Shortcut for Full-Screen Mode

Word includes a full-screen mode that minimizes the extraneous information (tools, menus, etc.) displayed on the screen. The normal way of switching to full-screen mode is to choose View | Full Screen. You exit the mode by either clicking the Close Full Screen button or by pressing Esc.

If you'd like to use a keyboard shortcut to enter full-screen mode, one method is to press Alt+V, then U. (These are the keystrokes to activate the proper menu choices.) In older versions of Word (those before Word 97), you could press F10 to switch to full-screen mode; that shortcut is no longer available.

To create your own shortcut, follow these steps:

1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
2. Click the Keyboard button. Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. In the list of Categories, choose View.
4. In the list of Commands, choose ToggleFull.
5. Place the insertion point in the Press New Shortcut Key box.
6. Press the shortcut key you want to use, such as Alt+S.
7. Click Assign.
8. Close the dialog boxes.

One interesting thing is that when you assign a shortcut in this manner, the same key is used to switch to and from full-screen mode. This is possible because the command you assign to the shortcut is actually a toggle.