I was asked the following question:
How can I print just a portion of an e-mail?
The basic answer is fairly simple:
Copy & Paste the portion of text into another blank document, and print that.
The above answer assumes that you know and understand:
Basic Copy & Paste tasks.
Capture and Print
Typically the simplest solution is to click-and-drag with the mouse to Highlight the desired text... then Copy & Paste that text into a blank word processor document of any kind. Notepad (an ASCII Text Editor) and Wordpad (a simple Word Processor, with formatting capability) typically come loaded by default with every copy of the MS Windows OS... They tend to hide them though. Try looking under: Start >All Programs >Accessories... to open a blank document
The rest of this page is going to be an explanation of how I handle such tasks... the tools (software, techniques, etc.) that I use... and the advantages of this process for similar tasks. I know it looks like a lot of information, and it is, but included here are a number of basic tasks that are used in many Personal Computing (PC) tasks, so if you can get thoroughly familiar with using most "Copy & Paste" functions, then you will be way ahead of the game when you start to learn other various computer tasks.
It is always a good idea to experiment some in practice situations, such as with documents that are not critical and have involved a lot of work, before you jump feet-first into this topic. Either that, or make a backup copy of the document first... which is a good practice to get into anyway.
Most of the instructions on this page apply to the Microsoft Windows Operating System (MSW-OS, Win OS, etc.). However... A lot of the ideas here are commonly used in all OS's (Mac, Linux, etc.), it just may be that some of the keystrokes or buttons pushed are slightly different. A quick search on the web should easily reveal the differences.
If you can get yourself familiar with the concepts here, it should be fairly easy to use these same ideas with different programs, and even different OS's (Operating Systems). If you can learn to grasp the basic concepts of various tasks related to Personal Computing (PC), I can assure you that your life with PC's in general will be much easier.
Here is the Contents of this page:
Cut, Copy, and Paste functions are the most commonly used editing tools when working with computer documents. These functions work with Text, Images, and just about anything you can highlight and "move" to the "clipboard".
In MS Windows the clipboard is a location in the computer's memory that temporarily stores information. For the most part... Any information that you Cut or Copy will remain "on" the clipboard until one of two things happens: You replace the information with a new set of Cut or Copied info... or You power down the computer. Clipboard information will not transfer when you switch-users on a multi-user configured machine. Logging off in this case is the same as powering down... the clipboard info is lost.
So in both cases (cut & copy) data is stored on the computer's clipboard. The difference between them is that CUT will typically remove the highlighted text, images, etc., from the "source" (but not always)... while COPY will leave the original info in place, and allow you to copy it from one location to another.... Say some text, from and e-mail message, into a blank word processor document, where it can be printed.... That is the long answer for our original question above.
So in short: Cut = Remove... and Copy = Copy.... Pretty simple really.
Examples of where "Cut" will not remove the text (+ images, links, etc.) is when it is permanently embedded in documents such as web pages and "PDF" files.
The trick to using these tools is understanding the options available to highlight the information you want to edit.
Basic Methods for Highlighting Text
Click and drag with the mouse.
Using Keyboard "Shortcuts"
Click and Drag with the Mouse is pretty simple, but can take some practice to execute. All you need to do is click and hold the primary select button (usually a "left-click" in MS Windows, but not always, as the select buttons can be configured to be swapped), and drag the resulting selection box so that it includes what you want to highlight. This is far easier said than done in the beginning, and can even be tricky after you've had a lot of practice, so you want to be patient with this one... but there are times when this selection method is indispensable.
When using Keyboard Shortcuts, one important thing to keep in mind is this:
Where is the "input focus" on the display?
The "input focus" is that part of the computer screen where the PC is expecting something to happen.
I frequently see folks, especially when starting out, who need to focus their attention on the keyboard, and they do not notice that either nothing is happening, or else something entirely different is happening while they are trying to highlight text using the keyboard. This is because the input focus is not where they want it to be, and they have not shifted that focus to the point where they want to work. The easiest way to put the input focus where you want it, is to left-click with the mouse on the part of the screen where you want the focus.
Always Remember This!
Computers are as dumb as a box of rocks... they are not "smart". They can only do what you tell them to do... so try to be sure that you are telling it the right thing to do.
I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft (MS), but one thing they have provided the PC industry with is what most folks call "Microsoft Standard Shortcuts". In the early days of the PC Revolution (the early 80's) myriads of software developers were all vying for position (and in some cases dominance) in the PC Software market. Each developer had their own idea for what was a sensible set of keyboard shortcuts. This meant that everyone had to memorize a completely different set for almost every differently developed application. The "users" thew a fit over this one, and eventually the developers got wise. By the time this happened, Microsoft was well on their way to becoming the industry leader, so everyone followed their example. I reckon it is still possible to find software that does not use this standard, even on "IBM Clones", but it is probably pretty rare.
This "follow the leader" mentality has reached just about every corner of the PC industry, and is one of the reasons I can say with reasonable confidence that once you learn one concept, you can usually translate that knowledge into other areas of computing... and it especially makes it easier to deal with changes in the industry that are constant. Occasionally someone like Google comes along and thinks totally outside the box, and does a really good job of it... so it is always good to try and remain flexible in your learning process. (While Google is doing great "free" stuff now [~2012], I'm afraid that they may end up being the "Walmart" of the PC industry. <sigh>)
Many MSW Standard Keyboard Shortcuts are pretty easy to learn. A lot of them do make sense, and are easy to remember, plus, if you select the correct option on the Main Menu for the program (in this case "Edit"), you will see what keyboard shortcuts are associated with which command. If you do not see the main menu, but instead see a tool bar with icons, try hovering the mouse cursor over the item... typically a small descriptive "pop-up window" will appear.
