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11 Jan 2022
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min read

Use the Win key for shortcuts in Word

VBA Topics
Word • Macros • Shortcuts • Editing
Peter Ronhovde
December 5, 2024
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25
min read

If you’ve been following along for a while, we’ve created many Word macros that speedify writing and editing. Almost all of them work the same between Windows and Mac, but the possible shortcut combinations between the two systems are different due to different keyboard input support (how it’s interpreted) as well as the obvious fact the modifier keys are different. Let’s remedy some of the disparity at least for a handful of selected macro shortcuts albeit with a somewhat clumsy yet currently necessary approach.

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Use the Win key for Word for Windows shortcuts

In Word for Windows, keyboard shortcuts for our macros can only use modifier keys Control, Alt, and/or Shift in different combinations—

Only? Huh?

If you’ve never used Word on a Mac, it’s like not realizing you miss a fourth arm (not that we have three arms … hmmm, maybe not the best analogy). You’ve never had it to miss, but you would if you did (not saying Macs are perfect; they have their own idiosyncrasies).

Word for Mac allows up to four modifier keys—Command, Control, Option, and Shift—when assigning shortcuts. Some practical limitations exist for certain key combinations (see previous article), but four modifier keys generally allow more freedom when organizing similar groups of shortcuts for our macros.

In Windows, the Windows (or Win) key is restricted to system related shortcuts which means it isn’t available inside Word for our own macros. Manual keyboard shortcuts can be assigned in Word via File → Options → Customize Ribbon and then click the Customize keyboard … button, but Word won’t even recognize the Win key.

Win key is not available for Word shortcuts

We simply cannot assign a Word macro to a key combination using it, and we can’t get around it though a VBA keybinding assignment because of how the Word key constants are defined. In the WdKey constants table, the Win key and Control keys have the same numerical values in Windows (but not for the corresponding keys in Word for Mac which is not properly documented by Microsoft).

Restricting the use of the Win key is a design decision, but it’s frustrating to have a group of similar custom Word macros that use entirely different key combinations. Even if you haven’t been spoiled with a fourth modifier key from working in Word for Mac, I expect you will still appreciate the more varied and sometimes easier to use key combinations.

Thus the workaround today. If you don’t want any further explanation, jump straight to the main point below.

Similar modifier keys between Windows and Mac

The basic modifier keys are similar between the two systems.

  • Command → Control in Windows
  • Control → Win
  • Option → Alt
  • Shift → Shift

Of course, the Shift key is basically the same on both systems. A special Fn key also exists on both systems, but we can only use it for system shortcuts on a Mac, and we have little control over its use in Windows. It usually doesn't do anything (depends on the keyboard) other than toggling the physical function keys between acting as media keys or regular “function keys” F1 through F12.

One might insist the Control key is the correct match between the two systems, but the Command key is usually used like Control in Windows (but with different default keyboard positions), so the above are the more practical modifier key associations.

Custom macros in Word associated with the Enter key

When I write in Word for Mac, each of the following shortcuts are assigned to macros that carry out the respective tasks.

  • Command+Control+Enter inserts a new paragraph below the current paragraph from anywhere inside it (our focus today).
  • Control+Option+Enter inserts a new paragraph above the current from anywhere inside the paragraph.
  • Command+Control+Option+Enter inserts a new paragraph at the end of the current heading which is nice in note documents.
  • Option+Enter creates a new paragraph with the current sentence without moving the insertion point in the text.

Standard actions with the Enter key in Word

For comparison, the Enter (Return) key has several standard uses in Word.

  • Enter obviously inserts a new paragraph at the current insertion point position as every two-year old child of a writer learns.
  • Shift+Enter inserts a new line without a paragraph break.
  • Command+Enter on a Mac or Control+Enter in Windows inserts a page break.
  • Command+Shift+Enter on a Mac or Control+Shift+Enter in Windows inserts a column break.

A few extra uses exist such as when working in tables, but we’ll focus on regular text.

What about in Word for Windows?

My first three macro shortcuts above won’t translate directly in Word for Windows, but I want to make them work while maintaining the muscle memory action. Focusing on the first shortcut for simplicity, I want to remap it to a Windows equivalent shortcut Control+Win+Enter assigned to run the same macro (most VBA macros work without any changes between Word for Mac or Windows).

Hmmm. How?

It’s like solving one of life’s great mysteries.

