Using the Undo and Redo commands

If you insert or change text in your document and then want to cancel the insertion, use the Undo command. Undo remembers the actions that you have taken since you opened the document.

Undo toolbar button... It can be your best friend!

Undoing what you’ve done Open an existing document, if you have one with text.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file. Make several changes to the document that you will "want" to undo. If you can't think of anything, do what's written in number 2 below.   Position the insertion point anywhere in a line. On the Formatting toolbar, click the Increase Indent button. Select a couple words, then change their size, color, and style. On the Standard toolbar, click the arrow next to the Undo button, and scroll down to Increase Indent. Click it to undo all those tasks on the list, without undoing those tasks performed at a prior time that may be listed below it. Keep this document active for the next section, Redoing what you've undone. Keystrokes: You can also use Ctrl+Z to Undo the last action.

Note If you click back to the beginning of your Undo list, you will return the entire document to the form it was in when you last saved it.  If you only click on the button itself, you will undo the previous task only, for each click.

Redoing what you’ve undone (Undoing an Undo!)...Redo toolbar button... On the Standard toolbar, click and drag the Redo arrow to the end of the list, and redo the actions you undid in the previous step. Keystrokes: You can also use Ctrl+Y to Redo the last Undo.

Finding and replacing text

The Find and Replace feature in Word is used to locate and replace specific text, punctuation, or special characters within a document. You can even find words that sound like other words, which makes it easy to find words even when they are misspelled or you are unsure of the exact spelling.

Finding and replacing text

1. Open an existing document, if you have one with text.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. Look over the document and find a word to use for this practice search. If you are using the document in #1 above, you will look for planetary.
3. On the Edit menu, click Find.

- or -
Press Ctrl+F.

3. In the Find and Replace dialog box, click More to see more search options.
4. In the Find what dialog box, type the word you chose, or type Planetary if you opened the document from #1.
5. Click Find Next to begin your search.
6. Click Cancel to close the Find and Replace box.

• Click Sounds like to find words that sound like a word that you either don't know the spelling of, or think you may have misspelled.

7. Close the document without saving changes.

Viewing two documents at the same time

Word lets you view two different documents at the same time from with in Word. This feature is useful when you have material in one document that you want to copy and paste into another.

Viewing two different documents

1. Open an existing document, if you have one with text.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. With that document open, open another document from within Word, or open a new one, or open this one, too.
3. In the Window menu, click Arrange All.
   
   
   
   
4. Close each document separately by clicking the Close Window button in the upper-right corner of each document window, not the Word program window.

Inserting symbols

Word offers a wide range of symbols that you can use in your documents. You can easily enter mathematical formulas, Greek letters, and other symbols using the Symbol command and shortcut keys.

Inserting symbols with the Symbol command

1. Open a Word document.
2. Note the location of the insertion point, or cursor.
3. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
   
   
    
4. Click a symbol to insert into your document, and then click Insert.
5. You can change fonts (in the Font: Drop-down box) to look for symbols available in a different font than the one you start with. There are special fonts, like Wingdings and Webdings, that you can use, too.
6. Click the Special Characters tab to see commonly used symbols that you can insert, like the Copyright © symbol.
7. Click Close (appears at the bottom of the Symbol box after you click Insert) to return to your document.
8. Close the document.

Note
Clicking the symbol enlarges its view to an easier-to-see size.

Inserting symbols with keyboard strokes (Keystrokes)

Inserting a copyright symbol

1. Open a Word document.
2. Type 2001 then your own name.
3. Position the insertion point at the beginning of the line.
4. Press Alt+Ctrl+C. The © (copyright) symbol will appear before the text.
5. Close the document

Adding other graphics to your text

1. Open a Word document.
2. Make sure your insertion point (cursor) is on a new blank line and type a colon followed by a right parenthesis :) , and watch what happens.
3. Select the image, and press ctrl+] to increase the point size by one point at a time.
4. Type a colon followed by a left parenthesis  :(   Can you guess  what will appear?
5. Close the document without saving changes.

Create Shortcut Keys

Using Word you can easily set up shortcut keys for symbols. For instance, when your teacher sends home permission slips for a field trip, there could be pictures of scissors indicating where the slip should be cut, and a noticeable arrow where the signature is needed. On a class assignment schedule meaningful symbols could be added that indicate differences between written assignments, oral assignments, tests, and quizzes.

Once you create a shortcut key, you can add the symbol at any time with just a few keystrokes.

Adding a graphic of scissors to your shortcut keys

1. Open a new document.
2. On the Insert menu, click Symbol.
3. From the Font list, click Wingdings.
4. Click one of the scissors symbols.
5. Click Shortcut Key.
6. With the insertion point in the Press new shortcut key box, press Alt+M.
7. Click Assign.
8. Click Close to close the Customize Keyboard dialog box.
9. Click the same scissors symbol again to verify that Alt+M is displayed as the shortcut key in the lower-right corner of the dialog box.
10. Click Close.
11. Press Alt+M 10 times to create a line of scissors.
12. Close the document without saving changes.

