If you’re a keyboard shortcut enthusiast, I have good news. Word will quickly generate a list of all its keyboard shortcuts. The real surprise is just how easy it is! The feature’s built right in; you just need to know how to unlock the magic.

To generate this list in Word 2010, you must first enable the Developer tab as follows:

  1. Click the File menu and choose Options from the Help menu.
  2. Click Customize Ribbon in the left pane.
  3. In the right pane, check Developer and click OK.

With the Developer tab enabled, do the following to generate your list:

  1. Open a blank document.
  2. Click the Developer tab, and then click Macros in the Code group.
  3. In the Macros In control, select Word Commands.
  4. In the Macro Name list, select (or type) ListCommands.
  5. Click Run.
  6. In the resulting dialog box, click Current Keyboard Settings, and click OK. Word will generate a list of keyboard shortcuts—from six to ten pages of them!

You don’t need a Developer menu in Word 2007. In this version, do the following:

  1. Open a blank document.
  2. Click the View menu and then click Macros in the Macros group.
  3. In the Macros In control, select Word Commands.
  4. In the Macro Name list, select ListCommands.
  5. Click Run.
  6. In the resulting dialog box, click Current Keyboard Settings, and click OK.

In Word 2003, do the following:

  1. Open a blank document.
  2. From the Tools menu, choose Macro and select Macros.
  3. Choose Word Commands from the Macros In control.
  4. In the Macro Name list, select ListCommands.
  5. Click Run.
  6. In the resulting dialog box, click Current Menu And Keyboard Settings.
  7. Click OK.

Save and/or print the shortcuts for later reference.

Nothing seems to delight users (and me) as much as a new keyboard shortcut. We can’t seem to get enough of them, so this list should keep us busy for a while.

If you know a built-in shortcut that isn’t in the list, please post a reply and share it with all of us.