Archive for the ‘MS Word’ Category

The Blank Page Blues

Have you ever created a table in MS Word, only to find that while it fits exactly on the page like you hoped, it also seems to be creating a blank page thereafter.

I know I hate that!

It’s aggravating to have that extra blank page print out. Plus, if you’re using a header or footer, it’s no longer blank, it’s just wasted space!

Or, instead… Continue reading

The Vanishing Word 2007 Form Controls

If you’re a creator of forms in the older versions of MS Word and you now use Word 2007, you may find yourself at a loss for your form controls.

I mean, where exactly do you find the tools you need to insert drop down lists and combo boxes?

I bet you’ve scoured the ribbon for them and maybe some of you have even… Continue reading

Removing the Logo

So, a couple weeks ago, I wrote a tip about putting a logo on your envelopes. Specifically, you learned how to add a logo, graphic or text that would appear on all of your MS Word envelopes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t address how to undo them, should you change your mind.

First, if you don’t want something on a single envelope, you should be able to select it… Continue reading

Grid Be Gone

When you open MS Word, do you find yourself looking at something like this:

One Quick Fix for the Broken Hyphen

When you’re working in MS Word, I’m sure you often find yourself fighting with hyphenated words or phrases that are split onto two different lines. That just doesn’t look “right,” does it?

So, what can you do?

Well, you may remember that you can insert a non-breaking hyphen from the start with the key combination of Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen.

But if… Continue reading

Printed on Every Envelope

Do you print custom envelopes from MS Word?

Do you have a custom logo, picture or return address set up that you really wish would just show up every time you print an envelope?

That sure would be nice. I mean, no messing with templates, copy/pastes or other methods you may dream up to get your envelopes to your liking.

Well, I have good news. That… Continue reading

The Incredible Non-Breaking Hyphen

Okay, so I’m sure many of you know how to insert a non-breaking space between two words, right? That is, a space that will not allow the word to the left to be separated from the word to the right.

Well, if not, here it is: Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar

Instead of inserting the usual space between two things, use Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar

The Full Screen Reading Blues

Working with MS Word 2003 or 2007?

Tired of the Reading Layout/Full Screen Reading View (depending upon your version of Word) taking control of every e-mail attached document you open?

I don’t know about you, but I’m partial to the Print Layout and always have been. I just like to see it the way it was intended for the page.

So, when I first had… Continue reading

Okay, so we’re all familiar with MS Word’s red squiggle, right? When you see it, you know Word is letting you know you have a spelling error.

We’ve all seen the green squiggle as well, meaning there’s a grammar issue.

But if you’re using Word 2007, you may begin to run into a brand new

Now, Where Did I Save It?

Here’s a tip idea that stems from a reader question! Specifically, she’s looking to put the file name in the footer of an MS Word 2007 document and she can’t seem to locate that option in the new program.

So, let’s go search for the file name field for Word 2007′s footers.

First, you need to create the document’s footer. That can be done… Continue reading

An Alternate Picture Caption Method

Yesterday, we looked at MS Word’s captioning feature. It wasn’t too bad and it’s fairly easy to use, but I still found it annoying at times. I didn’t like that I had to group them with their object in order to keep the two of them together when relocated. I also didn’t like how I had to do some of the editing after the caption… Continue reading

Vertical Alignment Choices

Did you know that you can set the vertical alignment for a MS Word document just the way you want it?

That is, you can tell Word whether to align the text at the top of the page, the bottom of the page, the center of the page or to justify the text on the page.

That could come in very handy if you’re trying to accommodate… Continue reading

The Case of the Missing Ruler

Today’s tip comes from a recent question posed by a reader. It seems as if, while working in MS Word on a letterhead template, the reader realized the vertical ruler on the left side of the screen was missing.

So, the obvious questions were “Where did it go?” and “How do I get it back?”

While I can’t be positive as to the exact… Continue reading

A Different Kind of Tab

I’m sure you’re all very accustomed to the usual left, center, right and decimal tab stops. In fact, you’ve probably been using them for years, right?

When flipping through your tab choices, did you ever notice this little guy?

Footnote Placement in Word

Footnote placement?

Who would have ever thought that was even an issue? After all, don’t footnotes appear at the bottom of the page where they’re referenced?

Why, yes they do! So, for the most part, there isn’t even a question about their placement.

However, what about the last page of your document?

Text rarely ends at the bottom of a page, so that does present you… Continue reading

Ignore the Custom Dictionary

Do you add a lot of content specific words to your MS Word custom dictionary? (You do it every time you click on the Add button during a spell check).

If you’re like me, there are quite a few terms that apply only when you’re working on a document for work. If I’m doing something else, let’s say writing an MS Office tip, having one of… Continue reading

Not the Usual Paper

Have you ever tried to print something from MS Word onto a special sized piece of paper? Maybe you’re printing an invitation, announcement or something similar.

If so, how did it go?

For those of you who answered something along the lines of “not so good,” let’s take a look and see what other solution we can come up with.

First, I’m sure you took the… Continue reading

Always Looking for a Shortcut?

Have you recently made the switch over to MS Word 2007? If so, do you miss your custom keyboard shortcuts from previous versions?

Looking for a way to get those back?

No problem!

They’re still there, but the route you take to get to them is slightly different.

You either need to get into the Word Options via the Office Button, Customize section or you… Continue reading

Change Case Saves the Day!

Here’s another tip regarding the Change Case trick I told you about a few days ago!

A reader wrote in asking what you can do when you’ve accidentally hit the Caps Lock key and you don’t realize it until it’s too late. You know, after you’ve already typed out a significant amount of text.

Understandably, you probably don’t want to retype all of… Continue reading

Now, Where Did They Put the Templates?

I recently received a question from a reader regarding templates in MS Word 2007. Specifically, where are they?

If you’re like me and you use the Quick Access Toolbar (or Ctrl + N) to start a new document, you probably go directly to the blank document, right? In other words, no templates are offered to you at all.

So, where exactly are they?… Continue reading

Where’d They Hide the AutoCorrect?

Using MS Word 2007?

Still searching for the AutoCorrect options? (You know, the feature that controls the automatic capitalization at the beginning of your sentences and corrects your common typos).

I’m sure you’ve noticed that Word is still fixing the typos while you work, so the feature has to be somewhere, right? But where?

Well, if you’re still searching for the AutoCorrect, you’ve come to… Continue reading

Insert Quick Parts Quicker

So, if you followed Friday’s discussion on Quick Parts in MS Word 2007, you know they can easily be inserted into your document at the place where the cursor is sitting.

But what if you want the building block somewhere else? You know, like a header, footer or maybe at the end of the document.

Do you absolutely have to put your cursor at the other… Continue reading

Playing with Building Blocks

In your older version of MS Word, did you use the AutoText feature regularly? Are you a little upset that you can’t seem to locate it in Word 2007?

Well, wipe that frown off your face, because the basic idea of it is still there. Yes, it had a face lift and it’s now accessible through a different feature, but it’s definitely still there!

What you’re… Continue reading

Alphabetize It!

Ever find yourself wanting to alphabetize a list in MS Word?

How did you accomplish that?

I know there are at least a couple of you who moved everything around manually, am I right? And I don’t have to tell you twice that if the list was really long, it took you quite awhile to do. What a pain!

Well, how about letting Word alphabetize for you?

No… Continue reading

Drag and Drop with a Right Click?

Yep, you read that right. I said right click!

We often find ourselves moving text in MS Word with a quick drag and drop, but did you know if you use a right click instead of a left click, Word will offer you far more?

The next time you want to move or even copy your text, simply follow these steps: