This article describes the keyboard shortcuts and function keys in Word for Windows.

Get these keyboard shortcuts in a Word document at this link: Word 2016 for Windows keyboard shortcuts .

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, see Word Starter feature support .

If an action that you use often does not have a shortcut key, you can record a macro to create one.

To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use Search. Press Ctrl+F, and then type your search words.

Use the arrow keys to select Close , and then press Enter.

Press F6 until the task pane is selected.

To close a task pane using the keyboard:

Alt+W, Q, then tab in Zoom dialog box to the value you want.

Redo the previous action, if possible.

Align the text to the right.

Align the text to the left.

Paste the contents of the Clipboard.

Copy the selected content to the Clipboard.

Cut the selected content to the Clipboard.

To do this

This table shows the most frequently used shortcuts in Microsoft Word.

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 may add new tabs to the ribbon and may 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.

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 Office. 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 may 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