PAPERmaking! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY ® Volume 10, Number 1, 2024
1. Start with a template This first trick is painfully simple —yet often overlooked. So, we knew we couldn’t go without mentioning the beauty of templates here. Are you always starting from scratch? Do you always opt for a totally blank document — regardless of what you’re creating? Perusing some of Word’s existing templates can save you tons of time. From resumes to brochures, Word offers tons of helpful templates that can eliminate all of your formatting- related headaches (and help you end up with a polished and professional-looking document). So, how do you find these? When you open up Word, instead of creating a blank document, you can take a look at some different template options right there — and even use the search bar to look for something specific. Not seeing that screen when you open Word? No worries. Head to the “File” menu within Word, and then select “New from Template” (or just “New” on a PC) to take a look at the different options you have at your fingertips. NOTE: Want to get crazy and create your own template? When you have your document set the way you want it, click “File,” “Save as Template,” and then name it accordingly. You’ll have everything set for those documents you make repeatedly. On a PC, click “File,” -- > “Save as” -- > “Browse” to the folder you’d like to save the file, and under “Save as type” select “Word template (*.dotx)” from the dropdown. 2. Know your keyboard shortcuts If you’re that person who’s constantly annoying your co -workers by frantically clicking on your mouse like a crazy person, it’s time to familiarize yourself with some keyboard shortcuts. There are so many that can come in handy in Word (seriously, check out our list of 99 Microsoft Word Shortcuts for PC and Mac). There’s no way we can share them all right here. But, here are a few of our favorite shortcuts to take the hassle out of some common scenarios: Shift F3 on PC / FN Shift F3 on Mac: Accidentally type something in ALL CAPS? There’s no need to retype that. Simply highlight the text and then press this shortcut. Doing so will toggle through all of the styles — uppercase, lowercase, and title case. * and Spacebar : Want to quickly create a bulleted list without moving away from where you are in your document? Type an asterisk and then hit the spacebar, and you’ll instantly start your list! CTRL A : Have a long (or short!) document and need to select the whole thing — without endless scrolling? This quick keyboard shortcut will select all of your text for you. Again, there are tons of different keyboard shortcuts you can use to speed things up in Microsoft Word — this barely scratches the surface! Your best bet is to identify some tasks you’re repeatedly doing in Word, and then see if there are existing keyboard shortcuts for those. 3. Save your favorite formatting Let’s say that you have a document that you’re creating repeatedly— like a weekly report, for example. Each week, you find yourself resetting the same formatting for your text. Here’s the good news: There’s no need to do that anymore! Using Microsoft Word’s “Quick Styles,” you can save all of those formatting preferences so that they’re ready to go next time you need to create a document. Let’s look at an example using the heading of a weekly report. Each week, I re - format that title so that it’s bolded, centered, and size 18 font.
Article 11 – Windows Hacks
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