In this complete guide you will find the most useful keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel — organized by category, with practical examples and explanations that everyone can understand.
📌 Valid for Windows — Mac users replace Ctrl with ⌘Command.
Shortcuts for Microsoft Word
Opening, saving, and printing files
Let's start with the basics — the ones you use every day:
Ctrl + N
New blank document
Ctrl + O
Open a saved file
Ctrl + S
Saving (make it a habit!)
F12
Save with a new name or in a new location
Ctrl + P
Print a document
Ctrl + W
Close an open document
💡 Practical advice: Pat Ctrl + S every few minutes while you're writing. That way you don't lose work if your computer suddenly shuts down.
Text formatting
Do you want to make some words bold or change the font size? First select the text and then click:
Ctrl + B
Intensively letters (Bold)
Ctrl + I
Slope letters (Italic)
Ctrl + U
Underlined letters
Ctrl + Shift +>
Larger font size
Ctrl + Shift +
Smaller font size
Shift + F3
Toggle between uppercase/lowercase
Text alignment
Do you want the text centered? Justified? Just click:
Ctrl + L
Left alignment
Ctrl + E
Centering
Ctrl + R
Right alignment
Ctrl + J
Full alignment (full width)
Search, replace, and navigate
Do you have a 30-page document and want to find a specific word?
Ctrl + F
Search for a word or phrase
Ctrl + H
Find and replace a word
Ctrl + G
Move to a specific page
Ctrl + Home
Go to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + End
Go to the end of the document
Ctrl + Enter
Insert new page
💡 Example: Did you spell "January" wrong 20 times? Click Ctrl + H, put the wrong and the right, and correct them all together in 5 seconds!
Copy, paste and undo
Ctrl + A
Select all text
Ctrl + C
Copy selected text
Ctrl + X
Cut (trim) text
Ctrl + V
Paste text
Ctrl+Alt+V
Paste Special (text only, no formatting)
Ctrl + Z
Undo last action
Ctrl + Y
Redo an undone action
F4
Repeat last action
💡 Golden tip: When you copy text from the internet and paste it into Word, use Ctrl+Alt+V to get just the text — without weird colors and fonts from the website!
Shortcuts for Microsoft Excel
Basic functions
Ctrl + N
New Excel file
Ctrl + T
Convert data to a formal table
F2
Edit the selected cell
I
Cancel changes to a cell
Delete
Delete cell contents
F4
Repeat last action
Moving and selecting cells
Do you have thousands of lines of data? These shortcuts will get you where you need to go in seconds:
Ctrl + Arrows
Jump to the last cell with data (in any direction)
Ctrl + Shift + Arrows
Selecting the entire area with data
Ctrl + Space
Select an entire column
Shift + Space
Select entire line
Ctrl + A
Select the entire sheet
F5
Jump to a specific cell (e.g. B500)
Formulas and calculations
Excel is a powerful tool for calculations. Here's how to use it quickly:
=
Starts every formula/calculation in Excel
Alt+=
Automatically sum selected cells
Ctrl+`
Show/hide all types
F9
Forced calculation of all formulas
Shift + F3
Open function import wizard
Ctrl + Shift + Enter
Table type input (advanced)
💡 Example: Select a column of numbers and press Alt+=Excel automatically adds the total to the cell below — without you having to type anything!
Sheet and cell management
Ctrl + +
Add rows or columns
Ctrl + -
Delete rows or columns
Shift + F11
Insert a new sheet
Ctrl + PageDown
Go to the next sheet
Ctrl + PageUp
Go to previous sheet
Ctrl + D
Copy content down
Ctrl + R
Copy content to the right
Ctrl + 0
Hide selected column
Ctrl + 9
Hide selected row
Alt + H + O + I
Automatic column width adjustment
Data formatting
Do you want to display numbers as amounts in euros or as percentages? Select the cells and click:
Ctrl + 1
Open cell formatting window
Ctrl + Shift + $
Display as amount (currency €/$)
Ctrl + Shift + %
Show as percentage (%)
Ctrl + Shift + #
Show as date
Ctrl + Shift + !
Display as a number (with decimals)
Ctrl+Shift+L
Enable/disable filters
Graphs and quick analysis
CTRL+Q
Quick analysis of selected data
F11
Create a chart on a new sheet
Alt + F1
Insert a chart into the current sheet
Ctrl + Shift + &
Add a border to cells
Alt + ↓
Open column filter list
🏆 Golden tip for Excel: Select data and press CTRL+Q to instantly see suggestions for charts, sets, and formatting — without knowing a single formula!
🎯 How to learn them effortlessly
You don't need to learn them all at once! Here's the secret:
- ✅ Week 1: Learn the 5 most basic ones: Ctrl+S, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+F
- ✅ Week 2: Add 3-4 more from the list that fit your job
- ✅ Week 3+: Keep adding — soon you'll be doing them automatically!
With 10 minutes of practice a day, in a few weeks you will be working up to 50% faster. Get started today! 🚀
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