Word document Keyboard shortcuts (Window)

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

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Close a task pane

To close a task pane using the keyboard:

1. Press F6 until the task pane is selected.

2. Press Ctrl+Spacebar.

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

Ribbon keyboard shortcuts

The ribbon area groups together related options in 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 seen below. 

Note: Add-ins and other programs can add new tabs to the ribbon and possibly provide access keys for those tabs.

For various ribbon options you can combine the Key Tips letters with the Alt key to make shortcuts called Access Keys. 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 newer versions of Office, 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. If you know the entire key sequence, you can still use it. Otherwise, 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 (), type 20AC, and then hold down Alt and press X. 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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 (<)

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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

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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

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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

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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, À, È, Ì, Ò, Ù	Ctrl+Grave accent (`), the letter
á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ý	Ctrl+Single quotation mark ('), the letter
â, ê, î, ô, û Â, Ê, Î, Ô, Û	Ctrl+Shift+Caret (^), the letter
ã, ñ, õ Ã, Ñ, Õ	Ctrl+Shift+Tilde (~), the letter
ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ, 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

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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

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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.	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

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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.	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

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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

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Use function key shortcuts

Key	Description
F1	F1 alone: displays the Word help task pane. Shift+F1: displays or hides context-sensitive help or the Reveal Formatting task pane. Ctrl+F1: displays or hides the ribbon. Alt+F1: moves to the next field. Alt+Shift+F1: moves to the previous field.
F2	F2 alone: moves the selected text or graphic. Use the arrow keys to place the cursor where you want to move the text or graphic, and then press Enter to move, or press Esc to cancel. Shift+F2: copies the selected text or graphic. Use the arrow keys to place the cursor where you want to copy the text or graphic, and then press Enter to copy, or press Esc to cancel. Ctrl+F2: displays the print preview area on the Print tab in the Backstage view. Alt+Shift+F2: saves the document. Ctrl+Alt+F2: displays the Open dialog box.
F3	Shift+F3: switches the selected text between upper case, lower case, and title case. Ctrl+F3: cuts the selected content to the Spike. You can cut multiple texts and graphics to the Spike, and paste them as a group to another location. Ctrl+Shift+F3: pastes the contents of the Spike. Alt+F3: creates a new Building Block.
F4	F4 alone: repeats the last command or action, if possible. Shift+F4: repeats the last Find or Go To action. Ctrl+F4: closes the current document. Alt+F4: closes Word.
F5	F5 alone: displays the Go To dialog box. Shift+F5: moves the cursor to the last change. Ctrl+Shift+F5: displays the Bookmark dialog box. Alt+F5: restores the document window size.
F6	F6 alone: switch between the document, task pane, status bar, and ribbon. In a document that has been split, F6 includes the split panes when switching between panes and the task pane. Shift+F6: switches between the document, ribbon, status bar, and task pane. Ctrl+F6: switches to the next document window when more than one document is open. Ctrl+Shift+F6: switches to the previous document window when more than one document is open. Alt+F6: moves from an open dialog box back to the document, for dialog boxes that support this behavior.
F7	F7 alone: displays the Editor task pane to check spelling and grammar in the document or the selected text. Shift+F7: displays the Thesaurus task pane. Ctrl+Shift+F7: updates the linked information in a Word source document. Alt+F7: finds the next spelling or grammatical error. Alt+Shift+F7: displays the Translator task pane.
F8	F8 alone: extends the selection. For example, if a word is selected, the selection size is extended to one sentence. Shift+F8: reduces the selection. For example, if a paragraph is selected, the selection size is reduced to one sentence. Ctrl+Shift+F8: turns extend selection mode on and off. In the extend selection mode, the arrow keys extend the selection. Alt+F8: displays the Macro dialog box to create, run, edit, or delete a macro.
F9	F9 alone: updates the selected fields. Shift+F9: switches between a field code and its result. Ctrl+F9: inserts an empty field. Ctrl+Shift+F9: unlinks the current field. Alt+F9: switches between all field codes and their results. Alt+Shift+F9: runs GOTOBUTTON or MACROBUTTON from a field displaying field results.
F10	F10 alone: turns KeyTips on or off. Shift+F10: displays the shortcut menu for the selected item. Ctrl+F10: maximizes or restores the document window size. Alt+F10: displays the Selection task pane. Alt+Shift+F10: displays the menu or message for available actions, for example, for pasted text or an AutoCorrect change.
F11	F11 alone: moves to the next field. Shift+F11: moves to the previous field. Ctrl+F11: locks the current field. Ctrl+Shift+F11: unlocks the current field. Alt+F11: opens the Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications editor, in which you can create a macro using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
F12	F12 alone: displays the Save As dialog box. Shift+F12: saves the document. Ctrl+F12: displays the Open dialog box. Ctrl+Shift+F12: displays the Print tab in the Backstage view. Alt+Shift+F12: selects the Table of Contents button in the Table of Contents container when the container is active.