You’ll often want to format, or change the style of, certain words or phrases to add emphasis to parts of a document. In addition to the standard formatting options—Bold, Italic, Underline, etc.—Word provides additional formatting effects to text, including Strikethrough, Double Strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript, Shadow, Outline, Emboss, Engrave, Small Caps, All Caps, and Hidden. To help you format sentences correctly and change capitalization, you can change text case.
Select the text you want to format.
Click the Format menu, and then click Font.
Click the Font tab.
Click the formatting (Font, Font Style, Size, Font color, Underline style, and Underline color) you want.
Click to select the effects (Strikethrough, Double strikethrough, Superscript, Subscript, Shadow, Outline, Emboss, Engrave, Small caps, All caps, and Hidden) you want.
Check the results in the Preview box.
Select the Enable all ligatures in document check box to display ligatures, which are joined or decorative characters. This improves text style and readability.
Office 2008 can display ligatures (New!), while Office 2007 for Windows or older version cannot.
To make the new formatting options the default for all new Word documents, click Default, and then click Yes.
Click OK.
Word can automatically perform some formatting functions for you as you type a document. For example, you can change straight quotation marks to smart (curly) quotes, hyphens to en-dashes or em-dashes, an asterisk before and after text to bold text, or an underscore before and after text to italic text. You can also type a number and text or a bullet and text to start a numbered or bulleted list. If you had AutoFormat disabled when you created the document, you still have the option of using the feature to find and correct errors in formatting.
Click the Tools menu, and then click AutoCorrect.
Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
Select or clear the AutoFormat check boxes you want to use. Point to the option to display a description.
Click OK.
Your choices take effect, but they only apply to text you will be entering subsequently. In this case, AutoFormat does not correct errors retroactively.
Click the Format menu, and then click AutoFormat.
Click Options, select the formatting options you want, and then click OK.
Click the AutoFormat now option to have Word automatically format the document, or click the AutoFormat and review each change option to review, and then accept or reject each change.
Click OK.
If you chose the AutoFormat and review each change option, then continue.
Click Review Changes to look at changes individually.
Click Style Gallery if you want to preview your document, and then click OK.
Use the Accept and Reject buttons to accept or reject the review changes.
Click Close or Cancel.
Suddenly you realize all the bold text in your report would be easier to read in italics. Do you spend time making these changes one by one? No. The Find and Replace feature locates the formatting and instantly substitutes new formatting. If your search for a formatting change is an easy one, click Less in the Find and Replace dialog box to decrease the size of the dialog box. If your search is a more complex one, click More to display additional options. With the Match Case option, you can specify exact capitalization. The Highlight all items found in option highlights items found to make them easier to read. The Go To tab quickly moves you to a place or item in your document.
Click the Edit menu, and then click Find.
To clear any previous settings, click No Formatting.
If you want to locate formatted text, type the word or words.
Click the Format drop-down, and then click the formatting option you want to find.
To highlight located items, click Highlight all items found in check box, click the drop-down, and then click Main Document or Headers and Footers.
Click Find Next to select the next instance of the formatted text.
Click OK to confirm Word finished the search.
Click Close or Cancel.
Click the Edit menu, and then click Replace.
Click in the Find What box. If you want to locate formatted text, type the word or words.
Click the Format drop-down, and then click the formatting you want to find. When you’re done, click OK.
Click in the Replace with box, and then type any text you want to substitute.
Click the Format drop-down, and then click the formatting you want to substitute. When you’re done, click OK.
To substitute every instance of the formatting, click Replace All.
To substitute the formatting one instance at a time, click Find Next, and then click Replace.
If you want to cancel the replace, click Cancel.
If necessary, click Yes to search from the start of the document.
Click OK to confirm completion.
Click the Close button or Cancel.
Did You Know?
You can find and replace special characters and document elements. In Word, you can search for and replace special characters (for example, an em dash) and document elements (for example, a tab character). Click More in the Find and Replace dialog box, click Special, and then click the item you want from the menu.
Text starts out positioned evenly along the left margin, and uneven, or ragged, at the right margin. Left-aligned text works well for body paragraphs in most cases, but other alignments vary the look of a document and help lead the reader through the text. Right-aligned text, which is even along the right margin and ragged at the left margin, is good for adding a date to a letter. Justified text spreads text evenly between the margins, creating a clean, professional look, often used in newspapers and magazines. Centered text is best for titles and headings. You can use Click-And-Type to quickly center titles or set different text alignment on the same line, or you can use the alignment buttons on the Alignment and Spacing panel to set alignment on one or more lines.
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Position the I-beam at the left, right, or center of the line where you want to insert new text.
When the I-beam shows the appropriate alignment, double-click to place the insertion point, and then type your text.
The lines in all Word documents are single-spaced by default, which is appropriate for letters and most documents. But you can easily change your document line spacing to double or 1.5 lines to allow extra space between every line. This is useful when you want to make notes on a printed document. Sometimes, you’ll want to add space above and below certain paragraphs, for headlines, or indented quotations to help set off the text.
