Chapter 13 -- Maximizing Electronic Reference Tools

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Chapter 13

Microsoft Word adds resources to your reference library without taking up an inch of shelf space. By default, when you install Word, you also install several standard reference tools such as a dictionary, a grammar guide, a thesaurus, a translation tool, and a document statistics tool.

The greatest advantage reference tools in Word have over traditional reference books is that you can access and customize the Word tools while you work—without stopping midsentence, digging out your trusty dictionary or grammar guide, flipping through pages, and then modifying your text after you find the answer to your spelling or grammar question. Furthermore, Word reference tools enable you to apply spelling and grammatical changes automatically, thereby speeding your word processing tasks even more. Once you learn how to use Word reference tools properly, you'll find that they can be extremely handy. In this chapter, we'll focus on getting the most out of the electronic reference tools that are readily available every time you work in Word.