Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Selecting an Entire Paragraph.

Selecting an Entire Paragraph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 10, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

If you are using the mouse, Word provides several quick ways to select an entire paragraph. First, you can simply triple-click anywhere within the paragraph. This is perhaps the fastest and most common method of selecting an entire paragraph.

Second, you can move the mouse pointer to the left of the first character in any line of the paragraph you want to select. The mouse pointer turns into an arrow pointing up and right. Double-click the mouse, and the paragraph is selected.

Finally, if you are using the style area, you can also move the mouse pointer into the style area to the left of the paragraph you want to select. Click once on the left mouse button, and the entire paragraph is selected.

If you like to use the keyboard instead of the mouse, you can select the current paragraph by pressing Ctrl+Up Arrow (which moves the insertion point to the beginning of the paragraph) and then pressing Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1277) 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: Selecting an Entire Paragraph.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Rotating Graphics Around a Different Center Point

You use the rotation handle in Word 2002 and Word 2003 to, well, rotate graphics around a center point. But if you hold ...

Discover More

Conditionally Deleting Rows

Want to delete a bunch of rows in a worksheet based on the value in a certain cell of each row? There are a couple of ...

Discover More

Disappearing Column Formatting

Two things go into making your documents look just right: content and formatting. If the formatting seems to disappear on ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Replacing Text Selections

When editing a document, Word normally replaces whatever text you select with whatever you start to type. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Selecting Sentences

Need to select an entire sentence at once? You can do so by creating a short macro that does the task for you, or you can ...

Discover More

Automatically Selecting Words

When editing a document, Word normally selects entire words as you use the mouse to select text. This tip explains why ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is six less than 6?

2023-01-09 05:21:47

Vadym Zubakhin

Allen, Thank you for the tips. I have used a lot of them.


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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.