{"id":2162,"date":"2007-03-18T00:23:08","date_gmt":"2007-03-17T18:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T08:04:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T02:34:43","slug":"how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Select Vertical Text in Microsoft Word (Windows &#038; Mac)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Can you <strong>select vertical text in Microsoft Word<\/strong>? Yes. I cut and paste text in Word hundreds of times a week, and the selection was always horizontal &#8211; a line or two at a time. Then I stumbled on this wonderful trick for selecting a vertical block of text. It still works in Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024 and Word for Mac in 2026, and it takes just one key.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-63576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026.webp\" alt=\"select vertical text in microsoft word\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/select-vertical-text-word-2026-768x403.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"quick-answer\" style=\"border-left: 4px solid #F28C1E; background: #f6f8fb; padding: 14px 18px; margin: 18px 0;\"><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Hold down <kbd>Alt<\/kbd> (Windows) or <kbd>Option<\/kbd> (Mac) and drag the mouse over the text. Word selects a rectangular, vertical block instead of whole lines. With the keyboard, press <kbd>Ctrl+Shift+F8<\/kbd> (Windows) or <kbd>Cmd+Shift+F8<\/kbd> (Mac) and use the arrow keys, then press <kbd>Esc<\/kbd> to turn it off.<\/div>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee62b786d92\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee62b786d92\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Normal_vs_vertical_text_selection\" >Normal vs vertical text selection<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#How_to_select_vertical_text_in_Microsoft_Word\" >How to select vertical text in Microsoft Word<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Method_1_Alt_drag_Windows\" >Method 1: Alt + drag (Windows)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Method_2_Option_drag_Mac\" >Method 2: Option + drag (Mac)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Method_3_Keyboard_only\" >Method 3: Keyboard only<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Why_use_vertical_text_selection\" >Why use vertical text selection?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Things_to_know\" >Things to know<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Vertical_selection_in_other_apps\" >Vertical selection in other apps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#How_do_I_select_a_vertical_block_of_text_in_Word\" >How do I select a vertical block of text in Word?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#What_is_the_shortcut_for_column_selection_in_Word\" >What is the shortcut for column selection in Word?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Why_isnt_Alt_drag_working_in_Word\" >Why isn&#8217;t Alt + drag working in Word?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2007\/03\/how-to-select-vertical-text-in-microsoft-word\/#Can_I_select_vertical_text_in_Word_for_Mac\" >Can I select vertical text in Word for Mac?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Normal_vs_vertical_text_selection\"><\/span>Normal vs vertical text selection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you select text in Word, it selects horizontally by default, line after line, like this:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27966\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/horizontal-select.png\" alt=\"horizontal text selection in word\" width=\"301\" height=\"100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/horizontal-select.png 301w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/horizontal-select-150x49.png 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/horizontal-select-300x99.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With vertical (block or column) selection, you choose a rectangle of text that runs down several lines. Here&#8217;s the same text with a vertical selection:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27967\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/vertical-select.jpg\" alt=\"vertical text selection in word\" width=\"307\" height=\"104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/vertical-select.jpg 307w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/vertical-select-300x101.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 307px) 100vw, 307px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_select_vertical_text_in_Microsoft_Word\"><\/span>How to select vertical text in Microsoft Word<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_1_Alt_drag_Windows\"><\/span>Method 1: Alt + drag (Windows)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Place the mouse pointer at the top-left corner of the text you want.<\/li>\n<li>Press and hold the <kbd>Alt<\/kbd> key.<\/li>\n<li>Drag down and to the right until the block you want is highlighted.<\/li>\n<li>Release the mouse, then the Alt key.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Tip: press Alt <em>after<\/em> you put the pointer in place, and hold it while dragging. If you tap Alt alone, Word shows ribbon key tips instead; just press Esc and try again.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_2_Option_drag_Mac\"><\/span>Method 2: Option + drag (Mac)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In Word for Mac, hold <kbd>Option<\/kbd> while dragging the mouse to make the same vertical block selection.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Method_3_Keyboard_only\"><\/span>Method 3: Keyboard only<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Click where the block should start.<\/li>\n<li>Press <kbd>Ctrl+Shift+F8<\/kbd> (Windows) or <kbd>Cmd+Shift+F8<\/kbd> (Mac) to turn on block selection mode.<\/li>\n<li>Use the arrow keys to extend the selection down and across.<\/li>\n<li>Apply your formatting or copy, then press <kbd>Esc<\/kbd> to leave block selection mode.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Microsoft lists these shortcuts in its <a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/office\/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">keyboard shortcuts for Word<\/a> guide.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_use_vertical_text_selection\"><\/span>Why use vertical text selection?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Format the first word of every line:<\/strong> bold, italicize or color a column of words in one go instead of one by one.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Remove leading characters:<\/strong> delete numbers, bullets, spaces or tabs at the start of many lines pasted from email or code.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Copy a column of text:<\/strong> grab one column from text that&#8217;s aligned with spaces or tabs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clean up pasted lists<\/strong> from PDFs or web pages where each line starts with the same junk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Things_to_know\"><\/span>Things to know<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Vertical selection works best with text aligned in a monospaced font or with tabs. In proportional fonts, the block follows screen position, so it may cut through words.<\/li>\n<li>For Word tables, you don&#8217;t need this trick: click at the top of a column when the pointer becomes a small down arrow to select the whole column.<\/li>\n<li>Some features are limited with a block selection: you can format, copy, cut and delete, but not every command applies.<\/li>\n<li>Word for the web has fewer selection features than the desktop app, so use the desktop version if Alt + drag doesn&#8217;t work in your browser.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Vertical_selection_in_other_apps\"><\/span>Vertical selection in other apps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The same idea works in many editors: Alt + drag in Notepad++, Shift + Alt + drag in <a href=\"https:\/\/code.visualstudio.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Visual Studio Code<\/a>, and Option + drag in many Mac apps. It&#8217;s one of those tips you&#8217;ll keep using once you know it. While you&#8217;re working in Word, you may also want to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2022\/04\/password-protect-word-document\/\">password protect a Word document<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_select_a_vertical_block_of_text_in_Word\"><\/span>How do I select a vertical block of text in Word?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and drag the mouse over the text. Word highlights a rectangular block.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_shortcut_for_column_selection_in_Word\"><\/span>What is the shortcut for column selection in Word?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ctrl+Shift+F8 on Windows (Cmd+Shift+F8 on Mac), then use the arrow keys. Press Esc to exit.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_isnt_Alt_drag_working_in_Word\"><\/span>Why isn&#8217;t Alt + drag working in Word?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Make sure you hold Alt while dragging, not before clicking. Some mouse utilities, screen recorders or the Word for the web version can interfere; try the keyboard method or the desktop app.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_select_vertical_text_in_Word_for_Mac\"><\/span>Can I select vertical text in Word for Mac?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Hold Option and drag, or use Cmd+Shift+F8 and the arrow keys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can you select vertical text in Microsoft Word? Yes. I cut and paste text in Word hundreds of times a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-2162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computers","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2162"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63577,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions\/63577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}