Asking for Delete Confirmation

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 19, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you are a new Word user, you may have noticed an annoying message that appears every time you try to delete a block of text on the screen. For instance, you may select a block of text, press the Delete key, and then you see a message in the status bar asking you if you want to delete the block.

This message is not displayed when using Word normally; it is only displayed if you have WordPerfect navigation keys turned on. You can also tell if you have the WordPerfect navigation keys turned on if the letters WPN appear in Word's status bar.

Microsoft's idea of WordPerfect seems to be from the old DOS version of WordPerfect (5.1). Unfortunately, using the WordPerfect navigation option creates havoc with many of Word's commands. As well as the Yes/No question when deleting a block of text, some of the other keyboard commands that are messed up include Ctrl+Home, Home, GoTo, and the Esc toggle out of Print Preview. There have been a host of other very weird effects reported and as the options are usually turned on by default during installation, always make sure that the options are deselected if you see any odd behavior using Word.

To turn off the WordPerfect navigation keys, follow these steps:

Select Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Click on the General tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The General tab of the Options dialog box.

Make sure the Navigation Keys for WordPerfect Users check box is cleared.
Click on OK to close the Options dialog box.

Word should now function as normal, without the modifications to mimic WordPerfect 5.1.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (970) 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding Grayscale Images

Word allows you to easily add images to your documents. For documents intended for monochrome printers, grayscale images ...

Discover More

Setting Vertical Alignment

Excel allows you to adjust not only the horizontal alignment of values in a cell, but also the vertical alignment. This ...

Discover More

Consistent Spacing

It is a good idea to make sure that the spacing following each sentence in your document is consistent. Here's a handy ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Deletions Don't Work as Expected

We all get into habits, including in how we use Word. If you are used to deleting text in a particular way, and all of a ...

Discover More

Transposing Two Paragraphs

Need to swap two adjacent paragraphs? Your editing arsenal can include a command to do this is you use the macro in this tip.

Discover More

Understanding Hard and Soft Returns

Did you know that there are different types of returns in Word? Here's the inside scoop.

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 7 - 7?

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.