Since its inception in 1983, Microsoft Word has grown to become one of the most popular word processing programs in the world, but not everyone is using the software to its full potential. Tessa R Davis, a physician and a writer, shared on Twitter some helpful tips and tricks that can elevate your Microsoft Word experience and turn you into a more professional user.
Here are some of the most helpful tips shared by Davis.
1.2 billion people use Microsoft Word.
Most of us think we know it inside out.
But we don’t.
Here are 8 Microsoft Word tips you wish you knew already:
— Tessa Davis (@TessaRDavis) July 15, 2022
Start writing anywhere
Sometimes, you don’t want to start writing at the beginning of the document and prefer to start somewhere else, like in the middle of the document. For this, you don’t need to press enter many times and then press spacebar many times after that. Instead, you can simply start typing anywhere by double-clicking where you want to start, and Microsoft Word will place the cursor right there, allowing you to start typing.
Use focus mode to eliminate distractions
Microsoft Word has a special mode for times when you need to focus and concentrate on what you’re writing: “focus mode.” Focus mode eliminates all distractions, including white space in the background of the document and the menu bar at the top of the document, giving you a clean, clear workspace for whatever you’re writing. To enable Focus Mode, go to the View tab and select Focus Mode.
Focus mode. (Image credit: Screenshot/Microsoft Word)
Convert a PDF to a Microsoft document
We all know how useful it is to convert a Microsoft Word document to PDF, but did you know that it was also possible to do the opposite? If you go to File>Open and select a PDF document, Word will automatically convert the PDF file into an editable Word document. Note that it may not look exactly the same as the original document as Word is trying to make it editable. This feature also works with images.
Open the PDF as a Word document. (Image credit: Screenshot / Microsoft Word)
Sort lists in alphabetical order
If you have a list of words in a document, you can rearrange the list in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order. All you need to do is select the text you want to sort, and then go to the main tab and press the sort icon. This opens a dialog box where you can enter sorting parameters, including whether you want the list to be sorted alphabetically or reverse alphabetically.
Adding citations and references
Adding references to your Word document. (image credit: Screenshot / Microsoft Word)
If you work in writing research papers and other academic documents, you will know how difficult it is to cite different articles and sources of information, especially when the citation style varies depending on the use case. But Microsoft Word can help you with this by automatically inserting references and citations in the format you need. Go to the “References” tab and click “insert citation” and add the details about the work you want to cite. After that, you can later add a bibliography or a list of references to the end of your document and Microsoft Word will automatically create it in the style you want.
