Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Okay, I admit I am still a work in progress when it comes to keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Word.

Finger Exercises

Since I am old enough to remember life before computers, it is a challenge to break old keyboard habits.

If your body is screaming at you (particularly your wrists) as you create another Word masterpiece, keyboard shortcuts just might ease the pain.

Here are 10 basic keyboard shortcuts to save you time and pain. Somewhere I hear my 22-year-old nephew laughing over the simple list.

Simple Shortcuts

1. Copy text – Ctrl+C – Highlight the text and hit Ctrl and C. For simplicity, I used the + sign to mean “and.”

2. Paste text – Ctrl+V – You copied the text so now you need to paste it. I’m not sure why it is a “V,” but, here’s a bonus shortcut. Ctrl+P is for Print.

3. Select all text – Ctrl+A – If you want to copy and paste all the text in your document, use this shortcut first to select all the text.

4. Cut text – Ctrl+X – Do you want to cut a section and move it to another place in the document? Use this shortcut, then paste it where you want it. Hate it? This shortcut also deletes it into Word purgatory.

5. Insert page break – Ctrl+Enter – This is quicker then going to Insert page break from the Microsoft Word ribbon or drop down menu (depending on your Word version).

Digital Dexterity

These next 5 require a bit of digital dexterity. The keyboard shortcuts use three keys at once.

6. Capitalize all letters – Ctrl+Shift+A – Highlight the letters you want capitalized and do the three-finger spread.

7. Insert copyright symbol – Alt+Ctrl+C – This is better than hunting for it in Symbols.

8. Insert registered trademark symbol – Alt+Ctrl+R – Now that you mastered the copyright, this is a piece of cake.

9. Insert trademark symbol – Akt+Ctrl+T – It’s nice to be legal.

Double bonus shortcut – Superscript symbol by hitting Ctrl and Shift and the + sign. Hit Ctrl+Shift Z to turn off superscript.

10. Insert date and time – Alt+Shift+D and Alt+Shift+T – Rounding it out with a double keyboard shortcut. It inserts the current date and time.

Repetitive Motion

The toughest part for me was retraining my right hand from automatically grabbing that mouse.

I try to pick one new one and use it for a few weeks until it seems natural.

You can find a complete list of keyboard shortcuts in Help. Type in Answer Wizard, then type in Keyboard Shortcuts. You can also customize your keyboard shortcuts, as shown in this course.

Give it a shot and see what you think. These are very basic. I cannot believe I am the only mouse-lover out there. I hope to graduate soon to advanced.

What are your favorite keyboard shortcuts?

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This is Day 11 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge – blogging every day for 30 days. I hope you’ll stop by often and offer your suggestions for topics and offer your comments. You can add the RSS feed or sign up by email to receive new posts. Thanks for stopping by.

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