Here's a great way to remove all of the formatting from a Word document or just a selected portion of the document:

1. Select the whole document by pressing CTRL+A or just select the portion of the document you wish to change.
   
2. Press CTRL+SHIFT+N.

Presto! All of your formatting is removed from the document or selection.

Navigate Word Documents by Using the Table of Contents

When writing long documents in Microsoft Word, you'll find the table of contents (TOC) is an indispensable tool-even if you don't include the TOC in your final draft! Why? The TOC creates internal links (similar to the ones you find on a Web page) that you can use to quickly navigate a document as you work. And, if you're already using styles, adding a TOC is easy.

First, be sure that you've applied either built-in (for example, Heading 1 and Heading 2) or custom styles to all headings and subheadings in your document. To learn about how to use styles in Word, read David Schell's Reveal and Adjust Text Formatting in Word 2002 tip.

Once you have done that, you can insert a TOC at the beginning or end of your document. To do so:

1. Click where you want to insert the TOC.
   
2. On the Insert menu, point to Reference , and click Index and Tables .
   
3. Click the Table of Contents tab.
   
4. Click Options and make sure a TOC level number appears next to every heading you want to include in your TOC.
   
5. Select any other TOC options you want.

Now, to go to a specific section in your document, click the corresponding page number in the TOC while holding down the CTRL key. To return to the TOC, click the Go to TOC button on the Outlining toolbar.

Editor's Note: To make the Outlining toolbar visible, open the View menu, point to Toolbars , and click Outlining.

Find Shortcuts to Useful Word Features on the Status Bar

Did you know that the status bar, that area at the bottom of Word documents where the page number appears, also provides shortcuts to a number of very useful features? Here are a few you may want to use:

• To open the Find and Replace dialog box, double-click any location indicator on the status bar, such as the page number or section number.
  
• To turn the macro recorder on or off, double-click REC .
  
• To turn the Track Changes feature on or off, double-click TRK .
  
• To turn extend selection mode on or off, double-click EXT .
  
• To turn overtype mode on or off, double-click OVR .
  
• To change the language format of selected text, double-click Language .
  
• To resolve errors in grammar or spelling, double-click the Spelling and Grammar Status icon. Note: When the previous features are turned off, their labels appear dimmed.

Editor's Note: If your status bar is not visible, go to the Tools menu, click Options , click the View tab, and then select the Status bar check box under Show .

Use the Mail Merge Wizard to Make Mass Mailings Easy

The Mail Merge feature in Word, which you can use to create many personalized letters from one standard letter, has always been a timesaver. But it was also tricky to learn and use, especially for new users. Not anymore! The new Mail Merge Wizard in Word version 2002 walks you through every step of the process. It helps you:

1. Select the type of document: letter, label, envelope, or even e-mail message.
   
2. Open or create a list of recipients, or choose individuals from your Outlook Contacts.
   
3. Insert merge fields, such as name and address, into the document.
   
4. Preview the document and remove any recipients before merging.
   
5. Print the finished documents.

To access this new feature:

1. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings , and click Mail Merge Wizard .
   
2. When the Mail Merge task pane appears, simply follow the instructions.

Editor's Note: For more information about Mail Merge, read these how-to articles on the Office Tools on the Web site.

View or Modify Formatting with the Task Pane

You can use the new Reveal Formatting task pane in Word 2002 to view a detailed description of any text in your document. You can also use it to modify or clear the formatting; compare the formatting of different selections, or to find blocks of text with similar formatting. Here's how to use it:

1. Select the text you want to examine or reformat.
   
2. From the Format menu, select Reveal Formatting .
   
3. Do any of the following:
   
   • To change any formatting properties, click one of the underlined commands from within the task pane, and then change any options you want in the dialog box that appears.
     
   • To determine the formatting source, such as whether the formatting comes from a style, select the Distinguish style source check box.
     
   • To show formatting marks, such as paragraph marks and tabs, select the Show all formatting marks check box.
     
   • To format a text selection like the text that surrounds it, select the text. In the Selected text box, click the arrow, and then click Apply Formatting of Surrounding Text .
     
   • To view a feature-by-feature comparison of your text selection with another block of text, select the Compare to another section check box and then select another block of text.

