Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Paragraph Formatting Shortcuts.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 8, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Many people find it easier to use keyboard commands than to constantly stop and use the mouse. Word accommodates these people by providing several shortcuts you can use to format paragraphs. The following table lists several keyboard shortcuts you can use for your paragraph formatting:
| Shortcut | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+1 | Single-spaced paragraph | |
| Ctrl+5 | 1 1/2-line paragraph spacing | |
| Ctrl+2 | Double-spaced paragraph | |
| Ctrl+L | Left-aligned paragraph | |
| Ctrl+E | Centered paragraph | |
| Ctrl+R | Right-aligned paragraph | |
| Ctrl+J | Justified paragraph | |
| Ctrl+0 | Add or remove one line of space before the paragraph | |
| Ctrl+M | Increase indent one tab stop | |
| Shift+Ctrl+M | Decrease indent one tab stop | |
| Ctrl+T | Increase hanging indent by one tab stop | |
| Shift+Ctrl+T | Decrease hanging indent by one tab stop |
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2025-12-08 16:42:27
Malcolm Patterson
All of these key combinations are tools for "direct formatting" (changing the attributes of the paragraph(s) selected when the combination is pressed). While this is better than "manual formatting" (embedding spaces, tabs, carriage returns, and other formatting instructions in the content of the paragraph), it is not the most efficient way to format text.
As you have explained elsewhere, it is more efficient to apply a *paragraph style* ( in essence, a group of paragraph attributes to which a name has been assigned). It's still useful to know these tricks because one easy way to create or modify a paragraph style is to use them to format the selected paragraph(s) the way you want, then create a new paragraph style.
Creating a new style is easy. If you launch the Styles dialog from the Styles group of the Home ribbon, choose the New Style button (see Figure 1 below) . A dialog box titled "Create New Style from Formatting" will open. The entry in the Name: box can be changed from the default (Style1 or if you've done this more than once, a different numeral may be appended) to a name that suits your purpose.
Figure 1.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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:
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