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: Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key.

Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 6, 2020)

You can customize Word quite a bit, just by assigning your various macros to different shortcut key combinations. Press the shortcut key, and viola—the macro is executed post haste.

At some point, however, you may want to remove the association between the shortcut key and the macro. In order to do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select Customize from the Tools menu. You will see the Customize dialog box.
  2. Click on the Keyboard button. Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.

  3. Scroll through the Categories list and select the Macros category. The list at the right side of the dialog box changes to show the currently available macros.
  4. In the Macros list, select the macro you want to affect. Word should display, in the Current Keys box, the list of current shortcut key assignments for the macro.
  5. Select the key assignment you want to remove.
  6. Click on Remove.
  7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each change you want to make.
  8. Click on Close.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1490) 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: Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key.

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

Counting Characters in a Selection with VBA

Need to figure out the number of characters in a range of selected text? Here's how to do it in VBA.

Discover More

Getting Rid of Non-Printing Characters Intelligently

Is your worksheet, imported from an external source, plagued by non-printing characters that show up like small boxes ...

Discover More

A Quick-and-Dirty Word Count

Word provides a tool that counts the number of words in a document. Here's an alternative method of calculating the a ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Deleting a Macro

Macros are often created to accomplish a specific task, after which they are no longer needed. If you need to delete a ...

Discover More

Restoring a Keyboard Shortcut

Word uses keyboard shortcuts for all sorts of tasks. Sometimes you may create a shortcut that messes up one of the other ...

Discover More

Attaching Macros to Documents

When you distribute documents to other people, you may want those documents to have associated macros that the reader can ...

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.

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

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}] 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 eight minus 6?

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.