Move text and images in a document easily
What to Know
- Highlight the text and press Ctrl+X to cut or Ctrl+C to copy (Command on a Mac). Alternatively, right-click the text and select Cut or Copy.
- To paste, move the cursor to desired location and press Ctrl+V (Command on a Mac). Alternatively, right-click and select Paste.
- You can’t use Paste if you want to paste something other than the last item copied. To access older items, access the Clipboard.
Cut, Copy, and Paste might be the three most used commands in Microsoft Word—and for good reason. Here are the differences between Copy, Cut, and Paste, and how to use them in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
How to Cut and Copy in Word
There are several ways to use the Cut and Copy commands and these are universal to all versions of Microsoft Word. First, use the mouse to highlight the text, image, table, or another item you want to cut or copy. Then, use one of the following commands:
- Go to the Ribbon, select the Home tab, then select Cut or Copy.
- Right-click the selected text and choose Cut or Copy.
- Use the key shortcut Ctrl + X to cut or use Ctrl + C to copy. On Mac, use Command + X or Command + C.
How to Paste the Last Item Cut or Copied in Word
There are several ways to use the Paste command that are universal to all versions of Microsoft Word. First, either use the Cut or Copy command to save an item to the Clipboard. Then, to paste it, do one of the following:
- Go to the Home tab, then select Paste.
- Place the cursor where you want the text or image to go in the document, then right-click and choose Paste.
- Use the key combination Ctrl + V to paste. On Mac use Command + V. This is the keyboard shortcut for Paste and is universal to most Microsoft Office and 365 applications.
How to Use the Clipboard to Paste Previously Cut or Copied Items
You can’t use the Paste command as outlined in the previous section if you want to paste something other than the last item copied. To access items older than that, access the Clipboard.
If you’re collaborating with others to create a document, use Track Changes so your collaborators can quickly see the changes you’ve made.
Here’s how to use the Clipboard:
-
Go to the Home tab.
-
In the Clipboard group, select the dialog launcher to open the Clipboard pane.
-
Select the text or image you want to copy and press Ctrl+C.
-
Repeat until you’ve copied all the items you want to use. The items appear in the Clipboard, with the latest at the top.
-
Place the cursor in the document where you want to paste the items, then go to the Clipboard pane, select the drop-down arrow next to the item you want to paste, then choose Paste.
Alternatively, if you want to paste all of the items in your Clipboard, select Paste All.
What Are the Differences Between Copy, Cut, and Paste?
Cut and Copy are comparable commands. When you cut something, such as text or a picture, it’s saved to the Clipboard and removed from the document. When you copy something it’s also saved to the Clipboard, but it remains in the document.
If you want to paste the last item you cut or copied, use the Paste command, available in various areas of Microsoft Word. If you want to paste an item other than the last one you cut or copied, use the Clipboard history.
When you paste something you cut, it’s moved to the new location. If you paste something you copied, it’s duplicated at the new location.
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This tutorial shows three ways to cut, copy, and paste in Microsoft Word. First, we’ll use keyboard shortcuts. Then, we’ll use the tools in the ribbon. Lastly, we’ll use the shortcut menu. Plus, the bonus tip at the end shows how to choose a pasting option after pasting your text.
Table of Contents
- How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste
- How to Use the Ribbon to Cut, Copy, and Paste
- How to Use the Shortcut Menu to Cut, Copy, and Paste
- Bonus Tip: How to Choose a Pasting Option after Pasting Text
But first…
What Does It Mean to Cut, Copy, and Paste?
Cutting: When you cut text or an image, you are removing it from its original location, which can be your current Word document or another editable location, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Docs. Once cut, it will be placed in the Clipboard, which is a temporary storage area on your computer.
Copying: When you copy text or an image, you are placing a duplicate in the Clipboard, but you are not removing it from its original location.
Pasting: After cutting or copying, you can then use the paste function to move the text or image from the Clipboard to a new location in your document.
For an advanced look at the Clipboard, please see “How to Use the Clipboard in Microsoft Word.”
Do you want to copy and paste formatting instead of text? Check out “How to Use the Format Painter in Microsoft Word.”
This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste
The following keyboard shortcuts work in Windows across all Microsoft Office apps, Adobe Acrobat, Google Docs, and many other locations such as email platforms, social media comment boxes, and website text boxes.
To Cut or Copy
- Select the text or image you want to cut or copy.
- Press the keyboard shortcut:
Cut: Ctrl + X
Copy: Ctrl + C
Your text or image should now be cut or copied.
To Paste
- Place your cursor where you want to insert the text or image.
- Press the keyboard shortcut:
Paste: Ctrl + V
Your text or image should now be pasted into the new location in your document.
How to Use the Ribbon to Cut, Copy, and Paste
The ribbon method requires more steps than the keyboard shortcuts; however, it offers more customization options for pasting.
To Cut or Copy
- Select the text or image you want to cut or copy.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon.
- Select Cut or Copy from the Clipboard group.
Your text or image should now be cut or copied.
To Paste
- Place your cursor where you want to insert the text or image.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Paste button to paste the text or image without additional options.
- Select the Paste Options menu arrow for additional options.
- Choose an option from the drop-down menu:
A. Keep Source Formatting maintains the formatting (e.g., font, size, color, etc.) of the pasted text.
B. Merge Formatting changes the formatting of the pasted text to match the formatting of the new location.
C. Picture pastes the text or other content as an image (only available in Word for Microsoft 365).
D. Keep Text Only removes the formatting of the pasted text and adds the formatting of the new location.
What Is the Difference between Merge Formatting and Keep Text Only?
The difference between Merge Formatting and Keep Text Only is a bit confusing, so let’s dig into them a little deeper.
Merge Formatting matches the formatting of the pasted text to the formatting of the new location. However, it doesn’t remove existing emphasis formatting (boldness, italics, or underlining) from the pasted text.
For example, if you use Merge Formatting to paste a twenty-word paragraph with black font and five bold words into a location with red font, all twenty words will turn red. But, the five bold words will maintain the bold format.
Keep Text Only removes all formatting from the pasted text, including emphasis formatting, and then adds the formatting of the new location to the pasted text.
So, if you use Keep Text Only to paste that same twenty-word paragraph with black font and five bold words into a location with red font, all twenty words will turn red and the five bold words will lose the bold format.
- (Optional) For further customization, choose an advanced option from the drop-down menu:
-
- Paste Special opens the Paste Special dialog box with additional options including pasting as HTML format and unformatted Unicode text.
- Set Default Paste opens the Word Options dialog box where you can choose default options for pasting within the same document, pasting between documents, and pasting from other programs.
Your text or image should now be pasted into the new location in your document.
How to Use the Shortcut Menu to Cut, Copy, and Paste
The shortcut menu attached to the Mini toolbar lets you cut, copy, and paste from inside the document.
To Cut or Copy
- Select the text or image you want to cut or copy.
- Right-click the selected text or image, and then select Cut or Copy from the shortcut menu.
Your text or image should be cut or copied.
To Paste
- Right-click where you want to insert the text or image, and then select an option from the shortcut menu:
A. Keep Source Formatting
B. Merge Formatting
C. Picture (only available in Word for Microsoft 365)
D. Keep Text Only
See the definition for each option in step 5 of the section above.
Your text or image should now be pasted into the new location in your document.
Bonus Tip: Choose a Pasting Option after Pasting Text
Word provides a convenient way to choose a pasting option after you have pasted text into its new location.
- Select the Paste Options button that appears after you paste your text into its new location.
- Select an option from the shortcut menu:
A. Keep Source Formatting
B. Merge Formatting
C. Picture (Word for Microsoft 365 only)
D. Keep Text Only
Your pasted text should change formatting according to your selection.
