Keyboard Customization in Word 2010

To a Word power user, one of the most amazing pieces of Word trivia is that most users don’t take advantage of the option to customize Word’s keyboard. It’s pure agony for a power user to watch as someone repeatedly reaches for the mouse, drilling down through multiple layers of ribbons for a command that could easily be assigned to a simple keystroke.

 

Some of us like to think that this lack of customization is really a lack of awareness. Once you know that I-95 exists, why on earth would you choose instead to drive US 1 when going from Jacksonville to Richmond? You might make occasional scenic detours, bypass an accident, or stop for lunch, but there’s no way you’d put up with all of those traffic lights the entire way.

 

Ribbons are like traffic lights. They’re there if you need them, but if you already know where you’re going, why not go there directly? Let’s hit the road!

 

Getting Started

The first thing you need to know when you consider customizing your keyboard is that there effectively are no reserved keys in Word. Unlike a lot of programs, in which you have no choice or little choice about what’s assigned to what, in Word your options are wide open. If you would rather that Ctrl+H be used to highlight selected text (yellow marker style) than be used for Replace, it’s yours for the asking. If Ctrl+T really doesn’t work for you, mnemonically speaking, for hanging indent (or, better still if you had no clue that that’s what Ctrl+T does), feel free to reassign Ctrl+T to the thesaurus, or to something else.

 

 

You have a variety of ways of remapping where you go when you let your fingers do the walking. To really appreciate the fast way, it helps to be familiar with the tried-and-true official channels method. However, to try to get you into the spirit of things more quickly, this chapter is going to toss convention to the wind and start with the shortcut methods. Later, you learn about the scenic route.

 

The FastWay (The Cloverleaf Method)

To quickly find out what [almost] any keystroke does, Press Ctrl+Alt+Plus Sign (on the number pad). This runs the Tools ➪ Customize Keyboard ➪ Shortcut command, and turns the mouse pointer into the cloverleaf shown in Figure 45-1. When you press another keystroke or click any tool that has a command or macro assigned to it, the Customize Keyboard dialog box appears, also shown in Figure 45-1.

 

FIGURE 45-1: Ctrl+Alt+Plus Sign followed by any command shows you the command name and any keys assigned to it.

 

 

In this case, Ctrl+Alt+Plus Sign was pressed, followed by F3 (the Insert AutoText keystroke).

 

The associated command, InsertAutoText, and the currently assigned keys (F3 and Alt+Ctrl+Shift+V, in this case) are displayed.

 

This isn’t just for display. At the same time, the focus is given to the Press new shortcut key box.

 

To assign an additional keystroke, press the key combination you want to assign, and then click the Assign button.

 

Note

Before clicking Assign, ensure that the Save changes in setting is set to the correct template. If you’re customizing a particular template, use it. Or, use Normal.dotm if you want the assignment available all the time.

 

Suppose, for example, that you have just clicked the Navigation Pane tool for the thousandth time, and really would rather have a shortcut key assigned to it. Press Ctrl+Alt+Plus Sign, and then click Navigation Pane in the View menu. The Customize Keyboard dialog box appears.

 

Under Current keys, nothing is currently assigned. Decide what you want to assign (if you never use Normal view, for example, you might consider Ctrl+Alt+N), and press that key combination.

 

When you try a combination, below the Current keys box, Word displays Currently assigned to, showing the current assignment. If you don’t want to use that assignment, press Backspace and try again. When you find a keystroke that’s either currently When you find a keystroke that’s either currently unassigned or assigned to a command you never use, click Assign to assign it.

 

What Does This Have to Do with Templates?

Keyboard assignments are stored in documents or templates. The default location is Normal.dotm, but at any given moment a keyboard assignment can be stored in any of three locations:

 

  • The current document. If you save a key assignment in the current document, that key assignment will be available only when editing that document.
  • The template on which the current document is based (if different from Normal.dotm). Key assignments saved in the current template are available only when editing documents based on that template. Assignments in that template take precedence over assignments in Normal.dotm, but not over assignments in the current document (if they are different).
  • Normal.dotm.
    As a general strategy, therefore, any key assignments you want to be available throughout Word, you should save in Normal.dotm. If an assignment is relevant only while editing a particular document or template, then set Save changes in accordingly (see Figure 45-1).