Text Editing
By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated
Type, select, cut, copy, paste, undo, redo, and find and replace: the editing skills you use every day in Word.
Typing is only the start. You will often change text that's already there: fixing typos, moving sentences, and replacing words. These tools help you revise a document without retyping it. In this lesson, you'll practise typing, selecting, cutting, copying, pasting, undoing, redoing, and finding and replacing text.
Open the Word sandbox and follow along.
Typing text
You already know how to type, but a few keys make Word much easier to use:
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Starts a new paragraph |
| Shift + Enter | Starts a new line inside the same paragraph |
| Backspace | Deletes the character to the left of the cursor |
| Delete | Deletes the character to the right of the cursor |
| Tab | Moves the text to the next tab stop, for a simple indent |
| Arrow keys | Move the cursor one character or one line at a time |
| Home / End | Jump to the start or end of the line |
| Ctrl + Home / Ctrl + End | Jump to the start or end of the whole document |
To insert text in the middle of a sentence, click where you want it and start typing. This is different from selecting and replacing: you're simply positioning your cursor to add new text, and Word shifts the rest to make room.
Selecting text
Before you can move, copy, or format text, you must select it. Selected text appears highlighted on the page, and whatever you do next—cut, copy, delete, or format—acts only on that selected portion. Almost every editing action starts with selecting text.
| To select | Do this |
|---|---|
| Any amount of text | Click at the start, hold the mouse button, and drag to the end |
| One word | Double-click the word |
| A whole paragraph | Triple-click anywhere in the paragraph |
| Text with the keyboard | Hold Shift and press the arrow keys |
| From the cursor to a point | Click at the start, then hold Shift and click at the end |
| The whole document | Press Ctrl + A |
To deselect, click anywhere else on the page, or press an arrow key.
Shift + click is a lifesaver for long selections. Click at the start of the text, scroll down, then hold Shift and click at the end. Everything in between is selected, and you never have to drag past the edge of the screen.
Cut
Cut removes the selected text and keeps a copy on the clipboard, which is a temporary holding area inside Word. Think of it like a digital clipboard that holds whatever you cut or copy, so you can put it somewhere else later.
- Select the text.
- Press Ctrl + X, or click Cut (the scissors) in the Clipboard group of the Home tab.
The text disappears from the page, but it isn't gone. It's waiting on the clipboard for you to paste it.
Copy
Copy puts a copy of the selected text on the clipboard and leaves the original where it is.
- Select the text.
- Press Ctrl + C, or click Copy on the Home tab.
Nothing changes on the page, but the text is now on the clipboard.
Paste
Paste puts whatever is on the clipboard at the cursor.
- Click where you want the text to go.
- Press Ctrl + V, or click Paste on the Home tab.
You can paste the same text as many times as you like. It stays on the clipboard until you cut or copy something else.
Cut + Paste = move. Copy + Paste = duplicate. Use cut when the text should end up in a new place, and copy when you need it in both places.
Undo and Redo
Everyone makes mistakes in Word. You might delete something by accident, format the wrong text, or paste in the wrong place. That's where Undo and Redo come in. They're your safety net.
Undo reverses your last action: a typo, a deletion, a paste, or a format change.
- Press Ctrl + Z, or click the Undo arrow.
- Press it again to undo the step before that. Word remembers many steps, so you can go back several actions if needed.
Redo brings back something you just undid.
- Press Ctrl + Y, or click the Redo arrow.
- Redo only works straight after an undo. Once you type something new, the steps you undid can't be redone.
Find and Replace
In a short document, you can scroll to find a word. But in a long report or proposal, that's slow and easy to miss. Find jumps straight to every match, and Replace changes it for you. This is especially useful when you need to make the same change throughout the document—for example, changing a company name or correcting a repeated typo.
Find:
- Press Ctrl + F.
- Type the word you're looking for. Word highlights every match, and you can step through them one by one.
Replace:
- Press Ctrl + H to open the replace options.
- In Find what, type the word to change. In Replace with, type the new word.
- Click Replace to change one match at a time, or Replace All to change every match at once.
Be careful with Replace All. Replacing cat with dog also changes category into dogegory. Turn on Match whole word to replace only the complete word, or click Replace one match at a time so you can check each one.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Typing while text is selected | The selected text is replaced by what you type | Press Ctrl + Z to get it back, then click to deselect first |
| Using Copy when you meant Cut | The text appears in both places | Delete the old copy, or undo and use Cut |
| Pasting before cutting or copying | Old clipboard text appears | Undo, then cut or copy the right text first |
| Typing new text after an undo | The undone steps can't be redone | Redo before you type, or redo the work by hand |
| Using Replace All without checking | Words change inside other words | Undo, then turn on Match whole word |
Exercise
Now it's time to practise these editing skills yourself.
Do each task in the Word sandbox, then press Check. Click New in the sandbox title bar first to start with a blank page.
What to remember
- Select first, then act. Double-click selects a word, triple-click a paragraph, and Ctrl + A everything.
- Ctrl + X cuts, Ctrl + C copies, and Ctrl + V pastes.
- Cut + Paste moves text; Copy + Paste duplicates it.
- Ctrl + Z undoes, and Ctrl + Y redoes.
- Ctrl + F finds a word, and Ctrl + H replaces it.
- Check matches before you click Replace All.
In the next lesson, you'll change how your text looks: fonts, sizes, colors, bold, italic, and more.