How to Create Custom Shortcuts in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is one of the most used software for writing/document management out there. We use it on a daily basis for several purposes including creating documents, editing them, and managing them. If you are also using Microsoft Word quite often, you might find some shortcuts useful. Just like in any other sections including your own operating system, we can add our own custom shortcuts in Microsoft Word in addition to the already available shortcuts. In this article, we are going to take a look at the steps required to do that.

Steps to Create Custom Shortcuts in Word

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click on the Options in the left sidebar.
3. Navigate to the Customize Ribbon tab.
4. Click on the Customize button next to the Keyboard shortcuts: text.
5. This will show a screen with different options. Choose them as follows
   1. Select a category from the Categories section that contains the command, macro, or style.
   2. Select the item in the Command section (The one that you want to add a custom keyboard shortcut.
   3. Add your custom shortcut in the Press new shortcut key box.
   4. Select Normal.dotm option in the Save changes in section.
6. Click on Assign.
7. Then Close.

That’s it. You have successfully added a custom shortcut to Microsoft Word. You can use that shortcut inside the application just like several built-in shortcuts whenever you wanted to. You can also create as many shortcuts as you would like to for making your job easier and improving your productivity.

If you feel like you no longer need a certain shortcut you have created, you can go to the same screen following steps 1-5 and click on the Reset All… button. It will reset all the shortcuts to the default removing any custom shortcuts you have created. So, good luck with improving your workflow with custom keyboard shortcuts in the mighty Microsoft Word.