Word Keyboard Shortcuts: 26 Essentials and Free PDF

The Word shortcuts you'll use every day: Ctrl + Alt + 1 for Heading 1, Ctrl + Spacebar to remove character formatting, Ctrl + 5 for 1.5 line spacing and F7 for spelling and grammar. All 26 below come from Microsoft's official list for Word on Windows, sorted by task, with the Mac equivalents at the end and a printable PDF.

Text formatting

• Ctrl + B - Bold
• Ctrl + I - Italic
• Ctrl + U - Underline
• Ctrl + Shift + > - Increase font size
• Ctrl + Shift + < - Decrease font size
• Ctrl + Spacebar - Remove character formatting

Paragraphs

• Ctrl + E - Center
• Ctrl + L - Align left
• Ctrl + J - Justify
• Ctrl + Shift + L - Bulleted list
• Ctrl + Alt + 1 - Heading 1
• Ctrl + 1 - Single line spacing
• Ctrl + 2 - Double line spacing
• Ctrl + 5 - 1.5 line spacing

Editing

• Ctrl + A - Select all
• Ctrl + Z - Undo
• Ctrl + Y - Redo
• Ctrl + F - Search in the document
• Ctrl + H - Replace
• Ctrl + G - Go to
• Ctrl + Shift + Right arrow - Select the word to the right

Document

• Ctrl + N - New document
• Ctrl + S - Save
• F12 - Save As
• Ctrl + P - Print
• F7 - Spelling and grammar

Mac

• Cmd + B - Bold
• Cmd + I - Italic
• Cmd + U - Underline
• Cmd + Shift + X - Strikethrough
• Cmd + E - Center
• Cmd + Shift + L - Bulleted list
• Cmd + Option + 1 - Heading 1
• Cmd + Shift + S - Save As
• Cmd + P - Print
• Cmd + Option + L - Spelling and grammar

Pro tip

Headings are the biggest time saver: Ctrl + Alt + 1 builds a clean structure and a table of contents in seconds. Learn three shortcuts a week. Shortcuts that work in every program are on the Windows shortcuts sheet.

FAQ

What is the shortcut for strikethrough in Word?

On a Mac, Cmd + Shift + X. Microsoft's list has no strikethrough shortcut for Word on Windows.

How do I remove formatting in Word?

Ctrl + Spacebar removes manual character formatting on Windows, such as bold or a different font.

Is there a shortcut for word count?

Not on Microsoft's official list, neither for Windows nor Mac. The word count is in the status bar, or paste the text into the word and character counter.

How do I change line spacing with the keyboard?

Ctrl + 1 for single, Ctrl + 5 for 1.5 and Ctrl + 2 for double spacing on Windows. On a Mac, Cmd + 1, Cmd + 5 and Cmd + 2.

Next step

Shortcuts save clicks. Touch typing saves time on every word you write. Measure your typing speed in one minute, then see how the touch typing guide closes the gap.

Matching sheets

Two more sheets for the office: Excel keyboard shortcuts and Outlook keyboard shortcuts. For @, brackets and other symbols, see the special characters sheet. Writing in Google Docs? Here are the Google Docs keyboard shortcuts.

Sources

• Microsoft Support: Keyboard shortcuts in Word - Windows and macOS tabs.