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MS WORD 97
LAST UPDATED:
08 November 2007 18:24:29 -0600
Changes to this page are IN PROGRESS
GET THE WORD WINDOW BACK
"If Word's title bar is missing, how can I restore it?"
We can only think of two reasons why the Word title bar might be
missing. The first is that you've somehow entered Word's Full Screen
view.
To get out of Full Screen view, click the Close Full Screen button on
the Full Screen toolbar (it may be the only toolbar visible on the
screen) OR press Esc.
The other reason is that your title bar has somehow crept up beyond
the top edge of your computer screen. To resolve this problem:
1. Using your mouse, drag the BOTTOM border of the Word window upward,
until the window is two-thirds or less the height of the screen.
2. Press Alt + spacebar.
3. Press M.
4. Press the down-arrow key repeatedly until your title bar is
visible.
Of course, there may be OTHER reasons that your title bar has
disappeared. If any of you out there can think of any, don't hesitate
to write.
CALCULATION MANIPULATION
"I have one problem with your August 12 tip ("Be Cool and Calculating
in Word--Part 2 of 2"): I'm a 'hands on' kinda computer user and see
my trackball as a necessary evil. But the keyboard shortcut to [the
calculator] is shared by another item on the Tool menu. Is there any
way I can rename it so that I can assign it a letter shortcut?"
You can't rename the menu command, but you can move it up the menu so
that you can activate it by pressing Alt + T, T:
1. Choose Tools + Customize.
2. On the Tools menu, drag Tools Calculate upward, until it appears
ABOVE the Track Changes command.
3. In the Customize dialog box, click Close.
>From now on, to use the calculator:
1. In your Word document, select the expression to calculate.
2. Press Alt + T.
3. Press T.
It's gotta be a lot simpler than renaming the menu command.
ANOTHER CALCULATION INTERROGATION
"I put the Word calculator command on the menu bar as instructed,
but whenever I go to use it, it's gray, not active. What am I doing
wrong?"
Simply this, You have to select the math expression you want to
calculate BEFORE you use the calculator. Suppose, for example, that
you want to multiply 28 by 9 in Word:
1. Type "28*9" (without the quotation marks) in your Word document;
then select it.
2. Choose Tools + Tools Calculate (it shouldn't be grayed out).
3. Read the answer in the status bar at the bottom of the Word
display.
DON'T BLAME THE FONTS; IT'S NOT THEIR DEFAULT
"Does Word give you a way to change the default font and type
size?"
What you're calling Word's "default" font is actually the font used in
the Normal paragraph style in Word's default document template,
Normal.dot. To change this font and type size, you must change the
template, as follows:
1. Close all open Word documents.
2. Click the New button on the Standard toolbar to open a new document
using the default template.
3. Choose Format + Style.
4. Click Modify.
5. Click Format and choose Font from the list.
6. In the Font dialog box, select the font and size you want.
7. Click OK; then select Add to Template, click OK, and click Close.
8. Choose File + Save As.
9. In the Save as Type drop-down list, choose Document Template.
10. In the file list, find and select Normal.dot; then click Save and
then Yes.
The next time you open a new document by using the New button, your
font and type size will be the new ones you selected.
IF YOU MISSPELLED IT, YOU CAN DELETE IT
"How do you delete a misspelled word saved in Word's spelling
checker?"
If it's a word the makers of Word misspelled--and there are a few--you
can't delete it; you're stuck with it. But if the misspelled word is
one you added, you can change it as follows:
1. Choose Tools + Options.
2. Click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
3. Click Dictionaries.
4. Make sure CUSTOM.DIC is selected; then click Edit.
5. If you've set Word to check spelling as you type, a warning box
appears; click OK (we show you how to take care of this later).
6. A file opens in Word. It's your custom dictionary! Find the
misspelled word and delete it.
7. Press Ctrl + S to save the file; then choose File + Close to close
it.
8. If you want Word to spell-check as you type, choose Tools +
Options, click the Spelling & Grammar tab, select Check Spelling as
you Type, and click OK.
Your misspelled word will never again go undetected.
START WITH YOUR TEMPLATE OF CHOICE
Tired of closing that file Word automatically opens every time you
start the program? Try starting Word this way instead:
1. Click the Start button.
2. Choose New Office Document.
3. In the New Document dialog box, double-click the template you want
to use.
Word opens, this time automatically opening the template you chose.
"I want to type a document in which the first six lines are set to the
default margin, but the remainder of the document is set to a
different margin. How can I do this? When I try doing it through the
Page Setup command and apply new margins 'From this point forward,' it
doesn't work."
Before you go to the Page Setup command, you have to insert a new
section where you want the margins to change. Here's what to do:
1. Position your cursor at the beginning of the first line you want to
have a different margin (this really should be the beginning of a new
paragraph).
