Windows 7, Word 7. How do I find edit undo?

[Keyboard Hound]

I'm been trying to find "edit-undo" for a year with no results. Now I've pulled a stupid stunt of some kind and deleted the contents an entire file. Don't know how I did it, but I need my Edit Undo button. Bad. Can anyone help? Please???

I don't know which I hate windows 7 or word 7, but one of the two is giving me real grief.

[alleycat]

You mean Word 2007?

I'm not that familiar with where MS has hidden everything in 2007 (I still use 2003), but have you tried Ctrl + Z (pressed at the same time), or Alt + Backspace? This might work for now, until someone can come along with a better answer for future use.

I'm sure it's on the toolbar somewhere, but I'm not sure where offhand on 2007.

[alleycat]

I found this. Do you have the "quick access toolbar" on?

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-use-undo-and-redo-in-word-2007.html

By the way, don't "Save" the file until we figure this out. You might be able to close the file and not save the changes you made to it (if all else fails). Still, this should be easy to fix once someone who knows 2007 comes around.

[kuwisdelu]

I don't user Word 2007 either, so I've no idea where the menu item would be, but as the feline says, try Ctrl + z.

Memorizing:

Ctrl + z = undo
Ctrl + x = cut
Ctrl + c = past
Ctrl + v = paste

will save a writer a lot of time.

[cryaegm]

I don't user Word 2007 either, so I've no idea where the menu item would be, but as the feline says, try Ctrl + z.

Memorizing:

Ctrl + z = undo
Ctrl + x = cut
Ctrl + c = past
Ctrl + v = paste

will save a writer a lot of time.
Psst. Also:
Ctrl + s = save
Ctrl + d = font
Ctrl + y = redo

And of course:
Ctrl + p = print.

:D

Oh, and the undo, I'm PRETTY sure is beside the circle thingy, in the quick toolbar access. If it's not there, you can add it.

There should be an arrow pointing down (it should look like an open button that you see on, say, a ps2, just upside down). Click it and then check redo and undo.

Or you could always go into word options to get it on the quick access toolbar, but that's always a pain in the butt to mess around in.

[Izz]

Ctrl+z be the ticket. And there should be a little back arrow right at the top of the window, next to the floppy disk.

[Keyboard Hound]

Thanks so much everyone. Control z brought the file right back into the document. All I had showing was an I, and it's wonderful to see the screen fill up again with the lost words.

Don't know why I had not asked some of you this question before. I've put up with not using this feature for a year trying to find it on the menus. It took a near catastrophe to get me moving. Thank so much to all of you. I'm going to try to find that place to put it on the menu, but control z worked so well, I may not even bother.

Thanks for all the other shortcuts, too. I'm making a list.

[Margarita Skies]

Thanks so much everyone. Control z brought the file right back into the document. All I had showing was an I, and it's wonderful to see the screen fill up again with the lost words.

Don't know why I had not asked some of you this question before. I've put up with not using this feature for a year trying to find it on the menus. It took a near catastrophe to get me moving. Thank so much to all of you. I'm going to try to find that place to put it on the menu, but control z worked so well, I may not even bother.

Thanks for all the other shortcuts, too. I'm making a list.


I am glad you got all your words back. :) Another thread I am going to favorite for future reference. :)

[RJK]

In Word 2007, the Quick Access toolbar should be located at the upper left corner of your screen. It contains the "Save" button, the "Undo" and the "Redo" buttons, plus any other button you may add.

[muse]

As Izz said, there's a little black arrow beside the save option (floppy disk icon) if you click on that it will open the 'customise the quick access bar.' Click on 'more commands' and you will find the full list.

You can also use the main 'Office' button, but the 1st way is quicker.

Hope this helps.

Muse

[alleycat]

Thanks so much everyone. Control z brought the file right back into the document. All I had showing was an I, and it's wonderful to see the screen fill up again with the lost words.

Don't know why I had not asked some of you this question before. I've put up with not using this feature for a year trying to find it on the menus. It took a near catastrophe to get me moving. Thank so much to all of you. I'm going to try to find that place to put it on the menu, but control z worked so well, I may not even bother.
Can we talk you into finding a reliable backup plan while this is fresh in your mind? Computers are wonderful, but they have a way of screwing you up just when least expect it. If you need help with this, I'll go find some stickies or other threads. No one wants to see someone lose everything they've worked so hard on.

[Margarita Skies]

Can we talk you into finding a reliable backup plan while this is fresh in your mind? Computers are wonderful, but they have a way of screwing you up just when least expect it. If you need help with this, I'll go find some stickies or other threads. No one wants to see someone lose everything they've worked so hard on.


