Tips and tweaks to help you to the root of Word
RICK MAYBURY introduces the best word-processing program around and explains how you can make it uniquely yours
AFTER Windows 95, the most popular product for PC users has to be Microsoft Word.
Since its earliest versions, this sophisticated word processor program has set the standard by which others are judged. If there is a criticism it's that it is too powerful: most owners never use more than a fraction of its many features.
Here are a few tips and tweaks to help you get Word tailored to suit your needs.
The focus of this article is on the two most popular variants of Word: Version 7, which is part of the Office 95 suite of programs, and Word 97, which is sold as a stand-alone.
Although there are some differences, these tips will, as far as possible, stick to the programs' common features.
Word is reasonably intuitive and even complete novices can usually start writing and printing letters or documents straight away.
Let's assume you have got beyond the basics and are familiar with the concepts of making things happen by pointing and clicking on menus, highlighting text, and making simple style changes.
The first thing most users want to do is customise the blank page that appears when Word starts; this is called the normal template.
If you don't like the default typeface or font, and you hate the size of the characters, simply click "format" on the menu bar and select "font".
Choose your preferred font, size and style - even the colour if you wish - then click on the default button, and that's what you'll get every time you open Word.
You can have as many, or as few, toolbars on show as you like. However, most of them just waste valuable screen space with functions you're unlikely to need more than once in a blue moon.
The two most useful ones are "standard" and "formatting": they're worth keeping on screen all the time. The toolbar display option is on the view menu.
Alternatively, put the mouse pointer into a toolbar, right click and the selection menu appears.
The toolbars and the menu bar can be shifted around by pointing at the border, clicking and holding the mouse button and then dragging the bars to where you want them to go.
The white screen in Word can become quite tiring on the eyes.
You can adjust the screen brightness or, better still, give it a light-grey tint. Go to Windows control panel ("start", then "settings"), click on the display icon, then select the appearance tab. Click in the Window text box and go down to the colour box, which should show white. Click the down arrow on the box and the other button. Use the vertical slider next to the multi-colour panel to select a light tint and click OK.
Another problem that beginners often have is saving documents.
The trick is to get organised as soon as possible. By default all of the files you create will be saved in a directory called "my documents", which exists outside Word, on the main C: drive directory tree.
First you must work out the categories of documents and letters you'll be creating: "personal", "bank", "letters to Bill Gates", etc. It's a good idea to put the year, "98", after each one (and resolve to create a new set of folders every year).
Now go to "start", then "programs" and Windows Explorer and scroll down the list in the left-hand window until you get to "my documents". Double click on it and select "new" from the file menu and click on the file icon.
Create as many folders as you require, re-naming each one as you go. Get into the habit of naming and saving a document in the appropriate folder - using the "save as" command in the file menu - as soon as you've written the first line or two.
Word can help you with your spelling by highlighting, in red, words it doesn't recognise and correcting, as you type, simple mistakes.
It also checks grammar and punctuation in a bit of a hit-and-miss way, but it keeps you on your toes.
Going to "options" on the tools menu and selecting the spelling and grammar tab enables both facilities. This menu decides how the checks work: there's a more in-depth selection of options under "autocorrect", also on the tools menu.
Spend some time with these menus, ticking the features you consider worthwhile.
Don't rely on auto-correct; always run a complete spell check when you've finished a document by putting the cursor at the beginning of the text and clicking the "ABC" button on the toolbar.
"Word count" is something you'll want to access time and again. You can save time by assigning this and any other frequently used function a simple keyboard shortcut. Select "customize" from the tools menu, click on the commands tab and then "keyboard".
In the left window highlight "tools", and in the right window scroll down the list until you come to "tools word count" and highlight that. Click a flashing cursor into the "press new shortcut key" window and choose a simple two-key combination (Ctrl + - next to "z" on most keyboards - is normally unassigned and simple to do with the left hand). Click "assign" and it's done.
Be creative with your letters and faxes; there are plenty of embellishments in Word, so get to know them. You'll find a useful assortment of ready-made templates in "style gallery" under the format menu.
Don't forget that you can add pictures and graphics to your documents. A good way to learn about this feature is to experiment with the clip art facility, which is accessed from the "picture" option on the Insert menu.
Jargon filter:
Text style and size:
Virtually all word processors have a "wizzywig" display (what you see is what you get), so what appears on the screen is what ends up on the printed page.
Directory tree:
A graphic representation of the way folders and files are stored on your PC's disk drives.
Template:
A template is a page that contains embedded instructions concerning typeface and size, page layout and style features.
Word processors such as Word contain a wide selection of ready-made templates, or you can create your own. - © The Telegraph, London
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