Word


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These are some important items to know when using Microsoft Word:

Opening Word or a Word document

Open Word from the Start menu

Start > Programs > Microsoft Word
From the menubar in Word select File > Open

Double-click on a Word document listed in My Computer or Windows Explorer

Word documents are represented by the Word icon
Word document file names end with .doc

Saving Documents

How often do you save? How much work/time are you willing to lose?
Save a document with the disk icon on the toolbar. Where is it saved? Same location as it was retrieved or for a new document same place as last document saved.
Where is your document saved? Save a document from the menu bar: File > Save As; See the directory and file name or you have an opportunity to change the directory and file name.
What format is the document when it is saved? The default format is as a Word document with the .doc extension. You can change the format of the document if you want to exchange it with someone else. Use the Save As option to select a different format. Most word processors can open a document in Rich Text Format. Note that Rich Text Format will remove some of the special Word formatting that you have done.

Cut or Copy, then Paste

Copying text does not delete the original; cutting text does.
Select or highlight the text to be cut or copied

place the cursor at the beginning of the text
hold down the left mouse button
drag the mouse over the text
then release the mouse button

Four options to cut the selected text

right-click on the highlighted text and select Cut on the popup menu, or
on the menu bar select Edit > Cut, or
on the toolbar select the cut icon, or
with the keyboard press Ctrl+X (simultaneously)

Four options to copy the selected text

right-click on the highlighted text and select Copy on the popup menu, or
on the menu bar select Edit > Copy, or
on the toolbar select the copy icon, or
with the keyboard press Ctrl+C (simultaneously)

Four options to paste after positioning your cursor in the new location

right-click and select Paste on the popup menu, or
on the menu bar select Edit > Paste, or
on the toolbar select the paste icon, or
with the keyboard press Ctrl+V (simultaneously)

Tip: To copy an entire document you can use the Select All command from the Edit command menu bar

Easily Format Text with the tool bar

Select or highlight the text
On the toolbar select the format option (you may select more than one)

Bold
Italics
Underline
Alignment (left, right, center, justified)
Bullets (numbered and unordered)

What if the formatting tool bar is not visible?

Select View > Toolbars > Formatting

Change Text Font and Size from the toolbar

Select or highlight the text
On the toolbar click the arrow beside the Font box. (The font box contains the name of the font, e.g. Times Roman or Arial.) Select the font you want.
On the toolbar click the arrow beside the Font Size box. (The font size box contains a number). Select the font size you want.
Tip: Not sure which area of the toolbar is the font box. Hold your cursor over a portion of the toolbar for 2 seconds and the name of that area will become visible.

Spelling Check

Spell check the entire document

From the menu bar, select Tools > Spelling and Grammar
The spell checker will stop on each word that is not in the dictionary. You may select from a list of possible corrections, ignore the suggestions or type your own correction.
If you encounter a word that is spelled correctly, but not in the dictionary, you may add it to the dictionary.

Spell check a single word as you type

This option is set on the menu bar Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar tab > Check spelling as you type
Words underlined in a wavy red line are not in the dictionary
Right-click on the word to get suggested spellings

Thesaurus

Highlight the word or phrase that you would like to change
From the menu bar select Tools > Language > Thesaurus
Look for an alternative for your word or phrase
Tip: For words that may be used as different parts of speech, select the part of speech you are using in your sentence.

Grammar Check

Check sentence grammar as you type

This option is set on the menu bar Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar tab > Check grammar as you type
Grammar suggestions are provided for sentences or phrases underlined with a wavy green line
Right-click on the phrase to get a suggested grammar change

Grammar suggestions are also provided when you run the Spell Check

Undo

Undo your last action

From the menu bar select Edit > Undo, or
Click the Undo icon on the toolbar
From the keyboard press Ctrl + Z

Redo your Undo of your last action

From the menu bar select Edit > Redo, or
Click the Redo icon on the toolbar
From the keyboard press Ctrl + Y

Tip: You cannot undo some actions. The menu bar shows the last command that will be undone.

