Now that you have selected text, you might be thinking, "Okay, now what?" As you read through this book, you'll learn dozens of things that you can do with selected text. One of the most basic functions you will probably use is to move or copy text. If you move the text, deleting it from the original location and placing it somewhere else, you are cutting and pasting text. When you make a copy of the text, leaving a copy in the original location and placing the new copy in a different place, you are copying and pasting text.
TIP
When you move the mouse pointer into the left margin, the pointer reverses direction and points to the right (instead of the regular left-facing pointer). When you see this special pointer, you can click to select a line or double-click to select a paragraph.
When you cut or copy a section of text, it is moved to the Windows Clipboard, which holds the cut or copied sections until you are ready to paste them. Because the Clipboard is Windows-based, you can use it in all Windows applications, not just Word. You'll learn how to use the Clipboard to cut and copy information between programs in Chapter 12, "Using Data from Other Sources."
One thing that makes Word so popular is that you can choose from a number of different methods to accomplish the same result. There are several different ways to cut or copy and paste selected text. The different alternatives are listed here. Generally, the basic steps to copy and move are as follows:
Select the text you want to copy or move.
Copy (or cut) the selected text.
Reposition the insertion point at the target location.
Paste the text you copied (or cut).
Some methods for copying, cutting, and pasting text work better in certain situations. For example, if your hands are already on the keyboard, the keyboard methods might be more convenient. Others prefer to use the mouse. Experiment with the different methods and find your favorites.
To copy selected text, perform one of the following actions:
Click the Copy button.
Choose Edit, Copy.
Right-click the selected text and choose Copy.
Press Ctrl+C.
Press Ctrl+Insert.
To cut selected text, perform one of the following actions:
Click the Cut button.
Choose Edit, Cut.
Right-click the selection and choose Cut.
Press Ctrl+X.
Press Shift+Delete.
To paste selected text, perform one of the following actions:
Click the Paste button.
Choose Edit, Paste.
Right-click in the document and choose Paste.
Press Ctrl+V.
Press Shift+Insert.