2. Choose Insert + Break.
3. In the Break dialog box, under Section Breaks, select Continuous
and click OK.
4. Choose File + Page Setup.
5. Change the margins as desired; then next to Apply To, select This
Point Forward.
6. Click OK.
Your new margins take effect at the cursor location.
When you create a header or footer in Word, Word is smart enough to
automatically apply the Header or Footer style to the text. The only
problem: The style uses the same size text as your Normal style, when
what you usually want is something smaller. Guess you just have to
change the size every time you create a header or footer, right?
Wrong. Make the next time you change the header or footer text size
the LAST time, as follows:
1. Choose File + New.
2. Select the template you most often use to create documents with
headers and footers and click OK.
3. Choose Format + Style.
4. In the Style dialog box, select Header under the Styles list; then
click Modify, click Format, and then click Font.
5. In the Font dialog box, select the text size you want (if you want
to use another Font for your header, select that, too).
6. Click OK.
7. Select Add to Template and click OK again.
8. Repeat the procedure to format the Footer style.
>From now on, whenever you create a header or footer in a document
using this template, it is automatically formatted in the smaller font
size.
In our September 9 tip titled "SORRY . . .," IS there was a way to
make each font in the Font list (on the Formatting toolbar) appear in
its actual font. We answered no. As if to prove us wrong, there
something called The Enhanced Word Font List utility, which you can
download at
Yesterday, we directed you to a utility you can download that enables
Word 97's Font selector to display fonts as they appear in print. But
if you'd rather NOT mess with downloads and utilities, several OTHER
subscribers suggest previewing your fonts in the Font dialog box, as
follows:
1. Select the text to which you want to apply a new font.
2. Choose Format + Font.
3. In the Font list, select a font. Your text appears in the selected
font in the Preview window.
4. When you find a font you like, click OK to apply it and close the
Font dialog box.
Naturally, this isn't as convenient as seeing the fonts in the list,
but it works.
Remember the old days of word processing, when making a "page x of y"
page number in your header or footer involved several separate
operations? Word 97 puts a quick end to this nonsense:
1. Choose View + Header and Footer. (If you want to add the page
number to the footer, on the Header and Footer toolbar click the
Switch Between Header and Footer button.)
2. Position the cursor where you want your page number to appear.
(Pressing Tab once centers the cursor; pressing Tab twice right-aligns
it.)
3. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Insert AutoText and select
Page X of Y from the menu.
4. Double-click anywhere outside the header or footer area to return
to the main document area.
Last time, we showed you the unparalleled ease with which you can
create "page x of y" page numbers in Word 97. Today, we bring up a
small caveat: Sometimes, as you edit your document, you may notice
that the "y" part needs updating. Don't worry--Word isn't asleep on
the job. To update the page numbers, all you have to do is print the
document OR do this:
1. Choose File + Print Preview.
2. On the Print Preview toolbar, click Close.
Both actions update the page number. Simple enough, really.
"I use two different printers; pages
come out in reverse order in one but not the other. Is there a way to
make the printer that prints in reverse NOT print in reverse, by
default?"
Hmm. There are two reasons why a particular printer is printing in
reverse order. The first--and least likely--is that a document or
template you use with that printer--and that printer only--is set to
print in reverse order. To check this:
1. Open the document or create a new file using the template.
2. Choose File + Print.
3. In the Print dialog box, click Options.
4. Under Printing Options, make sure Reverse Print Order is NOT
selected.
5. Click OK and then click Cancel.
6. Do one of the following:
* IF YOU STARTED BY OPENING A DOCUMENT FILE: Press Ctrl + S to save
the file.
* IF YOU STARTED BY CREATING A NEW FILE: Choose File + Save As; from
the Save as Type drop-down list, select Document Template; select the
template from the file list; and click Save.
The second, and most likely reason, is that the printer itself has
somehow been set to print pages in reverse order. Which means you have
to consult the printer's manual to correct the problem.
"When viewing a document in the Page
Layout view, the header and footer text is very hard to read while
working in the body of the document and vice versa when working in the
header and footer. Is there a way to make the header and footer more
visible--the way it was in Word 6.0?"
Sorry, Stephen--there isn't. In Page Layout view, Word 97 dims the
headers and footers when you're working on the document text, and it
dims the document text when you're working on the headers and
footers--so you know which you're working on. You might say that all
this dimming isn't necessary--you KNOW when you're working on the
header because it's at the top of the page--but Word 97 actually
allows you to extend your headers and footers into the middle of the
page (such as when you create watermarks). So the dimming comes in
handy; you might even call it PROGRESS.
In our September 2 tip, we told subscriber Leah Gaffney to turn off
Word 97's automatic line-drawing feature, thereby allowing her to type
a line of underscore characters without having Word automatically draw
a line across the page.
Well, leave it to readers to find another--and BETTER--way. Subscriber
D. Flores writes, "I've found that turning on underscore and then
pressing the Tab key is a great way to create signature lines."
