R. Craig Collins >Common > How To: Word

How To: Word © R. Craig Collins, 2005, 8

See my Word Crash Course for more up to date information

Info on creating a résumé (use of templates) here.
Research papers/Advanced features, or for capstone projects (double space, set margins, headers, footnotes, etc.) click here.
Info on working with Word Documents here
Info on editing Word documents here

Starting Office Applications, Options, and Help
If you are not familiar with how to start Microsoft Word, read this section carefully, and then just use the method (Start Button, Menu, or shortcut) that you prefer. There are often hundreds of ways to do things in Windows; none are wrong, so just use the one that makes since to you.

Office 2007

Office 98/XP/2003

Working with Toolbars ot Tabs

Office 2007 In Word, you will primarily use the Office button, and the Home, Insert, and Page Layout tabs on the ribbon. Larger versions of the Ribbon are below. In Word, point to each icon to see a help bubble describing the tool. You may also right click a blank spot next to the tabs, and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar The Word Office Button options

Office 97/XP/2003 In Word, you will primarily use the Standard and Formatting tool bars. These can be configured to squeeze into one row by hiding some tools, or fitting on separate rows. If you can’t find a tool, click the >> buttons that are available to see the hidden features. Choose View\Toolbars for more options... point to each icon to see a help bubble naming the tool

Understanding Dialog boxes.
Many of the tools require additional information when clicked… this is handled with a dialog box that will open. If you click and choose Print (or [Alt] + [File\print], a dialog box will ask which printer to use, which pages to print, and how many copies, etc. Make any changes you like, then click [Ok].


Understanding the Helper Windows/Task Pane

Office 2007 When you choose New or [F1] for Help, particular windows often open over the document space

Office 98/XP/2003 When you choose File/New or Help, particular panes often pop up on the side

Setting Application Options

Office 2007 Since we are all individuals, we all will want to interact with the program in a different way. This can be done with Word Options

Office 97/XP/2003 Since we are all individuals, we all will want to interact with the program in a different way. This can be done with the Options dialog box. In Word, this is done by selecting Tools\Options. See below for a sample dialog box. I would avoid making too many changes for the time being.

Help: What’s Available
Rather than call your instructor, many times Word can answer your question for you. In 2007, choose the (?) above the ribbon.

In Earlier versions, choose the Help menu item.
A similar book chapter is available online here.

Now that you are a little more familiar with the product, now you can actually start using Word.

Working with Word Documents
Starting a new document.

When you choose to start a new document in Word, you can take several routes. You can:

• Create a blank new document using Word's default template
• Create a document using one of Word's many other templates or a custom one you created yourself
  • Office 97/XP/2003: Create a document using wizards, such as the Résumé or Envelope Wizard
  • Office 2007: Click the Office Button, choose New. One the left, under Templates, scroll down to your choice, such as a Resume Template.

Office 2007Office 97/XP/2003 To open a new document, follow these steps: Select New. The New Document window opens Under Templates, select Resumes and CVs, with a range of templates from which to choose. Choose Situation Specific, then College graduate resume. Saving a document. Once a computer is turned off, anything not copied to the hard drive just disappears… to save your résumé, you will need to save it to your hard drive, or a floppy disk. An unsaved file requires a location to save in, and a name for the document. This is done with Save As dialog box. Once a file is saved once, changes to the document are done with the Save command, or clicking the disk icon. You may now close your document, and reopen it later if you wish to add to it, print it, etc.

Office 97/XP/2003 To open a new document, follow these steps: Select File, and then New. The task pane opens on the right side of your screen. Under Templates, select On My Computer... and Word opens the Templates dialog box with a range of templates from which to choose. Make sure that the General tab is selected in the Templates dialog box, and then double-click the Word Blank Document icon. A new document appears in the Word application window. The fastest way to create a new blank document is to click the icon on the Word Standard toolbar. Your lab assignments includes a résumé, and a discussion on Wizards is a great way to start. (The lab information below includes step by step use of the Résumé Wizard, or watch a video on using the résumé wizard.) Select the File menu, and then click New to open the task pane. Under Templates, select On My Computer... and then choose the Other Documents tab. To start the document creation process using the wizard, double-click the appropriate wizard icon Saving a document. Once a computer is turned off, anything not copied to the hard drive just disappears… to save your résumé, you will need to save it to your hard drive, or a floppy disk. An unsaved file requires a location to save in, and a name for the document. This is done with the Save As dialog box. Once a file is saved once, changes to the document are done with the Save command. You may now close your document, and reopen it later if you wish to add to it, print it, etc.

