Shortcut Keys and their Functions



Some commonly used computer shortcut keys are documented below.

Shortcut Keys Description
Alt + F File menu options in current program.
Alt + E Edit options in current program
F1 Universal Help in almost every Windows program.
Ctrl + A Select all text.
Ctrl + X Cut
Shift + DelCut selected item.
Ctrl + C Copy selected item.
Ctrl + Ins Copy selected item
Ctrl + V Paste selected item.
Shift + Ins Paste
HomeGoes to beginning of current line.
Ctrl + Home Goes to beginning of document.
End Goes to end of current line.
Ctrl + End Goes to end of document.
Shift + Home Highlights from current position to beginning of line.
Shift + End Highlights from current position to end of line.
Ctrl + Left arrow Moves one word to the left at a time.
Ctrl + Right arrow Moves one word to the right at a time.

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Microsoft Word.

Shortcut Keys

Description

Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page.
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection.
Ctrl + C Copy selected text.
Ctrl + X Cut selected text.
Ctrl + P Open the print window.
Ctrl + F Open find box.
Ctrl + I Italic highlighted selection.
Ctrl + K Insert link.
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted selection.
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + Y Redo the last action performed.
Ctrl + Z Undo last action.
Ctrl + L

Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen.

Ctrl + E Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen.
Ctrl + R Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen.
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph.
Ctrl + Shift + F Change the font.
Ctrl + Shift + > Increase selected font +1pts up to 12pt and then increases font +2pts.
Ctrl + ] Increase selected font +1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + < Decrease selected font -1pts if 12pt or lower, if above 12 decreases font by +2pt.
Ctrl + [ Decrease selected font -1pts.
Ctrl + Shift + * View or hide non printing characters.
Ctrl + Moves one word to the left.
Ctrl + Moves one word to the right.
Ctrl + Moves to the beginning of the line or paragraph.
Ctrl + Moves to the end of the paragraph.
Ctrl + Del Deletes word to right of cursor.
Ctrl + Backspace Deletes word to left of cursor.
Ctrl + End Moves the cursor to the end of the document.
Ctrl + Home Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
Ctrl + Spacebar Reset highlighted text to the default font.
Ctrl + 1 Single-space lines.
Ctrl + 2 Double-space lines.
Ctrl + 5 1.5-line spacing.
Ctrl + Alt + 1 Changes text to heading 1.
Ctrl + Alt + 2 Changes text to heading 2.
Ctrl + Alt + 3 Changes text to heading 3.
Alt + Shift + D Insert the current date.
Alt + Shift + T Insert the current time.

In addition to the above shortcut keys users can also use their mouse as a method of quickly do something commonly performed. Below some are examples of mouse shortcuts.

Mouse shortcuts

Description

Click, hold, and drag Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go.
Double-click If double-click a word, selects the complete word.
Double-click Double-clicking on the left, center, or right of a blank line will make the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned.
Double-click Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line will set a tab stop.
Triple-click Selects the line or paragraph of the text the mouse triple-clicked.
Ctrl + Mouse wheel Zooms in and out of document.