Flores does it like this:
1. Tab over to where you want your signature line to begin.
2. Press Ctrl + U to activate underscore.
3. Press Tab a few times to create your line.
4. Press Ctrl + U to turn off underscore.
The best part of this method: If you use it, you DON'T have to turn
off the line-drawing feature, which may come in handy another time.
"When I create a new document and try
to print it, I have to first choose Tools + Options, click the Print
tab, and turn off Print Data Only for Forms--otherwise, I'll get a
blank piece of paper for a printout. For some reason, Word defaults to
this setting every time, so I have to change it every time I print. Is
there any way to prevent this?"
Ah, this makes us think back to . . . just a few days ago, when Dave
Bedford's printer was always printing in reverse order. Once you turn
off the Print Data Only for Forms option, the only reason it should
come back on again is that your document template turns it back on. So
make the following change to your document template:
1. Close all open Word documents.
2. Choose File + New and create a new file using whatever document
template causes the problem.
3. Choose File + Print and click Options.
4. Deselect Print Data Only for Forms and click OK.
5. Click Cancel.
6. Choose File + Save As and set Save as Type to Document Template
(*.dot).
7. Select the template's name from the list and click OK; then click
Yes to save it.
The next time you create a new document with this template, it should
print normally. Let us know if it doesn't.
In our September 14 tip titled "NO WAY," we told a subscriber that "as
odd as it seems that a WORD processor would let you select multiple
OBJECTS but not multiple blocks of TEXT, that's just the way it is
with Word. We wish we had a more positive answer for you, friend."
This prompted Shana Marie Nazzaro to write, "This is incorrect
information. Use the Spike to move text and graphics from nonadjacent
locations."
Not to be persnickety--okay, to BE persnickety--what Shana says is
correct, so far as it goes: You can use the Spike to MOVE text and
graphics from nonadjacent locations. But the Spike doesn't let you
SELECT multiple, nonadjacent blocks of text or graphics--and it
doesn't let you copy, either. We'll illustrate the difference by
explaining how to use the Spike:
1. Select some text or a graphic that you want to move and press Ctrl
+ F3. This CUTS the text to the Spike.
2. Repeat Step 1 for each additional, nonadjacent bit of text or
graphics you want to move.
3. Click where you want to insert the Spike's contents and press Ctrl
+ Shift + F3.
Again, this is DIFFERENT from selecting multiple objects so that you
can, say, copy or move them by dragging and dropping--as many desktop
publishing programs allow you to do.
If you click Word's magnifying glass pointer in Print Preview, and the
zoom is already set to 100 percent, the zoom won't increase even
though the pointer displays the plus sign. This is not a bug. The
control is set to 100 percent.
----------------------------------------------
TIP: SPEED IT UP--PART 1 OF 5
October 18th, 1999
Can you think of anything more frustrating than a slow word processor?
Of course you can--unless your life is really, really soft. Still,
there's no reason for your copy of Word 97 to run at anything less
than peak performance. So for the next few days we're going to pass
along proven techniques for SPEEDING UP WORD.
First, make sure you HAVE ENOUGH MEMORY IN YOUR COMPUTER. The folks at
Microsoft recommend a minimum of 8MB of RAM, but our test shows that
16MB are better. In fact, Word runs pretty dang smoothly on the 16MB,
486-75MHz laptop we have here in our laboratories.
To check your computer's RAM:
1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your Windows desktop.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Properties and click the Performance
tab.
3. Read the number next to Memory.
If you need to add more memory, consult your computer's user manual
for instructions.
Yesterday, we told you that you need to have at least 16MB of RAM to
get tolerable performance from Word 97. If you can't get your hands on
that much memory--or if you'd just rather not bother--and must
continue to run Word on 8MB or 12MB, we heartily recommend that you
DON'T WALLPAPER YOUR WINDOWS DESKTOP. Wallpaper competes with Word for
your screen's memory.
To turn off your wallpaper:
1. Right-click any blank area of the Windows desktop.
2. Choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
3. Click the Background tab.
4. In the Wallpaper list, select None and click OK.
You should see a little improvement in performance. Of course, getting
the necessary memory would make an even bigger difference.
Our third tip for speeding up Word 97: DON'T WORK WITH FILES ON FLOPPY
DISKS. Floppy disks run much more slowly than your hard disk; in fact,
in most cases working with a file on a floppy is UNBEARABLY slow.
Instead, copy files from floppies to your hard disk and THEN open them
in Word. Here's how:
1. Insert the floppy containing the file you want to work on into your
computer's floppy drive.
2. Click the Windows Start button and choose Programs + Windows
Explorer.
3. In the right pane of the Explorer window, click the 3 1/2 Floppy
(A:) icon.
4. In the left pane of the Explorer window, find the file you want to
work on and drag it to your Word document folder (usually My
Documents) in the right pane.
