Using the Mouse

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Using the Mouse' topic. Click the article's title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

Copying Paragraph Formatting with the Mouse
One of the most helpful formatting tools in Word is the Format Painter. You can use it to copy formatting from one paragraph to another, without letting go of the mouse. This tip describes how to use the tool.

Copying Rows and Columns With the Mouse
Got a table where you need to duplicate rows or columns? Make quick work of it by using the mouse to drag and drop the table elements you want to copy.

Detailed Measurements
The ruler, a helpful tool for viewing positioning information, can be even more useful with this tip.

Moving Rows and Columns With the Mouse
One way you can use the mouse to edit your document is to move rows and columns in a table. This tip shows just how easy such editing is.

Moving Text Using the Mouse
One quick way to edit your text is to use the mouse to drag blocks of text around the screen. Word supports this type of editing, but you need to make sure that the program is properly configured. This tip explains how.

Nifty Zooming With the Mouse
Want to use the mouse to control the zoom level for your document? You can do it by combining your mouse use with the Ctrl key.

Quickly Displaying the Tabs Dialog Box
Want a quick way to jump to the Tabs dialog box so you can modify the tabs in a paragraph? All you need to do is double-click at the bottom of the ruler, as described in this tip.

Quickly Moving Text With the Mouse
Drag-and-drop editing is a handy feature when you love to use the mouse. There are two ways you can move text using the mouse, both of which are described in this tip.

Quickly Selecting Text
You can select huge blocks of text quickly and easily by using the mouse. As described in this tip, you only need to click at the starting point of the block and then hold down the Shift key as you click and the ending point.

Scrolling Text Sideways
Most people use the mouse wheel to scroll their document up and down. What if it starts scrolling left and right, instead? It could be due to a number of conditions, described in this tip.

Selecting a Text Block
Everyone knows how to select text; especially if that text is sequential, such as a few words or a sentence. An often overlooked method of text selection is to select non-sequential text. You do this using the Ctrl+Shift+F8 shortcut, as described in this tip.

Selecting a Word
Selecting text is a critical skill to possess when you want to work with a Word document. This tip explains how you can select entire words with just a quick double-click of the mouse.

Selecting the Entire Document with the Mouse
The mouse is used in Word to accomplish many editing and formatting tasks. Want to select a Word? Just double-click. Select a paragraph? Triple click. What about selecting the entire document, however? This tip explains where to click to select everything in the document.