Word 2013 cheat sheet: Ribbon quick reference

Microsoft Word 2013
Microsoft

These charts accompany our story Word 2013 cheat sheet. Click through to that article for detailed information on how to get the most out of Word 2013.

For the most part, Word 2013's Ribbon is intuitive to use, but it's not always easy to figure out where each command is located. To help, the charts below show each Ribbon tab with its most commonly used commands; we've also included keyboard shortcuts.

File tab | Home tab | Insert tab | Design tab | Page Layout tab
References tab | Mailings tab | Review tab | View tab
Contextual tabs (Picture Tools, Table Tools, Chart Tools)


File tab/backstage

The File tab behaves a little differently from the other Ribbon tabs. Instead of seeing a set of commands on the Ribbon above your document, when you click the File tab you're taken to an area that Microsoft calls "the backstage."

Rather than making changes within a document, this area lets you work with a document and Word overall. You'll find common tasks such as opening, saving and printing a document, as well as special screens for managing the document, customizing Word and managing your Office account.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon File tab/backstageIDG

The File tab/backstage

Useful File tab/backstage commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the File tab File tab Alt-F
Start a new document File tab --> New Ctrl-N or Alt-F, N
Open a document File tab --> Open Ctrl-O or Alt-F, O
Close a document File tab --> Close Ctrl-W or Alt-F, C
Save a document File tab --> Save Ctrl-S or Alt-F, S
Save a document with a different file name in a different location File tab --> Save As F12 or Alt-F, A
Print a document File tab --> Print Ctrl-P
Set a document's permissions File tab --> Info --> Protect Document n/a
Share a document via email, the Web, SharePoint, etc. File tab --> Share Alt-F, H
Convert a document to a different file format File tab --> Export Alt-F, E
Customize the way Word looks and works, including the commands shown on each Ribbon tab File tab --> Options Alt-F, T
Manage your Office, Windows and OneDrive accounts File tab --> Account Alt-F, D

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Home tab

This tab contains the most-used Word features, such as tools for changing fonts and font attributes, customizing paragraphs, using styles, and finding and replacing text.


Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Home tabIDG

The Home tab

Useful Home tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the Home tab Home tab Alt-H
Copy selection to the clipboard Home tab --> Clipboard group --> Copy Ctrl-C or Alt-H, C
Delete selection and copy it to the clipboard Home tab --> Clipboard group --> Cut Ctrl-X or Alt-H, X
Paste from the clipboard Home tab --> Clipboard group --> Paste Ctrl-V or Alt-H, V
Paste from the clipboard and choose formatting Home tab --> Clipboard group --> Paste --> Paste Special Alt-H, V, S
Format text (font, size, bold, italic, underline, color, highlighting, etc.) Home tab --> Font group Varies by command; see keyboard shortcuts table
Format paragraph (line spacing, left/right alignment, indenting, bulleted/numbered lists, etc.) Home tab --> Paragraph group Varies by command; see keyboard shortcuts table
Apply preset styles for normal text, headings, etc. Home tab --> Styles group Alt-H, L
Find a word, phrase or heading, or see thumbnails of all pages in the document Home tab --> Editing group --> Find Ctrl-F or Alt-H, FD
Find and replace a word or phrase Home tab --> Editing group --> Replace Ctrl-H or Alt-H, R
Select everything in the document Home tab --> Editing group --> Select --> Select All Ctrl-A

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Insert tab

As you'd probably guess, this one handles anything you might want to insert into a document, such as tables, pictures, charts, hyperlinks, bookmarks, headers and footers... you get the idea.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Insert tabIDG