Important Note: The Paste Options button will disappear once you perform another function such as typing or pressing the Enter key, so if you want to use this button, you must do so immediately after pasting your text.
Related Resources
How to Insert Files into Existing Files in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)
How to Change the Font, Font Size, and Font Color in Microsoft Word
How to Insert and Modify Images in Microsoft Word
How to Add Page Numbers in Microsoft Word
Updated June 18, 2022
Cutting, copying, and pasting are three of the most basic features available to a computer user, but as you might expect Microsoft Word gives you more options than just those. There’s a built-in Office clipboard that’s pretty powerful, the ability to choose the format of content you paste, and more. Here’s how it all works.
Paste Text the Way You Want
When you paste text using Ctrl+V, Word defaults to pasting both the text and any formatting applied to that text. This means that the text will look like it did in the original location. Technically, Word copies the formatting marks in the text, which can be interpreted in different ways. This is why you might find that text copied from a website can appear much larger in Word; the formatting marks are interpreted differently by Word than they are by your web browser.
Instead of hitting Ctrl+V, you can click Home > Paste to see some different options.
The “Paste” drop-down menu shows a few options as icons across the top. From left to right these are:
- Keep Source Formatting: This is the default option you get when pressing Ctrl+V, as described above.
- Merge Formatting: This command pastes just the text you’ve copied but changes the formatting to match the surrounding text into which you’re pasting.
- Picture: This command inserts the text as a picture.
- Keep Text Only: This command removes all formatting from the original text. The text will take on the default formatting of the paragraph into which you insert the text.
There are also a couple of other options on the “Paste” drop-down menu. The “Paste Special” command lets you paste whatever you’ve copied as a special document type. For example, you could paste as a Word document, picture, or even HTML. The options available in the Paste Special window change depending on what you’ve copied. If you copied text, for example, you could insert it as a separate Word document. If you copied an image, you can change the format of the image when you paste (which we’ll talk more about in the next section).
The “Set Default Paste” option lets you change the default paste action (when you press Ctrl+V) if you don’t want “Keep Source Formatting” to be the default.
RELATED: How to Change the Default Paste Setting in Microsoft Word
Paste Images the Way You Want
When you paste an image into Word, it gives you some flexibility on the format. Click Home > Paste > Paste Special (after copying an image) to see the options.
In this case, we’re pasting from the clipboard, so we can choose if we want the pasted image to be in PNG or BitMap format. If we were pasting an image file, we’d get the choice to embed it as a file or link to it instead (which lowers the size of the document).
You can also choose whether your pasted images default to “in line with text” or a different text wrapping by going to File > Options > Advanced > Insert/Paste Pictures As.
If you’re not sure what text wrapping is, or why you might change it, we’ve got you covered.
RELATED: How to Wrap Text Around Pictures and Other Illustrations in Microsoft Word
Copy Formatting and Apply it to Other Text
You’ve got your formatting set just so, and now you want various other parts of your document to look the same. It would be a pain to have to change each block of text to match manually, so Word provides the Format Painter tool to help. Format Painter copies the formatting from selected text and then pastes it into other text. If you select an entire paragraph, it copies the paragraph formatting. If you select just a few words of text, it copies any character formatting applied to that text.
Select the text with the formatting you want to copy, hit Home > Format Painter and then select the text to which you want to paste the formatting. If you want to paste formatting to multiple locations, select the text and then double-click the “Format Painter” button. Anything you click or select after that gets pasted with the original formatting, and you can click the “Format Painter” button again to turn it off.
For more tips on using Format Painter, check out our full guide to copying formatting in Word.
RELATED: How to Quickly and Easily Copy Formatting in Word
Copying Tracked Changes From One Document to Another
If you’re using Tracked Changes and you want to move part of a document to a new document, you might not want to lose those tracked changes. Thankfully you don’t have to, but it’s not always obvious how to do it. This is primarily because you have to turn the Track Changes feature off before you copy the text.
This initially seems counter-intuitive, but there is some logic behind it. If you copy text with tracked changes and don’t turn the feature off first, Word assumes that you want to copy that text as if all the changes had been accepted. Want to know more? Check out our guide to copying, and pasting text with tracked changes.
RELATED: How to Copy and Paste Text With Tracked Changes in Word 2013
Using the Spike to Cut or Copy Lots of Things and Then Paste Them All at Once
You’ve written a great document and all is well, except that you now want to move various bits of it around to create a new paragraph. Or maybe you want to go through your document and copy all the names of people into a list in another document. Either way, this means you’ll have to cut individual bits of text from the document, go to the site of your new paragraph, paste the text in, then rinse and repeat until you’re done—right? Wrong.
The spike is one of Word’s best-kept secrets. It’s named after those literal spikes you used to see get in paper-based offices and sometimes still see in restaurants—you know, the sharp metal thing they stab receipts onto?
In Word, you can select some text and then hit Ctrl+F3 to cut that text and place it in your spike. Want to copy instead of cut? Just hit undo after hitting Ctrl+F3—that undoes the cutting of the text but not the placing of that text onto the spike. You can keep doing this to keep adding more text to the spike.
When you’re ready to paste everything, place your insertion point where you want to paste the text you’ve collected and then hit Shift+Ctrl+F3. This pastes everything in the spike at that location and also clears everything from the spike. Each item you had in the spike is pasted as its own paragraph, making it a great way to create a list.
Want to know more? Check out our complete guide to using the spike in Word.
RELATED: How to Use the Spike to Copy and Paste Text in Microsoft Word
Use Office’s Much Better Clipboard
The Windows Clipboard has always been fairly limited (although it is getting some upgrades soon). You copy something to the clipboard and then paste it somewhere else. The biggest limitation to the Windows Clipboard is that it only holds one thing at a time. Copy something new and whatever was there is now gone.
Enter the Office Clipboard, which can store up to 24 different items. You don’t even have to copy things in a different way. Just keep copying things by selecting them and hitting Ctrl+C and the Office Clipboard stores them for you.
When it’s time to paste content, you can open the Office Clipboard by clicking on the small arrow in the bottom right of the Home > Clipboard group.
You see a nice list of the last 24 things you’ve copied—text, images, whatever. You can then paste or delete individual items on the list.
It’s a great tool (and one we’ve highlighted previously, so give it a go! You’ll wonder how you managed without it.
RELATED: How to Use Microsoft Office’s Built-In Clipboard
Don’t Use the Clipboard At All
Clipboards are all well and good, but the cool kids can copy and paste without using them at all.
We’ve covered this before of course, but a reminder never hurts. If you’ve got something stored on the clipboard and you don’t want to lose it, you can select text in your Word document and then Ctrl+right-click somewhere else in the document to cut the text from the original location and move it there. You can also use Ctrl+Shift+right-click to copy the selected text instead of cutting it.
RELATED: How to Move or Copy Text in Microsoft Word Without Affecting the Clipboard
Change “Insert” to be a “Paste Key”
By default, the Insert key on your keyboard toggles between Overtype and Insert modes, but you can change it to be a Paste key if you don’t use those other functions. Using the Insert key for pasting used to be a common function years ago, but Ctrl+V has become the default in the Windows world.
If you have happy memories of using Insert to paste text in ye olden days, or you’ve got mobility issues that make it easier to use a single key, we’ve provided instructions on how to change Insert into a Paste key.
RELATED: How to Use the Insert Key to Insert Copied Content in Word
As usual, Word has a lot more going on with even a simple thing like cut, copy and paste. Have we missed a good trick? Let us know in the comments!
READ NEXT
- › How to Convert a Table to an Image in Microsoft Word
- › What Your Function Keys Do in Microsoft Word
- › How to Rearrange Pages in Microsoft Word
- › How to Copy and Paste Only Visible Cells in Microsoft Excel
- › How to Make a Chart in Microsoft Word
- › How to Duplicate Slides in Microsoft PowerPoint
- › How to Remove Hyperlinks From Microsoft Word Documents
- › The New NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Is Like an RTX 3080 for $599
This article describes the keyboard shortcuts and function keys in Word for Windows.
