How to format word document

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Has this ever happened to you? You’re plugging along on a Microsoft Word document only to freeze because you can’t recall how to do a relatively simple formatting function. I think it’s happened to all of us at one point or another and I hope the following will be your go-to resource whenever an instance like that takes place. (Bookmark the link so you can easily find it whenever a brain freeze occurs!)

My goal is not to cover all Microsoft Word formatting capabilities, just the basic ones that can increase your efficiency greatly. If you need more information or other guidance, look to the ‘HELP’ feature within the software itself.

How do I capitalize (or uncapitalize) text in microsoft Word?  

You can change the capitalization, or case, of selected text in a document by clicking a single button on the Home tab called Change Case.

To change capitalization (or case) in Word, follow these steps:

1. Select the text for which you want to change the case.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Change Case button. 
3. Then choose one of the following:
4. To capitalize the first letter of a sentence and leave all other letters as lowercase, click Sentence case.
5. To exclude capital letters from your text, click lowercase.
6. To capitalize all of the letters, click UPPERCASE.
7. To capitalize the first letter of each word and leave the other letters lowercase, click Capitalize Each Word.
8. To shift between two case views (for example, to shift between Capitalize Each Word and the opposite, cAPITALIZE eACH wORD), click tOGGLE cASE.

To apply small capital (Small Caps) to your text:

• Select the text, and then on the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher (the arrow in the lower-right corner). In the Font dialog box, under Effects, select the Small Caps checkbox. 

To use a keyboard shortcut to change between lowercase, UPPERCASE, and Capitalize Each Word:

• Select the text and press SHIFT + F3 until the case you want is applied.

How do I add text effects in a Word document?

Besides WordArt and color fills and outlines, you can change the look of your text by adding effects, such as shadows, reflections, or glows.

To add text effects in Word, do the following:

1. Select the text to which you want to add an effect.
2. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Text Effect button.
3. Point to the effect that you want (Shadow, Reflection, or Glow) and then when more choices appear click the effect that you want to add.

NOTE: To remove an effect, click the Clear Formatting button (eraser) on the Home tab in the Font group.

How do I change or set the default font in microsoft word? 

The default font for new documents in Word 2016 is Calibri, 11 point but you can change/set it to your preference.

NOTE: When you set a default font, every new document you open will use the font settings that you selected and set as the default. The default font applies to new documents based on the active template, usually Normal.dotm.

To change/set the default in Word, follow these steps:

1. Start with a blank document, or if your document already contains text formatted with the properties that you want to use, select that text.
2. On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Font tab. 
3. Select the options that you want to apply to the default font, such as font style and font size. NOTE: If you selected text in step 1, the properties of the selected text are already set in the dialog box. 
4. Click Set As Default, and set the scope of your changes:
   1. This document only: (if you want your changes to apply to only the current document)
   2. Select all documents based on the Normal template: (if you want your changes to apply to any document based on the Normal template) 
5. Click OK to apply your changes.

How do I format paragraphs in word?

To change spacing between paragraphs in Word, do this:

1. Click Design, then Paragraph Spacing.
2. Pick which spacing you want (the default is Open) and notice your whole document will preview as you mouse over the different settings.
3. If you do not like those options, click Custom Paragraph Spacing and change the numbers under Paragraph Spacing. 

To change the spacing in only part of a document:

• Click anywhere in the paragraph you want to change.
• Go to Page Layout and under Spacing, click the up or down arrows to adjust the distance before or after the paragraph. You can also type a number directly. 

To format a Word document with columns, follow these steps: 

1. Select the text you want formatted in columns.
2. On the Layout tab, click Columns.
3. Click More Columns. 
4. Click the number of columns that you want.
5. Optional: To add a vertical line between the columns, select the Line Between checkbox. You can also adjust the column width and spacing.
6. In the Apply to list, click Whole Document, Selected Text or This Point Forward. 

To control how text flows between columns:

• Insert a column break. For example, to end a paragraph in one column and start a new paragraph at the top of the next column. 

To Stop Using Columns:

• On the Layout tab, click Columns and then click One to return to one-column format. NOTE: You may need to insert a section break if you want two-columns in one section of your document and one-column formatting in another section of the document.

