What is text formatting in microsoft word

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.

Finished business document using basic text formatting in WordFinished business document using basic text formatting in WordFinished business document using basic text formatting in Word

Here’s a finished, formatted business document that uses basic text formatting in Word.

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:

Unformatted document - Microsoft Word StylesUnformatted document - Microsoft Word StylesUnformatted document - Microsoft Word Styles

Notice how the unformatted text looks in Word. It’s not very engaging or interesting.

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. 

Typographic Emphasis in Microsoft WordTypographic Emphasis in Microsoft WordTypographic Emphasis in Microsoft Word

Applying bold to Word text helps it to stand out.

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.

Change Font in WordChange Font in WordChange Font in Word

You can also change the font when you format text in Word.

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.

Word Formatting - Change Font SizeWord Formatting - Change Font SizeWord Formatting - Change Font Size

Use basic formatting for Word to change the size of the text.

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.

Word Formatting - Type New Font SizeWord Formatting - Type New Font SizeWord Formatting - Type New Font Size

The highlighted text is the text we’ve been formatting. Use the font size indicator to change the text size.

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

Word - Font Size ShortcutsWord - Font Size ShortcutsWord - Font Size Shortcuts

Another way to change the Word style is using the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons.

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.

Change Font Color in WordChange Font Color in WordChange Font Color in Word

You can also change the text color in Microsoft Word.

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.

Window Title CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  Content CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  The app didnt start in the required time   OKWindow Title CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  Content CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  The app didnt start in the required time   OKWindow Title CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  Content CUsersLaura SpencerDownloadschange-case-shortcutjpeg  The app didnt start in the required time   OK

The Change Case button provides a shortcut for formatting text in Word.

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

Word - How to Change CaseWord - How to Change CaseWord - How to Change Case

You can also change the case in Word by using the menu option.

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

Word - Format Change Case to UppercaseWord - Format Change Case to UppercaseWord - Format Change Case to Uppercase

The title is an important part of your document. So, how you format it is important.

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.

Format Line Spacing in WordFormat Line Spacing in WordFormat Line Spacing in Word

One MS Word format essential is knowing how to change the spading between lines and paragraphs.

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.

Format Paragraph Spacing in WordFormat Paragraph Spacing in WordFormat Paragraph Spacing in Word

A good way to set the title apart from the text is to increase the line spacing after it.

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.

Format Text Alignment in WordFormat Text Alignment in WordFormat Text Alignment in Word

You can also change the text alignment on the page in Word.

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:

Paragraph Styles in WordParagraph Styles in WordParagraph Styles in Word

Notice the various ways I’ve change the word style in this document.

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.

Modify a Style in WordModify a Style in WordModify a Style in Word

Use Microsoft Word styles to change heading format quickly.

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

Word - How to Modify a Paragraph StyleWord - How to Modify a Paragraph StyleWord - How to Modify a Paragraph Style

You can also change Word style through the menu.

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.

How to Modify a Paragraph Style in WordHow to Modify a Paragraph Style in WordHow to Modify a Paragraph Style in Word

Here you see the various ways to change text format using the Word style tags.

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.

Apply a Paragraph Style in WordApply a Paragraph Style in WordApply a Paragraph Style in Word

Microsoft Word styles make changing a text quick and easy.

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

Formatted Headings in WordFormatted Headings in WordFormatted Headings in Word

Notice how the formatting has changed.

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.

Create New Paragraph Style in WordCreate New Paragraph Style in WordCreate New Paragraph Style in Word

You can also create new styles to format text in Word.

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.

Formatting Styles in WordFormatting Styles in WordFormatting Styles in Word

Here’s a preview of a new style I’m creating.

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.

Quick Style Microsoft WordQuick Style Microsoft WordQuick Style Microsoft Word

Any styles you create are added to the Quick Style popup.

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

Format Bullet List in WordFormat Bullet List in WordFormat Bullet List in Word

The new style has created a bulleted list format.

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. 

Word - New Style DialogWord - New Style DialogWord - New Style Dialog

You can create unique MS Word styles for a section of text called Character styles.

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.

New Character Style - WordNew Character Style - WordNew Character Style - Word

Name your character style.

3. When you’re done, click OK.

New Character Style Applied - WordNew Character Style Applied - WordNew Character Style Applied - Word

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.

Apply New Character Style - WordApply New Character Style - WordApply New Character Style - Word

When you’re ready, apply the new character style to the selected text.

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.

Create a Table in WordCreate a Table in WordCreate a Table in Word

Tables are a great way to format text in Word and add a visual element to the document.

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.

Table Design - Microsoft WordTable Design - Microsoft WordTable Design - Microsoft Word

You can use some pre-defined table Microsoft Word table styles to format your table.

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

Microsoft Word Table StylesMicrosoft Word Table StylesMicrosoft Word Table Styles

As you can see, there are quite a few MS Word table styles to choose from.

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

Apply Table Styles in WordApply Table Styles in WordApply Table Styles in Word

Here’s a table with a pre-defined MS Word table style applied.

