It’s Word-tip week here at Hassle-Free PC. I’ll tell you how to print multiple copies of specific pages, strip out hyperlinks, add filler text, and use keyboard shortcuts to change the font size for selected type. Want more tips for Microsoft Office? Read “Get More From Your Mouse,” “Tips for Windows 7, Word 2007, and More,” and “Cure an Insomniac PC and Other Tips.”
Print Multiple Copies of Individual Pages
Most Word users know how to print multiple copies of a document: Just change the “Number of copies” setting to the amount you need, then click OK.
Okay, but what if you want to print multiple copies of select pages? For example, suppose your five-page document ends with a registration form. You need only one copy of the first four pages, but you want three copies of page 5.
But you can also use this option to print multiple copies of individual pages. So in my aforementioned example, to get three copies of page 5 and one copy of everything else, you’d enter 1-4, 5, 5, 5.
In other words, each time you repeat any given page number in that Pages field, Word will print an extra copy of that page.
Strip Hyperlinks From Pasted Text
I’m constantly copying text from e-mails, Web pages, and other online sources into Word documents, and always with the same result: a bunch of unwanted hyperlinks for Web links and e-mail addresses. Good luck plumbing the depths of Word’s menus to find a way to remove these links.
One solution is to right-click any linked item and choose Remove Hyperlink, but that’s a pretty slow method if you have multiple links you want to, well, unlink.
Thankfully, there’s a fast, easy, and automated solution: Select the entire block of text, then press Ctrl-Shift-F9. Presto: no more hyperlinks. All that’s left behind is plain text. To my knowledge, this works in all versions of Word.
Quickly Add Filler Text to Your Document
There’s a secret Word shortcut that makes this surprisingly easy. Just type (or copy and paste) either of the two following lines and then press Enter:
=rand()
=lorem()
The first one generates three paragraphs’ worth of random text; the second produces three paragraphs of the aforementioned lorem ipsum gibberish. You can repeat as necessary to add more filler text to your document.
Didn’t work? You may need to venture into Word’s settings to enable a certain setting. Here’s how to do so in Word 2007:
- Click the Office button, then select Word Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options.
- Click the checkbox next to “Replace text as you type.”
Change Text Size Using Only Your Keyboard
I’ve got a keyboard shortcut for you that sidesteps the hassle of reaching for the mouse, then fiddling with toolbar menus, every time you want to adjust the font size.
- Using your Home or End keys and/or the arrow keys, place your cursor at the start of the text you want to resize.
- While holding down the Shift key, press the right or down arrow to select a character or enter line, respectively. Keeping going until you’ve selected all the text you want to resize. (Bonus tip: Adding the Ctrl key to the mix while tapping the right arrow selects an entire word at a time.)
- Press Ctrl-] (that’s the right-bracket key) to increase the selected text one point size. Press Ctrl-[ to decrease it accordingly. Repeat until the text reaches the size you want.
This sounds a bit more complicated and time-consuming than it is. Trust me: Once you start using the keyboard this way, you’ll spend a lot less time reaching for the mouse.
Rick Broida writes the PCWorld Hassle-Free PC blog . Sign up to have Rick’s newsletter e-mailed to you each week .