Canceling a Menu

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 26, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you begin to select an option from one of the Word menus, you can cancel the menu by one of three methods:

  • Press Esc twice (the second time is necessary to return you to your document)
  • Click on the menu name a second time
  • Click somewhere outside the menu area

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (388) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Searching for Tabs

Tabs don't normally show up in your printed document, but Word allows you to still search for them. All you need to do is ...

Discover More

ExcelTips Ribbon 2021 Archive (Table of Contents)

ExcelTips is a weekly newsletter that provides tips on how to best use Microsoft's spreadsheet program. At the ...

Discover More

Determining a Zodiac Sign from a Birthdate

If you want to find out the Zodiac sign for a birthdate, there are a number of ways you can do it. This tip provides ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Finding Default Shortcut Keys

There are scores of shortcut keys defined in Word. If you want to discover what all those shortcut keys are, here are a ...

Discover More

Format Painter Shortcut

Need a way to copy formatting using the keyboard? Word has a great one, and it doesn't involve the Format Painter or the ...

Discover More

Changing Text Case

Word provides a built-in shortcut to change the case of a text selection. Understanding how that shortcut works (and the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is seven more than 2?

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 menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.