Unfortunately, with Windows 7 (and possibly earlier), Microsoft started streamlining interfaces to the point where the Main Menu Bar is often hidden by default. Personally I find this rather confusing, but that is just another example of how software developers like to "change it all around". It is money in the bank for them, because it means more training will need to be developed for, and then paid for by the end user (i.e. You!). Get used to it, especially if you insist on using Microsoft products.
Keyboard, and Keyboard + Mouse Highlight Methods
One thing that is not so obvious is how to use the keyboard to highlight text in a document. There are also some keys that are used in combination with the mouse that are very useful, which are not so obvious either. Here is a fairly complete list of instructions, and what they do. First it will be helpful if a description is given for some of the basic keys used. The sooner you can learn these, the better, as they are used in many various tasks on a PC.
Basic Key Descriptions
Ctrl = Control
Alt = Alternate
Shift = Shift Function
When typing text in a document, the Shift key works just like it does on a typewriter... most folks understand this pretty well.
When used with other various keys and/or mouse buttons, the Shift key implements other "Shifted" functions.
Esc = Escape
Home = GoTo the Beginning
End = GoTo the End
Page Up = Jump Up the Document... one "Page" (screen height) at a time.
Page Down = Jump Down the Document... one "Page" (screen height) at a time.
"Arrow" Keys = Navigate Up and Down, and Left and Right.
In the instructions below, the "+" symbol indicates that you use these keys in the combination listed. Typically you hold the 1st key listed, and then press and release the following key(s), in the order listed. Feel free to experiment a bit with how this works.
NOTE:
Multiple key presses of the last key in a sequence, especially when highlighting with Page & Arrow Keys, will select multiple Pages, Lines, or Characters. Holding the last key in the sequence down will repeat this function... really fast. Don't forget: You can hit the "Esc" (Escape) Key to undo any highlighting... or you can simply let go of all the keys, and "left-click" with the mouse on any part (preferably blank) of the screen.
Notice that the X, C, and V keys are all in a row, near the Ctrl key on the left side of the keyboard. Most folks can easily hold the Ctrl key with their left pinky (little finger), and operate the secondary keys with another digit on the same hand.
Cut, Copy, Paste... Shortcuts
Ctrl + X = Cut
The "X" is like a pair of scissors... it Cuts stuff out.
Ctrl + C = Copy
The "C" stands for "Copy".
Ctrl + V = Paste
The "V" is like an arrow pointing Down
It Pastes stuff Down where the input focus is.
Ctrl + Z = "Undo"
This one can be a lifesaver... Remember it!
Many programs (but not all !) will allow multiple "undo's"... but you better know which is which before you rely too heavily on this one.
The most common Highlighting tasks are for moving information around in documents you create... especially Word Processor documents. Another really useful task for this function is to copy information from HTML (Web) pages, and other similarly formatted documents (like PDF's). Additionally, when highlighting items in a list, such as a file selection list, there are some keystroke tricks that can come in really handy, and save you a lot of time.
Highlighting Functions for Text, Images, Lists, etc.
Ctrl + A
Highlight "All" (the entire body of text, etc.)
Highlight from the current screen cursor position...
Shift + Home
... to the beginning of the Line.
Shift + End
... to the end of the Line.
Shift + Page Up
... to the beginning of the Page.
Shift + Page Down
... to the end of the Page.
Shift + Arrow "Up"
... to the same point on the above Line (one or more times).
Shift + Arrow "Down"
... to the same point on the below Line (one or more times).
Shift + Arrow "Left"
... one (or more) characters to the Left.
Shift + Arrow "Right"
... one (or more) characters to the Right.
Ctrl + Shift + Home
... to the beginning of the Document.
Ctrl + Shift + End
... to the end of the Document.
Notice:
Omitting "Shift" from the above two will send the cursor (and jump the view) in a text document to the very beginning (Home), or the very end (End), of the document... but without highlighting.... This is a pretty handy thing to remember.
Highlight Items in a List
Select (left-click w/ mouse), followed by Shift + Select
This action will highlight the first selected item, then highlight everything in-between it and the 2nd selected item (plus the 1st and 2nd item).
This can also work on a body of text, etc., in a word processor or HTML (web page) document. Usually it is easier to click and drag though.
Select (left-click w/ mouse), followed by Ctrl + Select (multiple selections allowed)
This action will highlight the first selected item, then highlight each subsequently selected item. This process works well if you only need a few items from the list.
Combining the Shift and Ctrl processes works really well if you want all but a few items in a continuous list. Select the continuous list using the Shift key... then use Shift+Ctrl to "deselect" the items you do not need.
Handy Tips...
Understanding how to highlight items in a list can be really helpful... especially when you want to select multiple items from a file list, especially if they are not sequential.
Remember: You can also use Ctrl+A to highlight everything, and "deselect" what you don't need with Ctrl+Select... but you need to be really careful with this one, as you can sometimes get undesirable results (because you cannot always immediately see everything being selected... especially if there is a Scroll Bar present).
Newer versions of software (like Windows 7) have added check-boxes to aid in the selection process, especially in listed items such as in file selection dialog boxes.
There are a lot of choices out there for Word Processor software. Microsoft Office (MS Office), which contains MS Word, is a very common package that has been the most popular for a very long time. The good part of this is that ....
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