:Clap:

[Keyboard Hound]

Can we talk you into finding a reliable backup plan while this is fresh in your mind? Computers are wonderful, but they have a way of screwing you up just when least expect it. If you need help with this, I'll go find some stickies or other threads. No one wants to see someone lose everything they've worked so hard on.


Alley Cat, you're wonderful!! You can talk me into anything. I'd love to have a suitable back-up plan. Thanks for offering.

I'm horrible at burning discs. Or understanding anything technical. I mess it up just about every time. So I email lots of stuff to myself and back up like that. I've been know to have to carry my computer in to the boss and let him burn articles I couldn't figure out how to move to disc.

A good plan would be a godsend.

[Keyboard Hound]

Thanks, everyone. Your willingness and ability to help never ceases to amaze me.

[Moonbase]

A little off-topic maybe, but another hint:

It helps remembering things that are consistent throughout (almost) all Windows applications. Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+C (copy), Ctrl+X (cut) and Ctrl+V (paste) are some of those.

It is just good to know that, for instance, Ctrl+Z will do an »Undo« operation in almost all applications!

[alleycat]

Alley Cat, you're wonderful!! You can talk me into anything. I'd love to have a suitable back-up plan. Thanks for offering.

I'm horrible at burning discs. Or understanding anything technical. I mess it up just about every time. So I email lots of stuff to myself and back up like that. I've been know to have to carry my computer in to the boss and let him burn articles I couldn't figure out how to move to disc.

A good plan would be a godsend.
Here's a couple of things you can do to start off. Others might have different or better ideas.

One, get into the habit of making your own backup on your computer. It could be as simple as doing a "save" and "save as" when you're ready to quit working, or whenever you've done a lot of work. The save will store what you've done, the "save as" will be a backup copy. You can use the file name and date for the backup copy. That way, if something happens, you will at least have a fairly recent copy of your file handy. And, sometimes, you can do something and down the road decide you wish you hadn't, such as deleting a whole chapter because it didn't fit with the storyline, and then deciding two weeks later that the chapter did work ("Oops, I didn't have a paper copy or a backup copy . . . I've got to rewrite the whole chapter!"). Don't worry about deleting the backup copies until later.

Two, sign up for a free online backup, such as Mozy. Mozy wants to sell you their service, of course, but you can use it for free up to 2GB (that is a LOT of Word files). Just be sure you set it to only backup your Word files. If you need to backup pictures or videos you will need something else. Once it's set, Mozy will run automatically so you won't have to remember to backup your files. Mozy runs in the background and doesn't use a lot of your memory or CPU compared to other pieces of software. You could also get a free e-mail box (Yahoo, gmail, whatever) if you don't have one, and mail copies to yourself. Create a folder and save the copies there.

Those are two things you can do right away; they're fairly simple and don't cost anything. Of course, you can get much more sophisticated about it, but those two alone will help, because . . . things do happen.

And for future reference, if you happen to have a hard drive crash, don't immediately panic. Often files can still be copied off a bad drive. At that point you will probably need a computer expert to install a new drive and migrate the files off your old drive. It won't help if your house burns down, but at that point you'll probably have other things to worry about. ;-)

[alleycat]

A little off-topic maybe, but another hint:

It helps remembering things that are consistent throughout (almost) all Windows applications. Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+C (copy), Ctrl+X (cut) and Ctrl+V (paste) are some of those.

It is just good to know that, for instance, Ctrl+Z will do an »Undo« operation in almost all applications!
Good point. That's why I remembered it. I actually use the undo tool in Word most of the time and not Ctrl + Z.

[amergina]

It helps remembering things that are consistent throughout (almost) all Windows applications. Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+C (copy), Ctrl+X (cut) and Ctrl+V (paste) are some of those.

It is just good to know that, for instance, Ctrl+Z will do an »Undo« operation in almost all applications!

They're nearly universal for text editing across computer platforms as well. They're old, old commands, from before Windows. (From Xerox PARC days, I think.)

(Though on a Mac, it's command, rather than control.)

[Keyboard Hound]

Here's a couple of things you can do to start off. Others might have different or better ideas.

One, get into the habit of making your own backup on your computer. It could be as simple as doing a "save" and "save as" when you're ready to quit working, or whenever you've done a lot of work. The save will store what you've done, the "save as" will be a backup copy. You can use the file name and date for the backup copy. That way, if something happens, you will at least have a fairly recent copy of your file handy. And, sometimes, you can do something and down the road decide you wish you hadn't, such as deleting a whole chapter because it didn't fit with the storyline, and then deciding two weeks later that the chapter did work ("Oops, I didn't have a paper copy or a backup copy . . . I've got to rewrite the whole chapter!"). Don't worry about deleting the backup copies until later.

