Saving Portions of Files

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 11, 2017)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Some word processing programs contain an option that allows you to save a selected portion of a document to a new document automatically. Word does not, unfortunately, allow you to do this. You can, however, use a couple of workarounds. The first quick workaround is as follows:

Highlight the text you want to save to a new file.
Copy it to the Clipboard by pressing Ctrl+C.
Click on the New button on the toolbar. This opens a new Word document.
Press Ctrl+V. This pastes the text into the new document

At this point you can do anything with the new document you desire. The following method of dealing with this problem is also a unique way to approach the situation:

Highlight the text you want to save to a new file.
Copy it to the Clipboard by pressing Ctrl+C.
Minimize Word.
Right-click on the desktop. This displays a Context menu.
Choose Paste from the Context menu. This causes a scrap to appear on the desktop.
Double-click on the desktop scrap. Word opens a new document containing the scrap.

At this point you can save the new document under any name you want.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1177) 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

Determining if Caps Lock is On

If your macro needs to determine the status of the Caps Lock key, you need the code in this tip. Just use the Information ...

Discover More

Inserting the Template Name in Your Document

Templates are a powerful part of the Word experience, as they allow you to create and format documents based on patterns. ...

Discover More

Quickly Selecting Text

Want a really quick way to select text? Just combine the Shift key with a simple mouse click.

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Determining If the End of a Text File Has Been Reached

When writing a macro that processes a text file, you may need to know when the end of the file has been reached. This is ...

Discover More

Marking Multiple Documents

After using Word for a while, it is easy to accumulate quite a few documents. At some point you may want to make a change ...

Discover More

Modifying the Backup Copy File Name

Backup files, created automatically by Word, have the filename extension WBK and start with the words "Backup of." If you ...

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 0 + 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.