Note: BE CAREFUL WITH THIS FEATURE!
If you try to assign a symbol to a shortcut key that is already assigned elsewhere, Word will overwrite the existing shortcut key without any warning.

To check on your current Shortcut Key settings:

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click Keyboard.
3. Scroll through the various Categories and Commands in their respective windows: any current shortcut key assignments will show up in the Current keys window.

Go To

Use the Go To feature to go to specific parts of a document, like a specific page, table, or other item.

1. Click Edit> Go To...
   -or-
   Double-click on the left half of the status bar.
   -or-
   Type Ctrl+G
   The Find and Replace dialog box opens.

2. > This is the third tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.<
   You can choose a component of your document that you want to find, such as a particular page.
   This is especially useful in very large documents.

Inserting fields

You can insert fields into your document to serve as placeholders for data or information that may change, such as page numbers, file names, and dates.

Headers and footers contain information that repeats from page to page within a document. You can easily insert fields in the header or footer on each page—the most common field used in headers and footers is the page number. The Page Setup command on the File menu controls the appearance of headers and footers. A document can have different headers for odd and even pages. For example, you can set it up so that the page number appears on the right on odd-numbered pages, and on the left on even-numbered pages, as you might find in a book.

Inserting Headers and Footers

1. Open an existing document if you have one.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
3. Move the insertion point over on each button on the Header and Footer toolbar to reveal its function.
4. Click the Switch between header and footer button.
5. Click the Insert Page Number button.
6. Save but do not close yet.

Inserting Calendar Dates & Times

You can insert a date that automatically updates to the current date each time you open the document.

Note
This feature depends on your system date.  If the time and date on your computer system is wrong, it will be wrong on the document you use this feature on.

Inserting the current date into your documents

1. Open an existing document, if you have one with text.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. Click Insert> Date and Time.
   
   
   
3. Click the day, month, and year format you prefer.
4. Click the Update automatically check box if you want to have Word insert the current date each time the document is opened.
5. Click OK.
6. Repeat steps 2 - 3, only try other formats to see them in your document.  Note the options that include the time, in addition to the date.
7. Close the document.

Inserting Page Numbers

1. Open an existing document, if you have one with text.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. Click Insert > Page Number.
   
3. Choose the Position on the page where you want to place the page number: Bottom, Top, etc.
4. Choose the Alignment: Left, Right, Center.
5. Click or unclick "Show number on first page"
6. Click the Format button to make changes to the format of your page numbers.

Inserting Breaks

You can insert

• Page breaks, which put a manual break in your document, and continue the document on a new or the next page,
• Section breaks, to vary the layout of a document within a page or between pages.

Inserting Page breaks into your document

1. Open an existing document if you have one.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. Position the insertion point near the middle of the document into the front of a line.
3. On the Insert menu, click Break.
   
   
   
   
4. Click Page Break, (it should be the default, though) and then click OK.

Delete a Page break

1. Click the Show/Hide button.
2. Select the break you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.

Inserting Section breaks into your document

Why would you need Section breaks?

• You might need to format a section as a single column for the introduction of a report, and then format the following section as two columns for the rest of the report, but format the Reference section as one column again.

1. Open an existing document if you have one.  If not, click HERE and save it as a Word file.
2. Position the insertion point near the middle of the document into the front of a line.
3. On the Insert menu, click Break.
   
4. Choose one of the Section break types:

• Next page inserts the break at the bottom of the current page,
• Continuous inserts a section break on the page where your cursor is,
• Even page inserts the break where your cursor is, but the new section starts on the next even page,
• Odd page inserts the break where your cursor is, but the new section starts on the next odd page.

5. Click OK.

Formatting sections differently

1. Create a new section.
2. Click your cursor into that section, and format borders or columns differently than elsewhere in your document.

AutoCorrect

To automatically detect and correct typos, misspelled words, and incorrect capitalization, you can use AutoCorrect.

For example, if you are typing along and happen to type " she went to teh house" WORD will automatically change "teh" to "the."

AutoCorrect has many of these types of corrections in its database. If you mean to type the personal "I" but type lowercase "i", with spaces on either side, it will be changed to capital "I".

 Words at the beginning of sentences will be capitalized. 

To customize AutoCorrect:

• Click on Tools> AutoCorrect... to see the options.
• Check or uncheck various options to have AutoCorrect behave in the way most convenient for you.
• Uncheck all to essentially turn AutoCorrect off.

Click and Type

Use the Click and Type feature to easily place text into a particular area of a blank portion of your document. When you use Click and Type, the paragraph formatting associated with that location is applied, such as: If you Double click near the center of the screen, the Align Center formatting will be applied.

An example from the Word Help files: "...to create a title page, double-click in the middle of a blank page and type a centered title. Then, double-click the lower-right margin of the page and type a right-aligned author name."

In Print Layout View,

1. Open a New blank Document.
2. Point your cursor in the workspace where you want to position the insertion point.
3. When the cursor looks like one of these, Double-click to position the insertion point,
   with the following Paragraph Formatting:
   
   Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right.
   

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UPDATED 01/29/06