Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Resetting All Shortcut Keys.

Resetting All Shortcut Keys

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 11, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word allows you to customize its interface to your heart's content. One of the things you can customize is the assignment of shortcut keys. Word comes with a pre-defined set of shortcut key assignments that you can use to accomplish specific tasks or to apply different editing and formatting features. You can customize these shortcut keys, as desired.

At some point you may want to reset the formatting of your shortcut keys. To do this, follow these steps:

Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box.
Click on the Keyboard button. Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

Click on the Reset All button. Word displays a dialog box asking if you want to remove all your shortcut key definitions.
Click on Yes. Word removes all the user-defined shortcut keys, returning the shortcut keys to their default condition.
Click on OK to dismiss the Customize Keyboard dialog box.
Click on OK to dismiss the Customize dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (658) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Resetting All Shortcut Keys.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Making Multiple Worksheet Copies

If you spend a lot of time creating a worksheet, you might want to make multiple copies of that worksheet as a starting ...

Discover More

Dynamic Hyperlinks in Excel

Hyperlinks to many types of Web sites rely on passing parameters in the URL. Knowing this, you can construct a dynamic ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of 'Mail To:' in E-mail Links

If you convert e-mail addresses to hyperlinks, you could end up with some 'mailto:' verbiage at the beginning of the ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Characters on Keyboard Keys

Want to assign some fancy characters to keyboard keys for characters you seldom use? There are a couple of ways you can ...

Discover More

Applying Numbers from the Keyboard

Creating a numbered list is often done by using tools on the toolbars or the ribbon. With a bit of preparation you can ...

Discover More

Using the Insert Key to Insert Text

The Insert key can be used for different purposes, depending on how you configure the program. This tip explains those ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is nine more than 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.