Word Outlining Made Simple
Suppose you want to create or modify an outline. Let’s try the following exercise:
- Navigate to the article below.
Competitive Swimming, an Ideal Sport for Kids
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/writing/essays/1779.html - Open a blank new Word document (Ctrl + N).
- Highlight this outline with the mouse (sorry, you’ll need the mouse for the actual selecting).
- Copy this outline into the new document (Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V).
- Remove all web-based formatting by typing Ctrl + Spacebar.
- Switch to Word’s outline view (Alt + V + O).
Now try to move and edit the text:
- Select section 4 using Shift + Ctrl + arrows.
- Move section 4 so that it is immediately beneath section 1, the introduction. Hold Shift + Alt + up arrow until it is relocated.
- Add to section 4, now section 2, two sub-headings: Social and Academic; Type Shift + Alt + right arrow to add this heading.
- Keep the original content under Social while adding two points in body text under Academic.
For those of you, who use Hebrew enabled Word, keep in mind that Shift + Alt also switches the text between English and Hebrew. You will need to type Shift + Alt simultaneously with the appropriate arrow key to override this problem. Depending on your template styles, the result should look similar to the screen shot on the bottom. I highlighted the new sections in blue.
Before
After
A Summary of MS Word Keyboard Shortcuts in Outline View
The table below summarizes most of the Word, outline view, keyboard shortcuts. This information supplements the shortcuts that I presented in my last column.
Desired Action | Shortcut |
New heading or line | Enter |
Demote text to lower heading | Shift + Alt + right arrow |
Promote text to higher heading | Shift + Alt + left arrow |
Expand view to lower heading and body text | Plus sign |
Contract view to only upper heading | Minus sign |
Move Topic up/down | Select and Shift + Alt + up/down |
Show/Hide headings with text | Shift + Alt + A (all) |
Next time: I will explain how to create and edit your own Keyboard Shortcuts.
For Hire Now!
Summaries
Upcoming Events