Standard shortcuts for Superscript and Subscript in Word have changed and I'm denied customization

Question

I attempted to use the new shortcut for Superscript after Word introduced changes to zoom and formatting shortcuts. Zoom was not a usability issue, but Superscript now is: the new shortcut does not function.

In the shortcut customization dialog, Subscript is assigned both its expected shortcut and the combination intended for Superscript. As a result, Superscript has no working shortcut.

There is also inconsistent key parsing:

• For Subscript, [Shift] modifies “-” to “_”, but both of these keys are shown.
• For Superscript, [Shift] is only treated as a modifier and recorded as [Ctrl]+[?] rather than [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[+].

After removing the updated shortcuts, I attempted to assign the following to Superscript:

• [Ctrl]+[+]
• [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[+]
  • for the record: I tried [+] on the keyboard and on the numpad

All appeared unassigned, yet none could be bound to Superscript.

If shortcuts are changed, they must work reliably, be parsed consistently, and allow reassignment. The current behavior does not meet those criteria.

Answer 1

Using a Swedish keyboard here, and I find that the Superscript command has no assigned shortcut. I am however able to assign the shortcut you proposed: Ctrl+? (which is actually Ctrl + Shift + + on my keyboard). No error message is shown.

I am not sure why you get an error message trying to reassign the shortcut.

Do you get that same error if you try to change or assign other shortcuts as well?

Answer 2

Hi @Erlend

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.    

Regarding your issue, may I kindly ask a few questions to help understand it better: 

• I noticed you’re using a Norwegian language layout, so if you’re using the Norwegian language with an English keyboard, could you please try Ctrl + Shift + - and Ctrl + Shift + ? to see if it works since language and keyboard layout combinations can affect how shortcuts behave.
• Could you also switch to an English (US) keyboard layout and test Ctrl + Shift + _ and Crtl + Shift + (+) to check whether the behavior is the same if possible? 
• Additionally, could you confirm whether clicking the subscript (x₂) and superscript (x²) buttons in the Font section works normally when applying formatting? 

Hope to hear back from you. 

The initial response may not fully address your needs, but it will help me better understand your situation. Once I get the information, I will try my best to find the next steps.  

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Answer 3

This scenario is not covered in the provided documentation.

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References:

• Changes to keyboard shortcuts in Word 2007
• Keyboard shortcuts in Word
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