Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Selecting a Text Block.

Selecting a Text Block

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 18, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


When working with some forms of data in Word (particularly tabular columns of information), it is often helpful to select non-sequential text in a block. For instance, you might want to select the tenth through thirtieth characters on each of five lines, ignoring everything else. Word makes this easy to do, using either the keyboard or the mouse. If you want to select a block of text using the keyboard, follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point at the position that defines the upper-left corner of the block.
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F8. The letters COL may appear on the status bar, depending on your version of Word.
  3. Use the cursor control keys to extend the block to include all the text desired.

If you would rather use the mouse to block the text, you can do so by simply holding down the Alt key as you make your selection.

Once your text block is selected, you can take any action desired. For instance, if you press the Del key, then the block of text is deleted.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7750) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Selecting a Text Block.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Adding Endnotes in Text Boxes

Text boxes and endnotes are both great tools you can use within a document. Problem is, you cannot use them ...

Discover More

Deleting a Range of Pages

Need to delete a range of pages out of the middle of your document? It's easy to do using editing techniques you already ...

Discover More

Capitalizing the First Letter after a Colon

There are many rules in English grammar (and many exceptions to those rules.) One common rule of grammar is to capitalize ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Strip Trailing Spaces

If you get tired of documents that always seem to have extra spaces at the end of lines, here's a quick way to get rid of ...

Discover More

Inserting a Non-Breaking Hyphen

Non-breaking hyphens can come in handy for some types of writing. They force the words (or characters) on both sides of ...

Discover More

Moving an Entire Page

If you are new to using Word, you may wonder if there is an easy way to move pages around in the document. Word, though, ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.