Microsoft Word Basics
Getting Started
● Open word. You may choose a blank document, or browse a template that’s right for you.
Blank or unformatted documents are best to use at this stage of instruction.
● The blue column on the
left shows your most
recent saved files. You
may select one of these
to resume work on a
saved document.
Margins
Cursor
Page
Scroll bar
Zoom
Page and word count
Read modes
Undo
Quick Access toolbar
Quick save Redo Quick print
Print preview
New document Customize toolbar
You may add frequently used tools to your
quick access bar by right clicking the tool
button and selecting “add to Quick Access
toolbar”
Home toolbar: font style & clipboard
Font name Font size Clear all formatting
Automated cases
Clipboard: use to copy and paste, or
ctrl+c and ctrl+v
Strikethrough Italic Underline
Bold
Text effects
Text color
Superscript
Highlight
Subscript
Home toolbar: format paragraphs
Numbered list
Bulleted list Multilevel list
Increase and decrease indentation
Left, right, center, Line spacing Table drawing tools
justified alignments
Home toolbar: editing tools
Find, ctrl+f for PCs and Command-F for Macs, allow
you to find words within the text
Replace words with
other words in your
text
Choose how to select
portions of your text
Now you
know your You can ignore the stylized presets to the right
basic tools! of your home toolbar for now as they can be
cumbersome to customize
Insert/add media
Add a preset cover
page Insert image files
saved to your Add shapes such as
computer arrows
Grab a screenshot (for
PCs press the Prtscn key,
then paste your clipboard
contents. For Macs press
Command + shift + 4 to
copy, and then paste your
clipboard contents)
Create a table of
columns and rows Add info graphics
Add a blank page
between pages of
text Search images when
Break your chapter
connected to the internet
or subheading of text to
with a Bing image search
the next page
Insert/add media
Search for or embed online
videos
Insert Wikipedia content Bookmark select Add headers, footers,
portions of your text for and page numbers
easy reference
Hyperlink portions of your text
Add or manage apps for reader’s reference (e.g.
subsections in legal documents)
Link your text to outside Add comments for multireader
sources with a URL editing (to delete comments go
(for example: to the Review/editing tab)
www.youtube.com)
Insert/add media
Add a moveable text
box to your article or
Add a signature or timestamp your
graphic design
document
Custom text-image Open math or symbol
headings menus
Automate format
templates for Embed .swf files for
recurring, stylized Add another file or
document to your sound clips throughout
text (such as captions your text
Add an epigraphic current document
or asides)
letter or word to begin
your article or chapter
Page layout options
Divide text into Your menu listing names of
Manually adjust the
columns Page break image files that appear in the
spacing before and
document for quick toggling
Paper dimensions after paragraph breaks
Margin adjustment in
print inches
Position images within text,
select style of “wrapping” text Align, group, or
Manually adjust the around images, and select the
Portrait or landscape rotate images
dimensions of order in which multiple layers
orientation Number each line of
indentations of images will appear. To test
text, and hyphenate
each line item in list this function, upload an image
to your document.
As you add tables and
Images, more They will be highlighted and color-coded as shown above. To stick to
our basic agenda, we will skip these accessories for now. But if you’re
tab menus interested, many of the functions include basic photo editing for more
graphic documents, or table editing, which gives you a greater range
for info graphic presentations. Test out the tools as you would any of
appear with the tools and effects described throughout this dossier.
various tool
options
References/works cited
Insert footnote or Add and link indexed Formatting settings for
endnote Add and manage
items legal documents
sources
Add a formatted
bibliography Hyperlink portions of text
Jump to next footnote in according to what
Add a preset, formatted your text type of document
table of contents, and you’re drafting
update an existing table
using the buttons to the Insert captions below
right. Display menu of all images
notes
Always check spelling
& grammar!
Review/edit
Find synonyms for words
you’ve used too often Track changes that have
been made throughout Compare and combine
throughout your document
the creation and editing revisions of same
of your document (very document
Translate and adjust useful!)
language settings
Accept or reject
changes that have been
Count total words in Add, delete, and made by other editors
document toggle through Control editing
document’s capabilities (it’s a
Define a word by comments by privilege not a right!)
highlighting and multiple users
clicking this button
Rea
d Edit
See next slide
(17)
Show Split or
ruler
add
Vie options
w Automate
document as if Documents and Arrange your split
document as it Measurements or grid Frequently used tasks
it were a pdf or toggle between windows, or
will look when to give you spatial by creating a series of
epub file each synchronize scrolling
printed relations on the page commands and
instructions
Draft returns Navigate your
you to regular document Toggle
View the
Edit document text edit as with quick Document Between your documents
Magnify or
as it will look opposed to searches one or two
broaden your
when printed outline mode pages at a
view of the
document time, adjust
page width
Outlining is a simple way of creating a list or taxonomy Outlining
When this is checked, it shows your
stylized/designed text, rather than the normal
Quickly refer to each level of your list text format, which looks more like the text of
this explanatory caption Insert other documents into or create
documents of portions of your outline
When this is checked, it shows the first line only of the level you have
selected. The higher the level, the more lines are shown.
Start by typing your first and second lines. Then drag the minus symbol at
the head of the line right to subordinate the second line to the first line
Problems w/multi-user comments
It is difficult to manage or delete comments from the
Insert tab. Instead, delete user comments from the
Review tab.
Problems w/track changes
If you’re having trouble turning track changes off, be sure that it is unlocked.
This is what Track Changes looks like. The blue is unedited text, the crossed-out red
has been deleted by an editor, and the underscored red
word to the left of the deleted word is the word the editor chose to replace the previous
word. All red underscored words are additions made to the original text.
