The fastest way to select all text at once

To select every word, image, and object in a Word document, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac. Everything in the document turns blue or highlighted when ready. This works the same way whether you are using Microsoft Word on your computer, Word Online in a web browser, or Google Docs.

Pressing Ctrl+A a second time expands the selection to include headers, footers, and text boxes if you have them. A third press selects everything in the entire document, including any content on every page. Most of the time, the first press is what you need. You can also use the menu: click Edit (or Home in some versions), then find Select All. The keyboard shortcut is faster once you remember it.

Key Takeaways

  • Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac) selects all text and objects in your document when ready.
  • Pressing the shortcut multiple times cycles through selecting the document, then headers and footers, then everything on every page.
  • After selecting all, you can copy, delete, change the font, or explore formatting to the entire document at once.
  • If you only need to select part of a document, click at the start, hold Shift, and click at the end of what you want.

What you can do after selecting all

Once everything is selected, you can act on the whole document at once. Press Ctrl+C to copy all the text, or Ctrl+X to cut it. You can paste it into another document, an email, or a text editor.

You can also change formatting across the entire document. With all text selected, you can change the font by clicking the font dropdown, adjust the size, make everything bold or italic, or change the text color. This is useful when you inherit a document with mixed formatting and want to start fresh with one consistent style. If you want to delete everything and start over, select all and press Delete or Backspace. Word will ask you to confirm if the document is long.

Selecting only part of a document

If you do not want to select everything, you have other options. Click at the beginning of the text you want to select, then hold Shift and click at the end. Everything between those two points turns blue.

You can also click and drag your mouse across the text you want. Start at one end and drag to the other while holding the mouse button down. This works for a single word, a sentence, a paragraph, or multiple paragraphs. To select a whole paragraph quickly, triple-click anywhere inside it. To select a whole line, click at the very beginning of the line (in the left margin) and drag down to select multiple lines at once.

Selecting text in Word Online and Google Docs

Word Online, which you access through Microsoft 365 in a web browser, works the same way: Ctrl+A selects all. Google Docs also uses Ctrl+A or Command+A. The menu path is slightly different — in Google Docs, click Edit and then Select all — but the result is identical.

One difference: in Google Docs, you can see exactly how many words, characters, and pages you have selected by looking at the word count at the bottom of the screen. Word shows this information in the status bar as well. Both programs handle selecting all the same way, so if you switch between them, the keyboard shortcut will work in both.

When selecting all causes problems

Selecting all can sometimes select things you did not intend. If your document has a header or footer with page numbers or a date, selecting all will include those. If you only want to change the body text, select just the body instead by clicking in the main text area and dragging.

In some documents with tables, selecting all may select the entire table structure rather than just the text inside. If you need to select only the text within a table cell, click inside that cell first, then use Ctrl+A to select just that cell's content. If you have comments or tracked changes turned on, selecting all does not select the comments themselves — only the document text. This is usually what you want, but it is worth knowing if you are trying to move or delete comments.

Keyboard shortcuts that work with selected text

Once you have selected text (whether all or part), these shortcuts let you act on it quickly without reaching for the menu:

  • Ctrl+C (or Command+C on Mac): Copy the selected text.
  • Ctrl+X (or Command+X on Mac): Cut the selected text and remove it from the document.
  • Ctrl+V (or Command+V on Mac): Paste text you copied or cut.
  • Ctrl+B: Make selected text bold.
  • Ctrl+I: Make selected text italic.
  • Ctrl+U: Underline selected text.
  • Delete or Backspace: Remove the selected text.

Learning these shortcuts saves time when you work with documents regularly. They work in Word, Google Docs, and most other text editors the same way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ctrl+A select text in text boxes and shapes?

The first press of Ctrl+A selects the main document text. If you click inside a text box or shape first, then press Ctrl+A, it selects only the text inside that box. To select everything including text boxes, press Ctrl+A while your cursor is in the main document body, then press it again.

Can I select all and keep my formatting?

Yes. Selecting all does not change anything by itself — it just highlights the text. Your formatting stays the same until you explore a new format. If you want to change the font but keep bold and italic where they already exist, select all, change the font, and leave the bold and italic buttons alone.

What if I select all by accident and want to undo it?

Click anywhere in the document to deselect. The blue highlight disappears and your cursor returns to that spot. You have not changed anything — selection alone does not modify the document.

Does selecting all work the same in Word on a phone or tablet?

On mobile devices, the menu is different. In Word for iPhone or iPad, tap the three dots (menu), then tap Select, then Select All. On Android, the path is similar. The keyboard shortcut does not work on most mobile keyboards, so the menu is your best option.