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September 1, 2006
Hanging on Every Word
Dear Larry,
I have several questions regarding Microsoft Word, and I’m
hoping you can help me...
D. C.
Dear D. C.,
When I open a Word document attached to an e-mail, Word opens
but displays this odd-looking version of the document that I can’t easily edit.
When I click Close, however, I’m back to my regular view. What’s up with that?
It sounds as if you’re running Word 2003 and that your e-mail
attachments are opening in Word’s reading layout, which allows you to more
easily read the document as a whole. However, you can easily turn this mode off.
Simply click Tools, Options, General, then uncheck the box that reads “Allow
starting in Reading Layout.”
I used to be able to highlight a word or phrase and then
delete it by hitting the backspace key. Now it doesn’t work. Can I get that
feature back?
Yes. Click Tools, Options, Edit, and put a checkmark in the
“Typing replaces selection” box.
I used to be able to see my top margin, but now my typing
appears at the top edge of the screen. Why is that?
Once again, you have to turn on another Word option. This
time, click Tools, Options, View, and check the “White space between pages” box.
Sometimes when I’m typing, all of a sudden the letters I type
start replacing the letters on the screen. As a result, I’m losing the words
that were on the page a moment before. Have I done something wrong?
No, you just inadvertently tapped the Insert key on your
keyboard, which toggles between Insert mode and Overtype mode. Just tap that key
one more time, and you should be back to the way you were before.
I used to remember how to cut and paste without using the
mouse, but haven’t done it in a while and have since forgotten. Can you refresh
my memory?
Ah, my favorite. First, position the cursor at the beginning
or end of the section you want to move. Hold down your Shift key with one hand
and move the cursor to the end or beginning of the section you want to move.
With the text now highlighted, you can release the Shift key. Next, press CTRL+X
(hold down the Ctrl key and tap the X key) to cut the highlighted text (or
CTRL+C to copy it). Reposition the cursor so it’s at the new destination, and
press CTRL+V to paste.
While you’re at it, can you tell me the shortcut keys for
moving my cursor?
The left, right, up, and down arrow keys move the cursor in
the corresponding direction. Add the control key, and you extend the movement:
CTRL+LeftArrow and CTRL+RightArrow move one word to the left and right, while
CTRL+UpArrow and CTRL+DownArrow move the cursor to the beginning of the current
or next paragraph. Pressing the Home key repositions the cursor to the beginning
of the current line, and pressing the End key similarly tells the cursor to jump
to the end of the current line. On the other hand, CTRL+Home will take you to
the beginning of your document and CTRL+End to the end.
Speaking of end...
This is Larry Schneider, logging off.
