| Word's Research tool gives you handy access to a variety of research tools. In the preceding section, you learned how to use the thesaurus component of this feature. In addition, the Research tool also provides access to a host of online dictionaries, encyclopedias, translation services, and financial information. Keep in mind that the links provided here all point to Microsoft's own products and those of Microsoft's partner companies. That said, you might still find the Research tool to be very convenient at times. This section gives you a taste of the kinds of information you can access using the Research tool. To access the Research tool, follow these steps: -
Select a word that you want to research in your document. -
Click the Research button on the Standard toolbar, or choose Tools, Research (see Figure 11.15). Figure 11.15. Click the Research button in the Standard toolbar to open up the Research task pane.   | You can also Alt+click a word in your document to open the Research task pane with the word you Alt+clicked entered in the Search For text box. |
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The Research task pane opens up (see Figure 11.16). If you selected a word, it will appear in the Search for text box, and the tool that was most recently used appears in the task pane. If you didn't select a word, type the one you want to research now. Figure 11.16. The Research task pane gives you access to the Encarta dictionaries, among other tools.  -
Display the drop-down list under the Search for text box. The research services in the list are organized into three categories: reference books, research sites, and business and financial sites. Select the tool you'd like to use. -
In a moment, the tool you selected appears in the task pane or in a browser window. In the example shown in Figure 11.16, the English (North America) version of the Encarta dictionary was selected and it has displayed the various definitions of the word sponge . -
When you're finished using the Research tool, close the Research task pane. |