Select the text you want to change.
Click the Formatting Palette tab.
Click the Alignment and Spacing panel to expand it.
To quickly change line spacing, click a line spacing button: Single Space, 1.5 Space, or Double Space.
To quickly change spacing before or after a paragraph spacing, specify a number in the Before or After boxes.
To enter precise parameters, click the Format menu, click Paragraph, click the Indents and Spacing tab, specify the line or paragraph settings you want, and then click OK.
Word rulers do more than measure. The horizontal ruler above the document shows the length of the typing line and lets you quickly adjust left and right margins and indents, set tabs, and change column widths. The vertical ruler along the left edge of the document lets you adjust top and bottom margins and change table row heights. You can hide the rulers to get more room for your document. As you work with long documents, use the document map to jump to any heading in your document. Headings are in the left pane and documents in the right.
Click the View menu, and then click Ruler.
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To view the horizontal ruler, click the Web Layout View or Draft View button.
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To view the horizontal and vertical rulers, click the Print Layout View button.
When the rulers are hidden, you can move your mouse over the horizontal or vertical ruler area to display them as you need it.
Did You Know?
You can change the ruler measurements. Change the ruler to show inches, centimeters, millimeters, points, or picas. Click the Word menu, click Preferences, click General, click the Measurement units drop-down, and then select the measurement you want, and then click OK.
You can set your text to be hyphenated. Hyphenation prevents ugly gaps and short lines in text. Click the Tools menu, click Hyphenation, and then select the Automatically hyphenate document check box for automatic use or clear it and click Manual for manual use. Click Options to set the hyphenation zone and limit the number of consecutive hyphens (usually two), and then click OK.
In your document, tabs set how text or numerical data aligns in relation to the document margins. A tab stop is a predefined stopping point along the document’s typing line. Default tab stops are set every half-inch, but you can set multiple tabs per paragraph at any location. Choose from four text tab stops: left, right, center, and decimal (for numerical data). The bar tab inserts a vertical bar at the tab stop. You can use the Tab button on the horizontal ruler to switch between the available tabs.
Select one or more paragraphs in which you want to set a tab stop.
Click the Tab button on the horizontal ruler, and then select the type of tab stop you want.
Click the ruler where you want to set the tab stop.
If necessary, drag the tab stop to position it where you want.
To display a numerical measurement in the ruler where the tab is placed, press and hold Alt as you drag.
To clear a tab stop, drag it off the ruler.
Did You Know?
You can view formatting marks. Sometimes it’s hard to see the number of spaces or tabs between words. You can change the view to display formatting marks, a period for space and an arrow for tabs. Click Show button on the Standard toolbar to toggle on and off.
Quickly indent lines of text to precise locations from the left or right margin with the horizontal ruler. Indent the first line of a paragraph (called a first-line indent) as books do to distinguish paragraphs. Indent the second and subsequent lines of a paragraph from the left margin (called a hanging indent) to create a properly formatted bibliography. Indent the entire paragraph any amount from the left and right margins (called left indents and right indents) to separate quoted passages. You can indent the first line of a paragraph by clicking at the beginning of the paragraph, and then pressing Tab. You can indent the entire paragraph by selecting it, and then pressing Tab.
Click the View menu, and then click Ruler to display the Ruler.
Click the paragraph or select multiple paragraphs to indent:
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To change the left indent of the first line, drag the First-line Indent marker.
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To change the indent of the second and subsequent lines, drag the Hanging Indent marker.
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To change the left indent for all lines, drag the Left Indent marker.
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To change the right indent for all lines, drag the Right Indent marker.
As you drag a marker, the dotted guideline helps you accurately position the indent. You can also press and hold Control to see a measurement in the ruler.
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To set precise parameters for left, right, and first-line indents, expand the Alignment and Spacing panel on the Formatting Palette tab, and then specify measurements in the Left, Right, and First boxes.
The best way to draw attention to a list is to format the items with bullets or numbers. You can even create multi-level lists. For different emphasis, change any bullet or number style to one of Word’s many predefined formats. For example, switch round bullets to check boxes or Roman numerals to lowercase letters. You can also customize the list style or insert a picture as a bullet. If you move, insert, or delete items in a numbered list, Word sequentially renumbers the list for you.
Click where you want to create a bulleted or numbered list.
Click the Formatting Palette tab.
Click the Bullet and Numbering panel to expand it.
Click the Bullets or Numbering button.
Click the Style drop-down, and then select a style.
For a numbered list, enter a start value for the numbered list.
Type the first item in your list, and then press Return.
Type the next item in your list, and then press Return.
Click the Bullets or Numbering button again, or press Return to end the list.
Select the list, click the Format menu, and then click Bullets and Numbering.
Click the Bulleted tab or the Numbered tab.
Click a predefined format.
Click Customize to change the format style, and then click OK. You can change the Bullet (or Number) Position and Text Position options to specify where you want the bullet (or number) to appear and how much to indent the text.
