Shows or hides the toolbar in the WordPad window.


Shows or hides the format bar in the WordPad window.


Shows or hides the ruler at the top of the WordPad window.


Help is available for each item in this group. Click [image] at the top of the dialog box, and then click the specific item you want information about.


Shows or hides the status bar at the bottom of the WordPad window.


Specifies that text does not wrap to the next line regardless of how the paragraph is formatted.


Specifies that text wraps to the next line when it reaches the sides of the window. This setting does not affect how the text looks when printed.


Specifies that text wraps to the next line when it reaches the margins of the page.


Specifies to display all measurements in this document in inches.


Specifies to display all measurements in this document in points.


Specifies to display all measurements in this document in centimeters.


Specifies to display all measurements in this document in picas.


Lists the date formats available.


Lists the alignments available for the selected paragraph.

Left: Aligns text at the left indent.

Right: Aligns text at the right indent.

Center: Centers the text between margins.


Specifies the number of units to indent text from the right margin.


Specifies the number of units to indent text from the left margin.


Specifies the number of units to indent text from the left margin of the first line. You can enter a negative number to create a hanging indent.


Saves the tab stop you typed in the Tab Stop Position box.


Removes the tab stop selected in the Tab Stop Position box.


Clears all the tab stops listed in the Tab Stop Position box.


Lists the position of each tab stop in this paragraph. To delete a tab stop, click the one you want to delete, and then click Clear.


Specifies the document format you want to use.

Word 6: Text can be opened and edited in Microsoft Word version 6.0 without conversion.

RTF (Rich Text Format): Text can include character formatting and tabs for use in a variety of word processing applications.

Text Only: Text has no text formatting.


Click this to save the file in text-only format without text formatting, tabs, or type styles.


Click this to save the file in Rich Text Format (RTF). Fonts, character formatting, and tabs will be saved.


Click this to save the file with text formatting. The file can be opened and edited in Microsoft Word version 6.0 without conversion.


Specifies to have WordPad highlight one word at a time as you drag the mouse over text. To highlight one character at a time, leave this box unchecked.


Sets the top margin of the page.


Sets the bottom margin of the page.


Sets the left margin of the page. If you set an indentation in the paragraph settings for your document, it is added to the margins you set here.


Sets the right margin of the page. If you set an indentation in the paragraph settings for your document, it is added to the margins you set here.


Creating a new document
To create a new document

1	On the File menu, click New.

2	Click the file type you want to create, and then begin typing.

Tip

To name the new file, click the File menu, and then click Save As.


Saving changes to a document
To save changes to a document

On the File menu, click Save.

Tip

To save an existing document with a new name, click Save As, and then type a new name in the File Name box.


Opening a document
To open a document

1	On the File menu, click Open.

2	In the Look In box, click the drive that contains the document you want to open.

3	Below the Look In box, click the folder that contains the document you want to open.

4	Click the document's name, or type it in the File Name box.

Tips

If you don't see what you're looking for, click a different file type in the Files Of Type list.

To open a document you opened recently, click its name at the bottom of the File menu.


Undoing your last action
To undo your last action

On the Edit menu, click Undo.


Seeing how a document looks before you print it
To see how your document will look before you print it

On the File menu, click Print Preview.

Tip

To return to the previous view from Print Preview, click the Close button.


Setting page margins
To set page margins

On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then enter new values in the Margins area.

Tip

For Help on an item, click [image] at the top of the dialog box, and then click the item.


Changing printers and printing options
To change printers and printing options

1	On the File menu, click Page Setup.

2	To change paper size, page orientation, or margins, change settings here.

To change printers, click Printer, and then click a printer from the Name list.

Tip

For Help on an item, click [image] at the top of the dialog box, and then click the item.


Deleting text
To delete text

1	Select the text you want to delete.

2	To remove text so that you can place it in another part of the document, click Edit, and then click Cut.

To remove text entirely from the document, press the DEL (Delete) key.

Tips

To cancel a selection, click anywhere in the document.

To undo a deletion, click Edit, and then click Undo.

To select all the text in a document, click Edit, and then click Select All.


Searching for text
To search for text

1	In the document, click where you want to start searching.

2	On the Edit menu, click Find and then enter the search text in the Find What box.

3	To find additional instances of the same text, continue to click Find Next.

Tips

To search for more instances of the same text after you have closed the Find dialog box, press F3.