Notes:
-
To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F, and then type your search words.
-
If an action that you use often does not have a shortcut key, you can record a macro to create one. For instructions, go to Create or run a macro or Use a screen reader to create a macro in Word.
-
If you are using Microsoft Word Starter, be aware that not all the features listed for Word are supported in Word Starter. For more information about the features available in Word Starter, go to Word features that are not fully supported in Word Starter.
-
Get these keyboard shortcuts in a Word document at this link: Word 2016 for Windows keyboard shortcuts.
In this topic
-
Frequently used shortcuts
-
Ribbon keyboard shortcuts
-
Navigate the document
-
Preview and print documents
-
Select text and graphics
-
Edit text and graphics
-
Work with web content
-
Work with tables
-
Review a document
-
Work with references, citations, and indexing
-
Work with mail merge and fields
-
Work with text in other languages
-
Work with document views
-
Use function key shortcuts
Frequently used shortcuts
This table shows the most frequently used shortcuts in Microsoft Word.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Open a document. |
Ctrl+O |
|
Create a new document. |
Ctrl+N |
|
Save the document. |
Ctrl+S |
|
Close the document. |
Ctrl+W |
|
Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+X |
|
Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+C |
|
Paste the contents of the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+V |
|
Select all document content. |
Ctrl+A |
|
Apply bold formatting to text. |
Ctrl+B |
|
Apply italic formatting to text. |
Ctrl+I |
|
Apply underline formatting to text. |
Ctrl+U |
|
Decrease the font size by 1 point. |
Ctrl+Left bracket ([) |
|
Increase the font size by 1 point. |
Ctrl+Right bracket (]) |
|
Center the text. |
Ctrl+E |
|
Align the text to the left. |
Ctrl+L |
|
Align the text to the right. |
Ctrl+R |
|
Cancel a command. |
Esc |
|
Undo the previous action. |
Ctrl+Z |
|
Redo the previous action, if possible. |
Ctrl+Y |
|
Adjust the zoom magnification. |
Alt+W, Q, then use the Tab key in the Zoom dialog box to go to the value you want. |
|
Split the document window. |
Ctrl+Alt+S |
|
Remove the document window split. |
Alt+Shift+C or Ctrl+Alt+S |
Top of Page
Close a task pane
To close a task pane using the keyboard:
-
Press F6 until the task pane is selected.
-
Press Ctrl+Spacebar.
-
Use the arrow keys to select Close, and then press Enter.
Ribbon keyboard shortcuts
The ribbon groups related options on tabs. For example, on the Home tab, the Font group includes the Font Color option. Press the Alt key to display the ribbon shortcuts, called Key Tips, as letters in small images next to the tabs and options as shown in the image below.
Note: Add-ins and other programs can add new tabs to the ribbon and might provide access keys for those tabs.
You can combine the Key Tips letters with the Alt key to make shortcuts called Access Keys for the ribbon options. For example, press Alt+H to open the Home tab, and Alt+Q to move to the Tell Me or Search field. Press Alt again to see Key Tips for the options for the selected tab.
Depending on the version of Microsoft 365 you are using, the Search text field at the top of the app window might be called Tell Me instead. Both offer a largely similar experience, but some options and search results can vary.
In Office 2013 and Office 2010, most of the old Alt key menu shortcuts still work, too. However, you need to know the full shortcut. For example, press Alt, and then press one of the old menu keys E (Edit), V (View), I (Insert), and so on. A notification pops up saying you’re using an access key from an earlier version of Microsoft 365. If you know the entire key sequence, go ahead and use it. If you don’t know the sequence, press Esc and use Key Tips instead.
Use the Access Keys for ribbon tabs
To go directly to a tab on the ribbon, press one of the following access keys. Additional tabs might appear depending on your selection in the document.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move to the Tell Me or Search field on the Ribbon to search for assistance or Help content. |
Alt+Q, then enter the search term. |
|
Open the File page to use Backstage view. |
Alt+F |
|
Open the Home tab to use common formatting commands, paragraph styles, and the Find tool. |
Alt+H |
|
Open the Insert tab to insert tables, pictures and shapes, headers, or text boxes. |
Alt+N |
|
Open the Design tab to use themes, colors, and effects, such as page borders. |
Alt+G |
|
Open the Layout tab to work with page margins, page orientation, indentation, and spacing. |
Alt+P |
|
Open the References tab to add a table of contents, footnotes, or a table of citations. |
Alt+S |
|
Open the Mailings tab to manage Mail Merge tasks and to work with envelopes and labels. |
Alt+M |
|
Open the Review tab to use Spell Check, set proofing languages, and to track and review changes to your document. |
Alt+R |
|
Open the View tab to choose a document view or mode, such as Read Mode or Outline view. You can also set the zoom magnification and manage multiple document windows. |
Alt+W |
Top of Page
Work in the ribbon with the keyboard
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select the active tab on the ribbon and activate the access keys. |
Alt or F10. To move to a different tab, use access keys or the arrow keys. |
|
Move the focus to commands on the ribbon. |
Tab key or Shift+Tab |
|
Move between command groupings on the ribbon. |
Ctrl+Left or Right arrow key |
|
Move among the items on the ribbon. |
Arrow keys |
|
Show the tooltip for the ribbon element currently in focus. |
Ctrl+Shift+F10 |
|
Activate the selected button. |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Open the list for the selected command. |
Down arrow key |
|
Open the menu for the selected button. |
Alt+Down arrow key |
|
When a menu or submenu is open, move to the next command. |
Down arrow key |
|
Expand or collapse the ribbon. |
Ctrl+F1 |
|
Open the context menu. |
Shift+F10 Or, on a Windows keyboard, the Windows Menu key (between the right Alt and right Ctrl keys) |
|
Move to the submenu when a main menu is open or selected. |
Left arrow key |
Top of Page
Navigate the document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move the cursor one word to the left. |
Ctrl+Left arrow key |
|
Move the cursor one word to the right. |
Ctrl+Right arrow key |
|
Move the cursor up by one paragraph. |
Ctrl+Up arrow key |
|
Move the cursor down by one paragraph. |
Ctrl+Down arrow key |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the current line. |
End |
|
Move the cursor to the beginning the current line. |
Home |
|
Move the cursor to the top of the screen. |
Ctrl+Alt+Page up |
|
Move the cursor to the bottom of the screen. |
Ctrl+Alt+Page down |
|
Move the cursor by scrolling the document view up by one screen. |
Page up |
|
Move the cursor by scrolling the document view down by one screen. |
Page down |
|
Move the cursor to the top of the next page. |
Ctrl+Page down |
|
Move the cursor to the top of the previous page. |
Ctrl+Page up |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the document. |
Ctrl+End |
|
Move the cursor to the beginning of the document. |
Ctrl+Home |
|
Move the cursor to the location of the previous revision. |
Shift+F5 |
|
Move the cursor to the location of the last revision made before the document was last closed. |
Shift+F5, immediately after opening the document. |
|
Cycle through floating shapes, such as text boxes or images. |
Ctrl+Alt+5, and then the Tab key repeatedly |
|
Exit the floating shape navigation and return to the normal navigation. |
Esc |
|
Display the Navigation task pane, to search within the document content. |
Ctrl+F |
|
Display the Go To dialog box, to navigate to a specific page, bookmark, footnote, table, comment, graphic, or other location. |
Ctrl+G |
|
Cycle through the locations of the four previous changes made to the document. |
Ctrl+Alt+Z |
Top of Page
Navigate the document using the browse options in Word 2007 and 2010