Editor's Note: You can also open the Reveal Formatting task pane by choosing What's This? on the Help menu or selecting text within your document and pressing SHIFT+F1.

Place Tables in Adjacent Columns

Use this trick in Word to put two tables adjacent to each other on a two-column page:

1. Insert two tables, one above the other.
   
2. Adjust the column widths to ensure the total width of each table is less than half the width of the page.
   
3. Select both tables.
   
4. On the Standard toolbar, click the Columns button, and then drag the pointer to select 2 Columns .

Display Precise Table Measurements in the Ruler

In Word, you can adjust table column and row widths by dragging the cell boundaries. Because these boundaries snap to an existing grid, it can be difficult to line up your columns or rows precisely.

To turn off Snap to Grid, and to display detailed column and row measurements in the ruler, click a cell and then hold down the ALT key as you drag the column boundaries.

Note: To show the ruler, click Ruler on the View menu.

Modify Styles Consecutively in a Word Document

When I have numerous paragraph styles to modify, I like to modify them one after the other without closing the Style dialog box-something you can't do when using the Styles and Formatting task pane. Here's how you can access the Style dialog box to modify paragraph styles:

1. Make sure you are in normal view by choosing Normal from the View menu.
   
2. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the View tab.
   
3. In the Style area width box under Outline and Normal options , enter a measurement for the width of the style area, for example, 1.2" and click OK .
   
4. In the style area that appears on the left side of the screen, double-click the name of the first paragraph style you want to modify.
   
5. When the Style dialog box opens, make your adjustments and click Apply . Any changes you make to that style are applied throughout the document.
   
6. Now, without closing the Style dialog box, select and modify the next style. In this way, you can modify every style in the document, one after the other.

View Multiple Pages in Word

Isn't it great how you can see several pages at a time in print preview? Did you know you can also view multiple pages when working in print layout view in Word? Just add the Multiple Pages button to the Standard toolbar. Here's how:

1. On the File menu, click Print Preview .
   
2. Right-click the toolbar and click Standard .
   
3. Right-click the toolbar again and click Customize .
   
4. Holding down the CTRL key, drag a copy of the Multiple Pages button from the Print Preview toolbar to the Standard toolbar.
   
5. Close Print Preview.

Now the Multiple Pages button appears on the Standard toolbar in print layout view. Just click it, and select how many pages you want to view.

Format Copied Text the Way You Wish

I receive electronic documents in various formats. When I use text from one of these source documents, I have to reformat the text to conform to the specifications of the document I am working on. Here's how I make sure that text copied from other documents conforms to my document style:

1. In the source document, select and copy the text you want to use.
   
2. In the destination document, create a blank paragraph and apply any formatting, such as font size, columns, or bullets that you want to apply to the pasted text.
   
3. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special , click Unformatted Text , and then click OK .

The pasted text generally follows the formatting you specified for the blank paragraph.

Editor's Note: When copying or moving text in Microsoft Word version 2002, a Paste Options smart tag will appear just below your pasted selection. If you want to copy or move text without transferring its formatting, click the smart tag button and choose Match Destination Formatting or Keep Text Only from the drop-down menu. Alternatively, if you want the text to retain its original format, select the Keep Source Formatting option. You can also use the Apply Style or Formatting option to apply a style or create a new style for the pasted text.

Make Graphics Line up More Precisely with Text

In the technical writing that I do, I find it helpful to include a picture of a toolbar icon when I refer to it. However, if I just copy and paste the icon into the line of text, the graphic usually appears higher than the text adjacent to it. To resolve this, I do the following:

1. Select the graphic.
   
2. On the Format menu, click Font , and then click the Character Spacing tab.
   
3. Click Lowered in the Position box, and then specify how much space you want in the By box. Three points is usually enough for most small icons.

Editor's Note: To create a picture of a toolbar icon, use your favorite screen capture program or try the following:

1. In an Office program, right-click the button you want an image of, and then click Customize on the shortcut menu.
   
2. With the Customize dialog box open, right-click the button again, and then click Copy Button Image on the shortcut menu.
   