I missed them in Windows

My little workhorse macros may sound superfluous at first glance, but I missed them when I would move over (literally and figuratively) and edit in Word for Windows. There aren’t enough convenient key combinations with just Control, Alt, and Shift to cover them. Setting up alternative keyboard shortcuts is possible, and I’ve done that a few times, but I’ve built up some muscle memory on my MacBook. I don’t want to remember different shortcuts for the two systems.

Easier to use in some cases

Convenience is a key word. I try to keep the key patterns for my own macros consistent with related standard Word shortcuts. The similarity helps to remember them, and they feel natural more quickly.

Some key combinations are also easier to quickly tap using the Win key. For example, Control+Win+D is easier to hit than the finger contortions required to tap Control+Alt+D. The former requires less hand movement with better finger positioning. Try it.

Four modifier keys possibilities

We can even assign four-key combinations like Control+Win+Alt+Shift+D. We won’t use four modifier keys often, but they’re nice when needed. No standard Word or Windows system shortcuts will use such a shortcut.

Warning hacky sacks ahead

The method kicked around here is a workaround to allow more shortcut combinations that are already available in Word for Mac but are excluded in Word for Windows due to Windows restricting the use of the Win key … however, it’s a bit of a hack approach.

It’s not really hacking. Just using one application to tweak another, but I don’t like hacky methods. Not when I’ve been teaching about automation in Word for a while now. I wrote multiple articles (fully functional free version or the easier memberish article series) trying to avoid manually assigning Word shortcuts especially as our collection expands. Unfortunately, no method exists to allow a fourth modifier key within Word for Windows, so we’re stuck with the workaround until Microsoft implements the Win key for Word shortcuts.

Enter PowerToys.

Tweaking special shortcuts using the PowerToys app

Microsoft designed the PowerToys app mostly for “power users” and computer professionals, but most of what it does is simple. It’s essentially a nice collection of applets where we pick and choose which to use. Most applets tweak Windows details or make various manual tasks easier … all almost official and for free. It’s hard to beat that.

It’s currently in a “beta” development stage, version 0.86 as of November 2024, which means more features may yet be added, and a few extra bugs may exist compared to regular “released” software (version 1.0-ish). I recommend it, but for legal and liability reasons, use it at your own risk (installation page).

One applet accomplishes our specific task today—the Keyboard Manager—but explore the other applets to see what you like.

PowerToys Keyboard Manager applet

The PowerToys dashboard is organized in columns but a little busy since the app allows us to tweak many Windows features. We’re focused on the Key Manager applet for this article.

Keyboard manager in the PowerToys app (dark mode)

"Hack" your way to a fourth modifier key in Word for Windows

It’s easier to explain if we have a specific example. Let’s assume we already created a macro named InsertNewParagraphBelow. This macro automatically inserts an empty paragraph below the current one and positions our insertion point there ready for us to type. We don’t need to move to the end of the paragraph before pressing Enter. No shifting a hand over to the arrow keys and back. Just done. It’s more convenient than it sounds.

InsertNewParagraphBelow is a long macro name, but it’s descriptive which is more important. We want to assign it to a shortcut of Control+Win+Enter. What are our steps?

  • Assign the shortcut inside Word for the macro to an obscure key combination that will likely never be used for or confused with something else.
  • Remap the desired key combination in PowerToys to our Word shortcut.

The order doesn’t matter since the new shortcut won’t work until both steps are completed.

If you use a regular main key or otherwise omit the shortcut assignment via a macro, skip ahead to the PowerToys stuff.

Assign to a faux shortcut in Word

First assign the shortcut to an unusual key combination that will never be used for a practical shortcut. In this example we’ll take that intention a step farther and use the F16 key, so we don’t tie up any other key combinations—

The F16 key?

But the F16 key doesn’t exist?

Yep. We might as well get some use out of otherwise unused keys. It doesn’t even exist as a physical key on modern keyboards, but we can assign macros inside Word to function keys F13 through F16 using the respective Word constants in the WdKey table. PowerToys further allows up to F24, but the Word key constants only include up to F16.

We can’t create the Word shortcut the regular manual way in Word since we can’t press a virtual F16 key, so we need to create it in VBA.

Or not …

If you prefer not to use the F16 virtual key for the shortcut, just assign it to an obscure combination like Control+Alt+Shift+F1 that requires expertise in finger contortions before you can use it. If you have more than a few shortcuts, you may need to override some standard Word shortcuts you never use. That’s why starting with virtual key combinations is useful.

Shortcut assignment command in VBA

If you’re working with the virtual key Word shortcut, we need a whirlwind review of keybinding assignments in VBA.

