Microsoft Word

Tips & Techniques

Developed by Jane Cook

EASTCONN Staff Development/Literacy & Educational Technology Specialist

Windham Mills, Mill #1, 3rd Floor

322 Main Street

Willimantic, CT 06226

Phone: (860) 455-0707

E-mail:

Revised 10/24/07

Table of Contents

Auto Text

Create an AutoText entry to store and reuse text and graphics......

I want Word to stop automatically correcting text and graphics......

Bookmarks

Add a bookmark......

Go to a specific bookmark......

Show bookmarks......

Bullets and Numbers

Modify bulleted or numbered list formats......

Use a unique symbol or a picture bullet......

Customize numbered list format......

Format bullets or numbers differently than the text in a list......

Changing Case

Headers and Footers

Change headers or footers......

Edit or format a header or footer......

Change the first page header or footer......

Change the headers or footers for part of a document......

Change different headers and footers back......

Highlighting Text

Highlighting Text Using the Keyboard Instead of the Mouse......

Highlighting Selective Text......

Highlighting Words, Lines or Paragraphs......

Hyperlinks......

Hyperlinks

Hyperlink to an existing or new document, file or Web page......

Link to an existing file or Web page......

Link to a file you haven’t created yet......

Link to a specific location in another document or Web page......

Link to a location in the current document or Web page......

Macros – Automating Tedious Tasks

Create a macro......

Tips for recording a macro......

Record a macro in Word......

Pause and restart recording a macro......

Margins on Pages

Change page margins......

Set mirror margins for facing pages......

Set gutter margins for bound documents......

Mail Merges for Form Letters and Mass Mailings

More information about mail merge data sources......

How data sources work in a mail merge......

Connecting to a data source......

Selecting specific recipients from the data source......

More information about mail merge fields......

Address and greeting fields......

Additional merge fields......

Moving Around in a Document

Go to a page, bookmark, footnote, table, comment, graphic, or other location

Non-Breaking Spaces

Numbering Pages

Insert page numbers......

Change the page numbers in different parts of a document......

Remove page numbers......

Page Breaks and Section Breaks

Insert a manual page break......

Setting pagination options to position automatic page breaks......

Control widow and orphan lines......

Keep lines together......

Prevent a table row from breaking across pages......

Keeping paragraphs together......

Forcing a Page Break......

Sections

Section Breaks......

Insert a section break......

Types of section breaks......

Shortcuts for Selecting, Editing and Moving Text and Graphics

Selecting text......

Deleting text and graphics......

Copying and moving text and graphics......

Summarizing a Document

Automatically create an executive summary or abstract......

Sharing Documents and Tracking Changes

Using the Word change-tracking feature to track changes to a document......

Track changes while you edit......

Inserting comments......

Emphasizing text by highlighting it......

How to highlight important text......

Comparing documents......

Merging tracked changes......

Merge comments and changes from several reviewers into one document

Spelling, Grammar and Readability

Check spelling and grammar automatically as you type......

Check spelling and grammar all at once......

Display readability statistics......

Status Bar

Table of Contents

Organizing a Document: Steps in Building a Table of Contents......

Toolbars

Show or hide a toolbar......

Page 1

Word Tips and Techniques

(Source: Adapted from Microsoft Word online help)

Auto Text

AutoText is a storage location for text or graphics you want to use again — for example, a mailing address you use often, a standard contract clause, or a long distribution list for memos. Each selection of text or graphics is recorded as an AutoText entry and is assigned a unique name. In previous versions of Microsoft Word, AutoText entries were referred to as glossary entries.

AutoText offers a way to store and quickly insert text, graphics, fields, tables, bookmarks, and other items that you use frequently. Microsoft Word comes with a number of built-in AutoText entries that are divided into different categories. For example, if you're working on a letter, Word can offer letter-specific AutoText entries, such as salutations and closings.

In addition, you can create your own AutoText entries. This is useful if you often use the same large or complex item and don't want to have to reinsert or retype it, or if you want to store text that contains a particular style or format. For example, if you send customers a monthly report that always includes the same lengthy disclaimer, you can create an AutoText entry for the disclaimer.

When you create an AutoText entry, it's automatically linked to the paragraph style of the text or graphic you used to create the entry. This style is what Word uses to determine which submenu the new AutoText entry appears in on the AutoText submenu (Insert menu). For example, if your report's disclaimer has the Normal style, Word links the AutoText entry to the Normal style. When you later want to insert the entry, you'll find the entry on the Normal submenu (Insert menu, AutoText submenu).