Click the Restart numbering or Continue previous list option.
Click OK.
Start the list as usual.
Press Tab to indent a line to the next level bullet or number, type the item, and then press Return to insert the next bullet or number.
Press Shift+Tab to return to the previous level bullet or number.
End the list as usual.
To format the multi-level list, select the list, click the Format menu, click the Bullets and Numbering, click the Outline Numbered tab, select a format, and then click OK.
Kerning is the amount of space between each individual character that you type. Sometimes the space between two characters is larger than others, which makes the word look uneven. You can use the Font dialog box to change the kerning setting for selected characters. Kerning works only with TrueType or Adobe Type Manager fonts. You can expand or condense character spacing to create a special effect for a title, or re-align the position of characters to the bottom edge of the text—this is helpful for positioning the copyright or trademark symbols.
Select the text you want to format.
Click the Format menu, and then click Font.
Click the Character Spacing tab.
Click the Spacing drop-down, click an option, and then specify a point size to expand or condense spacing by the amount specified.
Click the Position drop-down, click an option, and then specify a point size to raise or lower the text in relation to the baseline (bottom of the text).
Select the Kerning for fonts check box, and then specify a point size.
Check the results in the Preview box.
To make the new formatting options the default for all new Word documents, click Default, and then click Yes.
Click OK.
When you create a document in Word, the default text direction, also known as orientation, is horizontal across the page. If you want to create a different type of document, such as a flyer, you can change the text direction to vertical right or vertical left. You can change text direction by using the Alignment and Spacing panel on the Formatting Palette tab or the Text Direction command on the Format menu.
The Format Painter copies and pastes formatting from one batch of selected text to another without copying the text. When you want to apply multiple groupings of formatting, save each as a style. A style is a collection of formatting settings saved with a name in a document or template that you can apply to text at any time. If you modify a style, you make the change once, but all text tagged with that style changes to reflect the new format. Each style set consists of a variety of different formatting style combinations, which you can view using the styles available in the Styles panel on the Formatting Palette tab. The Styles panel allows you to view the current style of the selected text, create or modify a style, view available or all styles, and clear formatting.
Text within a document is based on a style, which you can view using the Style panel or the Reveal Formatting command. If you want to view the style for one piece of text, the Style panel is quick and easy. You can open the Styles panel to display the format of selected text, such as its font and font effects. However, if you want to view the style for multiple pieces of text, the Reveal Formatting command is the best way to go, where you can turn it on, view text styles, and then turn it off.
Click the View menu, and then click Reveal Formatting.
The cursor changes to a comment bubble with text.
Select the text you want to reveal.
A screen appears, displaying paragraph and font formatting styles with specific details.
To dismiss the screen, move your mouse.
When you’re done, click the View menu, and then click Reveal Formatting.
Word provides a variety of styles to choose from. But sometimes you need to create a new style or modify an existing one to get the exact look you want. When you create a new style, specify if it applies to paragraphs or characters, and give the style a short, descriptive name that describes its purpose so you and others recall when to use that style. A paragraph style is a group of format settings that can be applied only to all of the text within a paragraph (even if it is a one-line paragraph), while a character style is a group of format settings that is applied to any block of text at the user’s discretion. To modify a style, adjust the formatting settings of an existing style.
Select the text whose formatting you want to save as a style.
Click the Formatting Palette tab, and then click the Styles panel to expand it.
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You can also click the Format menu, and then click Styles.
Click New Style.
Type a short, descriptive name.
Click the Style type drop-down, and then click Paragraph to include the selected text’s line spacing and margins in the style, or click Character to include only formatting, such as font, size, and bold, in the style.
Click the Style for following paragraph drop-down, and then click the name of style you want to be applied after a paragraph with the new style.
To add the style to the document template, select the Add to template check box.
To automatically update the style, select the Automatically update check box.
Click OK.
Click the Format menu, and then click Styles.
Select the style you want to modify.
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You can also point to a style in the Styles panel on the Formatting Palette tab, click the list arrow, and then click Modify.
Click Modify.
Click Format, and then click the formatting type you want:
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To change character formatting, such as font type and boldface, click Font.
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To change line spacing and indents, click Paragraph.
Select the properties and formatting options you want.
Check the Preview box, and review the style description. Make any formatting changes necessary.
Click OK.
Click Apply.
Did You Know?
You can save time by using the Styles feature. Once you format a document with styles, you can try different looks quickly. Modify each style, and then watch all text tagged with that style change automatically.
You can view different style lists. When looking at the list of styles in the Styles panel, you can select what types of styles to view from the List drop-down: Available Formatting, Formatting In Use, Available Styles, and All Styles.
If you have confidential information in a document or text that you don’t want others to see, you can hide the text. When you hide text, you can’t view or print the text unless you select the Hidden Text option in the Preferences dialog box. When you display or print hidden text, the characters appear with a dotted lined underneath. Hiding text does not protect your text from being seen, but it does conceal it from others.
