is highlighted.) or message. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+B | Open the Address Book. | + – | |
| ALT+K, CTRL+K | When the insertion point is in the message header, check the names on the To, Cc, and Bcc lines against the Address Book. | + – | |
| ALT+. (period) | Open the Address Book in the To field. | + – | |
| ALT+C | When the insertion point is in the message header, open the Address Book in the Cc field. | + – | |
| ALT+B | If the Bcc field is visible, open the Address Book in the Bcc field. To display the Bcc field, open the Address Book for any field, and insert or type a name in the Bcc box. | + – | |
| ALT+J | Go to the Subject field. | + – | |
| ALT+P | Open the Microsoft Outlook Message Options dialog box. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+G | Create a message flag. | + – | |
| TAB | When the insertion point is in the message header, move to the next box in the e-mail header. When the last box in the e-mail header is active, TAB moves the insertion point to the body of the document or message. | + – | |
| SHFT+TAB | Select the previous field or button in the e-mail header. | + – | |
| CTRL+TAB | When the insertion point is in the message header, select the Send button. You can then use the arrow keys to move to the other buttons. To perform the action for the selected button or command, press ENTER. | + – | |
Create, view, and save documents Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+N | Create a new document of the same type as the current or most recent document. | + – | |
| CTRL+O | Open a document. | + – | |
| CTRL+W | Close a document. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+S | Split the document window. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+C | Remove the document window split. | + – | |
| CTRL+S | Save a document. | + – | |
Find, replace, and browse through text Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+F | Find text, formatting, and special items. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+Y | Repeat find (after closing Find and Replace window). | + – | |
| CTRL+H | Replace text, specific formatting, and special items. | + – | |
| CTRL+G | Go to a page, bookmark, footnote, table, comment, graphic, or other location. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+Z | Switch between documents or sections of a document, and between a document and an open e-mail message if you use Word as your e-mail editor. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+HOME | Open a list of browse options; use the arrow keys to select an option, and then press ENTER to browse through a document by using the selected option. | + – | |
Undo and redo actions Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ESC | Cancel an action. | + – | |
| CTRL+Z | Undo an action. | + – | |
| CTRL+Y | Redo or repeat an action. | + – | |
Switch to another view Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+CTRL+P | Switch to print layout view (Print Layout view: A view of a document or other object as it will appear when you print it. For example, items such as headers, footnotes, columns, and text boxes appear in their actual positions.). | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+O | Switch to outline view (outline view: A view that shows the headings of a document indented to represent their level in the document's structure. You can also use outline view to work with master documents.). | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+N | Switch to normal view (normal view: A view that shows text formatting and a simplified page layout. Normal view is convenient for most editing and formatting tasks.). | + – | |
| ALT+R | Switch to Reading View. | + – | |
| CTRL+\ | Expand or collapse subdocuments in a master document. | + – | |
Outline view Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+SHFT+LEFT ARROW | Promote a paragraph. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+RIGHT ARROW | Demote a paragraph. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+N | Demote to body text. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+UP ARROW | Move selected paragraphs up. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+DOWN ARROW | Move selected paragraphs down. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+PLUS SIGN | Expand text under a heading. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+MINUS SIGN | Collapse text under a heading. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+A | Expand or collapse all text or headings. | + – | |
| The slash (/) key on the numeric keypad | Hide or display character formatting. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+L | Show the first line of body text or all body text. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+1 | Show all headings with the Heading 1 style. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+n | Show all headings up to Heading n. | + – | |
| CTRL+TAB | Insert a tab character. | + – | |
Printing and previewing documents Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+P | Print a document. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+I | Switch in or out of print preview (print preview: A view of a document as it will appear when you print it.). | + – | |
| Arrow keys | Move around the preview page when zoomed in. | + – | |
| PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN | Move by one preview page when zoomed out. | + – | |
| CTRL+HOME | Move to the first preview page when zoomed out. | + – | |
| CTRL+END | Move to the last preview page when zoomed out. | + – | |
Reviewing documents Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+CTRL+M | Insert a comment (comment: A note or annotation that an author or reviewer adds to a document. Microsoft Word displays the comment in a balloon in the margin of the document or in the Reviewing Pane.). | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+E | Turn track changes (tracked change: A mark that shows where a deletion, insertion, or other editing change has been made in a document.) on or off. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+C | Close the Reviewing Pane if it is open. | + – | |
Reading layout view Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| HOME | Go to beginning of document. | + – | |
| END | Go to end of document. | + – | |
| Number, then ENTER | Go to page number. | + – | |
| CTRL+] | Increase the size of selected text by one point. | + – | |
| CTRL+[ | Decrease the size of selected text by one point. | + – | |
| ESC | Exit reading layout view. | + – | |
