Microsoft Word Basics Version X
updated 9/05

Skills
Launching Word
Toolbars and Palettes
FormattingText
Save and Open Documents
Cut, Copy, Paste
Undo/Redo
Spelling, Thesaurus, Dictionary
AutoCorrect
Headers and Footers
Find and Replace Text
Format Documents and Paragraphs
Invisibles
Printing
Bullets and Numbering
Clip Art
Zooming
Help
Views

Launching Word

When you start Microsoft Word the Project Gallery will open. The Project Gallery allows you to access blank and pre-formatted documents in the form of templates and wizards. For now, make sure that Blank Documents (left side) and Word Document (right side) are selected, click OK.

A blank document will appear on your screen. You can create additional documents at any time by going to File/New Document.

Toolbars and Palettes

There are many toolbars in Word, but when you are starting, you only need one (see below). If you are missing any toolbars, go to the View Menu and select Toolbars to get the ones you need. In addition, you should also see the Formatting Palette, which can also be obtained through the View Menu (View, Formatting Palette). Alternatively, you can click the Formatting Palette button on the toolbar. To see what each button is for, point to each one with your mouse (don't click) and Word will tell you.
Above is the Standard Toolbar, which should appear after Word launches. If it doesn't, go to View/Toolbars/Standard.
The Formatting Palette (left) should also appear when you launch Word. If it doesn't, go to View/Formatting Palette, or click on the button to the left of the 100% sign. In the Formatting Palette, click on any of the triangles to toggle on or off various options pertaining to the adjacent heading. The Formatting Palette will give you different options depending on what object is selected. For instance, if a picture is selected, you will have Wrapping and Picture options in the Formatting Palette if text is selected, you will see the options to the left. To move the Formatting Palette to the desired location, just drag the its title.

Above is the Formatting Toolbar, which may help if you have used previous versions of Word. It will only appear via the View/Toolbars/Formatting menu choice. Anything you can do with this toolbar can now be done with the Formatting Palette so if you have no preference, use the Formatting Palette instead.
Formatting Text

Select the text you wish to change, and do one or more of the following via the Formatting Palette:

  • Choose a font from the Name drop down menu.
  • Choose a size from the Size drop down menu.
  • Choose a color from the Font color square.
  • Select any style such as Bold, Italic or Underline by clicking the appropriate button.
  • Choose from other styles such as strike through, all caps, or small caps by clicking the appropriate button.

To see more styles, you can go to the Format menu and select Font.

To change the alignment and spacing of your text, click the arrow to the left of the Alignment and spacing header on your Formatting Palette. More options will appear.

  • Select right, center, left, and justified alignment by clicking on the appropriate button.
  • Select 1, 1.5 or double line spacing as necessary.
  • To hide the alignment and spacing options, click the triangle to the left of the header.

Saving to the Documents Folder

  • Select Save from the File Menu.
  • Click Documents on the Sidebar (X.3, X.4).
    or
  • Using the Where drop down menu, select Documents (X-X.2).
  • Name the document and click the Save buttons.

Quitting Word and Returning to Your Document

Many times you will wish to access files you have already created. Because of this it is important to be able to quit Word and find your document again.

  • Go to the Word Menu and select Quit Word.
  • Launch Word and select Open from the File Menu.
  • Navigate to the document you just saved.
  • Click Open, or double click the document name.

Note: If you are using the same computer on which you last saved your files, you can take a short cut by selecting your file's name from the bottom of the File Menu, which remembers the last few documents saved.

Copy, Cut, and Paste

There are times when you will want to copy, cut, and paste text from one place to another. When you copy an item, it is stored in the computer's clipboard, for later use and it still remains in its original position. When you cut something, it is removed from its original spot and placed on the clipboard. Any item on the clipboard can then be pasted in the same document, another document, or even a document from another application.

  • Highlight or select the text/graphic you wish to copy or cut.
  • Go to the Edit menu and select either Copy or Cut.
  • Place your cursor in the desired paste location.
  • Go to Edit menu/paste.

Note: You can also use the buttons on the standard toolbar to cut, copy and paste.

Using the Office Clipboard

Undo/Redo

Any action you do in Word can be undone and redone, as desired. If you make a mistake, you can undo it by going to the Edit Menu/Undo or clicking the left arrow on the toolbar. Actions can be redone by going to the Edit Menu/Redo, or by clicking the right arrow on the toolbar. By click/dragging the triangle to the right of these buttons, you can undo or redo multiple actions.

Spell Check

  • To check spelling, choose Tools/Spelling and Grammar
  • The dialog box to the right will appear.
  • Word will check your document, stopping at each questionable word.
  • To accept an entry, click change.
  • To leave an entry as is (such as a name), click ignore or ignore all.
  • To add an entry to your dictionary, click Add.
  • To edit an entry manually, type text in the upper box and click Change to accept the edits or Undo to keep to the original text.
  • Word will also check grammar if Check Grammar is selected in the bottom left of the dialog box.

Thesaurus

  • Highlight the word you would like to change.
  • Go to the Tool menu and select Thesaurus.
  • Chose a synonym and click replace, or click cancel.

Dictionary

  • Highlight the word that you wish to look up and go to Tools/Dictionary.
  • Choose Tools/Dictionary and dictionary definitions will appear.