Page Break

To begin a new page, you may manually insert a page break

Place the cursor where you want the new page to begin
From the menu bar select Insert > Break
Choose between a regular page break (default) or a section break

Tip: Place manual page breaks when you near completion of your document. Otherwise the place for the page break may change as you continue to make edits.

Find and Replace

Need to find a particular word or phrase in your document?

From the menu bar select Edit > Find.
Enter the word you are looking for.
Click the Find Next button.

Need to replace a word everywhere in your document?

From the menu bar select Edit > Replace.
Enter the word you are looking for.
Enter the replacement text.
Click Find Next to replace one item at a time or Replace All to replace all occurrences of the word.

Tip: There are options that allow you to be more specific with your search.

Headers and Footers

Place your cursor on the page of the header or footer you wish to edit.
From the menu bar select View > Header and Footer.
The header is displayed first. Edit the header text. Note the Header and Footer toolbar has buttons to insert automatic page numbering.
To select the footer, click the Switch Between Header and Footer Button on the Header and Footer toolbar. Edit the footer text.
To return to your document, click the Close button on the Header and Footer toolbar.
Tip: The insertion of section breaks allow you to have different headers and footers for different portions of your document

Headings and Styles

Styles define a type of formatting. The formatting can include several features, such as alignment, bold, font, and font size. By just changing the style of the selected text, you change the formatting of several characteristics at once.
The Style box is located on the toolbar, usually next to the Font and Font Size boxes.
To change the style of text

Select or highlight the text
On the toolbar click the arrow beside the Style box. (The style box contains the name of the current style, e.g. Normal or Heading 1.) There are preset styles. Select the name of the style you want.

Insert Table

Use tables when you need to organize something by columns/rows. Tables give you more control when you need to line things up. Stay away from too many tabs.
Insert a table

From the menu bar, select Table > Insert > Table
Select the number of columns and rows you want to start

Changing the width of table columns

Place the cursor on a line between columns, until you get two parallel lines with arrows pointing left and right.
Click and drag the grid line where you want it.
Release the mouse button when you have the column width where you want it.

Inserting rows or columns

Place your cursor in the table where you want the new row
From the menu bar, select Table > Insert
Select the appropriate option

Columns to the left
Columns to the right
Rows Above
Rows Below

Deleting rows or columns

Place your cursor in the row or column you want to delete
From the menu bar, select Table > Delete
Select the appropriate option - row or column

Word has some options to automatically format a table

Select the table
From the menu bar select Table > Table AutoFormat
Choose a format and click OK.

Insert Picture

Insert a picture from Clip Art

From the menu bar select Insert > Picture > Clip Art
From the task pane select Clip Organizer
Expand Office Collections
Select a category
Drag a clip to the slide

You may obtain more Clip Art from the Microsoft Office web site, http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/
Insert a picture from your own file

Place the cursor where you want the picture
From the menu bar, select Insert > Picture > From File
Browse your computer to find the file you want
Select the file and click the Insert button

Resize a picture

Right-click on the picture
Click Format Picture
Select the Size tab
Change the dimensions or percentage of the picture
Tip: Lock Aspect Ratio means keep the picture proportional with its original dimensions

Text Box

Text boxes give you more control over where your text is located.
To insert a text box

From the menu bar, select Insert > Text Box
Position the cursor where you want your text to begin
Click and hold the mouse button
Drag the mouse to create a box approximately where you want the text. Release the mouse button.
Enter text into the empty box.

To move the text box

Switch to Print Layout view. From the menu bar select View > Print Layout. Otherwise you may not be able to see the text box.
Click inside the text box. A border with squares or “handles” should become visible.
Place your cursor somewhere over the border so that the cursor turns into the four arrowheads.
Click the mouse button and drag the text box to a new position.
Release the mouse button when you text is positioned as you want it.

