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Keyboard Shortcuts in Rich Text Editor

  • 6 minutes to read

The following table lists default keyboard shortcuts and corresponding commands in Rich Text Editor.

To change default shortcuts, use the RichEditControl.RemoveShortcutKey and RichEditControl.AssignShortcutKeyToCommand methods. Refer to the following project for a complete code sample:

File Operations

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+N Creates an empty document. CreateEmptyDocumentCommand
CTRL+O Invokes the Open dialog box to open a new file. LoadDocumentCommand
CTRL+S Saves changes in the current document. SaveDocumentCommand
F12 Invokes the Save as dialog box to save a document in the specified file format to a new location. SaveDocumentAsCommand
CTRL+P Invokes the Print dialog box. PrintCommand
Shortcut Description Command
LEFT ARROW Moves the cursor one character to the left. PreviousCharacterCommand
CTRL+LEFT ARROW Moves the cursor one word to the left. PreviousWordCommand
RIGHT ARROW Moves the cursor one character to the right. NextCharacterCommand
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW Moves the cursor one word to the right. NextWordCommand
DOWN ARROW Moves the cursor down by one line. NextLineCommand
CTRL+DOWN ARROW Move the cursor down by one paragraph. NextParagraphCommand
UP ARROW Moves the cursor up by one line. PreviousLineCommand
CTRL+UP ARROW Moves the cursor up by one paragraph. PreviousParagraphCommand
END Moves the cursor to the end of the current line. EndOfLineCommand
CTRL+END Moves the cursor to the end of the current document. EndOfDocumentCommand
HOME Moves the cursor to the start of the current line. StartOfLineCommand
CTRL+HOME Moves the cursor to the start of the document. StartOfDocumentCommand
PAGE DOWN Moves the cursor by scrolling the document view down by one screen. NextScreenCommand
CTRL+PAGE DOWN Moves the cursor to the top of the next page. NextPageCommand
PAGE UP Move the cursor by scrolling the document view up by one screen. PreviousScreenCommand
CTRL+PAGE UP Moves the cursor to the top of the previous page. PreviousPageCommand

Select Document Content

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+A
CTRL+CLEAR
CTRL+NUM 5
Selects all content. SelectAllCommand
SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW Selects one character to the right. ExtendNextCharacterCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW Selects one word to the right. ExtendNextWordCommand
SHIFT+LEFT ARROW Selects one character to the left. ExtendPreviousCharacterCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW Selects one word to the left. ExtendPreviousWordCommand
SHIFT+DOWN ARROW Extends the selection one line down. ExtendNextLineCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW Selects content from the current position to the paragraph end. ExtendNextParagraphCommand
SHIFT+UP ARROW Extends the selection one line up. ExtendPreviousLineCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+UP ARROW Selects content from the current position to the paragraph start. ExtendPreviousParagraphCommand
SHIFT+END Selects content from the current position to the line end. ExtendEndOfLineCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+END Selects content from the current position to the document end. ExtendEndOfDocumentCommand
SHIFT+HOME Selects content from the current position to the line start. ExtendStartOfLineCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+HOME Selects content from the current position to the document start. ExtendStartOfDocumentCommand
SHIFT+PAGE DOWN Selects content from the current position to the bottom of the screen. ExtendNextScreenCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE DOWN Selects content from the current position to the bottom of the page. ExtendNextPageCommand
SHIFT+PAGE UP Selects content from the current position to the top of the screen. ExtendPreviousScreenCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE UP Selects content from the current position to the top of the page. ExtendPreviousPageCommand

Edit Document Content

Shortcut Description Command
INSERT Turns overtype on and off. ToggleOvertypeCommand
BACKSPACE Deletes one character to the left. BackSpaceKeyCommand
CTRL+BACKSPACE Deletes one word to the left. DeleteWordBackCommand
DELETE Deletes one character to the right. DeleteCommand
CTRL+DELETE Deletes one word to the right. DeleteWordCommand
CTRL+Z
ALT+BACKSPACE
Undo the previous action. UndoCommand
CTRL+Y
ALT+SHIFT+BACKSPACE
Redo the previous action. RedoCommand

Clipboard Operations

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+X
SHIFT+DELETE
Cuts the selected content to the clipboard. CutSelectionCommand
CTRL+C
CTRL+INSERT
Copies the selected content to the clipboard. CopySelectionCommand
CTRL+V
SHIFT+INSERT
Pastes the selected content to the clipboard. PasteSelectionCommand
CTRL+ALT+V Shows the Paste Special dialog. ShowPasteSpecialFormCommand

