Mastering Microsoft Word: Ways to Format, Copy, Cut, Paste & Apply Effects to Texts

Today, we will be taking you on a smooth ride by doing some Microsoft Word tasks using some valuable Microsoft Word features such as formatting texts, copying and pasting texts, cutting and pasting texts, applying effects to texts and other types of formatting texts with Microsoft Word.

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Before you apply any format or effect to texts, you must select the texts that you want to work on, this will enable the texts to take effect when you format texts or apply effects to words on Microsoft Word. So we will talk about how to select texts.

How to Select Texts

To select text in Microsoft Word, you can use various methods depending on the extent of the selection you want to make. Here are some common techniques:

1. Selecting a single word: Double-click on the word. This will automatically select the entire word, including any surrounding spaces.

2. Select a sentence: Press and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click anywhere within the sentence. Word will automatically select the entire sentence.

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3. Selecting a paragraph: Triple-click anywhere within the paragraph. Word will automatically select the entire paragraph.

4. Selecting a specific portion of text: Click at the beginning of the desired selection, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the cursor to the end of the desired selection. The text between the starting and ending points will be selected.

5. Selecting multiple non-contiguous portions of text: Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click at various locations within the document. This allows you to select multiple separate sections of text.

6. Selecting all text in a document: Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard. This keyboard shortcut selects all the text in the document.

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After you have selected the desired text, you can perform various actions on it, such as formatting, copying, cutting, or deleting.

How to Cut and Paste Texts

To cut and paste text in Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Select the text you want to cut:

To cut a single word: Double-click on the word.
To cut a phrase or multiple words: Click and drag the cursor over the desired text to select it.

3. Once the text is selected, right-click on the selected text. A context menu will appear.

4. From the context menu, choose the “Cut” option. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + X to cut the selected text.

5. The selected text will be removed from its original location and temporarily stored in the clipboard.

6. Move the cursor to the desired location where you want to paste the cut text.

7. Right-click at the desired location and choose the “Paste” option from the context menu. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V to paste the text.

The cut text will be inserted at the new location, and it will no longer be present in its original location. This allows you to move text from one location to another within your Word document.

How to Copy and Paste Texts

To copy and paste text in Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Select the text you want to copy:

To copy a single word: Double-click on the word.
To copy a phrase or multiple words: Click and drag the cursor over the desired text to select it.

3. Once the text is selected, right-click on the selected text. A context menu will appear.

4. From the context menu, choose the “Copy” option. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C to copy the selected text.

5. The selected text will be copied and temporarily stored in the clipboard.

6. Move the cursor to the desired location where you want to paste the copied text.

7. Right-click at the desired location and choose the “Paste” option from the context menu. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V to paste the text.

The copied text will be inserted at the new location, while still retaining the original text in its original location. This allows you to duplicate text or move it to a different part of your Word document.

How to Format Texts Using Font

To format text using the font in Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Select the text you want to format:

To format a single word: Double-click on the word.
To format a phrase or multiple words: Click and drag the cursor over the desired text to select it.

3. Once the text is selected, go to the “Home” tab in the ribbon at the top of the Word window.

4. Look for the “Font” group on the “Home” tab. Within that group, you’ll find various formatting options.

5. Use the following font formatting options to modify the selected text:

Font type: Click on the drop-down menu next to the font name and select the desired font from the list. This changes the typeface or style of the selected text.
Font size: Click on the drop-down menu next to the font size and select the desired size from the list. This adjusts the size of the selected text.
Bold: Click the “B” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + B to apply bold formatting to the selected text. This makes the text appear thicker and more prominent.
Italic: Click the “I” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + I to apply italic formatting to the selected text. This slants the text to the right.
Underline: Click the “U” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + U to apply to underline formatting to the selected text. This adds a line underneath the text.
Strikethrough: Click the “abc” icon with a line through it in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + D to apply strikethrough formatting to the selected text. This draws a line through the text.
Text colour: Click the small arrow next to the font colour icon (usually an “A” with a coloured underline) in the “Font” group to open the colour palette. Select the desired text colour to apply it to the selected text.

6. After selecting the desired font formatting options, the selected text will be updated accordingly.

You can use a combination of these formatting options to achieve the desired appearance for your text.

How to Bold, Italic and Underline Texts

To format text as bold, italic, or underline in Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Select the text you want to format:

To format a single word: Double-click on the word.
To format a phrase or multiple words: Click and drag the cursor over the desired text to select it.

