There’s a simple trick I’ve learned that makes my job easier. Whether I’m writing or processing a client’s Word doc for editing or formatting, I work in Web Layout View.
In the Word Tool Ribbon is Views. Click on that then over on the left side of the Ribbon is the command box for Views. Your choices are Read Mode, Print Layout and Web Layout along with Outline and Draft. Click Web Layout and now your screen acts similar to a scalable website page.
In Web Layout view you are not limited by the “page” size of your document (Word’s default is an 8.5” by 11” page with one inch margins all around). Decreasing the size of the window causes the words to rewrap and adjust to fit the screen—as opposed to Print Layout where decreasing the window can cause text to be cut off. Web Layout has no margins and no pages.
Also in the Views Ribbon is the command box for Zoom. Here you can increase or decrease the size of the text, or change to multiple pages. Word also has a scroll bar at the bottom right of the main screen for quick zooming in and out. The latest version has icons for switching between Read, Print and Web Layout.
(The only time I use Print Layout is when I’m creating a doc for printing. Considering 99% of the docs I process are for digital sharing or for formatting in other programs, that’s not very often.)
You wouldn’t think something so simple as switching views could increase productivity or make writing easier. It’s highly effective for several reasons.
One, I’m a multi-tasker with bad eyes. I keep multiple programs open and viewable so I can quickly switch programs or keep an eye on email or compare one doc against another. I usually work at 150% zoom with a fairly narrow window width. Web Layout keeps everything readable. When I’m working on my own writing, I like to keep the browser open so I can easily look up words or do some research or view images. (Okay, sometimes I play YouTube videos. Inspiration, not procrastination, all right?) Even on the smaller screen of my laptop, this gives me plenty of room to work comfortably.
Two, I’m easily distracted by widows and orphans. Dear Blog Readers, do not for a second pretend you don’t know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re writing along, coming to the end of a chapter, and Word drops you to a new page and there it is—a single word. Or you insert a scene break, start the new scene but after only one line, it goes to a new page, leaving that single line sitting on the preceding page like a lonesome doofus. You know and I know, it drives you nuts. Then your writing flow is interrupted while you compulsively “fix” the problem by cutting or adding words, or screwing around with inserting extra hard returns and other nonsense. It’s a form of procrastination easily resolved by working in Web Layout.
Three, it reduces the urge to “format” while I write. Even I, who definitely knows better, gets caught up by the appearance of the words on the screen. When I’m composing fiction or something like this blog post, I do not format other than using basic styles (a subject for another blog post). I don’t insert page breaks or change the alignment of paragraphs or center text. I just write. It doesn’t matter what my doc looks like. Eventually it’ll be shared or formatted for a specific purpose, but that’s later, down the road when I’m finished writing and all the editing, revising and polishing is done. Any “formatting” in the doc will have to be stripped out, thus it’s a total waste of time and mental energy. Not to mention that a lot of “formatting” writers do in Word is destructive when docs are shared digitally or formatted for ebooks.
What about page count, you ask. Web Layout gives you the word count, but not the page count and how are you supposed to keep track of your productivity? If it really matters, you can switch views with one mouse click. Or, if you’re inclined to track your page progress as you write, go the Home Ribbon and in the Editing command box click Find. That will open a Navigation pane on the left side of your screen. It has three options: Headings, Pages and Results. Click on Pages and it’ll display thumbnails of your pages.
So there you have it. Web Layout for increased productivity and fewer opportunities for procrastinating when you should be telling a story.
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My goal for 2018 is to teach as many writers as possible how to efficiently and expertly use MS Word as a writing and self-publishing tool. Watch this blog-space for more tips, tricks and techniques. Or, if you’d prefer all the information in one package, including step-by-step instructions for formatting ebooks and print-on-demand editions, WORD for the Wise: Using Microsoft Office Word for Creative Writing and Self-publishing is available at Amazon as an ebook and in print.
Change How Word Looks on Screen to Be More Productive
How do you change views in Word documents?
Updated on December 4, 2019
Microsoft Word provides several ways to view a document you’re working on. Each is suitable for different aspects of working with a document, and some are better suited for multi-page documents than single pages. If you’ve always worked in the default view, you may find other views that make you more productive.
Instructions in this article apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010.
Change Layouts
Word documents open in the Print Layout by default. You can select an alternative layout at any time.
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Go to the Ribbon and select the View tab.
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In the Views group, select one of the other available layouts available to change the layout.
Change Layouts With the Icons Under the Document
Another way to change layouts on the fly is to use the buttons at the bottom of the Word document window. The current layout icon is highlighted. To switch to a different layout, select the corresponding icon.