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. 

Microsoft Word Templates - Envato ElementsMicrosoft Word Templates - Envato ElementsMicrosoft Word Templates - Envato Elements

Print templates for Microsoft Word have been designed and formatted by professional designers.

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.

Strip Formatting When Pasting Text in WordStrip Formatting When Pasting Text in WordStrip Formatting When Pasting Text in Word

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.


Download Article

Learn the basics of formatting a Microsoft Word document


Download Article

  • Formatting the Layout
  • |

  • Formatting Text
  • |

  • Adding Pictures, Graphs, & Tables
  • |

  • Using a Formatted Template
  • |

  • Saving in Other Formats
  • |

  • Q&A

Microsoft Word is the world’s most popular word processing app. Depending on what kind of legal, formal, or personal paper you’re writing, each has its own formatting guidelines. Fortunately, Microsoft Word makes it easy to format the layout, text, and other objects in your document. If you’re new to using Microsoft Word, don’t worry. You can be formatting your document like a pro in no time. This wikiHow guide will teach you simple ways to format a Word document on your PC or Mac computer.

Things You Should Know

  • You can find most of the formatting tools you’ll need in the Ribbon menu at the top of your document.
  • If you don’t want to do all the formatting from scratch, try using one of Word’s premade templates.
  • Save your document in different file formats using the Save a Copy or Save As menu.
  1. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 1

    1

    Explore the Word user interface. You can access most of Word’s formatting tools from the Menu Bar or the Ribbon at the top of the window. You can modify which tools are visible using the View menu.

    • The Menu Bar is the area at the top of the screen where you will find File, Edit, View, and other important menu commands.
    • The Ribbon is at the top of your workspace and contains icons, menus, and shortcuts to common tasks.
  2. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 2

    2

    Align your document. Different types of documents call for different text alignments. You can choose whether to align your entire document to the left, right, or at the center on the Home tab by clicking the Alignment buttons in the «Paragraph» section.

    • These are the buttons that look like a small version of a document, with small black lines arranged according to their button’s alignment function.
    • You can also adjust alignment by selecting the text and objects you want to align, right-clicking the selection, and choosing Paragraph. Select your preferred alignment from the Alignment menu under the General header.
    • You can either set the alignment for the whole document or just a selected piece of text.

    Advertisement

  3. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 3

    3

    Set the line spacing of your document. Need to change your document to single or double-space? You can adjust the spacing of your entire document, or for selected text.

    • If you haven’t begun typing or adding content to your Word document, click the Home tab, click the «Line and Paragraph Spacing» icon (a row of lines with vertical arrows to the left of the lines pointing up and down, and select an option.
    • If your document already has text or other content, press Ctrl + A (PC) or Cmd + A (Mac) to select everything in the document, right-click the selection, and choose Paragraph. You can then choose your desired spacing from the «Line Spacing» menu.
    • For a single-spaced document, choose 1.0. For double-spacing, choose 2.0.
    • Many professional documents, like college essays and cover letters, should be double-spaced.
  4. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 4

    4

    Adjust the page orientation. If you need to write the document in a different orientation, click the Layout tab at the top of Word, select Orientation, and choose either Portrait or Landscape.

  5. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 5

    5

    Change the size of the paper. If you need to print the document on a specific paper size, click the Layout tab, click Size, and then select your desired size from the drop-down list.

    • This will change the virtual size of the document you’re writing as well as the actual size of the printout.
  6. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 6

    6

    Adjust the headers and footers. A header contains details that will appear on every page of the paper, such as page numbers, your name, or the document title.

    • To set the header of your document, double-click on the topmost part of the page, and the header field will appear. You can also click the Insert tab and select Header.
    • Footers are just like headers. All text in the footer will appear at the bottom of each page of your document. To set the footer, double-click on the bottommost part of the page, and the footer field will appear. You can also use the Footer button on the Insert tab.
    • You can also format your headers and footers by selecting the View tab and clicking Header and Footer on the list. This action will open the headers and footers on your page and allow you to edit them.
  7. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 7

    7

    Insert page or section breaks with the Breaks menu. Go to the Layout tab in the and click Breaks if you want to start a new page or section in your document. You can choose from a variety of types of breaks, including Page, Column, and Section. This is a very useful tool if you need to format different sections of your document in different ways.[1]

    • For example, you can use section or page breaks to help you format your page numbers so that the numbering restarts with each new section.
  8. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 8

    8

    Adjust the margin size with the Margins tool. Click the Margins button in the Layout tab and select a margin from the pre-defined margin settings listed on the drop-down list.

    • If you want to use your own margin measurements, click Custom Margins at the very bottom of the drop-down list to set your own.
  9. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 9

    9

    Add columns to split your text vertically on the page. If you need to create a newspaper-like document, you can do so by adjusting the format of the document to columns. Click the Layout tab, select the Columns option, and choose the number and alignment of columns from the drop-down list.

    • The Columns button looks like a rectangle with two vertical columns of blue lines on it.
    • If you want to create one, two, or three columns, you can do so from the preset options. If you’d like to create more, you’ll need to choose More Columns from the bottom of the dropdown menu.
    • Note that this column option is different from the columns you get when you insert items like tables on your document.
  10. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 10

    10

    Add bullets and numbers to make lists. Highlight the text that you would like to be numbered or bulleted and click the Numbering or Bullets button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.

    • These buttons can be found side by side on the Ribbon, near the alignment buttons. The Numbering button displays three small lines with numbers to the left of the lines and the Bullets button displays three small lines with bullet points to the left of the lines.
    • There’s also a third button that allows you to create more elaborate multi-level list styles, which is useful for formatting outlines.
  11. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 11

    11

    Experiment with document styles. All documents have standard built-in styles (for example, Normal, Title, Heading 1). The default style for text is Normal. The template that a document is based on (for example, Normal.dotx) determines which styles appear on the Ribbon and on the Styles tab. You can see the current style presets for your document in the Home tab of the Ribbon.

    • Before you apply a style, you can see all of the available styles and preview how they will appear when applied.
    • On the Home tab, click a style to apply it to selected text.
    • Click the Styles Pane button (the arrow pointing down and to the right) to view and select from advanced Style options.
    • By default, Word applies a paragraph style (for example, Heading 1) to the entire paragraph. To apply a paragraph style to part of a paragraph, select only the specific part that you wish to modify.
  12. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 12

    12

    Reveal hidden formatting symbols if you’re having trouble. Word documents often contain hidden code that can cause frustrating problems when you’re trying to modify your formatting. For instance, an invisible extra paragraph mark or section break can create unwanted spaces between paragraphs or lines of text. To see formatting symbols that are normally hidden so you can delete or modify them, you can click the button in the Home tab, or try one of the following:[2]

    • On Windows, open File, select Options, and click Display. Tick the box next to Show all formatting marks.
    • In Word for Mac, open the Word menu, then Preferences, then View. Check the box next to All in the Show Non-Printing Characters section of the View menu.
  13. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 13

    13

    Use the View menu to change your view of the document. The View menu can let you change how your document looks in Word without actually making changes to the format. For example, Print Layout will show approximately what your document will look like when it’s printed out, while Web Layout will display the whole document in one long chunk without any page breaks.

    • The View menu also lets you zoom in and out on your document.
    • You can also change your view with the buttons and zoom slider at the bottom right side of the document pane, or with the View tab in the Ribbon.
  14. Advertisement

  1. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 14

    1

    Change the font face. On the Home tab, you will a drop-down menu containing a list of fonts to choose from. Use your mouse to select the text you want to change, then choose a font from the list.

  2. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 15

    2

    Change font size and color. Also on the Home tab, you can change the size, color, and highlighting for your font. Select the text you want to format, then choose your options.

    • By default, they will be set to the size and font associated with your document’s current Style settings. For example, if you’re using Word’s default template, the Normal style will use Calibri as the default font and 12 pt. as the default text size.
    • Always consider the formatting guidelines of the document you are writing when choosing the font style and size.
    • The standard font for most college and professional papers is Times New Roman font, text size 12.
  3. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 16

    3

    Make text bold, underlined, or italicized. Besides setting the font style and size, you can also adjust the emphasis of words and lines in your document. Near the font and text size menus, you will see the Bold, Italics, and Underline buttons.

    • Just click the buttons to make your text bold, underlined, or italicized.
    • In this section, you can also find special text formatting options such as Strikethrough, Subscript, and Superscript.
  4. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 17

    4

    Highlight text on the page. If you would like to change the background color behind selected text, similar to using a highlighter on a printed page, click the Text Highlight icon, which is a pen above a colored line.

    • You can also add special text effects with the Text Effects button, which looks like a capital A with a glowing blue border.
  5. Advertisement

  1. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 18

    1

    Drag an image into your document. This is a quick way to add a picture to your Word document. Simply select an image on your desktop and drag and drop it into the document window. Make sure your image is placed exactly where you want it before you drop it.

    • You can also insert an image by going to the Insert tab, then clicking Pictures. Select one of the options to browse for images on your computer, the web, or Word’s gallery of stock photos.
    • You can also insert graphics or other media (such as video or audio clips) using the Shapes, Icons, or 3D Models, and Media buttons.
  2. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 19

    2

    Enable text wrapping. Text wrapping changes the layout of your document, allowing the text to flow around the image no matter where it is placed. To turn on text wrapping:

    • Right-click (or ctrl-click, on a Mac) on the image and hover over Wrap Text. Select the alignment that best suits your document. You will see a preview as you hover over each option.
    • To change the location of the image in the document, select the image and then hold the Ctrl key. While holding the key, use the arrow keys to move the picture around the document.
    • When you right-click or ctrl-click your image, you’ll also see an option in the context menu to add a caption under your image.
  3. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 20

    3

    Edit your image in the Picture Format tab. Once you insert your image, you can select it to open a new Picture Format tab in the ribbon. From there, you can choose from a variety of tools, such as:

    • Making corrections or adding artistic filters to the image
    • Adding style effects, such as a drop shadow or frame, to the picture
    • Entering alt text
    • Tweaking the position of your image or changing the text-wrap settings
  4. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 21

    4

    Add a graph or chart in the Insert tab. Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon, and then click the Chart option. Choose your preferred type of graph, such as a pie or bar chart, from the dropdown menu.

