Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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: Jumping Back in a Long Document.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 30, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
If you are editing a long document and you need to temporarily refer to another place in the document, you can use this tip to make yourself more productive. There are two ways you can jump back and forth in your document.
First, you can use the scroll bars to view the other parts of the document. The insertion point is still at your old editing position, even though it is off-screen. When you are through viewing the part of the document you needed to refer to, press one of the arrow keys or any printable character (including the Space Bar). You will be taken back to the exact place you were editing. Of course, if you pressed a printable character you will need to delete it.
The other method is to use Shift+F5. This key combination is used to jump to the last three places in the document where you made edits. (Actually, it is four locations if you count the one where you first pressed Shift+F5.) You can press it once and you will return to where you were most recently editing.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10646) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Jumping Back in a Long Document.
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2023-12-30 10:48:03
Kevin McNulty
I have a serious matter that I hope you can help me with or direct me to a past post. I am a book publisher and we do institutional books for schools, churches, and the like. I'm finishing my 10th publication and this is our largest to date. I've used WORD from the start back in 2006 when I did my first book. I use the ENDNOTE product and have, after all these years, mastered what I need to do to create a book. My latest project is near the end and I'm faced with something I've not encountered before. It is the SIZE of my document. BTW, I have purchased some of your tips in the past but this one didn't seem to be in them.
I read that the maximum size document for Word is WAY LOWER than what my current master document is. I write a chapter at a time (an average 20 pages) and once it is edited by my editors, I place it in my master. I particularly like WORD for this because I can retain (or better yet - add to) my pagination on the master by properly cutting and pasting the latest chapter into my master. Here is the current size of my document. 3.11 GB.
It takes a long time to save but it DOES save. Some online people had said I'm way over the limit. Am I? The book is 850 pages with over 1,000 photos - I read the photos do not count as files size issues in word. Here is one article that made me feel ok about it. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/max-size-of-word-file/a8e233f5-c696-4052-8322-62569f760750
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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:
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