Now start Word and open the file. You'll see a huge difference.
Which would you prefer: that Word constantly nags you about your
spelling and grammatical errors or that Word runs faster? Doesn't seem
like much of a contest to us--so why not turn off Word 97's automatic
spelling and grammar checking and enjoy a small but noticeable
performance benefit?
1. Choose Tools + Options.
2. Click the Spelling and Grammar tab.
3. Deselect both Check Spelling as You Type and Check Grammar as You
Type.
4. Click OK.
Of course, this DOES mean that you need to spell- and grammar-check
your documents yourself, before you print them or pass them
along--unless you don't care whether people think you're an illiterate
slug.
Gone are the days when fonts were a luxury: Now, every time you
install a program, you get a pile of fonts that you'll probably never
use. In general, this wouldn't be a problem, but if Word is running
slowly for you--particularly when you use the Style selector or open
certain formatting dialog boxes--you can speed things up by
uninstalling fonts you don't need. Here's how:
1. Click the Windows Start button.
2. Choose Settings + Control Panel.
3. Double-click the Fonts icon.
4. Right-click on a font you don't use and choose Delete from the
shortcut menu.
5. Click Yes.
6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for each font you want to delete and close the
dialog box when you're finished.
Note: If you're not sure whether the font is one you want to delete,
double-click the font name to see what it looks like (and be sure to
click Done when you're finished looking).
Jerry Kessler recently asked this very reasonable question: "Is there
a command in Word 97 that I can use to alphabetize words?"
Indeed there is, Jerry: You can use the SORT command to alphabetize
words if the words are in a list or arranged in a column of table
cells.
1. Select the list of words or table column containing the words.
2. Choose Table + Sort.
3. Under Sort By, choose Ascending (to sort from A to Z).
4. Click OK.
Your specialty is the run-on sentence--and you've just worked up a
beauty, loaded with "ands" and "tos" and "such thats" and "etceteras."
But, alas, when you finally press a period to end this masterwork, you
get an error message, such as
"Winword caused an Invalid Page Fault in module MSGREN32.dll at
[address]"
or
"There was an unexpected error in the grammar checker. Word cannot
complete the grammar check."
Or, even worse, Word just up and quits with no warning at all! (And,
we might add, you lose your spiel.) The problem: You've flummoxed
Word's automatic grammar checker. After a moment of quiet pride, take
the following corrective action to prevent this from happening again:
1. Choose Tools + Options.
2. Click the Spelling and Grammar tab.
3. Deselect Check Grammar as You Type.
4. Click OK.
OR just stop typing long, run-on sentences.
You can also correct the problem permanently by downloading the
Microsoft Office Service Release 2 patch, at
By now, you're probably very, very familiar with Word's Undo keyboard
shortcuts: Ctrl + Z OR Alt + Backspace. What you never hear much
about, though, is Word's REDO keyboard shortcut. Why shouldn't you get
to see your mistakes again, if you can?
To Redo something you just undid, press Alt + Shift + Backspace.
There it is, your last mistake in all its glory. And you can keep
pressing Alt + Shift + Backspace to see all the mistakes that came
before.
****************************************************************
TIP: GETTING EMBED WITH YOUR OBJECTS
October 28th, 1999
You've used the Paste Special command to link an object--an Excel
spreadsheet, for example--to your Word document so that whenever you
make a change in the spreadsheet, the change is reflected in your
document.
But things change--especially your mind. And now you've decided that
instead of going to the Excel spreadsheet every time you want to
change the data, you'd rather just edit the data without leaving Word.
(You've also decided that it doesn't matter to you if the data in the
document matches the data in the spreadsheet.) In other words, instead
of being LINKED to the spreadsheet, you want to EMBED the spreadsheet
in your document. Here's how:
1. Select the spreadsheet (or the linked object you want to embed).
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F9.
>From now on, just double-click the embedded spreadsheet to edit it
with Excel's tools.
Subscriber Jim Stanton asks, "Is there a keyboard shortcut for
inserting a date/time stamp into a Word document?"
There sure is, Jim--and though we've covered it once or twice in our
long history here at Dummies Daily, it certainly bears repeating one
more time:
* To insert the date at the current cursor location, press Alt + Shift
+ D.
* To insert the time at the current cursor location, press Alt + Shift
+ T.
You may know that Word 97 can save your documents as Web pages. That
is, it can save what you create on-screen as an HTML (HyperText Markup
Language) file. If you didn't know, you do now.
You can write and position elements on-screen as you like--both words
and graphics--and then save them as a file that a Web browser (such as
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) can view. To save any Word 97
document as a Web page, do the following:
1. Open the document in Word.
2. Choose File + Save As.
3. Choose the file type HTML.
Keep in mind that turning a file into an HTML document doesn't always
work perfectly. Some page elements don't translate neatly into HTML.
