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In the article How to add an automated signature to a Microsoft Discussion document, I showed you how to employ Quick Parts in Word to insert a graphic of your signature. If you're non familiar with this feature, information technology lets you save reusable content—text, graphics, and formatting—and so that yous can insert these pieces into documents, saving a lot of time and eliminating typos.

Manually inserting a Quick Parts item, or block, via the interface is easy and quick but using a shortcut keystroke is sometimes easier. Assign shortcuts when yous utilize an item oft or if you use several frequently. In this article, I'll show you how to assign a keyboard shortcut to a Quick Parts item. This feature is part of the larger Building Blocks characteristic, then throughout this commodity, I will use the term block.

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I'm using Microsoft 365, but yous tin utilize older versions. There's no demonstration file because yous won't need one. Custom shortcuts aren't supported by the browser edition.

How to add blocks of reusable content to Quick Parts in Word

If you already know how to create a block, you can probably skip this department, but yous will need one in the next section. Permit'due south use CBSi's address to illustrate how to add a cake. First, enter the address and add together a bit of formatting—brand the visitor proper noun bold, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

Select all iii lines of the accost and continue as follows:

  1. Click the Insert tab so click Quick Parts in the Text group.
  2. Choose Save Selection to Quick Function Gallery.
  3. In the resulting dialog, Word will assign the first line in the pick every bit the item's name. When applying this to your own piece of work, choose meaningful and short names. The other settings depend on your situation. For instance, you lot might save different addresses to dissimilar templates. For now, retain the default settings (Figure B).
  4. Click OK.

Figure B

To insert the address, click Quick Parts in the Text grouping and choose the address item from the gallery, as shown in Figure C. That'southward only a couple of clicks, and so why create a shortcut at all?

Figure C

In our uncomplicated case, the address thumbnail is at the superlative of the gallery. Once you decide yous like this feature, you will add more. At some bespeak, finding the exact thumbnail among the dozen or more than items you have volition slow you down. The second reason is, in all that thumbnail defoliation, you might select the wrong i and not catch it. Now that we take the address block, let's assign a keyboard shortcut to avoid both potential pitfalls.

How to assign the shortcut

At that place are a lot of steps to assigning a keyboard shortcut, only it isn't difficult. By and large, y'all're digging through the interface to find the options. If y'all have a lot of reusable content blocks, you'll find the effort worth it. First, permit's pull upwardly the Customize Keyboard dialog equally follows:

  1. Click the File bill of fare and choose Options from the left pane.
  2. In the resulting dialog, choose Customize Ribbon in the left pane, which will update the dialog.
  3. At the bottom of the left list, click Customize.

Now you're in the Customize Keyboard dialog, where you'll assign the shortcut every bit follows:

  1. In the Categories listing to the left, select Building Blocks. Information technology's at the lesser of the list. Recall, Quick Parts is function of the Building Blocks feature and if yous review Figure B, you'll run across that you saved the item to a building blocks file.
  2. Choosing Edifice Blocks updates the list to the right. The block you just added will be in that list. Observe it and select it.
  3. Click inside the Press new shortcut key control and press the keys you want as your shortcut. As yous can see in Figure D, I pressed Ctrl+Shift+a (a for address). If your shortcut is already in apply, Give-and-take will warn y'all in the Current keys control (to the left). When this happens, y'all have to make a choice: overwrite the existing shortcut or try a dissimilar set of keys. Nosotros won't change the Normal.dotm setting in the Save changes in dropdown, merely if yous're working with templates, you can save the shortcut to a specific template file, which is helpful.
  4. Click Assign, Close and and so OK.

Figure D

Anytime you want to enter the address, press Ctrl+Shift+a and featherbed the interface. As I mentioned earlier, if you but take a few blocks to enter, using the shortcut isn't easier than the interface. Shortcuts are helpful when y'all have several or yous prefer them over the interface—many users still prefer keyboard shortcuts over grabbing the mouse.