Computer keyboard shortcuts: Save time with Microsoft Office

Computer keyboard shortcuts: Save time with Microsoft Office http://www.microsoft.com/athome/organiz ation/compshortcuts.aspx

April 3, 2013

If you’re like most people, you’re always looking for ways to save time, even when using Microsoft Office software. Keyboard shortcuts could be your new best friend when it comes to time management. Not everyone uses shortcut keys to save time, but some people find them easier to use than a mouse, especially when spending long stretches of time at the computer.

Ready-made Microsoft Office tools If the thought of memorizing key combinations makes you wince, you can still save time and effort while working in all Office programs by using these built-in tools. Short cut menus. Right-click in any Microsoft Office program to display a shortcut menu that gives you quick access to many of the most commonly used features. If an arrow appears next to your selection, you can click to see more options. For example, right-clicking a Word document displays Past e Opt ions, Look Up, Synonyms, formatting, and other options.

No matter which Microsoft Office program you’re working in, right-clicking is one of the greatest shortcuts available. KeyTips. Introduced in Microsoft Office 2007, KeyTips are built-in keyboard shortcuts available in all programs that have the Ribbon or the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar. In Office 2010, KeyTips are also available in the Backstage view. Press Alt to display a letter or number by each Ribbon tab or Quick Access Toolbar command. After you press a letter or number, you get new KeyTips letters and numbers to access each command in the location you selected.

Pressing Alt displays KeyTips that you can press to quickly access any command. Quick Access Toolbar. Add the commands you use all the time to your Quick Access Toolbar in all Office programs that have the Ribbon. Just right-click almost any Ribbon command, and then click Add t o Quick Access Toolbar. This is also a great way to create custom keyboard shortcuts for your favorite commands across all Office programs, since the KeyTips for your Quick Access Toolbar items remain the same as long as the command remains in the same position in the Quick Access Toolbar. Cust om keyboard short cut s on t he Of f ice Ribbon. You can even change shortcut key combinations or create new ones of your own. Here’s how to do it in the latest versions of Microsoft Office.

In Microsof t Of f ice 2010: 1. Click the File tab to open Backst age view, and then click Opt ions. 2. Click Cust omize Ribbon and then, next to the Keyboard Shortcuts heading, click Cust omize. You can enter the new key combination here. You can revert to the default key combinations for specific tabs (or for all customizations) by clicking Reset .

In Microsof t Of f ice 2007: 1. Click the Of f ice button

, and then, in the lower-right section, click Word Opt ions.

2. In the list, select Cust omize. 3. In the Cust omize dialog box, click the Keyboard short cut s: Cust omize button. 4. In the Categories listing, select the tab containing the command you want to change. 5. In the Commands list, select the command with the keystroke combination you want to change or create. If a default keystroke combination exists, it appears in the box under "Current keys." 6. In the Press new short cut key box, enter the new keystroke combination. 7. Click Close.

General keyboard shortcuts

To...

Use t his short cut

Open Help

Press F1.

Select all content in a document, window, or text box

Press Ctrl+A.

Search for a file or folder

Press F3. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key to open the St art menu and then type in the Search box.

Rename a file or folder

Select the file or folder, press F2, and then retype the name.

Find out when the file or folder was created, by whom, and how big it is

Select the file, and then press Alt+Enter.

Display the St art menu

Press Ctrl+Esc. In Windows 7, you can also press the Windows logo key.

Scroll between open windows

Press Alt+Tab, and then hold down Alt while pressing Tab to reach the desired file or program.

Undo an action

Press Ctrl+Z.

Redo an action

Press Ctrl+Y.

Check the spelling of titles or words in any Office application with the Spelling & Grammar checker

Press F7.

Create a shortcut on your desktop to your favorite file or folder

In Windows 7: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, click Send t o, and then click Deskt op (Creat e short cut ). In Windows Vista: Right-click the file or folder. On the shortcut menu, click Creat e Short cut . Drag the new shortcut to your desktop.

Capture a screen shot

Press Alt+Print Screen, and then press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste.

Lock the computer, switch users, log off the computer, change a password, start Task Manager

In Windows 7, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.

Lock the computer

Press the Windows logo key+L.

Quit program

Press Alt+F4.

Working with Microsoft Word

To...

Use t his short cut

Select text

Press Shift+Right Arrow, Left Arrow, Up Arrow, or Down Arrow to highlight text. To select one word at a time, press Shift+Ctrl+Arrow. To select to the end of the line, press Shift+End.

Copy selected text

Press Ctrl+C.

Cut selected text

Press Ctrl+X.

Paste selected text

Press Ctrl+V.

Bold text

Press Ctrl+B.

Search for text in a document

Press Ctrl+F.

Find and replace text in a document

Press Ctrl+H.

Got to a page, line, or bookmark in a document

Press Ctrl+G.

Italicize text

Press Ctrl+I.

Underline text

Press Ctrl+U.

Subscript text

Press Ctrl+equal sign (=).