Editing Documents
Adding or replacing text and moving in the document.

The real advantage of word processors over typewriters is that you can change a document, even after it is saved. Ideally, you type in your ideas quickly, to keep your train of thought, then you come back and ‘clean them up’ a bit. In word processors, you can change words, move words, copy words, what ever.

Click here for a list of ALL Word keyboard shortcuts.

If your hand is on the keyboard, it is faster to use the keyboard instead of reaching for the mouse, especially for tasks that you find your self doing all the time.

In order to move a word or line, you have to be able to select it. Aside from adding words, you will eventually want to delete or remove words…

Copying , cutting, and pasting text.
I can not stress enough the need to practice this section, and memorize the following shortcuts…
[Ctl] [X] to cut
[Ctl] [C] to copy
[Ctl] [V] to paste

You can also have multiple documents open, and move words and sentences from one document to another.

Formatting, or Changing how text looks
Understanding fonts
Once you have your words making since, then and only then do you make them look pretty. You never paint a house while your are adding walls, and the same is true with word processing… you can spend all of your time formatting text, instead of entering text, if you jump the gun. You’ll spend 10 minutes making a sentence look just right, then later wind up deleting the sentence… so just remember, create, edit, THEN format!

Fonts basically defines how the words look, the shape, the size, the color, and so on. The most common formatting is
[Ctl] [B] to bold
[Ctl] [I] to italicize
[Ctl] [U] to underline

Try using Office 2007 Home tab for the Font group, or earlier versions use the Edit/Font menu to get to the font dialog box; both give you one stop access to all aspects of a font. You can also experiment with aligning text from the Menu bar!

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Background on using Templates, such as a Résumé

Tips and tricks to completing a Résumé, or other documents created from a template or wizard.

NOTE: In order to correctly name files for ALL labs, your computer MUST be displaying file extensions. See FAQ for details.

Of course, you could always craft a document by hand, using tables, such as below

More advance features.
See also Capstone Project Overview

Many research papers expect you to be able to:
Optional, video on Outlines
double space your document,
set margins
use headers/footers
create automatic footnotes, or
count the words in your document.
     • Word 2007 Outlines, video
     • Word 2007 Bibliography, video

Each of these topics is covered briefly below. Refer to the Word Help tool, or a reference book if you need more details or options.

Double Space
2007
To double space your document, choose Home tab/Paragraph group, then in the Line Spacing button (),
or select
then change the Line Spacing Options choice to Double...




97/XP/2003
To double space your document, choose Format/Paragraph, then in the Spacing area, change the line spacing Drop Down Menu choice from Single to Double...

Set Margins

2007
To set your margins, choose the Page Layout tab, then in the Margins area,
()
choose a predefined set of margins, or choose Custom margins to change the Top, Bottom, Left and Right Drop Down Menu choices to the desired value, such as 1"

97/XP/2003
To set your margins, choose File/Page Set Up, then in the Margins area, change the Top, Bottom, Left and Right Drop Down Menu choices to the desired value, such as 1"

Use Headers and Footers
2007
To use headers and footers, choose the Insert tab, then Heads and Footers.

Choose Header, and Blank. Type your text, then click the Page Number button. Typically, you don't want headers or footers on a cover sheet, so you might look under the Page Layout tab and choose ,
or select the Design tab that is available when editing Headers and Footers, and choose different first page. Once you click Ok, you'll be back to viewing the current page... if you are on the first page, move over to the next page, by clicking the Next Section button.

You might type your name, press the [Tab] key to get to the center of the document, and type your document name, then press [Tab] again, to get to the right side. Click the Page Number # button to insert the current page number. Choose Current Location.
(This automatically changes, if you add more pages.) Choose Close, when you are finished.

