Tutor Tips from ... the Computer Tutor

18 December 2005

Office Shortcuts

While typing in a word processor or spreadsheet program, I find it quite inconvenient to use the mouse to perform common tasks, such as opening or saving a file, printing, and performing cut, copy, and paste operations. Fortunately, Microsoft has provided its Office Suite with several useful keyboard shortcuts. [Note: these shortcuts refer specifically to Office XP, but are available in nearly all versions.]

For more generic keyboard shortcuts, see Tutor Tip Keyboard Shortcut Keys.

General Office Shortcuts

  • Ctrl-C: Copy selection.
  • Ctrl-X: Cut selection.
  • Ctrl-V: Paste copied selection.
  • Ctrl-S: Save the file
  • Ctrl-O: Open a file
  • Ctrl-Shift->: Increase font size.
  • Ctrl-Shift-<: Decrease font size.
  • Alt-F11: Open Visual Basic for Applications.
  • Alt-Shift-F10: Display Smart Tag options.

Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

  • F2: Edit a cell's contents.
  • Ctrl-1: Open the Format Cells dialog.
  • Ctrl-Page Up: Move to the next sheet in the workbook.
  • Ctrl-Page Down: Move to the previous sheet in the workbook.
  • Ctrl-Shift-" (double quote): Copy the value from the cell above into the current cell.
  • Ctrl-' (single quote): Copy the formula from the cell above into the current cell.
  • Ctrl-R: Fill contents of active cell into selected cells to the right.
  • Ctrl-D: Fill contents of active cell into selected cells down.
  • Ctrl-` (back quote – to the left of the 1 key): Toggle between showing cell values and formulas in cells.
  • Ctrl-$: Set selection to currency format with two decimal places.

Word Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Shift-F3: Toggle selected text between lowercase, initial capitals, and uppercase.
  • F4: Repeat your last action, including searching, typing, and formatting.
  • Shift-F4: Repeat the most recent Find command.
  • Shift-F5: Jump to the last change you made in the document.
  • Ctrl-F6: Toggle between open documents.
  • F7: Run the spell-checker.
  • F12: Open the Save As dialog.

Outlook Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Ctrl-Shift-I: Switch to in-box.
  • Ctrl-Shift-O: Switch to out-box.
  • Ctrl-Enter: Send current message.
  • Ctrl-R: Reply to a message.
  • Ctrl-Shift-R: Reply All to a message.
  • Ctrl-Shift-A: Create a new appointment.
  • Ctrl-Shift-M: Create a new message.
  • Ctrl-1: Switch to Mail.
  • Ctrl-2: Switch to Calendar.
  • Ctrl-3: Switch to Contacts.
  • Ctrl-4: Switch to Tasks.

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Editing Mode
    • Ctrl-M: New slide.
    • Ctrl-D: Duplicate the current slide.
    • Ctrl-Shift-C: Copy Autoshape style.
    • Ctrl-Shift-V: Paste Autoshape style.
    • Ctrl-Shift G: Group objects.
    • Ctrl-Shift H: Ungroup objects.
    • Shift-F9: Toggle the grid on and off.
    • Alt-F9: Toggle the guides on and off.
  • Presentation Mode
    • F5: Start presentation.
    • Right Arrow: Next slide or build.
    • Left Arrow: Previous slide or build.
    • Home: First slide.
    • End: Last slide.

Keyboard Shortcuts to Enter Foreign and Accented Characters
Use Word's dead key feature to create an accent and then combine it with the appropriate letter.

é: Ctrl-Apostrophe, then e.
î : Ctrl-Shift-6, then i.
ç : Ctrl-Comma, then c.
ñ : Ctrl-Shift-` (back quote – to the left of the 1 key), then n.
ü : Ctrl-Shift-Semicolon, then u.

If you are using a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, you can use the numeric keypad to enter other special characters. The numeric keypad is the area on the right-hand side of the keyboard that looks like a calculator keypad. To enter the key combination, press and release the Alt key, and then press the keys on the numeric keypad. You do not need to hold the Alt key while pressing the keypad keys. Open the Windows Character Map to view other special characters. To open the Character Map in Windows XP, click All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Character Map. Not all systems may have Character Map installed. If it is missing, use Windows Setup to install it. On some systems it is located directly in "Accessories" rather than "Accessories, System Tools." In Windows 98, click Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Character Map.

£ (Pound Sterling): Alt-0163
€ (Euro): Alt-0128
¥ (Yen): Alt-0165
¢ : Alt-0162
© : Copyright
® : Registered Mark
™: (Trade Mark): Alt-0153
² (squared): Alt-0178
³ (cubed): Alt-0179
¼ : Alt-0188
½ : Alt-0189
¾ : Alt-0190