' Assign InsertNewParagraphBelow macro to virtual shortcut Control+Alt+F16
KeyBindings.Add KeyCategory:=wdKeyCategoryMacro, _
Command:="InsertNewParagraphBelow", _
KeyCode:=BuildKeyCode(wdKeyControl, wdKeyAlt, wdKeyF16)

This command is messy but almost completely general at least in terms of what we can do inside Word. We went into more detail in a previous article. If you prefer something a little easier to use, we created a mostly member macro series to simplify the shortcut assignment process, but it requires more effort to implement since several functions are required to break it down into reasonably sized subtasks. We’ll stick with a standalone command in a skeleton macro for this article.

Command explanation

Let’s break the command down in a fit of rapid-fire explanations:

  • KeyBindings is a VBA collection that stores all current shortcut assignments within Word.
  • KeyBindings has an Add method that allows us to assign or “bind” a new shortcut to a macro or certain other Word actions (not covered here).
  • The Add method requires three bits of information (arguments):
    • KeyCategory is the type of assignment. We assign it using the Word constant wdKeyCategoryMacro to assign a shortcut to one of our own macros.
    • Command is assigned the literal plain text name of the macro in double quotes.
    • KeyCode corresponds to the unique numeric value for the specific key combination.
    • VBA provides a BuildKeyCode(…) function to determine the KeyCode using the key constants from the WdKey constants table. Most key constant names are obvious with a prefix “wdKey” followed by the respective key name. For our example, we need three key values:
      • wdKeyControl for the Control modifier key
      • wdKeyAlt for the Alt modifier key
      • The virtual main key F16 corresponds to wdKeyF16.
      • All key constants should be separated by commas as arguments of the BuildKeyCode function(…) with up to three modifier keys allowed.

We need to assign various text or numeric values to each of the Add method options, so we use a colon equals := symbol for the respective assignments (regular VBA variable assignments just use an equals = sign).

Uber simple shortcut assignment macro

Previous shortcut articles on this site are more general, but if we just want a quick macro to assign a few virtual shortcuts, wrap the above command in VBA subroutine (shortens to “Sub”) like so:

Sub AssignVirtualShortcut()
' Assign InsertNewParagraphBelow macro to virtual shortcut Control+Alt+F16
KeyBindings.Add KeyCategory:=wdKeyCategoryMacro, _
Command:="InsertNewParagraphBelow", _
KeyCode:=BuildKeyCode(wdKeyControl, wdKeyAlt, wdKeyF16)
End Sub

Subroutines in VBA are just called macros in Word. No parameters are required for the subroutine since we’re specifying everything explicitly in the key binding (shortcut assignment) command.

Change this macro as necessary for your own shortcut assignments. Duplicate the command inside the macro for multiple shortcuts, virtual or not, but it gets messy and long quick … which is why I wrote several simplifying macros and functions.

Run the virtual shortcut assignment macro

We need to set the virtual shortcut by running the small macro.

  • In Word, tap the shortcut Alt+F11 to open the VBA editor and paste the above macro as plain text.
  • Position the insertion point anywhere inside the macro.
  • Press F5 or click the “Play” ▶ button to run the macro. It will look like nothing happened, but if everything was included correctly, it should have created the shortcut inside Word.

Remap the key in PowerToys

In the Keyboard Manager section of the PowerToys dashboard, select the Remap a shortcut button. It opens a small dialog where we need to select Add a shortcut remapping.

Add shortcut remapping button

We can also modify existing remapped shortcuts here, but we’re creating a new one this time.

Create new remapped shortcut

Click the little Pencil button in the Shortcut: section on the left to open another smaller dialog.

Open dialog to create the desired remapped shortcut key combination

The number of individual dialog windows required for the shortcut assignment is a tad annoying but press the remapped shortcut key combination that you actually want to use when editing in Word. For our example, it’s Control+Win+Enter.

Type the desired remapped key combination

Then click the OK button to accept.

Multiple key combinations as “chords” (optional)

This doesn’t apply to our working example, but we could alternatively use a sequential shortcut if we press another main key without releasing any of the current modifier keys. PowerToys refers to it as a “chord,” so if you wish, toggle “Allow chords” to On and press the desired key combination pair.

Word has similar key combinations called “two-key” shortcuts most often used for menu access (more of a legacy feature, but some may still use them), but they work slightly differently since the keys should be released before pressing the next key. PowerToys also allows more complicated custom shortcut patterns which we’ll omit here.

Set “Action” shortcut

In the “Action” section on the right, we want to send the remapped shortcut we set inside the Word application.