References, footnotes, and endnotes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| ALT+SHFT+O | Mark a table of contents entry. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+I | Mark a table of authorities entry (citation). | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+X | Mark an index entry. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+F | Insert a footnote. | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+D | Insert an endnote. | + – | |
Working with Web pages Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+K | Insert a hyperlink (hyperlink: Colored and underlined text or a graphic that you click to go to a file, a location in a file, a Web page on the World Wide Web, or a Web page on an intranet. Hyperlinks can also go to newsgroups and to Gopher, Telnet, and FTP sites.). | + – | |
| ALT+LEFT ARROW | Go back one page. | + – | |
| ALT+RIGHT ARROW | Go forward one page. | + – | |
| F9 | Refresh. | + – | |
Delete text and graphics Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| BACKSPACE | Delete one character to the left. | + – | |
| CTRL+BACKSPACE | Delete one word to the left. | + – | |
| DELETE | Delete one character to the right. | + – | |
| CTRL+DELETE | Delete one word to the right. | + – | |
| CTRL+X | Cut selected text to the Office Clipboard. | + – | |
| CTRL+Z | Undo the last action. | + – | |
| CTRL+F3 | Cut to the Spike (Spike: A special AutoText entry that stores multiple deletions. Microsoft Word appends one item to another until you paste the contents as a group in a new location in your document. You can also use the Microsoft Office Clipboard to get the same result.). | + – | |
Copy and move text and graphics Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+C | Copy text or graphics. | + – | |
| CTRL+C, CTRL+C | Display the Office Clipboard. | + – | |
| F2 (then move the insertion point and press ENTER) | Move text or graphics. | + – | |
| ALT+F3 | Create AutoText (AutoText: A storage location for text or graphics you want to use again, such as a standard contract clause or a long distribution list. Each selection of text or graphics is recorded as an AutoText entry and is assigned a unique name.). | + – | |
| CTRL+V | Paste the Office Clipboard contents. | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+F3 | Paste the Spike (Spike: A special AutoText entry that stores multiple deletions. Microsoft Word appends one item to another until you paste the contents as a group in a new location in your document. You can also use the Microsoft Office Clipboard to get the same result.) contents. | + – | |
| ALT+SHFT+R | Copy the header or footer used in the previous section of the document. | + – | |
Insert special characters Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| CTRL+F9 | A field | + – | |
| ENTER (after typing the first few characters of the AutoText entry name and when the ScreenTip appears) | An AutoText (AutoText: A storage location for text or graphics you want to use again, such as a standard contract clause or a long distribution list. Each selection of text or graphics is recorded as an AutoText entry and is assigned a unique name.) entry | + – | |
| SHFT+ENTER | A line break | + – | |
| CTRL+ENTER | A page break | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+ENTER | A section break | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+MINUS SIGN | An em dash | + – | |
| CTRL+MINUS SIGN | An en dash | + – | |
| CTRL+HYPHEN | An optional hyphen | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+HYPHEN | A nonbreaking hyphen | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+SPACEBAR | A nonbreaking space | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+C | The copyright symbol | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+R | The registered trademark symbol | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+T | The trademark symbol | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+PERIOD | An ellipsis | + – | |
| CTRL+`, ` | A single opening quotation mark | + – | |
| CTRL+', ' | A single closing quotation mark | + – | |
| CTRL+`, SHFT+' | Double opening quotation marks | + – | |
| CTRL+', SHFT+' | Double closing quotation marks | + – | |
Insert characters by using character codes Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| The character code, ALT+X | The Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol (), type 20AC, and then hold down the ALT key and press X. | + – | |
| ALT+the character code (on the numeric keypad) | The ANSI (ANSI character set: An 8-bit character set used by Microsoft Windows that allows you to represent up to 256 characters (0 through 255) by using your keyboard. The ASCII character set is a subset of the ANSI set.) character for the specified ANSI (decimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down the ALT key and press 0128 on the numeric keypad. | + – | |
Extend a selection Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| F8 | Turn extend mode on. | + – | |
| F8, and then press LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW | Select the nearest character. | + – | |
| F8 (press once to select a word, twice to select a sentence, and so on) | Increase the size of a selection. | + – | |
| SHFT+F8 | Reduce the size of a selection. | + – | |
| ESC | Turn extend mode off. | + – | |
| SHFT+RIGHT ARROW | One character to the right | + – | |
| SHFT+LEFT ARROW | One character to the left | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+RIGHT ARROW | To the end of a word | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+LEFT ARROW | To the beginning of a word | + – | |
| SHFT+END | To the end of a line | + – | |
| SHFT+HOME | To the beginning of a line | + – | |
| SHFT+DOWN ARROW | One line down | + – | |
| SHFT+UP ARROW | One line up | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+DOWN ARROW | To the end of a paragraph | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+UP ARROW | To the beginning of a paragraph | + – | |
| SHFT+PAGE DOWN | One screen down | + – | |
| SHFT+PAGE UP | One screen up | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+HOME | To the beginning of a document | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+END | To the end of a document | + – | |
| ALT+CTRL+SHFT+PAGE DOWN | To the end of a window | + – | |
| CTRL+A | To include the entire document | + – | |
| CTRL+SHFT+F8, and then use the arrow keys; press ESC to cancel selection mode | A vertical block of text | + – | |
| F8+arrow keys; press ESC to cancel selection mode | To a specific location in a document | + – | |
Select text and graphics in a table Microsoft Word 2003 | |||
| TAB | Select the next cell's contents. | + – | |
| SHFT+TAB | Select the preceding cell's contents. | + – | |
| Hold down SHFT and press an arrow key repeatedly | Extend a selection to adjacent cells. | + – | |
| Click in the column's top or bottom cell. Hold down SHFT and press the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW key repeatedly | Select a column. | ||