Whether you’re creating a business letter, a financial report, or your master’s thesis, it’s a sure bet that you’re going to need to go back into your document and do some editing. Word provides a great variety of ways to edit. To edit existing content, you simply select it and make your changes, or, if you prefer, you can type over some existing text to replace it.

Select and Modify Text

1. Click at the beginning of the text you want to delete.

2. Drag the mouse over all the text to select it, and then release the mouse button.

3. Press the Delete key. The selected text is deleted.

4. Select some text that you want to replace with new typing.

5. Type the new text. The selected text is automatically deleted and replaced by the new typing.

6. Click Save.

   
   
   
   

See Also

"So Many Ways to Do It" for more information about different ways to select text.

Tip

If you prefer to type over text without selecting it, use Overtype mode. To turn it on, choose Word Options from the Office menu, and, in the Advanced section, select the Use The Insert Key To Control Overtype Mode option. Click OK, and then press the Insert key to turn on Overtype mode; press Insert again to turn off overtyping.

Tip

If you accidentally delete some text, immediately click the Undo button on the Quick Access toolbar to restore the deleted text.