Tutor Tip: Top Tips for Microsoft Word

April 19, 2004

Top Tips for Microsoft Word

Here, according to Microsoft, are a few of the top Microsoft Word tips. Some of them are handy (and discussed in previous Tutor Tips), while others may be only for those who take word processing seriously. Most of the tips apply to Word XP (2003 and 2002) and Word 2000.

Startup and settings

To display Help for WordPerfect users, click WordPerfect Help on the Help menu (Applies to Word 2002 and 2000 only). You can use the WordPerfect Help feature to receive instructions or demonstrations for Word procedures when you press the equivalent WordPerfect shortcut keystrokes. For example, to learn more about printing in Word, press Shift+F7.
To turn on or off WordPerfect Help or navigation keys, click on Help, and then click WordPerfect Help. Click Options and select the options you want.
To change a document's summary information, click Properties on the File menu.

Viewing and navigating documents

To see two parts of a document simultaneously, drag the split bar at the top of the scroll bar (on the right side of the document window).
To move to the previous or next word, press CTRL+Left Arrow or CTRL+Right Arrow.
To go to the beginning or end of a document, press CTRL+Home or CTRL+End.
To select an entire document, press CTRL+A.
To close all open documents, press Shift, and then click Close All on the File menu.

Formatting documents

To change the margin or column settings for part of a document, first create section breaks. (To insert a section break, click where you want to insert the break. On the Insert menu, click Break. Under Section break types, click the option that describes where you want the new section to begin.)
To insert a page break, press CTRL+Enter.
To add a row at the end of a table, click the last cell, and then press Tab.
To delete a table and its contents, select the table, point to Delete on the Table menu, and then click Rows.
To merge table cells to make a table title, select the cells, and then click Merge Cells on the Table menu.
To insert a tab character in a table cell, press CTRL+Tab.
To number rows in a table, select the left column, and then click the Numbering button on the Formatting toolbar.
To number columns in a table, select the top row, and then click the Numbering button.
To preserve formatting when you move or copy a paragraph, include the paragraph mark.
To center, left-align, or right-align a selected paragraph, press CTRL+E, CTRL+L, or CTRL+R.

Working with text

To return to the location of the last edit, press SHIFT+F5.
To look up synonyms in the thesaurus, select a word and press SHIFT+F7.
To restore selected text to its original formatting, press CTRL+Spacebar.
To sort dates, numbers, and other text in ascending or descending order, click Sort on the Table menu.
To edit in print preview, click Magnifier on the Print Preview toolbar.
To hyphenate a document automatically, click Language on the Tools menu, and then click Hyphenation.
To select a rectangular block of text, press ALT and drag.
To turn overtype mode on or off, double-click OVR on the status bar.
To insert symbols and other special characters, click Symbol on the Insert menu.
To count the number of words in a document or selection, click Word Count on the Tools menu.

Working with graphics

To use a button on the Drawing toolbar multiple times, double-click the button.
To restore an imported graphic to its original size, press CTRL and double-click the graphic.
To resize an imported graphic and keep its original proportions, drag a corner handle.
When you resize a graphic, you can see the percentage of the graphic's original height and width by clicking Picture on the Format menu and then clicking the Size tab.
To wrap text around a graphic, click the graphic, and then click Text Wrapping on the Picture toolbar.