KeyTips now available in Office for Mac

(Originally published on June 21, 2024 by Hugo Garcia)

Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! My name is Hugo Garcia and I'm a Product Manager on the Microsoft 365 team. I'm excited to announce that KeyTip support is finally coming to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Mac! You can also use KeyTips in Word for the web, Excel for the web, and PowerPoint for the web.

KeyTips now available in Office for Mac

KeyTips are keyboard shortcuts for items in the ribbon menu in Microsoft applications. They provide a quick way to navigate and perform tasks with your keyboard—no clicking required.

You might be familiar with KeyTips on your Windows PC, and they function the same way on a Mac.

Enabling KeyTips

1. Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote.
2. In the Mac menu bar, open app preferences (e.g., "Excel" > "Preferences").
   
3. Select Accessibility.
   
4. Under KeyTips, the Activation keystroke setting lets you choose which key will show KeyTips.
   
   If you want to use the same key as a PC, chose the Option key (⌥). If you are not using a Mac keyboard, the Option key (⌥) might be labeled "Alt" on your physical keyboard.
   
   

How it works

1. Press the Option (⌥) or Alt key. KeyTip shortcuts will appear over your ribbon tabs, as well as the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) and the buttons on the right of the ribbon.Visual appearance of KeyTips in Excel for Mac
2. Find the command you want to use and press the characters shown in the KeyTip over that command.

NOTE: Some KeyTips lead to additional KeyTips. For example, if the Home tab is active and you press N, the Insert tab appears along with KeyTips for items in that tab.

Tips and tricks

• For a list of commonly used KeyTips shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts for KeyTips.
• To cancel an action and hide KeyTips, press the Esc or Option (⌥) keys.
• When navigating a dropdown or a menu, use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move between items, and press the spacebar to execute it.

Availability

KeyTips in Office for Mac are available to Beta Channel users of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Mac running Version 16.86 (Build 24052212) or later. You can also use KeyTips in Word for the web, Excel for the web, and PowerPoint for the web.

The feature will become available to all users in the coming months.

Feedback

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