Two, sign up for a free online backup, such as Mozy. Mozy wants to sell you their service, of course, but you can use it for free up to 2GB (that is a LOT of Word files). Just be sure you set it to only backup your Word files. If you need to backup pictures or videos you will need something else. Once it's set, Mozy will run automatically so you won't have to remember to backup your files. Mozy runs in the background and doesn't use a lot of your memory or CPU compared to other pieces of software. You could also get a free e-mail box (Yahoo, gmail, whatever) if you don't have one, and mail copies to yourself. Create a folder and save the copies there.

Those are two things you can do right away; they're fairly simple and don't cost anything. Of course, you can get much more sophisticated about it, but those two alone will help, because . . . things do happen.

And for future reference, if you happen to have a hard drive crash, don't immediately panic. Often files can still be copied off a bad drive. At that point you will probably need a computer expert to install a new drive and migrate the files off your old drive. It won't help if your house burns down, but at that point you'll probably have other things to worry about. ;-)


Thanks, allycat. All good suggestions. I do use email to back files, and I have two computers going--a laptop and a desktop. the laptop is for carrying around and the desktop is where I try to keep everything backed up. The near miss was a file I'd just typed up. So glad to have gotten it back.

I think what I really need to do is to learn to make back up discs on all my files and that's where I fail in being able to do it.

Tip for dealing with back up discs from one of my friends: Keep back up discs in the freezer in sealed containers. If the house burns the theory is that usually the freezer stays intact.

[alleycat]

I wasn't sure if you meant you e-mailed files to yourself to your own computer, or whether you sent them to an online mailbox. You need to send them to an online mailbox such as gmail or Yahoo.

As someone mentioned in another thread, redundancy is the key. Don't depend on one thing only.

[cryaegm]

Thanks, allycat. All good suggestions. I do use email to back files, and I have two computers going--a laptop and a desktop. the laptop is for carrying around and the desktop is where I try to keep everything backed up. The near miss was a file I'd just typed up. So glad to have gotten it back.

I think what I really need to do is to learn to make back up discs on all my files and that's where I fail in being able to do it.

Tip for dealing with back up discs from one of my friends: Keep back up discs in the freezer in sealed containers. If the house burns the theory is that usually the freezer stays intact.
Why not for writings have something like dropbox? It keeps everything in sync on all computers you have dropbox on, and if something happens on all of your computers, you can still access it on your account on their website.

[Izz]

Office Live (http://www.officelive.com/en-us/) isn't too bad, either. Yes, i know, Microsoft equals the monster hiding under your bed at night, but this isn't too shabby (the one annoying thing is that while you can access your Office Live space from Chrome, my browser of choice, you can't open the docs in your copy of Word. You can, however, edit them online with the trimmed down web version of Word).

[m3write1day]

Click on the Windows button in the top left, go down and click on Word Options, then click on Customize.
This is where you can add icons to your quick access toolbar in the top left if the undo and redo are not already in the quick access ribbon.

[Calliopenjo]

Memorizing:

Ctrl + z = undo
Ctrl + x = cut
Ctrl + c = past
Ctrl + v = paste

Ctrl + C = Copy

[BarbaraKE]

And Ctrl + N = open a new window.

[AlexPiper]

Can we talk you into finding a reliable backup plan while this is fresh in your mind? Computers are wonderful, but they have a way of screwing you up just when least expect it. If you need help with this, I'll go find some stickies or other threads. No one wants to see someone lose everything they've worked so hard on.

As others have said, the simplest method is just to install Dropbox and keep your writing in that. Dropbox lets you 'rewind' a file on their web-interface if necessary, as well as synching the files between all your different machines.

I use Dropbox this way. It keeps my writing in sync between my desktop and my laptop -- whichever I sit down to write on, it always has the most recent copy of the file -- and if I somehow do something really horrible, I can go to the Dropbox website and 'rewind' a file to an earlier copy, causing that earlier copy to just Magically Appear beside the current one on all my machines.

If you don't feel comfortable keeping your writing in a cloud service -- which is admittedly understandable -- then the key is not just to come up with a backup process, but use it almost like a religious ritual. Never walk away from the computer before you've performed the complete Rite of Backup to appease the data gods, no matter what your personal Rite of Backup might be.