Microsoft Word 2007

Creating and Formatting with Tabs and the Ribbon

The Ribbon Feature

The most obvious change in Microsoft Word 2007 is the new Ribbon feature, a bar across the top of the screen containing commands which are arranged categorically under different tabs. These commands are used to configure document layout and format - all the useful tools from older versions of Word can be found in the Ribbon.

The different tabs found in the Ribbon, arranged by category, are as follows: Home, Insert, Page Layout, Reference, Mailings, Review, and View.

The rest of this article covers all the useful functions of the commands found in these tabs.

The 'Home' Tab

The Home tab contains the most commonly used commands in Microsoft Word. Each group in the Home tab contains a button which brings up a Word 2003-style dialog box, which presents more options for the given group. Note the location of this button in the screen shot below:

The Clipboard group contains the commands for Paste, Cut, Copy, and Format Painter.  Simply highlight the text you wish to edit and click the correct command.

The Font group contains text formatting settings like Font, Font Size, and options for Bold, Italics, etc. It also contains settings for Subscript and Superscript, as well as the Highlight and Font Color tools.

The Paragraph group contains commands for creating and configuring bulleted, numbered, and multilevel lists, as well as tools for Indent, Sort, and an option to show or hide hidden formatting symbols.  It also contains the four Alignment options ( Left, Center, Right, and Justify), as well as the Line Spacing command, the Shading command, and the Border option.

The Styles group displays the current style settings for the document.  To edit or choose between different style sets, click the Change Styles button, where you can select from various Style Sets, Colors and Fonts.  Once you have chosen a style set, you can assign pre-formatted settings to text by assigning it to a style such as Heading, Title, Quote, etc.  

The Editing group contains the Find, Replace, and Select commands.  Use these commands to find text within a document, to automatically replace certain text with other text, or simply to select certain objects.

The 'Insert' Tab

The Insert tab enables you to easily insert elements - from tables to images to links - into an existing document.  The Insert tab contains the following groups:

The Pages group allows you to insert a Cover Page, a Blank Page and a Page Break at the current location in the document. 

The Tables command allows you to insert a table into a document.  From this menu you can quickly select a table size, draw your own table, convert selected text to a table, insert an Excel Spreadsheet, or select from a pre-arranged set of quick tables, such as calendars. 

The Illustrations group contains the commands for inserting Pictures, Clip Art, Shapes, SmartArt, and Charts.  Simply click the one you want and follow the instructions.

The Links group contains commands to insert links into a document.  To create a Hyperlink out of selected text, highlight the text you want and click Hyperlink.  You can link directly to a web page by typing in its address, or you can link to a file on your computer by browsing to it.  Once you create a link in your document, hold down Ctrl and click on it to follow it.  Use the Bookmark and Cross-reference commands to jump to specific places within the document.

The Header & Footer group allows you to add and edit a Header, Footer and Page Number for your document.  For Header and Footer, click the button and either select a preset format or click Edit Header/Footer to directly edit text and formatting.  Notice that a new tab appears in the ribbon, called Header and Footer Tools - Design, which provides additional editing options for your header or footer, such as inserting images or editing size and margins.  This new tab is context specific, so it only appears when editing a header or footer, but notice that all other tabs still apply to headers and footers (for example, you can edit the alignment of header text by using the Home tab as usual).  When you are done editing the header/footer, click Close Header and Footer under the Design tab.  Click Page Number to insert page numbers; from here you can choose formatting and positioning for your page numbers.

TIP: To insert a header with your last name and page number (the standard MLA header format), follow the instructions below:

The Text group contains several commands for inserting different kinds of text into your document.  Click Text Box and select from a number of preset text box formats, or click Draw Text Box to draw your own.  Notice the appearance of a new context specific tab, entitled Text Box Tools - Format which provides additional tools for customizing text boxes.  The Quick Parts command enables you to quickly insert pre-formatted snippets of text, such as Author or Company.  Use WordArt to insert decorative text into your document, or click Drop Cap to create a large capital letter at the beginning of a paragraph.  The Signature Line command allows you to create a signature line that specifies the individual who must sign; the Date & Time command inserts the current date and time into a specific location in the document, and Object allows you to insert external objects, such as graphs, charts, and texts from other documents, into your document.

