Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
You can add a little pizzazz to your documents by animating your text. What does that mean? Simply that you can make it wiggle, blink, shimmer, and shake on the screen. This formatting can be applied to any characters you desire by following these steps:

Figure 1. The Text Effects tab of the Font dialog box.
You should note that the animation formatting is visible only on the screen. Animated text will not affect how your document is printed.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (613) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
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2025-01-06 20:23:05
Mohammad
FAO: Allen Wyatt
Hi!
Can I get flashing texts in other versions of MS Word?
Thanks!
Mohammad
2022-02-28 06:17:18
Doppelbob
Not working in Word 2016
2022-02-24 17:39:28
Noel V.
Is there a Word feature where you can click on a subject line of text and the rest of the paragraph's text appears and disappears as you toggle?
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