Navigation:  Basics > Deleting text

All users make typos occasionally and want to delete them again. Write enables you to do so via numerous options:

Deleting characters: To delete a character, use the Backspace keyÕ situated above the Enter key↵. This key deletes the character to the left of the text cursor. The following text moves back automatically.

You can also delete in the opposite direction with the Del ("Delete") key. It deletes the character to the right rather than to the left of the text cursor.

Deleting word on the right: If you place the cursor before the first letter of a word and then press Ctrl+Del, the entire word is deleted. If the text cursor is positioned in the middle of the word, this key combination deletes only the letters following the cursor to the end of the word.

The key combination Ctrl+BackspaceÕ works analogously for words to the left of the cursor.

Deleting a carriage return: You can remove a carriage return that was inserted by mistake. Try it: Type a multi-line paragraph and then insert a carriage return in the middle of the paragraph by pressing the Enter key↵. The following text jumps to the next line and the paragraph is divided. This may be done intentionally in certain cases where a paragraph is too long and must be divided into two paragraphs. Here, however, it was a mistake – so press the Backspace keyÕ to remove the carriage return.

Deleting long sections of text: The aforementioned delete keys are well suited for removing short sections of text, but are far too laborious for deleting longer sections of text. For this reason, there is another deletion method whereby you first select the text and then delete it completely, for example, by pressing the Del key. For more information, see Working with selections.