Controlling How Body Text Is Displayed

Summary: When working in Outline view, you can control how Word displays the body text under each heading. You can specify that only the first line of each paragraph be displayed, or that the entire paragraph be shown. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

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 the Show First Line Only tool on the Outline toolbar. (In Word 2007, this tool is available on the Outlining tab of the ribbon, 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.

Tip #766 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Controlling How Body Text Is Displayed