To add leaders between tab stops in Word, do this:

Leaders are those special characters—dots, dashes, underlines—that create a visual link between tab stops. Most often, you see leaders in a table of contents or an index.

NOTE: If you want to use tab stops and leaders to format a Table of Contents, consider using Word to create one automatically.

1. Type the text that you want to appear before the leader.
2. On the horizontal ruler, set the tab stop where you want (just click on the ruler), and then double-click it.
3. In the Tabs dialog box under Leader, choose none, dots, dashes, or underline to set a series of characters. 
4. Click OK, and then press Tab on your keyboard.
5. Type the text that you want to appear after the leader.

If you’d like to dive deeper into the formatting tools of Microsoft Word, and other applications within the Microsoft Office Suite, sign up for a one-day training class at Centriq.

View Centriq’s Microsoft Office Training Classes

Get specific information by speaking with a Training Advisor by email, by phone at 913.322.7062 and 314.644.6400, or by completing the following form.

Whether you’re a one-person business operating out of your kitchen, or a billion-dollar company on Wall Street, the expectation is the same. Your business documents must be the paragon of professionalism and competence.

This expectation shouldn’t be a cause for worry. With applications like Microsoft Word you can create professional-looking documents with your own computer. Through the years, Word has become more powerful, yet more intuitive. Anyone with basic computer skills can use Word to create well-designed documents. 

In this article, you’ll learn how to format text in Word to make your business documents easier to read and understand. You’ll also pick up tips on how to make sure your formatting doesn’t look amateurish—even if you’re getting started with Word.  

Formatting Text in Word

Formatting text in Microsoft Word refers to controlling how text appears in your document. This includes the size, color, and font of the text. It also covers text alignment, spacing, and letter case.  

Microsoft Word styles make it easy to change and apply styles throughout a document. A “style” is a set of formatting settings applied to a specific kind of text. 

For example, you can set up a style for headings that’s bold, 14 points, aligned left, and uses the Tahoma font. This means all text in your document with the heading style will be formatted the same way. You don’t have to manually format each heading in your document.

In this post, you’ll see how to use MS Word styles.

How to Format Text in Word

To show you how to format text in Word, we’ll walk through formatting a completely unformatted business document file. 

This is what my marketing report looks like without any formatting in Word:

As you can see, it’s plain and boring. Nobody would be inspired to read it, let alone act on the findings of the report!

Some basic Word text formatting can fix that. 

1. How to Apply Typographic Emphasis

1. For starters, let’s use typographic emphasis (bold, italic, underline) to make the report title stand out.

To do this, select the text you want to emphasize. Click on the bold button on the Microsoft Word ribbon. 

Note that the ribbon also has the buttons to apply italic, underline, strikethrough, and other formatting effects for text. Follow the same steps to apply those effects.

2. Now, let’s change the font, font size, and color of the title.

Again, select the text. Click the drop-down arrow on the font section of the ribbon, then select the font you want to apply. In this case, I’m using Arial bold.

3. To change the font size, highlight the text. Click the drop-down arrow on the font size indicator on the ribbon. Click on the font size of your choice.

Or, after highlighting the text, you can type the font size into the font size indicator on the ribbon. This is especially useful when the font size you want isn’t available in the font size selector.

4. You can also use the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons on the ribbon to quickly change the font size.

5. We can easily change the font color as well.

Highlight the text, then click the down arrow beside the Font Color selector. Click on the color of your choice.

Choose More Colors… if you wish to apply a custom color.

2. How to Change Capitalization in Word

Microsoft Word also allows you to easily and quickly change the capitalization of your text. For example, if we want to make the title all uppercase, we don’t have to retype it.

Highlight the title, then click the Change Case button on the ribbon.

Or, highlight the text, go to Format > Change Case…

… then click on the radio button for the case you want to apply. Click OK.

Now the title is looking much better. It’s the most prominent part of the document and commands the reader’s attention. However, we can still improve its readability.

3. How to Format Paragraphs

One way to make your document easier to read is by increasing white space around lines and paragraphs. 

