Word offers you a variety of ways to do most things. You might, for example, be able to use a button, a menu item, a keyboard shortcut, a task pane, or a mouse-click to accomplish the same result. Why are there so many choices? Well, one reason is that we all work differently. Given several choices, we usually do some experimenting, find the way that works best for us and that we’re most comfortable with, and then stick with it. Another reason is that certain methods work best in certain situations.
You can accomplish two frequently used procedures—selecting text and moving or copying it—using quite a few different methods, some of which might cause you a bit of difficulty if you use them in the wrong situation. The tips we offer here will help you choose which method to use in which circumstances.
Try these common methods of selecting text to see which work best for you. Of course, there are other ways to select text, and, depending on whether and how you’ve customized Word, some selection methods might work a bit differently from those described here. For information about customizing Word, see "Customizing Your Editing".
To select | Use this method |
|---|---|
Characters in a word | Drag the mouse over the characters. |
A word | Double-click the word. |
Several words | Drag the mouse over the words. |
A sentence | Hold down the Ctrl key and click anywhere in the sentence. |
A line of text | Move the pointer to the far left of the window, and click when you see a right-pointing arrow. |
A paragraph | Move the pointer to the far left of the window, and double-click when you see a right-pointing arrow. |
A long passage | Click at the beginning of the passage, and then hold down the Shift key and click at the end of the passage. |
Noncontiguous blocks of text | Drag the mouse to select the first block. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag the mouse to select the second block. |
A vertical block of text | Click at the top-left corner of the text block. Hold down the Alt key and drag the mouse over the text block. |
The entire document | Press Ctrl+A. |
After you’ve selected the text, your next step might be to move it or copy it. Again, some methods are better than others, depending on the situation.
The process of moving or copying contents uses different tools, depending on what you want to do. When you use the F2 key or the Shift+F2 key combination, the selected material is stored in Word’s short-term memory, where it’s remembered only until you paste it into another location or execute any other Word activity.
The Cut and Copy buttons on the Clipboard store the selected material on the Office Clipboard, from where you can retrieve the information once or numerous times. The Office Clipboard stores up to 24 items, which you can retrieve one at a time or all at once. For more information about the Office Clipboard, see "Moving and Copying Content".
If these seem like an overwhelming number of ways to accomplish the same tasks, get ready for a surprise—there are even more ways! If you really want to explore the full range of different ways to do these tasks, take a stroll through Word’s Help and try out some of the other methods.
To do this | Use this method after you’ve selected the text |
|---|---|
Move a short distance | Drag the selection to the new location. |
Copy a short distance | Hold down the Ctrl key, drag the selection to the new location, and release the Ctrl key. |
Move a long distance or to a different document or program | Click the Cut button, click at the new location, and click the Paste button. OR press Ctrl+X, click at the new location, and press Ctrl+V. |
Copy a long distance or to a different document or program | Click the Copy button, click at the new location, and click the Paste button. OR press Ctrl+C, click at the new location, and press Ctrl+V. |
Copy several items and insert all in one place | Open the Office Clipboard, click the Copy button, select the next item, click the Copy button again, and repeat to copy up to 24 items. OR hold down the Ctrl key, select multiple items, and then click the Copy button. Click at the new location, and then click the Paste All button on the Clipboard. |
Move a long or short distance | Press the F2 key, click at the new location, and press Enter. |
Copy a long or short distance | Press Shift+F2, click at the new location, and press Enter. |