I think it’s impossible to imagine a world without Microsoft Word. This word-processing software is among the most well-known programs that the computer world has ever known, having been in existence since 1983. There’s no school, university, hospital, company or any workplace that doesn’t use Microsoft Word. With this kind of popularity, one would think it is very easy to use. But the fact is that it is not.
Microsoft Word contains some quirky stuff that can frustrate its users anywhere in the world, especially those who are new to it. That’s why in this article we are giving you at least 10 tips and tricks that will life a lot easier for you. They may look difficult at first, but with constant use, you will be able to master all of them in no time. Mastery of these tips will mean hundreds of hours of office work saved for you.
1. Splitting the Office Window on 2 Different Views
If you divide the document window into 2 different panes, you can simultaneously view and edit both of them. This means you can work on a chapter of your paper in the pane above while you can view another chapter in the pane below. You can jump from one pane to another by just a simple click of the mouse, or you can just tap F6 to move from one pane to another.
2. Hiding or Moving Shapes in a MS Document
There are times when you want to insert several shapes in a Word document. The easiest way that the shapes can be moved forward or backward is by using the Selection Pane, which is found on the Ribbon’s Drawing Tools. The Drawing Tools tab appears only when it’s a graphic that you’re working with. You will find it easy to choose a shape hidden behind another shape with the use of the Selection Pane. Just select the shape from the list that’s on the page. Then at the foot of pane, just use the arrows to move the shape forward or backward.
3. Mixing Landscape and Portrait Pages in a Document
If you use MS, it’s expected that your documents are organized in a structured manner. Formatting a document in a portrait mode doesn’t just require changing the current page’s orientation. You have to insert a break before and after a text that you need to format in a landscape mode. Then you have to apply the landscape orientation on to the section you have created.
4. Fighting Back When the Word Creates a Line across the Page
Sometimes, when you type in Word, and you type a series of hyphens and dashes, all of a sudden MS’s auto-format feature horizontally draws a line across the page. Worse, you cannot seem to get rid of the line. You cannot select it nor delete it. The solution is simple: At the current paragraph’s bottom, there’s a border there that Word has inserted. You can remove it by clicking inside the paragraph, then go to the Home tab, then go to the Bottom Border and select it. Then click on No Border, then the border disappears.
5. Dragging Document Sections in the Navigation Pane
MS Word’s navigation, which is formerly called Document Map, was souped up to allow you to transfer sections of a document to different places in your file. To do this, drag the headings of the sections up and down the pane. It can also be done by right-clicking the heading and choosing other actions found in the menu. This also applies if you want to delete a whole section.
6. Browse-Searching Results in Word
Word has a new Find feature that displays each instance of a text that you have searched, along with some words, in boxes that are found in the navigation pane. You can click one of these boxes in selecting an instance of a text.
7. Closing Panes from the Keyboard
Veteran users of MS Word already know how difficult it is to close the panes to the right and left of the main window without the use of a mouse. Word 2010 now uses a pane for searching you will need to close it often. You can do this from your keyboard. Just press F6. This allows you to jump from one editing window on to a pane. Next, to open a menu, you press Ctrl-Space. Then choose Close from the menu.
8. Recovering Unsaved Documents
Word, along with PowerPoint and Excel, have a new feature which saves documents that you failed to save after closing them. This new feature derives its use from MS’s auto-save feature, which backs up automatically the most recent version of a document every 10 minutes, or any interval that you pre-set in the apps.
9. Creating a Default Page Numbering or Default Header
If you need your documents to have a default page numbering, Word is not very clear on how you do it. But reading the second tip in this article will make it easy for you. As described in the abovementioned tip, open the default template (Normal.dotm), then choose the Insert tab and Page Number. Then pick a format and location for the page numbering.
10. Researching, Studying, Applying What You Learned
Our last tip is probably the most basic of all. Always continue to learn about MS Word on your own. Do more research work on the software, study them and apply them on your work. A lot of things can be learned through self-study.
Lorenzo Ninal is a toy enthusiast and business blogger. He writes for Officekonsulenterne, a Danish site thatfocus on equipping business owners with business software knowledge.