1. To adjust the line spacing, select the text. Click on the arrow on the Line and Paragraph Spacing button. Select the line spacing you wish to apply.

2. To change the spacing around a paragraph, select the paragraph. Click on the arrow on the Line and Paragraph Spacing button > Line Spacing Options…. Then, type the amount of spacing before and after the paragraph. (Tip: You can adjust other settings from this dialog box as well.)

For the title, I’ll add a generous amount of space after the paragraph, to set it apart from the rest of the document.

3. Finally, let’s change the alignment of the title. Select the text, click on either the Align Left, Center Text, Align Right, or Justify button on the ribbon. Since this is a title, let’s use Center Text.

These simple formatting effects make the title stand out from the rest of the document.

4. How to Work With MS Word Styles

As much as Word makes it easy to format text, if you need to apply formatting effects on the entire document, the process becomes tedious.

Word solves that through styles. MS Word Styles allow you to define a set of formatting commands and apply them automatically to every item in the document with that style. 

Let’s look at a specific example:

1. How to Modify a Paragraph Style

Let’s follow the steps above to define a style for the main headings of the report with the following characteristics:

• Font: Arial
• Size: 14 points
• Color: Blue-grey 
• Typographic Emphasis: Bold
• Case: Capitalize each word
• Alignment: Left
• Line spacing: Single 
• Paragraph spacing: 6 pts before paragraph, 0 pts after paragraph

It would look like this:

One way to apply this exact formatting on every main heading is to modify the existing Heading 1 style in our document. Place your cursor anywhere in the main heading. Go to Styles, right-click on Heading 1, then choose Update Heading 1 to Match Selection.

You can also modify any style by going to Format > Style…. The Style dialog box opens. 

Select the style you want to modify from the Style list. This gives you a preview of the paragraph and character, as well as a description of the current style settings of the selected style.

Click Modify…. The Modify Style dialog box pops up.

Change the text and paragraph format settings. You can control the font, font size, font color, typographic emphasis, alignment, and spacing. When you’re done, click OK.

2. How to Apply a Paragraph Style

Now, go to each main heading in the document and apply the Heading 1 style to it. Place the cursor on a heading, go to Styles > Heading 1.

The selected text instantly takes on the formatting of Heading 1. 

3. How to Create a List Paragraph Style

You can also create a new paragraph style from scratch, instead of modifying an existing one. To demonstrate, let’s create a list-type paragraph style.

1. Go to Format > Style…. Fill in the Properties section of the dialog box that opens. For Style based on, you may wish to use one of the pre-existing list styles as a starting point.

2. Next, change the formatting options. The box below gives you a preview of what the list paragraph would look like with those settings. There’s also a summary of the formatting properties you’ve specified.

You also have the option to do the following for this style:

• Add to template. Adds the style you’re creating to the document template.
• Add to Quick Style list. Shows the new style to the Quick Style list, making it quickly accessible from the ribbon.
• Automatically update. Automatically updates the style when you manually format a paragraph with that style. 

When you’re happy with the settings you’ve made, click OK. Notice how the new Bullet style you created is now included in the Quick Style popup.

Once the bullet style is applied, our list now looks like this:

4. How to Use Character Styles in Microsoft Word

You can also define a style to an individual word or a block of text, rather than a paragraph. In the next example, I’d like to apply a character style for every URL in the document.

1. Select the text. Then, go to Format > Styles…. From the Style dialog, click New…. The Create New Style from Formatting dialog opens. 

2. Give the new character style a name. For Style type, choose Character. Then, make the formatting settings you want to apply to this character. Note that you can’t change alignment and spacing for a character style. The preview box shows you a sneak peek of the text based on the settings you specified.

3. When you’re done, click OK.

To apply the character style, place your cursor in a word or select a set of words. Go to Format > Style…. Find the character style you wish to apply. Click Apply.

Tip: To quickly find the MS Word styles you’ve created, for List, choose User-defined styles.

5. How to Use Table Styles in Word

We can also define a table style to provide a consistent look to the tables in our document. 

