Microsoft Word deletes a space along with the word when pressing Ctrl+Backspace. How do I prevent it from removing the space?

After some hunting on the net, I found this feature is optional (kind of).

Word options->Advanced->Cut, Copy and Paste->Use smart cut and paste->Settings->Adjust sentence and word spacing automatically.

Source: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_windows8/control-backspace-deletes-previous-word-and-the/aa87aa3d-5928-4dd1-9266-b914f9c14620?auth=1


Note: This solves the problem when writing a new paragraph, but when deleting words with more words following it the same default behaviour occurs.

For example (if | represents the cursor/"insertion point"):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet|

Then Ctrl + Backspace works as normal (with or without a space before the cursor):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit |

But in the case of:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit| amet

With the cursor directly after the word to be deleted, Ctrl + Backspace will result in Word's default behaviour:

Lorem ipsum dolor| amet

As far as I can tell this isn't in the settings, so bear in mind that there's a bit of inconsistent behaviour if Adjust sentence and word spacing automatically is turned off.


I believe this is considered a feature (as most users would also want the space removed). I don't know of anyway to configure the Ctrl + Backspace behavior.

One alternative would be to hold Ctrl + Shift and then Left Arrow to highlight the word. Then press the Spacebar.