Headings shortcut in Word?

I use headings a lot in my document and I like to use the navigation pane to quickly look through them. The "issue" is that the only way I know how to open the navigation pane is to hit ctrl+f and then go from the find tab back to headings. I was wondering if I could save a click by using some sort of shortcut to open the headings tab directly without having to go through find. It feel like there should be a way since when I close and then reopen it flashes to the heading section only to switch back to find. Thanks for the help!


Is there a shortcut to open the navigation pane?

Use Alt,W,K to toggle (Open and close) the Navigation pane.

You can also open the Navigation pane by clicking the page count in the status bar.

Sources Word 2013 Shortcuts and Move around in a document using the Navigation pane


Headings shortcut in Word

Below are some shortcut keys that work for "style headings" in Word and apparently these work from version 2007-2016. Additionally, you can look over the "How to Assign a Shortcut Key to a Style in Word" post for instructions to assign a shortcut key to a "style in Word" if this is more specifically what you're looking for as well.

Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Word on Windows

Work with headings in Outline view

To do this press. . .

  • Expand text under a heading: ALT+SHIFT+Plus Sign
  • Collapse text under a heading: Alt+Shift+Minus Sign
  • Expand or collapse all text or headings: Alt+Shift+A
  • Show all headings with the Heading 1 style: Alt+Shift+1
  • Show all headings up to Heading n: Alt+Shift+N

Apply Styles to paragraphs

To do this press. . .

  • Apply the Heading 1 style: Alt+Ctrl+1
  • Apply the Heading 2 style: Alt+Ctrl+2
  • Apply the Heading 3 style: Alt+Ctrl+3

Source