Increase Your Productivity with These Useful Shortcuts
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated July 30, 2020
Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
Here are 10 extremely useful shortcuts (in Word for Windows). I have not included the common ones like copy and paste. Most of these include the Ctrl key so press Ctrl plus the letter indicated
Recommended article: 21 Shortcuts for Faster Formatting in Your Microsoft Word Documents
1. Select all
This is probably the most useful shortcut for most people. Ctrl + A will select all text in a Microsoft Word document. It also works in Excel and other Office programs.
2. Go to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + Home will take you to the beginning of the document.
3. Go to the end of the document
Ctrl + End will take you to the end of the document.
4. Quickly select a word
To quickly select a word, double-click in it or position the cursor at the beginning of the word and press Ctrl + Shift + right arrow.
5. Quickly select a paragraph
To quickly select a paragraph, triple-click in it or position the cursor at the beginning of the paragraph and press Ctrl + Shift + down arrow.
6. Display the Replace dialog box
To display the Replace dialog box, press Ctrl + H.
7. Display the Font dialog box (formerly the Character dialog box)
To display the font dialog box, press Ctrl + D.
8. Increase font size
Select the text and press Ctrl + Shift + > to increase font size by standard increments.
9. Decrease font size
Select the text and press Ctrl + Shift + < to decrease font size by standard increments.
10. Close the current document
To close the current document, press Ctrl + W.
There are certainly many more shortcuts such as Ctrl + P for print which apply to all Microsoft Office programs, but these are shortcuts I have always found to be particularly useful.
This article was first published on June 21, 2014 and has been updated for clarity and content.
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More resources
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