Quickly Decreasing Point Size

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 4, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word for Windows provides a way to quickly decrease the point size of a selection. To do this, follow these steps:

Select the text whose point size you want to decrease.
Press Ctrl+[.

Every time you press Ctrl+[, the point size of the selection will decrease by one point. If you want more precise control over the point size (for instance, making something 11.5 points), you must use the Font dialog box by choosing Font from the Format menu.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1194) 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

Flush Left and Flush Right On the Same Line

Need to have some text at the left margin and some at the right, all on the same line? It's easy to do if you use your ...

Discover More

Defining a Name

One of the great features of Excel is that it allows you to use named ranges. These can make your formulas much easier to ...

Discover More

Understanding Background Printing

We click the button to print our document and seldom think of what is happening behind the scenes. Word prints documents, ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Character Color

Need to easily change the color of some selected text? A quick way to do it is with a custom macro that sets just the hue ...

Discover More

Engraving Text

Word allows you to format your text in a number of different ways. One rather esoteric way to format your text is by ...

Discover More

Understanding Font Styles

Fonts, by default, come with one or more styles that define variations of how that font is displayed in your document. ...

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 seven less than 7?

2023-02-04 07:17:14

Jules

thank you!

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.