The keyboard shortcuts described here refer to the U.S. keyboard layout. Keys on other layouts might not correspond exactly to the keys on a U.S. keyboard.

For keyboard shortcuts in which you press two or more keys simultaneously, the keys to press are separated by a plus sign (+). For keyboard shortcuts in which you press one key immediately followed by another key, the keys to press are separated by a comma (,).

For keyboard shortcuts for working with shapes, text boxes, or WordArt see Keyboard shortcuts for working with shapes, text boxes, and WordArt.

What do you want to do?

Insert a SmartArt graphic in an Office document

  1. In the Microsoft Office program where you want to insert the graphic, press Alt, then N, and then M to open the SmartArt Graphic dialog box.

  2. Press Up Arrow or Down Arrow to select the type of graphic that you want.

  3. Press Tab to move to the Layout task pane.

  4. Press the arrow keys to select the layout that you want.

  5. Press Enter to insert the selected layout.

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Work with shapes in a SmartArt graphic

To do this

Press

Select the next element in a SmartArt graphic.

Tab

Select the previous element in a SmartArt graphic.

Shift+Tab

Select all shapes.

Ctrl +A

Remove focus from the selected shape.

Esc

Nudge the selected shape up.

Up Arrow

Nudge the selected shape down.

Down Arrow

Nudge the selected shape left.

Left Arrow

Nudge the selected shape right.

Right Arrow

Edit text in the selected shape.

Enter or F2, Esc to exit shape

Delete the selected shape.

Delete or Backspace

Cut the selected shape.

Ctrl+X or Shift+Delete

Copy the selected shape.

Ctrl+C

Paste the contents of the Clipboard.

Ctrl+V

Undo the last action.

Ctrl+Z

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Move and resize shapes in a SmartArt graphic

To do this

Press

Enlarge the selected shape horizontally.

Shift+Right Arrow

Reduce the selected shape horizontally.

Shift+Left Arrow

Enlarge the selected shape vertically.

Shift+Up Arrow

Reduce the selected shape vertically.

Shift+Down Arrow

Rotate the selected shape to the right.

Alt+Right Arrow

Rotate the selected shape to the left.

Alt+Left Arrow

Notes: 

  • To apply more precise adjustments to shapes, press the Ctrl key in addition to any of the above keyboard shortcuts.

  • These keyboard shortcuts apply to multiple selections as if you selected each item individually.

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Work with text in a SmartArt graphic

To do this

Press

Move one character to the left.

Left Arrow

Move one character to the right.

Right Arrow

Move up one line.

Up Arrow

Move down one line.

Down Arrow

Move one word to the left.

Ctrl+Left Arrow

Move one word to the right.

Ctrl+Right Arrow

Move one paragraph up.

Ctrl+Up Arrow

Move one paragraph down.

Ctrl+Down Arrow

Move to the end of a line.

End

Move to the beginning of a line.

Home

Move to the end of a text box.

Ctrl+End

Move to the beginning of a text box.

Ctrl+Home

Cut selected text.

Ctrl+X

Copy selected text.

Ctrl+C

Paste selected text.

Ctrl+V

Move the selected text up.

Alt+Shift+Up Arrow

Move the selected text down.

Alt+Shift+Down Arrow

Undo the last action.

Ctrl+Z

Delete one character to the left.

Backspace

Delete one word to the left.

Ctrl+Backspace

Delete one character to the right.

Delete

Delete one word to the right.

Ctrl+Delete

Promote the selected text.

Alt+Shift+Left Arrow

Demote the selected text.

Alt+Shift+Right Arrow

Check the spelling (not available in Word).

F7

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Apply character formatting

To do this

Press

Open the Font dialog box.

Ctrl+Shift+F or Ctrl+Shift+P

Increase the font size of the selected text.

Ctrl+Shift+>

Decrease the font size of the selected text.

Ctrl+Shift+<

Switch the case of selected text (lower case, Title Case, UPPER CASE).

Shift+F3

Apply bold formatting to the selected text.

Ctrl+B

Apply an underline to the selected text.

Ctrl+U

Apply italic formatting to the selected text.

Ctrl+I

Apply subscript formatting to the selected text.

Ctrl+Equal Sign

Apply superscript formatting to the selected text.

Ctrl+Shift+Plus Sign

Adjust the superscript/subscript offset up.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+>

Adjust the superscript/subscript offset down.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+<

Remove all character formatting from the selected text.

Shift+Ctrl+Spacebar

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Copy text formatting

To do this

Press

Copy formatting from the selected text.

Shift+Ctrl+C

Paste formatting to the selected text.

Shift+Ctrl+V

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Apply paragraph formatting

To do this

Press

Center a paragraph.

Ctrl+E

Justify a paragraph.

Ctrl+J

Left align a paragraph.

Ctrl+L

Right align a paragraph.

Ctrl+R

Demote a bullet point.

Tab or Alt+Shift+Right Arrow

Promote a bullet point.

Shift+Tab or Alt+Shift+Left Arrow

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Use the Text pane

To do this

Press

Merge two lines of text.

Delete at the end of the first line of text

Display the shortcut menu.

Shift+F10

Switch between the Text pane and the drawing canvas.

Ctrl+Shift+F2

Close the Text pane.

Alt+F4

Switch the focus from the Text pane to the border of the SmartArt graphic.

Esc

Open the SmartArt graphics Help topic. (Your pointer should be in the Text pane.)

Ctrl +Shift+F1

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