In later tips, we explain how to iron out a few of these
imperfections.
If you choose View + Online View, you can see your document as it
would appear in a Web browser. If you're writing for a printed page,
you may not find this capability particularly intriguing. If you're
creating Web pages in Word, on the other hand, it is very handy. By
using the Online View, you don't have to jump back and forth between
Word and a browser to see your pages in action.
You CAN design your Web pages from scratch--hacking and typing at your
keyboard and then saving the willy-nilly results as an HTML file. Or
you can use Word's Web Page Wizard instead and let IT chop away at the
jungle of possible design mistakes. The Wizard starts right off by
asking you what type of Web page you want. You pick a type, and the
Wizard creates it--with a little help from you, of course. There's no
point in designing for lots of tables if you want a plain text page,
and there's no reason to waste time on a crisp business design if you
hope to produce a fun personal page. To see the Wizard in action,
follow these steps:
1. Choose File + New.
2. In the dialog box New File dialog box, click the Web Pages tab.
3. Double-click the Web Page Wizard.
4. Choose among the types, such as survey, table of contents, and
plain information.
In fact, you may need to use a variety of these, running the Wizard
several times, if you're designing multiple linked Web pages.
The rules of Web site design aren't set in concrete. What one person
considers good design, another person might see as too boring or too
wild. One rule that nearly everyone follows is to stick to a
consistent theme when you make pages.
Word 97 can help you ensure consistency across your Web pages because
it offers a choice of visual styles, each with color-coordinated
combinations of text and graphics--a real gift to the artistically
challenged. Even if you don't like the specific themes stored there
(Elegant, Festive, Professional, and Harvest, for example), you can
experiment with a few, changing them to suit your own situation. Or
you can use them as examples of design.
****************************************************************
TIP: WEB PAGE TEMPLATES FOR CONSISTENCY
November 5th, 1999
You can automate your efforts to apply consistent style to Web pages
by saving your own favorite layouts and color mixes as a reusable
template for future design. Then each time you want a new page for a
site, you can start with that site's template and not have to
re-create all the shared elements from scratch. Do the following:
1. Open the Web page you want to use as a template.
2. Choose File + Save As.
3. In the Save As Type box, choose Document Template.
4. Give this file a name that indicates the design and the site.
5. Choose the Web Pages folder as the location where you want to save
it. (You can also save this template to any other folder, but we
recommend the Web Pages folder.)
6. Click Save.
To design new pages from the template:
1. Choose File + New.
2. Select the Web Pages tab.
3. Double-click the template's icon.
Tip-in-a-tip: By saving the template to the Web Pages folder, it
appears in the list of templates any time you start a new document
with the File menu's New command and select the Web Pages tab.
For those who are hungry to design a Web page, the Blank Web Page
template is sort of the Web Page Wizard without any of the trimmings.
This template is for those in a hurry or with enough experience to not
need all the hand-holding of the Wizard. To have a go at viewing and
then customizing a Web page from the Blank Web Page template, do the
following:
1. Choose File + New.
2. Click the Web Pages tab.
3. Double-click the Blank Web Page icon.
The template--an example Web page--appears in Online View. Before you
start clicking on and changing its elements to your own needs, save
this template right away:
1. Choose File + Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, under File Type, select HTML.
3. In the File Name text box, enter a filename; then indicate what
folder you want it saved to.
4. Click Save.
When you work on a document that is a Web page, Word 97 limits your
formatting options to those that standard Web browsers can view. For
example, instead of the wide range of font size options you get in
other Word views (such as Normal, Page Layout, and so on), the Web
page toolbars and menus change so that you can only choose standard
Web page font sizes. This is also true for text alignment and
indentation. In fact, you can't indent with the Tab key. You have to
use the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons on the toolbar.
****************************************************************
TIP: WEB PAGE EN-TITLE-MENTS
November 10th, 1999
When a browser opens a Web page, it shows that page's "title" in the
title bar at the top of the window. It also saves that title in any
history, favorites, or bookmarks lists. In other words, the page title
is important in telling and reminding people what the Web page is
about.
When you create a Web page in Word 97, your page automatically has a
title of the first few words or characters on your page. Don't make
the page suffer with such an inadequate title. Do the following:
1. Choose File + Properties.
2. On the Summary tab of the Properties dialog box, enter a
relevant--and concise--title in the Title text box.
Now you know your page has the title it deserves.
****************************************************************
TIP: AUTOFORMAT DRIVES AWAY THE BULLET BLUES
November 11th, 1999
Bullets are those cute little circles, numerals, or whatnot that
precede the indented items of a list. They make list items easier to
read. Because Web pages make frequent use of bulleted lists, Word 97
includes an AutoFormat option that automatically sets up your next
bullet as you work through a list. To see the AutoFormat feature in
action, follow these steps:
1. Click the Format menu and make sure the AutoFormat feature is
turned on (a check mark appears beside it).