The Insert tab

Useful Insert tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the Insert tab Insert tab Alt-N
Insert a page break Insert tab --> Pages group --> Page Break Ctrl-Enter or Alt-N, B
Insert a table Insert tab --> Tables group --> Table Alt-N, T
Insert a picture from your computer Insert tab --> Illustrations group --> Pictures Alt-N, P
Insert an online picture Insert tab --> Illustrations group --> Online Pictures Alt-N, F
Insert a shape Insert tab --> Illustrations group --> Shapes Alt-N, SH
Insert a chart Insert tab --> Illustrations group --> Chart Alt-N, C
Insert a screenshot Insert tab --> Illustrations group --> Screenshot Alt-N, SC
Insert an online video Insert tab --> Media group --> Online Video Alt-N, NV
Insert a hyperlink Insert tab --> Links Ctrl-K or Alt-N, ZL, I
Insert a comment Insert tab --> Comments group --> Comment Alt-Ctrl-M or Alt-N, L
Insert a header Insert tab --> Header & Footer group --> Header Alt-N, H
Insert a footer Insert tab --> Header & Footer group --> Footer Alt-N, O
Insert page numbers Insert tab --> Header & Footer group --> Page Number Alt-N, NU

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Design tab

This tab lets you work with a document's overall design, from choosing a pre-designed template or theme to customizing colors, fonts, paragraph spacing and more. It's new to Office in 2013, and some of its commands are similar to those found on the Home tab and Page Layout tab. But there's an overall difference: The Design tab is for changes affecting the entire document, and the other two tabs are generally for changes in individual parts of the document, like paragraphs.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Design tabIDG

The Design tab

Useful Design tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the Design tab Design tab Alt-G
Choose a theme for the document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Themes Alt-G, TH
Choose a style for the document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> select a style thumbnail Alt-G, S
Customize text colors for the whole document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Colors Alt-G, TC
Customize fonts for the whole document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Fonts Alt-G, TF
Set paragraph spacing for the whole document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Paragraph Spacing Alt-G, PS
Add borders, shadows, shadings, etc. Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Effects Alt-G, TE
Set the current style as the default when starting a new document Design tab --> Document Formatting group --> Set as Default Alt-G, D
Add a watermark Design tab --> Page Background group --> Watermark Alt-G, PW
Customize the pages' background color or borders Design tab --> Page Background group --> Page Color or Page Borders Page color: Alt-G, PC
Page borders: Alt-G, PB

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Page Layout tab

Here's where you change margins and page size and orientation, set up columns, align objects, add effects and so on. There are some gray areas between this tab, the Home tab and the Design tab. For example, on the Page Layout tab you set indents and spacing between paragraphs, while on the Home tab you set paragraph alignment and spacing between lines.

And while some commands are shared with the Design tab, the changes you make on the Page Layout tab generally affect individual paragraphs or sections of the document you've selected, whereas changes you make on the Design tab affect the entire document.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Page Layout tabIDG

The Page Layout tab

Useful Page Layout tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the Page Layout tab Page Layout Alt-P
Set the margins for the document Page Layout tab --> Page Setup group --> Margins Alt-P, M
Set the page orientation Page Layout tab --> Page Setup group --> Orientation --> Portrait or Landscape Alt-P, O
Set the page width and height Page Layout tab --> Page Setup group --> Size Alt-P, SZ
Designate the number of columns on the page Page Layout tab --> Page Setup group --> Columns Alt-P, J
Insert a page, column or section break Page Layout tab --> Page Setup group --> Breaks Page break: Ctrl-Enter or Alt-P, BP
Column break: Ctrl-Shift-Enter or Alt-P, BC
Section break: Alt-P, B
Set the indentation style for the current paragraph or selected paragraphs Page Layout tab --> Paragraph group --> Indent drop-downs Indent left: Alt-P, IL
Indent right: Alt-P, IR
Set paragraph spacing for the current paragraph or selected paragraphs Page Layout tab --> Paragraph group --> Spacing drop-downs Spacing above paragraphs: Alt-P, SB
Spacing below paragraphs: Alt-P, SA
Position a picture in text Page Layout tab --> Arrange group --> Position Alt-P, PO
Wrap text around a picture Page Layout tab --> Arrange group --> Wrap Text Alt-P, TW
Align text Page Layout tab --> Arrange group --> Align Alt-P, AA