1. Create the table. Go to Insert > Table…, then indicate the number of columns and rows you need in your table (you can always add or remove these later). Click OK.

2. Add your text to the table. If necessary, click and drag any of the borderlines to adjust the width or a column, or the height of a row.

3. To apply a table style, click anywhere on the table, then go to Table Design. The Table Design ribbon appears.

4. Click on the down-arrow for table styles to display the table styles gallery. 

5. Click on any style to apply it to your table.

Expand the table styles gallery again to change the existing style, clear the style you applied, or create your own table style.

Discover Great Microsoft Word Templates for 2020

Some experts say it’s a good idea to set up your formatting styles in Word first before typing or copying the text into the document. One quick way to do this is by starting with a Microsoft Word template. Templates come pre-formatted by professional designers to look current and impressive.

You can find thousands of Word templates for all kinds of business documents in Envato Elements. 

For a small monthly subscription fee, you get unlimited downloads of all the templates at Elements. You also have unlimited access to everything else in the Elements catalog: 

• presentation templates
• web templates
• fonts
• photos
• graphics
• other digital assets 

Use as many of these assets as you want, as often as you want, without paying more. This makes Elements a terrific source for all the creative assets you need to create remarkable marketing and communication materials.

You can also pay as you go at GraphicRiver. This marketplace also offers a huge library of templates for Microsoft Word and other digital assets for all your marketing and communication needs. The difference is, you only pay each time you use an item. This can be a very economical option.

Below are some of the best print templates for Word available on Envato Elements and GraphicRiver:

After downloading any of these Microsoft Word templates, you can apply what you’ve learned about formatting text in Word. This way, you can personalize the template so that it aligns with your visual branding and preferences. You now know how to take any Word template and make it your own!

5 Top FAQs on Formatting Text in Microsoft Word

Below are some of the questions that come up as people format text in Word.

1. How Do You Make a Word Document Easier for the Reader to Scan?

Your primary goal when formatting text in Word is to make it easy for people to scan, read, and understand the content of the document. The different formatting options in Word help you achieve this:

• Use typographic emphasis like bold, italics, and underline to emphasize specific text and add variety to your document. 
• Break up the document into sections with headings and sub-headings to help the reader scan and navigate their way through it.
• Use either bulleted or numbered lists where appropriate to shorten paragraphs and make lists easier to comprehend.
• Set up line and paragraph spacing so that there’s plenty of white spaces throughout the document.

2. How Many Fonts Should I Use in a Word Document? 

It’s easy—and fun—to apply different fonts in Word. Too easy, in fact, that you could end up overwhelming your reader and making your document look like someone played with the formatting. 

Avoid this by sticking to a maximum of two different fonts in a single document. For instance, you could choose a sans serif font for your title and headings, and a serif font for all other text. You could even use one font for the entire document, relying on typographical emphasis and color to distinguish different types of text from each other.

3. Why Should I Use Microsoft Word Text Styles?

Use Microsoft Word text styles because they let you apply formatting settings globally throughout your document. This is important in long documents, where formatting each line or paragraph is too onerous. With text styles, you only need to determine what style you want for each piece of text. Word will do the rest.

4. How Can I Make My Document Formatting Consistent?

Using MS Word styles, as you’ve learned in this article, is an easy way to make your document formatting consistent. You decide and set how you want each type of text to be formatted. Then you can apply those styles consistently through your entire document.

Beyond Microsoft Word styles, also make sure that the recurring parts of your document are consistent as well. These include your headers and footers, for example. You must also be consistent with the placement of images: Do they have borders? Are they always within the document’s margins or do they bleed to the edge of the page?

When you use a Word template, these design decisions are already made for you. So, if you want a consistent design without all the hard work, then starting with a template for Word is the way to go.

5. How do You Copy text into Word without also copying junk code?

When you copy text from one application and paste it into Word, you run the risk of also copying the underlying formatting code for it. This code or set of formatting commands is invisible so you won’t know you’re copying it inadvertently. This can mess up your formatting in Word. Soon, you’ll be pulling your hair wondering why Word won’t “follow” your commands.