2. Click on the Numbering button or the Bullets button on the toolbar.
3. Type the words for your first bullet item.
4. Press Enter.
The next bullet automatically pops into view, awaiting your next typed
bullet item. After you make this list, you can leave AutoFormat on for
your next listing adventure.
Word can create multilevel outlines, automatically numbering the
outline items. To create outline levels in Word, you just press Tab to
create a deeper indent, representing a lower level of detail. HTML,
the language of Web pages, doesn't automatically understand outline
numbering and doesn't use tabs. What are outliners to do if they want
an outline on a Web page? The following:
1. In the Word document, click on the line that contains the top level
of your outline structure.
2. Choose Format + Bullets and Numbering.
3. In the Bullets and Numbering dialog box, choose the Numbering tab.
4. Click on the number format you want to use, such as 1/2/3, or
I/II/III or a/b/c. You return to the document window.
5. Tab to indent the text to the appropriate level.
Word can then number your lines as you want, and it can convert the
tabs into an indented form on a saved Web page.
You've probably heard of point and click. Have you heard of point and
help? The "What's This" help is often easier to use than the menu help
because it doesn't force you to search through an index of help
topics. Instead, you just do the following:
1. Press Shift + F1.
2. Move the mouse pointer to the screen area you're wondering about.
3. Click the mouse button.
You can leap back to the cursor's most recent position in a document
by pressing Shift + F5. In fact, you can then go ahead (or back, that
is) and leap again, to the cursor position previous to that one, by
pressing Shift + F5 again.
****************************************************************
TIP: SELECTING A SENTENCE IN A HURRY
November 17th, 1999
A few of Word's features are easy to forget if you don't use them
often. Selecting a full sentence at a time is an example. Do the
following:
1. Place the mouse cursor anywhere in a sentence.
2. Hold the Ctrl key.
3. Double-click the mouse.
The full sentence appears highlighted. This trick is so handy, in
fact, that you may find yourself changing the way you work so that you
don't forget this little shortcut.
Don't believe that saving a file in the file format Word 6.0/95
actually does just that. It might, if you have a late, patched version
of Word 97. But earlier versions of Word 97 took that as a command to
save the file in the RTF, or Rich Text Format. That's close to--but
not exactly the same as--Word 6.0/95 format. If you need the true
format, check the Microsoft Web site at www.microsoft.com for the
update patch.
TIP: SET A COMFORTABLE NUMBER OF RECENTLY USED FILES
November 19th, 1999
At the bottom of the File menu is a list of Recently Used Files. With
this list, you can open a file without using the Open command and
working your way through folder directories. Just choose a file from
this list. If you find that your Recently Used Files list doesn't list
enough-the default is 4-of your recently used files (for example, you
frequently work with a half-dozen or more files and only two or three
are listed), you can set things right:
1. Choose Tools + Options.
2. Select General.
3. Make sure the Recently Used File List box is checked.
4. Put the number of files you want listed into the Entries text box.
5. Click OK.
The Search command has Advanced options. As you choose them, the
Search command dialog box grows larger. It may be so large, in fact,
that during a search, when the cursor jumps to a found word, the
Search dialog box covers the result up. How handy is that? Not very,
we think. So here are a couple of ways to solve the problem:
* Drag the Search dialog box out of the way to see what's underneath.
* Click on the Less button in the dialog box to shrink it back to a
less distracting size.
So you run a Search on your document, and nothing shows up. Wait!
Don't assume that whatever you're looking for isn't there. You could
have easily made a spelling mistake in the Search dialog box or
inadvertently left some advanced option turned on. In either case, you
may not get what you're looking for. Before you give up, check your
spelling and the selected options.
The Online Layout view translates your document into larger fonts,
shorter lines, hidden headers, and hidden footers. Most people find a
document easier to view, read, and edit in this view. But it can fool
those who start thinking this is how the document will look when
printed.
Darn those fonts. They look so pretty on paper or screen, but they
slow the computer down as it figures just where to put all the little
squiggles and shapes. Graphics can be even worse. If you want the
fastest road to editing your document on hardcopy, follow these steps:
1. Choose Tools + Options.
2. Select Draft Font (a check mark should be beside it).
3. Select OK.
Word can show you two parts of the same document within the same
window. For example, you can work on the beginning of the document in
the top part of the window (the top "pane") while you work in another
part of the document in the bottom part of the window (the bottom
"pane"). To try this feature:
1. Open a document.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + S.
3. Point the mouse at the line separating the two panes.
4. Click and hold the mouse button on that line and drag it to make
the panes the size you want.
When you're done with the split-screen look, use the mouse to drag the
dividing line all the way to the top or bottom. You can also choose
Windows + Remove Split.
