Working with Text

Can I prevent the loss of text?

While you add text to your course, you can protect against loss of work if an internet connection loss or software error occurs. You can type in an offline simple text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, and then copy and paste your work into your course.

Or, before you submit or save, you can copy all of the text you want to add. Select the text and right-click to copy it. You can also use key combinations to copy and paste:

• Windows: Ctrl + A to select all the text, Ctrl + C to copy, and Ctrl + V to paste.
• Mac: Command + A to select all the text, Command + C to copy, and Command + V to paste.

Can I paste text from Microsoft® Word?

You'll have the best results if you type your text directly in the editor and format it with the available options.

You may see issues when you copy and paste text from a Word document directly into the editor. Your original formatting may not appear as you want. You also may not be able to remove or add formatting after you paste the text into the editor. To avoid the formatting issues, you can remove the formatting and reformat it with the options in the editor.

To remove the Word formatting after you paste the text in the editor, select all the text and select the Remove Formatting icon. Only use this option if you understand that all formatting will be removed. All bullets, numbered lists, indentations, line spacing, centered text, and font formatting and sizing will be removed.

Or, before you add your text in the editor, you can paste it into an offline simple text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, and clear the formatting. Then, you can paste the text into the editor and format it as you want.

How do I add text?

The editor appears wherever you can add and format text, such as in assignments, tests, discussions, blogs, and journals.

You can also use the options in the editor to attach files, embed multimedia, and insert equations, links, and tables. You have creative control over how your content appears and the flexibility to change the order and appearance.

The default view is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). You can select the HTML Code View icon and edit or add code.

You can also right-click text to access commonly-used options. The menu changes based on the location of the cursor and if you have selected text.

To use your keyboard to jump to the editor toolbar, press Alt + F10. On a Mac, press Fn + ALT + F10. The focus is placed on the first icon on the left in the top row. Use the right and left arrow keys to move forward and backward. The up and down arrows don't work to navigate to different rows. Use the arrow keys to move to the end of one row and then up or down to the next available row.

Watch a video about formatting text