Word Processing Tips
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| Selecting Text | This works for any type of text program |
| Show Text Margins | Show margins in text in MS Word |
| The Ruler and Measurements | Show rulers in MS Word |
| Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet | These are de facto standards |
| Word Doesn't Print Some Graphics | I'm Printing word and some graphics aren't there |
| Solving Formatting Problems | Simple but helpful tip |
| Text Formatting | Easy way to format your text |
| Remove That Mini Toolbar | Annoying mini toolbar |
| Why Not This? | Why doesn't word AutoCocorrect this? |
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You can select big blocks of text quickly and easily using the mouse.
Click at the starting point of the block
Hold down the Shift key, and click the ending point. (At the end last word,
picture or whatever)
If you need to select all text in the document you may do so with two methods.
Move the
mouse pointer to the left of the paragraph in your document.
The pointer changes
to an arrow pointing upward to the right.
Hold down the Ctrl key.
Click
the left mouse button.
You may also select all text in the document by holding down the Ctrl key and typing the 'A' key (without the inverted comas) this action selects the whole document and is the fastest way of doing it for those people that can touch type.
Sometimes it is helpful to actually
see the text boundaries on a page.
Click on:
Tools > Options
In
the View tab page
Select Print and Web Layout options
Click 'Text boundaries'
check box
4. Click OK.
These boundaries are not printed
To
remove text margins
Uncheck the 'Text Boundaries'.
Click OK
Suppose you set a tab at 85 mm and want know exactly how far that tab is from either side of the margins - this is what you do.
Click
on a tab or margin marker on the ruler.
Do not release the mouse button.
Now, click and hold down the right mouse button.
Both mouse buttons
should now be depressed
Notice that
the normal ruler measurements disappear, and instead there are distance measurements.
The measurements outside the margins show how far to the edge of the paper. While
those inside show how far it is from a tab to both margins.
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With the following keystrokes if the keystroke is listed as Ctrl + S. You Do Not press the plus sign key at all. This is the way that the keystroke is explained. It means Hold down the Ctrl and the S key together. The easiest way to do this is to hold down the Ctrl key then type the other key. If two control keys are involved (Ctrl + Shift) then hold down both these keys and type the other key once. Remember once you have learned the ones useful to you and you use them instead of the mouse pointer they will work in most other applications. | |
| Keystrokes to move the insertion point around text, or select text | |
| Keystrokes to move the insertion point around text, or select text | |
| Press SHIFT+ any of the following keystrokes to select text: | |
| LEFT ARROW | Left one character at a time |
| RIGHT ARROW | Right one character at a time |
| DOWN ARROW | Down one line at a time |
| UP ARROW | Up one line at a time |
| CTRL+ LEFT ARROW | Left one word at a time |
| CTRL+ RIGHT ARROW | Right one word at a time |
| HOME | To the beginning of the current line of text |
| END | To the end of the current line of text |
| CTRL+HOME | To the beginning of the document |
| CTRL+END | To the end of the document |
| PAGE UP | Up one full screen |
| PAGE DOWN | Down one full screen |
| CTRL+PAGE UP | To the beginning of the previous page |
| CTRL+PAGE DOWN | To the beginning of the next page |
| Common shortcuts | |
| Common shortcuts means that they work with all of Microsoft's Office applications. They also work with many non Microsoft Applications I.E. Word Perfect Office and OpenOffice.org | |
| CTRL+O | Open |
| CTRL+Z | Undo |
| CTRL+Y | Redo. In some programs, if there is nothing to redo, this repeats the last action. |
| CTRL+S | Save |
| CTRL+P | |
| ALT+F4 | Close the active window |
| CTRL+B | Bold. Note: If text is highlighted then that text is formatted Bold. Else text after keystrokes is bold. If text is already bold and highlighted this keystroke will format text as normal |
| CTRL+I | Italic |
| CTRL+U | Underline |
| CTRL+R | Align right |
| CTRL+E | Align center |
| CTRL+L | Align left |
| CTRL+C | Copy |
| CTRL+X | Cut |
| CTRL+V | Paste |
| CTRL+C+CTRL+C | Open the clipboard |
| CTRL+F | Find |
| CTRL+H | Replace |
| CTRL+A | Select whole document |
| F7 | Spell checker |
| SHIFT+F7 | Thesaurus |
| CTRL+SHIFT+S | Style box |
| CTRL+SHIFT+F | Font |
| CTRL+SHIFT+N | Change font to Normal style |
Recently
I received a word document and because I required to read it away from the computer
I decided to print it. I then found that some graphics in the document printed
while others didn't. This document also had to be transposed into a PDF format.
