10 tips and tricks to become a master of Microsoft Word
10 tips and tricks to become a master of Microsoft Word
When it comes to word processing, Microsoft Word is the gold standard. As part of the Microsoft Office productivity suite, over a billion computer users rely on the program daily. That's nearly one in seven people on the entire planet - an impressive number unparalleled in the tech industry.
Although many consumers use Microsoft Word, not everyone knows how to maximize the capabilities of the program. Word is packed with many features that can help make creating documents, reports, and text files easier. And when your daily work becomes easier, it becomes more productive and more efficient - which should be the ultimate goal of any piece of software.
Below are 10 of your favorite shortcuts, tips and tricks, and your favorite time savers to increase your use of Microsoft Word. (Most of these suggestions work with all versions of Word, but some are limited to newer ones like Word 2013, 2016, or 2016 for Mac.) Try a few today and let us know what works for you ...
1. Copy, paste, and cut with keyboard shortcuts.
Ask anyone who knows these shortcuts - Ctrl + C to copy them, Ctrl + V to paste them, and Ctrl + X to cut them off - and they will testify to their crucial time nature. Master these three basic commands first and you'll find yourself escalating your documents quickly.
2. Quickly zoom in or out to provide eye strain.
Some people like to work in the Word window with a magnification of up to 150%, while others like to eliminate the need to scroll left, right, or up and down by zooming in to 75% to see the entire document. Either way, use the Window> Zoom button to choose the setting that suits you best - or look for a "100%" tab with a scroll bar at the bottom right of the document to easily zoom in or out.
3. Delete entire words at once.
This is an easy way you may not know: instead of slowly pressing the keyboard to delete the text, or pressing Backspace to remove entire words or phrases, press Ctrl + Backspace and place the cursor after a word you want to erase. Simultaneously, which makes the tedious job much easier.
4. Use smart search to search the internet.
Anytime you highlight a word or phrase and right-click it, you'll see Smart Search, which is a quick shortcut to browse the web - without delay to open a separate browser window. From word definitions to news scans, this powerful tool can transform a simple question into a wealth of knowledge.
5. Remove unwanted formatting.
Are you trying to convert a document from an external source into something suitable for you? Strange formatting can slow down, instead of trying to fix one thing at a time, press Ctrl + Space or click the Clear All Formats button (in newer versions, Eraser on A on the Home tab) to remove formatting from highlighting text and start new with Your own style.
6. Tell the program exactly what you want to do.
Most newer versions of Word include the "Tell me what you want to do" field at the top of the toolbar. Enter a word or phrase related to any instructions and the program can quickly determine the command you are looking for.
7. Use multiple clicks to select pieces of copies.
Instead of using a boring drag and drop method, you can use the mouse to select portions of copies: double-click a word to highlight it, or triple-tap to highlight an entire sentence or section.
8. Quickly insert links in a document.
Similar to the copy / paste / cut commands, learning a keyboard shortcut to add web links to a document - Ctrl + K - will save a lot of time and quickly become one of the sharpest tools in the set.
9. Select the default font you want, not the default font that Word wants to use.
Don't you like Calipri or Cambria? Do you prefer Ariel over the new Roman era, or like the modern nature of Verdana? The best part about Microsoft Word is that you can choose the default font - this varies depending on the version, but the most reliable way is to click Format> Font, select the themes you want, and then click Default.
10. Find any word you want quickly and easily.
Instead of using the mouse to move to the Find command, click Ctrl + F to either open the window in older versions of Word, or automatically move the cursor to the Search in Document menu that always appears in the toolbar in later version.
Comments
Post a Comment