How to Remove CAPS LOCKS in a Sentence or Paragraph Without Retyping

How to Remove CAPS LOCKS in a Sentence or Paragraph Without Retyping

Key Points:

• People hate it when they accidentally tap the CAPS LOCK key when typing.
• If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to find yourself with an entire sentence or a paragraph before you realize the error.
• When the typing-in-all CAPS happens, your first reaction is to delete the text in uppercase and retype it quickly.
• Microsoft Word has a utility that eliminates the need to re-typing the text you accidentally typed when CAPS LOCK in on.
• Instead, you can quickly highlight the text and convert it to a lower or sentence case.

Nearly everyone hates it when they accidentally hit the CAPS LOCK key. If you’re typing fast and not looking at the screen, it only takes a few seconds before you end up with a full sentence or a paragraph in upper case.

After realizing the ALL-CAPS mistake, your initial reaction is to quickly delete and retype the text. However, Microsoft Word and Outlook software have an in-built utility that eliminates the need to retype the text in case you typed when the CAPS LOCK function is on. All you need is to highlight the text in uppercase and use the function to convert it to sentence case or lowercase.

You can use the utility in several ways, but let’s start with the easiest one.

Using The Shift + F3 to Remove CAPS in a Sentence or Paragraph

Microsoft Word and Outlook allow you to use some hotkeys function to reverse ALL-CAPS to sentence case or lowercase. Proceed as follows to use hotkeys:

1. Open your Word document.
2. Highlight the text in ALL-CAPS. If you want to convert the entire document to a sentence case or lowercase, press the CLT + A button to highlight the entire document.
3. Press the Shift + F3 keys simultaneously. The text will change to lowercase.
4. If you want to change the text into sentence cases, press the Shift + F3 again. The text will switch to a sentence case.

When you continue pressing the Shift + F3, the text you highlight will switch from uppercase to lowercase and then sentence case. Sometimes, the Shift + F3  hotkeys won’t work on your computer for several reasons. For instance, the shortcut will not work on an Apple Mac or laptop.

The FN + Shift + F3 Function On a Laptop

On a laptop, the Shift + F3 function won’t work on your computer without the  Fn Key. To use the shortcut, proceed as follows:

1. Open the Word document
2. Highlight the text in uppercase. If you want to convert the case of the entire document, hit the CLT + A to highlight the entire document.
3. Press the Fn + Shift + F3 keys to access the shortcut. The text will change to lowercase.
4. If you want to change the text into a sentence case, press the Fn + Shift + F3 again. The text will shift to a sentence case.

If you continue to press the Fn + Shift + F3 keys, the text you highlight will shift from uppercase to lower case and then sentence case.

Should you have trouble using hotkeys, or if they aren’t working on your PC,  you can use the long method to change ALL-CAPs text into sentence case or small case.

The Long Method of Removing ALL CAPS from a Sentence or Paragraph

Sometimes, the shortcuts can fail for unknown reasons. When that’s the case, proceed with the long method as follows:

• Go to Microsoft Word or Outlook and highlight the text you typed in ALL CAPS. Use the CTRL + A if you want to highlight the entire document.
• In the “Home” tab, at the top of the MS Word page, find the Change Case option with the Aa symbol.
• Click on “Change case.” A small window with several options will pop up. Choose one of the following options:

1. Sentence case: The option will capitalize the first letter of the sentence, leaving all the other words in lower case.
2. Lowercase: The selection will convert the entire text you highlighted to lower case.
3. Capitalize Each Word: The option will convert, capitalize the first letter of each word you highlighted and leave the rest letter in lowercase.
4. tOGGLE cASE: To switch between two case views — such as shifting between Capitalize Each Word and its opposite cAPITALIZE eACH wORD.

• After selecting the case option you want, hit “OK” to change all your texts to lowercase letters.
• Select the “Save” button when you’re done.

Reasons to Remove CAPS LOCK Sentences and Paragraphs When Writing

Nearly everyone considers ALL-CAPS texts as shouting, unprofessional, and inappropriate. When you type to a client or a co-worker in ALL CAPS, it’s like you’re shouting at them. The recipient or whoever you’re writing to can consider it rude.

Texts in All Capital Letters Are Difficult to Read

A recent study shows that all CAPS writing is harder to read. The researchers found that ALL-CAPS formatting obscures the difference between letters because capital letters lack ascenders and descenders.

The sameness in capital letters makes a text harder to read. Whether drafting a contractual agreement or wring an email, avoid ALL-CAPS formatting.

Most Programs Overlook Spelling Errors in ALL-CAPS Text

By default, Microsoft and most programs overlook words you type in ALL-CAPS. While you can adjust the setting in Microsoft Word to spell check words in capital letters, you’ll create a new problem with acronyms and initialisms.

Microsoft ignores uppercase words during spelling checks to avoid spotting acronyms and initialisms as spelling errors. When you change the settings to check uppercase texts, Word will mark nearly all acronyms as mistakes.

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