    • Depending on the type of chart or graph you choose, Word may automatically launch Excel and create a new spreadsheet, where you can enter data for your chart.
  5. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 22

    5

    Modify your graph. When you choose a graph type, a new tab will appear in the Ribbon menu called Chart Design. Navigate to that tab with the chart selected to make changes to the look of your graph or chart, or choose the Edit in Excel button to make changes to the data in your chart.

  6. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 23

    6

    Use the Table tool to insert a table. If you want to add a table to your document, head over to the Insert tab and click the Table button. A menu will pop open where you can either scroll over a grid of squares to select your number of rows and columns, or select an option like Insert Table or Draw Table.

    • Insert Table opens a pop-up menu where you can specify parameters like the number of rows and columns and whether or not the contents of the table autofit your document window.
    • The Draw Table tool allows you to draw the table with your mouse directly in the document.
    • Once you start creating a table, you’ll see several new table editing tools in the Layout tab.
  7. Advertisement

  1. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 24

    1

    Choose a template from the New Documents pane. Templates are a great way to create a nice-looking document without having to do all the formatting from scratch. To use one, open Word and select New from the side menu to create a new document, or select New from Template from the File menu. Click one of the templates on the screen to select it.[3]

    • If you don’t see a template you like, use the Search bar at the top of the window to find one that fits your needs. For instance, use keywords like “flyer,” “resume,” or “research paper” to find different styles of templates.
  2. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 25

    2

    Click Create to open the template. The template will open as a new document.

  3. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 26

    3

    Select text within the template to modify it. Word templates are simply preformatted documents with text, graphics, and other elements already in place. To add your own text, select text anywhere on the document and type in your own. The new text will have the same format as whatever text you selected and replaced. You can also click on a blank area of the document and start typing to add new text.

    • To select a single word, double-click it. You can select longer pieces of text by clicking and dragging your mouse, or positioning your cursor at the start of the selection and holding down Shift while pressing the Right Arrow key.
    • You can also select and move, delete, or replace other elements in the template, such as images, graphs, or tables.
  4. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 27

    4

    Modify your template with the Styles pane. Templates use styles to create their distinctive looks. If you want to change the look of the template, click the Styles button in the Home tab of the ribbon toolbar. Click the down arrow next to any of the style elements and select Modify Style… to make changes.

    • You can also make any other types of changes you like using the rest of the tools in the ribbon menu or Format menu.
  5. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 28

    5

    Save your modified template as a document. When you’ve made the changes you want to the template, save it the same way you would any other Microsoft Word document.

  6. Advertisement

  1. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 29

    1

    Click the file menu and select Save a Copy…. If you want to save a document as a file type other than .DOCX, you can do so with the Save a Copy function.

    • If it’s a brand-new document that you haven’t already saved, select Save As… instead.
  2. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 30

    2

    Open the File Format dropdown menu. You’ll see this menu at the bottom of the Save a Copy or Save As window.

  3. Image titled Format a Word Document Step 31

    3

    Select the format you want from the menu. In addition to common formats like .DOC, .DOCX, .TXT and .RTF, you can also save your document as a PDF, an XML file, or a macro-enabled Word file.

    • Check out the list of file formats that are supported in word here.
  4. Advertisement

Add New Question

  • Question

    What is Microsoft publishing?

    UK_Gamer05

    UK_Gamer05

    Community Answer

    Publisher is a tool for making posters, leaflets, booklet,s etc. It’s for when you need to create something that isn’t a standard document.

  • Question

    How do I move from page one to page two of a Word document?

    UK_Gamer05

    UK_Gamer05

    Community Answer

    In Word 2016, on the insert tab, either select insert new page or page break.

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Tip

  • Unless free-handedly writing your paper, consult the guidelines of your document first before adjusting its format.
  • Besides the header, footer, and page layout formats (which affect the entire document), all the other formatting tools can be applied only on specific parts of the document.

About This Article

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 310,004 times.

Is this article up to date?

При оформлении официальных документов подход к форматированию текста определяется стандартами. Но и в других случаях правильно оформленный текст будет выглядеть более презентабельно, чем просто напечатанный. Он лучше воспринимается читателем, акцентирует внимание на ключевые слова или фразы. Когда текст аккуратно отформатирован, это повышает уровень автора в глазах читателя. Современные текстовые редакторы позволяют поменять практически любые параметры текста.