Create an AutoText entry to store and reuse text and graphics

1. Select the text or graphic you want to store as an AutoText entry.

To store paragraph formatting with the entry, include the paragraph mark () in the selection.

2. On the AutoText toolbar, click New.

3. When Microsoft Word proposes a name for the AutoText entry, accept the name or type a new one. If you plan to insert the entry by using AutoComplete, make sure the name contains at least four characters because Word inserts an entry only after four characters have been typed.

Word stores the AutoText entry for later use.

Notes
  • AutoText entries must be at least five characters long.
  • By default, Word makes the AutoText entry available to all documents by storing it in the Normal template. If you want to limit AutoText entries to particular documents, you can specify a template to store the entry in. Select the text or graphic you want to store as an AutoText entry. On the Insert menu, point to AutoText, click AutoText, and then click a template name in the Look in box. In the Enter AutoText entries here box, type a name for the AutoText entry. Click Add.

I want Word to stop automatically correcting text and graphics.

• To turn off AutoCorrect, click AutoCorrect on the Tools menu, and then clear the Replace text as you type check box.

• To turn off spelling checker corrections, click AutoCorrect on the Tools menu, and then clear the “Automatically use suggestions from the spelling checker” check box.

• If you no longer want Word to automatically insert an AutoCorrect entry, delete the entry.

Bookmarks

Add a bookmark

A bookmark identifies a location or selection of text that you name and identify for future reference. For example, you might use a bookmark to identify text that you want to revise at a later time. Instead of scrolling through the document to locate the text, you can go to it by using the Bookmark dialog box.

  1. Select an item you want a bookmark assigned to, or click where you want to insert a bookmark.
  2. On the Insert menu, click Bookmark.
  3. Under Bookmark name, type or select a name.

Bookmark names must begin with a letter and can contain numbers. You can't include spaces in a bookmark name. However, you can use the underscore character to separate words— for example, "First_heading."

  1. Click Add.

Go to a specific bookmark

  1. On the Insert menu, click Bookmark.
  2. At Sort by, choose the way you want to display bookmark names.
  3. If you want to display hidden bookmarks, such as cross-references, select the Hidden bookmarks check box.
  4. Under Bookmark name, click the bookmark you want to go to.
  5. Click Go To.

Show bookmarks

  1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the View tab.
  2. Select the Bookmarks check box under the View tab.

If you assigned a bookmark to an item, the bookmark appears in brackets ([…]) on the screen. If you assigned a bookmark to a location, the bookmark appears as an I-beam. The brackets do not print.

Bullets and Numbers

Modify bulleted or numbered list formats

  1. Select the list that has the bullet or number format you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the tab for the type of list you want to modify.
  3. Click the list format you want.

You can also do any of the following:

Use a unique symbol or a picture bullet

  1. Select the list that has the bullet format you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Bulleted tab.
  3. Click the list format you want to modify, or the style that is closest to the format you want.
  4. Click Customize.
  5. Decide whether to use a different symbol or a picture for bullets:
  6. Click Character to change the symbol.
  7. Click Picture to select a picture.
  8. Select the symbol or picture you want.
  9. Select any other options you want.

Customize numbered list format

For example, change "1)" to "First", or to "01", or change the punctuation that is used after a number or letter.

  1. Select the list that has the number format you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Numbered or Outline Numbered tab.
  3. Click the list format that you want to modify, or the style that is closest to the format you want to modify.
  4. Click Customize.
  5. Select the options you want.

Format bullets or numbers differently than the text in a list

You can change bulleted or numbered format in a list without making changes to the text in the list. For example, format numbers or bullets with a different font color than the text in the list.

  1. Click a bullet or number in a list.

All the bullets or numbers in the list are highlighted.

  1. Select the options you want on the Formattingtoolbar.

Changing Case

If you have typed a word or phrase that you want in a different case, simply do the following:

  1. Highlight the word or phrase and then click on Format in the Top Line menu.
  2. Click on Change Case.
  3. Then click on whatever case you want and then click on OK.

For example, Ifyou accidentally hit the Caps Lock key and kept typing without realizing it,highlight the text that it is in upper case, click on Format, then on Change Case and then on Toggle Case. All of the letters that are in upper case will switch to lower case and vice versa.

