How to use word easy

As part of the Microsoft Office Suite, MS Word is one of the most popular office productivity tools in the world.

In this guide, you’ll learn the basics of how to use Microsoft’s word processing software. Whether you’re just getting started with Word or have years of experience, you’ll find this guide helpful.

With Microsoft Word, you’ll be creating useful business documents in no time. Also, many other file formats can be converted to MS Word (.doc) format. And Word documents can be saved as .pdf files.

How to Use Microsoft Word to Create Professional Business Documents

One of the best and easiest ways to create an effective business document with Word is to use a template. There are hundreds of professional Word templates you can use available through Envato Elements and GraphicRiver. Here are just some of them:

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  25 Microsoft MS Word Business Proposal Templates to Make Deals in 2022

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  25 Free Creative Resume Templates (Word & PSD Downloads for 2022)

  

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  20 Best Free Microsoft Word Resume CV Cover Letter Templates 2022

  

How to Use This Tutorial Guide

Learn how to work with Word’s tools to make great business documents quickly. We’ll explore everything from formatting basic text styles to making awesome page layout designs to using headers and footers.

Note: Be sure to bookmark this Microsoft Word tutorial guide to start working through each tutorial at your own pace.

Learn how to create, navigate, and format a document in Microsoft Word.

If you’re new to MS Word or have just typed the occasional letter or short paper, you may be surprised at how much more it can do.

Word has hundreds of settings and tools to help you make professional-looking documents and use them for personal purposes.

Learning Microsoft Word like a pro will help you save time, increase productivity, and make your work and life easier, like comparing Word documents to know the differences.

You can download and use Microsoft Word for free if you only need to use basic features. There is also a version of Word for free on Mac.

RELATED: How To Get Microsoft Word For Free On Mac

How to Use Microsoft Word Step-by-Step

Here’s how to use Microsoft Word step by step.

Part 1: Creating a Basic Document

1. Open the Microsoft Word application: Double-click the Microsoft Word icon to open it.

2. Review the available templates: You’ll notice several templates of interest at the top of the screen:

• Blank document – A blank Word document with the standard formatting.
• Welcome to Word – Take a tour of Word using this template to learn and do the basics.
• Creative Resume/Cover Letter – A neat, pre-formatted resume (and cover letter) document.
• Student Report with Cover Photo – A document format aimed at an academic audience.
• Fax Cover Sheet – A document used to preface fax reports.
• Cards – Premade templates to create postcards.
• You can also use the search bar on the Home screen to look for specific templates online from within Word.

3. Choose a template: It will open the template in Word with whatever pre-determined formatting it has. Now that your document is open, you can review your Toolbar options.

• When in doubt, start with a blank document.

RELATED: How to Download and use Microsoft Word for Free

Part 2: Navigating the Microsoft Word Toolbar

1. Click the File tab: It’s in the upper left corner of the screen (or in the menu bar for Mac users). On the left side of your screen, you have several valuable options:

• New – Click this to open the “New Document” page, which contains a list of all the pre-formatted templates. When you open a new document, it will prompt you to save your previous one.
• Open – See a list of recently opened or pinned documents. You can also search in a specific directory (for example, “This PC“).
• Info (PC only) – Click this to review the document’s statistics, such as when it was last modified or created and any potential issues like Spelling errors, etc.
• Save – To save your document, click Save. If you’ve saved this document the first time, you’ll see a prompt to enter a name, save location, and preferred file format.
• Save As – Click this option to save your document “as” something (e.g., save under a different name or file format). You can also use this option to save a Word document to a pdf file.
• Print – Click this option to access your printer settings to print a Word document.
• Share – Click this tab to see the document’s sharing options, including email and cloud options.
• Export – Click this to create a PDF, create a PDF/XPS document, or change the file type quickly.
• Transform – Click this to transform your document to a Microsoft Sway web page.
• Close – Click this option to close your document (you’ll see a prompt asking to Save or Don’t Save your document’s content).