Содержание:

  1. Что значит форматирование текста в word
  2. Какие операции используются
  3. Инструменты
    • Настройки страницы
    • Шрифты
    • Интервалы
    • Непечатаемые символы
    • Табуляция
  4. Что еще важно знать
  5. Примеры

Что значит форматирование текста в word

Текстовый редактор Microsoft Word — один из наиболее популярных и часто используемых. Он предлагает внушительный набор средств для форматирования документа. Пользователю доступны функции для работы со шрифтом, абзацами, заголовками. В документ можно вставлять рисунки, таблицы, диаграммы, маркированные и нумерованные списки для более структурированного представления информации.

При форматировании устанавливают поля страницы, выравнивание абзацев, междустрочный интервал. Выделяют жирным шрифтом или курсивом наиболее важные слова. Если предполагается цветная печать документа, или просмотр только электронной версии, можно какие-то акценты расставить цветом (за исключением, конечно, официальной документации). Основные приемы форматирования будут рассомотрены далее.

Какие операции используются

Создание читабельного текста требует проработки не только его сути и грамотности, но и внешнего вида. Наравне с опечатками и ошибками, могут отталкивать разъехавшиеся слова или строчки. При оформлении документа выполняется несколько видов операций форматирования. Они могут применяться как для всего документа, так и для конкретного абзаца или отрывка, для этого нужная часть текста должна быть выделена. Какие операции используются для форматирования текста?

  • Операции над шрифтом. Выбирается вид символов текста: стиль начертания, цвет, дополнительные эффекты.
  • Операции над абзацем. Определяется, как будет выглядеть блок текста: выравнивание, отступы, межстрочные интервалы.
  • Операции над страницей. Настраивается размер, ориентация листа, выставляется размер полей документа.

Инструменты

Чтобы понять, как отформатировать текст в ворде, нужно изучить панель инструментов в верхней части программы. Там собраны все функции для выполнения операций форматирования: над шрифтом, абзацем и страницей. Они разбиты по соответствующим группам.

Настройки страницы

Настройки страниц помогают увидеть текст на экране таким, каким он будет на бумаге при печати. К основным параметрам страницы в ворде относятся:

  • Поля — расстояния от края страницы до текста с левой, правой, верхней и нижней сторон. Word предлагает несколько типовых схем с уже заданными размерами полей, а также можно настроить свои значения.

    Поля

  • Ориентация — определяет, как будет расположена страница: вертикально (книжная) или горизонтально (альбомная).

    Ориентация

  • Размер — ширина и высота листа. Помимо выбора стандартных размеров, можно указать произвольные значения.

    Размер

  • Колонки — можно расположить текст по столбцам, как в газетах или журналах. Количество колонок, ширину и отступ для каждой из них задаёт пользователь.

    Колонки

Есть ещё несколько функций, которые относятся к форматированию страниц. Можно вставить разрывы страниц, колонок и разделов. Если нужно пронумеровать строки, можно выбрать сквозную нумерацию, или отдельную для каждой страницы или раздела. Расстановка переносов в словах может производиться автоматически или вручную (тогда программа будет запрашивать у пользователя, как правильнее разделить то или иное слово).

Шрифты

Шрифт определяет вид символов (букв, цифр, знаков препинания и других) в документе. Среди характеристик шрифтов можно выделить главные:

  • Стиль шрифта — предлагается выбрать из большой коллекции системных шрифтов Windows, а также можно найти в интернете дополнительные: платные и бесплатные.

    Стиль шрифта

  • Начертание — помимо обычного, можно применить курсив, полужирный или полужирный курсив, а также добавить подчёркивание. Стиль и цвет подчёркивания меняется независимо от цвета текста.

    Начертание

  • Размер — измеряется в пунктах (пт). Допускается вписать дробное значение. Для удобства рядом с окошком размера шрифта есть кнопки для быстрого увеличения или уменьшения размера на 1 пт.

    Размер

  • Цвет — имеется стандартная палитра, а также можно выбрать из цветового круга. При желании настраивается эффект градиента.

Цвет

Кроме того, можно изменить регистр выделенного фрагмента текста (сделать все буквы прописными, строчными или выбрать другие варианты). Есть возможность выделения текста цветом (эффект маркера). Для формул актуально разместить текст выше или ниже уровня основной строки (надстрочные и подстрочные знаки). Предлагается большая коллекция текстовых эффектов: тень, подсветка и другие. Также предусмотрена кнопка для быстрой очистки формата.

Интервалы

Междустрочные интервалы в ворде устанавливаются пропорционально размеру текста. То есть, одинарный интервал равен высоте строки, полуторный — в 1,5 раза больше размера строки и т.д. Можно установить любое значение множителя.

Интервалы

Дополнительно выставляются интервалы перед и/или после абзаца. Они измеряются в пунктах.

Помимо междустрочных интервалов, для абзацев настраиваются отступы слева и справа. Дополнительно устанавливается отступ или выступ первой строки абзаца (так называемая «красная строка»). Величина отступов указывается в сантиметрах.

