Tips for Microsoft Word

What is the difference between Keep Lines Together and Keep with Next?

Keep Lines Together is used to keep text within the same paragraph from breaking across pages. Keep with Next instructs Word to keep the paragraph where that format is applied with the following one.

Use Format Painter shortcut keys

1. Select the text or object containing the formatting you want to copy.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+C to copy the formatting.
3. Select the text or object you wish to apply the formatting and press Ctrl+Shift+V.

Note: You can continue to use Ctrl+Shift+V to paste the copied formatting repeatedly.

View and remove document versions if the command has been removed from Word’s File menu

When the ‘Versions’ feature is enabled in Word, the Status bar displays an icon that includes diskettes. Double-click the icon to delete or view document versions.

Use Print Preview shortcut keys

To switch to Print Preview, press CRTL+ALT+I.

Insert the Cents symbol

To insert a cents symbol ¢ in Word, press Ctrl + /(slash), then press C.

Where was I?

Open the document you were previously working on and press Shift+F5. This will take you to the place in the document where you were working when you last saved the document before closing it.

Use Click and Type Fields

If you've used any of Word’s built-in templates, you may have noticed several fields onscreen that say "Click Here and Type". You can click and type directly in the field and replace it with text. Click and Type fields are used as placeholders in lieu of blank lines or spaces. They are easy to create, and easy to use.

1. Start with a new blank document.
2. Press Ctrl+F9 to Insert a field (or choose Field from the Insert menu).
3. Type Macrobutton NoMacro Click Here And Type between the field characters.
4. Press F9 to see your handiwork.

Note: If you frequently use this feature, you might want to save the fields as AutoText entries.

Generate a list of keyboard shortcut commands

Word has hundreds of commands that don't appear on any of the menus. Many of these commands also have related keyboard shortcuts. You can run a built-in Word macro to print the entire list of available Word commands and shortcut keys.

1. Choose Macros from the Tools menu, and then select Macros.
2. Select "Word Commands" in the Macros In box.
3. Select ListCommands in the Macro Name box.
4. Click the Run button.
5. When the List Command dialog box appears, select All Word Commands and click OK.
6. Word generates a new document with a table listing all commands and keyboard shortcuts.

Add the Work menu to Word

If you have a few documents that you work on regularly, you can add the Work command to the Menu Bar which will allow you to save a reference to any document for quick retrieval.

1. From the Tools menu, choose Customize and click on the Commands tab.
2. From the Categories list scroll down and select Built-In Menus.
3. From the Commands list drag the Work menu to the Menu bar (next to Help).
4. Close the Customize dialog box.
5. Once the menu is activated, you can add any open document by choosing Add To Work Menu from the Work menu.

Once a document has been added to the Word menu, you can open it by simply selecting it from the list. To remove a document from the Work menu, press Ctrl+Alt+-(minus sign). The cursor will turn to a bar. Drag the cursor and click the document you want to remove from the list.

Note: This menu does not work with Document Management systems.

Use Split Screen Editing

You can use the document split feature in Word to view two parts of the same document simultaneously. For example, you can work on the beginning of the document in the top part of the window (the top "pane") while you work in another part of the document in the bottom pane. To use this feature, do the following:

1. Open a document and press Ctrl+Alt+S.
2. Point the mouse at the line separating the two panes.
3. Click and hold the mouse button on the split line and drag it to adjust the panes as necessary. Release the mouse to start using split panes.
4. When you're done using split panes, double-click the split line or choose Remove Split from the Windows menu.

Display dialog box asking how many rows to insert in a table

Try the following steps to choose the number of rows you wish to insert in a Word table without selecting the rows first:

1. Create a new document and press Enter a few times.
2. Insert a table into the document with at least one empty paragraph return below the table.
3. Place your insertion point on the empty paragraph just below the table.
4. Use the Table menu commands to insert a row and you will be prompted with a dialog box asking how many rows you wish to insert.

Is it possible to apply paragraph formatting to a single line in Word?

Unlike WordPerfect, you cannot apply paragraph formatting to a single line within a paragraph. You can apply character formatting (e.g. font type, size, bold, etc.) to all of the characters in a single line, but you cannot apply paragraph formatting (e.g. line spacing, indents, etc.) because the entire paragraph is affected.

What is the difference between having text color set to Automatic instead of black?

Automatic color will switch between black and white depending on the shading of the background. If the shading is more than 80% gray or a dark red or blue, the text shows through the shading as white.

Is it possible to exclude Headings 1 and 2 from the table of contents?

Yes.

1. From the Insert menu, choose Index and Tables, Table of Contents (in Word 2002 and higher it’s Insert, Reference, Index and Tables, Table of Contents).
2. Click the Options button and clear the TOC level boxes next to Heading 1 and Heading 2.
3. Click OK twice.

Is there any way to go through the document and substitute one style for another?

Yes, you can use Word’s Find and Replace feature to search for and replace much more than text.

1. From the Edit menu, choose Replace (or press Ctrl+H to display the Find and Replace dialog box with the Replace tab active).
2. In the Find and Replace dialog box, select Format, Style.
3. Find the style you wish to replace from the available list.
4. Repeat the process in the Replace With box and locate the style you wish to replace with.
5. Select Replace or Replace All (replace all instances).

How do you reset customized menu commands back to their default settings?

1. From the View menu, choose Toolbars, Customize.
2. Select the Toolbars tab and select (do not uncheck) the Menu bar.
3. Click the Reset button and set the option Reset Changes Made to Menu Bar to Normal and click OK.
4. Close the Customize dialog box.