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References tab

This tab handles tables of contents, footnotes, bibliographies, indexes and similar material. It also lets you insert a "Table of Authorities," which sounds like something straight out of a Soviet bureaucracy but in fact is a list of references used in legal documents.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon References tabIDG

The References tab

Useful References tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the References tab Reference Alt-S
Add or format a table of contents References tab --> Table of Contents group Alt-S, T
Insert a footnote References tab --> Footnotes group --> Insert Footnote Alt-Ctrl-F or Alt-S, F
Insert an endnote References tab --> Footnotes group --> Insert Endnote Alt-Ctrl-D or Alt-S, E
See all footnotes/endnotes References tab --> Footnotes group --> Show Notes Alt-S, H
Add a bibliography References tab --> Citations & Bibliography group --> Bibliography Alt-S, B
Insert a citation References tab --> Citations & Bibliography group --> Insert citation Alt-S, C
Manage sources References tab --> Citations & Bibliography group --> Manage Sources Alt-S, M
Insert a figure caption or insert/update table of figures References tab --> Captions group Alt-S, P
Mark an index entry References tab --> Index group --> Mark Entry Alt-Shift-X or Alt-S, N
Insert an index or update the index References tab --> Index group --> Insert Index or Update Index Insert index: Alt-S, X
Update index: Alt-S, D

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Mailings tab

As the name says, this is where you'll go for anything to do with mailings, from something as simple as creating labels to the more daunting task of mail merges.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Mailings tabIDG

The Mailings tab

Useful Mailings tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to the Mailings tab Mailings Alt-M
Create envelopes or mailing labels Mailings tab --> Create group --> Envelopes or Labels Envelopes: Alt-M, E
Labels: Alt-M-L
Begin a mail merge Mailings tab --> Start Mail Merge group --> Start Mail Merge Alt-M, S
Choose mail recipients Mailings tab --> Start Mail Merge group --> Select Recipients or Edit Recipient List Select recipients: Alt-M, R
Edit recipient list: Alt-M, D
Add a greeting line Mailings tab --> Write & Insert Fields group --> Greeting Line Alt-M, G
Insert a field into the merge Mailings tab --> Write & Insert Fields group --> Insert Merge Field Alt-M, I
Create rules for the mail merge Mailings tab --> Write & Insert Fields group --> Rules Alt-M, U
Preview the mailing Mailings tab --> Preview Results group --> Preview Results Alt-M, P
Check the mailing for errors Mailings tab --> Preview Results group --> Check for Errors Alt-M, K
Finalize the mail merge Mailings tab --> Finish group --> Finish & Merge Alt-M, F

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Review tab

Need to check spelling and grammar, look up a word in a thesaurus, work in markup mode, review other people's markups or compare documents? This is the tab for you.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Review tabIDG

The Review tab

Useful Review tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to Review tab Review Alt-R
Run a spelling and grammar check Review tab --> Proofing group --> Spelling & Grammar F7 or Alt-R, S
Translate text Review tab --> Language group --> Translate Alt-R, L
Set the language used to proof the document Review tab --> Language group --> Language Alt-R, U
Insert a comment Review tab --> Comments group --> New Comment Alt-Ctrl-M or Alt-R, C
Show all comments in the document Review tab --> Comments group --> Show Comments Alt-R, K
Stop showing comments Review tab --> Tracking group --> Show Markup --> uncheck the Comments box Alt-R, TM, then uncheck the Comments box
Turn change tracking on/off Review tab --> Tracking group --> Track Changes Ctrl-Shift-E or Alt-R, GG
Lock change tracking on Review tab --> Tracking group --> Track Changes --> Lock Tracking Alt-R, GL
Show/hide markup Review tab --> Tracking group --> Show Markup Alt-R, TM, then choose the kind of markup you want to show or hide
Use Simple Markup view Review tab --> Tracking group --> change All Markup to Simple Markup Alt-R, TD, then choose Simple Markup
Show/hide Reviewing Pane Review tab --> Tracking group --> Reviewing Pane Show as vertical pane: Alt-R, TP, V
Show as horizontal pane: Alt-R, TP, H
Review and accept or reject changes Review tab --> Changes group --> Accept or Reject Accept: Alt-R, A
Reject: Alt-R, J
Compare documents Review tab --> Compare group --> Compare Alt-R, M, C
Control who can edit the document or what changes can be made Review tab --> Protect group --> Block Authors or Restrict Editing Block authors: Alt-R, PB
Restrict editing: Alt-R, PE

