We’ll talk about how to select text in MS Word in this chapter. One of the most important things you need to know to edit a Word document is how to select text. You can do different things with selected text, like delete, copy, and move, format, change its capitalization, and so on.
Table of contents
What is Selecting Text in MS Word?
Selecting Text is a very common and often-used action. It is used often and in many different ways. For instance, if you want to delete text either a single word or a whole paragraph you must first choose it. In the same way, in many operations, it is the first and most basic step. So, in this article, we’ll look at different ways to do it:
- Single-word: To quickly select a single word in MS-Word, double-click the mouse on that word.
- Line of text: To choose a line of text, move the cursor to the beginning of the line and press “Shift + down arrow.”
- To select an entire paragraph, place the cursor at the beginning of the paragraph and press “Ctrl + Shift + down arrow.”
Simple Methods to Select Text in MS Word
The following table lists a few additional simple methods for selecting text in various situations.
| Methods | Description |
|---|---|
| Text selection between two points | Click the beginning of the text block, hold Shift, and click the end of the text block. |
| Choosing a single word. | Just double-click on the word you want to choose. |
| Paragraph selection | Click three times on the paragraph you want to select. |
| Selecting a sentence | Click anywhere in the sentence while holding down the Ctrl key. |
| Selecting a text column | Hold Alt, click and hold the mouse button, and then drag over the desired column. |
Tip: The selected state can only apply to one part of the document at a time. If you have one part of the document selected and then try to select another part of the document, the first part will be deselected automatically.
What is the Use of Selection Bar
A selection bar is used to choose a line of text, a paragraph, or the whole document. It is a thin, invisible strip that runs along the left side of a document window in Microsoft Word.
When the mouse pointer is over the selection bar, a right-pointing arrow appears. When the left mouse button is pressed in the selection bar, the line to the right of the pointer is selected. By depressing and dragging the left mouse button, multiple lines can be selected. A double click on the selection bar will select the entire paragraph, while a triple click will select the entire document.
How to select text using keyboard
Here is a list of keyboard shortcuts in text selection:
- Ctrl + A – To select the entire document, press Ctrl + A.
- Shift – Hold down the Shift key and use any of the arrow keys.
- F8 – To chose a section of text, press F8 and then use any of the arrow keys.
- Ctrl + Shift + F8 – To select a column, press Ctrl+Shift+F8 followed by any of the arrow keys.
How to Select Text in MS Word
Here are the different ways on how How to Select Text in MS Word. Follow this instruction below.
- Select just one word
Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
Step 2: Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
Step 3: Now, to select a single word, move the cursor to the desired word. Here we will select the word “MSWord”
Step 4: Now, double-click that word quickly with the mouse.
Step 5: The word is successfully selected. The encircled word appears in the image below.
- Select a Paragraph
Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
Step 2: Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
Step 3: To select a paragraph, move the cursor to the beginning of the line you want. Here, we’ll choose the paragraph “MSWord Tutorial for Beginners…”
Step 4:Now, press “Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow” on the keyboard.
Step 5: The paragraph is successfully selected. The selected paragraph appears in the image below.
- Select specific text
Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
Step 2: Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
Step 3: Move the cursor to the beginning of the line you want to select. Here, we’ll pick the paragraph “MSWord Tutorial for Beginners…”
Step 4: To select the text you want, click and hold while dragging your cursor over the text you want to select.
Step 5: The text is successfully selected. The selected specific appears in the image below.
- Select all text
Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
Step 2: Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
Step 3: Click anywhere in the document to select the whole text.
Step 4: Press “Ctrl + A” to complete the process.
Step 5: The all text is successfully selected. The all text selected appears in the image below.
How to Select Specific Text
- Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
- Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
- Move the cursor to the beginning of the line you want to select. Here, we’ll pick the paragraph “MSWord Tutorial for Beginners…”
- To select the text you want, click and hold while dragging your cursor over the text you want to select.
- The text is successfully selected. The selected specific appears in the image below.
How to select a line in MS Word
- Step 1: Open Microsoft Word on your computer.
- Step 2: Open or create a new document in which you wish to perform this operation.
- Step 3: To choose a line of text, move the cursor to the beginning of the line you want. Here, we’ll choose the line “MSWord Tutorial for Beginners.”
- Step 4: Now, double-click that word quickly with the mouse.
- Step 5: The line is successfully selected. The encircled line appears in the image below.
Summary
In conclusion, we’ve talked about the different ways on how to select text in MS Word, what those terms mean, and how to do it in a simple way. In addition, we are familiar with the shortcut keys that allow us to select text quickly.
We hope this guide helps you in creating your document in MS Word.
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