To avoid this grief, make sure you strip all formatting when you copy and paste the text into Word. Here’s how: Copy the text. In Word, click Edit > Paste and Match Style.

That’s all there is to it!

Using Microsoft Word, Style Your Business Document for Maximum Impact

You’ve learned how to format a document in Word to make it easier to scan and read. Good formatting is also essential to make sure the final document represents you and your business in a favorable light.

You’ve seen how doable formatting is, even if you’re starting from scratch with completely unformatted text. You’ve also discovered that you can rely on professional designers to make the formatting decisions for you by starting with a template for Word.

For unlimited downloads of print templates for Word at a fixed subscription fee, look to Envato Elements. Here, you can also have your fill of fonts, icons, photos, and other design assets you’ll need without having to pay more. Or, get your premium Word templates from GraphicRiver on a pay-per-use basis. You also get a wide range of choices without having to commit to a subscription.

With Microsoft Word styles and formatting tools, there’s no more excuse to have poorly designed business documents. Make your next business document one you’ll be proud of.

Мы уже неоднократно писали об инструментах для работы с текстом в MS Word, о тонкостях его оформления, изменения и редактирования. О каждой из этих функций мы рассказывали в отдельных статьях, вот только для того, чтобы сделать текст более привлекательным, удобным для чтения, понадобится большинство из них, причем, выполненных в правильном порядке.

Урок: Как добавить новый шрифт в Ворд

Именно о том, как правильно выполнить форматирование текста в документе Microsoft Word и пойдет речь в данной статье.

Выбор шрифта и типа написания текста

О том, как изменять шрифты в Ворде мы уже писали. Вероятнее всего, вы изначально набирали текст в понравившемся шрифте, выбрав подходящий размер. Более подробно о том, как работать со шрифтами, вы можете узнать в нашей статье.

Урок: Как изменить шрифт в Word

Выбрав подходящий шрифт для основного текста (заголовки и подзаголовки пока что не торопитесь изменять), пройдитесь по всему тексту. Возможно, некоторые есть фрагменты нужно выделить курсивом или полужирным шрифтом, что-то нужно подчеркнуть. Вот пример того, как может выглядеть статья на нашем сайте.

Урок: Как подчеркнуть текст в Ворде

Выделение заголовка

С вероятностью в 99,9% у статьи, которую вы хотите отформатировать, есть заголовок, и, скорее всего, подзаголовки в ней тоже имеются. Конечно же, их нужно отделить от основного текста. Сделать это можно с помощью встроенных стилей Word, а более подробно с тем, как работать с этими инструментами, вы можете ознакомиться в нашей статье.

Урок: Как сделать заголовок в Ворде

Если вы используете последнюю версию MS Word, дополнительные стили для оформления документа вы можете найти во вкладке “Дизайн” в группе с говорящим названием “Форматирование текста”.

Выравнивание текста

По умолчанию текст в документе выравнивается по левому краю. Однако, если это необходимо, вы можете изменить выравнивание всего текста или отдельно выделенного фрагмента так, как вам это необходимо, выбрав один из подходящих вариантов:

Урок: Как выровнять текст в Ворде

Инструкция, представленная на нашем сайте, поможет вам правильно расположить текст на страницах документа. Выделенные красным прямоугольником фрагменты текста на скриншоте и связанные с ними стрелки показывают, какой стиль выравнивания выбран для данных частей документа. Остальное содержимое файла выровнено по стандарту, то есть, по левому краю.

Изменение интервалов

Расстояние между строчками в MS Word по умолчанию составляет 1,15, однако, его всегда можно изменить на большее или меньшее (шаблонное), а также вручную задать любое подходящее значение. Более подробную инструкцию касательно того, как работать с интервалами, изменять и настраивать их вы найдете в нашей статье.

Урок: Как изменить межстрочный интервал в Ворде

Помимо интервала между строками, в Word также можно изменить и расстояние между абзацами, причем, как до них, так и после. Опять-таки, вы можете выбрать шаблонное значение, которое вас устраивает, или задать собственное вручную.

