For lawyers, the most important writing software is Microsoft Word. The post below shares advanced keyboard shortcuts and a macro from my current setup that can reduce Word headaches and make you more efficient. First, though, a plug for Thursday’s AI Workflows for Lawyers presentation:
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The post below covers two advanced tips from my Word setup:
LegalFormatFixes: A macro to fix the common legal formatting problems in one keypress
Advanced keyboard shortcuts for lawyers (see also this post)
You can find other tips in Chapter 11 of Elegant Legal Writing (“Writing with Technology”). For more comprehensive coverage of Word, I made an Advanced Microsoft Word for Lawyers screencast for my law students and associates a few years ago; it’s still worth watching, as the software’s fundamentals haven’t changed.
Install my LegalFormatFixes macro
I’ve assigned the shortcut F8 to run my “LegalFormatFixes” macro in Word. This macro trims excess spaces; replaces straight quotation marks with curved quotation marks and apostrophes; and replaces plain spaces with nonbreaking spaces after § and ¶ in one keypress. The macro is also called automatically whenever I run a different macro that updates the TOC/TOA/cross-refs and saves to PDF.1
Paul Beverley introduced me to many useful macros. His Word Macro Tools website is a useful place to start if you’d like to learn more about them. Advanced Claude and ChatGPT models make it much easier to design and install macros than it used to be.
Download LegalFormatFixes and installation instructions (free). The download includes instructions for assigning the F8 key to the macro.
Set up keyboard shortcuts for characters and tools you use often
One principle for using computers efficiently is to use the keyboard more and the mouse less. This requires learning and using keyboard shortcuts — and setting up your own. (A text expansion program is also essential.)
Keyboard shortcuts are especially important in Word because its menus are confusing and bloated with features that most lawyers never use. It shouldn’t take several clicks to insert a cross-reference field or a section or pilcrow character (§ or ¶).
Along with knowing the basic built-in shortcuts (cut, copy, paste, undo, select-all, find, and hyperlink), lawyers should learn or create keyboard shortcuts for commands they use often. A good first shortcut to create is one that maps a function key (like F4) to the Word command ToolsCustomizeKeyboard; this lets you quickly create shortcuts for any command, sparing you the need to hunt for the Customize Keyboard dialog each time you need it.2
To pull that dialog up for the first time, before you’ve set up a shortcut:
Mac: Tools > Customize Keyboard
Windows: File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts: Customize
The command names below are the names to look for under the All Commands row in the Customize Keyboard dialog.
Legend for Mac keys: ⌘ = Command; ⌥ = Option; ⌃ = Control; ⇧ = Shift. The shortcuts assume a U.S. keyboard. Function keys may also require Fn. Each entry lists Mac first, then Windows.
Navigating text
EditGoTo — Go to a page, heading, or other target. Mac: F5 or ⌥⌘G. Windows: F5 or Ctrl+G.
GoBack — Return to a previous edit. Mac: ⇧F5. Windows: Shift+F5.
Move, select, or delete by word. On Mac, use ⌥← / ⌥→ to move between words; add ⇧ to select words as you go; and use ⌥Delete to delete the preceding word. On Windows, use Ctrl+← / Ctrl+→ to move, add Shift to select, and use Ctrl+Backspace to delete the preceding word.
Finding and formatting
EditFindDialog (Mac) / EditFind (Windows) — Advanced Find. I remap the standard Find shortcut (⌘F on Mac, Ctrl + F on Windows) to one of these commands.
PasteTextOnly — Paste without source formatting. Mac: ⇧⌘V. Windows: Ctrl+Shift+V.
CopyFormat / PasteFormat — Copy and apply text formatting. Mac: ⌥⌘C / ⌥⌘V. Windows: Ctrl+Alt+C / Ctrl+Alt+V.
InsertPageBreak — Mac: ⌘Return. Windows: Ctrl+Enter.
Review and proofing
InsertAnnotation — Insert a comment. Mac: ⌥⌘A. Windows: Ctrl+Alt+M.
ToolsProofing — Check spelling and grammar. F7 on either platform. Word’s spelling and grammar functions are inexplicably poor, but they can still catch basic errors.
AcceptChangesOrAdvance / RejectChangesOrAdvance — Assign shortcuts to these commands to review tracked changes more efficiently. My Mac shortcuts are ⌃⌥A and ⌃⌥R. On Windows, you can assign Ctrl+Alt+A and Ctrl+Alt+R.
ShowAll — Show or hide formatting marks, making extra spaces, tabs, and paragraph breaks visible. Mac: ⌘8. Windows: Ctrl+Shift+8 (use the number row).
ToolsRevisionMarksToggle — Turn change tracking on or off. Mac: ⇧⌘E. Windows: Ctrl+Shift+E. Turning tracking off preserves existing tracked changes.
References and fields
InsertFootnoteNow — Mac: ⌥⌘F. Windows: Ctrl+Alt+F.
InsertCrossReference — Assign a shortcut; on Mac, I suggest ⇧⌘C if it isn’t assigned to another command you use.
MarkCitation — Mark a table of authorities entry. Mac: ⌥⇧I. Windows: Alt+Shift+I.
UpdateFields — Update selected fields. F9 on either platform.
ToggleFieldDisplay — Show selected field codes or results. Mac: ⇧F9. Windows: Shift+F9.
ViewFieldCodes — Show all field codes or results. Mac: ⌥F9. Windows: Alt+F9.
Symbols
To assign shortcuts for these symbols, use Tools > Customize Keyboard > Common Symbols on Mac or Insert > Symbol > More Symbols > Special Characters > Shortcut Key on Windows.
Nonbreaking Space — Mac: ⌥Spacebar. Windows: Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar.
Nonbreaking Hyphen — On Mac, assign a shortcut; I suggest ⌃⌥Hyphen. On Windows, use Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen.
Section (§) — Mac: ⌥6. Windows: Alt+0167 on the numeric keypad. Replace the Windows one with a sensible alternative.
Paragraph/pilcrow (¶) — Mac: ⌥7. Windows: type 00B6, select those four characters, then press Alt+X. Replace the Windows one with a sensible alternative.
En Dash (–) — Use for numeric ranges. Mac: ⌥Hyphen. Windows: Ctrl+numeric-keypad minus.
Em Dash (—) — Use to set off an interruption or parenthetical thought or create an emphatic mid-sentence break (see this post for guidance). Mac: ⌥⇧Hyphen. Windows: Ctrl+Alt+numeric-keypad minus.
Sources: Microsoft’s Word shortcut reference, hyphenation guide, and symbol-code reference. Shortcut behavior can vary with Word version, keyboard layout, and local customization.
On Mac, go to Insert, then Advanced Symbol. Click Special Characters, and nonbreaking space is one of the options. Click Keyboard Shortcut to assign your own shortcut. On Windows, use Insert > Symbol > More Symbols > Special Characters > Shortcut Key.
What you need for page ranges is an en dash. If you have a Mac, you hold Option and hit hyphen. An en dash is slightly longer than a hyphen. The third type is called an em dash; that’s used more commonly in the text to break up text.
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Ryan McCarl is a partner of the business litigation firm Rushing McCarl LLP and author of Elegant Legal Writing (Univ. Cal. Press 2024). For more tips about legal writing and argumentation, subscribe to the Elegant Legal Writing blog and follow Ryan on LinkedIn. McCarl’s book is available on Amazon and Audible.
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The downloadable LegalFormatFixes macro just handles the formatting fixes, not field updates or saving to a PDF.
When you do need to find a command in the Word menu, the best strategy is to type part of the command’s name in the Help search bar. (The same move works in Google Docs.)