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View tab

Here's where to go when you want to change the view in any way, including displaying a ruler and grid lines, zooming in and out, splitting a window in two and so on.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon View tabIDG

The View tab

Useful View tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Go to View tab View Alt-W
Switch the view to Read Mode View tab --> Views group --> Read Mode Alt-W, F or Alt-V, R
Switch the view to Print Layout View tab --> Views group --> Print Layout Alt-Ctrl-P or Alt-W,P
Switch the view to Web Layout View tab --> Views group --> Web Layout Alt-W, L or Alt-V, W
Switch the view to Outline View tab --> Views group --> Outline Alt-Ctrl-O or Alt-W, U
Switch the view to Draft View tab --> Views group --> Draft Alt-Ctrl-N or Alt-W, E
Show/hide ruler or gridlines View tab --> Show group --> Ruler or Gridlines Ruler: Alt-W, R
Gridlines: Alt-W, G
Show the Navigation Pane View tab --> Show group --> Navigation Pane Alt-W, K
Zoom the document view in or out View tab --> Zoom group --> Zoom Alt-W, Q or Alt-V, Z
View the document at full size View tab --> Zoom group --> 100% Alt-W, J
Open the same document in a new window View tab --> Window --> New Window Alt-W, N
Split the current document window or remove a split View tab --> Window --> Split/Remove Split Split: Alt-Ctrl-S or Alt-W, S
Remove Split: Alt-Shift-C or Alt-W, S
View macros View tab --> Macros --> View Macros Alt-W, MV
Record macros View tab --> Macros --> Record Macro Alt-W, MR
Pause recording/resume recorder View tab --> Macros --> Pause Recording/Resume Recorder Pause recording: Alt-W, MP
Resume recorder Alt-W, MR

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Contextual tabs

Some tabs are not part of the basic Ribbon but appear only in certain contexts. For instance, the Picture Tools/Format tab appears only when you've inserted an image into your document and your cursor is positioned in the image area. It lets you do everything from cropping the image to positioning it on the page.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Picture Tools tabIDG

The Picture Tools/Format tab

When you insert a table into your document and position your cursor in it, two new tabs appear: Table Tools/Design and Table Tools/Layout. The Design tab lets you control the table's style, including borders and shading, while the Layout tab lets you specify the number of rows and columns, merge and split cells, sort the table's data and more.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Table Tools tabsIDG

The Table Tools/Design and Table Tools/Layout tabs

Similarly, when you insert a chart into your document and position your cursor in it, you see the Chart Tools/Design and Chart Tools/Format tabs. The Design tab lets you set what the chart looks like and what data appears in it, and the Format tab lets you control how it integrates with the page and do things such as change the styles of the shapes and lines in the chart.

Word 2013 cheat sheet - Ribbon Chart Tools tabsIDG

The Chart Tools/Design and Chart Tools/Format tabs

Following are some of the most commonly used commands from these contextual tabs. Note that the keyboard shortcuts only work if your cursor is in the picture, table or chart.

Useful contextual tab commands

Action Word 2013 Ribbon location Keyboard shortcut
Select a picture style Picture Tools/Format tab --> Picture Styles group Alt-JP, K
Sharpen, soften or change the brightness/contrast of a photo Picture Tools/Format tab --> Adjust group --> Corrections Alt-JP, R
Change the color saturation or tone of a photo, or re-color it Picture Tools/Format tab --> Adjust group --> Color Alt-JP, I
Select a table style Table Tools/Design tab --> Table Styles group Alt-JT, S
Select a chart style Chart Tools/Design tab --> Chart Styles group Alt-JC, S

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See our Word 2013 cheat sheet to get the most out of Word 2013.

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