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: Quickly Customizing the Keyboard.

Quickly Customizing the Keyboard

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 28, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you absolutely love to customize Word, then you will love this tip. You already know that it can be a pain to customize some features of Word. For instance, if you want to customize the keyboard so you can pull up different features already available from menus or toolbars. Try this, instead:

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt and then press the plus key on the numeric keypad. Word changes the mouse pointer so it looks like a small cloverleaf.
  2. Click on any toolbar or menu item.

At this point Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. You are probably already familiar with this dialog box. The difference is that the dialog box already contains the information relating to the tool or menu item on which you clicked. Thus, you can very easily modify the keyboard shortcut keys for that particular item. When you are done, click on Close to dismiss the 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 (660) 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: Quickly Customizing the Keyboard.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Recalculating when Filtering

Filter a large worksheet, and Excel will helpfully recalculate every time you apply a different filter. This can get ...

Discover More

Transposing and Linking

Sometimes it is helpful to look at data that is rotated 90 degrees. Excel allows you to use Paste Special to transpose ...

Discover More

Pasting Numeric Values in Other Programs

When you paste information from Excel into other programs, you may get more than you actually want. It is not unusual for ...

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)

Applying Bullets from the Keyboard

Most people use the toolbars to apply bullets to paragraphs. If you want to apply them using the keyboard, then you can ...

Discover More

Resetting All Shortcut Keys

At some point you might want to wipe out all the custom shortcut keys you've created in Word. This is easy to do by ...

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
Subscribe

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.

What is 5 + 1?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.