Looking for an easy way to highlight a column that is not in a table? Use COLUMN SELECT
Note: This tip works equally well when editing an email in Outlook.
Looking for an easy way to highlight a column that is not in a table? Use COLUMN SELECT
Click to enlarge
Column Select
Click insertion point at begining of text
Press ALT as you CLICK + DRAG to end point.
Once selected the text can be formatted or deleted. The selection collapses after your executed command.
Be smooth: ALT+CLICK instruction brings up the Thesaurus*, so be don’t click quickly. Column Select (ALT + CLICK + DRAG) works best to when you use a smooth, paint-like motion (more like Pollock than Seurat)
*(a deadly neolithic creature hellbent on correcting ingesting your text and regurgitating its own).
Let’s profile two of Word’s newer design features: Stylistic Sets and Ligatures. These features, introduced in Word 2010 and available to documents saved in .DOCX format, leverage the newer OpenType font standard. Using these features, you can enhance and embellish select text.
Stylistic Sets
Certain OpenType fonts (e.g., Calibri, Gabriola, Cambria, etc.) have additionalembedded appearance options, called Stylistic Sets. These sets enable subtle (and not so subtle) appearance changes, based on Stylistic Set selection, character spacing and letter combination.
Gabriola font with different Stylistic Sets applied
To apply a Stylistic Set
Select text.
On the Home tab of the Ribbon, in the Font group, click the Text Effects and Typography button. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + D to launch the Font dialog box, and then click the Advanced tab.
Point to Stylistic Sets and select desired set.
Ligatures
A Ligature consists of two or more letters commonly joined together in written text. Back in the days of movable type, these characters where forged one a single printing press block, also known as ‘glyph’, to save time and space. Some common examples include Æ, Œ , ƒƒ, and my personal favorite, Qu.
In Word, ligatures are categorized as:
Standard, contains the ligatures that most typographers and font designers agree are appropriate for that language.
Contextual, ligatures that the font designer believed appropriate for use with that font.
Historical, ligatures for language that was once standard but is no longer commonly used (e.g., ‘ye olde theatre’)
Discretionary, ligatures that the font designer included for specific purposes.
Here’s a sentence using Calibri, with all ligature categories applied.
Calibri font with different ligature types selelcted
To apply a Ligature
Select text.
On the Home tab of the Ribbon, in the Font group, click the Text Effects and Typography button. Alternatively, you can press CTRL + D to launch the Font dialog box, and then click the Advanced tab.
Looking for an easy method to move a table row up?
Place cursor on the row.
Press ALT + SHIFT + Up Arrow.
Repeat as necessary until the cursor is elevated to desired position. As you probably guessed, pressing ALT + SHIFT + Down Arrow moves the selected row down.
This trick is not just limited to tables. It also works with:
Bulleted text
Numbered lists
Outline text
Non-numbered paragraphs
IQ points
Okay, admittedly that last one was just wishful thinking :).
*Tip applies to Word versions 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013. This tip may be relevant in earlier Word versions, but to confirm this I would have to pull out my old PC from its resting spot, on a shelf, under a pair of acid-wash jeans, wedged between an un-seeded Chia Pet and my Commodore VIC 20.