RELATED: How to Save or Export a Word Document As a PDF

2. Click ← in the top left corner of your screen. You won’t have this option on a Mac; click your document to exit the “File” menu.

3. Review the Home tab to see your formatting options. At the top of your document screen–from left to right–you’ll see six sub-sections of this tab:

• Clipboard – Text is saved on your clipboard whenever you copy it. By selecting the Clipboard option, you can view copied text.
• Font – You can change text case, font style, size, color, formatting (e.g., bold or italic), effects, and highlighting from this section.
• Paragraph – This section allows you to change aspects of your paragraph formatting, such as line spacing, alignment, indentation, and bullet formatting.
• Styles – This section discusses various text types for different situations (e.g., headings, titles, and subtitles). You’ll also notice the famous “No Spacing” option, which eliminates extra spaces between lines of text.
• Editing – Here, you’ll find frequently used tools, such as “Find and Replace,” which quickly allows you to replace all appearances of one Word with another. You can also use the Select option to select objects or text in your document.
• Dictate (Voice) – This Office Dictation option allows you to use speech-to-text to create drafts or outlines, capture notes, and get your thoughts out. Click the Dictate button and wait for it to turn on. Start speaking to see text appear on the Word document.

4. Click the Insert tab to review the media types you can place in your document. It is to the right of the Home tab. Use the Insert tab to add graphics, pictures, comments, and page numbers to your documents. Among the notable options, from left to right, are the following:

• Table – By selecting this option, you can create an Excel-style table directly within your document.
• Pictures – Insert an image into your document using this feature.
• Shapes – Insert readymade Shapes using this feature.
• Comment – Add a note in your document using this feature.
• Header, Footer, and Page Number – These options are required when writing in MLA or APA format. The Header adds a space at the top of the document for comments, while the Footer adds at the bottom—you can customize page numbers.
• Equation/Symbol – These options use special formatting to display simple equations correctly. You can choose these equations or symbols from the relevant drop-down menu.
• Link – Add clickable hyperlinks to take readers or users to webpages or files within or outside your document.

5. Click the Draw tab to create your drawings. It’s to the right of the Insert tab.

• The drawing features in Word can help you add notes, create shapes, edit text, and more. The Draw tab is also available in Excel and PowerPoint.
• The Draw tab provides three drawing textures: pen, pencil, and highlighter, each with a unique look. Click one to select it, and you’re ready to begin drawing.
• If you want to change the color or thickness of the pen, click the drop-down arrow next to it and choose your preference. Click away from the menu to return to your drawing when you’ve finished.
• You can use the Ink to Shape feature to convert your ink drawings to various shapes.

6. Click the Design tab to create your template. It’s to the right of the Draw tab.

• The Design tab displays pre-designed themes and document formatting options at the top of the page.

7. Select the Layout tab to change the formatting of your page. This tab includes options for modifying the following aspects of your document:

• Margins – Set the margin sizes for the entire document using this feature.
• Orientation – Change your page orientation to landscape or portrait.
• Page size – Choose a document size for your page using this option.
• Columns – Number of columns on the page (defaults to one). You can also Add or Remove Columns.
• Breaks – Insert a section break to your page and select where the section starts using this option.
• Hyphenation – Hyphenate a word using this feature.
• Indentation (left or right)
• Spacing (before or after)
• Selection Pane – Select the object to change its order or visibility using this option.

8. Click the References tab to manage your citations. You can also manage your bibliography page from here.

• Click the Bibliography drop-down menu and choose a template for quick bibliography formatting.
• You can change the bibliography formatting from APA to MLA in the “Citations & Bibliography” group of options (or other citation styles).
• You can insert a table of figures from the “Captions” group. It is helpful in scientific review papers or other documents where statistical data is more critical than quotations.
• You can insert Authorities from the “Table of Authorities” group. It allows you to add statutes and other citations to your document.
• You can create a table of contents from the “Table of Contents” group. It allows you to give an overview of your document.

