We sometimes have favorite commands or macros which we want to access quickly. Aside from including a keyboard shortcut at the time of creating a macro, we can also create or edit custom shortcuts for existing macros or standard commands in Word for Mac.
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Define a custom shortcut in Word for Mac
We can, of course, add a keyboard shortcut when we create a macro, but sometimes we either forgot, neglected to do so at the time, or we want to change it. Moreover, Word has some standard commands we might want to assign to a shortcut (see a few examples with some sentence commands).
See a sibling video to create custom shortcuts in Word for Windows. We can also use macros to automate the process. The latter process is significantly more involved, but it is faster and better organized in the end.
Access the Customize keyboard dialog
Access the dialog using the menu option Tools → Customize Keyboard….
This short animation shows the steps to add a keyboard shortcut in Word for Mac.
For a standard Word command, select All Commands in the top-left Categories section, or choose a narrowed category if you prefer. For a macro, select Macros near the bottom of the categories. Then select the desired command or macro in the list on the right. Use the search bar to narrow the list if necessary.
Click into the "Press new keyboard shortcut" edit box near the middle. Tap your new shortcut combination before clicking the Assign button on the right. The text just below the edit box (not the Description) will indicate whether the shortcut is already assigned to another command or macro.
Add any other shortcuts as desired and then dismiss the dialog with the OK button.
Other options
You can also Reset All... custom shortcuts using the button at the bottom but be careful since it does "All" of them, and the process is not reversible.
Most shortcuts should be saved in the standard "Normal.dotm" standard Word template, so they are accessible from any document, but this is the default option.
Some key combinations don’t work
Certain key combinations just won’t work, but Word will just ignore it if so. Meaning, the Customize keyboard dialog simply will not register the key combination. The specific ones vary between Mac and Windows depending on how the operating system interprets various keys and key combinations. There is no comprehensive list, so just test them as needed.
Word for Windows
In Word for Windows, I showed how to add custom shortcuts in a relatively short but detailed video. The interface is clunkier than in Word for Mac, but the same basic steps apply. Select a command or macro category in the resulting dialog and assign the desired key combination.
Keyboard shortcut patterns
I try to keep some consistency with similar keyboard shortcuts. For example, I group sentence commands and macros with key combinations including the Option (or Alt on Windows) key. Paragraphs tend to use the Command key (or Control in Windows). Of course, organizational conflicts are inevitable since some standard Word shortcuts like Command+Delete (or Control+Delete in Windows) deletes whole words not paragraphs, but a basic system of organization helps.
While I generally try to respect the most used standard Word shortcuts, I also don't hesitate to override the standard ones if it helps me organize my own better. It’s not a perfect system since there are only so many key combinations, but the patterns help to remember and actually use them which is one of the bigger challenges when trying to write and edit faster.
Gotchas?
Sometimes things go wrong ...
Word resets shortcuts occasionally
Occasionally, Word will reset shortcuts automatically. This can happen, for example, if you copy and paste a macro in the VBA editor where a duplicate of the same macro name exists even if only temporarily.
Unfortunately, Word will sometimes reset all custom shortcuts, but this is rare. If you are using more than a few custom shortcuts, you should probably use macros to automatically group and assign them. See this getting started article, but we also have a series of mostly member articles that makes the process much easier to use.