3. Click Close .
   
4. Paste the button image into your document.

Handy Shortcuts for Navigating in Word

Here are a few tricks using the CTRL key that I find useful for quickly navigating through Word documents:

• Hold down the CTRL key and then press the RIGHT ARROW key to move from any point in a word to the beginning of the next word.
  
• Use CTRL+LEFT ARROW key to move from any point in a word to the beginning of that word.
  
• Use CTRL+UP ARROW key to move to the beginning of a paragraph.
  
• Use CTRL+DOWN ARROW key to move to the beginning of the following paragraph.

Customize Comment Text in Word

I find that the default settings for comments in Word 2002 documents are just a little too small. But changing the size and font is easy. You can use standard formatting commands to modify the text in comment balloons as you type. Here's how:

1. On the Format menu, click Styles and Formatting , which will open the Styles and Formatting task pane in the right margin.
   
2. In the task pane, under Pick formatting to apply , make sure the Comment Text entry is visible. If it is, go to step 3; if it is not, do the following:
   
   1. On the Show drop-down menu, click Custom .
      
   2. In the Format Settings dialog box, under Styles to be visible , click Comment Text , and then click OK.
      
3. Under Pick formatting to apply , right-click the Comment Text entry, and then click Modify .
   
4. Select any options you want.
   
5. To see more options, click Format , and then click the attribute that you want to change.
   
6. Click OK after you've changed each attribute.
   
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for any additional attributes you want to change.

Adjust Table Placement in Word

Here's a quick way to reposition a table in Word.

1. In print layout view, rest the pointer on the upper-left corner of the table until the table move handle (a four-headed arrow inside a box) appears.
   
2. Click the handle, and then use it to drag the table to a new location.

Editor's Note: To get to print layout view, click the View menu, and select Print Layout .

Double-Click to Modify Bullets and Numbering

Do you get tired of searching through menu commands to make changes to the numbering schemes in your Word documents? Skip the menus, and use this shortcut instead:

To open the Bullets and Numbering dialog box and adjust the numbering scheme, just double-click one of the numbers in the numbered list.

Create Your Own Custom Word Templates

If you don't like Arial font, you never need to use it again, even when writing a new document in Word version 2002. You can create a template of your favorite font styles and sizes and use it whenever you want-it's nearly as easy as creating a new document. For example, you can create a document template in which Comic Sans, not Arial, is the default font.

To create a custom template:

1. On the View menu, select Task Pane .
   
2. If the New Document task pane is not visible, select it from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the task pane.
   
3. In the New Document task pane, click General Templates .
   
4. In the Templates dialog box that appears, select the General tab, and click Blank Document once to select it (this will be the base for your new template).
   
5. Under the Create New section, click Template , and then click OK .
   
6. In the new template, add any text and graphics you want to appear in all new documents that you base on the template, and delete any items you don't want to appear.
   
7. Make the changes you want to the margin settings, page size and orientation, styles, and other formats. For example, change the font to Comic Sans.
   
8. On the File menu, click Save , give your template a name, and then click Close on the File menu.

Your new, customized template will then be available as a choice under General Templates in the New Document task pane.

Specify Spacing Between Sentences in Word

Whether you prefer to use one space or two between sentences, Word can help you ensure that spacing is consistent within a single document and from one document to the next. You can do this by setting rules for grammar and style.

To set rules for grammar and style:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
   
2. Click Settings .
   
3. In the Grammar and style options box under Require , select the options you want for number of spaces required between sentences.

To restore the original rules of the selected grammar and writing style, click Reset All .

Editor's Note: If you are setting options for text written in a language other than your language version of Word, the options may vary slightly. For example, some group names might be different, and others, such as Require , may not appear.

Position Clip Art in Word Using Text Boxes

A text box is a moveable, sizable container for text or graphics. In Word, you can use a text box when you want more precise control over the position of clip art in a document.

1. On the Drawing toolbar, click Text Box.
   
2. Click the border of the box that contains the words "Create your drawing here," then click the text box that appears, and drag it to where you want to position the graphic.
   
3. To add clip art to the text box, place your cursor within it, click Insert on the menu bar, point to Picture , and click Clip Art .
   