Непечатаемые символы

Нажатие знака Непечатаемый символна панели инструментов включает и выключает отображение непечатаемых символов. Необходимость их отображения возникает при сложных действиях с разметкой. В документе могут быть проставлены разрывы строк или разделов, неразрывные пробелы и другие неявные элементы форматирования. Из-за них иногда не сразу удаётся понять, почему «поехал» тот или иной кусок текста. Включив непечатаемые знаки, разобраться с этим станет проще. Также они помогут увидеть, где по ошибке поставлено несколько пробелов подряд.

Табуляция

С помощью установки позиций табуляции можно сделать упрощённое подобие таблицы, только без границ. Чтобы открыть редактор табуляции, нужно развернуть окно «Параметры абзаца», нажав на значок в правом нижнем углу группы «Абзац» панели инструментов, затем нажать кнопку «Табуляция». В поле ввода ввести нужное значение и нажать внизу кнопку «Установить». Для удаления позиции нужно выделить её в списке и нажать «Удалить».

Можно заполнять расстояние от конца предыдущего текста до позиции табуляции точками, дефисами или подчёркиванием. Выбрать способ заполнения следует в этом же диалоговом окне. Здесь же указывается выравнивание текста внутри «ячеек» табуляции.

Табуляция

Есть способ проще: для создания позиций табуляции на линейке над документом нужно нажать левой кнопкой мышки в том месте, где планируется начать новую «ячейку», чтобы появился маленький уголок. Двойной клик по нему откроет окно параметров табуляции.

Чтобы использовать установленные позиции табуляции при наборе текста, нужно после текста одной «ячейки» нажать клавишу Tab на клавиатуре, и курсор перейдёт к следующей позиции (если выбран заполнитель, то оставшееся пространство забьётся выбранным символом). Удобно использовать табуляцию с заполнением, например, при формировании указателя.

Что еще важно знать

Кроме уже рассмотренных функций, есть ещё несколько заслуживающих внимания.

  1. Маркированные и нумерованные списки . Помогают визуально структурировать перечисления, описания этапов, пункты договора и т.д. Есть возможность построить многоуровневые списки, то есть с использованием подпунктов. Стиль маркеров, а также оформление и тип нумерации можно менять.

    Маркированные и нумерованные списки

  2. Выравнивание текста . Выравнивает текст внутри абзаца соответственно по левому или правому краю, по центру, либо по ширине страницы. Чаще всего применяется выравнивание по ширине, тогда текст выглядит аккуратно, отсутствует «рваный» край. Выравнивание по правой стороне может понадобиться для шапки заявлений или подписи.

    Выравнивание текста

  3. Коллекция готовых стилей. В Word есть готовые шаблоны форматирования заголовков, выделений, цитат. Можно создать свои стили.

    Коллекция готовых стилей

  4. Инструмент для записи формул. Word позволяет записать любые формулы с помощью встроенного мощного редактора. В специальное поле можно вставить дроби, индексы, интегралы и другие функции, а также математические знаки.

    Формула

  5. Вставка символов. Позволяет вставить специальные знаки и символы, отсутствующие на клавиатуре. Это фонетические знаки, обозначения валют, стрелки, технические знаки, а также буквы алфавитов.

    Вставка символа

  6. Колонтитулы. Это одинаковое содержимое в верхней и/или нижней части страниц документа. Также можно автоматически пронумеровать страницы, выбрав нужный формат и расположение нумерации.

    Колонтитулы

Примеры

Теория лучше всего закрепляется практикой. На изображениях представлены примеры форматирования шрифта и абзаца в текстах:

Форматирование абзацев

Форматирование текста

Более подробно и наглядно увидеть, как форматировать текст в ворде, можно на видео:

Microsoft Word обладает большим набором инструментов для форматирования. Здесь приведён обзор основных из них. Интуитивно понятный интерфейс программы позволяет, при желании, самостоятельно изучать его возможности на практических примерах. Качественное оформление текста не менее важно, чем его грамотность и чистота. Не стоит им пренебрегать, тем более что современные текстовые редакторы позволяют форматировать тексты в считанные минуты.

На чтение 3 мин Опубликовано 28.04.2015

Форматирование текста в Microsoft Word позволяет сделать текст приятным для восприятия, повысить акцент на определенных участках текста, а также во многих других ситуациях. В этом уроке Вы научитесь выделять участки текста цветом, менять начертание, регистр и выравнивать текст одним их четырех возможных способов.

Содержание

  1. Выделение текста цветом
  2. Использование команд Полужирный, Курсив и Подчеркнутый
  3. Изменение регистра букв
  4. Выравнивание текста

Выделение текста цветом

Выделение цветом может быть полезно для указания важных частей текста в документе Word.

  1. Выберите текст, который необходимо выделить.Форматирование текста в Word
  2. На вкладке Главная нажмите на стрелку команды Цвет выделения текста. Появится выпадающее меню с возможными вариантами цветов.Форматирование текста в Word
  3. Укажите необходимый цвет выделения. Выбранный текст в документе будет выделен.Форматирование текста в Word

Для того чтобы удалить выделение, выделите требуемый текст и в раскрывающемся меню команды Цвет выделения текста выберите пункт Нет цвета.

