As I’ve trained editors working in Microsoft Word, I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon: Left to their own devices, some editors will scroll for pages using only the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys (the cursor keys). That’s like using a toothbrush to paint your house. This is going to sound pretty basic, but there’s a whole hierarchy of keys you should use to move through a document. Here it is, from big movements to small:
When I edit a document in Microsoft Word, I do everything I can from the keyboard. I avoid using the mouse because reaching over to get it interrupts the flow of work and slows me down. Sometimes, though, for a change of pace, I like to see how much editing I can do without even touching the keyboard, using the mouse as a sort of electronic pencil. If you’re interested in trying this, here are some things to consider:
One of the advantages of editing on paper is that you can lay out the various pages, one here, one there, for reference and comparison with each other. For example, you may need to refer to a certain paragraph on page 10 while editing a paragraph on page 300. On the computer, this is a problem. You can scroll back to page 10 for reference, but then you’ll have to scroll forward again to page 300 to make your changes.