Editing Text

If you work with documents at all, you can benefit from the editing shortcuts that Word offers. These range from quickly returning to one of the last three edits made in the document to using the Spike feature for collecting a series of items cut from a document.

Shortcuts for Editing Text

Return to the previous editing point

[Shift] - [F5] , [Ctrl] - [Alt] - [Z]

Word tracks the locations of the last three edits you made to a document. You can return to the last edit by pressing these shortcuts once, the second-last edit by pressing them twice, or the third-last edit by pressing them three times. Pressing a fourth time returns you to the current edit.

Note

What Word counts as an edit depends not only on the actions you take (for example, typing text or deleting text) but also the on speed at which you take the actions and the intervals between them. So using the [Shift] - [F5] and [Ctrl] - [Alt] - [Z] shortcuts may not return the insertion point to where you expect. But it s almost always worth trying before other means of navigating to other areas of the document.

Repeat the previous action

[Ctrl] - [Y] , [F4] , [Alt] - [Enter]

These shortcuts all do the same thing: make Word repeat the previous editing action ”for example, applying a style, typing a word or phrase, or inserting an object such as a table. If the editing action isn t what you expected, press [Ctrl] - [Z] to undo the action immediately.

Undo the previous action

[Ctrl] - [Z] , [Alt] - [ Backspace ]

[Ctrl] - [Z] is perhaps the most used keyboard shortcut for Windows applications. In Word, [Alt] - [Backspace] performs the same function and is more comfortable for some users.

Caution

The previous action may not be exactly what you think. For example, if you type several words, backspace over a couple of words, and then type a correction, Word registers a single action that consists of typing those words you typed but didn t backspace over. But if you perform the same actions with pauses in between, Word usually considers typing the final words (after the backspacing) to be a separate action.

Select all

[Ctrl] - [A] , [Ctrl] - [5] on the numeric keypad

A Select All command selects all the contents of the current object ”for example, a document or a text box. If a Select All command selects the wrong object, select the right object and issue the command again.

Cut the selection and add it to the Spike

[Ctrl] - [F3]

The Spike is a special AutoText entry to which you can cut a series of selections and then assemble them in order. You then paste the contents of the Spike into the destination. Because the Spike is destructive to the documents you re working in (you can only cut to the Spike; you can t copy to it), few people use it. The best way to use the Spike is to work on a copy of your source document or to save it, cut the material to the Spike, and then close the document without saving changes.

Insert the contents of the Spike

[Ctrl] - [Shift] - [F3]

Use this command after assembling content on the Spike as described in the previous shortcut. Inserting the contents of the Spike into a document clears the Spike.