In Word 2007 and 2010, you can browse the document by various types of objects, such as fields, footnotes, headings, and graphics.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Open the list of browse options to define the type of object to browse by. |
Ctrl+Alt+Home |
|
Move to the previous object of the defined type. |
Ctrl+Page up |
|
Move to the next object of the defined type. |
Ctrl+Page down |
Top of Page
Preview and print documents
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Print the document. |
Ctrl+P |
|
Switch to print preview. |
Ctrl+Alt+I |
|
Move around the preview page when zoomed in. |
Arrow keys |
|
Move by one preview page when zoomed out. |
Page up or Page down |
|
Move to the first preview page when zoomed out. |
Ctrl+Home |
|
Move to the last preview page when zoomed out. |
Ctrl+End |
Top of Page
Select text and graphics
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select text. |
Shift+Arrow keys |
|
Select the word to the left. |
Ctrl+Shift+Left arrow key |
|
Select the word to the right. |
Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow key |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the current line. |
Shift+Home |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the current line. |
Shift+End |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the current paragraph. |
Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the current paragraph. |
Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key |
|
Select from the current position to the top of the screen. |
Shift+Page up |
|
Select from the current position to the bottom of the screen. |
Shift+Page down |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the document. |
Ctrl+Shift+Home |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the document. |
Ctrl+Shift+End |
|
Select from the current position to the bottom of the window. |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Page down |
|
Select all document content. |
Ctrl+A |
Top of Page
Extend a selection
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Start extending the selection. |
F8 In the extend selection mode, clicking a location in the document extends the current selection to that location. |
|
Select the nearest character to the left or right. |
F8, Left or Right arrow key |
|
Expand the selection. |
F8 repeatedly to expand the selection to the entire word, sentence, paragraph, section, and document. |
|
Reduce the selection. |
Shift+F8 |
|
Select a vertical block of text. |
Ctrl+Shift+F8, then press the arrow keys |
|
Stop extending the selection. |
Esc |
Top of Page
Edit text and graphics
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Delete one word to the left. |
Ctrl+Backspace |
|
Delete one word to the right. |
Ctrl+Delete |
|
Open the Clipboard task pane and enable the Office Clipboard, which allows you to copy and paste content between Microsoft 365 apps. |
Alt+H, F, O |
|
Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+X |
|
Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+C |
|
Paste the contents of the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+V |
|
Move the selected content to a specific location. |
F2, move the cursor to the destination, and then press Enter. |
|
Copy the selected content to a specific location. |
Shift+F2, move the cursor to the destination, and then press Enter. |
|
Define an AutoText block with the selected content. |
Alt+F3 |
|
Insert an AutoText block. |
The first few characters of the AutoText block, and then press Enter when the ScreenTip appears. |
|
Cut the selected content to the Spike. |
Ctrl+F3 |
|
Paste the contents of the Spike. |
Ctrl+Shift+F3 |
|
Copy the selected formatting. |
Ctrl+Shift+C |
|
Paste the selected formatting. |
Ctrl+Shift+V |
|
Copy the header or footer used in the previous section of the document. |
Alt+Shift+R |
|
Display the Replace dialog box, to find and replace text, specific formatting, or special items. |
Ctrl+H |
|
Display the Object dialog box, to insert a file object into the document. |
Alt+N, J, J |
|
Insert a SmartArt graphic. |
Alt+N, M |
|
Insert a WordArt graphic. |
Alt+N, W |
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Align and format paragraphs
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Center the paragraph. |
Ctrl+E |
|
Justify the paragraph. |
Ctrl+J |
|
Align the paragraph to the left. |
Ctrl+L |
|
Align the paragraph to the right. |
Ctrl+R |
|
Indent the paragraph. |
Ctrl+M |
|
Remove a paragraph indent. |
Ctrl+Shift+M |
|
Create a hanging indent. |
Ctrl+T |
|
Remove a hanging indent. |
Ctrl+Shift+T |
|
Remove paragraph formatting. |
Ctrl+Q |
|
Apply single spacing to the paragraph. |
Ctrl+1 |
|
Apply double spacing to the paragraph. |
Ctrl+2 |
|
Apply 1.5-line spacing to the paragraph. |
Ctrl+5 |
|
Add or remove space before the paragraph. |
Ctrl+0 (zero) |
|
Enable AutoFormat. |
Ctrl+Alt+K |
|
Apply the Normal style. |
Ctrl+Shift+N |
|
Apply the Heading 1 style. |
Ctrl+Alt+1 |
|
Apply the Heading 2 style. |
Ctrl+Alt+2 |
|
Apply the Heading 3 style. |
Ctrl+Alt+3 |
|
Display the Apply Styles task pane. |
Ctrl+Shift+S |
|
Display the Styles task pane. |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S |
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Format characters
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Display the Font dialog box. |
Ctrl+D or Ctrl+Shift+F |
|
Increase the font size. |
Ctrl+Shift+Right angle bracket (>) |
|
Decrease the font size. |
Ctrl+Shift+Left angle bracket (<) |
|
Increase the font size by 1 point. |
Ctrl+Right bracket (]) |
|
Decrease the font size by 1 point. |
Ctrl+Left bracket ([) |
|
Switch the text between upper case, lower case, and title case. |
Shift+F3 |
|
Change the text to all upper case. |
Ctrl+Shift+A |
|
Hide the selected text. |
Ctrl+Shift+H |
|
Apply bold formatting. |
Ctrl+B |
|
Add a bulleted list. |
Ctrl+Shift+L |
|
Apply underline formatting. |
Ctrl+U |
|
Apply underline formatting to the words, but not the spaces. |
Ctrl+Shift+W |
|
Apply double-underline formatting. |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
|
Apply italic formatting. |
Ctrl+I |
|
Apply small caps formatting. |
Ctrl+Shift+K |
|
Apply subscript formatting. |
Ctrl+Equal sign ( = ) |
|
Apply superscript formatting. |
Ctrl+Shift+Plus sign (+) |
|
Remove manual character formatting. |
Ctrl+Spacebar |
|
Change the selected text to the Symbol font. |
Ctrl+Shift+Q |
Top of Page
Manage text formatting
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Display all nonprinting characters. |
Ctrl+Shift+8 (do not use the numeric keypad) |
|
Display the Reveal Formatting task pane. |
Shift+F1 |
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Insert special characters
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a line break. |
Shift+Enter |
|
Insert a page break. |
Ctrl+Enter |
|
Insert a column break. |
Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
|
Insert an em dash (—). |
Ctrl+Alt+Minus sign (on the numeric keypad) |
|
Insert an en dash (–). |
Ctrl+Minus sign (on the numeric keypad) |
|
Insert an optional hyphen. |
Ctrl+Hyphen (-) |
|
Insert a nonbreaking hyphen. |
Ctrl+Shift+Hyphen (-) |
|
Insert a nonbreaking space. |
Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar |
|
Insert a copyright symbol (©). |
Ctrl+Alt+C |
|
Insert a registered trademark symbol (®). |
Ctrl+Alt+R |
|
Insert a trademark symbol (™). |
Ctrl+Alt+T |
|
Insert an ellipsis (…) |
Ctrl+Alt+Period (.) |
|
Insert the Unicode character for the specified Unicode (hexadecimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol ( Tip: To find out the Unicode character code for a selected character, press Alt+X. |
The character code, then press Alt+X |
|
Insert the ANSI character for the specified ANSI (decimal) character code. For example, to insert the euro currency symbol, hold down Alt and press 0128 on the numeric keypad. |
Alt+the character code (on the numeric keypad) |
), type Top of Page
Work with web content
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a hyperlink. |
Ctrl+K |
|
Go back one page. |
Alt+Left arrow key |
|
Go forward one page. |
Alt+Right arrow key |
|
Refresh the page. |
F9 |
Top of Page
Work with tables
Move around in a table
