Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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: Controlling How Body Text is Displayed.
When you are working in Outline view, there will be times when you want to see the body text associated with headings. Word allows you to control how body text is displayed. You can either display the entire body text or only the first line of each paragraph of body text. This is a toggle condition, controlled by a tool on the Outlining tab of the ribbon. (Look for the Show First Line Only tool, in the Outline Tools group.)
The first time you click your mouse on the Show First Line Only tool, Word displays only the first line of each body text paragraph; the second time, Word displays the entire text of each paragraph. You should note that this tool does not affect headings. Thus, if you have headings that require multiple lines, they are always displayed in their entirety.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11780) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling How Body Text is Displayed.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
When working on a document in Outline view, you may need to change regular body text to a heading in the outline. It's ...
Discover MoreWhen working on an outline of your document, you may want to demote a heading so that it is treated just like your body ...
Discover MoreWhen you need to get around a long document, a really helpful method is to use the Outline view built into Word. This tip ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-03-26 11:20:50
I just discovered that if you want to print the outline view to see if your outline looks right (especially if you have a very long document) that if your press "Quickprint" it will print it out the way it looks on the screen. lp
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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. 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