  • Ensure the Send Key/Shortcut is selected in the top dropdown button.
  • For our example, we defined the Word shortcut as Control+Alt+F16, so press the—
  • Oh, yeah, it doesn’t exist as a physical key on modern keyboards, so press an existing function key such as F12. We'll modify it after we accept the temporarily remapped shortcut.

What?

Yeah, let's slow down here for a bit.

Sidestepping the virtual key assignment

Skip this subsection if you’re not using a virtual main key like F16 for the Word shortcut.

Pick a physical main key (for virtual shortcuts)

I don’t like hacky methods, but I don’t have a lot of good choices here, so I pinch my nose and move forward. (AutoHotkey would avoid this issue with text-like shortcut definitions, but I prefer PowerToys for this task.)

  • Click the Pencil button to define the shortcut.
  • This is where it’s a little clunky. Without a physical F16 key, we need to use a real function key shortcut first, say Control+Alt+F12. Don’t worry, you’re not actually overriding anything in Word or Windows. It’s just a placeholder.
  • Finally click the OK button to accept the temporarily remapped shortcut.
Change the function key to virtual F16

Change the temporary function key in the drop-down box from F12 (or whatever you picked) to F16.

Select the F16 virtual key

Now our intended virtual shortcut Control+Alt+F16 will be sent when we press Control+Win+Enter.

Target App (optional but recommended)

We can restrict our remapped shortcut to only work within the Word application by entering “winword.exe” in the Target App edit box on the right.

Specify Word for Windows as the target application (recommended)

In our example with a virtual shortcut, the chance of an unforeseen gotcha popping up in a different application is low, but generally speaking, it’s a good habit to be more specific to avoid later unforeseen gotchas … which you didn’t foresee because they’re unforeseen. See?

Test your remapped shortcut

Open Word and see if it works!

I had a little zing of accomplishment when I first used the Win key inside Word. Little deviant that I am [play wild and rebellious background music here], I now have access to the Win key inside Word albeit with an awkward hacky solution.

Since PowerToys currently requires (as of version 0.86 in November 2024) each remapped shortcut to be manually entered, I reserve this hacky approach for a handful of my most used or liked macros where I need to use the Win key for better shortcut organization.

Gotchas

Where could we encounter problems with this shortcut remapping?

Using the remapped shortcut in other applications

If you don’t restrict the shortcut to Word, be careful if you’re using the shortcut in other applications. You don’t want to accidentally send a command via a shortcut and not understand, or even worse not notice, what just happened. The safest solution is to restrict the shortcut to within Word unless you specifically intend for the shortcut to work across all applications.

No import or export feature in PowerToys

On a related note, we can’t currently export or import our remapped shortcuts. With that said, PowerToys is currently only in version 0.86, so perhaps they’ll add this feature in the future.

Another Windows app AutoHotkey allows a more automated approach, but the learning curve is a lot steeper. It’s powerful, but despite being a programmer of sorts, I just don't want to dig into it.

Duplicated shortcuts …

It’s annoying to have shortcuts defined in two different places. We need to create an obscure shortcut within Word but then map our desired keys to it in PowerToys. They're more likely to get out of sync when you’re tracking them in two different locations. Not much we can do here except use AutoHotkey or wait for Word to implement the Win key for shortcuts.

PowerToys needs to be running

PowerToys needs to be running in the background to use any remapped keys. Makes sense and there's nothing unusual here since any application that detects real time actions must be running. I just have it load automatically with Windows. It’s not a big app.

What if I override something?

If you mess up the remapped shortcut, just delete it or recreate it. No actual changes are made to Windows with the Keyboard Manager applet. Every remapped shortcut is handled in real time, so you don’t actually override anything in Word or Windows permanently.

Doesn’t Windows already have a way to remap keys?

Well, yes … kind of but only in the sense of using a broom to sweep your carpet. It’ll kind of do the job with specific keys in a pinch, but it ain’t like having a vacuum. It just doesn’t make sense for anything serious in terms of enhancing writing and editing productivity with various shortcuts.

If you really need to know (briefly), we could remap keys through the Windows system language settings. Unfortunately, it’s buried in the Time & Language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings …

By the settings location, it’s really intended for keyboards used for alternative languages. It probably not a good idea to force a setting or applet to work on a task for which it isn’t designed to tackle (although, I make an exception for AutoCorrect in Word since it is so fast). PowerToys is created and actively supported by Microsoft, so using the Windows language settings to approximate anything we want to do with remapping keyboard shortcuts just doesn’t make sense.

