Editing Text 3

Lesson 8: Address Breaks & Spell Check

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In Lesson 8, we will finish editing text by adding both the to and from addresses at the top of our letter, learning how to insert a line break instead of a paragraph break, and inserting a horizontal line in the document. I will show how to use Shift Enter for line breaks, how Word's AutoCorrect can turn hyphens into a horizontal line, and we will discuss the difference between Ignore and Ignore All when using spell check. We will also observe how Word handles dates and superscripts as part of editing text.

Navigation

Prev: Lesson 07
Next: Lesson 09

Keywords

TechHelp Word, editing text, insert line break, paragraph break vs line break, horizontal line Word, insert address in letter, shift enter Word, spell check ignore vs ignore all, autocorrect options, fix address spacing, type recipient address, date forma

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Transcript

In lesson 8, we're going to finish talking about editing text. We'll put two and from addresses at the top of our letter. I'll show you how to insert a line break instead of a paragraph break. We'll insert a horizontal line in our document. And we'll learn the difference between Ignore and Ignore All when it comes to spell check.

Now that we have the closing on our letter, there is some stuff we forgot at the top of the letter. We don't have the to and from address. So let's use our scroll bar and go up to the very top of the letter. I'm just scrolling up here. I want to insert some stuff in front of Dear Mr. Schwartz and offer. So I'm going to click there in front of the word Dear and press Enter a couple of times. Enter, Enter. That will give me some blank lines at the very top of my document.

I can use the arrow keys, the up and down arrow keys, to move up and down. So I'll use the up arrow key to move back up to the top of the document. Now let's type in our return address at the very top of the document:

Richard Rost, Amichron Computing.

Now, I'm looking at this as I'm typing it, and I'm getting a paragraph break between each line, which has a lot of extra space around it. So what I'm going to use instead of a paragraph break is what's called a line break. I'm going to backspace over that and get rid of it.

Instead of pressing Enter after my name, I'm going to press Shift Enter. That means hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and then press Enter. Notice how that gives us a little bit less of a break there. It's called a line break. It's not a whole paragraph. It's just a new line of text.

So now I'll continue typing in the name of my company:

PCRESale.net, Shift Enter

My address, 123 Main Street, Shift Enter

Buffalo, New York 14222.

And no, this is not a real address, so don't mail me anything. I'm going to press Enter after my return address.

Wouldn't it be nice to insert a solid horizontal line right here? Watch this trick. I'm going to just press the hyphen button - hyphen, those are dashes - dash dash dash dash dash, a bunch of times, and then press Enter. Look at that. Microsoft Word converts that line of hyphens into a solid horizontal line all the way across the page. That's one of those neat AutoCorrect options that we're going to study more in a future class.

Let's continue now by pressing Enter and typing in the recipient's address. So we have:

Mr. William Schorzenoffer, SCHWARZENHOFFER, Shift Enter.

Look what happened. Microsoft Word is telling me that that name is spelled incorrectly. Notice down here I only spelled it with one N, and up here I spelled it with two Ns, so be careful of that. I'll click right in here, press Delete to get rid of one of those Ns, and then click down below. I'll wait a second. It's still showing as misspelled. Why is that?

Before, when I right-clicked on Schorzenoffer, I just picked Ignore. That means ignore only this word. Had I picked Ignore All, it would have ignored all instances of that word for the remainder of this document. So now I'm going to pick Ignore All. Any time Word sees Schorzenoffer spelled that way in the document, it will ignore it as a misspelling. That is the major difference between Ignore and Ignore All.

Let's finish Mr. Schorzenoffer's address:

PO Box 555, Shift Enter

Amherst, New York 14226.

Now all we need is to put the date in here. I'll press Enter, and then Enter again. I'll type in July 1st, 2009. Notice Word corrected the "first" and superscripted the "st." Again, that's an AutoCorrect option that we'll talk about later.