9. Click the Mailings tab to review your document-sharing options. You can check your email settings, start mail merge, select recipients, and share documents from within this section.

• You can also create and print an envelope or label template by selecting it from the “Create” group in the upper left corner of your screen.
• The Start Mail Merge drop-down menu allows sending a document to multiple people. You can also insert different fields, such as Name and Address.
• The Select Recipients drop-down menu lets you choose between Outlook contacts and an existing contact list in Word. Or you can type a new list of recipients.

10. Click the Review tab. Since you can use the Review section for editing, it includes document marking and proofreading options. Among the essential options are:

• Spelling & Grammar (Editor): Select this option (far left corner) to highlight spelling or grammatical mistakes and writing suggestions.
• The “Proofing” section is on the far left side of the Word toolbar. Use the Word Count feature to count the number of characters, Pages, Words, Paragraphs, and Lines in your document.
• The “Changes” section: This section is on the far right side of the toolbar. You can enable the “Track Changes” feature from here, which automatically formats any additions or deletions you make in a document in red print. You can also jump from the Previous to the Next tracked change.
• The “Protect” section: Use Restrict Editing option to prevent formatting changes, track changes, or allow only commenting on the document.

11. Click the Focus Mode to eliminate distractions. It’s in the status bar of your document. Or you can select the View tab at the top to find this feature. It’s to the right of the Review tab.

• It’s for eliminating distractions from your document to improve productivity.
• Press the Esc key on your keyboard to exit focus mode.

12. Decide on the options that best apply to your work. For example, if you’re a student, you’ll almost certainly use the Insert and References tabs. You can format your first Word document now that you’re familiar with the toolbar options.

Part 3: Formatting Your Writing

1. Open a new Blank Document in Word. If you already have a document, you can open it instead.

2. Enter text. Click on the blank section of the document and start typing.

• If you opened an existing document, make a backup before reformatting.

3. Highlight a section of text. Click and drag your cursor across your writing and let go of the cursor when you’ve highlighted the area you wish to edit.

4. Consider what you want to do to the writing. Some potential options include:

• Format your writing quickly. Right-click (or two-finger click) on your highlighted text and choose an option from the right-click menu.
• Change the font of your choice. You can select a new font from the drop-down bar at the top of the “Font” section (Home tab).
• Make your highlighted section bold, italicized, or underlined. Click the B, I, or U in the “Font” section of the Home tab.
• Change the color of your text. You can click the drop-down bar next to Font Color in the Font group of the Home tab and then choose a color.
• Change your document’s spacing. It is easiest to do by right-clicking your selected text, selecting Paragraph, and adjusting the “Line Spacing” value in the bottom right corner of this window.

5. Continue working with Word. Your preferred options for your documents will vary depending on the purpose of creating them. So the more you work within your format, the more experienced you’ll become.

RELATED: How to Update Microsoft Word on Windows PC and Mac

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Reference:

1. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/basic-tasks-in-word-87b3243c-b0bf-4a29-82aa-09a681999fdc

This article explains a variety of little-known tips and tricks to help you use Microsoft Word like an expert. Tips include how to use Focus Mode, Spike, Tell Me, Smart Lookup, and more in Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word for Microsoft 365.

How to Pick up Where You Left Off 

Press Shift+F5 to return to the last place you made changes.

Focus Mode: How to Use Word With No Distractions

Changing the view in Word can be helpful in varying situations. Changing to Focus Mode could help when you need to zero in on your document. It hides all the toolbars from view, allowing you to concentrate on your work. Toggle between Focus Mode and other view options as needed.

1. Select the View tab.

2. Select Focus in the Immersive group. The document view will change to Focus Mode.

3. Press the Esc key to exit focus mode.

Smart Lookup: How to Research Without Leaving Word

Smart Lookup lets you check multiple sources on a topic, including Bing, Wikipedia, and the Oxford English Dictionary. This feature lets you research a topic without leaving the document you are working on.