Headers and Footers

Change headers or footers

A header, which can consist of text or graphics, appears at the top of every page in a section. A footer appears at the bottom of every page. Headers and footers often contain page numbers, chapter titles, dates and author names. To add or change headers or footers, do any of the following:

Edit or format a header or footer

  1. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
  2. If necessary, click Show Previous or Show Next on the Header and Footer toolbar to move to the header or footer that you want to change.
  3. Make your changes to the header or footer. For example, revise text, change the font, apply bold format, or apply a different font color.

When you change a header or footer, Microsoft Word automatically changes the same header or footer throughout the document, unless the document contains different headers or footers in a section..

Change the first page header or footer

You can leave the header or footer off the first page or create a unique first page header or footer for the first page in a document or the first page of each section within a document.

  1. If your document is divided into sections, click in a section or select multiple sections you want to change. Click anywhere in the document if your document is not divided into sections.
  2. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
  3. On the Header and Footertoolbar, click Page Setup.
  4. Click the Layout tab.
  5. Select the Different first page check box, and then click OK.
  6. If necessary, click Show Previous or Show Next on the Header and Footer toolbar to move into the First Page Header area or First Page Footer area.
  7. Create the header or footer for the first page of the document or section.

If you don't want a header or footer on the first page, leave the header and footer areas blank.

Change the headers or footers for part of a document

A document must first be divided into sections in order to create a different header or footer for part of a document.

  1. If you haven't done so already, insert a section break where you want to start a new section that contains a different header or footer by doing the following:
  2. Click where you want to insert a section break.
  3. On the Insert menu, click Break.
  4. Under Section break types, click the option that describes where you want the new section to begin.
  5. Click in the section for which you want to create a different header or footer.
  6. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
  7. On the Header and Footertoolbar, click Same as Previous to break the connection between the header and footer in the current section and the previous section.

Microsoft Word no longer displays "Same as Previous" in the upper-right corner of the header or footer.

  1. Change the existing header or footer, or create a new one for this section.

Change different headers and footers back

  1. Click in the section that contains the header or footer you want to make the same as the header or footer in the previous section.
  2. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
  3. If necessary, click Show Previous or Show Next on the Header and Footertoolbar to move to the header or footer you want to change.
  4. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Same as Previous - to reconnect the header and footer in the current section to those in the previous section.
  5. Microsoft Word will ask if you want to delete the header and footer and connect to the header and footer in the previous section. Click Yes.

Highlighting Text

There are a variety of ways that you highlight text in an MS Word document. Dragging and clicking while holding down the left mouse button is probably the most common way to highlight text. However, when your mouse is misbehaving or when you don't want to use your mouse, it's helpful to know the following shortcuts.

Highlighting Text Using the Keyboard Instead of the Mouse

To use the keyboard instead of the mouse to highlight text, move the cursor to the beginning or end of the text that you wish to highlight and then hold down the following keys: SHIFT + Any of the arrow keys.

Notes

SHIFT + Up Arrow will highlight up one line at a time

SHIFT + Down Arrow will highlight down one line at a time

SHIFT + Left Arrow will highlight left one character at a time

SHIFT + Right Arrow will highlight right one character at a time

SHIFT + PgUp will highlight up one screen at a time

SHIFT + PgDn will highlight down one screen at a time

SHIFT + CTRL + Home will highlight up to the beginning of the file

SHIFT + CTRL + End will highlight down to the bottom of the file

Highlighting Selective Text

To select only a certain section of a line or a series of lines, e.g., an address, move your I-bar cursor to the beginning of the text that you wish to highlight and hold down the following keys: SHIFT + CTRL + F8.

Then move the arrow keys, up or down, left or right, to highlight only those letters or words that you want. You can then copy and paste the highlighted text wherever you want in that document or in another document.

Highlighting Words, Lines or Paragraphs

There are some shortcuts for highlighting a word, a line or a paragraph at a time.

To highlight a single word: Move the cursor over the word and double click the left mouse button.

To highlight an entire line: Move the cursor over into the left margin and click the left mouse button once.

To highlight an entire paragraph: Move the cursor over the paragraph and triple click the left mouse button.

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks

Microsoft Word creates a hyperlink for you when you type the address of an existing Web page, such as if the automatic formatting of hyperlinks has not been turned off.

To create more customized hyperlinks, do one of the following, depending on what you want to link to.

Hyperlink to an existing or new document, file or Web page