Edit Preferences

Edit preferences (Figure 17) control the way certain editing tasks work. There are three categories: Editing options, Cut and paste options, and Click and type.

Figure 17. The default settings in the Edit pane of the Preferences dialog.

Editing options

Editing options set the way text is edited:

• Typing replaces selection deletes selected text when you start typing. If you turn this check box off, Word inserts typed text to the left of any text selected before you began typing.

• Drag-and-drop text editing allows you to move or copy selected text by dragging it.

• Include paragraph mark when selecting paragraphs includes the paragraph mark when you select a paragraph.

• When selecting, automatically select entire word selects entire words when your selection includes the spaces after words. This feature makes it impossible to use the mouse to select multiple word fragments.

• Use the INS key for paste enables you to press to use the Paste command.

• Overtype mode replaces characters, one at a time, as you type. This is the opposite of Insert mode.

• Tabs and backspace set left indent increases or decreases the left indent when you press the or key. This feature can cause undesired paragraph formatting changes.

• Allow accented uppercase in French enables Word's proofing tools to suggest accent marks for uppercase characters for text formatted as French.

• Keep track of formatting tells Word to record formatting commands as you type so you can apply the formatting again.

• Match font with keyboard automatically switches the keyboard layout to match the language of another character set, such as Russian or Greek.

Cut and paste options

Cut and paste options set the way the cut, copy, and paste commands work.

• Show Paste Options buttons displays a button beneath pasted text that offers additional options for the text (Figure 18).

  Figure 18. Clicking the Paste Options button displays a menu of options for pasted text.

  

  
  

• Use smart cut and paste adds or removes spaces as necessary when you delete, drag, or paste text. This feature can save time when editing text.

• Settings displays the Settings dialog (Figure 19), which you can use to fine-tune the way the smart cut and paste feature works.

  Figure 19. Use this Settings dialog to fine-tune the way smart cut and paste works.

  

  
  

Click and type

Click and type options control the way the click and type feature works:

• Enable click and type turns on the click and type feature.

• Default Paragraph Style enables you to select the default style for click and type entries in a document.