Other interesting PowerToys applets

PowerToys does a lot more than just shortcut remapping. Other interesting applets mostly unrelated to this article are:

  • Advanced Paste applet reassigns specific paste operations for use in any Windows application. I used it to remap pasting without text formatting to Control+Win+V, but it also has Paste as Markdown (a text-based formatting notation) which is useful in text-based note taking apps. Some task management apps like Todoist also allow Markdown in the task notes.
  • PowerToys Run is a simplified version of Spotlight on Mac. It provides a quick, keyboard focused way to open documents, launch applications, search locally or on the internet, search Windows settings, do quick calculations, and more. I use it almost every day I work on my PC.
  • Fancy Zones improves the default window snapping behavior.
  • PowerRename lets you change the name of multiple files at once.
  • Image Resizer allows resizing multiple images at once.
  • Peek opens a lightweight preview of various file types from a File Explorer window.
  • Color Picker displays the RGB color of any pixel on the screen.
  • Workspaces stores the layout of multiple applications in a separate desktop workspace, so they can be quickly restored later.
  • And more …

Each applet can be individually toggled on or off. Download PowerToys and see what sparks your interest (again, it is still pre-release software, so use it at your own risk).

But be careful

Tread carefully with any applets you don’t understand. Most are safe, but don’t toy around with the Windows registry unless you really know what you’re doing. You could seriously mess up Windows on your computer.

Multiple shortcut combinations as key chords

Depending on how you like to organize your shortcuts, we can even use a sequential shortcut if we press a second main key without releasing any of the modifier keys. This similar but also a little different from a Word “two-key” shortcut which is most commonly used when accessing the menu options via the keyboard. PowerToys refers to its version as a “chord.” When remapping shortcuts in the PowerToys key selection dialog, toggle “Allow chords” to On and press the desired key combination pair.

Why use shortcut chords?

You might use a chorded shortcut for complimentary macro actions such as inserting an empty paragraph above or below the current paragraph. They’re basically the same action, so it makes sense to keep the respective shortcuts very similar. In PowerToys, the respective chords might keep the same first key combination but change the second main key for the different macros.

For example (not used in this article), you might use Control+Win+Return,U to insert an empty paragraph above the current one or Control+Win+Return,D to insert a paragraph below. It’s a little clunkier with the extra key tap, but you might prefer the first key press being the same. It will also squeeze more easily remembered macros into your shortcut toolbox.

Difference with “two-key” Word shortcuts …

A subtle difference exists with how the keys are pressed in sequence in Word with “two-key” shortcuts. In Word, we would release the initial key combination of a two-key shortcut before pressing the second key. The PowerToys version requires the modifier keys to remain pressed for the second main key. The PowerToys version can be used with many Windows actions rather than just inside Word.

Other options

If you’re not happy with using PowerToys for remapping shortcuts, several other options exist (not exhaustive).

Fancy keyboards

Certain higher end keyboards allow remapping key using custom vendor software. Logitech, for example, has the Logitech Options app that works with many of their keyboards and mice, but other companies have similar offerings.

AutoHotkey

AutoHotkey is a free scripting app for Windows that uses text-based scripts, but the learning curve is relatively steep if you’re new to scripting. It is, however, a powerful scripting app, and key remapping using it is relatively easy even if the syntax resembles computerized hieroglyphics at first.

If you’re willing to dive into the app, the remapped keys are stored in a text file, so you could quickly and easily restore them later if anything happens to reset your shortcuts. Like PowerToys, AutoHotkey needs to be running, but that is also true for any app that needs to detect real time actions.

Elgato Stream Deck

This is getting into different territory using hardware, but we can also trigger our Word macros by assigning buttons on a Stream Deck to the respective shortcuts. The intended use is for quick access to actions while streaming real time content, but they’re general enough they can be adapted for pure productivity tasks like writing and editing. I like it, but it does take some time to set it up. Stream Decks are not overly expensive but probably enough so that you should probably be nearing your keyboard shortcut limit and making frequent use of macro shortcuts in Word before buying a Stream Deck.

Anything else?

Well … a little, kind of, maybe, but …

Some other options exist, but I haven’t used them to be able to recommend any. The above options are the ones I would most likely use.

I don’t like installing dedicated apps from smaller vendors, and I am especially wary of free apps not developed by a major player. The best option is for Microsoft to allow the Win key for Word shortcuts, but until then, PowerToys is also created and supported by Microsoft, and it is still being actively improved and updated. My second choice would be AutoHotkey.

If you search the topic, you may find the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator that seems easy to use if you look at screenshots, but it is no longer officially supported as of Windows 11. Microsoft recommends using the Keyboard Manager app within PowerToys.

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