MS Word Shortcuts and Features That Appear in Computer Tests
The MS Word keyboard shortcuts, ribbon tabs and features most often asked in clerk and computer operator tests, grouped so they are easy to remember.
By the World MCQ Forum Editorial Team · 27 October 2026 · 2 min read
MS Word questions in recruitment tests are mostly about shortcuts and where features live on the ribbon. They are easy marks if you have actually used Word, and surprisingly hard if you have only read a list. The fix: open Word while you read this and try each shortcut once.
All shortcuts below are for Microsoft Word on Windows.
Formatting text
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + D | Open the Font dialog box |
| Shift + F3 | Change case (UPPER, lower, Capitalize Each Word) |
Aligning paragraphs
Three are easy: L for Left, R for Right, J for Justify. Centre uses E (from cEntre), because Ctrl + C is already taken by Copy.
| Shortcut | Alignment |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + L | Left |
| Ctrl + E | Centre |
| Ctrl + R | Right |
| Ctrl + J | Justify (aligned to both margins) |
Files and editing
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | New document |
| Ctrl + O | Open |
| Ctrl + S | Save |
| F12 | Save As |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Y | Undo / redo (or repeat) |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + X / C / V | Cut / copy / paste |
Finding and moving around
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + F | Find (Navigation pane) |
| Ctrl + H | Replace |
| Ctrl + G | Go To (page, line, section) |
| Ctrl + Enter | Insert a page break |
| Shift + Enter | Line break within the same paragraph |
| F7 | Spelling and grammar check |
| Ctrl + K | Insert hyperlink |
Where features live on the ribbon
Many questions ask “Under which tab is X found?”
- Home: fonts, paragraph formatting, styles, find and replace
- Insert: tables, pictures, shapes, header and footer, page numbers, hyperlinks
- Layout: margins, orientation, page size, columns
- References: table of contents, footnotes, citations, captions
- Mailings: mail merge, envelopes, labels
- Review: spelling, comments, track changes
- View: read mode, print layout, zoom, rulers
File formats
- .docx: the default Word format since Word 2007
- .doc: the older Word 97–2003 format
- .dotx: a Word template
- .pdf: Word can save directly to PDF through Save As
Common feature questions
- Mail Merge creates many personalized letters or labels from one document and a list of recipients.
- Track Changes records every edit so another person can accept or reject it.
- Header and footer text repeats at the top or bottom of every page.
- Page orientation is either portrait (tall) or landscape (wide).
Practise
Once you have tried the shortcuts in Word, test yourself with our MS Office MCQs. If any answer surprises you, open Word and try it again. That second attempt is usually the one that sticks.