By
Reen Rose
Submitted On July 09, 2014
1. Worrying about the look of the document too early in the process
This is one of the most common traps people fall in to. If you don't know how long your document is going to be and exactly what content it is going to contain, you can't make good formatting decisions.
I cringe when I think of all the time I wasted before stumbling on this principle and yes, it makes a huge difference to the time needed to create a document. Type all your text, insert any pictures, SmartArt and other objects that you want to include and then start to think about the way you want the text to look.
If you start formatting at the beginning of the process, you will probably waste time changing your mind and tweaking your decisions over and over again.
2. Not using styles to format
Styles are the power of MS Word and yet many long-time word processors don't use them. Trust me when I say that anything that takes up over half of the Home ribbon has got to have some value.
Rather than manually finding and formatting every heading in a document, use styles. The many advantages include speed and consistency.
Styles can be attached with a quick keystroke while you type and then you can format the style when you have finished creating the text. Everything that has had that style attached to it will automatically change if you modify the style. No more worrying about missing a heading.
3. Always starting from scratch
If you often create similar documents, don't start each one from scratch. Utilize Templates and Quick Parts.
A template can be created in any of the Office Suite programs simply by saving it as a template. Create the bare bones of your document and then use Save As making sure the File Type is Template.
Every time you open a template, it will be like ripping the top page off a pad of paper. You can change the new page in any way you want, but the template will remain unaltered.
Quick Parts allow you to save chunks of content to reuse.
1. Create the text, or graphic that you want to use in other documents
2. Highlight it and go to the Quick Parts button (Insert ribbon, Text group)
3. Choose Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery
4. Name the Quick Part and choose the appropriate gallery
When you want to insert the Quick Part, simply return to the command on the Insert ribbon.
4. Not understanding the difference between page and section breaks
Page Breaks simply allow you to break onto a new page.
Section breaks are powerful tools, but in the hands of an unknowledgeable user, they can be very dangerous. Section breaks can be used to go onto a new page, or they can start a new section on the same page. Section breaks hold the formatting for the section of the document that comes before it, so if you add a section break, format your document and then delete the break, all the formatting for that section is also deleted. The section will take on the format of the following section.
Take the time to learn about section breaks. They will allow you to have different headers and footers (including page numbers), change the orientation of specific pages in the same document and change from single columns of text to multi-columns on the same page.
5. Thinking the show/hide marks are a waste of time
In my early days of word processing I had my feet firmly planted in the camp of people who refused to use the non-printing marks because they were too confusing. In truth, I didn't understand how Word worked, so the marks had no value for me. I just typed and hoped for the best.
If you want to be a proficient Word user, you need to have the marks on. They are your friend, not an annoying clutter on the screen. The marks let you know when a break has been inserted and what type of break it is. If you don't know where it is, how can you delete it?
Many of us suffer from unwanted blank pages at the end of our documents. They aren't actually blank they just don't contain any text, or other visual content. They are probably full of non-printing marks. Word thinks you put them there for a reason, so keeps these pages attached to the document. Turn on your marks to find and remove them.
This article is only an introduction to these five topics. If any of these skills are new to you, find out more about them. They will save you time and help you improve your word processing skills. Remember to work smart, not hard.
Reen Rose is an empowerment expert who believes in aiding
businesses of all sizes, by helping individuals and teams acquire the
skills they need to be happy and successful in their work. She is an
experienced Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Office Specialist
Master and a Myers Briggs certified practitioner.
She has been described as 'focused, fun and very effective'.
To find out more about Reen and the training and corporate services she offers, please visit her website at http://adf.ly/qCx7g.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Reen_Rose
1. Worrying about the look of the document too early in the processThis is one of the most common traps people fall in to. If you don't know how long your document is going to be and exactly what content it is going to contain, you can't make good formatting decisions.
I cringe when I think of all the time I wasted before stumbling on this principle and yes, it makes a huge difference to the time needed to create a document. Type all your text, insert any pictures, SmartArt and other objects that you want to include and then start to think about the way you want the text to look.
If you start formatting at the beginning of the process, you will probably waste time changing your mind and tweaking your decisions over and over again.
2. Not using styles to format
Styles are the power of MS Word and yet many long-time word processors don't use them. Trust me when I say that anything that takes up over half of the Home ribbon has got to have some value.
Rather than manually finding and formatting every heading in a document, use styles. The many advantages include speed and consistency.
Styles can be attached with a quick keystroke while you type and then you can format the style when you have finished creating the text. Everything that has had that style attached to it will automatically change if you modify the style. No more worrying about missing a heading.
3. Always starting from scratch
If you often create similar documents, don't start each one from scratch. Utilize Templates and Quick Parts.
A template can be created in any of the Office Suite programs simply by saving it as a template. Create the bare bones of your document and then use Save As making sure the File Type is Template.
Every time you open a template, it will be like ripping the top page off a pad of paper. You can change the new page in any way you want, but the template will remain unaltered.
Quick Parts allow you to save chunks of content to reuse.
1. Create the text, or graphic that you want to use in other documents
2. Highlight it and go to the Quick Parts button (Insert ribbon, Text group)
3. Choose Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery
4. Name the Quick Part and choose the appropriate gallery
When you want to insert the Quick Part, simply return to the command on the Insert ribbon.
4. Not understanding the difference between page and section breaks
Page Breaks simply allow you to break onto a new page.
Section breaks are powerful tools, but in the hands of an unknowledgeable user, they can be very dangerous. Section breaks can be used to go onto a new page, or they can start a new section on the same page. Section breaks hold the formatting for the section of the document that comes before it, so if you add a section break, format your document and then delete the break, all the formatting for that section is also deleted. The section will take on the format of the following section.
Take the time to learn about section breaks. They will allow you to have different headers and footers (including page numbers), change the orientation of specific pages in the same document and change from single columns of text to multi-columns on the same page.
5. Thinking the show/hide marks are a waste of time
In my early days of word processing I had my feet firmly planted in the camp of people who refused to use the non-printing marks because they were too confusing. In truth, I didn't understand how Word worked, so the marks had no value for me. I just typed and hoped for the best.
If you want to be a proficient Word user, you need to have the marks on. They are your friend, not an annoying clutter on the screen. The marks let you know when a break has been inserted and what type of break it is. If you don't know where it is, how can you delete it?
Many of us suffer from unwanted blank pages at the end of our documents. They aren't actually blank they just don't contain any text, or other visual content. They are probably full of non-printing marks. Word thinks you put them there for a reason, so keeps these pages attached to the document. Turn on your marks to find and remove them.
This article is only an introduction to these five topics. If any of these skills are new to you, find out more about them. They will save you time and help you improve your word processing skills. Remember to work smart, not hard.
Reen Rose is an empowerment expert who believes in aiding
businesses of all sizes, by helping individuals and teams acquire the
skills they need to be happy and successful in their work. She is an
experienced Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Office Specialist
Master and a Myers Briggs certified practitioner.She has been described as 'focused, fun and very effective'.
To find out more about Reen and the training and corporate services she offers, please visit her website at http://adf.ly/qCx7g.
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