Microsoft Word Tricks and Tips

Easy ways to get more from Word

2 : Editing Word documents

How do I remove the formatting for a portion of my text?

To quickly remove character formatting, such as bold, italic, or underline, and reset text back to the normal style, select the text and press Ctrl+Spacebar (Ctrl+Shift+Z also works). To reset paragraph formatting, such as tabs and indents, back to the normal style press Ctrl+Q

How do I remove the page number from the first page?

Choose Page Numbers from the Insert menu and clear the Show Numbers on First Page check box

How do I insert or delete a page break?

Choose Break from the Insert menu. Select the Page Break radio button. You can also insert a page break by pressing [Ctrl]+[Enter].

How do I keep a paragraph from separating at the page break?

Select the paragraph, and then choose Paragraph from the Format menu. Click on the Lines and Page Breaks tab and check the Keep lines together check box.

How do I tell the Speller to skip the parts of my document that are not in English?

Select the block of text you want the Speller to skip, Choose Language from the Tools menu, then choose Set Language. Check the Do not check spelling and grammar check box. Click OK. When the Speller is finished, you'll see the message: The spelling and grammar check is complete. Text marked with "Do not check spelling and grammar" was skipped.

How can I increase or decrease the font size?

This is very simple; select the text that you wish to increase the font size of, press Control+] To decrease the font size press Control+[. Alternatively, after select your text go to the tool bar and choose a font size using the box containing a number, adjust to you preference.

How can I insert the file name into a header or footer?

All you have to do is, click on the View drop down menu and select the Header and Footer command. Then click on the Insert AutoText icon in the Header and Footer toolbar. Select the Filename command and close the dialog box.

What’s a good tip on how to format my Microsoft Word document?

You can format a document before entering text using the "AutoFormat" command or the "Format" menu, which allows you to select individual format options (font, tabs, borders, etc.). You can also change the format of all or part of an existing document by selecting the text, then modifying the format options. Use the "File" menu's "Page Setup" command to select margins, page orientation, and page layout.

How do I fix the Date?

When you insert a date into a Word document (using Insert | Date and Time...| and select a format) by default the date will update to the current date each time you open the document. If you'd like the date to be fixed, always appearing as the date when you first inserted the date in the document, uncheck the Update Automatically checkbox in the Insert | Date and Time... dialog box.

How can I start editing my document where I last left off?

One simple way to get to where you left off is to open the document and press Shift-F5. This takes you to where you were when you last saved the document before closing it.