Things You Must Know About Microsoft Word

Even though Microsoft Word is likely the easiest Office Suite software to use, there is a learning curve. If you are a beginner, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the functionalities of this incredible tool. 

In this guide, we will discuss what things you must know to work with Microsoft Word. Through this guide, you will learn everything about making your documents presentable and figure out what different tools and options do in Word.

Basic Navigation and Interface

Word’s interface may seem confusing at first. When you open a document, you find many different tools and options above it. Here are the basics of MS Word’s navigation and interface.

Ribbon and Tabs

Ribbon is the heart and soul of Microsoft Word. The Ribbon is a toolbar that you will see on top of the screen when you start a document in Word. Home, Insert, Design, Layout, and so on, are tabs, and they are part of Ribbon. Each tab comes with specific toolsets. 

For example, the Home tab contains essential text formatting options like font, size, colour, and alignment. Insert allows you to add tables, pictures, links, and symbols. Meanwhile, Design offers theme and style options for creating visually appealing documents.

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar can be found above the ribbon, with commands like Save, Undo, and Redo. They are pretty straightforward to understand, as Save helps you save a document to your computer or OneDrive, Undo is used to correct mistakes and delete your last action, and Redo is the opposite of Undo. Playing around with the features will help you understand more.

To customise it, click the small arrow next to the toolbar, where you can choose from a list of common commands, or click More Commands to access all available options. 

Navigation Pane

If you need to handle large documents, then the Navigation Pane will become a dear friend. Go to View > Navigation Pane to access this tool. Once clicked, you will see the pane on the left side of your document, displaying a hierarchical structure of your document’s headings, pages, and search results.

Formatting Essentials

Word is not only about the texts you write but how you present them. With the formatting options, you control how your document looks at the end. Here are the basics of formatting essentials in Word:

Text and Paragraph Formatting

Mastering basic text and paragraph formatting in Microsoft Word is crucial for creating clean, readable, and professional documents. Under the Home tab, you’ll find a set of tools to format text and paragraphs with ease:

Font Styles

You can choose from a wide variety of fonts by selecting the drop-down menu in the Font group. Fonts like Arial or Times New Roman are commonly used for formal documents, while decorative fonts might be appropriate for more creative work.

Sizes and Colours

Font size adjustments are available next to the font style dropdown, allowing you to emphasise headings or subheadings with larger font sizes. Colours can be adjusted to add visual interest or highlight specific sections. Click the Font Colour icon to access a palette of colours or to define custom colours.

Bold, Italics, and Underline

These tools are straightforward but vital, allowing you to emphasise text. Bold is often used for headings, italics for emphasis within sentences, and underline for titles or links.

Paragraph Alignment

Found in the Paragraph group, alignment options include Left, Center, Right, and Justify. Left alignment is typical for body text, while centre alignment is often used for titles. Justify alignment can give your document a neat appearance by aligning both the left and right edges of the text.

Line and Paragraph Spacing

Also in the Paragraph group, you can adjust the space between lines and paragraphs, which can enhance readability. Use Spacing After and Spacing Before options to create breathing room between paragraphs, headings, or sections.

Styles

Using Styles in Word not only ensures a cohesive look but also saves time by applying consistent formatting across headings, subheadings, and body text. Styles can be accessed from the Home tab in the Styles gallery. Here’s how they work:

1. Built-In Styles: Word provides built-in styles like Heading 1, Heading 2, Title, and Normal. Applying these styles makes your document standard. Therefore, making it easier to update formatting globally. 
2. Custom Styles: You can also create custom styles to fit unique formatting needs. Right-click on any style in the Styles gallery, select Modify, and define your preferred font, size, colour, and other attributes. Custom styles can be saved and reused, streamlining formatting for future documents.

Themes and Templates

Themes and Templates can greatly enhance the appearance of your documents while saving time and ensuring consistency.

Themes are collections of fonts, colours, and effects that give your document a unified look. You can find them under the Design tab. Changing the theme will instantly apply consistent colours, fonts, and effects across your document, providing a professional appearance without manual adjustments. For instance, the Office theme gives a classic look, while other themes offer more creative or contemporary styles.

Templates are pre-designed documents that serve as a starting point for specific types of content, like resumes, reports, or brochures. When creating a new document, you can choose from a variety of templates under File > New. 

These templates already include formatting, placeholders, and layout elements tailored to different document types. You can use templates for many things – from creating book covers to preparing your resume. 

Document Structure

You have learned about formatting, now this section will go into how you can structure your document properly. From using text styles to table of contents and page breaks, you will learn the basics of how to keep a good flow between the content of a document.

Using Headings and Subheadings

Organising your document with Headings and Subheadings is essential for readability, navigation, and maintaining a logical flow. Headings help divide your content into sections, making it easier for readers to locate information and follow your structure.

Using Proper Headings

Heading 1 is typically reserved for main titles or section titles while Heading 2 and Heading 3 are used for sub-sections. By using these heading styles, you enable Word’s automatic Table of Contents (TOC) feature and improve document accessibility.

Modifying Headings

You can modify these headings to match your document’s style. Right-click on the heading style in the Styles gallery, select Modify, and adjust the font, size, colour, and other settings. Customising headings ensures that all sections follow a consistent design without having to format each section manually.

Hierarchy and Flow

Using a hierarchy of headings allows you to visually structure complex documents. Heading 1 is for primary topics, Heading 2 for sub-topics, and Heading 3 for details within each sub-topic. This structure clarifies the document flow, guiding readers logically from one topic to the next.

Table of Contents

A Table of Contents (TOC) offers readers an overview of your document, making it easy to jump to specific sections. Word can generate a TOC automatically based on the headings you’ve used. Check out our guide on how to create a Table of Contents in Word to learn more.

Working with Images and Graphics

Adding images to a Word document can make your content more engaging and visually appealing. Word provides several tools to help you insert, resize, and position images effectively.

Inserting Images

To insert an image, go to the Insert tab and select Pictures. You can choose to insert an image from your computer, online sources, or cloud storage. 

Once inserted, the image appears at your cursor’s location, and Word’s Picture Format tab will open automatically, offering numerous formatting options.

Resizing Images

Click on the image to reveal handles around its border. Drag any corner handle to resize the image proportionally or use side handles to stretch the image in one direction. You can also specify exact dimensions under the Size group in the Picture Format tab, which is useful for maintaining consistency across multiple images.

Want to Learn More?

Believe it or not, there are many more things to learn about MS Word! Things that cannot simply be taught via a blog post. For that, you will need expert help. If you want to become a master of Word and other Microsoft Office products, then check out Sikkhon courses tailored toward people like you.