Correctly display number of pages in section

Imagine the following scenario; your document includes a table of contents with lowercase Roman numeral page numbering. The next page numbering restarts at 1 on the second page of the document. If you use the AutoText button on the Header and Footer toolbar to insert the page numbers (Page X of Y), the Y number is always 1 greater than the actual last page (for example, the page number on the last page says Page 31 of 32, but it should be Page 31 of 31).

The Page X of Y AutoText entry uses the {NUMPAGES} field for the total number of pages which seems to cause this problem to occur. To display the correct number of pages in the section you must use the {SECTIONPAGES} field instead.

1. From the View menu choose Header and Footer, and switch to the footer (or simply double-click in the footer) and press Alt+F9 to display the field names.
2. Replace the {NUMPAGES} field with the {SECTIONPAGES} field.

Shortcut key to select entire table

Click anywhere in the table and press Alt+5.

Close all open Word documents

Press the Shift key as you click the File menu and notice that the Close command changes to Close All.

Reposition existing table rows

Place your cursor in the row you would like to move. Press Alt+Shift+ Up or Down arrow. This moves the current row in the specified direction.

Quickly calculate numbers in Word

Word has a hidden feature that can evaluate selected numbers in a list and display the mathematical sum on the Status bar. Even better, if you choose Edit, Paste, or press Ctrl+V, the sum, which was added to the Clipboard pastes into the document. This method only works for continuous text numbers.

1. From the Tools menu, choose Customize and select the Commands tab.
2. Under Categories, select Tools and locate ToolsCalculate under the Commands list.
3. Select and drag the ToolsCalculate button onto an existing toolbar and release the mouse.
4. Close the Customize dialog box.
5. On an empty line in the document, type 51 and press Enter. Type 99 and press Enter. Type 109 and press Enter.
6. Select the list of numbers and click the Tools Calculate button to view the resulting sum on the Status bar.
7. Press Ctrl+V to paste the calculated result

Sort non-normalized data (example, some entries have two words - John Smith, while others have three - John Smith Jr.)

Word 2002 and higher allows you to sort by multiple words through the Sort dialog box. To trick Word into thinking Jr., is part of the last name, insert a non-breaking space by pressing Ctrl+Shift+0 (zero). If you have Show/Hide enabled, you will see the special character resembles a raised circle.

Resize graphics while retaining proportions

Click once to select the graphic, hold the Shift key, position your mouse over one of the sizing handles and drag the mouse (while holding down the Shift key).

Display "old" Mail Merge Helper instead of Mail Merge Task Pane

While the Mail Merge feature in Word 2002 and higher is in our opinion superior to the previous versions, you can roll back to the old way of mail merge by doing the following:

1. From the View menu, choose Toolbars, Customize and select the Commands tab.
2. Under Categories, select All Commands.
3. Under Commands, select MailMergeHelper.
4. Drag the command to a menu or toolbar and close the Customize dialog box. The MailMerge Helper displays when you click the button.

Modify a Custom Dictionary in Word

To add, delete, or edit words in a custom dictionary:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and select the Spelling & Grammar tab.
2. Click Custom Dictionaries, select Custom.dic and click Modify.
3. Add or Delete desired entries and click OK when completed.

Note: In previous versions of Word, editing the Custom dictionary opens a Plain Text document.

Gridlines display in the background of the document similar to Excel or drafting paper

If you open a document and gridlines appear onscreen, you may have turned on the Display Gridlines on Screen feature (available in Word 2002 and higher).To turn off the gridlines:

1. Alternate-click any visible toolbar and select the Drawing toolbar.
2. Click Draw and select Grid from the shortcut menu.
3. In the Drawing Grid dialog box, deselect Display Gridlines on Screen and click OK to close the dialog box.

Add watermarks to your Word documents (Word 2002 and higher)

To add a watermark to a printed document:

1. From the Format menu, choose Background, Printed Watermark.
2. Do one of the following: To insert a picture as a watermark, click Picture watermark, and then click Select Picture. Navigate to and select the picture you want, and then click Insert. -OR- To insert a text watermark, click Text watermark, and then select or enter the text you want.
3. Select any additional options you want, and then click OK. To view a watermark as it will appear on the printed page, click Print Layout from the View menu.

Note: Watermarks are only visible in the Print Layout View or Print Preview.

Compare Documents Side By Side (Word 2003)

In Word 2003, you have the ability to compare documents side-by-side. This is useful if you have more than two documents open and want to see both documents at the same time and in their own workspace.

1. Open two or more documents.
2. From the Window menu, choose Compare Documents Side by Side.
3. Select the document from the dialog box to be displayed along with the active document.
4. Click the Synchronize Scrolling button on the Compare Side by Side toolbar to toggle scrolling in both documents.
5. Click Reset Window Position to make even both documents if either has been resized.
6. Click Close Side by Side to turn off this feature.

Calculate in Word

Word used to have a built in calculate feature where selected numbers could be added instantaneously. It disappeared in Word 6 but is still around - just hidden.

1. From the View menu, choose Toolbars, Customize.
2. Select the Commands tab on the Customize dialog box.
3. Under Categories, choose All Commands and under Commands, locate ToolsCalculate.
4. Drag the command to a menu or toolbar. Close the Customize dialog box.
5. On a new line, type 1000 and press Enter.
6. Type 500 and press Enter.
7. Type 10999 and press Enter.
8. Select all four numbers.
9. Click Calculate. The sum of the numbers is displayed in the Status bar at the bottom of the screen.