General Shortcut Keys in Office

Some of the shortcut keys may be assigned to your desktop system. Keys that are assigned to the desktop system are not available to Office. Try to assign different keys either for Office, in Tools - Customise - Keyboard, or in your desktop system.

Using Shortcut Keys

A great deal of your application's functionality can be called up by using shortcut keys. For example, the Ctrl+O shortcut keys are shown next to the Open entry in the File menu. If you want to access this function by using the shortcut keys, press and hold down Ctrl and then press the O key. Release both keys after the dialogue box appears.

When operating your application, you can choose between using the mouse or the keyboard for almost all of the operations available.

Entering Unicode Characters

You can enter arbitrary Unicode characters in the document typing the Unicode hexadecimal code point and then pressing Alt+X (default). Type the Unicode hexadecimal notation and press Alt+X to toggle between the Unicode character and its hexadecimal notation. Selection is not necessary but the conversion will apply to the selected characters. Toggling occurs on the characters prior to the cursor position when these characters form a valid Unicode hexadecimal point. Hexadecimal code points with value in the range U+0000 to U+0020 are not converted.

The default Unicode conversion shortcut is Alt+X and Alt+C in some locales where the default Unicode shortcut interferes with the main menu shortcut. To reassign the shortcut, choose Tools - Customise - Keyboard and select Category:Options with Function:Toggle Unicode Notation.

Using Shortcut Keys to Control Dialogue Boxes

There is always one element highlighted in any given dialogue box - usually shown by a broken frame. This element, which can be either a button, an option field, an entry in a list box or a check box, is said to have the focus on it. If the focal point is a button, pressing Enter runs it as if you had clicked it. A check box is toggled by pressing the Spacebar. If an option field has the focus, use the arrow keys to change the activated option field in that area. Use the Tab key to go from one element or area to the next one, use Shift+Tab to go in the reverse direction.

Pressing Esc closes the dialogue box without saving changes. If you place the focus on a button, not only will you see the dotted line framing the name of the button, but also a thicker shadow under the button selected. This indicates that if you exit the dialogue box by pressing the Enter key, it is the equivalent of pressing that button itself.

Shortcut Keys for Mouse Actions

If you are using drag-and-drop, selecting with the mouse or clicking objects and names, you can use the keys Shift, Ctrl and occasionally Alt to access additional functionality. The modified functions available when holding down keys during drag-and-drop are indicated by the mouse pointer changing form. When selecting files or other objects, the modifier keys can extend the selection - the functions are explained where applicable. The availability of this function depends on your X Window Manager.

Practical Text Input Fields

1. You can open a context menu, which contains some of the most often-used commands.

2. Use Ctrl +A to select the entire text. Use the right or left arrow key to remove the selection.

3. Double-click a word to select it.

4. A triple-click in a text input field selects the entire field. A triple-click in a text document selects the current sentence.

5. Use Ctrl +Del to delete everything from the cursor position to the end of the word.

6. By using Ctrl and right or left arrow key, the cursor will jump from word to word; if you also hold down the Shift key, one word after the other is selected.

7. INSRT is used to switch between the insert mode and the overwrite mode and back again.

8. Drag-and-drop can be used within and outside of a text box.

9. The Ctrl +Z shortcut keys are used to undo modifications one step at a time; the text will then have the status it had before the first change.

10. Office has an AutoComplete function which activates itself in some text and list boxes. For example, enter c:\a~/a into the URL field and the AutoComplete function displays the first file or first directory found on the C: drivein your home folder that starts with the letter "a".

11. Use the Down Arrow key to scroll through the other files and directories. Use the Right Arrow key to also display an existing subdirectory in the URL field. Quick AutoComplete is available if you press the End key after entering part of the URL. Once you find the document or directory you want, press Enter.

Interrupting Macros

If you want to terminate a macro that is currently running, press Ctrl +Shift+Q.

List of General Shortcut Keys in Office

The shortcut keys are shown on the right hand side of the menu lists next to the corresponding menu command.

Shortcut keys for controlling dialogue boxes

Shortcut keys for controlling documents and windows

Shortcut keys for editing or formatting documents

Shortcut keys in the Gallery

Shortcut keys in the New Theme area of the Gallery:

Shortcut keys in the Gallery Preview area:

Selecting Rows and Columns in a Database Table (opened by Ctrl +Shift+F4 keys)

Shortcut Keys for Drawing Objects

Related Topics

• Database Shortcut Keys
• Shortcuts (Office Accessibility)