97/XP/2003
Headers and Footers are already in your document. To use headers and footers, choose View/Header and Footer. Typically, you don't want headers or footers on a cover sheet, so you might want to first click the icon that looks like an opening book, the Page Set Up area. Under Layout, choose different first page. Once you click Ok, you'll be back to viewing the current page... if you are on the first page, move over to the next page, by clicking the last button, the Show Next button.

You might press the [Tab] key to get to the center of the document, and type your name, then press [Tab] again, to get to the right side. Click the # button to insert the current page number. (This automatically changes, if you add more pages.) Choose Close, when you are finished.

Using automatic footnotes
2007
To use footnotes, choose the References tab, then Insert Footnote. For more help, choose .



97/XP/2007
To use automatic footnotes, place your cursor at the end of your quote. Choose Insert/Reference>Footnote. I like the basic settings, so just click Insert. An automatically sequenced number will be added at the end of the quote, and you will be dropped down to the bottom of the page the quote appears on, so you may add your quoted sources info. When finished, just click your cursor back in the document area, to continue typing or editing.

Technically, MLA format uses end notes, rather that footnotes, but for my class I use footnotes due to the instructive nature of seeing the footnote stay on the page of the quoted item.

Word Count
2007 Method 1
Look at word count in the lower left hand corner of the Window


2007 Method 2


2007, Method 3... Properties and Word Count
Prepare, then choose Properties. On the bar that opens, click the Document Properties and choose Advanced Properties


97/XP/2007
There are several ways to count the words in your document, but File/Properties and choosing Statistics is an easy one to remember.

Word 2007 Outlines, video
See also How to Write a Term Paper
See also MLA Citation format
Word 2007 Bibliography, video

Basic Dictation Input Commands
Say 					To 
New line 			Starts text on the next line.
New paragraph		Starts a new paragraph.
Microphone 			Turns the microphone off.
Tab 					Press the TAB key once.
Enter				Press the ENTER key once.
Spelling mode		Spell out the next word. 
			Pause after spelling out the word to return to normal dictation.
Forcenum 			Enter a number or symbol instead of spelling it out. 
Delete 				Deletes the selected word.
Space				Inserts a space.
Backspace 			Deletes the character to the left of the insertion point.
Next cell 			Moves the insertion point one cell to the right.
Spell it or 
Spell that 			Spell the next word

Selection Commands
Say 					To 
Select word or 
Select phrase 		Select the word or phrase given.
Select word 			Select the last recognized word.
Unselect that		Unselect the currently selected text.

Correction Commands
Say 					To 
Correct word or 
Correct phrase 		Delete the word or phrase given.
Correction 			Delete the selected text or the last recognized phrase.
Correct that 		Delete the last recognized word or phrase.
Insert after word or 
Insert after phrase 	Move the insertion point to the right of the word or phrase given.
Insert before word or 
Insert before phrase Move the insertion point to the left of the word or phrase given.
Scratch that 		Delete the last recognized phrase.
Delete that			Delete the last recognized phrase.

Capitalization Commands
Say 					To 
Capitalize or 
Cap that 			Capitalize the first letter of every word in the last phrase or the selected text.
Uncapitalize or 
No caps that 		Make all letters lowercase in the last recognized phrase or the selected text.
All caps that 		Capitalize all letters in the last phrase recognized or the selected phrase.
Cap it phrase 		Capitalize the first letter of the first word in the phrase.
All caps phrase 		Capitalize all the letters of the first word in the phrase.
No caps phrase 		Make all letters in the first word of the phrase lowercase.
Caps on 				Turn on CAPS LOCK.
 
Punctuation Commands
To insert a:	Say 
. 			Period or dot
, 			Comma
:			Colon
;			Semi-colon
? 			Question mark
! 			Exclamation point
& 			Ampersand
* 			Asterisk
\ 			Backslash
/ 			Slash
-			Dash
= 			Equals
@ 			At sign
+ 			Plus sign
# 			Pound sign
%			Percent sign
$ 			Dollar sign
( 			Paren
)			Close paren
"			Quote
'			Single quote