Master the Art of Highlighting Text in Microsoft Word Without Altering Its Color or Font

Microsoft Word is a powerful tool for creating, editing, and managing documents. Sometimes, you may need to highlight text to draw attention to specific parts of your document without altering the text's font color or style. This article will guide you through the process of doing so using both keyboard shortcuts and the built-in Highlighting tool.

Highlighting with the Keyboard

Using the keyboard can be an efficient way to highlight text in Microsoft Word, especially when you need to select large portions of text quickly. Here’s how to do it:

Move the cursor to the starting location of the text you wish to highlight using the arrow keys.Hold down the Shift key and press an arrow key in the direction you want to highlight text. You can highlight text in all directions (up, down, left, right).Once you have selected the text you want to highlight, release the Shift key.

This method highlights the text temporarily and serves mostly for visual selection without permanently altering the text properties. To permanently apply the highlight, you can follow the next step using the Highlighting tool.

Using the Highlighting Tool

For a more precise and visually appealing approach, you can use the Highlighting tool in Microsoft Word. Follow these steps to highlight text without changing its color or font:

Select the text you wish to highlight.Locate the Home tab on the Ribbon. If it’s not visible, you can show it by clicking on View > Ribbons.Click on the Highlight button located in the Font section. This button usually has a dark blue background with a bold 'H' symbol.A dropdown menu will appear offering various color options. Choose a color to apply the highlight to your selected text.

This method highlights the text with a colored overlay, which does not affect the original font color or text formatting. To remove the highlight, simply select the text and click on the Highlight button again, or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl H to open the Highlighting dialog box where you can choose to remove the highlight.

Conclusion

Microsoft Word offers versatile tools to highlight text for emphasis. By following the methods discussed above, you can efficiently highlight text without changing its color or font, ensuring that your document remains visually organized and professional. Whether you’re using keyboard shortcuts or the Highlighting tool, these techniques can help you draw attention to important information and make your documents more readable and engaging.

QA

Is it possible to change the highlighting color to something other than the standard options provided by Microsoft Word? No, Microsoft Word only provides a predefined set of colors for highlighting. However, if you need more options, you can consider using an add-in or customizing your document theme.Can I highlight multiple sections of text in different colors simultaneously? Yes, you can highlight different sections of text in multiple colors. Simply highlight the text section by section, choosing a different color for each one.Is there a way to undo a highlight that was applied using the Highlighting tool? Yes, you can easily undo a highlight. Simply select the text with the highlight and click on the Highlight button again, or use the Ctrl Y shortcut to reapply the previous command (undo).