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Outline View helps you manage a document’s structure and headings without getting lost in the text. In Outline View (click View > Outline), you use Outline Tools to move and edit headings, change heading levels, and move text around. You can also control how much detail you see.
Note: Creating an outline from nothing instead of starting with an existing document is a whole different process. See Create an outline from scratch if that’s what you’re after.
Once you're in Outline View, here’s how to work on your document:
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To… |
Do this |
Keyboard shortcut |
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Create heading |
Select the body text in Outline View and under Outlining, in Outline Tools click the Outline Level box and choose the heading level you want. |
Alt+Shift+Left Arrow |
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Edit heading |
Select the text in Outline View and make the changes you want. |
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Change heading level |
Under Outlining, in Outline Tools, click the right and left arrows next to the Outline Level box to promote or demote headings. |
Alt+Shift+Left Arrow or Alt+Shift+Right Arrow |
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Move text up or down |
Select the text, and click the up or down arrows under Outlining. |
Alt+Shift+Up Arrow or Alt+Shift+Down Arrow |
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Expand or collapse text |
Select the heading, and click the + or - symbols under Outlining. |
Alt+Shift+Plus Sign or Alt+Shift+Minus Sign |
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Show or hide some headings |
In the Show Level box in Outlining, pick the lowest heading level you want to display. All levels lower than that will be hidden. |
Alt+Shift+n shows all headings up to heading level n |
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Show first line of text or all text |
Under Outlining, check or clear the Show First Line Only box. |
Alt+Shift+L |
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Close Outline View |
Under Outlining, click the X on the Close Outline View button. |
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Switch to another view |
Click View, and click the type of view you want to switch to, such as Print Layout or Read Mode. |
Alt+Ctrl+P for Print View, Alt+Ctrl+N for Draft View, Alt+Ctrl+O to return to Outline View. |
