Formatting Documents

Below are several FAQs on Formatting Word Documents.


How do I select a column of text in a document?

How do I copy text without the clipboard?

What is a paragraph property mark and how can I display it on my document?

How do I create an outline for my document?

Is there a quick way to indent a paragraph?

How do I create a table of contents using built-in heading styles?

How can I lock the fields in my document?

How can I format shading to my text?

How can I change the character format as I compose my document?

How can I build a table of contents using custom styles?

Will the reveal codes feature in WordPerfect be added to Microsoft Word in the near future?

 

How do I select a column of text in a document?
Keywords: Column Highlight Select
Posted July 1, 1996

There may be times when you need to select text in an existing document to create a new document or highlight text in order to edit it. Normally, you would select blocks of letters that appear in a sentence, line, or paragraph. You may however encounter a problem when wanting to select text that appears in a column, such as in a list of items, page numbers, or list of numbers. To select a column of text:

  1. Click in front of the first character in the column
  2. Press and hold down the Alt key while dragging the mouse down the text in your column
  3. As you do this you will see that Word highlights the text without regard for words, sentences, or paragraphs
  4. When you reach the last character in the column, release the mouse button

In a situation where you have a long list of items, dragging the mouse may seem time consuming. To speed things up:

  1. Hold the Alt key and click in front of the first character you want to select
  2. Release the Alt key and use the vertical scroll bar to scroll down until the last character you want to select is in view
  3. Hold down the Shift key and click after the last item selected
  4. Word will extend then highlight in between the first and last characters you selected

How do I copy text without the clipboard?
Keywords: Clipboard Copy Paste
Posted July 1, 1996

Word's Copy command to edit a document involves copying text to the clipboard and then pasting the text anywhere at anytime, and as many times as you need it. The text will remain on the clipboard until you overwrite it by cutting or copying another selection. At times you may want to copy text without replacing the Clipboard's contents. For example, the Clipboard may already contain text that you want to paste at a later date, but in the meantime you would like to copy and paste some other text first. This can be done using Word's Go To feature. To use this feature:

  1. Highlight the text you want to copy
  2. Place the cursor where you want to paste
  3. Hold down the Ctrl + Shift key as you right-mouse click

Word will paste the selection bypassing the Clipboard.

What is a paragraph property mark and how can I display it on my document?
Keywords: Paragraph mark Format Print preview
Posted June 8, 1996

Word can display most text format features to show you how your document will appear when printed. However, a few formats which involve the positioning of document elements, defy on-screen previewing when you are in Normal view. These include the Frame feature and the following three Text Flow formats:

To indicate that a document consists of one of these feature formats, Word displays a paragraph property mark ( a symbol of a solid black square) to the left of the formatted paragraph. These symbols are very useful for those who work in Normal view because they provide a shortcut. When double clicking on a paragraph property marker of a framed document, Word will open the Frame dialog box, and if you double click a paragraph marker that is located in a document that has a text flow format, then a dialog box with the Text Flow tab is selected.

How do I create an outline for my document?
Keywords: Outline Organize Heading Subheading
Posted June 8, 1996

When creating a long document that contains many different topics, you may want to consider creating an outline as well to structure your main topics and sub-topics. Word has an Outline feature that consists of working with styles. To begin creating an outline of your document you must display your document in an Outline View. To switch to an Outline View:

  1. Click on the Outline View button which is located to the left of the horizontal scroll bar on the bottom of your screen.
  2. When you are in Outline View, a toolbar should appear below all your other toolbars that are already displayed.

Here is an overview of the buttons on the Outline View toolbar:

When you first view your document, there are Outline View symbols that appear next to your text to indicate the corresponding style.

Is there a quick way to indent a paragraph?
Keywords: Indent Paragraph Margin Format
Posted June 8, 1996

There may be times when editing a document, that you need to indent an entire paragraph. Word offers a shortcut for this format:

  1. Position the insertion point anywhere in the paragraph that you want to indent
  2. Press Ctrl+M
  3. Word will then move the left and first line indent markers to the next default tab stop

Normally the tab stop defaults at .5 inch intervals. Use the ruler located at the top of your screen to view the tab stops. You may also adjust the tab stop to a new default. To do this:

  1. From the menu bar, select Format - Tabs
  2. Enter your setting in the Default Tabs Stops text box
  3. Click OK

To unindent a paragraph:

  1. Press Crtl+Shift+M
  2. Word will then move the left and first line indent marker to the left one tab stop at a time until it reaches the 0 position on the ruler.