Font. Typeface. So often you see these words used interchangeably. And
although the precise definitions don't usually matter, you may find it
helpful to know the distinctions between the terms:
* "Typeface" refers to the artistic design of a set of characters.
Each typeface has a name, such as "Courier" or "Times."
* "Font" refers to one particular size and style of that typeface, say
a complete set of 7-point (72 points to the inch), Italic, Courier
characters.
Web pages are full of lists. Typically, these lists are formatted
with "bullets"--small graphic images that appear before the beginning
of each indented item of the list. If the standard Web
bullets--numerals or small filled circles--don't float your boat, push
them overboard.
Do the following:
1. Choose Format + Bullets and Numbering.
2. In the Bullets and Numbering dialog box, pick the bullet style you
want.
3. Click OK.
Why not put Word in your Start menu? Doing so makes starting a new
document quick and easy. To add Word to your Start menu, follow these
steps:
1. Click Start and choose Programs.
2. Using your left mouse button, click and drag Microsoft Word (it's
in alphabetical order in the list) over the Start button.
3. Release the mouse button.
Some people don't just type words, they word process. That's what
they use their PCs for eight or more hours a day. If you're one of
those folks, why not set up Word to start automatically when you start
your PC? Follow these steps:
1. Click the Start button and choose Programs.
2. Right-click Microsoft Word and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
3. Right-click StartUp and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.
Now the StartUp list includes Word. The next time you start Windows,
Word starts automatically.
It's easy to get confused by Word's Maximize and Minimize buttons.
The main program itself has each of these buttons in its top-right
corner. The Minimize button is the button with the single line. The
Maximize button is the button with the single square. (If you see a
button with two overlapping squares, you're seeing the Restore button,
which appears in place of the Maximize or Minimize button when your
window is already as small or as large as it can get.) When you click
the
Minimize button, Word shrinks to a name in the taskbar at the bottom
of the computer screen. When you click the Maximize button, Word grows
to take up the entire screen.
Here's the tricky part: Each document you open in Word also has its
own window, and each of those windows has a Maximize button and a
Minimize button. When you click a Maximize button in the document,
that document takes up the full Word window--which might be the full
screen or only some small part of the screen. When you click a
document's Minimize button, the page shrinks to a short title bar at
the bottom of the Word window, which is above the taskbar at the
bottom of Windows itself.
In other words, documents can only be as large as Word and can hide
within it. Word can only be as large as the screen or can shrink
itself--along with all its documents--to a single space on the
taskbar.
Before you use Word's Insert menu to put the date and time into a
document, you'd better check that your computer really knows what the
date and time are. After all, Word doesn't wind up any clock or mark
days on any calendar. It merely trusts Windows' sense of time. To
check and, if necessary, change the date and time:
1. Double-click the time (it's at the right end of the taskbar).
2. In the Date/Time Properties dialog box, set the correct date
(unless it's already correct).
3. Set the correct time, if necessary.
4. Click OK.
The PC's internal battery keeps the clock accurate even when Windows
and the PC are turned off.
Word 97 has more toolbars than most users ever realize or use. In
fact, Word has so many toolbars that they can crowd the screen,
leaving little room to work. Having only the Standard and Formatting
toolbars open for most work is generally fine, but for more complex
work, try to get in the habit of putting on-screen the toolbars you
need to do the job:
1. Choose View + Toolbars.
2. Select the toolbars you want to appear and deselect the ones you
Although you want to be careful not to overuse images--especially
if you're saving to a Web page--you do want to use pictures when they
help explain a concept or make the presentation more attractive. You
know, 1,000 words worth and all that. To include a picture in your
Word document:
1. In the document, place the cursor where you want the picture.
2. Choose Insert + Picture.
3. Choose one of the following:
* Clip Art (little drawings)
* From File (drawings, photographs, or other types of images)
* AutoShapes (geometrical basics)
* WordArt (for special effects applied to readable text)
* Chart (as in pie or bar that compares number values)
4. Follow the on-screen instructions in the dialog boxes that
appear.
A picture in a document can be like a boulder in a stream: The
water--or, in this case, the words--can flow or "wrap" around it. You
can set the style of the wrap by following these steps:
1. Right-click the picture.
2. From the pop-up menu, choose Format Object.
3. In the Format Object dialog box, click the Wrapping tab.
4. Choose the style you want: Square, Tight, Through, None,
Top&Bottom.
5. Depending on which style you choose, the Wrap To boxes may become
enabled, indicating that you can choose which side of the image the
words flow around.
6. If necessary, change the setting at the bottom of the Format Object
dialog box to indicate how close the words can come to the image.
7. Click OK.
Often, you'll run through these wrap style steps several times before
you get things just the way you want. Even then, as you continue
working, you may discover that on-screen elements jump around to
positions you didn't expect.
Pictures you insert into a document are naked, frameless. If you
want a more formal division between the picture and the words, put a
border around the picture:
1. Right-click the picture and choose Format Object from the pop-up
menu.
