Most of us know how to use Microsoft Word and do so regularly. But often our knowledge of everyday programs barely scratches the surface of their capabilities. Here are 5 things you may not realise you can do in Word.
1. Configure paste options
When you paste text into a document, Word tries to lend a helping hand by automatically keeping the source formatting and offering the option to change it to match your document’s formatting.
Rather than having to select this every time, you can click on the ‘Office’ button then on ‘Word Options’ and go to ‘Advanced’. From the ‘Cut, Copy and Paste’ heading choose a default setting for format pasting using the four dropdown menus. Untick the ‘Show Paste Options Buttons’ box and you won’t be prompted to select formatting in the future.
2. Change how justification displays
Applying full justification to text in Word will vertically align it flush to the sides of the page. But this can sometimes mean there is so much white space between words that it doesn’t look quite right.
Did you know there is an option to use a different style of justification, where spacing is distributed between lettering rather than words.? To activate this, click on the ‘Office’ button, then ‘Word Options’. Click on ‘Advanced’ and find and expand the ‘Layout Options’ entry at the bottom. Tick the box called ‘Do Full Justification the Way WordPerfect 6.x For Windows Does’ then ‘OK’.
3. Hide the ribbon
Whilst many love the ribbon, others find it irritating. If you fall into the latter category, you’ll be pleased to learn you can hide it.
Simply click on the down arrow at the end of the ‘Quick Access Toolbar’ and untick ‘Minimize the Ribbon’. You can also navigate to this by right-clicking anywhere on the ribbon.
An alternative way to hide the ribbon quickly is to hold down [Ctrl] and [F1] on your keyboard – perform the same action to retrieve it.
4. Adjust the spacing in headings
You can adjust the text space in headings to ensure it fits without wrapping into another line.
All you need to do is select a line of text, right-click, then choose ‘Font’ from the menu that appears. You can then use the up and down arrows in the ‘Spacing’ section to expand or contract the text.
5. Compare documents on your screen
If you wish to compare two documents, you can do so by opening them side-by-side. If you are using Word 2007 or 2010, open both documents then click on the ‘View’ tab on the ribbon. Next click on ‘View Side by Side’ and ‘Arrange All’. So that you can navigate your way through both documents, click on ‘Synchronous Scrolling’.
