Typing and Inserting Text

To enter text just start typing! Text will appear on the screen behind where the the blinking cursor is located. To move the cursor, use the arrow buttons on your keyboard or select a location with your mouse. Below are some useful buttons and key combinations that will help you move around in the text of your document.

Selecting Text

To change any attributes of text, the text must first be highlighted. Select text by dragging the mouse over the desired text while keeping the left mouse button depressed, or hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard while using the arrow buttons to highlight the text. The following table contains techniques for selecting portions of text:

Deselect the text by clicking anywhere outside of the selection on the page or pressing an arrow key on the keyboard.

Deleting Text

Use the <Backspace> and <Delete> keys on the keyboard to delete text. Backspace will delete text to the left of the cursor and Delete will erase text to the right. To delete a large selection of text, highlight it using any of the methods outlined above and press the Delete or Backspace key.

Home Tab

The Home tab at the top of the window contains most of common text editing tools used in Word. Text font, type, size, color, style, and much more can be changed and edited using the tools under this tab. A smaller version of this tab can be found by using the right-click shortcut menu while navigating within the document.

Format Painter

A handy feature for formatting text can be accessed using the Format Painter button located under the Clipboard group. For example, if you have already formatted a paragraph heading with a certain font face, size, and style and you want to format another heading the same way, you do not need to manually add each attribute to the second heading. Instead, use the Format Painter by following these steps:

1. Place the cursor within the text that contains the formatting you want to copy.
2. Click the Format Painter button in the Clipboard group of the Home tab. Notice that your pointer now has a paintbrush beside it. Alternatively right click in the document to bring up the shortcut menu and select it there.
3. Highlight the text you want to add the same format to with the mouse and release the mouse button.

To add the formatting to multiple selections of text, double-click the Format Painter button instead of clicking once. The format painter then stays active until you press the <Esc> key to turn it off.

Undo

Feel free to experiment with various text styles. You can always undo your last action by clicking the Undo button in the top left corner next to the Save button or by pressing <CTRL> + <Z>. Click the Redo button in the top left corner next to the Office Button and the Save button or by pressing <CTRL> + <Y>. to erase the undo action.