Work with text in Writer

Working with Text

Add, edit or delete text

Add text by opening a new document or choose a existing document from your list of files and add the required content. You can also insert a text box or shape and type your text within it.

To add, edit or delete text,

  1. Open a blank or existing document and place the cursor wherever you require to add new text. You can also, select the existing content and replace with new content.
  2. To delete text, select the content area to be removed and press delete.

Cut, copy/paste text

Copy (or cut) and paste text within the body of your document, or within a a text box or shape based on your requirements.

  1. Select the text you require to copy
  2. On a Mac device, press Command-C to copy, Command-X to cut, and Command-V to paste the text.
  3. On a Windows device, press Control-C to copy and Control X to cut the selected text.

Alternatively, you can cut and copy text by right clicking the text you want to be cut or copied and paste it anywhere or by navigating to Clipboard Options.


InfoLimitation: You cannot copy and paste a full page along with its header and footer in Zoho Writer. At present, only the page content can be copied.

Format text

Bold text

You can make any piece of text bold to make it stand out in your document.

To bold text,

  1. Select the required text. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Either click the Bold icon, or click the More > Format tab and click the same icon.

Italicize text

You can use italicized text when you mention names of journalistic media, radio/tv series, articles, academic papers, books or any work of art. It can also be used to give emphasis to words.

To italicize text,

  1. Select the required text. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Either click the Italic icon, or click the More > Format tab and click the same icon.

Underline text

You can underline text to imply that it is very important and not to be overlooked.

To underline text,

  1. Select the required text. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Either click the Underline icon, or click the More > Format tab and click the same icon.

Strike through words

A reader can always notice the difference if you edit text by striking words and not deleting them.

To strike through words,

  1. Select text. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Either click the Strikethrough icon, or click the More > Format tab and click the same icon.

Quick text

The Quick Text feature lets you re-use portions of text in your documents by storing them as mini-templates. You can store different types of content in quick text, like custom headers and footers, paragraphs, graphical images, tables, etc,.

To use quick text,

  1. Select the content you want to re-use.
  2. Click More > Format tab.
  3. In the Format tab, click the Quick Text icon.
  4. Click Save Selection to Auto Text Gallery.
  5. Enter a title for the text you want to add and click Save. The next time you want to insert this text elsewhere, click the Quick Text icon and select it from the drop-down list.
    Quick text

Format painter

Format Painter lets you copy formatting (bold, italics, underlining, color, etc.) from one piece of text to another.

To use format painter,

  1. Select the formatted text. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Click the Format Painter icon. Alternatively, click More > Format tab > Format Painter icon. The cursor will turn into a gloved hand.
  3. Select the text to which you want to apply the formatting.
    Format painter

Turn on formatting marks

Turn on formatting marks to review a document's layout and troubleshoot printing problems. They are an invaluable tool to resolve any formatting issues you might have in your document.

To turn on formatting marks,

  1. Click the More > Format tab.
  2. In the Format tab, click the pilcrow icon. The following formatting marks will become visible while typing:
    Pilcrow  The paragraph symbol or pilcrow follows any new paragraph in a document.
    Line Break  A line break is a break in the current line of text that doesn't create a new paragraph. This is often done using the shortcut Shift+Enter.
    Tab  Any tab in a document will be represented as an arrow pointing to the right. If there are multiple tabs, you'll have multiple arrows.
    Space

    The space character helps you to identify multiple spaces that have been added to a text unintentionally.

    Column/Section/Page BreakAny column, section or page break inserted will be shown on enabling the formatting mark as shown in the below image.

Undo/redo an action

To undo/redo an action,

  1. Click the More > Format tab.
  2. Under Clipboard Options , click the Undo/Redo icon.
  3. Alternatively, you can use the following shortcuts:
    • To Undo - Command Z on a Mac device and Control Z on a Windows device
    • To Redo - Command Y on a Mac device and Control Y on a Windows device

Clear formatting

You can clear formatting and get the plain text in one go without having to remove the formatting options applied to a piece of text, one by one.

