Taming the Highly Intelligent Beast
Hidden under Microsoft Word’s “Tools / Customize / Keyboard . . .” menus is a screen that gives you the keys to completely customize your keys. From a “Categories:” menu you can select various categories to find a specific command you wish to attach to a certain sequence of keystrokes. For instance, if you wanted to put the “center a line” command under the Control-o combination (holding down the Control key while you press the letter o), you’d logically check under Format category. By clicking on Format, a box on the right will show you most of the formatting commands available in Word (AllCaps, Bold, CenterPara, etc.). Note that these actions are described in Wordese, which is sometimes explicable, sometimes not. A certain amount of creative guesswork and experimentation is often necessary. In this case, you’re after CenterPara, because Word treats a line with a hard return as a new paragraph . . . in other words, a paragraph which naturally wraps around until you press the return key.
So highlight CenterPara by clicking your mouse on it. Now click in the box under “Press new shortcut key.” Now any combination of keys you press will be registered as a keyboard combination in that white box. In this case, after pressing the Control key plus the letter o, you’ll see Ctrl+O displayed. If this is what you want (and it is!), then direct your mouse cursor to Assign and click. This will officially register that combination in Word’s “Current keys:” list, the box to the left. Once you’re satisfied you may back out of these menus by clicking on Close, then Close again.
To confirm that your new command is viable, test it. Say you’d like to experiment with centering a whole poem. Block off the entire text of the poem by highlighting it with your mouse then press your personalized Ctrl+o sequence. Did it work? If so, you have a new vessel, a new structure, to contain old wine.
If you just wanted to center one line, you’d click your mouse so the cursor floats anywhere in the line you’d like to center and press Ctrl+o. (I use Ctrl+o because a c and a reverse c form an o—hey, it works for me. In mnemonics, the stranger the better.)
The same works for macros you assign. First, you create the macro, then you follow the same basic procedure above, only assigning the hotkey under the Macro category.
It might be quickest for you to adopt my own structure, then modify it and add to it to suit your own special pathology . . . er, I mean absolute needs. Since Microsoft doesn’t necessarily place all its commands where you might reasonably expect them, when assigning keys, under Categories: you might want to first choose All Commands, which thankfully lists all commands alphabetically. I give the exact commands below, as Word understands them, even if no human on the planet does.
(Quick Note: If you’re computer savvy, you can find a shortcut for adding these shortcuts below, under Isn’t There an Easier Way?.)
MOVEMENT COMMENDS
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+e | LineUp | Moves text cursor one line up | Spatial - top of diamond | Ctrl+x | LineDown | Moves text cursor one line down | Spatial - bottom of diamond | Ctrl+d | CharRight | Moves text cursor one character to the right | Spatial - right of diamond | Ctrl+s | CharLeft | Moves text cursor one character to the left | Spatial - left of diamond | Ctrl+a | WordLeft | Moves text cursor one word to the left | Spatial - further left, magnified | Ctrl+f | WordRight | Moves text cursor one word to the right | Spatial - further right, magnified | Ctrl+q | StartOfLine | Moves text cursor to beginning of line | Spatial - above a | Ctrl+w | EndOfLine | Moves text cursor to end of line | Spatial - to right of q | Ctrl+u | StartOfDocument | Moves text cursor to the beginning of current document | u for up | Ctrl+j | EndOfDocument | Moves text cursor to the end of current document | j like an arrow pointing down | Ctrl+Home | EditGoTo | Bring up the menu to go to a specific page | h for home, your destination |
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If you’re adventurous (i.e. reckless) as I am, you might consider assigning:
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+r | PageUp | Moves text cursor one page up | Spatial - r to right of e, magnified | Ctrl+c | PageDown | Moves text cursor one page down | Spatial - c to right of x, magnified |
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The problem with this is Ctrl+c is the universal Windows command for Copy. If you do this you need to find another shortcut key for that operation and, more difficult, remember it. See below under Editing Commands, under optional. (On the positive side, you’ll find the new Ctrl+c is useful and convenient in Word’s Reading Layout, under View. I’ve discovered that on my light-weight Thinkpad I can easily read books I’ve scanned. I just finished a biography of Chopin that way. My current recommendation for A Poet’s Laptop is the Lenovo Thinkpad X60.) More info.
