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 Word.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 28, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
If you are using a mouse, Word provides a shortcut to select an entire word. (There are also ways to select a word using the keyboard, but this tip refers to using the mouse only.) To select a word using the mouse, follow these two steps:
If you want to select additional words, hold down the mouse button after the second click and drag the mouse across them. Word adds one word at a time to your selection. Once the words are selected, you can do any other editing function on those words.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10623) 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 Word.
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!
Working with large or long documents in Word can present some interesting challenges. The most common challenge is that ...
Discover MoreThere are numerous ways you can delete paragraphs as you are editing your document. This tip looks at a couple of the ...
Discover MoreWe've all experienced the problem: You start selecting a large block of text using the mouse, and before you know it the ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-11-18 12:08:03
Scott Knitter
"If you want to select additional words, hold down the mouse button after the second click and drag the mouse across them. Word adds one word at a time to your selection. Once the words are selected, you can do any other editing function on those words."
Alas, I've used this for years but it's no longer working in my fully updated Microsoft 365. I could really use it on my current project but have to use slower techniques. I'm spending a lot of time looking for a setting or online advice about how to restore this. I can no longer drag after the second click to select another word. Won't select.
2020-11-28 11:56:38
Nora Abbott
Additional tips for selection: (1) if you wish to format a word, having the cursor within the word is all that is necessary. Just place the cursor within the word and then click the appropriate formatting selection, such as bold or a different font. (2) Select any amount of text by placing the cursor at one end of the text to be selected. Hold down the [SHIFT] key and click at the other end of the text. Everything between these two locations will be selected. THIS technique is a Windows process and is not confined to Word. It's especially handy when you want to select a lengthy amount of text - even several pages, because it avoids the possibility of the screen "scrolling" too much if you "drag."
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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:
Comments