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Let Word show you every keyboard command in an instant.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
How to get Microsoft Word to divulge all its keyboard secrets


March 5, 2006


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, The Post-Standard

   How to get Microsoft Word to divulge all its keyboard secretsI went to college with a guy who learned Spanish one word at a time. Every day he learned a new word.
   At the end of each week he'd test himself. If he had trouble remembering any of his new words for that week, he put them on the list of words he had to restudy the following week.
   Sounds silly, right? But the important thing to know about this one-new-thing-a-day method is that it works. You're not taxing your brain and you're minimizing all the time and effort it takes to learn something new.
   I was reminded of my college pal when a reader asked me to recommend a book on Microsoft Word's shortcut keys. While you might wonder if such a publication might be a candidate for the world's shortest book -- after all, how many pages do you need to tell someone to press Ctrl-C to copy something or Ctrl-S to save your work? -- in fact there are hundreds of obscure keyboard commands hidden away in the depths of Word. You could easily imagine a slim book devoted to nothing more than using the keyboard for various functions in Word.
   But no such book is needed. If you have Microsoft Word on your Windows PC or OS X Macintosh, you can create a printable list of all keyboard functions in your word processor. You'll be able to do this with Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002 or 2003 in Windows and with Microsoft Word X or Word 2004 on an OS X Macintosh.
   I'll tell you how in another paragraph or two. But first, a word from our sponsor. Keyboard shortcuts -- keys you press to do various menu functions -- are useless unless you know about them, so that's why we're getting rid of that shortcoming in this column. But they're worse than useless -- they're pointless -- if you know about them but never learn how to use them.
   That's where you come in. You can limit your pain by learning just one keyboard shortcut at a time -- one a day, like my 1960s pal did, or maybe one a week if you're not quite as adventurous.
   Ready? It's simple to get that printable list. Stick with me and I'll share a couple of secrets about using Word at the end. (No cheating! Don't look down!)
   Click the "Tools" menu, then click "Macros." Select "Word Commands" in the "Macros In" box. Choose "ListCommands" in the "Macro Name" box, then click the "Run" button. When you see the "List Command" box, select "All Word Commands," then click OK.
   Save the document using a name that makes sense to you. You can print it now or later.
   See? I told you it was simple. (And, yes, I hereby give you permission to show off your newfound skill at the office on Monday.)
   And now my bonus secret tips.
   Ever want to go back right where you left off after you reopen a Word document you had been working on earlier? Open it and press Shift-F5.
   Want to use Word as a calculator? Click the "View" menu and choose "Toolbars," then "Customize." Choose the "Commands" tab in the "Customize" box.
   Under "Categories," choose "All Commands," then, under Commands, locate "ToolsCalculate." Drag the command to a toolbar. Close the "Customize" box.
   On a new, blank line, type 300 and press Enter. Type 200 and press Enter. Type 1457 and press Enter. Select all the numbers and click "Calculate." The sum of the numbers will show up in the status bar at the bottom of the window. Press Ctrl-V (Cmd-V on a Mac) to paste the result into your document.
   A word of caution. I can't guarantee that these two tips work on every version of Word. But give 'em a try and let me know.