1. Select a word or phrase in your Word document.

2. Right-click the selection and select Smart Lookup. The Insights pane will open showing relevant search information.

3. Select the Explore tab to browse articles and other search results, or select the Define tab to view definitions.

4. Select More to expand the search results and see more options.

5. Select a search result to view it in full detail online.

6. Close the Insights pane when finished.

Tell Me: Get Microsoft Word Help Fast

When you know what you want to do in a document, but aren’t sure how to go about it, Word is there to lend a helping hand with a feature called Tell Me.

To use Tell Me, find the search box at the top of the ribbon and enter a brief description of what you’re looking for or the result you hope to achieve. Select an option from the provided results to use the tool or apply the formatting desired.

How to Change Case Quickly

If you’ve ever typed away while reading a hardcopy or talking to someone only to look back at your monitor to realize you had the Caps Lock on, you’ll appreciate this feature in Microsoft Word, which lets you change the case of selected text with only a few clicks.

1. Select the text you want to change.

2. Select the Change Case drop-down arrow in the Font group of the Home tab.

3. Choose the desired option from the following:

   • Select Sentence Case to capitalize the first letter of each sentence and change the rest of the letters to lowercase.
   • Select Lowercase to change all of the selected text to lowercase letters.
   • Select Uppercase to capitalize all of the letters in the selected text.
   • Select Capitalize Each Word to capitalize the first letter of every word and change the rest of the letters to lowercase.
   • Select Toggle Case to shift between two case views.

   Press Ctrl+Z to undo a case change.

How to Proofread Your Work

Word’s editing tools will check a document for spelling and grammar errors as well as potential issues with clarity.

1. Select the Review tab.

2. Select Check Document or Spelling & Grammar in the Proofing group. The Editor pane will open.

3. Select Review all Results to move through the document checking for errors.

4. Choose a suggested edit or select Ignore Once to skip to the next one.

How to Use Word to Check Your Score

Another way to review and potentially improve your work in Word is by checking a document’s readability score. Set up Word to check the score of any document when you check spelling and grammar.

1. Select File > Options to open the Word Options window.

2. Select Proofing in the left pane of Word Options.

3. Under the When Correcting Spelling and Grammar in Word section, select Check Grammar and Refinements in the Editor Pane and Show Readability Statistics.

4. Select OK to apply the changes.

5. Press F7 or select the Review tab, then select Check Document or Spelling & Grammar in the Proofing group.

6. Correct or Ignore all errors found in the document. When you’re finished, the Readability Statistics window will open.

How to Compare Documents Side-by-Side

Open two files next to each other in Word to view, compare, or copy and paste from them.

1. Select File > Open, then find the first Word document you want to view and open it.

2. Select File > Open again and find the second Word document you want to view and open it.

3. Select the View tab.

4. Select View Side by Side in the Window group.

5. Choose the name of the second document you want to compare in the Compare Side by Side with dialog box.

6. Select OK.

   Select Synchronous Scrolling on the View tab in the Window group to scroll both documents at the same time.

How to Spike Copied Text in Microsoft Word

Cutting, copying, and pasting in Word is pretty basic, but if you want to cut and paste several text selections, use the Spike feature.

1. Select the first section of text you want to copy in Word, then press Ctrl+F3.

2. Repeat the process for each bit of text you want to copy.

3. When you’re ready to paste all of the text selections, select inside of another document and press Ctrl+Shift+F3. Word will paste all of the text segments following the order in which you cut them.

   If you want to use Spike, but would rather copy than cut the text, press Ctrl+Z to undo the cut. Doing so will not remove the text from Spike.

How to Use Microsoft Word to Create Quick Parts

If you use blocks of custom text on a regular basis, such as a signature, business information, or legal wording, creating AutoText with Quick Parts could save loads of time.

1. Select the text you want to save. It can be a phrase, sentence, paragraph or any portion of a document.

2. Select the Insert tab.

3. Select Quick Parts in the Text group.

4. Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.

5. If you want to reuse the text after you save it to the Quick Part Gallery, select Quick Parts, then choose the selection from the gallery.

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