Intro

Quiz

Q1. What is the main difference between pressing Enter and Shift Enter in Microsoft Word?
A. Enter creates a paragraph break; Shift Enter creates a line break
B. Enter makes text bold; Shift Enter italicizes it
C. Enter deletes a paragraph; Shift Enter duplicates it
D. Enter centers text; Shift Enter left-justifies it

Q2. Why might you want to use Shift Enter instead of Enter when typing an address in a letter?
A. To start a new page
B. To reduce the space between lines without creating separate paragraphs
C. To enlarge the font size
D. To add a page number

Q3. What happens if you type a line of hyphens and press Enter in Microsoft Word?
A. It deletes the line of text
B. It inserts a horizontal line across the page
C. It starts a numbered list
D. It creates a page break

Q4. If Word marks a word as misspelled and you select Ignore, what is the result?
A. Word will ignore every future instance of the word in all documents
B. Word will ignore only that particular occurrence of the word in the document
C. Word deletes the word from the document
D. Word automatically corrects the word

Q5. What is the effect of selecting Ignore All in the spell check context menu?
A. It ignores the word in the current sentence only
B. It ignores all instances of the word in the current document
C. It removes the word from the dictionary
D. It suggests synonyms for the word

Q6. According to the lesson, what is the correct way to insert your return address at the top of a letter?
A. Type it as one single line separated by commas
B. Use Shift Enter to create each new line within the address
C. Use tab stops between each part of the address
D. Press Enter after every line for maximum spacing

Q7. When Word superscripts the "st" in dates like July 1st automatically, what Word feature is responsible?
A. Spell check
B. Styles
C. AutoCorrect
D. Justification

Answers: 1-A; 2-B; 3-B; 4-B; 5-B; 6-B; 7-C

DISCLAIMER: Quiz questions are AI generated. If you find any that are wrong, don't make sense, or aren't related to the video topic at hand, then please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.

Summary

Today's video from Word Learning Zone is all about finishing up our discussion on editing text in Microsoft Word. In this lesson, I will show you how to add two addresses at the top of a letter, how to insert line breaks instead of paragraph breaks, how to put in a horizontal line, and what the difference is between Ignore and Ignore All in spell check.

Now that we have the closing at the end of our letter, I noticed we forgot something important at the top. We do not have the sender and recipient addresses. To fix this, use the scroll bar to move to the very beginning of the document. Once there, click in front of "Dear Mr. Schwartz" and press Enter a couple of times. This creates some blank lines at the top.

You can also use the up and down arrow keys to navigate through your document. Press the up arrow key to return to the very first line. Now you can type your return address at the top:

Richard Rost, Amichron Computing.

As you type, you may notice that pressing Enter after each line creates too much space. That is because pressing Enter creates a paragraph break, which adds extra space above and below the line. To get just a simple line break without all that extra space, use Shift Enter. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and press Enter. This gives you a single line break between lines with less space.

Continue typing your company name followed by Shift Enter, then your street address with Shift Enter again, and lastly your city, state, and ZIP code.

For example:

Richard Rost Shift Enter
PCRESale.net Shift Enter
123 Main Street Shift Enter
Buffalo, New York 14222

Of course, this is not a real address so please do not try mailing anything to it.

After finishing your return address, press Enter to move to the next line.

To add a horizontal line, here is a neat little trick. Type a series of hyphens (that is the dash key), and then press Enter. Microsoft Word will automatically convert that line of hyphens into a solid horizontal line across the page. This is one of those AutoCorrect features that I will cover in more detail in a later lesson.

Now, press Enter again to continue and type in the recipient's address. Remember to use Shift Enter after each line to avoid the extra spacing from paragraph breaks.

For example,

Mr. William Schorzenoffer Shift Enter
PO Box 555 Shift Enter
Amherst, New York 14226

This is also a good time to pay attention to spelling. If Word highlights a name as misspelled, check your spelling. For example, if you spell Schorzenoffer differently in various spots, Word will alert you. Right-clicking and choosing Ignore will only skip that instance of the word. If you want Word to ignore that particular spelling throughout the whole document, select Ignore All. That is the main difference between the two options.