Урок: Как изменить интервал между абзацами в Ворде

Примечание: Если заголовок и подзаголовки, которые имеются в вашем текстовом документе, оформлены с помощью одного из встроенных стилей, интервал определенного размера между ними и следующими абзацами задается автоматически, а зависит он от выбранного стиля оформления.

Добавление маркированных и нумерованных списков

Если в вашем документе содержатся списки, незачем нумеровать или уж тем более маркировать их вручную. В Microsoft Word для этих целей предусмотрены специальных инструменты. Они, как и средства для работы с интервалами, расположены в группе “Абзац”, вкладка “Главная”.

1. Выделите фрагмент текста, который необходимо преобразовать в маркированный или нумерованный список.

2. Нажмите одну из кнопок (“Маркеры” или “Нумерация”) на панели управления в группе “Абзац”.

3. Выделенный фрагмент текста преобразуется в красивый маркированный или нумерованный список, в зависимости от того, какой из инструментов вы выбрали.

Совет: Если развернуть меню кнопок, отвечающих за списки (для этого нужно нажать на небольшую стрелочку справа от значка), вы можете увидеть дополнительные стили оформления списков.

Урок: Как в Ворде сделать список в алфавитном порядке

Дополнительные операции

В большинстве случаев того, что мы уже описали в данной статье и остальном материале по теме форматирования текста более, чем достаточно для оформления документов на должном уровне. Если же вам этого будет мало, либо же вы просто пожелаете внести какие-то дополнительные изменения, коррективы и т. д. в документ, с большой вероятность, вам будут очень полезны следующие статьи:

Уроки по работе с Microsoft Word:
Как сделать отступы
Как сделать титульный лист
Как пронумеровать страницы
Как сделать красную строку
Как сделать автоматическое содержание
Табуляция

Совет: Если во время оформления документа, при выполнении той или иной операции по его форматированию, вы допустили ошибку, ее всегда можно исправить, то есть, отменить. Для этого просто нажмите на закругленную стрелку (направленную влево), расположенную возле кнопки “Сохранить”. Также, для отмены любого действия в Ворде, будь то форматирование текста или любая другая операция, можно использовать комбинацию клавиш “CTRL+Z”.

Урок: Горячие клавиши в Word

На этом мы смело можем закончить. Теперь вы точно знаете, как отформатировать текст в Ворде, сделав его не просто привлекательным, а хорошо читабельным, оформленным в соответствии с выдвигаемыми требованиями.

Published: 2012-10-05

Browse All Articles > How to format your Word document

Introduction

This tutorial provides instructions on how to properly format your Word document using the inbuilt tools provided.

The benefits of using these tools means your documents are more accessible and easily portable to other applications and formats.

Where to start?

I always recommend the best way to write a document in Word is simply  content and ignore the urge to style the document until you have entered all the content and are ready to format. I understand that some people find it hard to work this way as the document appears to lack structure and makes it difficult to know where you are. In that case I recommend you begin your document by typing out all the headings before adding any content; this gives the document structure and will also help you plan your document.

Using this method, type in your headings such as ‘Introduction’, ‘Requirements’, ‘Conclusion’ etc and convert each one to Heading 1 by putting the cursor anywhere in the word and pressing the key combination Ctrl+Alt+1.

If you wish to add sub headings to each section repeat the process but this time the key combination will be Ctrl+Alt+2.

Paragraphs and spacing and page breaks

When you’re ready to start adding the body text, simply type the way you would if you were using a Word processor (if you’re old enough to know what that is). What I mean by this is resist the urge to do anything more than type and then press ‘enter’ at the end of each paragraph. I find a lot of documents I receive have double spaces because the author pressed ‘enter’ twice. I also find documents where the author has pressed ‘enter’ multiple times tocontinue on a new page(you know who you are). These methods are wrong and should be avoided because your document would look different from pc to pc.

Paragraphs and spacing

Once you have finished typing your paragraphs, you can adjust the space before and after each paragraph by placing the cursor anywhere in the paragraph, right-clicking in the paragraph and in the context menu choosing  ‘paragraph’ then in the dialog box that opens you can choose how much space you want before and after each paragraph. 12pt would normally give you a double space after your paragraph.

