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Chapter 4. Creating a Document with Word

What You'll Do

View the Word Window

Create a Document

Change Document Views

Read a Document

Work with Multiple Documents

Move Around in a Document

Set Up the Page

Set Up the Page Margins

Create an Outline

Select Text

Insert Symbols and AutoText

Check Spelling and Grammar

Find the Right Words

Preview a Document

Print a Document

Introduction

Whether you're typing a carefully worded letter, creating a professional resume, or producing a can't- miss promotional newsletter for your business or neighborhood group , Microsoft Office Word 2003 is the program for you. Word contains all the tools and features you need to produce interesting documents that say exactly what you mean and that have the look to match.

Microsoft Word is designed especially for working with text, so it's a snap to create and edit letters , reports , mailing lists, tables, or any other word-based communication. What makes Word perfect for your documents is its editing capabilities combined with its variety of views. For example, you can jot down your ideas in Outline view. Then switch to Normal view to expand your thoughts into complete sentences and revise them without retyping the entire page. When you're done revising the document, switch to Reading view to read and proof your work. Tools such as the Spelling and Grammar Checker and Thesaurus help you present your thoughts accurately, clearly, and effectively. Finally, in Print Layout view you can quickly add formatting elements, such as bold type and special fonts, to make your documents look professional.

Viewing the Word Window

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Creating a Document

When you open a new Word document, it's blank, ready for you to enter text. By default, this document is titled Document1. You can create new documents in several ways: using the New command on the File menu, the New Blank Document button on the Formatting toolbar, and by the New Document task pane. Word numbers new documents consecutively. You can open and work on as many new documents as you'd like. The insertion point (blinking cursor bar) appears in the document where text will appear when you type. As you type, text moves, or wraps , to a new line when the previous one is full. You can move the insertion point anywhere within the document so that you can insert new text and edit (or insert, revise , or delete) existing text.

Create a Document

Click the File menu, and then click New.

Click Blank Document.

Click where you want to insert text, if necessary.

Begin typing, and then press Enter when you want to begin a new paragraph or insert a blank line.

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Edit Text in a Document

Click where you want to insert text, or select the text you want to edit.

Make the change you want:

Type to insert new text.
Press Enter to begin a new paragraph or insert a blank line.
Press Backspace or Delete to erase text to the left or right of the insertion point.

Changing Document Views

Word displays the contents of a document in different ways to help you work efficiently with your content. The available views include Normal, Web Layout, Print Layout, Outline, and Reading. You can change the window view from the View menu, or you can click a Document view button at the bottom left corner of the Word window.

Normal view displays the document as a single, long piece of "paper," divided into pages by perforation marks. Word displays each new document in Normal view by default. This view is fine for composition but inadequate for editing or previewing your work prior to printing or other publication.

Web Layout view displays the document as it will appear on the Web. You can save documents as HTML code to make Web content creation easy.

Print Layout view displays a gray gap between each page to clearly delineate where each actual page break occurs. This view is best for previewing your work before printing, and it works well with the Zoom feature on the Standard toolbar to increase and decrease the page view size and display multiple pages of the same document simultaneously onscreen.

Outline view displays the document as an outline with headings and subheadings . When you shift to Outline view, each heading has a clickable plus or minus sign next to it to expand or collapse the content under the heading. You can drag a plus, or minus sign to move the heading and all of its associated text.

Reading Layout view displays the screen size and removes distracting screen elements to provide a more comfortable view to read your documents. You can also display the Thumbnail pane or the Document Map to quickly jump to different parts of your document.

Full Screen view displays the document using the entire screen without a window and toolbars . When you're done, you can use the Close Full Screen button on the toolbar. This view is only available on the View menu.

Normal view

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