Superscript text

Press Ctrl+plus sign (+).

Center text

Press Ctrl+E.

Align text left

Press Ctrl+L.

Align text right

Press Ctrl+R.

Justify text

Press Ctrl+J.

Decrease the font size

Press Ctrl+Shift+less than sign (

Increase the font size

Press Ctrl+Shift+greater than sign (>). If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up.

Change the font

Press CTRL+SHIFT+F, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font.

Change font size

Press Ctrl+Shift+P, and then use the arrow keys to reach the new font size. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can also press Ctrl and scroll up or down.

Create a page break

Press Ctrl+Enter.

Create a new document

Press Ctrl+N.

Open the My Documents window

Press Ctrl+O.

Close a document

Press Ctrl+W.

Save a document

Press Ctrl+S.

Print a document

Press CTRL+P.

Preview what you're about to print

Press ALT+Ctrl+I. In Windows 7, this keyboard shortcut opens the integrated Print and Preview window, which you can also access by pressing Ctrl+P.

Resize a shape (Office 2010)

Select the shape, and then press Shift+Arrow.

Rotate a shape (Office 2010)

Select the shape, and then hold the Alt key while you press the Left Arrow key or the Right Arrow key.

Accelerating Microsoft Excel To...

Use t his short cut

Open a new workbook

Press Ctrl+N.

Move left to right, cell by cell

Press Tab, or press the Right Arrow key.

Move right to left, cell by cell

Press Shift+Tab, or press the Left Arrow key.

Move down, cell by cell

Press Enter, or press the Down Arrow key.

Move up, cell by cell

Press Shift+Enter, or press the Up Arrow key.

Move down or up to the last empty or non-empty cell

Press Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow or Up Arrow.

Move to the last empty or non-empty cell to the right or left

Press Ctrl+Shift+Right Arrow or Left Arrow.

Erase data in the current cell

Press Backspace.

Insert a return within a cell

Press Alt+Enter.

Return to the beginning of the row

Press HOME.

Advance to the next worksheet

Ctrl+Page Down

Go to the previous worksheet

Ctrl+Page Up

Enter the date

Press Ctrl+Semicolon (;).

Enter the time

Press Ctrl+Shift+Colon (:).

Find out about the style within the cell

Press Alt+Apostrophe (‘).

Display the Format Cells dialog box

Press Ctrl+1.

Apply the general number format

Press Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~).

Apply the currency number format

Press Ctrl+Shift+Dollar Sign ($).

Apply the percentage number format

Press Ctrl+Shift+Percent (%).

Apply a border

Press Ctrl+Shift+Ampersand (&).

Remove a border

Press Ctrl+Shift+ underscore (_).

Hide the selected columns

Press Ctrl+0 (zero).

Hide the selected rows

Press Ctrl+9.

Unhide hidden rows within a selection

Press Ctrl+Shift+opening parenthesis.

Find more Excel keyboard shortcuts at the MSDN blog.

Expediting Internet Explorer To... Add sites to your Favorites

Use t his short cut 1. Go to the site. 2. Press Ctrl+D to add to your Favorites. 3. Click Favorit es, and then, to create a separate folder for the site or to add it to an already-formed list, click Add t o Favorit es.

Select a home page

1. Go to the webpage that you would like to make your

1. Go to the webpage that you would like to make your home page. 2. Open the Tools menu, and select Int ernet Opt ions. 3. Under Home page, on the General tab, click Use Current . Use the Hist ory function if you visit a few select sites constantly

1. Press Ctrl+H to open the History pane.

Customize your toolbar to the tools you use most frequently

1. Right-click the command bar.

2. Select the site that you would like, right-click the site, and then select Add t o Favorit es.

2. Point to Customize. 3. Click Add or Remove Commands. Go to your home page

Press Alt+Home.

Switch between tabs

Press Ctrl+Tab.

Move forward through the items on a webpage or the Address bar

Press Tab.

Move back through the items on a webpage or the Address bar

Press Shift+Tab.

Find on this page

Press Ctrl+F.

Stop downloading a page

Press Esc.

Use zoom on a webpage

Increase zoom (+ 10%): Press Ctrl+plus sign (+). Decrease zoom (- 10%): Press Ctrl+minus sign (-). Increase to 100%: Press Ctrl+0.

Find more Internet Explorer 8 keyboard shortcuts. For Outlook keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog. Shortcuts aren’t limited to Word, Excel, and Internet Explorer, of course. Ample time savers are built into many popular Microsoft programs, including Access, Visio, and PowerPoint. For Outlook keyboard shortcuts, read the Outlook team blog. Another convenient way to save time is to add Office.com and Microsoft Answers to your

Favorites in Internet Explorer, so you’ll always have ready help nearby. The more you use these tools and make Microsoft work for you, the more time you can save. Have fun exploring the options available to you! Adapted from an article written by Liz Eustace based upon an original piece from Microsoft Home Magazine. Top of page