Page breaks

To continue on a new page the correct way would be to place the cursor where you want the section tend then go to the menu under ‘insert’ and choose ‘page break’ . You can then choose whether to have the new page as a new section or simply to make it a page break. Creating new sections is useful if you might want to have different layouts within your document or different headers and footers.

Styles and formatting

Once you have created your headings, sub headings, created desired spacing between your paragraphs and decided your page breaks, you can save your preferences by using the styles and formatiing pane. This allows you to determine everything about your headings and paragraphs from what typeface, colour and size they will be to what spacing to apply before and after them.

I tend to include my page breaks in the formatting for my Heading 1 format so that a new heading starts on a new page without having to manually insert a page break every time. Another helpful tool is the Widow/orphan control which will keep your headings and a certain number of lines together so you don’t have that annoying thing of a heading at the bottom of a page and the text that comes after it on the next page.

Creating a table of Contents

One of the advantages of using the inbuilt formatting tools for creating headings is that it automatically creates bookmarks which can be used for useful things like an automatic table of contents.

To create your table of contents, place the cursor where you would like the table to be and go to the ‘References’ tab and click on the ‘Table of Contents’ icon. Towards the bottom of the drop down that appears you will see ‘Insert Table of Contents…’, click on this and a dialog box will open.

The dialog will give you the option to add a number of levels to your table with three being the default. If you only want your heading 1 level to appear in the contents, change ‘Show levels’ to 1. You can play around with the other options in the dialog to change formatting etc or just leave the defaults in place.

Click OK and your table of contents will be created for you. The advantage to working in this way means that every time you update the table, it will display the correct location of that chapter and the current spelling you have used. It also acts as a bookmark which will allow you to jump straight to the page by clicking (or Ctrl clicking) on the entry in the table.

Conclusion

Formatting your document this way increases the accessibility of the document and makes it easier for others to use your document and export it to different formats such as PDF, XML or HTML. In addition to that you can make DAISY files which are audio files created from Word documents for people who use audio to read documents.

I hope you find this article interesting and that it helps you in your work or study.

Microsoft Word is packed with so many features that you can produce pretty much whatever you want with it. But these features don’t always result in the kind of beautiful, high-quality, and professional document designs that you may expect.

It’s one thing to know everything about Microsoft Word, all of its intricacies and quirks and functions—it’s something else entirely to know what makes a great document. Here, we’ll show you how to format a Word document to make it look professional.

1. Keep It Simple, Less Is More

Want to know how to make a Word document look good? Just keep it simple, and take advantage of the hidden features that Microsoft Word comes with. If you remember one thing from this article, let it be this, and you’ll be able to make the right design decisions in the future!

When writing a document, the content should be the main focus. Document formatting guidelines exist to make that content easier to read and digest.

Eliminate the temptation to introduce eye-catching elements that only serve to distract. Maximize whitespace. Keep your wording tight and revise any wordy sentences or paragraphs. Simple and minimal rules overall.

2. Choose a Context-Appropriate Typeface

Your first big design decision should be which typeface you’re going to use. Traditional knowledge says that serif fonts are easier to read in printed documents, whereas sans-serif fonts are better on the eyes when read on a digital screen.

Good examples of serif fonts include Garamond, Georgia, Hoefler Text, and Palatino, while good examples of sans-serif fonts include Arial, Gill Sans, Helvetica, and Lucida Sans.

Skip Comic Sans if you want to avoid one of the most common presentation design mistakes. And whatever you end up using, stick to the same typeface throughout to make your Word document professional. If desired, you can use a different typeface for headings.

3. Use Standard Font Size and Color

You can’t learn how to format a word document to look professional without paying attention to the look of the text. Business and academic papers generally use 12-point font sizes, which produce the most readable paragraphs when used in combination with the guidelines discussed below for page size, margins, and line spacing.

Some information-dense reports may sometimes go down to 10-point font size, but never less than that.

In general, it’s best to keep your hands off of anything related to colors, especially for printed documents. You’ll have to pay more for the color ink, and it won’t carry over if the document ever gets copied. For digital documents, reserve colored text for critical warnings and the like. Prefer to emphasize using bolded and italic text.