4. In the Insert Clip Art task pane, use the search interface to select your clip art.

You can use the options on the Drawing toolbar to enhance a text box-for example, to change the fill color-just as you can with any other drawing object. When using a text box to display a graphic, be sure to change the line color on the text box to No line .

Smart Tags Bring Outlook Features to Word

You can use Microsoft Word smart tags to update your Microsoft Outlook® Address Book and more.

When you type a person's name, Word 2002 recognizes it and marks it with a smart tag indicator. When you click the Smart Tag Actions button, a list of several possible actions appears. For example, you can choose to add the person to your Outlook Contacts list, send an e-mail message, or schedule a meeting.

Editor's Note: To turn this feature on or off, on the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options , then click the Smart Tags tab, and select or clear the Person names (English) .

Get Easy Access to Documents You Use Often

The Work menu is a great Word feature that few people know about. You can use the Work menu to keep an easily accessible list of your favorite Word files.

To add the Work menu to the menu bar or a toolbar:

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize , and then click the Commands tab.
   
2. In the Categories box, click Built-in Menus .
   
3. Click Work in the Commands box and drag it to the menu bar or displayed toolbar.

With the Work menu in place, you can add any open Word document to your list. Here are the options:

• To add the current document to the Work menu, on the Work menu, click Add to Work Menu .
  
• To open a document on the Work menu, on the Work menu, click the document you want to open.
  
• To remove a document from the Work menu:
  
  1. Press CTRL+ALT+- (dash key). Your cursor will look like a large, bold underscore.
     
  2. On the Work menu, click the document you want to remove.

Align Shapes in Your Word Document Using Gridlines

Microsoft Word features a drawing grid you can use to align drawing objects, such as AutoShapes. By default, gridlines are not visible on the screen. To make them visible:

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars and click Drawing .
   
2. On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw , and then click Grid .
   
3. Select the Display gridlines on screen check box.
   
4. Choose the options you want, and then click OK .

Now you are ready to add shapes to your document. To see all of the shapes available, such as filing cabinets, telephones, and computer monitors, click AutoShapes on the Drawing toolbar and then click More AutoShapes . Then make your selections from the Insert Clip Art task pane.

Customize Grammar and Writing Style in Word

If you have specific rules of grammar and style that you want to apply to every Word document-for example, only one space between sentences or a comma before the last item in a list-you can customize Word so it automatically checks these rules for you.

To customize grammar and writing style:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
   
2. Click Settings .
   
3. In the Writing style box, select whether you want to customize settings for grammar and style, or grammar only.
   
4. In the Grammar and style options box, do one or both of following:
   
   • Under Require , select the options you want for serial commas, punctuation within quotation marks, and number of spaces between sentences.
     
   • Under Grammar and Style , select or clear the check boxes next to the rules you want the grammar checker to check or ignore.

Editor's Note: To restore the original rules of the selected grammar and writing style, click Reset All .

Handy Shortcuts for Word Users

Here are a few shortcuts you can use to access common dialog boxes in Word. To use these shortcuts, the ruler must be displayed.

• Double-click the ruler margin to open the Page Setup dialog box.
  
• Double-click an indent marker to open the Paragraph dialog box.
  
• Double-click a tab stop to open the Tabs dialog box.
  
• When working with a document in multiple-column format, double-click the gray region that separates one column from another to open the Columns dialog box.

Navigate Long Documents Easily with Hidden Bookmarks

When you work with long documents in Word, it can be difficult to remember where certain information appears. But when you use hidden bookmarks, you can quickly navigate to that information. Hidden bookmarks are easy to add and easy to use, and you can put them anywhere you want. Here's how:

To add a bookmark:

1. In your document, click where you want to place a bookmark.
   
2. On the Insert menu, click Bookmark .
   
3. When the Bookmark dialog box opens, name your bookmark.
   
4. Then click Add .

To find your bookmark:

1. Press F5 to open the Find and Replace dialog box.
   
2. Click the Go To tab, and type the bookmark name in the Enter page number field.
   
3. Click the Go To button to get to the information you bookmarked.

Hide White Space for More Screen Space

You can save screen space in Print Layout view by hiding the white space (headers and footers) on the top and bottom of each page and the gray space between pages. To hide white space, move the insertion point to the top or bottom of the page and click the Hide White Space button.

