Change case using the mouse or the keyboard (Word 2007-2013)

In 2009, I wrote a post that explained how to change the case of selected / highlighted text with a keyboard shortcut. (See Changing case (Word, all recent versions).) This new post expands on my earlier article by explaining how to change case with the mouse.

To do so, start by selecting / highlighting the text, and then go to the Home tab, Font group. Locate the drop-down arrow to the right of the Change Case icon (the one with a capital letter “A” and a lower-case letter “a” side by side) and click it, then choose one of five different cases. The cases you can apply are:

Sentence case. – Only the first word of each sentence is capitalized. This format assumes that there is at least one period somewhere within the text you’ve selected / highlighted.

lower case – Does not capitalize any text, regardless of punctuation.

UPPER CASE – Capitalizes all text, regardless of punctuation.

Capitalize Each Word – This format is sometimes referred to as Initial Caps. When you use this format, Word capitalizes every word, even “the,” “and,” “of,” and the like. (By contrast, WordPerfect’s Initial Caps format does not capitalize those “helper” or transitional words.)

tOGGLE CASE – You can apply this format to fix things in the event that you accidentally turn on the Caps Lock key at the wrong time. (Does anyone actually use this case??)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, you also have the option of using a keyboard shortcut to change case. First, select / highlight the text, and then press Shift F3. (Hold the Shift key down and tap the F3 function key.) Keep pressing Shift F3 to cycle through the available cases.

Note that you will have fewer choices with the keyboard shortcut than with the Change Case icon in the Font group on the Home tab. Typically, the choices available with the keyboard shortcut are limited to UPPER CASE, lower case, and either Sentence case (if the selected text includes a period) or Capitalize Each Word (if the selected text does not include a period).

Use the Mouse to zoom in or out

Here’s a general computer tip – obviously not specific to Word or WordPerfect – that I distributed this week at the Department of Justice in Los Angeles. I’ve edited the tip slightly before posting here.

People often ask me “How did you do that?” when I’m teaching and, without thinking about it, I use the mouse to increase the magnification of a sample document so that everyone can see it better. Once you know how to zoom in or out with the mouse, you’ll do it all the time. It works whether you’re working in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint; reading an e-mail message; or viewing a web page on the Internet.

Just press and hold the Ctrl key, then use the scroll wheel in the middle of your mouse to zoom in / make text larger (push the wheel away from you) or zoom out / make the text smaller (pull the wheel toward you). Each individual “click” of the wheel changes the magnification by 10%, although most people scroll faster than that.