Форматирование текста в Word

Если необходимо выделить несколько отдельных участков текста, удобнее изменить курсор мыши на маркер. Для этого, не выделяя предварительно текст, просто нажмите команду Цвет выделения текста, и курсор превратится в маркер. Теперь Вы можете нажать и, удерживая, перетаскивать маркер по строкам, которые необходимо выделить.

Использование команд Полужирный, Курсив и Подчеркнутый

Команды Полужирный, Курсив и Подчеркнутый используются, чтобы привлечь внимание к важным словам или фразам.

  1. Выделите текст, который необходимо изменить.Форматирование текста в Word
  2. На вкладке Главная в группе Шрифт нажмите команду Полужирный (Ж), Курсив (K) или Подчеркнутый (Ч). В нашем примере мы выберем Полужирный.Форматирование текста в Word
  3. Выделенный текст будет изменен.Форматирование текста в Word

Изменение регистра букв

В случае, когда необходимо быстро изменить регистр букв, можно использовать команду Регистр вместо удаления и перепечатки текста.

  1. Выделите текст, который необходимо изменить.Форматирование текста в Word
  2. На вкладке Главная в группе команд Шрифт выберите команду Регистр.
  3. Из появившегося меню выберите требуемый тип регистра.Форматирование текста в Word
  4. Регистр выделенных букв будет изменен.Форматирование текста в Word

Выравнивание текста

По умолчанию в новых документах Word текст выравнивается по левому краю. Однако, возникают ситуации, когда необходимо выровнять текст по центру или правому краю.

  1. Выделите текст, который необходимо изменить.
  2. На вкладке Главная в группе команд Абзац выберите один из четырех вариантов выравнивания текста.Форматирование текста в Word

Вы можете воспользоваться опцией По умолчанию, чтобы сохранить все пользовательские настройки форматирования и автоматически применять их в каждом новом документе. Чтобы узнать, как это делается, прочитайте статью Изменение настроек по умолчанию в Microsoft Word.

Оцените качество статьи. Нам важно ваше мнение:

Once you have written your basic document you can spruce it up with a just few clicks.

The process for formatting text is:

1.  Select the text you want to format.

2.  Apply the formatting.

Most of the tools that you need to make your document look professional are on the Home ribbon. They are collected together into the Font group.

Here’s a quick breakdown and each of these will be covered in this post.

An overview of the text formatting tools in Word

2. Changing the font

The font is the name given to the text style — what the text looks like. Many newspapers and magazines use a font like Times New Roman for a formal look but there are other simpler fonts available like Calibri.

To change the font:

1.  Select the text you want to apply the font to.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Single-left-click the Font drop-down list then single-left-click the font you want to use.

Select a new font from the Font dropdown box

A sample of some popular fonts are provided below.

Sample Calibri text

Sample Times New Roman Text

Sample Oswald Text

Sample Montserrat text

3. Changing the font size

To change the size of your selected text:

1.  Single-left-click the Home tab

2.  Click the Font Size drop-down list on the Font group.

3.  Choose a font size.

Change the font size using the dropdown list

You can also click one of the two ‘A‘ icons, situated next to the font size drop down list.

Increase or decrease the text size

The first A increases the text size by one standard size.

The second A decreases the text size by one standard size.

4. Adding bold, italic or underline for emphasis

To apply emphasis to a word or phrase, bold and italic are the quickest techniques to use. Here is a comparison:

  • Regular text
  • Bold text
  • Italic text
  • Underlined text
  • Bold italic underlined text

There are 3 standard icons that you will find in every Microsoft Office program.

Bold italic underline

  • To bold a selection of text, click the B icon, or press Ctrl B on the keyboard..
  • To italicise a selection of text, click the I icon, or press Ctrl I on the keyboard..
  • To underline a selection of text, click the U icon, or press Ctrl U on the keyboard..

To change the underline style:

1.  Click the drop-down arrow next to the U icon.

2.  Select the underline type that you want – single, double, thick, dotted, dashed etc.

Change the underline type and underline colour

To change the underline colour:

3.  Click Underline Color (at the bottom of the menu).

4.  Choose a colour from the palette.

5. Changing the font colour

To change the colour of your text

1.  First, select the text that you want to change the colour for.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Single-left-click the Font drop-down list in the Font group.

4.  Single-left-click a colour from the palette.

Change the colour of the text in Word

Paragraph formatting tools in Microsoft Word 

6. Striking through the text

Strikethrough puts a line through your text like this.

This is an example of text that has been struck through.

You can use this when you need to keep the text for historical reasons but clearly mark it as out of date, obsolete, no longer stocked of one of many other reasons.

To apply strikethrough to your text:

1.  Select the text.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Single-left-click the Strikethrough icon in the Font group.

Strikethrough tool in Microsodt Word

7. Superscripting or subscripting text

Superscripted text is little text that sits above the baseline, e.g.  360o,  42  or  16th.

Subscripted text is little text that sits below the baseline, e.g. H2O,  CO2,  H2SO4.

Superscript and subscript icons

To apply superscript:

1.  Select the text.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Single-left-click the Superscript icon in the Font group.