2. In the Format Object dialog box, click the Colors and Lines tab.
3. In the Line section of the dialog box, choose a color for the line.
Black is generally the best.
4. Select a different style and weight for the line if the default
thin line doesn't suit you.
5. Click OK.
If you still don't like the look, right-click the line and format it
again.
Buried in the Insert menu, under the Picture choice, is something
called WordArt. WordArt behaves almost like a separate utility
program, one dedicated to bending and twisting words for effect. To
try WordArt, follow these steps:
1. Choose Insert + Picture + WordArt.
2. In the WordArt Gallery dialog box, select the style that fits your
needs and mood and click OK.
3. In the Edit WordArt Text dialog box, enter the words you want to
use. For example, you may want to enter a title.
4. Using the Font, Size, and Style menus and buttons, give your title
the look you want and then click OK.
5. Click OK again to see the result of your artistic wording.
6. Do one of the following:
* To move the WordArt text to another place on your page, drag it from
the middle.
* To change the text's size and proportions, drag any of the handles
around it.
* To get rid of the text, press Delete.
Remember: Although WordArt can be great for titles, it can get a
little silly with very little effort.
You can make Word's menus fit your needs by putting the commands
you want on them:
1. Choose Tools + Customize.
2. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab.
3. In the Category list, click the menu that currently contains the
command you want to move.
4. Click outside the dialog box on the regular Word menu where you
want the command to go.
5. Back in the Customize dialog box, click the command you want to
move, hold down the mouse button, and drag the command to the
destination menu. The command now appears on the new menu.
6. In the Customize dialog box, click Close.
To get rid of commands, you can drag them to a toolbar or off a menu
and onto the desktop.
Remember: If you heavily personalize your Word, keep in mind that
you'll have some adapting to do when you use Word on someone else's
PC. And your Word won't be easy for anyone else to use.
When you need a table, don't use the Tab key to regularly space
information on a document. The tabs don't necessarily hold up and stay
even as you change styles or save in other file formats. Use the Table
command instead:
1. In the document, place your cursor where you want the table to
start.
2. Click the Insert Table button on the Standard toolbar.
3. From the drop-down grid, specify the table size you want.
There it is--a neat, evenly spaced table waiting for your words and
images.
The AutoRecover feature regularly saves information about your file
so that you don't lose even five or ten minutes of work. But this
feature has to be turned on to work. To check whether AutoRecover is
on:
1. Open Tools + Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Save tab.
3. Check to make sure a check mark appears beside the Save AutoRecover
Info Every option. If a check mark isn't there, click the option to
turn it on.
4. Adjust the AutoRecover time if you want. Don't make the time too
short, though, or you'll be interrupted too often by the saving
operation. We think 15 minutes is about right, but actually make it
more often if we're in heavy work that we just couldn't bear to
repeat.
5. Click OK.
If you need to change to two or three columns in the middle of a
document, that's just fine. Or changing back from multiple columns to
one column is okay, too. But you can't do either within a single
"section." Word insists that each section stick to a particular number
of columns. So when you want to columnize:
1. In the document, place the cursor just before the place you want
the new column to start.
2. Choose Insert + Break.
3. In the Break dialog box, in the Section Breaks section, click
Continuous (unless you want this new column set up to start on a new
page; then click Next Page).
4. Click OK.
5. Move the cursor into the part of the document that you want to have
the new columns.
6. Choose Format + Columns.
7. In the Columns dialog box, specify the number of columns you want.
8. Click OK.
Now try typing some words to see how the new columns arrange them
You'll see that the words fill one column and then start appearing at
the top of the following column.
A hyperlink is a place on the screen where a click automatically
brings to view a related piece of information. Words or pictures in
your documents can be hyperlinked to some other portion of the same
document, to other documents, or even to other files entirely or Web
sites. To create such a link:
1. Select the item you want to link. It can be a letter, word, larger
section of text, or picture.
2. Choose Insert + Hyperlink.
3. In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, choose either a file (type in
its name or click Browse to find it) or a named location in a
document.
4. Click OK.
Now when you click on the hyperlink, you leap right to the linked
material. A word is blue with an underline.
You can't simply click on a hyperlink and then edit it. Clicking
cues the link, transporting you to the linked element. Instead, to
edit a hyperlink, you do the following:
1. Click outside the hyperlink and drag across it to select it.
2. Then use regular editing commands.
You can sign your file--put your name to it so anyone who looks can
see who created it and when. Having such a signature can be especially
important when you make lots of documents that you intend to share
with others in a collaborative group. To add a signature to your
documents:
1. Choose File + Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Summary tab.
3. In the appropriate text boxes, enter the title, subject, author,
manager, company, category, keywords (for finding this file later,
these are descriptive terms), and any comments. (Note: The Author and
Company may already be filled.)
4. Click OK.
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