Use these character formatting shortcuts to save retyping in Word.

Take the shortcut! Whether you need to change the case or switch formats, it's easy with these Word shortcuts.

When preparing a Word document for publication, you want to spend as little time retyping as possible. Here are some shortcuts for reducing time spent editing text.

As you edit your document, you notice that all your headers are lowercase, when they should be initial caps. To make that change, follow these steps:

• Hold down [Ctrl] while selecting the headers to be changed.
• Press [Shift][F3].

Pressing [Shift][F3] twice converts the headers to all uppercase; pressing [F3] again brings it back to lowercase. Alternatively, you can press [Ctrl][Shift]A to convert a block of text to all caps, or press [Ctrl][Shift]K to convert it to small caps.

Then, you spot that the author has used the Underline button to underline selected text. While the Underline button is convenient to use, it underlines an entire selection, including the spaces between the words. If you don't want the spaces underlined, follow these steps:

• Select the underlined text to be changed.
• Press [Ctrl][Shift]W.

Anytime you want to return characters to the default formats for the document template, you don't need to go back and reformat the font. For example, suppose you notice that reviewers have changed the font size and you want to return it back to the style format. Follow these steps:

• Select the text to be changed.
• Press [Ctrl][spacebar).