Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Opening Multiple Documents at Once.

Opening Multiple Documents at Once

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated September 9, 2017)

Word provides a complete file management system. One of the features of this system is that you can quickly load multiple documents in one easy step. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the Open tool on the toolbar, or choose Open from the File menu. This displays the Open dialog box.
  2. Instead of double-clicking on a file name, start to create a "selection set." If you are selecting sequential files, click on the first file in the sequence, then hold the Shift key as you click on the last. You can add additional files to those selected by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking with the mouse.
  3. To remove files from the selection set, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on a file name you previously added to the set.
  4. When you are satisfied with the list, click on Open.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (159) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Opening Multiple Documents at Once.

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. ...

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