Productivity Tip

You can assign keyboard shortcuts to most manual formatting tools. Select View > Program Options > Keyboard Shortcuts to access the settings.

There are two ways to apply formatting manually: Select a formatting option and start typing, or select text and then apply a formatting option.

Select a formatting option and start typing:

If you select a formatting option without selecting text first the formatting options you select will apply to all the text you type from that point onwards (unless you move the cursor again). If you press Enter to create a new paragraph after applying formatting like this the new paragraph will also have all the formatting attributes you have just applied.

Select text and then apply a formatting option:

If you select text in the editor and then select formatting options the options will be applied to the selected text and paragraphs. If you then place the cursor directly after the formatted text any new text you type in that position will also have the formatting.

To see what a formatting tool does just position the mouse over it for a second or two and a description will be displayed.

The Font and Paragraph tools:

The tools in the Font and Paragraph groups of the Write tab all apply formatting manually in the current position. If text is selected the options are applied to the selected text. If no text is selected the options apply from the cursor position onwards when you start typing.

For more detailed formatting settings you can display the Font, Paragraph and Borders and Background dialogs. To display them just click on the little arrow icons at the bottom right of the Font and Paragraph groups.

The Borders and Background tool:

This tool is included in the Paragraph group in the Write tab. You can display a full dialog of options by clicking on the little arrow next to the Border Tool.

Hovering the mouse over selected text displays the Popup Formatter, which can be used to quickly apply formatting and styles to selected text.

Use the Format Painter tool in the Clipboard group (Write and Project tabs) to copy formatting. The Format Painter works in the same way as similar tools in Word processors.

1.Select text or click in the paragraph whose formatting you want to copy, then click once to use the painter once, or double-click to turn on the painter for multiple use. The mouse pointer changes to a painter symbol.

2.Click in the paragraph or select the text that you want to apply the formatting to.

3.Press ESC or click on the Format Painter tool again to turn it off if necessary.