Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 17, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
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.
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.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (766) 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: Controlling How Body Text is Displayed.
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