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Ever feel like you're only using a fraction of a program's capabilities? Programs like MS Word are loaded with shortcuts and special features that can help make your job a little easier.
How to Customize Microsoft Word will show you how to unlock the hidden potential of one of the world's most popular word processing programs.
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Introduction

- If you're the kind of person who never reads the manual, chances are you've overlooked some of Microsoft Word's most useful features. The program is loaded with customizable menus, toolbars and shortcuts that can improve your speed and efficiency with a simple click of the mouse.
- The following guide, How to Customize Microsoft Word, will walk you through a few of the "customization topics" used by Microsoft to test potential Microsoft Office Specialists. So, get comfortable, and get ready to discover what you've been missing.
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Youtube How To Use Word - Tutorial Microsoft Office
Viewers really liked this beginners Word tutorial giving it a perfect score! This is unique, it is a tutorial that shows you how to use Word 97, 2000 and 2002 that is also updated for 2009. It is one of their free video series on their website. Will be visiting them again in the future! 12 minutes go by fast! -
Step 1: Before You Begin
- A few words of encouragement before you begin:
- The best way to learn any program is to explore and experiment. Don't be afraid to poke around. You won't break anything, and if worse comes to worse, you can always undue what you did or return to the program's default settings.
- Every version of a software program is slightly different in appearance. Most of the screenshots in this guide are from a Macintosh OS 10.4, Word 2004. If you ever take a Word tests at an employment agency, you may see versions as old as MS Word 97! Don't worry. If you understand one version of Word well, you can make your way through any version.
- Keyboard shortcuts can help you use Word more efficiently. By using Word's shortcuts for repetitive tasks like cutting and pasting or saving, your hands never have to leave the keyboard. To access a list of shortcuts, visit Microsoft Office's Support Center.
- When in doubt, you can always consult Word's Help menu. Access the menu by clicking on Help in the toolbar.
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Page Layout View
- Page Layout is WYSIWYG, "what you see is what you get." It makes margins, headers and footers and page numbers visible. Working in Page Layout can make all your formatting options clear. It is essentially looking at what your page will look like when you print it out.
- To view your document's page layout, click on the View drop-down menu in the toolbar.
- Click on Page or Print Layout depending on which version of Word you are using.
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Show Invisibles
- Invisibles encompass all the code that makes up your page, but that you don't see when the document is printed. This includes spaces, tabs, paragraph indentations, etc. Seeing invisibles is a godsend, particularly if you're trying to do any kind of desktop publishing.
- To view your document's invisibles, click on the Tools drop-down menu in the toolbar.
- Click on Options.
- Click on the View tab of the Options box.
- Click the checkboxes of any "invisibles" you would like to appear while you work.
- You can also show your invisibles by clicking on the "paragraph" or backwards "p" button on your toolbar.
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Step 3: Word Preferences
- Depending on which version of Word you are using, you will access your preferences by either clicking on the Word drop-down menu and then Preferences or the Tools drop-down menu and then Options. The following describe tabs you will find in the pop-up Preferences or Options menu box.
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Spelling and Grammar Tab
- There are several useful spelling and grammar check options that you can customize to your match your personal preferences and most common typing errors:
- If you have a habit of accidentally hitting number keys when typing, like typing "3" instead of "e," you can uncheck the Ignore words with numbers option.
- Web addresses can slow down your spell checking process. If you use them frequently, consider checking the Ignore Internet and file addresses box.
- Uncheck Check grammar as you type. Studies prove that a high percentage of Word's grammar "corrections" are controversial and often incorrect.
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Step 4: Changing Fonts
- Fonts (or Typefaces) are not identical. A font like Arial or Helvetica in 10 point type is much larger than Times New Roman in 10 point type. Some people prefer Times New Roman because it is a "Serif" font, which means that it has structural details like "flags" on the letter "stems." These serifs imply a grid, which helps people read horizontally. Arial and Helvetica are Sans Serif (without serifs) fonts.
- There are two different ways to access Word's font selections:
- From the Menu Dialogue Box:
- Click on the Format drop-down menu in the toolbar.
- Click Font. A menu dialogue box will appear.
- Under the Font tab, you have the option to change your font, the size of the font and its style (regular, italics or bold).
- Click on the Default button in the lower left hand corner of the box if you'd like to set a certain font and size as your default for all future documents.
- From the Toolbar:
- There are formatting drop-down options for font type, size and appearance already embedded in your toolbar. If you do not see these options, your Formatting toolbar may be deselected. To remedy this:
- Click on the View drop-down menu in your toolbar.
- Click on Toolbars.
- Click on Formatting.
