Save time editing Word documents with these shortcut keys

by Mary Ann Richardson | Jul 11, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Word processors, Microsoft Office, Mary Ann Richardson, paragraph, Microsoft Word, Ctrl, Microsoft Office Suite Word Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: If you find yourself cleaning up other people's Word documents for publication, these keyboard shortcuts can make your job a lot easier.

Do you spend a lot of time cleaning up Word documents for final publication? Here are three shortcut keys that can help you make your deadlines.

If a document comes to you single spaced with no line spacing between the paragraphs, rather than clicking at the end of each paragraph and pressing [Enter], you can add line spacing to the entire document in two easy steps:

1. Press [Ctrl]A.
2. Press [Ctrl]0 (zero).

Word adds a 12-point line space before each paragraph, which is equivalent to a single line space.

You also notice that, while styles are correctly applied, your reviewers have added formats to some paragraphs. These formats do not follow your template's paragraph style (for example, they may have changed the alignment from justified to left). To return these paragraphs to the correct style format, follow these steps:

1. Hold down [Ctrl] while selecting the paragraphs to be changed.
2. Press [Ctrl]Q.

Word will remove all paragraph formats not normally applied by the style. Alternatively, you can press [Ctrl][Shift]N to return the paragraphs to the Normal style.

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