Unless you own the program then the only way of transferring a document to PDF
format is by using a pseudo printer inside a reformat program. This of course
would not work because word was not printing some of the graphics.
After
several tries and even taking a direct copy from the original computer and still
not being able to print everything, I decided to look at my changes log. This
should have been my first resort not the last.
On the change log I saw the following.
Change to MS Word Options 19/05/2009
Print Tab Drawing objects Removed check.
By replacing
this check I was back in business. I removed the check in the box because I didn't
want to print all the pictures in a manual I was editing.
There are two lessons
to be learned here:
Lesson 1. If something isn't working correctly before running round and getting more copies of the document check your changes log.
Lesson 2. Always log what changes you make to your program setup - that's any program or the system. That way you can allays tell what is not the same as it's always been previously. Make sure you take a hard copy of the log and file it, just in case the machine refuses to start. The technician can then see what you have done.
Easy Tip To Solve Formatting Problems:
One of the easiest ways to solve a formatting problem is to turn
on the hidden text markings. These are turned on and off in the Tools, Options,
View Tab. From this click on the All check box in the Formatting marks show here.
Some professional word processing operators advise to keep these options on all
the time. Personally I don't prefer to keep them on permanently but if I have
formatting problem I always switch them on. In fact I have these set up as a macro
keyed option, to put them on I press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S and to turn them off again
I use the same keying with the O instead of S.
When working in MS Word 2007, and you know about the
toolbar/ribbon buttons and lists that gives quick access to things like Font
Type, Size, Colour, Bold, Italics, Underline, etc.
But, do you know that there are more things in your fonts that can be manipulated
beside those shown?
These include character spacing and text effects and options like strikethrough
text, superscripts, shadow, embossed text, engraved text and there's more
(as the adverts say).
I've seen people using WordArt for this type of thing because they are oblivious
to the fact that they can be done without it!
Where are they? Well, you won't see them on the Formatting toolbar or the
Home tab of the Ribbon. MS doesn't want to make it that easy for you.
The Font window is where you can see and use them.
Use your typing to access this in both MS Word 2000 + and 2007. Why stop typing
to pick up a mouse it's a waste of time. Use the key combination Ctrl + D
(That is, hold down the Ctrl key and type the D key [lower case]). If you
insist on using the mouse in MS Word 2007 click on the Font area lower right
hand icon.
As can be seen from the drop down the tool shortcut key is Ctrl + D.
The dialog box for Font Styles will display and you can manipulate the fonts
to your hearts content and satisfaction.
Whenever you highlight text in MS 2007 the mini Text toolbar appears and
quite frankly I find it a pain in the neck. Surely MS should know that if
a user is smart enough to highlight text they're smart enough to do something
with it without this toolbar showing its ugly head? I've found that when I'm
trying to do something this bar is such a nuisance that I inadvertently click
something on it instead of completing what I intended to do.
Now there's two problems change the text back and still carry out my original change. I looked for a way to switch the stupid thing off. Here's how:
Click the Office Button Icon.
Click Word Options
Click Popular category option.
Uncheck box "Show Mini Toolbar" on selection
Click OK.
You have seen the last of it unless you reverse the above procedure.
Why Can't Word AutoCorrect This?
It Can If Used This Way.
I have the nasty habit of changing letters around when
I'm typing a particular word? I do it with words like tomato, which somehow
gets to come out as tmaoto. There are others also and I have set word up to
AutoCorrect them as I type.
I did not spend time adding them to the AutoCorrect dialog because unless
it's done as I come across them, I forget which ones I've made the typo with.
Then I must spend time going in and out of the AutoCorrect dialog box to add
them as they come up when I spell check. What a long winded way of doing things
that can be done so much eaiser.
Add them, as I do as you notice them and they are fixed for good.
If you right-click on a misspelled word you can choose the correct one from
a suggested list.
But wait there is more and as I always say, "Don't look without seeing!"
The programmer didn't put this menu there for menu writing practice! Take
a good look further down the same list of menu options. Instead of choosing
the correct word go down and click the AutoCorrect choice. Remember, "The
computer has to work for you not the other way round."
The same list of words opens under the AutoCorrect choice
I've only got the one (tomato). Chose the correct spelling and automatically
it's added to your AutoCorrect list for future use.
Obviously you can't add a real word that has the same letters as you make
a typo with, such as the words Rats and Star.