A word editor, also known as a word processor, can be defined as a device or software that allows you to create, print, and edit documents.

Learn how to strike through text in different editors

  • Word editors had existed since the early 1960s when they were launched as standalone machines.
  • When you strikethrough text, it appears with a horizontal line passing through it.
  • There are different ways of adding strikethrough on text in editors.
  • Apart from using shortcuts, you can also use built-in formatting features.

You can type content, display it on a screen or print material, store it electronically, and use different keyboard shortcuts, characters, and commands for modifications from a keyboard, including a keyboard shortcut for strikethrough. 

Why are shortcuts useful?

Computers were built to help solve different things. However, word processing is the most popular function that they help with.

Due to technological advancements, you can access a word editor either as a software application installed on a mobile device and computer or as a cloud service offered by different vendors.

Word processors were first launched in the early 1960s as standalone machines that resembled electric typewriters. They were better than typewriters because they allowed users to make changes to their documents without retyping the entire document.

More features were introduced later, allowing users to use spell-checking, use advanced formatting options, and save their documents on disks.

Later in the 1980s, word editors were introduced to personal computers. One of the most popular word editors was known as WordPerfect.

Even though this word editor was good, it was later pushed out by more advanced word processors that came with the WYSIWYG philosophy. This allowed users to see what they would get on their final printed documents.

If you want to find out how to open WordPerfect in Windows 10, check out our dedicated article.

In the 1990s, Microsoft Word became the most popular word processor. Today, there are multiple word editors. They all come with different formatting options. But how can you use strikethrough shortcuts on these word editors?

What does strikethrough mean?

Strikethrough is a representation of words with a horizontal line through the center. Here is an example of how this process looks after applying: strikethrough.

Striking through text can be used on different word processors and has various meanings, but there are two widespread meanings, depending on the type of content that has been stricken through.

If it is typewritten (even when using typewriter software), ink-written, or any other text that cannot be deleted or erased, then any text with strikethrough is not supposed to be in the document. They are thereby a mistake and are not supposed to be included.

When used on a typed text such as Google Docs on a computer or mobile device screen, for instance, striking through text might be used to show text that has been deleted recently.

This indicates a change of mind even after the writer is done typing the entire text. For instance, you might come across a text like, “Jackson is poor in football, a primary football player.

This can mean that even though the writer initially indicated that Jackson is poor in football, they had a change of thought and changed the sentence to Jackson as a basic football player.

Some PC issues are hard to tackle, especially when it comes to corrupted repositories or missing Windows files. If you are having troubles fixing an error, your system may be partially broken. We recommend installing Restoro, a tool that will scan your machine and identify what the fault is.Click here to download and start repairing.

Expert tip:

SPONSORED

How do you strike through text?

Different word editors have various ways through which you can strike through text. You can also use shortcut software to change the mapping of your keyboard keys.

You need to ensure that your content has meaning and is stricken through the correct text.

Let us learn about the keyboard shortcuts for striking through text in different editors.

What is the keyboard shortcut for strikethrough?

1. For Google Docs

  • Sign in to your Google account. If you do not have one, you can sign up for free.
  • Launch Google Drive and click on the New button on the top left side of the screen. Next, select Google Docs to open a new document.
  • You can open an existing document if you have one. If not, you can start typing your content on the new document above.
  • Select or highlight the text you want to strike through, and press Alt + Shift + 5.

2. In Excel

  • Launch Microsft Excel on your Windows machine.
  • If you have an excel sheet that you want to edit, open it. If not, open a new excel sheet.
  • Add content to your excel sheet.
  • To strikethrough a particular cell, select that cell and press CTRL + 5.
  • If you want to strike through multiple cells, select all of them and press CTRL + 5.
  • To strike through part of a text in a cell, select that text and press CTRL + 5.

3. For Word

  1. Launch Microsoft Word on your computer.

  2. If you have a word document that you want to edit, open it. If not, open a new one. To do this, click on New, then on Blank Document.

  3. Add content to your word document and select the text you want to strikethrough. This can be a single word, a sentence, or a paragraph.

  4. Press Alt + H + 4 at the same time on your keyboard.

  5. The selected text will now have the strikethrough symbol on it.

If you want to strikethrough text in Microsoft Word, you can do this using a keyboard shortcut. All you need to do is to select the text you want to strikethrough and then use the shortcut to insert the symbol on it.

4. In Outlook

  • Launch Outlook on your computer.
  • Click the compose new email button.
  • Compose an email and then select or highlight the text you want to strikethrough.
  • Unfortunately, we will have to add strikethrough via the formatting dialog. First, click on the email body and press CTRL + D. This opens a font dialog box.
  • Select the checkbox next to strikethrough. This shows you what your text will look like. Click the OK button.

5. In OneNote

  • Launch OneNote on your machine.
  • Open if you have an existing OneNote document that you want to edit. If not, open a new one.
  • Add content to your OneNote document.
  • Select the text you want to strikethrough.
  • Press CTRL + Hyphen (-) simultaneously for the OneNote strikethrough shortcut.

6. For Sticky Notes

  • Launch Sticky Notes on your machine.
  • Add content to your sticky notes. You can open existing sticky notes if you have any.
  • Select the text that you want to strike through.
  • Press CTRL + T.

7. On Mac Notes

  • Navigate to System Prefs > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.
  • Click the + sign at the bottom, select the Notes app from the list of apps, the name of the command you want to add (Strikethrough in this case), and then add the key combination. We will use SHIFT + COMMAND + X. Click the Add button.
  • After that, launch Mac Notes and use this shortcut when adding strikethrough to text.

Can you cross out text on social media?

Since you can strikethrough text on most word editors, it would make sense if you found yourself in a situation where you would like to cross out text on social networks.

  • How to Use & Create a Shut Down Shortcut Key in Windows 11
  • 2 Ways & Shortcuts to Open Clipboard in Windows 11
  • How to Turn Off Keyboard Shortcuts [3 Easy Tips]

Unfortunately, social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook do not come with a way through which you can cross out text. However, you can use tools such as the Strikethrough Text Generator.

All you need to do is paste the text you want to cross out on this tool, cross it out, and then copy it again and paste it into your social media account. You will have applied strikethrough formatting.

Crossing out text on Discord is, however, easier. You need to add two tilde keys (~) at the beginning and the end of the text that you want to strikethrough. An example would be This is a crossed-out text in Discord. On Whatsapp, you add a single tilde key (~) at the beginning and end of the text you want to cross out. For example, ~This is a crossed-out text in WhatsApp~.

As you can see, different word editors have different ways of crossing out text. Moreover, apart from the keyboard shortcuts, some of them come with buttons and editor dialogs for those who do not know about the shortcuts.

We hope that you managed to use the strikethrough shortcuts presented in our article. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments section below.

If the advices above haven’t solved your issue, your PC may experience deeper Windows problems. We recommend downloading this PC Repair tool (rated Great on TrustPilot.com) to easily address them. After installation, simply click the Start Scan button and then press on Repair All.

Still having issues? Fix them with this tool:

  • keyboardword processor

Email *

Commenting as . Not you?

Comment