How do I create a table of contents using built-in heading styles?
Keywords: Create Table Contents Heading Styles
Posted May 17, 1996

Table of Contents are usually created to organize your document. The easiest way to create a table of contents is to use Word's built in heading styles. Word offers 9 built-in heading styles (Heading 1 through Heading 9) that can be applied to use in your table of contents. To do this:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want your table of contents to begin
  2. From the menu bar, select Insert - Index and Tables
  3. Click the Tables of Contents tab
  4. In the Formats dialog box, select the format you want
  5. Word shows you the results of the selected format in the Preview window
  6. Select Show Page Numbers to display the page numbers in the table of contents
  7. Using Show Levels, select a level of detail for the table of contents
  8. You have the option to select the Right Align check box
  9. You also have the option to select the Tab Leader check box
  10. Click OK when you are ready to insert the table of contents

How can I lock the fields in my document?
Keywords: Lock Fields Document
Posted May 17, 1996

After composing a series of documents using Insert - Field, such as the date field, Word automatically updates the field each time you open the document. However, if you want to lock that particular field to keep Word from updating it, you must do the following:

  1. Highlight the field you want to lock
  2. Press Ctrl+F11 or Ctrl+3

Locked fields look the same way as unlocked fields. The only way to tell them apart is to select the field and press F9 to update the field. If the field is locked, Word will not update it and your computer will beep to alert you.

To unlock a field:

  1. Highlight the field you want to unlock
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F11 or Ctrl+4

How can I format shading to my text?
Keywords: Format Shading Text
Posted May 13, 1996

To place emphasis on a particular part of the text, you may want to shade the background area behind the text. The procedure for shading a paragraph, a table or a table cell is the following:

  1. Highlight the text you want to shade
  2. From the menu bar, select Format -Borders and Shading
  3. Click on the Shading tab
  4. In the Shading fill box, select the desired amount of shade
  5. Click Foreground to select the color of lines or dots
  6. Click Background to select the background color you want
  7. Click OK to close the dialog box

Now, to remove the shading:

  1. Highlight the text you want to unshade
  2. From the menu bar, select Format - Border and Shading
  3. Click on the Shading tab
  4. Click the None button
  5. Click OK

Shortcut:To undo shading Ctrl+Z; to redo shading Ctrl+Y.

How can I change the character format as I compose my document?
Keywords: Change Character Format Document
Posted May 13, 1996

While composing your document you may decide that you want to change the character fonts, the size, or the color of the characters. There are several ways to change font formats. The primary way is through the Format Font dialog box. However, there are several ways to activate the Format Font dialog box. Here are your different options:

How can I build a table of contents using custom styles?
Keywords: Table Contents Custom Styles
Posted April 25, 1996

A table of contents added to a document organizes the material presented in a logical fashion. The table lists headings in the order they appear. Word offers built-in styles to use as headings for your table of contents. However, you may decide that you have additional styles that you would like to include, either in combination with built-in styles or instead of them.

To customize your table of contents:

  1. Click on the document where you want to insert the table of contents
  2. From the menu bar, click on Insert - Index and Tables
  3. Click on the Tables of Contents tab
  4. Select the Show Page Numbers, if you so desire
  5. Check or uncheck the Right Align Page Numbers box
  6. Check or uncheck the Tab Leader

To select different styles:

  1. Click the Options button
  2. Click on the Styles check box
  3. Scroll through the list of styles displayed and select the heading style you want
  4. Under the TOC Level, enter a number from 1 through 9 to indicate the level you want that heading style to represent
  5. Click OK to accept your selection
  6. Click OK to insert the table of contents

Will the reveal codes feature in WordPerfect be added to Microsoft Word in the near future?
Keywords: Reveal Codes WordPerfect Word
Posted February 9, 1996

Reveal Codes are on-screen indicators of formatting results. In preparing documents for Web display, we use reveral codes as the documents are just text. These would appear as <B>To turn text Bold</B>. Reveal codes will never be added to Word. This is because Word is a WYSIWYG editor. Reveal codes were established in the DOS version of word processors which could not show the results on screen. The power behind WYSIWYG is not only to see the results (bold Text) but to see how the page will print. Adding reveal codes would add to the length of lines, paragraphs, and pages. Word displays text as a graphic element. Therefore, the code is revealed, because it is shown just as it would print.

You could write or record some macros, i.e. Ctrl+B (for bold) which would insert some hidden text whenever you pressed a key combination, effectively showing you the reveal codes without them being a part of your printable document, but it would mess up the true WYSIWYG layout.

There is an interesting feature along the lines of reveal codes unofficially called the Format Sniffer. Click on the help button (the pointer with question mark at the right side of the Standard toolbar), then, click on the text that you want to know formatting information about. This displays a pop-up window showing all the formatting of the character selected. You can click around as this tool stays turned on. Click the button again to turn it off. You can also look up reveal codes in Word's WordPerfect help and it will demonstrate it.

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