How to Change Text Case in Word (Fix CAPS LOCK Without Retyping)
Typed a whole paragraph before noticing CAPS LOCK was on? Or need every heading in Title Case? Don't retype anything — Word can switch the case in a second.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Cycle through cases | Shift + F3 |
| All the options | Home → Aa (Change Case) |
| ALL CAPS formatting | Ctrl + Shift + A |
| Small caps | Ctrl + Shift + K |
1. The magic shortcut: Shift + F3
1. Select the text.
2. Press Shift + F3.
3. Press it again to cycle between:
• UPPERCASE
• lowercase
• Capitalise Each Word
2. Press Shift + F3.
3. Press it again to cycle between:
• UPPERCASE
• lowercase
• Capitalise Each Word
(If you select a full sentence ending in a full stop, one of the options is Sentence case.)
2. The Change Case button
1. Select the text.
2. On the Home tab, click the Aa button in the Font group.
3. Choose:
• Sentence case. — first letter capital, rest lowercase.
• lowercase
• UPPERCASE
• Capitalize Each Word
• tOGGLE cASE — flips every letter. Perfect for fixing accidental CAPS LOCK typing like hELLO jOHN.
2. On the Home tab, click the Aa button in the Font group.
3. Choose:
• Sentence case. — first letter capital, rest lowercase.
• lowercase
• UPPERCASE
• Capitalize Each Word
• tOGGLE cASE — flips every letter. Perfect for fixing accidental CAPS LOCK typing like hELLO jOHN.
3. All caps and small caps as formatting
Ctrl + Shift + A makes text look like capitals without changing the letters. Turn it off and your original case comes back. It's useful for headings in a style.
Ctrl + Shift + K gives small caps — capital letters at lowercase height. It looks elegant for headings, names and acronyms.
Laptop tip
If Shift + F3 changes your screen brightness instead, press Fn + Shift + F3.
In other apps
• PowerPoint and Outlook have the same Aa button and Shift + F3 shortcut.
• Excel doesn't — use formulas like =UPPER(A1), =LOWER(A1) or =PROPER(A1).
• Excel doesn't — use formulas like =UPPER(A1), =LOWER(A1) or =PROPER(A1).
On a Mac
Select the text and press Fn + Shift + F3, or go to Format → Change Case…
Troubleshooting
Capitalise Each Word capitalises "and" and "the". It's not a true title case. Fix those small words by hand afterwards.
Names like "McDonald" lose their capital D. Check proper names after changing case.
Wrapping up
Select, press Shift + F3, and keep pressing until it looks right. Your CAPS LOCK mistakes are fixed in seconds.
