For editing commands such as copy, cut and paste, you must select the text. You can select text using the mouse or the keyboard.

To Select Text with the Mouse

Click at the beginning of the text you want to select.

Press and hold  the left mouse button and drag to the end of the text.

To deselect text, click any area in the window.

If you wish to modify a selection you have made, press and hold the Shift key and left mouse button. Then drag forward or backward to adjust the amount of selected text. Or, hold down the Shift key and one of the arrow keys to change the selection.

You can also use these shortcuts for selecting text:

Select a Word
Double-click the word

Select a Line or Paragraph
Triple-click the line

All text
Quadruple-click in the text

To Select Text with the Keyboard.


Selecting  Blocks of Text with Shortcut Keys.
Move the cursor to the beginning of the text block. Hold down the Shift key and tap the left or right arrow key to select text.

Cursor to beginning of line
Shift+Home

Cursor to end of line
Shift+End

Cursor to beginning of paragraph
Shift+Control+Up Arrow

Cursor to end of paragraph
Shift+Control+Down Arrow

Cursor to beginning of document
Shift+Control+Home

Cursor to end of document
Shift+Control+End

All text
Control+A

Deselecting text:

If some text is selected and you press any navigation keystroke, then the selection is cancelled, and which character in the text is the current character is changed. In particular:

• If you press RIGHT ARROW, then the selection is cancelled, and the first character after the text which was selected becomes the current character.
• If you press LEFT ARROW, then the selection is cancelled, and either the first or last character of the text which was selected becomes the current character. The first character becomes the current character in Microsoft Word and email programs such as Outlook Express. Other programs vary in which convention they follow. In single line edit boxes, the last character often becomes the current character.