microsoft word

Nearly everyone has a basic understanding of how to use Microsoft Word, but a surprising amount of people never really learn more than typing, spellchecking and printing. In this blog, we’ll break down a few Microsoft Word tips and tricks that will make you more productive when using the application.

8 Easy-to-Master Microsoft Word Tips

1. Copy, cut, paste

You’re probably familiar with right-clicking a highlighted block of text to copy or cut it, then right-clicking an empty space on the page to paste something in.

There are actually keyboard shortcuts for this, and when you master them, they will save tons of time:

  • Copy: [Ctrl +C]
  • Cut: [Ctrl + X]
  • Paste: [Ctrl + P]

 microsoft word tips copy paste shortcut

2. Snap back to a previous location

If you’re editing a particularly long document, it’s easy to lose your place, especially if you minimize the window or have to jump back and forth between the beginning, middle and end of the document.

Press [Shift + F5] to bring the cursor back to its most recent location.

3. Highlight vertically

In order to highlight text in a vertical column rather than a horizontal row, hold down Alt while you click and drag.

4. Add your own autocorrect

AutoCorrect can either be extremely useful or extremely frustrating, but Microsoft Word allows you to set your own rules.

Select File from the main toolbar, then Options. Go to the Proofing tab and click AutoCorrect Options. From here, you can create your own rules to better fit your personal preferences.

microsoft word tips autocorrect

5. Delete entire words

Another one of the easier Microsoft Word tips that most people don’t know about is the ability to delete entire words at a time.

Simply hold Ctrl while backspacing to erase entire words, rather than just letters.

6. Select entire words, sentences or paragraphs

Instead of clicking and dragging to highlight, double-clicking a word will select that word, and triple-clicking within a paragraph will select that entire paragraph.

To highlight an entire sentence, hold Ctrl and click within the sentence.

7. Insert filler text

Microsoft Word can automatically generate placeholder text (taken from a 2000-year old Latin treatise about ethics by Roman philosopher Cicero).

Type the following: =lorem(p,l) and replace the “p” with the number of paragraphs you need, and the “l” with the number of lines. Place your cursor at the end of the equation and press Enter.

8. Change capitalization

Instead of deleting and re-typing words and sentences that aren’t cased correctly, simply highlight the text and click the Home tab, then the little dropdown menu denoted by “Aa.” You can change the capitalization structure easily.

Are there any Microsoft Word tips you’ve used that have made you more productive?

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