The Symbols group allows you to choose between or create your own Equation, and to insert a variety of Symbols.

The 'Page Layout' Tab

The Page Layout tab allows you to easily manage and configure the layout of your page, from margin sizes to spacing and indent settings to background colors.  Notice that some of the Page Layout groups contain the same button found in the Home tab, which brings up additional options for the given group.  The Page Layout tab contains the following groups:

The Themes group allows you to choose between various default themes, which contain pre-formatted colors, fonts and effects.  After you choose a theme, use the Colors, Fonts, and Effects commands to change the settings for the current theme.  The Themes button also contains commands to Reset to Theme from Template and to download More Themes from Microsoft Office Online.

The Page Setup group contains commands to change the size and layout of the pages in your document.  Click Margins to select between several pre-set settings for page margins, or click Custom Margins to create your own.  Click Orientation to select between Portrait (vertical) and Landscape (horizontal) page layouts.  Select between various paper sizes with the Size button, and split your text into columns with the Columns button.  The Break command allows you to insert section or page breaks at a given location; use Line Numbers to insert numbers next to every line of text, and click Hyphenation to see the options for allowing Word to automatically break lines between the syllables of words.  Note that the Page Setup group contains a button which brings up an old-fashioned dialog box with additional page setup options.

The Page Background group has three options for customizing the background of a page.  Watermark is used to insert a ghosted text behind the content of a page (such as "Draft" or " Confidential").  You can choose between several pre-set watermark texts, or you can create a Custom Watermark or Remove Watermark.  Use Page Color to choose a background color for your page; you also have the options to choose from More Colors and to customize Fill Effects.  Page Borders allows you to customize the borders of your page, with options to configure color, shading, pattern, thickness, etc.

The Paragraph group includes the Indent and Spacing commands.  Indent allows you to move in the left and right sides of a given paragraph and Spacing allows you to add or remove space between paragraphs.

TIP: Word 2007 automatically inserts extra space between paragraphs in a document.  To remove this space and save your new settings as default, follow the instructions below:

• Under the Page Layout tab, in the Paragraph group, click the button to bring up the Paragraph dialog box.
• Under the Indents and Spacing tab, under Spacing, change After to 0 pt.
• To set these new settings to default, click Default... and select Yes.  Refer to the screen shot below:

• After accepting the new settings, the dialog box will automatically close.  The next time you create a document, there will be no space automatically inserted between paragraphs. 

The Arrange group contains the commands Position, Bring to Front, Send to Back, Text Wrapping, Align, Group and Rotate.  Most of these items are unavailable unless you have selected an object, such as an image.

The 'References' Tab

The Table of Contents group allows you to insert a table of contents directly into a document, and to add text to the table with the Add Text command.  The Update Table command is used to update information such as page numbers in your table of contents.

The Footnotes group allows you to insert, edit and navigate through footnotes in your document.  Note the button which brings up a dialog box with additional location and formatting options.

The Citations & Bibliography group allows you to create and manage sources, as well as insert a Bibliography or Works Cited in a certain citation style.  Click Insert Citation and Add New Source... to add sources to your document, and to insert citations when needed.  You can also Manage Sources you have added, as well as choose a citation Style.  When ready, click Bibliography to insert a Bibliography or Works Cited in your document.  The Bibliography/Works Cited is formatted and alphabetized automatically according to the style you selected.

