{"id":947,"date":"2023-02-13T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-13T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.aber.ac.uk\/digital-capabilities\/?p=947"},"modified":"2025-01-07T11:19:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T11:19:07","slug":"microsoft-word-tips-and-tricks-%f0%9f%92%a1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.aber.ac.uk\/digital-capabilities\/2023\/02\/13\/microsoft-word-tips-and-tricks-%f0%9f%92%a1\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Word Tips and Tricks \ud83d\udca1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Banner<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making things easier<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft Word is perhaps the most used and widely recognized computer program in all of academia. Virtually every course you can take at Aberystwyth University uses Microsoft Word to some degree, with some courses requiring you to do more with it than just type out an essay. In this blog post, I\u2019ll tell you about some shortcuts in Microsoft Word that have helped me during my studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip 1: Keyboard shortcuts<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Keyboard shortcuts are a combination of keys that you press to perform a function. For example, press control (ctrl) and C<\/strong> at the same time while highlighting text copies that text onto your clipboard. Instead of right-clicking and scrolling down the drop-down menu to \u2018Paste\u2019, you can press ctrl + V<\/strong> to paste the text instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ALT <\/strong>key can also be used for shortcuts. Specifically, the ALT key is used for shortcuts as they relate to the top task bar. By holding down the ALT key for a few seconds, the keys for each shortcut will pop up. For instance, on my keyboard, pressing ALT and 2 will save my document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But if we press ALT + S to go to the References tab\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We get an entirely new set of ALT keyboard commands to use!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By holding down the ALT with a different tab open we can see what shortcuts are available for each tab on the taskbar. If you forget what ALT key shortcuts do, holding the ALT key down will give you a helpful reminder of your keyboard shortcuts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Tip 2: Adding headers and footers to your document<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Headers are text that appear at the top of every page in your document, while footers appear at the bottom of each page in your document. This feature is useful for adding material that you want to be seen on every page. Some examples of this kind of material include your name, a signature, or an image. To add a header or a footer click on Insert <\/strong>and select Header<\/strong> and Footer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From there, you can pick between a handful of options but for now we\u2019ll pick the Basic Header <\/strong>option\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From here, you can type whatever you wish to appear at the top of each page in your document or add a desired image. The grey text below is text that is already in the document and is unaffected by the header text. The footer text will appear at the bottom and can be changed in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip 3: Using the ‘read aloud’ function<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

The last thing anyone wants to do is proofread their assignment after a long day of writing. Thankfully, you can make proofreading just that little bit easier by using the read aloud function. This function allows Microsoft Word to read your text aloud, both in Welsh and English, which is useful for reviewing your work. Here is how it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Left click in front of the text you would like Microsoft Word to read.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Navigate to the top taskbar and click Review<\/strong> followed by Read Aloud<\/strong>. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    You should start hearing your text being read aloud to you and a small taskbar should appear in the right-hand corner. This taskbar gives you options to pause your reading, skip to the next paragraph or go back to a previous paragraph, and change the reading speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip 4: Checking your word count<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    Microsoft Word keeps a tab of how many words and characters are in a document. There are two ways of checking your word count, from the bottom task bar and the review tab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Method 1)<\/strong> The bottom task bar contains elements such as the page count, the proofing language of the document and an active word count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Clicking on this word count brings up a dialog box which provides more detailed statistics of your document.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Method 2)<\/strong> The review tab<\/p>\n\n\n\n