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
 Quick save Undo
Redo Quick print
Quick Access toolbar
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 Automated Clear all
cases formatting
Clipboard: use to copy and paste, or ctrl+c
and ctrl+v

Strikethrough
Bold Italic
Underline 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, allows

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 of
your home toolbar for now as they can be
basic tools! 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 infographics
Add a blank page
between pages of
text Search images when
Break your chapter or
subheading of text to connected to the internet
the next page with a Bing image
search
 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)

Add comments for multireader

Link your text to outside
editing (to delete comments go
sources with a URL
to the Review/editing tab)
(for example:
www.youtube.com)
 Insert/add media
Add a moveable text box
to your article or graphic Add a signature or
design timestamp your
document
Custom text-image Open math or
headings symbol menus

Automate format
templates for Add another file or Embed .swf files for
recurring, stylized text document to your sound clips throughout
(such as captions or Add an epigraphic letter current document your text
asides) 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 rotate images
Portrait or landscape dimensions of order in which multiple layers
Number each line of
orientation 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
They will be highlighted and color-coded as shown above. To stick to
images, more our basic agenda, we will skip these accessories for now. But if you’re
interested, many of the functions include basic photo editing for more

tab menus
graphic documents, or table editing, which gives you a greater range for
infographic presentations. Test out the tools as you would any of the
tools and effects described throughout this dossier.

appear with
various tool
options
 References/works cited

Insert footnote or Add and link indexed Formatting settings for

Add and manage
endnote items legal documents
sources

Add a formatted
Hyperlink portions of text
bibliography
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
right. Insert captions
Display menu of all
notes below images
 Review/edit
Track changes that have
been made throughout
Find synonyms for words
the creation and editing
you’ve used too often
Always check spelling of your document (very Compare and combine
throughout your document
& grammar! useful!) revisions of same
Translate and adjust document
language settings

Accept or reject
Count total words in changes that have been
document Add, delete, and made by other editors
toggle through Control editing
Define a word by document’s capabilities (it’s a
highlighting and comments by privilege not a
clicking this button multiple users right!)
 View options
See next slide (17)
Read document Split or add
Edit document Show ruler Automate frequently
as if it were a documents and
as it will look measurements or grid Arrange your split used tasks by creating a
pdf or epub file toggle between windows, or
when printed to give you spatial series of commands and
each synchronize scrolling
relations on the page instructions

Draft returns Navigate your

you to regular document with View the Toggle between
Edit document text edit as quick document one your documents
Magnify or
as it will look opposed to searches or two pages
broaden your
when printed outline mode at a time,
view of the
document 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 text
Quickly refer to each level of your list 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.