TIP: To correctly cite a source in MLA format, follow the instructions below:

• At the end of a quoted section in your document, in the References tab under Citations & Bibliography, select MLA for the type of Style.  Then click Insert Citation and select Add New Source...
• Enter in the information for the source, as shown in the example below:

• When you click OK, a citation for the source will be created.  To add a page number, click the arrow next to the citation and select Convert citation to static text.

• You can now edit the citation like normal text, adding punctuation and page numbers as needed.
• Once you enter a source into the master list, you can insert a citation for it at any time by selecting it from the Insert Citation list.  When ready to insert a Works Cited page, click Bibliography and select Works Cited.  The page is automatically created and formatted in MLA style given the sources you inserted.  If you add or change sources after creating the Works Cited section, you can update it by clicking anywhere in the section and selecting Update Citations and Bibliography.

The Captions group allows you to assign captions to objects, such as pictures and graphs, by clicking Insert Caption.  You can also Insert Table of Figures, which acts like a table of contents for your captioned objects.

The Index group allows you to mark entries for text and reference them in an index.  Select a word or phrase in your document and click Mark Entry.  In the box that opens, select Mark or, to mark all appearances of the text, select Mark All, then click Close.  At this point, lots of hidden formatting symbols will appear.  To re-hide these symbols, click the Show/Hide (�) button from Home > Paragraph.  To create the index, click Insert Index.  To update it, select the Index and click Update Index.

The Table of Authorities group allows you to Mark Citations for categories such as rules, statutes, etc.  The Insert Table of Authorities button works similarly to the other tables in the References tab, such as Table of Contents and Index.

The 'Mailings' Tab

The Mailings Tab allows you to work with Mail Merge, a process in Microsoft Word which allows you to easily configure mass mailings or e-mails by automatically filling out certain information.  The only group that does not pertain to Mail Merge is the first one in the tab, Create.

The Create group contains two commands, Envelopes and Labels, which both lead to the same place, the Envelopes and Labels dialog box.  Under the Envelopes tab you can edit a delivery and return address for printing directly on an envelope; click Options to edit envelope size, font type, and other printing options.  Under the Labels tab you can create a page with editable labels to be printed directly onto a label sheet; click Options to select between types of labels or to create a custom label.

The Start Mail Merge group contains commands for using Mail Merge, a process which is helpful for creating identical or nearly identical form letters or e-mails which you plan to send to multiple recipients.  With the Start Mail Merge button you can choose a type of merge to begin, or open up the Word 2003-style Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard.  Otherwise, once you have completed your form letter, click Select Recipients to create or choose from an existing recipient list.  These lists will help automatically fill out information, such as Name and Address, in your document.

The Write & Insert Fields group contains commands to insert various pre-configured mail merge fields from a selected recipient list.  Use Highlight Merge Fields to easily view inserted merge fields, and use Rules to add decision-making ability to the mail merge, which allows you to create pre-conditioned actions to take place given certain circumstances.

The Preview Results group allows you to easily navigate between pages of your merge, as well as Preview Results to view the actual data for your merge fields.  You can also Find A Recipient from your list, and have Word Auto Check for Errors within the merge.

Use the Finish group to Edit Individual Documents within your mail merge, Print Documents if you are working with letters, or Send E-Mail Messages if you are working with e-mails.

The 'Review' Tab

The Review tab contains groups of commands which enable you to make and track various revisions in your document. 

The Proofing group allows you to check for correct Spelling & Grammar, to search through reference materials using the Research command, to look up words in a Thesaurus, and to Translate selected text into different languages.  Use the Translation ScreenTip command to see the translation of a word into a different language by pausing your cursor over it,  Set Language to choose which language is used to determine spelling and grammar, and use the Word Count command to find out how many words and paragraphs are in your document.

The Comments group contains commands for inserting a New Comment, Deleting comments, and navigating between comments with the Previous and Next commands.