EDITING COMMANDS
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+g | (Delete) | Deletes one character to the right of cursor. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub Delete()
Selection.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
End Sub | Deletes the character to the right of your text cursor | Ctrl+t | DeleteWord | Deletes the word that your cursor is resting on anywhere in that word | Spatial - above g, magnified | Ctrl+y | (DeleteLine) | Deletes all characters in a line to the right of the cursor. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub DeleteLine()
Selection.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
Selection.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
End Sub | Spatial - right of t, magnified |
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Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+b | ExtendSelection | Turns on Blocking mode so you can select text by the keyboard rather than your mouse | b for block |
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Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+i | EditFind | Brings up the Find box | i for investigate | Ctrl+l | RepeatFind | When you exit the Find box (usually by Esc), you can find the next instance of what you entered by pressing Ctrl+l (handy for moving quickly through long text) | l for look | Ctrl+k | (search up) | Opposite of Ctrl+l - looks backwards through the text each time you press it | k for back |
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The next is optional (mainly for those who have reassigned Ctrl+c and Ctrl+x).
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+m | EditCut | Cuts blocked off (highlighted) material | m for move text by removing | Ctr+n | EditCopy | Copies blocked off (highlighted) material | Spatial, to left of m, lesser than, copies only |
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FORMATTING COMMANDS
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+1 | ResetChar | Formats blocked off text as document’s default font (i.e. Times New Roman Regular, 12 point). Good for undoing vast swaths of formatting. | These formatting commands are all listed in frequency (for me) of use and in ascending order (in the case of font size) and these commands can be used in combination. For instance, you might want to have a bold and italic phrase. | Ctrl+2 | Italic | Formats blocked off text as Italic | " | Ctrl+3 | Bold | Formats blocked off text as Bold | " | Ctrl+4 | (LargeFont) | I use this mainly for headings. It increases the size of the font to 14 points. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub LargeFont()
With Selection.Font
.Name = "Times New Roman"
.Size = 14
.Bold = False
.Italic = False
.Underline = wdUnderlineNone
.UnderlineColor = wdColorAutomatic
.StrikeThrough = False
.DoubleStrikeThrough = False
.Outline = False
.Emboss = False
.Shadow = False
.Hidden = False
.SmallCaps = False
.AllCaps = False
.Color = wdColorAutomatic
.Engrave = False
.Superscript = False
.Subscript = False
.Spacing = 0
.Scaling = 100
.Position = 0
.Kerning = 0
.Animation = wdAnimationNone
End With
End Sub | " | | Ctrl+5 | (LargerFont) | I use this for even larger headings. It increases the size of the font to 16 points. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub LargerFont()
With Selection.Font
.Name = "Times New Roman"
.Size = 16
.Bold = False
.Italic = False
.Underline = wdUnderlineNone
.UnderlineColor = wdColorAutomatic
.StrikeThrough = False
.DoubleStrikeThrough = False
.Outline = False
.Emboss = False
.Shadow = False
.Hidden = False
.SmallCaps = False
.AllCaps = False
.Color = wdColorAutomatic
.Engrave = False
.Superscript = False
.Subscript = False
.Spacing = 0
.Scaling = 100
.Position = 0
.Kerning = 0
.Animation = wdAnimationNone
End With
End Sub | " | Ctrl+6 | (LargestFont) | By now, you get the point. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub LargestFont()
With Selection.Font
.Name = "Times New Roman"
.Size = 18
.Bold = False
.Italic = False
.Underline = wdUnderlineNone
.UnderlineColor = wdColorAutomatic
.StrikeThrough = False
.DoubleStrikeThrough = False
.Outline = False
.Emboss = False
.Shadow = False
.Hidden = False
.SmallCaps = False
.AllCaps = False
.Color = wdColorAutomatic
.Engrave = False
.Superscript = False
.Subscript = False
.Spacing = 0
.Scaling = 100
.Position = 0
.Kerning = 0
.Animation = wdAnimationNone
End With
End Sub | " |
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SPECIAL CHARACTERS
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+9 | “ Double Opening Quote | Inserts the sexy “ typographical beginning quote rather than the plain-Jane " typewriter quote Note here that Word, in another not surprising burst of inconsistency, doesn’t list these under All Commands. Select the Category Common Symbols below to find these. This applies to the next two hotkeys as well. | On the keyboard under the ( which I extrapolate as a quote which leans that way. | Ctrl+0 | ” Double Closing Quote | Inserts the sexy ” typographical closing quote rather than the plain-Jane " typewriter quote | On the keyboard under the ) which I extrapolate as a quote which leans the other way. | Ctrl+- | —Em Dash | Inserts the long dash on Viagra—rather than the broken-wristed typewriter dash (--) | On the keyboard under the —. | Alt+’ | InsertSymbol | This gives you Word’s chart for all the Latin and foreign accented symbols, like the German umlauted ö, which I find rather sexy [Am I being sexist again? Sigh. Rebuttals and alternative gender-neutral lessons welcomed. But then I am, remember, a retrograde MAN.] Note that we’re strangely and occultly back to All Commands here for InsertSymbol, which of course they wouldn’t put under Common Symbols. Go figure. | For some strange reason, I associate this with ditto which is " on the same key. |
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INSERT COMMANDS
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+8 | (InsertDate) | Inserts the current date in your document. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub InsertDate()
Selection.InsertDateTime DateTimeFormat:="MMMM d, yyyy", InsertAsField:= _
False
End Sub | 8 rhymes with date. | Ctrl+= | InsertAddress | This aids you in inserting an address from Microsoft Outlook into your current Word Document | The equal key is equally the + key. Plus means to add. | Ctrl+Shift
+v | (PasteDestination) | This pastes the text in your clipboard (after issuing a copy command) and assumes the formatting of the documents in which you’re pasting it. For example, I might want to copy text from a document which has a default font of Arial 18 points to a new document I’ve just opened. Since my default font is Times New Roman 12 point, the copied text will assume that new default as well. This is handier than you might suppose. It’s a way of introducing consistency in your documents. I do it after FineReader has OCRed some scanned material. | Ctrl+v is Word’s and Window’s normal copy key. This just pastes more “cleanly.” |
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COMMENTS AND THE REVIEWING PANE
Hotkey | Word Command | Description | Mnemonic | Ctrl+, | ReviewingPane | A toggle that opens and closes the Reviewing Pane at the bottom of your screen, displaying your longer notes more effectively. | Frankly, I was running out of logical hotkeys. But at least these three are clustered together. | Ctrl+. | (Show/HideComment) | A toggle that’s self-explanatory. You need to first assign this to a macro - see below.