Align and Format Paragraphs

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+E Centers the paragraph. ToggleParagraphAlignmentCenterCommand
CTRL+J Justifies the paragraph. ToggleParagraphAlignmentJustifyCommand
CTRL+L Aligns the paragraph to the left. ToggleParagraphAlignmentLeftCommand
CTRL+R Aligns the paragraph to the right. ToggleParagraphAlignmentRightCommand
CTRL+1 Applies single spacing to the paragraph. SetSingleParagraphSpacingCommand
CTRL+2 Applies double spacing to the paragraph. SetDoubleParagraphSpacingCommand
CTRL+5 Applies the 1.5-line spacing to the paragraph. SetSesquialteralParagraphSpacingCommand
SHIFT+TAB Decreases the indent by the size of one tab, or inserts the tab. ShiftTabKeyCommand
TAB Increases the indent by the size of one tab, or inserts the tab. TabKeyCommand

Format Characters

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+D Displays the Font dialog. ShowFontFormCommand
CTRL+OEMCLOSEBRACKETS (]) Increases the font size by 1 point. IncrementFontSizeCommand
CTRL+OEMOPENBRACKETS ([) Decreases the font size by 1 point. DecrementFontSizeCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+OEMPERIOD (>) Increases the font size. IncreaseFontSizeCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+OEMCOMMA (<) Decreases the font size. DecreaseFontSizeCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+H Hides the selected text. ToggleHiddenTextCommand
CTRL+B Applies bold formatting. ToggleFontBoldCommand
CTRL+U Applies underline formatting. ToggleFontUnderlineCommand
CTRL+I Applies italics formatting. ToggleFontItalicCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+D Applies double-underline formatting. ToggleFontDoubleUnderlineCommand
CTRL+SPACE Removes manual character formatting. ClearFormattingCommand
CTRL+OEMPLUS (=) Applies subscript formatting. ToggleFontSubscriptCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+OEMPLUS (=) Applies superscript formatting. ToggleFontSuperscriptCommand
SHIFT+F4 Switches the text between upper case, lower case, and title case. ChangeCaseCommand
CTRL+K Opens the Hyperlink dialog. ShowHyperlinkFormCommand

Insert Special Characters

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+SHIFT+8 Shows or hides the hidden formatting symbols. ToggleShowWhitespaceCommand
ENTER Inserts a paragraph. InsertParagraphCommand
SHIFT+ENTER Inserts a line break. InsertLineBreakCommand
CTRL+ENTER Inserts a page break. InsertPageBreakCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER Inserts a column break. InsertColumnBreakCommand
CTRL+Subtract Inserts an en dash (–). InsertEnDashCommand
CTRL+ALT+Subtract Inserts an em dash (–). InsertEmDashCommand
CTRL+ALT+T Insert a trademark symbol (™). InsertTrademarkSymbolCommand
CTRL+ALT+R Inserts a registered trademark symbol (®). InsertRegisteredTrademarkSymbolCommand
CTRL+ALT+C Inserts a copyright symbol (©). InsertCopyrightSymbolCommand
CTRL+ALT+OEMPERIOD (<) Inserts an ellipsis (…) InsertEllipsisCommand
CTRL+- Insert an optional hyphen. InsertHyphenCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+- Inserts a non-breaking hyphen. InsertNonBreakingHyphenCommand
Ctrl+ShIFT+SPACE Inserts a non-breaking space. InsertNonBreakingSpaceCommand
Ctrl+TAB Inserts a tab character. InsertTabCommand.

Work With Fields

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+F9 Inserts an empty field. CreateFieldCommand
F9 Updates the selected field. UpdateFieldsCommand
ALT+F9 Switches between all field codes and their results. ToggleAllFieldsCommand
CTRL+F11 Locks a field. LockFieldCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+F11 Unlocks a field. UnlockFieldCommand
CTRL+SHIFT+F9 Replaces a field with its value (unlinks a field). UnlinkFieldsCommand

Outline a Document

Shortcut Description Command
ALT+SHIFT+LEFT ARROW Promotes a paragraph. DecrementParagraphOutlineLevelCommand
ALT+SHIFT+RIGHT ARROW Demotes a paragraph. IncrementParagraphOutlineLevelCommand

Find and Replace

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL+F Displays the Find dialog. FindCommand
CTRL+H Displays the Replace dialog. ReplaceCommand
F3 Moves to the next found entry. FindNextCommand
SHIFT+F3 Moves to the previous found entry. FindPrevCommand

List Operations

Shortcut Description Command
ALT+I Increments paragraph numeration in a numbering list. IncrementNumerationFromParagraphCommand
CTRL+ALT+I Decrements paragraph numeration in a numbering list. DecrementNumerationFromParagraphCommand

Review a Document

Shortcut Description Command
CTRL + SHIFT + E Turns Track Changes on or off. ToggleTrackChangesCommand
See Also