How to Select All

This guide explains how to perform the 'select all' action on a computer, smartphone, or tablet. While the number of selectable items may differ depending on the screen and device you're using, the 'Select All' command is generally easy to execute in most cases.

Use the keyboard shortcut. On any screen, window, or page on your computer, you can select all items by pressing two keys simultaneously:

• Click the window or page where you want to select.
• Press Ctrl and A together.

Use Windows Explorer. If you're using a File Explorer window (such as a folder containing your documents or This PC), you can select everything using the menu at the top-left corner of the window:

• Click the folder containing the content you want to select on the left side of the window.
• Click Home in the top-left corner of the window.
• Click Select all in the 'Select' section of the toolbar at the top of the window.

Use the right-click menu. If your mouse has a right-click button, you can right-click on most text or web pages to open the right-click menu and choose Select All.

• If your mouse doesn't have a right-click button, use two fingers on the mouse pad or tap with two fingers on the trackpad to open the right-click menu.

Use the keyboard shortcut. On any screen, window, or page on your computer, you can select items by pressing two keys at once:

• Click on the window or page where you want to select.
• Press ⌘ Command and A at the same time.

Use the Edit menu. To do this, open the page with the content you want to select, click on Edit at the top-left of the screen, and choose Select all from the displayed menu.

• If the Select all option is greyed out, you cannot select everything on the current page.

Open a text input app. The 'Select All' option is unavailable on the regular iPhone screen (like in the Settings app or on the Home screen), but it is accessible in apps like Notes or Word where you can select all text.

• This also applies to messages within the messaging app.

Tap on the page. The cursor will appear instantly on the page.

Tap and hold on a portion of text. The magnifying circle will appear on the screen after a brief moment.

Release your finger. Once the magnifying circle shows up, you can release your finger. A menu will appear above the text at this point.

Tap on Select All. This option is available on the toolbar that just appeared. This action will select all the text content on the page.

Open an app with a text input field. You can only use the 'Select All' feature for content that you have created.

• For example, you can open a Word document.

Tap on the text input field. This will place the cursor in the text input area.

Tap and hold the content you want to select. After a moment, a menu will appear at the top of the screen (or above the selected content).

Tap on Select All (Select all). This option can be found at the top of your screen. Selecting this will highlight all content on the page.

• In some cases, the Select All button is represented by an icon consisting of four small squares arranged inside a larger square.
• On certain apps, the Select All feature may appear differently.

• The "Select All" feature works well in combination with the copy and paste functions for text, files, and/or folders.

• Be cautious when selecting large amounts of data in your browser, as selecting too much content – especially when copying immediately afterward – may cause the browser to freeze.