More than a filetype, Word has been the premiere publishing software for years. With many innovations throughout its history, such as the advent of AutoCorrect and the Office Clipboard, which allowed users to copy multiple items in a temporary location to use later. However, the top reason users purchase Microsoft Word is its simplistic user interface that focuses on the Ribbon, a top toolbar with every option from text color to inserting pictures or shapes at your fingertips. This interface is often even emulated by other competing products. But if an application has so much to offer, you can be sure that there are many ways to make your work faster and more efficient by using some of the integrated tools and functions within Word.
Read our guide on how to enhance your Word productivity and learn more about Microsoft’s word processor application. Believe it or not, the following ten tips are going to make your life easier when writing your documents.
Utilize the undo and redo options
You can save quite a bit of time by reverting files or restoring a change you made. Whether or not you simply want to undo a style change, or you accidentally deleted something that you wanted to keep, you can simply undo or redo your previous action. To reverse your last action, press the CTRL+Z key on your keyboard, and to reverse your last Undo, press the CTRL+Y keys.
Save often or use AutoSave
You do not know how devastating it is to lose progress or even entire files due to your device restarting or encountering problems. You can eliminate the risk of this ever happening if you often save your Word files, or simply turn on the AutoSave option. To save quickly, you can press the CTRL+S keys on your keyboard, which will save the document to its already existing location, or press F12 to bring up the ‘Save as’ dialogue window. AutoSave can be turned on from the File > Options > Save menu.
Gridlines
Being accurate with your image placements is important. By using gridlines, you can fit your images to a pixel-perfect grid that allows you to align the picture with your contents.
Use Autocorrect
Autocorrect is a useful little tool, as it allows you to keep typing without having to worry about making a typing error; as the name suggests, it will automatically correct your mistake. Autocorrect is not perfect, as it cannot read your mind, but by using its knowledge about your text as well as common typing errors, it can correct most of your mistakes on the go as you are typing your document, leaving you to worry about less.
Diagrams
When you need to display complex or visual information, use diagrams to make your document easier to understand for your readers.
Use templates
Templates remain a significant benefit in using Microsoft’s word processor application. With time-tested templates that allow you to draft a newsletter, brochure, or resume, you can develop a clean, professional document in no time. With added interactive web features, you can even pull up your LinkedIn and have access to job history at your fingertips when crafting a new resume, or just add a quick update to your existing one.