The visual editor allows you to create content in a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) environment. Since most WordPress users spend the majority of their time using the visual editor, using these tips can increase productivity and create effective pages/posts.
The Kitchen Sink
If your toolbar only has one row of tools, be sure to click on the Kitchen Sink icon to open up the second row of tools.
Changing Font Size and Style
Typography plays a very important role in web content. Use different font sizes and styles to highlight different sections of your content.
The WordPress visual editor allows you to change the font size into paragraphs or headings 1-6. It also allows you to make it bold, italic, underlined, quotes, aligned left or right, etc. To change the font size, highlight the text you want to change, select a paragraph/heading option from the dropdown menu, or click on a style button in the toolbar. To learn more about how to format your content, see our Formatting Content post.
Shortcuts
“Visual” Editor Tab
WordPress visual editor contains formatting buttons much like MS Office. Using keyboard shortcuts you can allow you to edit posts quicker. Mac users use the Command key instead of Ctrl.
Ctrl + b = Bold
Ctrl + i = Italic
Ctrl + c = Copy
Ctrl + v = Paste
Ctrl + x = Cut
Ctrl + a = Select All
Ctrl + z = Undo
Ctrl + y = Redo
Ctrl + [number] = Insert heading sizes, e.g. CTRL+1 = <h1>, CTRL+2 = <h2>.
Alt + Shift + n = Check Spelling
Alt + Shift + l = Align Left
Alt + Shift + j = Justify Text
Alt + Shift + c = Align Center
Alt + Shift + d = Strikethrough
Alt + Shift + r = Align Right
Alt + Shift + u = Unordered List
Alt + Shift + a = Insert link
Alt + Shift + o = Numeric List
Alt + Shift + s = Remove link
Alt + Shift + q = Quote
Alt + Shift + m = Insert Image
Alt + Shift + w = Full screen distraction free writing mode
Alt + Shift + t = Insert More Tag
Alt + Shift + p = Insert Page Break tag
Alt + Shift + h = Rich text editor help
“Text” Editor Tab
Plain text editor provides the html version of your content. It has some very basic formatting buttons and a few shortcuts.
Ctrl + c = Copy
Ctrl + v = Paste
Ctrl + x = Cut
Ctrl + z = Undo
Ctrl + y = Redo
Ctrl + p = Print
Alt + Shift + p = Publish
Alt + Shift + f = Fullscreen distraction free writing
Bringing In Text
If you are pasting in content that is copied from some other website or program, it is important to always strip it of its formatting styles. To do this, click on the “Paste as Text” icon in the toolbar. It will remove all styling and help from causing errors on your page from conflicting style coding in the html. You do not need to worry about using this button if you are copying text from within the same website.
It is also important to use the “Paste as text” button when trying to copy and paste links from a different website and relink the text within your editor on your page.
Line Spacing
To add a new paragraph, press the Enter key. WordPress will automatically add a new paragraph, with double line spacing.
To add a line break with single line spacing, press the Shift + Enter keys together.
Using Special Characters
WordPress contains a button for Special Characters. If you need to add a copyright, registered and trademark signs in your posts, click on the icon in the toolbar and a popup containing special characters will appear. Click on the special character you need and it will appear in your editor.
Distraction-Free or Full Screen Writing Mode
Sometimes it is just easier to focus on writing without any user interface distractions. WordPress comes with a distraction-free writing option which offers a full-screen writing mode editor. To activate this option, click on the Distraction-Free Writing button on the right of your toolbar. Your post edit screen will transform into a full-screen editor by removing the sidebars from view.