4. Use Standard Page Size and Margins

Nearly all office documents are formatted to the same page size as they are printed for standard 8½» x 11″ pages, known as US Letter size (also known as A4 elsewhere, which is 210mm x 297mm). This is the only size that’s guaranteed to be available regardless of which printer you use.

As for margins, most style manuals and style guides call for a 1″ margin on all sides of the page, which produces the best readability for line lengths and allows for written annotations if necessary. In Word, you can select Normal under Margins to do so. However, if the document is going to be bound in a binder, you may want to use Custom Margins to increase the side margins to 1½» to accommodate the rings.

5. Align Paragraphs to the Left

You may be tempted to use justified alignment because that’s what’s used in newspapers, novels, and some textbooks, but it’s the wrong choice for office and academic documents. Why is it important to make a document formal? Without formality, your document becomes unreadable.

What you want is left alignment for text. This produces jaggedness on the right side of paragraphs, but it keeps letter spacing as intended by whatever typeface you’re using, and that means optimal legibility.

Otherwise, you may end up with typographic rivers, which are extremely distracting and simply look ugly. This is something you certainly want to avoid when you want to make your Word document look professional.

6. Indent the First Lines of Paragraphs

Paragraphs should have no extra spacing between them, and the first lines of paragraphs should be indented to make each paragraph stand out. The only exception is for paragraphs that directly follow a section heading, which can be left unindented because the surrounding context makes it clear that it’s its own paragraph.

To make a document look professional, a general rule of thumb is to have the indent size the same as the font size. Make sure you use Word’s paragraph styling features to handle the indents rather than using the Tab key!

7. Place Images Between Paragraphs

Inserting images is a part of designing your Word document. It may be okay to place images inside a paragraph and allow the surrounding text to flow around it, and if your organization follows this document formatting guideline, then go ahead and do that.

But generally speaking, it can damage readability, especially in data-driven reports. The safest option, particularly for graphs, charts, and tables, is to put images in between paragraphs and keep them center aligned. That way, your images help to make your document attractive, but they are never vying for attention with the surrounding text. It also helps captions to stand out.

8. Choose Context-Appropriate Line Spacing

To format a document to look professional, the right choice for line spacing (the whitespace that separates a line of text from the next line of text) really depends on what kind of document you’re writing.

Academic papers should first follow any academic style guides in place, then prefer double-spacing if no style guide exists. Business and office documents tend to be single-spaced to minimize the number of pages needed when printing, but digital documents may be easier to read if spaced at somewhere between 120-150 percent.

9. Break Up Text With Headings and Lists

The longer the document, the more important headings become. Would you rather read a 20-page report that’s nothing but a wall of text from end to end? Or a 30-page report that’s organized into proper sections, subsections, and headings? It’s highly likely you’ll prefer the latter.

Lists are also good for breaking up walls of text and drawing eyes to important points. In Word, use Numbering to create numbered lists when counting a set of items (e.g., «the five attributes of a successful entrepreneur») or when providing step-by-step instructions. Otherwise, use Bullets to make bulleted lists.

Just be sure to avoid overusing lists, which detracts readability from your Word document design. This is especially important when it comes to using Word to format a screenplay.

10. Separate Sections With Breaks

When you want to learn how to make your report look professional, you need to get acquainted with section breaks. In Microsoft Word, section breaks allow you to differentiate certain pages with changes in orientation, columns, headers, footers, page numbers, and more. Section breaks come in four forms:

• Next Page: Start the next section on the following page.
• Continuous: Start the next section on the current page.
• Even Page: Start the next section on the next even page.
• Odd Page: Start the next section on the next even page.

If your document is large enough to need chapters, this is the best way to format them in a clean way. Each chapter should be made with a Next Page section break, or the Even Page or Odd Page section breaks if you’re going to place it within a binder. We’ve shown how to remove page breaks if needed, too.

Learn How to Format a Word Document to Look Professional

Unless your organization or school requires a specific layout and format, you can skip the hard work of setting up your own template and just download one instead. This helps you quickly achieve a professional document design.