Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, 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 the Entire Document with the Mouse.

Selecting the Entire Document with the Mouse

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 23, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021

If you need to select the entire document, Word makes it easy using the keyboard—just press Ctrl+A. If you are using the mouse and you don't want to let it go to use the keyboard, you may wonder if there is a way to select it all using the mouse.

Well, sort of. This mouse-based method still relies on pressing a key in order to do the trick:

Move the mouse pointer to the left of the paragraphs in your document. (Make sure you don't click the mouse yet.) The pointer changes to an arrow pointing up and to the right.
Hold down the Ctrl key.
Click the left mouse button.

Another way to do this is to simply triple-click the left mouse button after step 1.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12392) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Selecting the Entire Document with the Mouse.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Highlighting Color

You can highlight words and phrases in your document, much the same as you can mark printed words and phrases with a ...

Discover More

Non-Tiled Background Pictures

Background images for a worksheet are automatically repeated over and over (tiled) by Excel. This tip describes a ...

Discover More

Using a Custom Format to Add Dashes

Want some dashes automatically added in values you display in a cell? It may be trickier to develop a custom format than ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Getting Rid of Manual Paragraph Numbering

Word includes a tool that allows you to easily apply automatic numbering to your paragraphs. You may be editing a ...

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

Highlighting Buried Verbs

Checking the grammar in a document can be complex, especially when it comes to advanced evaluations such as buried verbs. ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 2 + 5?

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.