To resize the text box

Switch to Print Layout view. From the menu bar select View > Print Layout. Otherwise you may not be able to see the text box.
Click inside the text box. A border with squares or “handles” should become visible.
Place your cursor over one of the “handles” in the border so that a cursor becomes a line with an arrowhead on each end.
Click and drag the handle square to resize the text box.
Release the button when the handle is where you want it.

Format the text box

In addition to positioning or resizing you can change other features of the text box.
Switch to Print Layout view. From the menu bar select View > Print Layout. Otherwise you may not be able to see the text box.
Click inside the text box. A border with squares or “handles” should become visible.
Place your cursor somewhere over the border so that the cursor turns into the four arrowheads.
Right-click and select the Format Text Box from the menu
You may change the appearance and color of the lines that form the border of the text box.

Table of Contents

A Table of Contents can be very easy to create, if you have used style headings (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3) to define each section of your document.
To create a Table of Contents

Place your cursor on the first page or where you want to insert your Table of Contents.
From the menu bar, select Insert > > Reference > Index and Tables
Click the Table of Contents tab.
At the bottom of the tab is an option entitled Formats. Select the format of the Table of Contents (From template, Classic Distinctive) here.
The Show Levels options determines the number of levels or detail of the Table of Contents.
Click OK.
Place a manual Page Break after the Table of Contents.

After you make edits to your document you will have to update the Table of Contents, as the page numbers or content of headings may have changed.

Right-click in the table of contents
Select Update Field
You may update page numbers only or the entire table.

Index

You can create an index easily if you mark each word or phrase in the document that you want in the index. You may mark each word one of two ways:

Highlight the word and press Alt+Shift+X on the keyboard, or
Highlight the word and from the menu bar select Insert > Index and Tables. Click the Indent tab. Click the Mark button in the dialog box. Click the Close button.

To generate the index

Place the cursor where you want the index.
From the menu bar, select Insert > Reference > Index and Tables.
Click the Index tab.
At the bottom of the tab is an option entitled Formats. Select the format of the Index (From Template, Classic, Fancy).
Click OK.
Insert a manual Page Break before the page with the Index.

After you make edits to your document you will have to update the Index, as the page numbers or index items may have changed.

Right-click in the index
Select Update Field

Displaying Nonprinting Characters

If your document is not acting as it should, display nonprinting characters for a possible explanation
Click the Show/Hide button on the toolbar (paragraph symbol).
The following nonprinting characters will be displayed:

paragraph marks
dots that denote spaces
arrows that denote tab characters
dashed lines that denote page, section, and column breaks
text and graphic boundaries

Inserting Comments

Comments will not appear when you print

Select the text you wish to comment on
From the menu bar select Insert > Comment
Type your comment

Options for managing comments can be found on the Reviewing toolbar. To display the Reviewing toolbar select View > Toolbars > Reviewing.
Word 97/2000: Comments are highlighted. To view all comments, from the menu bar select View > Comments. A list of comments is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Word 2002/2003: Comments are displayed in the right margin. To control the display of comments, click Show on the Reviewing toolbar.

Tracking Document Changes

If more than one person is editing a document you can track changes with revision marks

Right-click the grayed out TRK text on the status bar. Then select Track Changes, or
On the Reviewing toolbar select Track Changes

Accept or reject changes

Right-click on the underlined text
Word 97/2000: Select Accept Change or Reject Change
Word 2002/2003: Select Accept or Reject (Insertion or Deletion)

Disable document tracking

Right-click on TRK in the status bar
Select Track Changes

Options for tracking changes can be found on the Reviewing toolbar. To display the Reviewing toolbar select View > Toolbars > Reviewing.

Compare Documents

Open the most recent version of the document
From the menubar, select Tools > Compare and Merge Documents.
Locate the file you want to compare. Double-click the file name.
New text is underlined. Old text appears with a strike-through.