Word Layout Options
Current versions of Word provide the following layout options:
- Print Layout is the default layout and the one you see most often.
- Web Layout is suitable if you are designing a web page in Word. Web Layout view shows how the document will look as a web page.
- Outline generates an outline version of the contents of the document. You can control the number of levels that are shown and whether the text is formatted. Use Outline view to organize and navigate through a lengthy document.
- Draft view displays only basic text without any formatting or graphics. It is Word’s equivalent of a plain text editor.
- Read Mode hides the writing tools and menus, leaving leave more room for the document pages.
- Focus Mode is a simplified view of the document without any distractions and is available in Microsoft 365. If you need the ribbon, move the mouse to the top of the screen and the ribbon will drop down.
Other Ways to Change How Word Displays
Also in the View tab are other ways to control how a Word document looks on screen.
- Zoom opens a dialog box you can use to specify the percentage of zoom you want. Choose from Word-supplied choices or enter any percentage you like.
- Zoom to 100% instantly returns the document to 100% size.
- One Page or Multiple Pages toggles the view so that either one page of the document displays on the screen or thumbnails of several pages display on the screen.
- Page Width expands the width of the working document to the screen size, usually displaying only the top part of the document.
- Ruler and Gridlines make it easier to measure distance and objects in a document and line up objects on the page.
- Navigation Pane adds a column to the left of the document that holds thumbnails for every page. It is useful for navigating through documents that have more than one page.
- Split displays parts of two pages at the same time, which is useful when you want to copy text or graphics from one page and paste to another.
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In Word, you can display documents in Web Layout view. We will explain you how to enable this handy feature.
Word: web layout in the menu bar to activate
- Click in the Word menu bar, click «view».
- From there you can select on the left under document view «web layout».
- Your document is then displayed in the Web view.
Web Layout in Word
Practice tip applies to Microsoft Office Word 2007. Read also, how you Word the landscape setting.
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Try it!
Change your document’s layout to get it just the way you want.
Margins
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Select Layout > Margins.
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Choose the margins you want or select Custom Margins to define your own.
Page Orientation
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To change orientation, select Layout > Orientation.
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Select Portrait or Landscape.
Line Spacing
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Select Home > More Paragraph Options > Line Spacing.
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Choose the spacing you want.
Want more?
Word for the web Quick Start
Change margins
Change page orientation to landscape or portrait
Change the line spacing in Word
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Designing a Web page in Microsoft Word is simple to accomplish without any formal Web training or coding skills. Word is an excellent tool for educators, scientists, mathematicians or other professionals concentrating on research, analysis and the information instead of the presentation of this information on the Web. Develop a blog web page using Word templates and post curriculums, scientific study results, mathematical theories or information related to your area of expertise. Construct an executive newsletter for a Web page or create a Web page using tables.
Step 1
Launch Microsoft Word.
Step 2
Click «View,» and then «Web Layout» in the «Document Views» section.
Step 3
Create a sketch or mockup of the Web page. The mockup shows how many rows and columns are needed to create the Web Page. For example, for a Web page with one picture, one left-column hyperlink section under the picture, one right-column text section, and one right-column hyperlink section, four table cells are needed for this Web page.
Step 4
Click «Insert,» «Table» and «2X2 Table» to bring up a display of table with two columns and two rows in the document window.
Step 5
Click inside the first table cell and the cursor is blinking within the cell.
Step 6
Click «Insert» and «Picture» and the «Insert Picture» dialogue box opens.
Step 7
Browse to the picture, click on it and then click the «Insert» button in the dialogue box so the picture is inserted into the table.
Step 8
Click in the table cell to the right of the picture and type in the text associated with the picture. For example, if you inserted a picture of the Milky Way galaxy, you might type in the following:
The size of the Milky Way galaxy is difficult to quantify, but it is an enormous gathering containing billions of stars.
Step 9
Click in the table cell under the text, right-click, select «Hyperlink» and type in a hyperlink about the solar system in the «Address» section of the «Insert Hyperlink» dialogue box and click «OK.»
Step 10
Click «File,» «Save As» and select «Web Page, Filtered» from the «Save as type» drop-down menu in the «Save As» dialogue box.
Step 11
Click «Save» to keep the design in Web page format.
References
Writer Bio
Maureen Bruen is a graduate of Williams College with a bachelor’s degree in art history and computer science. She has been writing, programming, designing and doing photography for corporations and local governments since 1999. She started publishing technical manuals for software companies using SQL (Structured Query Language) in 1991.