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Step 5: Customize Toolbars
- As you use Word, keep track of your habits. Any repetitive habit can probably be shortcutted by customizing a toolbar, menu or keyboard option.
- Click on the View drop-down menu in the toolbar.
- Click on Toolbars.
- Verify than the Standard and Formatting toolbars are checked. These are the most frequently used toolbars.

- In older versions of Word, scroll down the Toolbars list and click Customize. Click on the Command tab. From the Command menu you can add any commands you want to the toolbar.
- By clicking on the Keyboard button located at the bottom of the Command menu, you can also customize a keyboard shortcut.
- In new versions of Word, you will access your toolbar and keyboard customization options by clicking on the Tools drop-down menu in the toolbar. Then, click Customize and choose whether you want to customize your toolbar or keyboard.
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Step 7: Customize Headers and Footers
- All of your Word toolbars are customizable including the Header and Footer toolbar.
- To access your Header and Footer toolbar, click on View.
- Click on Header and Footer.
- The buttons you'll see from left to right include: AutoText, Insert page number, Insert number of pages, Format page number, Insert date, Insert time, Different first page, Different odd and even pages and then a succession of alignment buttons that will differ depending on which version of Word you are using.
- The buttons you'll see from left to right include: AutoText, Insert page number, Insert number of pages, Format page number, Insert date, Insert time, Different first page, Different odd and even pages and then a succession of alignment buttons that will differ depending on which version of Word you are using.
- To rearrange or delete any of these icons, click on the black arrowhead drop-down menu.
- Click on Add or Remove Buttons.
- Click on Customize.
- Choose which buttons you'd like to switch, add or remove.
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Step 8: Format Document
- Depending on which version of Word you are using, you will access your formatting commands by clicking on the Standard toolbar's "open book" icon, accessing the Document menu from the toolbar or clicking on Page Setup, which is listed under the toolbar's File drop-down menu.
- Under the Margins tab, you'll see that you can set your top, bottom, left, right and gutter margins. The default for your left and right margin is 1.25 inches. This is a hold-over from the days of typewriters. Nowadays, margins are commonly set to 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch.
- If you are using a header or a footer, be sure to leave space for them. Depending upon typeface and size, usually three-quarters of an inch will work.
- If you are creating a newsletter or book, your inside or gutter margin needs to be twice the size of the outer margin. If you have facing pages, double the inside margin.
- To use the same margins in future documents, click on the Default button in the lower lefthand side of the box.
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Step 9: Project Gallery
- A template is a blank document with built-in formatting, such as margins, typeface, type style, layout, etc.
- If you want to access or modify a preexisting template, you can access them in newer versions of Word via the Project Gallery. In older versions of Word, you will be given a choice of templates every time you create a new document by clicking on the File drop-down menu and selecting New.
- To a access the Project Gallery:
- Click on the File drop-down menu of the toolbar.
- Choose Project Gallery.
- Click on the arrowhead next to Business Forms.
- Click on Business Cards to see built-in Templates.
- You can use one of these templates to create business cards or customize one of your own by selecting Create New Template or by saving a document as a template by choosing Template from the Save As drop-down of the Save As menu box.
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Resources for How to Customize Word
- Microsoft Office Specialist: Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
- Microsoft Most Valuable Professional: Word MVP
- Internet4Classrooms: MS Word Tutorials
- About.com: Customize Microsoft Word
- eHow: How to Customize Microsoft Word
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Word Tips: Customize Your Workspace – WorkAwesome
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Customizing Microsoft Office Word 2007 can save you some valuable time and can also make your word processing tasks much easier. This article will offer you ten tips on how you can tweak Microsoft Office Word 2007. ...factoidz.com (November 05, 2009)
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View All How to Customize Microsoft Word Questions (2083) | Ask a QuestionWhat is a good replacement for Microsoft Word? (8 Answers)Yes,  Sun Microsystems Open Office replaces the entire microsoft offic3 suite and it is free. See http://download.openoffice.org/  read moreHow can I backup my information (including my custom words) on my BlackBerry Bold? (4 Answers)Sounds like it could be a third-party app conflict. Do a full reset by removing the battery for a few minutes and closing all other apps. Then give it a ... read moreMicrosoft won't be able to sell Word anymore. Your thoughts? (4 Answers)Word is still part of Office suite. They can ban the individual sale Word easily and meet the courts demand within 60 days. Microsoft would be forced to pull out ... read moreiWork vs Microsoft Office. Who wins? (4 Answers)Who wins? Microsoft Office -- because its what every business uses, and for an office suite standardization is more important than anything else. I made the switch last september to ... read more
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