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move to the next cell in the row and select its content. |
Tab key |
|
Move to the previous cell in the row and select its content. |
Shift+Tab |
|
Move to the first cell in the row. |
Alt+Home |
|
Move to the last cell in the row. |
Alt+End |
|
Move to the first cell in the column. |
Alt+Page up |
|
Move to the last cell in the column. |
Alt+Page down |
|
Move to the previous row. |
Up arrow key |
|
Move to the next row. |
Down arrow key |
|
Move one row up. |
Alt+Shift+Up arrow key |
|
Move one row down. |
Alt+Shift+Down arrow key |
Top of Page
Select table content
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select the content in the next cell. |
Tab key |
|
Select the content in the previous cell. |
Shift+Tab |
|
Extend a selection to adjacent cells. |
Shift+Arrow keys |
|
Select a column. |
Select the top or bottom cell of the column, and then press Shift+Up or Down arrow key |
|
Select a row. |
Select the first or last cell in the row, and then press Shift+Alt+End or Home. |
|
Select the whole table. |
Alt+5 on the numeric keypad, with Num Lock switched off |
Top of Page
Insert paragraphs and tab characters in a table
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a new paragraph in a cell. |
Enter |
|
Insert a tab character in a cell. |
Ctrl+Tab |
Top of Page
Review a document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a comment. |
Ctrl+Alt+M |
|
Turn change tracking on or off. |
Ctrl+Shift+E |
|
Close the Reviewing Pane. |
Alt+Shift+C |
Top of Page
Work with references, citations, and indexing
Use the following shortcuts to add references to your document, such as a table of contents, footnotes, and citations.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Mark a table of contents entry. |
Alt+Shift+O |
|
Mark a table of authorities entry (citation). |
Alt+Shift+I |
|
Choose citation options. |
Alt+Shift+F12, Spacebar |
|
Mark an index entry. |
Alt+Shift+X |
|
Insert a footnote. |
Ctrl+Alt+F |
|
Insert an endnote. |
Ctrl+Alt+D |
|
Go to the next footnote. |
Alt+Shift+Right angle bracket (>) |
|
Go to the previous footnote. |
Alt+Shift+Left angle bracket (<) |
Top of Page
Work with mail merge and fields
To use the following keyboard shortcuts, the Mailings ribbon tab must be selected. To select the Mailings tab, press Alt+M.
Perform a mail merge
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Preview the mail merge. |
Alt+Shift+K |
|
Merge a document. |
Alt+Shift+N |
|
Print the merged document. |
Alt+Shift+M |
|
Edit a mail-merge data document. |
Alt+Shift+E |
|
Insert a merge field. |
Alt+Shift+F |
Top of Page
Work with fields
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a DATE field. |
Alt+Shift+D |
|
Insert a LISTNUM field. |
Ctrl+Alt+L |
|
Insert a PAGE field. |
Alt+Shift+P |
|
Insert a TIME field. |
Alt+Shift+T |
|
Insert an empty field. |
Ctrl+F9 |
|
Update the linked information in a Word source document. |
Ctrl+Shift+F7 |
|
Update the selected fields. |
F9 |
|
Unlink a field. |
Ctrl+Shift+F9 |
|
Switch between a selected field code and its result. |
Shift+F9 |
|
Switch between all field codes and their results. |
Alt+F9 |
|
Run GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from a field displaying field results. |
Alt+Shift+F9 |
|
Go to the next field. |
F11 |
|
Go to the previous field. |
Shift+F11 |
|
Lock a field. |
Ctrl+F11 |
|
Unlock a field. |
Ctrl+Shift+F11 |
Top of Page
Work with text in other languages
Set the proofing language
Every document has a default language, typically the same default language as your computer’s operating system. If your document also contains words or phrases in a different language, it’s a good idea to set the proofing language for those words. This not only makes it possible to check spelling and grammar for those phrases, but it also enables assistive technologies like screen readers to handle them appropriately.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Display the Language dialog box to set the proofing language. |
Alt+R, U, L |
|
Set default languages. |
Alt+R, L |
Top of Page
Insert international characters
To type a lowercase character by using a key combination that includes the Shift key, hold down the Ctrl+Shift+symbol keys simultaneously, and then release them before you type the letter.
Note: If you type extensively in another language, you might prefer to switch to a different keyboard instead.
|
To insert this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
à, è, ì, ò, ù, |
Ctrl+Grave accent (`), the letter |
|
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý |
Ctrl+Single quotation mark (‘), the letter |
|
â, ê, î, ô, û |
Ctrl+Shift+Caret (^), the letter |
|
ã, ñ, õ |
Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~), the letter |
|
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, |
Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:), the letter |
|
å, Å |
Ctrl+Shift+At sign (@), a or A |
|
æ, Æ |
Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&), a or A |
|
œ, Œ |
Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&), o or O |
|
ç, Ç |
Ctrl+Comma (,), c or C |
|
ð, Ð |
Ctrl+Single quotation mark (‘), d or D |
|
ø, Ø |
Ctrl+Forward slash (/), o or O |
|
¿ |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Question mark (?) |
|
¡ |
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Exclamation point (!) |
|
ß |
Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&), s |
Top of Page
Use Input Method Editors for East Asian languages
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Switch to the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME) for a 101-key keyboard, if available. |
Alt+Tilde (~) |
|
Switch to the Korean Input Method Editor (IME) for a 101-key keyboard, if available. |
Right Alt |
|
Switch to the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME) for a 101-key keyboard, if available. |
Ctrl+Spacebar |
Top of Page
Work with document views
Word offers several different views of a document. Each view makes it easier to do certain tasks. For example, Read Mode enables you view the document as a horizontal sequence of pages, which you can quickly browse using the Left and Right arrow keys.
Switch the document view
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Switch to the Read Mode view. In Word 2007 and 2010, this is called Full Screen Reading view. |
Alt+W, F |
|
Switch to the Print Layout view. |
Ctrl+Alt+P |
|
Switch to the Outline view. |
Ctrl+Alt+O |
|
Switch to the Draft view. |
Ctrl+Alt+N |
Top of Page
Outline a document
These shortcuts only apply when the document is in the Outline view.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Promote a paragraph. |
Alt+Shift+Left arrow key |
|
Demote a paragraph. |
Alt+Shift+Right arrow key |
|
Demote the paragraph to body text. |
Ctrl+Shift+N |
|
Move the selected paragraphs up. |
Alt+Shift+Up arrow key |
|
Move the selected paragraphs down. |
Alt+Shift+Down arrow key |
|
Expand the text under a heading. |
Alt+Shift+Plus sign (+) |
|
Collapse the text under a heading. |
Alt+Shift+Minus sign (-) |
|
Expand or collapse all text or headings. |
Alt+Shift+A |
|
Hide or display the character formatting. |
Forward slash (/) (on the numeric keypad) |
|
Switch between showing the first line of body text and showing all body text. |
Alt+Shift+L |
|
Show all headings with the Heading 1 style. |
Alt+Shift+1 |
|
Show all headings with the specified heading level. |
Alt+Shift+Heading level number |
|
Insert a tab character. |
Ctrl+Tab |
Top of Page
Move through the document in Read Mode
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move to the beginning of the document. |
Home |
|
Move to the end of the document. |
End |
|
Go to a specific page. |
Type the page number, then press Enter |
|
Exit Read Mode. |
Esc |
Top of Page
Use function key shortcuts
|
Key |
Description |
|---|---|
|
F1 |
|
|
F2 |
|
|
F3 |
|
|
F4 |
|
|
F5 |
|
|
F6 |
|
|
F7 |
|
|
F8 |
|
|
F9 |
|
|
F10 |
|
|
F11 |
|
|
F12 |
|
Top of Page
See also
Word help center
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
Screen reader support for Word
This article describes the keyboard shortcuts and function keys in Word for Mac.
