Strikethrough is a feature in Microsoft Office that allows you to cross out (or strike) text in programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
This useful feature allows you to indicate that certain text has been removed or deleted while still visible in your document. Here’s how to use it.
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Use The Ribbon Guide Keyboard Shortcut (Word For Windows)
When using Word on your Windows computer, you can use ribbon guide shortcuts to strike text.
To do this, select the text you wish to strike in the document. With the text selected, hit your computer’s Alt, H, and four buttons. You can use this handy shortcut whenever you want to strike text on Word for Windows.
You don’t need to hold down the keys mentioned above simultaneously; you can hit them one at a time to access and use the ribbon guide shortcuts.
Repeating these keystrokes will undo the strikethrough text effect. Ultimately, this is the fastest method of striking through text while editing a Word document.
Create A Custom Keyboard Shortcut (Word For Windows & Mac)
The steps to create a custom strikethrough keyboard shortcut for Word differs between Windows and Mac operating systems.
Once we’ve outlined the process of creating a custom shortcut on Windows devices, we’ll discuss the process for Mac computers.
For Windows Users:
Microsoft Word allows users to customize their keyboard shortcuts. To do this, you must open File Options and select the “Customize Ribbon” option.
You will now be able to customize your keyboard shortcuts and add a unique keyboard shortcut to strike text whenever it’s used. However, you should avoid using existing shortcut commands.
Using this method, you will also be able to create keyboard shortcuts for other actions in Microsoft Word, regardless of which operating system you’re using.
For instance, you could create a shortcut to double-strike text. The following YouTube video guides you through the steps to set up a custom keyboard shortcut on a Windows computer.
For Mac Users:
Mac computer users can also create a custom keyboard shortcut to use in Word. However, the steps differ slightly from those on a Windows computer.
To do this, open a new Word document and click on Tools in the overhead toolbar that appears.
You can then click on the “Customize Keyboard” option. You can now search for the strikethrough feature and assign it to a custom keyboard key.
You can also use these steps to create other keyboard shortcuts to use on Microsoft Word on your Mac computer.
Use The Word Keyboard Shortcut (Word For Mac)
If you’re using Word on a Mac computer, the fastest way to strike text is by using the keyboard shortcut.
On Mac, the keyboard command can be accessed by holding down CMD, shift, and X. Before using the keyboard shortcut, you should select the text you want to strike from the Word document.
When using Microsoft Office programs on a Mac computer, these handy keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to navigate to many features.
By remembering this key combination, you can easily strike text whenever necessary. These keyboard shortcuts are equivalent to ribbon guide shortcuts on Windows computers.
Use Excel Strikethrough Shortcut (Excel For Windows & Mac)
When working in Excel, you can use a unique strikethrough command that only works in Excel.
The keyboard command differs slightly between Windows and Mac computers due to the differing keyboard layouts. However, this is the easiest way to strike text on Excel!
For Windows Users:
When working in Excel on a Windows device, the fastest way to strike text is with the unique strikethrough shortcut.
First, you’ll need to select the cells you want to strike in your Excel spreadsheet. Once you’ve selected these cells, you can simultaneously hit the Ctrl and five keys on your keyboard.
Using this combination again will undo the strikethrough effect.
For Mac Users:
If you want to strikethrough cells quickly when working in Excel on a Mac computer, you can use the Excel strikethrough shortcut.
Once you’ve selected any cells you want to strike in your Excel spreadsheet, you can hit the Control and 5 buttons on your keyboard.
The shortcuts for Excel are similar on Windows and Mac computers.
Use Ribbon Guide Strikethrough Shortcut (Excel For Windows)
Ribbon guide shortcuts can also strike cells on Excel for Windows. To use this shortcut, you first must select any cells you want to strikethrough in your Excel spreadsheet.
Once these cells are selected, you can hit the Alt, H, F, and N keys on your keyboard in that order. This will open the font dialog box. You can now hit Alt and K to strike the cells.
Use Format Cells Dialog Box Shortcut (Excel For Mac)
On Excel for Mac, you can also use your format cells dialog box to strike cells in your spreadsheet.
Once you’ve selected the cells that you wish to strike, hit Ctrl and 1 on your computer’s keyboard. When the format cells dialog box opens, you can select the strikethrough feature with the cursor.
Besides using the strikethrough shortcut, this is the only other shortcut to strike text on Excel for mac.
Use Ribbon Guide Shortcut (PowerPoint For Windows)
When you’re using PowerPoint on a Windows device, the quickest way to strikethrough text is by using your ribbon guide shortcuts.
Firstly, you need to select the text you wish to strike in your presentation. With the text selected, hit the Alt, H, and 4 keys on your keyboard to strike the text.
Entering this keyboard command a second time will undo the striking effect.
Use Font Dialog Box Shortcut (PowerPoint For Windows & Mac)
Whenever you’re working on presentations in PowerPoint, you can easily strike text by using the font dialog box. However, the process of accessing this dialog box differs between Windows and Mac computers.
Once we’ve discussed the process for Windows devices, we’ll outline how to use this shortcut on Mac devices.
For Windows Users:
You can also use your font dialog box shortcuts to strike text in PowerPoint for Windows.
Once you’ve selected any text you wish to strike from the presentation, you can hit Ctrl and T on your keyboard to open the font dialog box.
When the dialog box opens, hit the Alt and K buttons simultaneously to strike through your highlighted text.
For Mac Users:
On PowerPoint for Mac, you can easily strike text by using your font dialog box. Once again, start by selecting the text you wish to strikethrough on your PowerPoint presentation.
You can now hit CMD and T on your keyboard. Once the dialog box opens, you can select the strikethrough option with your cursor.
While you’ll need to use your cursor at the end, the keyboard shortcut prevents you from needing to open the dialog box by navigating with your mouse.