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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2012 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

How to select a rectangular block of text so you can delete it, copy it, or cut it

Suppose you wish to delete columns c, d, and e in some text that looks like this:

[You can also copy or cut the columns: See below, and use Ctrl+c or Ctrl+x instead of the Delete key in Step 3.]

Important

First, be sure your WordPerfect version is up to date. See Updating, upgrading, or reinstalling. The methods demonstrated below of selecting and deleting a rectangular section of text might not work in some early builds of some editions of the program.

Second, be aware that a checkbox setting in WordPerfect, if enabled (ticked), can affect the way the cursor selects text by forcing the selection of entire words. The setting is found here:

Tools, Settings, Environment, "Automatically select whole words when dragging to select text."

There are two methods to select a rectangular block of text, depending on the state of the above checkbox setting:

Method A

You can disable (un-tick) the above Environment setting to let WordPerfect select individual characters instead of entire words, in which case you can select columns c, d, and e as shown in Step 1 of Method A. Then do Step 2 and Step 3.

Step 1 Place your cursor after the "b" in rhe first line, then drag your mouse downward while depressing the left mouse button to locate the cursor after the "e" in the last line.	Step 2 Click on Edit, Select, Rectangle.	Step 3 Press the <Delete> key.
The selection should look like this:	The selection should now look like this:	The text should now look like this:

Method B

However, if you prefer the above Environment setting enabled (ticked), which is the default for many users, then you can use any one of the procedures below to select a rectangular area of text (here, columns c through e). Each procedure effectively works around the aforementioned Environment setting.

Step 1 Place your cursor after the "b" in rhe first line, then drag your mouse downward while depressing the <Alt> key and the left mouse button to locate the cursor after the "e" in the last line.	Step 2 Click on Edit, Select, Rectangle.	Step 3 Press the <Delete> key.
Alternative #1: Place your cursor after the "b" in rhe first line, then use the keyboard, not the mouse: Hold down the <Shift> key while using the Arrow (and/or Page) keys to select the text.	Click on Edit, Select, Rectangle.	Press the <Delete> key.
Alternative #2: Try this simple two-step method	Place your cursor after the "b" in rhe first line, then drag your mouse downward while depressing the <Shift> key and the right mouse button to locate the cursor after the "e" in the last line.	Press the <Delete> key.
The selection should look like this:	The selection should now look like this:	The text should now look like this:

Of course, instead of deleting the rectangular selection you can copy it (Ctrl+c) or cut it (Ctrl+x) to the Windows clipboard so that you can paste it elsewhere in a document.