3. Once the text is selected, go to the “Home” tab in the ribbon at the top of the Word window.

4. Look for the “Font” group on the “Home” tab. Within that group, you’ll find the following formatting options:

Bold: Click the “B” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + B to apply bold formatting to the selected text. This makes the text appear thicker and more prominent.
Italic: Click the “I” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + I to apply italic formatting to the selected text. This slants the text to the right.
Underline: Click the “U” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + U to apply underline formatting to the selected text. This adds a line underneath the text.

5. Click on the desired formatting option(s) to apply it to the selected text. You can apply multiple formatting options simultaneously (e.g., bold and underline).

The selected text will be updated with the chosen formatting options, allowing you to emphasize or style the text according to your needs.

How to Apply Effects on Texts

To apply various effects to text in Microsoft Word, such as strikethrough, subscript, superscript, and more, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Select the text you want to apply the effects to:

To apply an effect to a single word: Double-click on the word.
To apply an effect to a phrase or multiple words: Click and drag the cursor over the desired text to select it.

3. Once the text is selected, go to the “Home” tab in the ribbon at the top of the Word window.

4. Look for the “Font” group on the “Home” tab. Within that group, you’ll find various formatting options.

5. Use the following text effects options to modify the selected text:

Strikethrough: Click the “abc” icon with a line through it in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + D to apply strikethrough formatting to the selected text. This draws a line through the text.
Superscript: Click the “x^2” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + Shift + “+” to apply superscript formatting to the selected text. This raises the text above the baseline, as seen in mathematical equations or footnotes.
Subscript: Click the “x₂” icon in the “Font” group or press Ctrl + “=” to apply subscript formatting to the selected text. This lowers the text below the baseline, as seen in chemical formulas or mathematical notations.
Small Caps: Click the “Aa” icon with an arrow in the “Font” group to open the “Font” dialog box. In the dialog box, check the “Small caps” option to apply small capital letters to the selected text. This converts lowercase letters to smaller capital letters.
All Caps: Click the “Aa” icon with an arrow in the “Font” group to open the “Font” dialog box. In the dialog box, check the “All caps” option to convert the selected text to uppercase.

6. After selecting the desired text effects, the selected text will be updated accordingly.

You can combine multiple effects as needed to achieve the desired appearance for your text.

How to Format Paragraphs

To format paragraphs in Microsoft Word, including adjusting alignment, indentation, line spacing, and more, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.

2. Place your cursor within the paragraph or select multiple paragraphs that you want to format.

3. Once the paragraph(s) are selected, go to the “Home” tab in the ribbon at the top of the Word window.

4. Look for the “Paragraph” group on the “Home” tab. Within that group, you’ll find various formatting options.

5. Use the following paragraph formatting options to modify the selected paragraph(s):

Alignment: Click on the alignment icons in the “Paragraph” group to change the alignment of the selected paragraph(s). The icons include left align (aligned to the left margin), center align (aligned in the center), right align (aligned to the right margin), and justify (aligned to both left and right margins).
Indentation: To adjust the indentation of the paragraph(s), you have a few options:
– Use the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent icons in the “Paragraph” group to increase or decrease the indentation of the whole paragraph.
– Click on the small arrow next to the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent icons to access more precise indentation options, such as adjusting the left or right indent, or creating a hanging indent.
Line spacing: Click on the Line Spacing icon in the “Paragraph” group to open a drop-down menu with different line spacing options. You can choose single spacing, 1.5 spacing, double spacing, or customize the spacing by selecting “Line Spacing Options” from the drop-down menu.
Bullets and numbering: Use the Bullets and Numbering icons in the “Paragraph” group to add bullet points or numbering to the selected paragraph(s). You can choose from a variety of bullet styles and numbering formats.
Spacing before and after paragraphs: Click on the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the “Paragraph” group to open the “Paragraph” dialog box. In the dialog box, you can adjust the spacing before and after the selected paragraph(s) under the “Spacing” section.

6. After selecting the desired paragraph formatting options, the selected paragraph(s) will be updated accordingly.

You can apply these formatting options to individual paragraphs or multiple paragraphs at once to achieve the desired layout and appearance in your Word document.

In summary, we were able to achieve the following goals in Microsoft Word: