13 Quick Tips to Getting Better with Microsoft Word...

For over 2 decades, I've had the pleasure of helping clients resolve their Word problems and many of the same mistakes or questions reappear. Here are 13 tips to help you get the most out of Microsoft Word:

1. Word’s Styles – the chances are that you're not using Word's styles correctly - Word has lots (a few hundred, at least) of built-in styles. They're there for your ease of use and to make your lives a whole lot easier. Use them.

2. Direct formatting is a no-no – you're going to be using 'direct formatting' in your document (these are the bold, italic, underline and other formatting buttons that are on the Home ribbon). However, they're actually there for you to use to format your text as you want it and then you create a style from them. This ensures consistency across throughout your document.

(You will use them (everyone does), but their primary purpose it to enable you to design/format your layout and then to save as styles: if you had to apply bold formatting, increase the font size, switch font type, change indent, add a border, add spacing after, add a page break before for every single use in your document, it'd take far too long. Arguably, it's okay for one-offs... but it's still better to use proper styles.)

3. Normal style – you're using the Normal style directly in your document - don't. Unfortunately, this style is the default choice in all new blank Word documents. But using it directly can cause a whole heap of problems later on (especially if you modify it and then want to use tables - they're interconnected and can throw you out).

Note: I wouldn't ever recommend using the Normal style directly in your documents, despite Microsoft's approach in the video, below, I do use the Normal style. This is because the requirements for the 77-725 Microsoft Word 2016: Core Document Creation, Collaboration and Communication exam (my course covers all those requirements, by the way), are that you need to use the Normal style (it'll be in the exam, so that's why I have to cover it).

4. Insert picture – if you use images, then make sure you don't drag-and-drop them into your Word document. Save them to your media storage, resize them to what you need, and then use Word's Insert Picture functionality.

5. Pasting into Word – you haven't changed the default Cut, Copy, and Paste settings in Word's Options (File > Options > Advanced > Cut, Copy & Paste). You don't want to be importing (via paste) styles or other irregularities from other documents or programs. Word won't ever stop you doing this, until you tell it not to. One of the big problems that Word users have is not knowing how to copy and paste into Word. This is a biggie!

6. Show/Hide Characters – turn on Show/Hide Characters (Ctrl+Shift+8) whenever you're doing anything other than typing text. You must be able to see what's going on in your document. If you can't see what's going on and you start to move things around... then on your head be it.

(You should get used to turning on, and seeing, the hidden characters. They make your life so much easier.

7. Section breaks - section breaks are not page breaks. In Word they have a completely different function. So, unless you need to change the layout or structure of your document, such as portrait-to-landscape, 1 column to 3-columns, have different headers/footers, that kind of thing, a page break will suffice.

8. Be wary of track changes. If you can't undo or solve a formatting problem - despite trying everything, check if track changes is on. This can throw even the most ardent and experienced Word expert (me) out - until I remember.

9. Tabs – Don't use tabs to indent text. Set up a new style and learn how to use and set tabs. They're really easy and help mark the difference between the amateur and the budding professional.

(The video also shows a bit about how we can improve our automatic document flow. To make our author's lives easier.)

10. Status bar – when working in your document, have the status bar turned on. It offers a simple glance to see what's going on in your document.

11. Macros - if you're doing repetitive work, learn how to use macros. They're really easy to use and there's no need to be scared of them. If you're unsure, then save a copy of your document and then run the macro. Use Ctrl+Z to undo (as required). They're there to help you.

12. Learn the shortcut keys. These will really save you a lot of time. Ctrl+S = Save. Ctrl+P = Print. Shift+F1 = Reveal Formatting (formatting's really important in Word - that's the whole point of using Word, right?).

Mouseover the buttons and you'll see the tooltips.

If you can't see them, go to File > Options > Display and turn them on:

13. Need to format fast? Then learn how to use (and use) Format Painter. Place your cursor in the formatting you want to copy:

• single-click on Format Painter to be able to apply the formatting once.
• double-click to be able to apply it multiple times (press the Esc key to cancel it).

That's 13 tips to make using Word a whole lot easier. There's lots more you can do, but 13's enough for now.

If you seriously want to learn how to use Word in your business (and potentially save a small fortune) then I can help. Contact me here on LinkedIn.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to do it yourself, then I’d recommend my Word 2016 beginner’s video training course. It consists of 2 main modules:

• in module 1, we setup a new, letter template.
• in module 2, we take a client’s brief, and then use it to reformat a complete report. If you contacted me to help with your Word templates, this is the exact same process that I go through.

On the way through, we cover everything you need to use Word properly.

Here's what Rick said in his review:

And Richard:

If you want to learn more, go here: https://www.wordforbusinesses.com.