To search for and replace text, click Replace instead of Find on the Edit menu.


Searching for and replacing text
To search for and replace text

1	In the document, click where you want to start replacing text.

2	On the Edit menu, click Replace, and then enter the text you want to find and the text you want to replace it with.

3	To replace all instances of the text, click Replace All.

To replace each instance of the text individually, click Find Next, and then click Replace.


Editing linked objects
To edit linked objects

1	Click the object to select it.

2	On the Edit menu, point to (Document or Bitmap) Object, and then click Edit or Open:

Click Edit to modify the object within the WordPad window.

Click Open to open the program in which the object was created, and then modify it there.

3	When you are done, return to the WordPad document:

If you clicked Edit from the Object submenu, click outside the object.

If you clicked any command except Edit from the Object submenu, click File, and then click Exit And Return To Document.

Tips

You can also double-click the object to open, run, or activate it, depending on the object type.

The Edit menu commands displayed depend on the type of object selected. For example, document objects have Edit and Open as submenu choices. Sound objects have Play and Edit.


Showing or hiding the format bar
To show or hide the format bar

On the View menu, click Format Bar.

A check mark appears when the format bar is visible.

Tips

The buttons on the format bar are shortcuts for formatting text, such as making text bold or underlined, or changing the paragraph style. To format text, select it, and then click the appropriate button on the format bar.

You can drag the format bar and the toolbar to any location in the window.


Displaying the ruler
To show or hide the ruler

On the View menu, click Ruler.

A check mark appears when the ruler is visible.

Tip

To set tab stops by using the ruler, click the ruler at each increment where you want a tab stop. To delete tab stops with the ruler, drag them off the ruler.


Changing how text wraps on your screen
To change the way text wraps on your screen

1	On the View menu, click Options.

2	In the Word Wrap area, click the wrapping option you want.

Notes

The wrapping options only affect how text appears on your screen. When printed, the document uses the margin settings specified in Page Setup.

You can set different word wrap options for each text format in which you save the document: text-only, Word 6, Microsoft Write, and Rich Text Format (RTF).


Creating a bulleted list
To create a bullet list

1	Click where you want the bullet list to start.

2	On the Format menu, click Bullet Style, and then enter text.

When you press ENTER, another bullet is displayed on the next line.

3	To end the bullet list, click Bullet Style again.


Inserting the current date and time
To insert the current date and time

1	Click where you want the date and time to appear.

2	On the Insert menu, click Date And Time.

3	Click the format you want for the date or the time.


Changing the font type, style and size
To change a font type, style, and size

1	Select the text you want to format.

2	On the Format menu, click Font.

3	Click the options you want.

Tips

You can specify the font for new text by changing the font settings before you begin to type.

To change the font for an entire document, click the Edit menu, and then click Select All before clicking the Format menu.

For Help on an item, click [image] at the top of the dialog box, and then click the item.


Formatting a paragraph
To format a paragraph

1	Click within the paragraph you want to format.

2	On the Format menu, click Paragraph, and then choose the alignment and indents you want.

Tip

To define paragraph formatting for a new document, change the format settings before you begin to type.


Setting tabs
To set tabs in paragraphs

1	Select the paragraph you want to set tabs for.

2	On the Format menu, click Tabs.

3	To set a tab stop, enter the position in the Tab Stop Position box, and then click Set.

To delete a tab stop, click it in the tab-stop list, and then click Clear.

To delete all tab stops in the selected paragraph, click Clear All.

Tips

To set tab stops by using the ruler, click the ruler at each increment where you want to put a tab stop.

To delete tab stops by using the ruler, drag them off the ruler.


Inserting an embedded or linked object
To embed or link an object into WordPad

1	On the Insert menu, click New Object.

2	If you want to create a new object, click Create New, and then click an object type. When you finish creating the object, click outside the object to return to WordPad.

To insert an existing object, click Create From File, and then type the path and filename, or click Browse to find the file. Click Link to create a link. To embed the object, leave the Link box unchecked.


An object can be text, graphics, or other information you create and edit in a program other than WordPad, but that you insert and store in a WordPad document.


Click Help Topics for a list of Help topics.