Notes:
-
The settings in some versions of the Mac operating system (OS) and some utility applications might conflict with keyboard shortcuts and function key operations in Microsoft 365 for Mac. For information about changing the key assignment for a keyboard shortcut, see Mac Help for your version of macOS, your utility application, or refer to Shortcut conflicts.
-
If you don’t find a keyboard shortcut here that meets your needs, you can create a custom keyboard shortcut. For instructions, go to Create a custom keyboard shortcut for Office for Mac.
-
Many of the shortcuts that use the Ctrl key on a Windows keyboard also work with the Control key in Word for Mac. However, not all do.
-
To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Command+F, and then type your search words.
For the best experience using your keyboard with the ribbon, enable your keyboard to access all controls.
-
To open the System Preferences, press
+Spacebar, type system preferences, and press Return. -
To go to Keyboard Settings, type keyboard and press Return.
-
In the Shortcuts tab, press Control+F7 to change the Full Keyboard Access setting from Text boxes and lists only to All Controls.
In this topic
-
Frequently used shortcuts
-
Shortcut conflicts
-
Navigate the document
-
Select text and graphics
-
Edit text and graphics
-
Work with tables
-
Drawing
-
Work with fields
-
Outline a document
-
Review a document
-
Use footnotes and endnotes
-
Work with right-to-left languages
-
Use function key shortcuts
Frequently used shortcuts
This table lists frequently used shortcuts in Word for Mac.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Undo the previous action. |
|
|
Redo the previous action, if possible. |
|
|
Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. |
|
|
Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. |
|
|
Paste the contents of the Clipboard. |
|
|
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. * |
Shift+F10 |
|
Display the Go To dialog box. |
|
|
Display the Spelling and Grammar dialog box. |
|
|
Enable extended selection mode. |
F8 |
|
Switch to the next window. |
|
|
Switch to the previous window. |
|
|
Display the Save As dialog box. |
|
|
Find text (move focus to the Search in Document box). |
|
|
Display the Find and Replace pane. |
Control+H |
|
Display the Print dialog box. |
|
|
Close the current document. |
|
|
Expand or minimize the ribbon. |
|
|
Find the next spelling or grammatical error. The Check spelling as you type feature must be enabled. |
Option+F7 |
|
Open the Dictionary. |
In Word 2011, Option+Shift+F7 |
Top of Page
Shortcut conflicts
Some Word for Mac keyboard shortcuts conflict with default macOS keyboard shortcuts. This topic flags such shortcuts with an asterisk ( * ). To use these shortcuts, you may have to change your Mac keyboard settings to change the shortcut for the key.
Change system preferences for keyboard shortcuts
-
From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
-
Select Keyboard.
-
Select the Shortcuts tab.
-
Select Mission Control.
-
Clear the check box for the keyboard shortcut conflicting with the Word for Mac shortcut that you want to use.
Navigate the document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move the cursor one word to the left. |
Option+Left arrow key |
|
Move the cursor one word to the right. |
Option+Right arrow key |
|
Move the cursor up by one paragraph. |
|
|
Move the cursor down by one paragraph. |
|
|
Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line. |
Home |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the current line. |
End |
|
Move the cursor to the top of the previous page. |
On a MacBook, press |
|
Move the cursor to the top of the next page. |
On a MacBook, press |
|
Move the cursor to the beginning of the document. |
On a MacBook, press |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the document. |
On a MacBook, press |
|
Move the cursor to the previous insertion point. |
Shift+F5 |
|
Move the cursor by scrolling the document view up by one screen. |
Page up |
|
Move the cursor by scrolling the document view down by one screen. |
Page down |
Top of Page
Select text and graphics
Tip: If you know the key combination to move the cursor, you can generally select the text by using the same key combination while holding down Shift. For example, 
+Right arrow moves the cursor to the next word, and +Shift+Right arrow selects the text from the cursor to the beginning of the next word.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select multiple items that are not next to each other. |
Select the first item that you want, hold down |
|
Select text. |
Shift+Arrow keys |
|
Select the word to the left. |
Shift+Option+Left arrow key |
|
Select the word to the right. |
Shift+Option+Right arrow key |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the current line. |
Shift+Home |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the current line. |
Shift+End |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the current paragraph. |
|
|
Select from the current position to the end of the current paragraph. |
|
|
Select from the current position to the top of the screen. |
Shift+Page up |
|
Select from the current position to the bottom of the screen. |
Shift+Page down |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the document. |
|
|
Select from the current position to the end of the document. |
|
|
Select from the current position to the bottom of the window. |
|
|
Select all document content. |
|
Top of Page
Extend a selection
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Start extending the selection. * |
F8 In the extend selection mode, clicking a location in the document extends the current selection to that location. |
|
Select the nearest character to the left. |
F8, Left arrow key |
|
Select the nearest character to the right. |
F8, Right arrow key |
|
Expand the selection. |
F8 repeatedly to expand the selection to the entire word, sentence, paragraph, section, and document. |
|
Reduce the selection. * |
Shift+F8 |
|
Select a vertical block of text. |
|
|
Stop extending the selection. |
Esc |
Top of Page
Edit text and graphics
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. |
F2 |
|
Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. |
F3 |
|
Paste the contents of the Clipboard. |
F4 |
|
Display the Paste Special dialog box. |
|
|
Cut the selected content to the Spike. |
|
|
Paste the contents of the Spike. |
|
|
Copy the selected formatting. |
|
|
Paste the copied formatting. |
|
|
Create an AutoText entry. |
Option+F3 |
Top of Page
Align and format paragraphs
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Center the paragraph. |
|
|
Justify the paragraph. |
|
|
Align the paragraph to the left. |
|
|
Align the paragraph to the right. |
|
|
Indent the paragraph. |
Control+Shift+M |
|
Remove a paragraph indent. |
|
|
Create a hanging indent. |
|
|
Remove a hanging indent. |
|
|
Apply single-spacing to the paragraph. |
|
|
Apply double-spacing to the paragraph. |
|
|
Apply 1.5-line spacing to the paragraph. |
|
|
Enable AutoFormat. |
|
|
Apply the Normal style. |
|
|
Apply the Heading 1 style. |
|
|
Apply the Heading 2 style. |
|
|
Apply the Heading 3 style. |
|
|
Apply the List style. |
|
|
Insert a nonbreaking space. |
Option+Spacebar |
Top of Page
Format characters
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Increase the font size. |
|
|
Decrease the font size. |
|
|
Increase the font size by 1 point. |
|
|
Decrease the font size by 1 point. |
|
|
Display the Font dialog box. |
|
|
Switch the text between upper case, lower case, and title case. |
Shift+F3 |
|
Change the text to all upper case. |
|
|
Apply bold formatting. |
|
|
Add a bulleted list. |
|
|
Apply underline formatting. |
|
|
Apply underline formatting to the words, but not the spaces. |
|
|
Apply double-underline formatting. |
|
|
Apply italics formatting. |
|
|
Apply small caps formatting. |
|
|
Apply strike-through formatting. |
|
Top of Page
Insert special characters
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert an empty field. |
|
|
Insert a line break. |
Shift+Return |
|
Insert a page break. |
|
|
Insert a column break. |
|
|
Insert a nonbreaking hyphen. |
|
|
Insert a registered trademark symbol (®). |
Option+R |
|
Insert a trademark symbol (™). |
Option+2 |
Top of Page
Work with tables
Move around in a table
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move to the next cell and select its content. |
Tab key |
|
Move to the previous cell and select its content. |
Shift+Tab |
|
Move to the next row. |
Down arrow key |
|
Move to the previous row. |
Up arrow key |
|
Move to the first cell in the row. |
Control+Home |
|
Move to the last cell in the row. |
Control+End |
|
Move to the first cell in the column. |
Control+Page up |
|
Move to the last cell in the column. |
Control+Page down |
|
Add a new row to the bottom of the table. |
Tab key, at the end of the last row |
|
Insert a row. |
|
Top of Page
Select table content