4.  The keyboard short cut is Ctrl Shift +.

To apply subscript:

1.  Select the text.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Single-left-click the Subscript icon in the Font group.

4.  The keyboard short cut is Ctrl Shift =.

8. Changing the case

UPPER CASE WORDS stand out on a page. Some people describe it as SHOUTING. To change the case of your text:

1.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

2.  Click the Aa icon in the  Font group.

3.  Choose from Sentence case, lower case, UPPER CASE, Capitalise Each Word and tOGGLE cASE

Change the case of text in Word

Pressing Shift F3 cycles through the UPPERCASE, lowercase and Capitalise Each Word options. The other two options are not included in the cycle.

Here are what the different case options mean:

Sentence Case

Capitalise the first letter of the first word in the sentence.

lowercase

Make all the selected text lower case (i.e. un-capitalise everything).

UPPERCASE

CAPITALISE all selected text.

Capitalise Each Word

Capitalise the first letter of EVERY word.

tOGGLE cASE

Convert UPPER CASE letters to lower case and convert lower case letters to UPPER CASE.

The Toggle Case feature seems like an odd one and under normal circumstances you would never use it.

However, back in the day (gee, I sound old) guys like me who look at their keyboard as they type and only look up once every 30 minutes used to curse loudly when we found our CAPS LOCK had been on the whole time!

You may still stumble across an old legacy document where the case is all screwed up. If you do, you canquickly fix it with Toggle Case.

Fast forward to today.

Microsoft Word detects when the CAPS LOCK is on. After typing something in reverse case, as soon as you press space or ENTER, Word corrects the incorrect case and turns the CAPS LOCK off. Whatever you type next is in correct case.

10. Highlighting text

Just as you would take a highlighter pen to highlight certain portions of text in a book or report, you can add highlight to any section of text in Microsoft Word. Highlighting attracts attention.

Perhaps you have prepared a document for somebody and need to point out the important sections.

Perhaps you are reviewing somebody else’s work (or even your own) and want to mark sections to revisit later.

There are 2 ways to use the highlighter tool.

Method 1 (for a one-off highlight):

1.  Select the text you want to highlight.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Click the ab Highlight icon in the Font group (to use default yellow).

4.  If you want to choose your own highlight colour, click the drop-down arrow on the icon, then choose one of the highlight colours in the palette. Stick with the lighter colours.

Highlight text in Word

Method 2 (for multiple highlights)

1.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

2.  Double-left-click the ab Highlight icon in the Font group.

3.  The regular mouse pointer will change to a highlighter icon.

4.  Select the first portion of text that you wish to highlight. The highlight is added but the highlighter tool is still active.

5.  Select as many other portions of text as you want.

6.  When you are done, press Escape or single-left-click the  the ab Highlight icon again

An exaple of highlighted text in Word

Reset highlighted text

1.  Select the highlighted text.

2.  Single-left-click the Home tab.

3.  Click the drop-down arrow on the ab Highlight icon in the Font group and choose No Color.

11. Creating a pretty title or heading

WordArt is a feature that has been around for many years. The conventional way to create WordArt is to choose the tools from the Insert ribbon, choose a style, type some text and then play with the settings.

In Word, there is a second tool that lets you select some existing text and apply WordArt Styling to it.

Here’s the process:

  • Select your text (normally a title or heading).
  • Click the blue A icon (called Text Effects and Typography). 
  • Select one of the thumbnail images from the gallery to apply the effect to your text.
  • You can switch the style at any time.

The Text Effects and Typography (WordArt) tool in Word

  • Using the options underneath, you can also change the outline (colour, thickness and style), shadows, reflection and glow settings. You don’t have to stick with the default settings in the main gallery.

Customise the Text Effects and Typography (WordArt) settings in Word

Here are some samples of text effects and typography:

Some example of Text Effects and Typography (WordArt) in Word

12. Key Takeaways

  • The most commonly used text formatting tools in Word are found on the Home ribbon in the Font group.
  • To access even more text formatting tools in Word, click the launcher icon in the bottom-right corner of the Font group (on the Home ribbon). This displays the Font dialog which not only displays the tools found on the ribbon but also additional tools.
  • Common text formatting includes the font, font size, font colour, empasis tools like bold, italic and underline, strikethrough, superscript, subscript, WordArt and the highlighter tool.

13. what next?

I hope you found plenty of value in this post. I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway in the comments below together with any questions you may have.

Have a fantastic day.

Jason Morrell blog signature

About Jason Morrell

About the author

Jason Morrell

Jason loves to simplify the hard stuff, cut the fluff and share what actually works. Things that make a difference. Things that slash hours from your daily work tasks. He runs a software training business in Queensland, Australia, lives on the Gold Coast with his wife and 4 kids and often talks about himself in the third person!

SHARE

Понравилась статья? Поделить с друзьями:
  • What is text formatting in excel
  • What is text control in word
  • What is text box in ms word
  • What is text art in microsoft word
  • What is text alignment in word