Finally, to insert the date, press Enter a couple more times and type in the date, such as July 1st, 2009. Notice how Word automatically formats the "st" in "1st" as superscript. That is another AutoCorrect option we will talk about in the future.

You can find a complete video tutorial with step-by-step instructions on everything discussed here on my website at the link below. Live long and prosper, my friends.

Topic List

Using the scroll bar to navigate a document
Inserting blank lines above text
Using arrow keys to move cursor up and down
Typing a return address at the top of a letter
Difference between paragraph break and line break
Inserting a line break with Shift Enter
Formatting a multi-line address with line breaks
Inserting a horizontal line using hyphens
Typing and formatting the recipient's address
Using spell check for similar names
Difference between Ignore and Ignore All in spell check
Typing and formatting the date in a letter
Automatic superscripting of ordinal dates

Article

In this lesson, you will learn how to finish arranging the top of a letter in Microsoft Word by adding both the sender (from) and recipient (to) addresses, how to control spacing with line breaks versus paragraph breaks, how to insert a horizontal line, and how to handle spell check options like Ignore and Ignore All.

When composing a formal letter, it is standard to include your return address at the very top, followed by a horizontal line, the recipient's address, and then the date. To start, scroll to the top of your document and click at the very beginning, just before your greeting line, such as where you might have "Dear Mr. Schwartz." Press Enter two times to insert a couple of blank lines at the top. You can use the arrow keys to move your cursor back up to the top where you will type your address.

Now, you want your address lines stacked with minimal space between them, rather than the extra gap that usually appears when you press Enter, which creates a full paragraph break. Instead, after typing each line of your address, press Shift and Enter together. This action creates what is called a line break, moving the cursor to a new line but not starting a new paragraph. This keeps the lines of your address closer together, which looks more professional.

For example, to enter your address, type your name, then press Shift Enter. On the next line type your company name, then Shift Enter. Continue with your street address, Shift Enter, and then your city, state, and ZIP code. Finish by pressing Enter (not Shift Enter), which will now create a regular paragraph break and place the cursor below your address block.

To add a decorative line below your address, type several hyphens in a row (using the dash key), and press Enter. Word will automatically convert this line of hyphens into a clean horizontal line stretching across the page. This is a useful shortcut for dividing sections in a document. If you want a different style of line, you can explore the Borders feature in Word, but the hyphens method is fast and straightforward.

Next, type in the recipient's address. Use the same Shift Enter technique for each line so the address lines are single-spaced. For example, type the recipient's name, press Shift Enter, the company or department if needed, Shift Enter, the street address or PO Box, Shift Enter, and then the city, state, and ZIP code. After the last line, press Enter to separate the address block.

As you type names or unusual words, Word may flag them as misspelled with a red underline. If you know the spelling is correct, right-click on the underlined word. If you choose Ignore, Word will skip over that particular instance of the word, but if the same word appears elsewhere, it will be flagged again. If you choose Ignore All, Word will ignore all instances of that word throughout your document, which is helpful for names or specialized terms. Use Ignore All with caution, especially if consistency is important, such as making sure a person's name is always spelled the same way.

After the addresses, press Enter a couple of times and type in the date. Word might automatically format the date and superscript parts like the "st" in "1st" as a small raised character. This is part of Word's autocorrect features, which can help keep your document professionally formatted.

These techniques help you create a properly formatted letterhead in Word with clear, correctly spaced address blocks, a visual separator line, and well-managed spelling preferences. Practicing these steps will make your documents appear more polished and professional.

Primary Topics

editing text, line breaks, paragraph breaks, addresses formatting, horizontal lines, spell check, ignore vs ignore all

Secondary Topics

use of arrow keys, autocorrect features