In this post you’ll learn how to strikethrough text (or cross out text) in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Show
Each software works a little bit differently: PowerPoint and Word both have the strikethrough command available in the Ribbon. In addition, for the Microsoft Office programs, if you navigate through the Font dialog box (or Format Cells dialog box in Excel) you get a bunch of other useful text effect options. If you want to strikethrough text outside of the Microsoft Office suite (like inside a YouTube comment), you can check out the post by Online Sense here. How to strikethrough text in WordThere are two ways you can strikethrough text in Microsoft Word. Neither one is better nor worse, it just depends on the number of features you want to get access to. The Font dialog box method below gives you the most text formatting effects. 1. Use the strikethrough command in the RibbonTo use the Ribbon in Word to create the strikethrough effect, simply:
Note: If you are using the strikethrough effect to show edits and make comments, a better method is to use Microsoft Word’s built-in Comments command. To learn how to add comments in Word, read our guide here. 2. Use the Font dialog box strikethrough commandThe fastest way to open the Font dialog box in Microsoft Word is with the Ctrl+D keyboard shortcut. If you don’t want to memorize a new shortcut, you can alternatively open it from the Home tab.
As pictured below, you have a variety of additional text formatting options inside the Font dialog box. To see an example of these different text features, read below. 3. Text effect options in WordChecking the box creates the crossed out text effect. To remove the text effect, simply open the Font dialog box again and un-check the box. These options in Word are quite different than what you will find if you migrate to Google docs. To expand your knowledge and learn how to strikethrough on Google docs, read our guide here. The advantage of using the Font dialog box is that it gives you seven other text effect options (as you can see in the picture above). Here are the keyboard shortcuts for each one:
To expand your knowledge and learn how to use the Font dialog box to underline words only and change the underline color of your underline, read our guide here. Note: To learn all the strikethrough shortcuts for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, see our guide here. How to do a strikethrough in ExcelThere are 4 different ways you can strikeout text in Excel using the Format Cells dialog box. The reason that there are so many options in Excel is that you can leverage cell borders to create the diagonal cross-out text effect (described below). But first, let’s start with the basics. 1. Strikethrough text in ExcelThe fastest way to create the strikeout text effect in Excel is to use the Ctrl+5 keyboard shortcut. Simply select your text (or the cell with your text in it) and hit Ctrl+5. Hitting the Ctrl+5 shortcut once applies the text effect. Hitting the shortcut a second time removes the text effect. If you don’t want to memorize the shortcut, you can also access the strikethrough command through the Format Cells dialog box.
Just like any other program, applying the effect once strikes out your text. Applying the effect a second time removes it. Also please note that the Format Cells dialog box is where you access the Superscript and Subscript commands. To learn more about this, read our guide here. 2. How to diagonally strikethrough text in ExcelIn this example, we are going to create a diagonal strikethrough and use the Format Cells keyboard shortcut.
Applying a diagonal border once applies the effect to your cell. Applying it a second time removes it. So if you later want to remove this diagonal crossed out effect, simply navigate back to the Format Cells dialog box (Ctrl + 1), navigate to the Border section and re-apply the diagonal cell borders. 3. Other text effect options in ExcelInside the Format Cells dialog box in Excel, there are 3 other text effects you can apply to your text (as pictured above):
To expand your knowledge and learn how to copy and paste formatting in Excel, see the section on the Paste Special shortcut inside our guide here. How to strikethrough text in PowerPointThere are two different ways to cross out text in PowerPoint. You can either use the strikethrough command in the Ribbon or use the Font dialog box. Which method is best depends on how many text effect options you want to apply. 1. Use the strikethrough command in the Ribbon
To later remove the crossed-out text effect, simply reapply the strikethrough command or select your text and hit Ctrl + Spacebar on your keyboard to wipe out the text formatting. 2. Use the strikethrough command in the Font dialog boxThe fastest way to open the Font dialog box in PowerPoint is to use one of the following three shortcuts (they all do the same thing):
If any of the above shortcuts do not work for you, check out our guide here. If you don’t want to memorize one of the above keyboard shortcuts (which I highly recommend doing), you can also access the Font dialog box from your Ribbon as follows:
If you want to apply the Double Strikethrough effect, you have to go through the Font dialog box in PowerPoint. Using the Font dialog box you do not get a live preview of the effect. After selecting the effect(s) you want, click OK to see it applied to your text. 3. Text effect options in PowerPointIn addition to the strikethrough command, the Font dialog box in PowerPoint gives you 6 other text effects you can apply to your text (as pictured below).
ConclusionAs you can see, there are a variety of ways you can strikethrough text in the Microsoft Office suite. And while it’s easiest to access the command through the Ribbon in Word and PowerPoint, the Font dialog boxe give you the most text effect options to work with. If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our online courses and presentation resources here. What are the options in Font dialog box?The Font Dialog Box allows the user to select the font family, style, and size for the text in an application. However, a user can also select the font color and apply the current setting to the selected text of the control by clicking the Apply button.
What is the Font dialog box in Word?Displays a sample of the font that you have selected. The sample shows the font, style, size, effects, and color that you have specified. Use this box to preview the results as you experiment with different formatting options.
Where is the Font dialog box in Excel?Method 2: Use the Font dialog box
The second method is to use the Font dialog box. To do this, open up the Excel file that you want to use web fonts in, and click on the "Format" menu. From here, select "Font." This will open up the Font dialog box.
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