Since 2002, when I started writing these articles for you, I sometimes get questions repeatedly and I answer each one. Even though it may take me a week or so to get to it. At times I get many emails but not always enough time, but do not stop, send them anytime. I love to get them from you and answer when I am able. The more questions I receive, the better!
Today, I thought I would look at a couple of pesky, but relatively easy to fix, questions. One I received recently from James. He asked a question I had never gotten before, “How do I turn off that word eating monster?” I had gotten the same question in a different way, but not that made me LOL. This is a very common issue that users may experience in most word processing programs and even in spreadsheets.
You will normally type something in documents of many different types, go back to the middle of the line and type a letter or two. The new letters will “push” the text to the right to make room for the new text. However, one day you type the same way and the new letters type over and replace the text that was to the right of the cursor.
What gives? You have just discovered insert and overtype modes on your program. When it pushes the text away, you are in Insert mode, and when the characters to the right of the cursor vanish, you are in Overtype mode. Simple. The hard part is figuring out how to stop it. But once you do, it is very simple. Press your insert key once on your keybaord. Insert is usually located near your home key on your computer’s keyboard. Press once and it goes to the other mode and pressed again back to the previous mode. Try it and see.
The insert key will not work as the default setting on the newer versions of Microsoft Word. To change that setting in Word, you would need to go to File >> Options then on Advanced – located on the left. Now under “Editing options” (you should not need to scroll down to find it) check the “Use the insert key to control overtype mode” and if you want it to default to overtype instead of insert, check, “Use overtype mode.”
At the time of this writing, I have not heard back from James. So, let me know if I was correct. I do not know of anything else that could create the “Word Eating Monster!”
The next question I get all the time and it has an easy fix. “My text is way too small to see when I am online.” She goes on to say, “It used to be fine but all of a sudden it is so small I can hardly read it … help!” This one even bugs me from time to time when it happens, but luckily I, and now you, know what it is and how to “repair” it.
The simple fact is that you have unexpectedly discovered another general computer feature … zoom! There are ways for each specific program to zoom back out to view the text, but here is the quick and easy way – which is probably how you accidentally did it in the first place.
Click on the page, whether it is Word, Google Sheets, a web page, etc. Now, while holding down the control key on your keyboard (CTRL), scroll your mouse wheel. The key combo of CTRL + up will increase the size of the text and the CTRL + down combo will make the text (and everything else) smaller. Many programs will take you to 100% size by using the CTRL + 0 key. That is the numeral zero not the letter “O”.
If this information helped you, email and let me know. If so, I will show you a few more that I get emails regarding next week.