Text you need to copy for macro: Sub ShowHideComments()
WordBasic.ShowComments
CommandBars("Reviewing").Visible = False
End Sub | " | Ctrl+/ | InsertNewComment | This inserts a new comment, which will not print and you can hide or display with the macro above. In my novel-in-verse, I’m using this to keep track of where I’ve derived my allusions, where I’ve obtained my information, and where I’m going with complex imagistic clusters and the like. I make notes to myself on what I’m doing (or what I think I’m doing). We’ve come a long way from Faulkner’s keeping a map on his wall of Yoknapatawpha County with its consummate and convoluted characters. | " |
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ASSIGNING MACROS
You can create a macro yourself by left-clicking on the top Word Menu: Tools / Macro / Record New Macro . . .
or copy and paste from my own commands below. Left-click on top Word Menu: Tools / Macro / Macros . . . A screen will appear with a list of current macros (if any). Under Macro name: will be a box highlighted in blue. Type in a new macro name, as is appropriate from the names I list below, like Delete. You will get a screen that lists something like the following:
Sub Delete()
[insert copied macro text] here
End Sub
What you need to do is to highlight the whole section in my gray boxes, beginning with Sub and ending with End Sub and paste what I’ve given in the boxes for that command.
For instance, under Ctrl+y above for “delete from cursor to end of line” you need to paste:
Sub DeleteLine()
Selection.EndKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
Selection.Delete Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
End Sub
In other words, you need to substitute the exact commands I’ve given from Sub to End Sub.
AFTER ASSIGNING MACROS
Now, you may follow the instructions at the top of the page for customizing these under hotkeys. However, now you will find these under the Category of Macros rather than All Commands.
ISN’T THERE AN EASIER WAY? Well, yes, but it involves risk, and I hereby absolve myself of all responsibility if you try it. Only adopt this method if you have mid-level to expert skills in managing Windows XP and Word 2003. If your Word goes cuckoo afterwards, do not write to me to lead you back to the Land of Normalcy.
Having said that, you may download my own thoroughly customized Word template file, Normal.dot. Understand that you may need to reset your own individual settings for checking spelling or grammar as you go, whether rulers are displayed, what tool bars are available, etc. If this list doesn’t give you the slightest qualms, you may proceed to the download box. I’ve tried to eliminate any of my quirkier customizations, so you should be getting a relatively schizophrenic-free file. Still, you should always back up your computer and the all-important Normal.dot file before instituting any changes. And here’s a way to be safer still: Make a folder under My Documents called Word Template. Copy Normal.dot to this folder. (Word usually stores this file under C:\Documents and Settings\[your name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. If you can’t find this folder, you’re not skilled enough to implement this “easier way.”) Next, open Word and click on Tools then Options . . . then File Locations. Double-click on User templates, then navigate to your new folder under My Documents called Word Template. You may now back out of these menus by clicking on OK sequentially. Exit Word. When you return, the new macros and customizations will be in place. If you feel like you’re in a Robbe-Grillet rewrite of NeverNeverLand, you can reset your File Locations back to the original. Ready?
Download Customized Normaldot
When your browser prompts you on where to download the file, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to create a new folder under My Documents named Word Template. Save the file there.
Note that as a precaution, I’ve deleted the “.” after Normal and before dot in order to keep Word from automatically accessing this file when you try to download it. You’ll need to rename the file and replace the “.” after you have it on your computer.