To clear formatting,

  1. Select the text from which you would like to remove all formatting. A pinnable tool pallet will appear.
  2. Click the Clear Formatting icon. Alternatively, go to More > Format tab and click the same icon. The formatting will be removed.

Change text alignment

You can use different text alignments in your document based on the way you present content. Most often, center alignment is used for headings and left alignment for paragraphs. If you want the content to fit in between the left and right margins, you can use justified alignment. Right alignment is used in rare cases like making attributions to authors when you quote them in your document.

To change text alignment,

  1. Select the required text.
  2. Click More > Format tab.
  3. Under Paragraph header , you will find the following alignment icons:
    • Left alignment
    • Center alignment
    • Right alignment
    • Justified alignment
  4. Click the alignment you'd like to use. The selected text will be aligned accordingly.

Find and Replace Text

You can find any text in a document and replace it at one instance or all together. Click here here for further details on Find and Replace.

Drag and drop text

Drag and Drop is an alternative to copy/paste.

To drag and drop text,

  1. Select the content that is to be moved to a different location.
  2. Now, you can drag the highlighted content and move it to your desired location inside your document.

Drag And Drop

Change the text case

If you want to change the text case of any piece of text, you can select it and change it to the case you want rather than typing it all over again in the desired text case.

To change text case,

  1. Select the required text.
  2. Click More > Format tab.
  3. In the Format tab, click the drop-down arrow next to the Change Case icon. Select the case to which you want to change the text.

Character spacing

Character spacing refers to the loosening or tightening of the space between each letter or character within a block of text.

Adjust the spacing to improve the visual appeal of your document.

To change the character spacing,

  1. Select the text or character that you want to change.
  2. Click More > Format tab.
  3. Click the Character Spacing icon under the Font header of the Format tab. Now change the spacing as per your preferences.

Sub and Superscript

You can add superscript (usually numbers) above words to direct the attention of the reader to a description of the word, which will appear as a footnote or an endnote. Superscripts and subscripts are also used in academic documents for representing mathematical or chemical equations.

To turn on superscript/subscript,

  1. Click More > Format tab.
  2. Under Fonts header, click the Superscript/Subscript icon to enable the formatting of your choice. Type in the text.

NotesNote:
You can also make existing text superscript or subscript by highlighting it and clicking on the icon that corresponds to the formatting you want.

Autocorrect

Set up autocorrect to replace specific characters with symbols.

To autocorrect as you type,

  1. Click the Settings icon on the top right corner of your screen.
  2. Now go to Settingswindow > Auto Correct.
  3. Enter the character or characters you want to autocorrect under the custom header. Click the icon.
    Add more characters that you want to autocorrect and click Save.
  4. Click the Disable Auto Correction checkbox to disable autocorrect while you're typing. This will disable both custom and default entries.

Info
To delete the custom autocorrect entries, click the Delete icon that is available near each entry. Default autocorrect options cannot be deleted.

How to translate documents

Zoho Writer’s built-in Translation feature allows you to instantly translate your document content into 70+ languages without leaving the editor. Whether you're collaborating across regions or localizing customer communication, the Translate tool helps you break language barriers with ease.

Steps to Translate Content in Zoho Writer  

  1. Open the document you want to translate

  2. On the left panel, go to Tools > Review > Translate Content.

  3. In the Content Translation menu, choose the target language from the drop-down list. (Writer auto-detects the source language)

  4. Translation options:

    1.  To translate an entire document:

      1. Save it as a new document. The entire document’s text is automatically loaded on the left side of the panel. You can choose to either replace the original content with the translated version. 

       To translate a specific part of a document:

      1. Select the content you want to translate.

      2. Right-click and click Translate content to.

      3. Choose your target language. The translated content will appear inline, right next to or replacing the original. You can now review, edit, and share the translated content or document as needed.

Note: 

  • If you're a collaborator, you must have edit or share access to the document you want to translate.

  • You must be connected to the Internet to use the translation feature.

  • If you save the translated content as a new document, the original document remains unchanged, and translated document opens in a new tab.

  • When translating specific parts of a document, ensure that you select at least 50 valid characters (excluding spaces, special characters, emojis, and Unicode).

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