3 Quick Ways to Select a Large Range of Text in Word Document without Dragging and Scrolling

In this article, there are 3 quick ways for you to select a large range of text in Word document without dragging and scrolling.

Many times, we need to select a large piece of content in a document, which could extend over multiple pages. And sure there is the usual way to do it by clicking mouse and drag the selection over the target texts. Yet, such method has its drawback since you may easily cancel the selection by accident. For this reason, we want to share with you 3 quick and smart solutions.

Method 1: Select Texts from the Beginning of a Document to a Specific Point

As we know, “Ctrl+ A” selects the whole document. But there are instances when we have to select most part of the document, say the major part except the last paragraph. Here is the shortcut combination.

1. First thing, put your insertion pointer at the stop point of selection.
2. Next press “Ctrl+ Shift+ Home”.

Then everything before the stop point is now in selection.

Method 2: Select Texts from a Specific Point to the End of a Document

1. Similarly, place your insertion pointer at the starting position.
2. Then press “Ctrl+ Shift+ End”. Mission accomplished.

Method 3: Select Texts between Two Random Locations within a Document

Now there is a more common demand that is to select a range of texts locating anywhere within a document. To meet such a requirement, we will employ the macro way.

1. First and foremost, lay the insertion pointer at the starting point.
2. Next click “Developer” tab then the “Visual Basic” command to trigger the VBA editor. Or just hit “Alt+ F11” instead in case the “Developer” tab is not available.
3. Then click the “Normal” project and “Insert” tab next.
4. Select “Module” to create a new one.
5. Next double click on new module to open editing area on the right side.
6. Paste the following codes there:

Sub SelectARangeOfTexts()
  Dim ObjSelectText As Range
  Dim strText As String
 
  strText = InputBox("Enter Marking word(s) here:", "Select a range of texts")
  Set ObjSelectText = Selection.Range

  With Selection
    .HomeKey Unit:=wdStory

    With Selection.Find
      .ClearFormatting
      .Text = strText
      .MatchCase = True
      .MatchWildcards = False
      .Execute
    End With
    ObjSelectText.End = Selection.Range.End - Len(strText)
    ObjSelectText.Select
  End With
End Sub

7. Click “Run” button.
8. Now there will be a box popping up. Enter your marking words. Note the marking words will not be selected. Click “OK” at last.

Here is the effect:

Deal with Unexpected Document Loss

Since Word can collapse due to user errors and mistakes, the risk of losing important data is high. Sometimes to bypass such an issue, back up documents can be effective. Yet, if the backup is not properly handled, we still have to bear the consequence of docx corruption. Therefore, we would need the help of a recovering tool.

Author Introduction:

Vera Chen is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including recover xlsx and pdf repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com