Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Resetting All Shortcut Keys.

Resetting All Shortcut Keys

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to customize its interface to meet your needs and expectations in using the program. One of the things you can customize is the assignment of shortcut keys. Word comes with a pre-defined set of shortcut key assignments that you can use to accomplish specific tasks or to apply different editing and formatting features. You can customize these shortcut keys, as desired.

At some point you may want to reset the formatting of your shortcut keys. To do this, follow these steps:

Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
At the left of the dialog box click Customize (Word 2007) or Customize Ribbon (Word 2010 and later versions).
Click the Customize button next to Keyboard Shortcuts. Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

Click on the Reset All button. (This button is only available if you've previously made customizations to the keyboard shortcuts.) Word displays a dialog box asking if you want to remove all your shortcut key definitions.
Click on Yes. Word removes all the user-defined shortcut keys, returning them to their default condition.
Click on Close to dismiss the Customize Keyboard dialog box.
Click on Cancel to dismiss the Word Options dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6093) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Resetting All Shortcut Keys.

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

Printing a Chart Across Multiple Pages

Wouldn't it be great to have your huge charts print out on multiple pieces of paper that you could then piece together? ...

Discover More

Quickly Selecting Cells

Need to quickly select a range of cells? Perhaps the easiest way is to use both the mouse and the keyboard together, as ...

Discover More

Dissecting a String

Want to pull a string apart in a macro? It's easy using the string functions introduced in this tip.

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Protecting Custom Shortcut Keys

If you spend time creating a rich set of custom shortcut keys, it can be rather frustrating if they suddenly disappear. ...

Discover More

Using Function Keys

Want a great list that shows the purpose of each function key in Word? Here's the detail you need!

Discover More

Shortcut Keys Don't Work as Expected

We all come to depend on shortcut keys to perform tasks in Word. If those shortcut keys don't do what we expect, it can ...

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 7 - 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.