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If you're new to Microsoft Word, you'll need to learn the basics of typing, editing, and organizing text. Basic tasks include the ability to add, delete, and move text in your document, as well as how to cut, copy, and paste.
Optional: Download our practice document.
Watch the video below to learn the basics of working with text in Word.
The insertion point is the blinking vertical line in your document. It indicates where you can enter text on the page. You can use the insertion point in a variety of ways.
In a new blank document, you can double-click the mouse to move the insertion point elsewhere on the page.
Before you can move or format text, you'll need to select it. To do this, click and drag your mouse over the text, then release the mouse. A highlighted box will appear over the selected text.
When you select text or images in Word, a hover toolbar with command shortcuts will appear. If the toolbar does not appear at first, try hovering the mouse over the selection.
Other shortcuts include double-clicking to select a word and triple-clicking to select an entire sentence or paragraph.
There are several ways to delete, or remove, text:
If you select text and start typing, the selected text will automatically be deleted and replaced with the new text.
Word allows you to copy text that's already in your document and paste it in other places, which can save you a lot of time and effort. If you want to move text around in your document, you can cut and paste or drag and drop.
You can also cut, copy, and paste by right-clicking your document and choosing the desired action from the drop-down menu. When you use this method to paste, you can choose from three options that determine how the text will be formatted: Keep Source Formatting, Merge Formatting, and Keep Text Only. You can hover the mouse over each icon to see what it will look like before you select it.
If text does not appear in the exact location you want, you can press the Enter key on your keyboard to move the text to a new line.
Let's say you're working on a document and accidentally delete some text. Fortunately, you won't have to retype everything you just deleted! Word allows you to undo your most recent action when you make a mistake like this.
To do this, locate and select the Undo command on the Quick Access Toolbar. You can also press Ctrl+Z on your keyboard. You can continue using this command to undo multiple changes in a row.
By contrast, the Redo command allows you to reverse the last undo. You can also access this command by pressing Ctrl+Y on your keyboard.
If you need to insert an unusual character that's not on your keyboard, such as a copyright (©) or trademark (™) symbol, you can usually find it with the Symbol command.
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