Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word 2010 – Part 2

Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word 2010 – Part 2

We’re going to run through a further four tips and tricks to enhance the MS Word 2010 experience for intermediate to advanced users.

Tip 1 – Set a more readable default MS2010 font

‘Calibri’ is the default MS Word 2010 font when you launch the program. This is a ‘sans serif’ font so it doesn’t have the little horizontal strokes at the opening of letter lines that help your eye move along the text. Use the shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + F to open the Font menu. Scroll through the available fonts to something that will be more suitable. You may want to try something like Palatino Linotype, size 12. Choose the desired font and then click set as default in the bottom left-hand corner. Make sure you apply this to all ‘Normal’ templates and then click OK.

Tip 2 – Change the default layout

You can change the default layout in the same way as you changed the font. Use the shortcut ALT + O to open the access command and then press P to open the Paragraph dialog box. You can go through the options and change all of options until you have a page layout that you like. Then set it to default in the same way as the font change.

Tip 3 – Save the embarrassment of exposed revisions

If you send Word documents containing several changes to clients or co-workers, all of the changes will be visible to them if they view tracked revisions. To avoid the embarrassment of all those edits, you can change a setting in Word to warn you when you about to save or print a document in which revisions could be visible.

Click on the File menu and then click on Word Options. Open the Trust Center and then open Trust Center Settings. Find the Privacy Options tab and open that. You will see a checkbox option that reads ‘Warn before printing, saving or sending a file that contains tracked changes or comments’. Check that box and click OK to save.

Tip 4 – Create Building Blocks for frequently used document sections

Building Blocks were a feature introduced in Word 2007. They allow you to create uniform versions of headers, footers and tables etc. This is a great time-saving tip if you tend to use the same header/footer or cover page for several documents. Let’s use the example of a header to show you how Building Blocks work. Create a header by using the Header option under the Insert menu. Select the Blank version from the templates. Then type in the words that you use for several documents e.g. ‘For Staff Use Only’. Use CTRL + A (Select All) to highlight the entire Header. You will need to make sure the text cursor is inside the Header when you do this. Go back to the Insert Header option from earlier but this time you choose ‘Save selection to Header Gallery’. You will be prompted to name the Build Block so select something memorable and then click OK to save.

You can now use this Building Block Header in any future documents by using the Insert Header menu and choosing the Building Block from the Header Gallery.

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA. He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!