Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows The most comprehensive Word shortcut set. F-key shortcuts work without Fn: F7 for spelling and grammar, F12 for Save As. Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3 applies heading styles. Alt activates Ribbon key navigation for any command not covered by a direct shortcut. Ctrl+Shift+E toggles Track Changes on and off.

Mac Uses Command (⌘) as the primary modifier. Cmd+Option+1/2/3 applies heading styles — the Mac equivalent of Ctrl+Alt on Windows. F-keys require Fn by default unless you've changed macOS keyboard settings. Tracked changes and review shortcuts are available and covered.

Web Runs in a browser on any operating system. Modifier key follows your OS (Command on Mac, Ctrl on Windows). Most core shortcuts work; some advanced review and formatting features have limited web support.

iPhone Requires an external keyboard. Covers text formatting, navigation, and basic editing. Tracked changes review is available in the Word mobile app with limited shortcut support.

Android Requires a Bluetooth keyboard. Uses Ctrl as the modifier, following Android convention. Coverage is similar to iPhone.

Text formatting. Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, font size, alignment, and case. These are the most commonly used and most easily memorized shortcuts in Word.

Paragraph styles and heading levels. Applying Heading 1, 2, and 3 styles, as well as Normal and other paragraph styles, by keyboard. Document structure shortcuts like these are among the highest-value ones for anyone who produces structured documents.

Document navigation. Moving by character, word, sentence, and paragraph. Jumping to the beginning or end of a document. Going to a specific page number. Navigating within tables.

Find and Replace. Opening the find panel, find-and-replace, and advanced find options.

Tracked Changes and Review. Enabling and disabling track changes, accepting and rejecting individual changes, navigating between changes in a document. These are Word-specific to the document review workflow.

Selection. Extending selections by word, line, paragraph, and the full document. Keyboard-only selection techniques for editing without the mouse.

A printable PDF of Word shortcuts is available for each platform. The heading styles and tracked changes sections are particularly worth printing — these are used frequently in collaborative document work but are easy to forget without regular use.

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Docs, Notion, and Microsoft OneNote sit near Word because document work often connects writing, spreadsheets, presentations, shared editing, workspace notes, and meeting notes. Excel supports data and tables that may move into reports, PowerPoint turns document content into presentations, Google Docs covers browser-based collaborative writing, Notion supports structured workspaces, and OneNote handles capture and notes around document work. These apps are related by workflow and audience, not because every Word document uses all of them.

What are the most useful Word shortcuts to learn first?

Beyond Bold/Italic/Underline (Ctrl+B/I/U on Windows, Cmd+B/I/U on Mac), the heading style shortcuts are the highest-value ones for document work. Applying Heading 1, 2, and 3 by keyboard makes document structuring fast and keeps formatting consistent. On Windows: Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3. On Mac: Cmd+Option+1/2/3.

Does Word have a shortcut to toggle Track Changes?

Yes. On Windows, Ctrl+Shift+E toggles Track Changes on and off. The Mac equivalent is on the Mac platform page. Track Changes shortcuts also include navigation between changes and accept/reject controls, all covered in the platform pages.

Does Word for the web support tracked changes shortcuts?

Partially. The web version of Word supports track changes and the ability to accept or reject them, but the full tracked changes shortcut set available in the desktop app may not be fully supported in the browser. The web page covers what is actually available.

For accuracy, we include references so you can verify shortcuts for your specific version or setup:

Official documentation can help confirm the current shortcut list for your Word version and platform, because key combinations can differ between Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and the web version.