How to Select Text in Word 365

Let’s look at this article on how to select text in Word 365 and any other version of Microsoft Word. There are different ways to select Word text. It is clear that many people are aware of different ways to select text in Word. Select all text in your document (Ctr +A) or specific text or items in a table using your mouse or keyboard. You can also select text or items that are in different locations. You can select a paragraph on one page and a sentence on another. I believe most people do not know how to select text in the way I am going to introduce you.

Select Text in Word 365

Ctrl + A

Pressing Ctrl + a select the whole document.

Double-Click

To select the current word, just double-click it. Microsoft Word will select the right and left of the cursor until it encounters a space character.

Shift + Arrow

Hold the Shift key while pressing the right and left arrow keys and the up and down arrow keys to move one character or line at a time.

Click and Drag

It is likely the most intuitive and straightforward way to select text is to click and drag the mouse in any direction.

Shift + Home + End

Pressing Shift + Home selects all components from the current line’s insertion point to the left margin. Shift + End selects everything from the insert point to the last character to the left.

Triple-Click

A mouse triple-click selects the current paragraph.

Margin + Click

To select an entire line, drag the cursor into the left margin. When the insertion pointer turns into an arrow pointer, click. The current line will be selected. You can also press Home + Shift + End, which is a bit awkward.

Margin + Click and Drag

This selection process is similar to the previous one. If you hold down the mouse, Word will select multiple lines, even paragraphs. Word will not be selected when you stop dragging.

Ctrl + Click

To select a sentence (not just a line), hold down Ctrl and click on any location within the sentence.

Selection + Ctrl + Selection

To select two non-contiguous blocks of text, select the first one. Hold down Ctrl when you select the next, and the next, and the next use it to select two or several non-contiguous areas. I probably use this one more than any other; besides clicking and dragging, it is great for applying the same format to several spots.

Click + Shift + Click

To select a text block, click at one end. Next, click at the other end of the block twice while holding down the Shift key.

Alt + Drag

This combination chooses a vertical block. Click and drag up or down while keeping the Alt key depressed. (First, you have to hit Alt.)

Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow | Left Arrow

Use this combination to select between the current position and the right or left of the current word, depending on whether you hold the right or left arrow, respectively.

Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow | Down Arrow

This combination selects from the current position to the beginning or end of the current paragraph, depending on whether you press the up or down arrow.

Alt + Ctrl + Shift + Page Up | Page Down

This is yet another tricky keyboard combination that moves the cursor from the current insertion point to either the start or the end of the window, now visible on the screen. Since this one is so awkward, I would probably just click and drag it.

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