AutoCorrect

Word automatically corrects common spelling and grammar mistakes as you type. Word can also be "taught" to automatically enter commonly used text. For instance, if you would like Word to enter Millburn Township Public Schools each time you type mtps, follow the directions below.

  • Select AutoCorrect from the Tools menu.
  • If necessary, click the AutoCorrect tab.
  • Type mtps in the Replace field.
  • Type Millburn Township Public Schools in the With fields.
  • Click Add.

Inserting Page Numbers

  • Go to the Insert Menu, and select Page Numbers.
  • A window will pop up and allow you to select the desired formatting.

Headers and Footers

Headers and footers allow you to place the same text or graphic at the top or bottom of every page.

  • Go to View/Header and Footer.
  • The box with dashes for lines will appear at the top of your document. The rest of your text will appear greyed out. A toolbar such as the one below will also appear on your screen.
  • Move your mouse over the buttons to see what each one inserts. Click on the one you'd like to add to your header.
  • Type text in as usual.
  • If you prefer to put your information at the bottom of your page, scroll down to the Footer.
  • When you are done with your header, click close on the Header and Footer Toolbar.

Find and Replace Text

When you want to find and/or replace text in your document, use the Find command which is found in the Edit Menu.

  • To find text, click the Find tab and enter the text you wish to find.
  • Click Find Next.
  • Word will highlight the text in the document.
  • To find further occurrences of the text (if there are any), click Find Next again.
  • To replace text, click the Replace tab and enter the appropriate information in the Find what and Replace with text fields.
  • Click Find Next.
  • Chose Replace All or Replace as desired.

Paragraph Formatting

  • Select the text to format.
  • Select Paragraph from the Format Menu.
  • Change the alignment, indents and spacing as desired.

Document Formatting

To set the margins for your document, either expand the Document section of the formatting palette, or go to the Format menu and select Document. You will see something similar to the picture above. Alter the margins manually or by typing in the appropriate boxes or clicking the arrows.

  • Gutter margins are for documents you are preparing for binding, Mirror margins are for books or magazines (outer and inner margins will match).

Invisibles

Invisibles are things that you type but you don't see, such as a return or a space. By clicking on the paragraph mark on the toolbar, you can hide and show your invisibles. They won't print, but sometimes they can be helpful if your formatting needs to be fixed.

Printing

To Print Preview, go to File/Print Preview. If you like what you see, click print. If you don't, click close and fix your formatting. If you wish to print in landscape view, go to File/Page Setup and under Orientation, pick the second option.

Bullets and Numbering

  • Click the bullet or numbering button on the formatting palette, depending on which you'd like to add. OR:
  • Go to Format/bullets and numbering (above) and choose the bullet style that you would like. Click OK.
  • You can indent specific bullets with the increase or decrease indent buttons on the formatting palette.
  • You can use pictures or custom bullets by clicking on the appropriate button.
  • To stop the bulleted text, click on the bullet button in the formatting palette to deselect it.
  • You can apply bullets and numbering either before or after your text is typed.

You can add images to Office in many ways, from the Clip Gallery, from a scanner, disk or CD, and from the Internet.

Inserting from the Clip Gallery

  • Go to Insert/Picture/Clip Art, Clip Gallery should open.
  • Type in a keyword in the Search Field and click Search.

OR:

  • Choose a category and then a graphic.
  • Click Insert.

  • Your picture will come in as an inline graphic, which means it can move only as you would move a letter. If you would like to size and move it more freely, double click on it to bring up the Format Picture dialog box.
  • Select the layout tab and choose a wrapping style such as Square, or Tight. You can also do this via the formatting palette, as pictured to the left.
  • Wrapping not only allows your graphic to move more freely, but it also will cause the text to "jump" off the picture as well.
  • You can now move your picture by dragging it, and size it by dragging one of its "handles" (small white boxes on its border).

Inserting a Picture from File or CD

  • Go to Insert/Picture from File.
  • Navigate to the place where the picture is, and click Insert.
  • Wrap your graphic as before.

Inserting a Picture from the Internet

Be sure to follow all fair use and copyright laws when doing this.

Either:

  • Launch your browser and locate the graphic you wish to import.
  • Control-click hold (system X) or click hold (system 9) the picture and choose Copy Image.
  • Use the Dock to go back to Word and choose Edit/Paste.
  • Wrap your graphic as before.

OR:

  • Go to Insert/Picture/Clip Gallery and click Online (bottom of window).
  • Use the search box to find a picture.
  • Click on the picture of choice to see the larger version.
  • Control-click the picture and select Copy Image.
  • Go back to Word via your Dock and select Edit/Paste.
  • Wrap as usual.

Zooming in and Out

Sometimes it is helpful to zoom in and out to check your formatting. To do this, use the 100% button on the toolbar.

Views

On the lower left hand corner of your document are four buttons representing various views: Normal, Online Layout, Page Layout and Outline. If you click one by accident, your document's format will change. Just click back on Page Layout. Alternatively, you can go to View/Page Layout.

Help

The Help menu offers you many ways to find out how to do something in Office. You can search by keywords, ask questions or simply look through the contents menu. Try it when you get stuck!