Back when I worked for a law firm, I knew the ins and outs of Microsoft Office shortcuts and used them regularly. There are over 950 commands in Word that have shortcut keys associated with them. These shortcuts save time while preparing documents. Tony wrote a Tuesday Tip a while back (Find It Anywhere with Ctrl F) a shortcut to search documents. Richard also covered a useful tip – Alt+Tab – The Fastest Way To Switch Between Open Windows . I’ve picked some of the ones that I use most often.
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Open a new word document quickly. |
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Cut- Removes the selection from the active document and places it on the clipboard. | ||
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Opens a previously saved document. |
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Copies the selection to the clipboard | ||
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Closes the active window, but does not Exit Word. |
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Paste – Inserts the contents of the clipboard at the insertion point (cursor) or wherever is selected. | ||
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Saves the active document with its current file name, location and format. |
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Selects all text and graphics in the active window. | ||
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Prints the active file, also gives the opportunity to change print options | ||||
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Exit – Closes Microsoft Word. |
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Bold – Formats selected text; makes text bold, or removes bold formatting | ||
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Undo the last action. This selection can be repeated several times. |
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Italic – Formats selected text; makes text italic or removes italic | ||
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Redo – After an action has been undone, it can be reinstated in the document. |
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Underline – Formats selected text; makes text underlined or removes underline |
Is there a shortcut that you can’t find? Well, then create your own Macro. I know, hearing the word Macro makes many run in fear, however, they aren’t too difficult to create. Basically, a Macro is a group of recorded commands that is played back later. By following these instructions you will be a Macro pro in a matter of minutes and after trying it a few times it will take you no time to create them. To substantiate this claim, Richard and Tony – who had never set up a Macro before – both practiced 5 times and easily set up a new Macro in less than 15 seconds (note: Richard set up “HIPAA Risk Assessment” and Tony set up “Worry Free IT”). Here are the steps:
In Word, click on the View tab at the top of your screen.
Then, click on the down arrow under the word Macros.
The next step is to click Record Macro. This box will pop up:
Use the Macro name assigned to you – you do not need to type in the name. All you have to do is click on “Keyboard” and assign new shortcut keys. This makes your own personal shortcut. By the way, just ignore the “Button” button, this step is not needed to create the Macro.
Click the Assign button and then Close the box. You will now see a cassette which means you are in Recording mode. Type whatever keystrokes you would like. For example, a paralegal might like a shortcut for: “In Witness Whereof”. Once you have finished recording your Macro, click on the down arrow under the word Macros again and click Stop.
Now wherever you are in any Word document you can press the “Ctrl+1” keys and whatever you saved will be inserted. Hopefully all of these shortcuts will help you save time in your day!
Alisa Michael
With over 15 years’ experience in the legal arena as well as client management, Alisa brings her experience to Network 1’s team, clients and partners. She strives to be proactive in managing clients’ needs and expectations with an outcome of client satisfaction and retention.
amichael@network1consulting.com or 404.997.7637
Network 1 Consulting is a 16-year-old, IT Support company in Atlanta, GA. We become – or augment – the IT department for professional services companies: law firms, medical practices and financial services firms. Our IT experts can fix computers – but what our clients really value are the industry-specific best practices we bring to their firms. This is especially important with technology, along with regulations and cyber threats, changing so rapidly. We take a proactive approach to helping our clients use technology to gain and keep t
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