When you open Word 2002, you might notice the Task Pane that is off to the side. As the name implies, it is basically a list of common tasks that are often performed in Word such as opening a new document, opening an existing document, and so on. You can click the “x” in the top corner of the Task Pane to close it. You can open it again by clicking Task Pane from the View menu.

When it comes to opening the Task Pane, you can save yourself a bit of clicking and assign a keystroke command to open it instead. You can do this using the following steps:

1. Open Word.


2. From the Tools menu, click Customize.


3. Click the Commands tab.


4. Click the Keyboard button.


5. In the Categories List, select View.


6. From the Commands List, select View Task Pane.


7. Enter the keyboard shortcut you want to use. For example, CTRL + X.


8. Click the Assign button.

Now when you want to open or close the Task Pane, you can use the keystrokes you assigned.