Editor's Note: You can hide white space by default by clicking Options on the Tools menu, and then clearing the White space between pages check box on the View tab.

Add Watermarks to Your Word Documents

Watermarks are text or pictures that appear behind the text. They can add interest or identify the document's status, marking a document as a draft, for example. You can use graphics or text as watermarks and, with Word 2002, adding a watermark to a document is easier than ever.

To add a watermark to a printed document:

1. On the Format menu, point to Background , and then click Printed Watermark .
   
2. Do one of the following:
   
   • To insert a picture as a watermark, click Picture watermark , and then click Select Picture . Select the picture you want, and then click Insert .
     
   • To insert a text watermark, click Text watermark , and then select or enter the text you want.
     
3. Select any additional options you want, and then click Apply .
   
4. To view a watermark as it will appear on the printed page, click Print Layout on the View menu.

Editor's Note: To see your watermark onscreen, click the View menu and select Print Layout . Or, alternatively, click the File menu, and select Print Preview.

Translate Your Word Documents-Pronto!

In Word 2002, you can translate a word, phrase, or whole document to another language by using the Translate task pane. To open this task pane, on the Tools menu point to Language and click Translate .

With this tool, you can:

• Look up words or phrases in the dictionary of a different language, provided that the language dictionary is installed on your computer.
  
• Insert translated text into your document directly from the Translate task pane.
  
• Use translation services on the World Wide Web directly from the Translate task pane. If you need translations of longer sections of text, click the Go button under Translate via the Web from the Translate task pane.

Editor's Note: Most languages (other than English and Western European) are not part of the standard installation of Word. If you want to use this feature, have your installation CDs ready.

Add a Map to Your Word Document Using MapPoint

Did you know that by using smart tags you can insert a Microsoft MapPoint® map into your Word 2002 document?

In a Word 2002 document, when you type an address, a faint dotted line, the smart tag indicator, appears under the address. When you point your mouse at the line, a Smart Tag Actions button appears. Click the Smart Tag Actions button, and then select Insert MapPoint Map .

Editor's Note: If you don't have a copy of MapPoint-but you are connected to the Web-click Display Map to display a map of the address on Expedia.com.

Modify Your Custom Dictionary in Word

You are probably already aware of the fact that you can add your own commonly used terms to the Word custom dictionary (for example, names and acronyms. But once you add a word to the dictionary, do you know how to remove or edit it?

To add, delete, or edit words in a custom dictionary:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
   
2. Click Custom Dictionaries .
   
3. Select the check box next to the dictionary you want to edit.
   
4. Click Modify .
   
5. Then, do one of the following:
   
   • To add a word, type it in the Word box, and then click Add .
     
   • To delete a word, select it in the Dictionary box, and then click Delete .
     
   • To edit a word, select it in the Dictionary box, modify it, and then click Add . Delete the misspelled version.

Check Spelling in Another Language

Sometimes a single document includes words or phrases in more than one language. Since Word uses only one dictionary at a time, the words in the second language will be marked as misspelled. There's a quick way to check these spellings too.

Right-click the text you want to check, point to Language , and then select the language you want used to check the spelling. Now that Word knows which dictionary to use, you can check the spelling of the text as you normally would.

Editor's Note: To use this feature with more languages, you must enable the specific languages you want to use. For more information, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, search for the word "language," and select the Enable editing of multiple languages topic.

Select Nonconsecutive Items in Word 2002

Now Word 2002 users can do something Microsoft Excel users have been doing for a long time-select multiple items that aren't next to each other.

For example, you can select a word in the first paragraph, and a word in the fifth paragraph, but not all the words in between. This is helpful if you want to perform the same task on multiple items, such as delete them or change their formatting.

Here's how you can select items that aren't next to each other:

1. Select the first item you want, such as a table cell or paragraph.
   
2. Hold down CTRL .
   
3. Select any additional items you want.

Reveal and Adjust Text Formatting in Word 2002

The Styles and Formatting task pane can provide you with formatting information about your document. To access this task pane, on the Format menu, click Styles and Formatting .

