How to Select Vertical Text in Microsoft Word

How many times do you select text, cut and paste in Microsoft Word. I do it hundreds of times over a week. But I always select a line or two and the selection is always horizontal. Then I stumbled upon this wonderful way to select vertical text in Microsoft Word.

Why do you need vertical text selection in Microsoft Word?
The simplest example they provide is what if you want to bold the first word on each line? You can select and bold each word individually or you can make a vertical selection. Wow!

Here is how to select vertical text. Pretty simple actually… if you read the Microsoft Office manual well enough.

“To make a vertical selection, hold down the ALT key as you drag the mouse pointer to select the text. If you want to select the first word on each line, hold down the ALT key and drag the mouse pointer up or down to highlight each word.”

You can make a vertical selection anywhere in your document. I tried it in my Microsoft Office Word 2003 and it works perfectly. I am sure you are wondering why you never knew this Office tip before.