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How to insert sample text into a document in Word

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Article ID:212251
Last Review:March 13, 2008
Revision:4.1
This article was previously published under Q212251
For a Word 98 version of this article, see 180685 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/180685/).
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SUMMARY

Microsoft Office Word lets you quickly insert sample text into a document. This article discusses how to insert sample text into a document when you use different versions of Word.

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MORE INFORMATION

How to insert sample text in Microsoft Office Word 2007

To insert sample text in Word 2007, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use rand()

To insert localized sample text in Word 2007, type =rand() in the document where you want the text to appear, and then press ENTER.

The sample text that is inserted for the English version of Word 2007 resembles the following text:
On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.¶

You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly.¶

To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab. To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template.¶
Note This text includes a paragraph symbol (¶) that is displayed when sample text is inserted.

You can control how many paragraphs and lines appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses of the rand() function. The =rand() function has the following syntax:
=rand(p,l)

Note In this function, p is the number of paragraphs, and l is the number of lines that you want to appear in each paragraph.
The following are some examples that show how the parameters work:
•=rand(1) inserts one paragraph with three lines of text in the paragraph.
•=rand(10,10) inserts 10 paragraphs with 10 lines of text in each paragraph.
The parameters are optional. If you omit the parameters, the default number of paragraphs is three, and the default number of lines per paragraph is also three.

Method 2: Use rand.old()

To insert localized sample text that is compatible with Microsoft Office Word 2003 and earlier versions, type =rand.old() in the document where you want the text to appear, and then press ENTER.

The sample text that is inserted in the English version of Word 2007 appears resembles the following :
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ¶

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ¶

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ¶
Notice that the sample text in other language versions of Word 2007 does not have the same meaning as the text that is mentioned earlier in this section.

For example, the Japanese version of Word shows text that is similar in translation to the following text:
"Word 2003 is a ground breaking word processor that enabled…"
And the German version of Word provides the following text:
"Franz jagt im komplett verwahrlosten Taxi quer durch Bayern."
You can control how many paragraphs and lines appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses of the rand.old() function. The =rand.old() function has the following syntax:
=rand.old(p,l)

Note In this function, p is the number of paragraphs, and l is the number of lines that you want to appear in each paragraph.
The parameters are optional. If you omit the parameters the default number of paragraphs is three, and the default number of lines per paragraph is also three.

Method 3: Use lorem()

To insert non-localized, pseudo-Latin sample text in Word 2007, type =lorem() in the document where you want the text to appear, and then press ENTER.

The sample text that is inserted resembles the following text:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna.¶

Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus.¶

Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci.¶
You can control how many paragraphs and lines appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses of the lorem() function. The =lorem() function has the following syntax: lorem(p,l)

Note In this function, p is the number of paragraphs, and l is the number of lines that you want to appear in each paragraph.

The parameters are optional. If you omit the parameters the default number of paragraphs is three, and the default number of lines per paragraph is also three.

For more information about the description of the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" text, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
114222 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/114222/) Description of the "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet" text that appears in Word Help
By default, the inserting sample text feature in Word 2007 is turned on. However, the inserting sample text feature is disabled when the Replace text as you type option is turned off.

To turn the Replace text as you type option on or off, follow these steps:
1.Click the Office Button, click Word Options, click Proofing, and then click AutoCorrect Options.
2.Click to select or to clear the Replace text as you type check box.

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How to insert sample text in Word 2003 and in earlier versions of Word:

To insert sample text in Word 2003, Word 2002, Word 2000, or in Word 97 for Windows, type =rand() in the document where you want the text to appear, and then press ENTER.

The sample text that is inserted resembles the following text:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.¶

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.¶

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.¶
Note This text includes a paragraph symbol (¶) that is displayed when sample text is inserted.

You can control how many paragraphs and lines appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses of the rand() function. The =rand() function has the following syntax:
=rand(p,l)

Note In this function, p is the number of paragraphs, and l is the number of lines that you want to appear in each paragraph.
By default in these versions of Word, the sample text contains three paragraphs, and each paragraph contains five lines. When you omit the second number, the default is five lines of text. The maximum number that can be used inside the parenthesis is 200 (This number may be lower, depending on the number of paragraphs and of sentences that you specify).

By default, this feature is turned on. However, this feature is disabled when the Replace text as you type option is turned off. To turn this option on or off, follow these steps:
1.Click AutoCorrect on the Tools menu, and then click the AutoCorrect tab.
2.Click to select or to clear the Replace text as you type check box.
Note When the cursor immediately follows a PAGE BREAK or a COLUMN BREAK, Word will not insert sample text in these versions.

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MORE INFORMATION

To view the paragraph marks (¶) in your Word document, use one of the following options.

Option 1

On the Standard toolbar, click Show/Hide (¶)

Option 2

1.On the Tools menu, click Options.
2.On the View tab, click to select the All check box, and then click OK.

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APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Office Word 2003
•Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition
•Microsoft Office Word 2007

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Keywords: 
kbautotext kbhowto kbinfo KB212251

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