When you’re under the pump, the last thing you want or need is to be battling it out with your software. This is especially so when working with long documents such as reports and proposals. So following are four Microsoft Word tips you can utilise when formatting documents. Each of the Word features outlined are simple yet effective. They also provide for better outcomes, with less frustration in the process!
1. Utilise text styles
Text styles are the number one Word feature you can use for more effective document formatting. That’s why it tops this list of Microsoft Word tips.
The benefits of working with text styles are twofold. Of greatest benefit, text styles streamline the process of formatting and/or updating the look of text. They’re also the key to inserting an automatic table of contents into a document (Microsoft Word tip 2 below).
In essence, text styles hold a set of instructions that tell Word how to format text (including headings). These ‘instructions’ cover settings for elements such as font size and colour, line and paragraph spacing, etc. And so this makes formatting text quick and easy – essentially done with the click of a button.
You may wish to use Word’s default text styles. Or, better still, modify the default styles to suit your own needs.
For example, if you want first level headings in your document to be:
- Verdana font
- 18pt size
- Blue
- Bold
… you’d simply apply the existing Heading 1 style. But change the settings of the style to accord with the list above.
In addition, using text styles streamlines the process of making a global change to formatting if or when required. For example, if you decide you’d prefer teal headings instead of blue, all you need to do is update the Heading 1 style. All first level headings that use the Heading 1 style would then also adopt this change.
To apply a text style:
- Select the text / paragraph to be formatted;
- Click the dropdown arrow of the Quick Styles gallery (Home > Styles), and select the relevant style.
To modify a text style:
- Right click the style within the Quick Styles gallery, and select Modify;
- Use the Format button to make changes to any aspect of the style;
- Click OK to close the Modify Style dialogue box.
2. Insert an automatic table of contents
An automatic table of contents is invaluable because it does all the work for you. As a starting point, it collates each of the headings in your document. Updating the table of contents when need be is also straightforward.
The only proviso is that you must first use the Headings 1-9 text styles to format headings. That’s because Word uses these styles to generate the table of contents. Once you’ve done this, a few quick steps is all it takes to insert and/or update the table of contents.
To insert a table of contents:
- Place the cursor where the table is to be inserted;
- Click the Table of Contents button (References > Table of Contents);
- For an automatic table of contents, select Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2.
To update a table of contents to reflect any changes made to a document:
- Right click the table of contents;
- Select Update Field;
- Select Update page numbers only or Update entire table depending on whether you’ve added extra headings to the document.
3. Paste text using the Keep Text Only option
When working on lengthy documents, you may often copy and paste text from other documents. This is a great time saver. When doing so, however, it’s important to ensure you’re not also pasting unwanted formatting.
There is an easy way to avoid this, and that’s by using the Keep Text Only paste option. Here’s how:
- Paste the text where required within the document;
- Click the Paste Options button, and select Keep Text Only.
The Keep Text Only option, as the name suggests, pastes only the text that’s included in the copied content. This means that any direct formatting originally applied to the text (e.g. bold font) will be discarded. Given this, you’ll need to apply formatting to the pasted text yourself – that’s the downside.
But the upside is that you won’t introduce any unwanted styles or formatting into a document. And this, in turn, will help maintain consistent formatting throughout the document.
Note: the Keep Text Only option is not the default setting for pasting text in Word. If you’d like to change this setting, follow the instructions here.
4. Be mindful of section breaks
Section breaks, when deleted, have the potential to cause page layout issues. So it’s a good idea to be mindful of this when editing your document.
By way of background, a section break controls the formatting of the pages before it. This includes formatting such as header / footer layouts. And page orientations, i.e. portrait versus landscape.
When a section break is deleted, the pages before the break take on the formatting of the next section. That is, because those pages now sit within the next section.
This isn’t so much of a concern where the sections in your document have identical page layout settings. But it can be problematic where the opposite is true.
The best way to identify where section breaks sit in a document is to show formatting marks while you work. In doing so, you’ll be less likely to accidentally delete a section break. And as such, won’t need to deal with any formatting fallouts that may occur.
To show formatting marks, simply click the Show/Hide button (Home > Paragraph).
Finally, each of the above Microsoft Word tips are a great way to become more effective when formatting documents. So be sure to put these into practice wherever you can. But also consider if Word templates could be of benefit to your business. Word templates provide a base of set formatting, layouts and styles to work from. And as such provide for faster, consistent and more professional results.