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select the content in the next cell. |
Tab key |
|
Select the content in the previous cell. |
Shift+Tab |
|
Extend a selection to adjacent cells. |
Shift+Arrow keys |
|
Select a row. |
Select the first or last cell in the row, and then press Shift+Alt+End or Home. |
Top of Page
Resize table columns with the ruler
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Retain the column sizes to the right and change the table width. |
Drag the column boundary in the ruler |
|
Move a single column line and retain the table width. |
Shift+Drag the column boundary in the ruler |
|
Equally resize all columns to the right and retain the table width. |
|
|
Proportionally resize all columns to the right and retain the table width. |
|
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Resize table columns directly in a table
Tip: To finely adjust the column width and display the column’s measurements in the ruler when you resize the column, turn off the snap-to functionality by pressing Option with the shortcut keys.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
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Move a single column line and retain the table width. |
Drag the column boundary |
|
Retain column sizes to the right and change the table width. |
Shift+Drag the column boundary |
|
Equally resize all columns to the right and retain the table width. |
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|
Proportionally resize all columns to the right and retain the table width. |
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Insert paragraphs and tab characters in a table
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a new paragraph in a cell. |
Return |
|
Insert a Tab character in a cell. |
Option+Tab |
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Drawing
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Toggle drawing mode. |
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Work with fields
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
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Insert a DATE field. |
Control+Shift+D |
|
Insert a LISTNUM field. |
|
|
Insert a PAGE field. |
Control+Shift+P |
|
Insert a TIME field. |
Control+Shift+T |
|
Insert an empty field. |
|
|
Update the selected fields. * |
F9 |
|
Switch between a field code and its result. * |
Shift+F9 |
|
Switch between all field codes and their results. |
Option+F9 |
|
Run GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from a field displaying field results. |
Option+Shift+F9 |
|
Lock a field. |
|
|
Unlock a field. |
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Outline a document
These shortcuts only apply when the document is in the Outline view.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Promote a paragraph. |
Control+Shift+Left arrow key |
|
Demote a paragraph. |
Control+Shift+Right arrow key |
|
Demote the paragraph to body text. |
|
|
Move the selected paragraphs up. * |
Control+Shift+Up arrow key |
|
Move the selected paragraphs down. * |
Control+Shift+Down arrow key |
|
Expand the text under a heading. |
Control+Shift+Plus sign (+) |
|
Collapse text under a heading. * |
Control+Shift+Minus sign (-) |
|
Expand all body text and headings, or collapse all body text. |
Control+Shift+A |
|
Switch between showing the first line of body text and showing all body text. |
Control+Shift+L |
|
Show all headings with the specified heading level. |
Control+Shift+Heading level number |
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Review a document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a comment. |
|
|
Turn change tracking on or off. |
|
|
Move to the beginning of a comment. |
Home |
|
Move to the end of a comment. |
End (The End key is not available on all keyboards.) |
|
Move to the beginning of the list of comments. |
|
|
Move to the end of the list of comments. |
|
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Use footnotes and endnotes
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Insert a footnote. |
|
|
Insert an endnote. |
|
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Work with right-to-left languages
Word supports right-to-left functionality for languages that work in a right-to-left or a combined right-to-left, left-to-right environment for writing, editing, and displaying text. In this context, right-to-left languages refers to any writing system that is written from right to left and includes languages that require contextual shaping, such as Arabic, and languages that do not.
Before you can use these keyboard shortcuts, you need to ensure keyboard shortcuts are enabled for the language you are using:
-
Go to Apple > System Preferences > Keyboard.
-
On the Input Sources tab, select the language for which you want to enable shortcuts.
-
On the right side of the tab, select the check box for Enable keyboard shortcuts.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Switch the writing direction to right-to-left. |
Control+ |
|
Switch the writing direction to left-to-right. |
Control+ |
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Use function key shortcuts
Word for Mac uses the function keys for common commands, including Copy and Paste. For quick access to these shortcuts, you can change your Apple system preferences so you don’t have to press the Fn key every time you use a function key shortcut.
Note: Changing system function key preferences affects how the function keys work on your Mac, not just in Word. After changing this setting, you can still perform the special features printed on a function key. Just press the Fn key. For example, to use the F12 key to change your volume, press Fn+F12.
If a function key doesn’t work as you expect it to, press the Fn key in addition to the function key. If you don’t want to press the Fn key each time, you can change your Apple system preferences. For instructions, go to Change function key preferences.
The following table provides the function key shortcuts for Word for Mac.
|
Key |
Description |
|---|---|
|
F1 |
|
|
F2 |
|
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F3 |
|
|
F4 |
|
|
F5 |
|
|
F6 |
|
|
F7 |
|
|
F8 |
|
|
F9 |
|
|
F10 |
|
|
F11 |
|
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Change function key preferences
-
In the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
-
Select Keyboard.
-
On the Keyboard tab, select the check box for Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.
See also
Word help center
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
Screen reader support for Word
This article describes the keyboard shortcuts in Word for the web.
Notes:
-
If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
-
To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F and then type your search words.
-
When you use Word for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Word for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Word for the web.
In this topic
-
Frequently used shortcuts
-
Ribbon keyboard shortcuts
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Navigate the document
-
Edit and format the document
-
Work with comments
Frequently used shortcuts
This table lists the most frequently used shortcuts in Word for the web.
Tip: To quickly create a new document in Word for the web, open your browser, type Word.new in the address bar, and then press Enter.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
In the Reading view, open a PDF-based view tagged to work with screen readers. |
Press the Tab key until you reach the Accessibility Mode button, and then press Enter |
|
Find text in the Reading view. |
Ctrl+F or F3 |
|
Find text in the Editing view. |
Ctrl+F or Ctrl+G |
|
Find and replace text in the Editing view. |
Ctrl+H |
|
Hide the task pane, if one is open. |
Esc |
|
Switch to the Zoom control. |
Alt+Period, W, then Q or Alt+Windows logo key, W, then Q |
|
Print the document. |
Ctrl+P |
|
Move to the next landmark region. |
Ctrl+F6 |
|
Go to the Tell Me or Search text field. |
Alt+Q |
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Ribbon keyboard shortcuts
Word for the web offers shortcuts called access keys to navigate the ribbon. If you’ve used access keys to save time on Word for desktop computers, you’ll find access keys very similar in Word for the web.
On a Windows computer, access keys all start with Alt+Period (.) or Alt+Windows logo key, then add a letter for the ribbon tab. For example, to go to the Review tab, press Alt+Period, R or Alt+Windows logo key, R.
If you’re using Word for the web on a Mac computer, press Control+Period (.) to start.
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To get to the ribbon, press Alt+Period or Alt+Windows logo key. You can alternatively press Ctrl+F6 until you reach the Home tab.
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To move between tabs on the ribbon, press the Tab key.
-
To hide the ribbon so you have more room to work, press Ctrl+F3. Repeat to display the ribbon again.
Go to the access keys for the ribbon
To go directly to a tab on the ribbon, press one of the following access keys:
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Open the Tell Me or Search text field on the ribbon to type a search term. |
Alt+Period, Q or Alt+Windows logo key, Q |
|
Open the File tab to use the Backstage view. |
Alt+Period, F or Alt+Windows logo key, F |
|
Open the Home tab to format text and use the Find tool. |
Alt+Period, H or Alt+Windows logo key, H |
|
Open the Insert tab to insert a picture, link, comment, header or footer, or a page number. You can also access the Symbol gallery. |
Alt+Period, N or Alt+Windows logo key, N |
|
Open the Page Layout tab to set page margins, orientation, and size, and paragraph spacing. |
Alt+Period, A or Alt+Windows logo key, A |
|
Open the References tab to insert a table of contents, footnotes, or endnotes. |
Alt+Period, S or Alt+Windows logo key, S |
|
Open the Review tab to check spelling, add comments, or track and review changes to your document. |
Alt+Period, R or Alt+Windows logo key, R |
|
Open the View tab to choose a view, open the Navigation pane, edit the Header & Footer, and to Zoom the document view. |
Alt+Period, W or Alt+Windows logo key, W |
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Use Search
To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.
Note: Depending on the version of Microsoft 365 you are using, the Search text field at the top of the app window might be called Tell Me instead. Both offer a largely similar experience, but some options and search results can vary.
-
Select the item or place in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet where you want to perform an action.
-
To go to the Search text field, press Alt+Q.
-
Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.
-
Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.
-
Once you’ve found the result that you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.
Work in the ribbon tabs and menus
The following shortcuts can save time when you work with the ribbon tabs and ribbon menus.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Select the active tab on the ribbon, and activate the access keys. |
Alt+Period or Alt+Windows logo key. To move to a different tab, use an access key or the Tab key. |
|
When a Ribbon tab is selected, move the focus to the tab commands. |
Enter, then Tab key or Shift+Tab |
|
Activate a selected button. |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Open the list for a selected command. |
Spacebar or Enter |
|
Open the menu for a selected button. |
Alt+Down arrow key |
|
When a menu or submenu is open, move to the next command. |
Down arrow key |
|
Collapse or expand the ribbon. |
Ctrl+F3 |
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Navigate the document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Move the cursor right by one word. |
Ctrl+Right arrow key |
|
Move the cursor left by one word. |
Ctrl+Left arrow key |
|
Move the cursor up by one paragraph. |
Ctrl+Up arrow key |
|
Move the cursor down by one paragraph. |
Ctrl+Down arrow key |
|
Move the cursor to the beginning of the current line. |
Home |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the current line. |
End |
|
Move the cursor to the beginning of the document. |
Ctrl+Home |
|
Move the cursor to the end of the document. |
Ctrl+End |
|
Select text. |
Shift+Arrow keys |
|
Select the word to the right. |
Shift+Ctrl+Right arrow key |
|
Select the word to the left. |
Shift+Ctrl+Left arrow key |
|
Select the paragraph above. |
Shift+Ctrl+Up arrow key |
|
Select the paragraph below. |
Shift+Ctrl+Down arrow key |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the line. |
Shift+Home |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the line. |
Shift+End |
|
Select from the current position to the beginning of the document. |
Shift+Ctrl+Home |
|
Select from the current position to the end of the document. |
Shift+Ctrl+End |
|
Select all document content. |
Ctrl+A |
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Edit and format the document
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
|
Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+X |
|
Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+C |
|
Paste the content from the Clipboard. |
Ctrl+V |
|
Undo the previous action. |
Ctrl+Z |
|
Redo the previous action. |
Ctrl+Y |
|
Shrink the font size. |
Ctrl+Left bracket ([) |
|
Grow the font size. |
Ctrl+Right bracket (]) |
|
Apply bold formatting to the selected text. |
Ctrl+B |
|
Apply italic formatting to the selected text. |
Ctrl+I |
|
Underline the selected text. |
Ctrl+U |
|
Align the paragraph to the left. |
Ctrl+L |
|
Align the paragraph to the right. |
Ctrl+R |
|
Center the paragraph. |
Ctrl+E |
|
Justify the paragraph. |
Ctrl+J |
|
Create a bulleted list. |
Ctrl+Period (.) |
|
Create a numbered list. |
Ctrl+Slash (/) |
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See also
Word help center
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
Screen reader support for Word
In this tutorial, we’ll talk about how to copy, cut, and paste in Word. In the previous tutorial, we learned how to select the text we want and move it to a different part of the same document or to a different document.
On the other hand, this tutorial will show you how to use copy, cut, and paste to make a copy of a text while keeping the original text or getting rid of it entirely.
Table of contents
- What Does It Mean to Copy, Cut and Paste?
- Copy Operation
- Cut Operation
- Pasting Operation
- Why is it important to use Copy and Paste in Word?
- Steps How to Copy and Paste in Word
- How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Word Document
- To Cut or Copy
- To Paste
- Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Windows and MacOS
- Summary
What Does It Mean to Copy, Cut and Paste?
The Copy, Cut, and Paste are the commands that are often used together on a computer’s user interface. Here are their definitions:
Copy Operation
The Copy operation won’t delete the text from its original location. Instead, it will just copy the text from its original location and put a copy of it where you want it. When you copy text or an image, you make a copy in the Clipboard, but you don’t take the original out of its place.
Cut Operation
The Cut operation will move the content from its original location to a new location. When you cut text or an image, you remove it from where it was before.
This could be your current Word document or another place where you can change things, like Microsoft Excel or Google Docs. When you cut something, it will go into the Clipboard, which is a temporary place on your computer to store things.
Pasting Operation
The Pasting operation is after cutting or copying, you can then use this function to move the text or image from the Clipboard to a new location in your document. The Clipboard task pane holds many of the last images and text you copied or cut.
Why is it important to use Copy and Paste in Word?
The copy and paste tool is important because it allows you to transfer text from one location to another without retyping it. This information may be as extensive as an entire paper or website or as small as a single letter.
Copy and paste can help you save time at work, which may increase your productivity. This function can be used in apps on a range of platforms, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones.
The following are the steps on how to copy and paste the content in word.
- Step 1 − Select a portion of the text using any of the text selection methods.
- Step 2 − You have various options available to copy the selected text in clipboard. You can make use of any one of the options.
Using Right-Click −When you right-click on the text you want to copy, the copy option will show up. If you click this option, the content you chose will be copied to the clipboard.
Ribbon Copy Button −Once you’ve chosen some text, you can copy it to the clipboard by clicking the copy button on the ribbon.
Using Ctrl + c Keys − After selecting a text, just press Ctrl + c keys to copy the selected content in clipboard. - Step 3 −Click the location where you wish to copy the selected text, and then select one of these two simple options.
Ribbon Paste Button −To paste the copied content in the preferred destination, simply click the Paste button located on the ribbon.
Using Ctrl + V Keys − This is the easiest method for pasting the content. Simply press Ctrl + V to copy and paste the content to the new location.
How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Word Document
The following keyboard shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste work on Windows in all Microsoft Office apps, Adobe Acrobat, Google Docs, and many other places, like email platforms, social media comment boxes, and website text boxes.
To Cut or Copy
- Select the text or image you want to cut or copy.
- Press the keyboard shortcut:
- Cut: Ctrl + X
- Copy: Ctrl + C
Your text or image should now be cut or copied.
To Paste
- Place your cursor where you want to insert the text or image.
- Press the keyboard shortcut:
- Paste: Ctrl + V
Your text or image should now be pasted into the new location in your document.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Windows and MacOS
Here are the Keyboard Shortcuts to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Windows and MacOS:
| Commands | Windows Users | Mac Users |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | Command+V |
| Cut | Ctrl+X | Command+X |
| Copy | Ctrl+C | Command+C |
Summary
In this tutorial, we’ve talked about the ways to copy and paste text in MS Word documents as well as what those terms mean. We also gain insight into what the tips are for copy and paste text in a document. Furthermore, we also picked up some skills on what the short cut keys in copying, cutting and pasting text.
We hope this tutorial helps you as you plan to create a document in MS Word.
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