Have you ever been working on a large document and found that you needed to move sections around within the document? This usually involves cutting a page or pages from one part of the document and pasting it into another.
Now, if you have ever needed to do that, you’ll know how easy it is to inadvertently paste the page or pages into the wrong part of the document, especially if you have to scroll through 50 or 100 pages to find the correct place to paste, or perhaps you have even ended up moving the wrong section! If that happens, it’s often best to use the Undo feature and start again.
This is where Outline view comes into its own. When you are working on a document with headings and lots of text, Outline view makes it so much easier to structure the document and to see that structure at a glance.
You will need to have applied Styles to the document headings to get the most from Outline view.
Outline View
Figure 1- Outline View
When you switch to Outline view, the Outlining Ribbon (1) appears. You can choose how many heading levels to show (2), here I have chosen to display up to Level 3. This collapses the text and shows just the heading levels that you have selected (3).
You can Move headings and their associated text Up or Down in the document (4).
Use the Expand or Collapse buttons to display or hide the text associated with a heading level (5).
Promote and Demote headings and text using these arrows (6), and click Close Outline View (7) to return to Normal view.
You can also drag a section of text around by clicking on the plus sign in the left margin and keeping your finger on the left mouse button whilst dragging up or down.
So, to resolve the problem I mentioned earlier and move a chunk of text from one part of the document to another, all you need to do is collapse your headings, select the section you want to move and drag it to the new location – or use the Move Up or Move Down arrows.
Now do you see why Outline view can be a godsend in large documents?
To learn more about Microsoft Word and how you can speed up routine tasks, take a look at my Microsoft Word Courses, Work Smarter with Style for Windows and Work Smarter with Style for Mac and Create Lead Magnets and eBooks in Word
Or take a look at the HUB and get all of the courses in one bundle.
