Quick answer: The Word tips that save the most time are: use Heading styles and the Navigation pane instead of manual formatting, paste with Keep Text Only to drop messy formatting, double-click Format Painter to copy formatting many times, use Ctrl + Enter for page breaks, Shift + F3 to change case, Ctrl + H to find and replace, and Dictate or Read Aloud to write and proofread hands-free. The details for each are below.
Applies to: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021 and 2019 on Windows. Most tips also work in older versions; a few (noted) need Microsoft 365.
In this guide
Edit faster
1. Select text with clicks, not dragging
Double-click selects a word, triple-click selects a paragraph, and Ctrl + click selects a whole sentence. Hold Alt while you drag to select a vertical block of text, which is handy for removing numbers or spaces at the start of lines.
2. Delete and move by whole words
Ctrl + Backspace deletes the previous word, and Ctrl + Delete deletes the next one. Ctrl + arrow keys jump a word or paragraph at a time; add Shift to select as you go.
3. Change case without retyping
Select the text and press Shift + F3. Each press cycles through lowercase, UPPERCASE and Capitalize Each Word. It’s the quickest fix when you’ve typed a heading with Caps Lock on.
4. Paste without the formatting
Text copied from websites and emails brings fonts and colours with it. After pasting, select the Paste Options button (or right-click before pasting) and choose Keep Text Only. To make it the default, go to File > Options > Advanced and under Cut, copy, and paste set Pasting from other programs to Keep Text Only.
Format without fighting Word
5. Use styles instead of manual formatting
Apply Heading 1, Heading 2 and so on from the Home tab, or press Ctrl + Alt + 1, 2 or 3. Change the look once by right-clicking a style and choosing Modify, and every heading updates. Styles also power the Navigation pane and the table of contents below.
6. Copy formatting many times with Format Painter
Click inside text that looks right, then double-click the Format Painter brush on the Home tab. It stays on, so you can click or drag over as many other bits of text as you like. Press Esc when you’re done.
7. See what’s really in the document
Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to show paragraph marks, spaces, tabs and breaks. It explains most “mystery” layout problems, like an empty page at the end or a gap that won’t go away. Press it again to hide them.
8. Use proper breaks
- Ctrl + Enter inserts a page break, so later text doesn’t shift when you edit earlier pages. Don’t press Enter repeatedly to reach a new page.
- Shift + Enter starts a new line without starting a new paragraph, so list numbering and spacing stay intact.
- Ctrl + Shift + Space inserts a non-breaking space, which keeps things like “10 GB” or “Mr Smith” on the same line.
Handle long documents
9. Jump around with the Navigation pane
Turn it on from View > Navigation Pane (Ctrl + F also opens it for searching). It lists every heading; click one to jump there, or drag a heading to move the whole section with its text.
10. Add an automatic table of contents
Once your headings use styles, click where you want the contents and choose References > Table of Contents. After editing, click inside it and press F9 (or select Update Table) to refresh page numbers.
11. Find and replace special characters
Press Ctrl + H, then select More and Special to search for things like paragraph marks and tabs. For example, replace ^p^p with ^p to remove double blank lines from pasted text.
Review, read and share
12. Track changes and comments
Turn on Review > Track Changes (or press Ctrl + Shift + E) before editing someone else’s document, so they can accept or reject each change. Add a comment with Ctrl + Alt + M.
13. Dictate and Read Aloud
In Word for Microsoft 365, select Home > Dictate and speak; say “comma” or “new line” for punctuation and line breaks. To proofread, choose Review > Read Aloud (Ctrl + Alt + Space) and listen: your ear catches missing words that your eyes skip. On any Word version, Windows voice typing (Win + H) works too.
14. Save as PDF
Choose File > Save As, pick a folder and set Save as type to PDF. Under Options you can tick Create bookmarks using Headings so the PDF has clickable navigation.
Handy hidden features
15. Reuse text with Quick Parts
Select a paragraph you type often, such as an address or disclaimer, then choose Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Insert it later from the same menu.
16. Generate sample text
Type =rand(3,5) on a new line and press Enter to insert three paragraphs of five sentences each, which is useful for testing layouts. =lorem() gives Latin placeholder text instead.
17. Recover a document you didn’t save
Go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents. Better still, save to OneDrive and turn on AutoSave (top-left of the window) so changes are saved as you type. AutoSave needs the file to be in OneDrive or SharePoint; if you want OneDrive for documents but not everything else, see how to stop OneDrive from syncing for ways to limit what it syncs.
Quick shortcut cheat sheet
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shift + F3 | Change case |
| Ctrl + Shift + 8 | Show or hide formatting marks |
| Ctrl + Enter | Page break |
| Shift + Enter | Line break within a paragraph |
| Ctrl + Alt + 1/2/3 | Heading 1, 2 or 3 |
| Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
| Ctrl + Shift + E | Track changes on or off |
| Ctrl + Alt + M | New comment |
| Ctrl + Backspace | Delete previous word |
| F9 | Update a selected field, such as the table of contents |
Many of these habits carry over to other Office apps. For email, see Outlook tips and tricks; for spreadsheets, how to move a row in Excel. If Word shows a licensing banner instead, fix that first with Word product activation failed.
Related guides
- Outlook tips and tricks: 12 ways to manage email faster
- Word product activation failed: 7 ways to fix it
- How to move a row in Excel without overwriting data
- Picture to Excel: convert an image to data
- How to stop OneDrive from syncing without losing files
Official sources: for more detail, see Microsoft’s own documentation:
Frequently asked questions
What is the most useful Word shortcut?
For most people it’s Ctrl + Z (undo), followed by Ctrl + Enter for page breaks and Shift + F3 for changing case. Learning heading shortcuts (Ctrl + Alt + 1 to 3) pays off on any long document.
How do I stop Word changing my formatting when I paste?
Paste with Keep Text Only, or make it the default in File > Options > Advanced under Cut, copy, and paste.
How do I delete a blank page at the end of a Word document?
Press Ctrl + Shift + 8 to show formatting marks, then delete the extra paragraph marks or page break at the end. If one mark after a table won’t delete, select it and set its font size to 1.
Do these tips work in Word for Mac or Word online?
The features exist, but shortcuts differ: on a Mac, Cmd usually replaces Ctrl. Word for the web supports styles, Dictate and comments but not every option above.
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