When Available formatting is selected in the Show box in this task pane, you can see the formatting used in your document, including styles you've created and default heading styles. You can also show all styles in the task pane, or define a custom view.

To make adjustments to the formatting in your Word document:

1. On the Format menu, click Reveal Formatting .
   
2. Select the text whose formatting you want to review. The formatting information will appear in the Reveal Formatting task pane.
   
3. Now, you have several formatting options:
   
   • To change any formatting properties, such as the font, click the hyperlinked text in the task pane, and then change any options you want in the dialog box that appears.
     
   • To determine the formatting source, such as whether the formatting comes from a style, select the Distinguish style source check box.
     
   • To show formatting marks, such as paragraph marks and tabs, select the Show all formatting marks check box.
     
   • To format a text selection so it matches the text that surrounds it, select the text. Point to the Selected text box, click the arrow, and then click Apply Formatting of Surrounding Text .

Editor's Note: It's easy to select all text with the same formatting in your Word 2002 document using the Styles and Formatting task pane. This can be helpful for viewing the text, changing its formatting, or deleting it. To select all text with the same formatting, open the Styles and Formatting task pane, and then, in your document, click a word that's formatted like the text you want to select. (The formatting description will appear under Formatting of selected text in the Styles and Formatting task pane.) In the Styles and Formatting task pane, click Select All .

Track Word Count as You Work

If you need to know how many words are in your document, there's a very easy way to do it in Word 2002. Instead of clicking Word Count on the Tools menu each time you want a recount, use the new the Word Count toolbar. On the View menu, point to Toolbars and click Word Count . Then click Recount to update the count any time you want. You can also choose to see the current number of characters, lines, pages, and paragraphs.

Avoid Inadvertently Opening Web Pages in Word

Selecting text in a Word document can be tricky when that text contains a hyperlink. If you click in the wrong place, you could accidentally open a Web page or a linked document.

With Word 2002, you can have more control over the way hyperlinks function in your document. Now you can modify hyperlink text easily without inadvertently opening a Web page. Here's how:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the Edit tab.
   
2. Select the Use CTRL+Click to follow hyperlink check box.

Lengthen Your List of Recently Used Documents

Word 2002 displays a list of the last four documents you opened in the New Document task pane. It's so easy to open your documents this way, you may find that showing the most recent four is just not enough. What if you want to see a document that's fifth or farther down in the list? You can always click the More documents link to see a longer list of recently used documents. But, if you use this feature a lot, it makes sense to show more documents in the list. You can specify a number as high as nine.

To increase the number of documents displayed on the recently used documents list:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options , and then click the General tab.
   
2. In the Recently used file list box, specify the number of recently used files that you want to appear in the New Document task pane.
   
3. Click OK .

Resume Numbering Easily Using Smart Tags

Sometimes you need to interrupt a numbered list to insert a paragraph of regular text. To quickly resume numbering on the next paragraph, click the Numbering button on the Formatting toolbar. Then, when the AutoCorrect Options smart tag appears, select the option to Continue Numbering . The numbering will pick up right where you left off.

Editor's Note: If the AutoCorrect Options button doesn't automatically appear, click AutoCorrect Options on the Tools menu, and then select the Show AutoCorrect Options buttons check box. Next, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and then select the Automatic numbered lists check box.

Copy an Excel Table and its Formatting in Word

When you copy a table of data from Excel 2002 into Word 2002, you can choose to keep the formatting that was applied to the table in Excel, or you can match the destination table style and your table will be formatted in the Word default table style.

To copy a table from Excel to Word:

1. Open both the Word document you want to copy to and the Excel worksheet that contains the table.
   
2. In Excel, select the table you want to copy.
   
3. On the Edit menu, click Copy .
   
4. Switch to Word, and then click where you want the table to appear.
   
5. On the Edit menu, click Paste .
   
6. Using the Paste Options smart tag, select one of the following options:
   
   • To keep the formatting applied in Excel, select Keep Source Formatting . (Or, to link the table so that it automatically updates with new data, select Keep Source Formatting and Link to Excel.)
     
   • To match the style of a table already in your Word document, select Match Destination Table Style . (Or, to link the table instead of copying it, select Match Destination Table Style and Link to Excel.