Working with Text in Microsoft Word
By: Sandy Berger Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-01-23 09:03:00-05:00
Microsoft Word has become the defacto standard of word processor applications. Millions of people use it everyday, but most don't even use 10% of its capabilities. In fact, a few years ago when Microsoft initiated a feedback form that allowed people to suggest additional functionality for the program, they found that most of the suggested capabilities were already available in the program. People didn't know the extent of what could be done in Word.
With that in mind, if you use Word to any extent, it may be worthwhile to investigate its capabilities. Microsoft offers online assistance but it can be time-consuming to review and read all the documents. What follows are a few quick tips about working in Word that will start you on your way to working smarter and faster.
Use these keyboard shortcuts to navigate in a document:
- The Home key will move the cursor to the beginning of a line.
- The End key will move the cursor to the end of a line.
- CTRL+Home will move the cursor to the beginning of the document.
- CTRL+End will move the cursor to the end of the document.
You may already know that you can click-and-drag your mouse cursor over text to highlight, or select, the text. Here are some additional ways to quickly select text:
- To select a single word, double-click within the word.
- To select a whole paragraph triple-click within the paragraph.
- To select the entire document press CTRL+A.
Selected text can also be copied, moved, replaced, or deleted:
- CTRL+C will make a copy of whatever is highlighted.
- CTRL+V will insert or paste whatever was copied to a new location designated by the cursor, or can replace a block of highlighted text.
- Move highlighted text by dragging the highlighted text with the mouse cursor to the desired location. The highlighted text will be deleted from its original location.
- Move highlighted text by dragging the highlighted text with the mouse cursor to the desired location. The highlighted text will be deleted from its original location.
- Copy highlighted text by pressing the CTRL key after the text has been highlighted, and, while continuing to hold the CTRL key, dragging the cursor to the desired location then releasing the cursor. A copy of the highlighted text will appear in the new location as well as remain in its original location.
- Delete highlighted text using either the Backspace or Delete keys. For non-highlighted text, Backspace deletes text to the left of the cursor and Delete erases text to the right of the cursor.
- To deselect text, click the cursor anywhere on the page outside of the selection.
Formatting text is another common task in Word that is made easier with the Formatting Toolbar, which contains icons for font style, color, size, bold, and italics, to name a few. This and other toolbars are found in the main menu under View, then Toolbars, then check those toolbars you want to be visible in the Toolbar area of your Word documents. To change the format of text, highlight that which you want to change and click on the attributes you want to apply.
One of my favorite formatting tools is the Format Painter. The icon for Format Painter looks like a broad paintbrush and is located on the Standard Toolbar near the Cut and Paste icons. Format Painter allows you to easily apply the formatting from one piece of text to another. To do this, place your cursor on the text whose format you want to replicate, click on the Format Painter icon, then drag the cursor, which now looks like a paintbrush, over the text that you want to inherit the new formatting.
Remember that if you make a mistake when formatting, deleting, or changing text, you can undo your last action by clicking the Undo button, which is the left-pointing-arrow icon on the Standard Toolbar. And if you really want to have some fun, use Text Effects, located in the main menu under Format, then Font. Choose the different options available under Text Effects to see what they do. You can surround your text with marching ants, have colored confetti fly over it, or surround it with flashing lights. Even word processing can be fun!
Additional Resources
Microsoft Office Online: Word 2003
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