Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Assigning a Shortcut Key to Styles.

Assigning a Shortcut Key to Styles

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 23, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016

In other issues of WordTips you learn how to add styles to your document. Word also allows you to assign shortcut keys to styles. These shortcut keys can then be used to quickly apply styles to various paragraphs in your document. To define a shortcut key, do this:

Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
Click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Styles group. Word displays the Formatting task pane at the right side of the screen.
In the list of styles, hover the mouse pointer over the name of the style whose shortcut key you want to change. A drop-down arrow should appear at the right of the style name.
Click the down arrow and choose Modify. The Modify Style dialog box appears. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Modify Style dialog box.

Click on Format, then choose Shortcut Key from the resulting menu. The Customize Keyboard dialog box appears. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

Press the key combination you want used to apply this style. Note that any current assignments for that key combination appear just below what you typed.
When you are satisfied with your definition, click on Assign, then on Close.
Click on OK to dismiss the Modify Style dialog box.
To define shortcut keys for other styles, repeat steps 3 through 8.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5948) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Assigning a Shortcut Key to Styles.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Clearing Array Contents

An array of variables is a powerful element of VBA programming. If you want to clear what is stored in an array, here's a ...

Discover More

Appending to a Non-Document Text File

Your macros can easily add information to the end of an existing text file. This is done by opening the target file in ...

Discover More

Printing a Single Column in Multiple Columns

Ever printed out a worksheet only to find that you have text only at the left side of each page? You can use more of each ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Moving All Headings Down One Level

Do you want to demote all the headings in your document by one level? There are some great tools built into the program ...

Discover More

Turning Off a Dictionary for a Style

There may be some paragraphs in a document that you don't want Word to spell- or grammar-check. You can 'turn off' the ...

Discover More

Stopping Styles from Changing with Multiple Users

Using styles in your documents can be very helpful when it comes to consistency and ease of formatting. When others open ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is seven minus 5?

2020-06-23 12:12:29

Ann C

Side note to Phillip on his comment: took me a few rereads as well. You go to the "Format" dropdown in the lower left corner of the modify style screen, where you would choose Font, Paragraph, etc. Shortcut Key is the second last in my version (Word 2010).

2018-11-29 05:45:33

B W Officer

I get stuck on step 6. I can't find a combination that's not already used. I don't want to overwrite any current shortcut assignments just in case I might regret it in the future.

2018-11-12 08:34:54

pascal lessard

Hello Allen,

Why is it that evertime I open my custom styles file .dotm to modify the content I have to redo always my shotcut keys ?

This is not in the normal. dotm but a custom file called devispra2019.dotm

Thanks

2016-06-07 12:07:49

Tom Peers

Is this just for this doc or global?

2016-06-06 11:31:01

Moray

Point of interest, I've found that if you delete a style which had a shortcut, the shortcut is *not* deleted - so that if when you try to use that shortcut for another style, Word is confused may not react to the shortcut at all.

2016-06-06 09:20:38

Philip Ulanowsky

Allen,
I can not figure out how you got from modifying Normal to creating a shortcut key for Strikethrough from the All Commands list. I am familiar with styles and shortcuts. What am I missing here?

There is also the ability, as you surely know, to create a style shortcut by using a comma and letter(s) after the style name, e.g., Exhibit_title,et, which is then activated from the style box, [Ctrl+Shift+S].

2016-06-06 06:02:50

Ann Seri

Thank you for the tip on shortcuts for styles!! Great.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.