Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 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: Defining a Shortcut for a Macro.

Defining a Shortcut for a Macro

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 18, 2018)

Word allows you to assign macros or commands to specific key combinations. These key combinations are referred to as shortcut keys, and when used they result in the macro or command being executed.

When you first create a macro by recording it, Word gives you the opportunity to assign the macro to a specific key combination. If you later want to change the key combination, you can follow these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box select either the Customize option (Word 2007) or the Customize Ribbon option (Word 2010 or a later version).
  3. Click the Customize button at the bottom of the dialog box, just to the right of the words "Keyboard Shortcuts." Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

  4. In the Categories list, choose Macros.
  5. In the Macros list, select the macro you want assigned to the shortcut key.
  6. Click once in the Press New Shortcut Key box so that the insertion point appears there.
  7. Press a keyboard shortcut you want to use to run the macro. (You can tell if the shortcut is in use because when you press it, you can see in the dialog box if the shortcut is used by a different command.)
  8. Click Assign. The shortcut is now assigned to the command.
  9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for each change you want to make.
  10. Close all the open dialog boxes.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7120) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Defining a Shortcut for a Macro.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Eliminating "Before Spacing" at the Top of a Page

When formatting paragraphs in Word, you have several options to adjust the spacing before, within, and at the end of each ...

Discover More

Working while a Macro is Running

If you have a macro that takes a long time to process a workbook, you might want to continue working in Excel while the ...

Discover More

Blocking the First Sentence from File Info

When you save a file, the information from the start of the file is saved in the properties for the document, and can be ...

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)

Locating the My Documents Folder

Need to do some macro processing of documents in the user's My Documents folder? First step is to figure out where the ...

Discover More

Macro Won't Limit Replacements to a Selection

When you are using Find and Replace under macro control, you can specify what you want it to do when the end of your ...

Discover More

Trimming Spaces from Strings

When processing text with a macro, you often need to remove extraneous spaces from the text. VBA provides three handy ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

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}] 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.

What is six minus 3?

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.