The Tracking group gives you visual information about changes made to a document using the Track Changes command.  The Balloons command allows you to choose how revisions are displayed in a document.  You can also choose which version of the document to show ( Final Showing Markup, Final, Original Markup and Original), and choose to display revisions in a separate window with the Reviewing Pane command.

The Changes group works with the Tracking group to allow you to navigate netween changes made to the document and to choose whether to Accept or Reject them.

The Compare group allows you to Compare two versions of a document by opening them side-by-side or Combine revisions made by multiple users onto one document.  Use the Show Source Documents command to choose which versions of a document to show.

The Protect group contains the command Protect Document, which allows you to determine which users are allowed to make changes to a document, and which changes they are allowed to make.

The 'View' Tab

The View tab allows you to control how you view your document, and contains options for viewing multiple documents at once, zoom and sizing options, and macros viewing.

The Document Views group gives you several different options for viewing your document: Print Layout, Full Screen Reading, Web Layout, Outline and Draft. Note that you can also easily switch between these document views using the icons located in the Status Bar at the bottom-right corner of the screen:

The Show/Hide group allows you to show or hide several elements of a document, such as a Ruler, Gridlines, a Document Map which enables easy navigation within the structure of a document, and Thumbnails, which enables easy viewing of long documents by displaying pictures of individual pages.

The Zoom group allows you to control the amount of Zoom you use to view a document, as well as shortcuts to easily return to 100% zoom, One Page view, Two Pages view, and Page Width view.  Note that you can also easily adjust zoom levels using the sliding bar located in the bottom-right corner of the screen:  

The Window group allows you to open your current document in a New Window, Arrange All open documents for side-by-side viewing, and Split a document into two parts to view separate parts of the document simultaneously.  Click View Side by Side to compare two documents by viewing them side by side.  While in this view, select whether or not you want the documents to scroll together with the Synchronous Scrolling command, and use Reset Window Position to resize the documents so that they share the screen equally.  Use Switch Windows to switch between open documents.

The Macros group allows you to create and view Macros, which are series of commands and instructions grouped together as a single command which can be automated for ease of use.  To try it out, follow the instructions below:

• Click Record Macro, select Button, select the button on the left (it should be called something like Normal.NewMacros.Macro1), click Add and click OK.
• Once you've returned to the document, note the new button in the Quick Access Toolbar.  Also note that your cursor displays an image of a tape recorder - this is to show that you are currently recording a macro, so whatever changes you make during this time will be saved and can easily be inserted again.  Now try making some changes and typing text - try changing font, font size, colors, etc.
• After you've typed and formatted some text, return to the Macros group and click Stop Recording; your cursor will return to normal.  Now click the new button that you added to the Quick Access Toolbar to insert the text you and rules you recorded.
  

The Quick Access Toolbar and the Status Bar 

The Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is a toolbar in Word 2007 which contains easy shortcuts for useful commands such as Save, Undo, Redo, etc.  The Toolbar is by default located above the Ribbon, and looks like this:

To Customize the Quick Access Toolbar, click the button on the right side of it.  From here you can select to view additional icons on the Toolbar (such as New, Open, Quick Print, etc.).  You can also select from a list of More Commands; choose to Show the Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon; or Minimize the Ribbon.  If you choose to Minimize the Ribbon, the content displayed in the tabs discussed above will be hidden unless the tab is selected.

The Status Bar

The Status Bar, located on the bottom of Microsoft Word 2007, contains useful information and tools for your document.  It looks like this:

By default, the left side of the Status Bar contains Page Number, Word Count, Spelling and Grammar Check, and Macro Reading.  Click on the Page Number to bring up the Go To dialog box which enables you to instantly go to a specific page or to find specific text within your document; click on the Word Count to open up a dialog box displaying more detailed count information about your document; click the Spelling and Grammar Check to correct errors; and click the Macro reading icon to start recording a macro (see the information on The View Tab > Macros above).

By default, the right side of the Status Bar contains shortcuts for switching between Document Views ( Print Layout, Full Screen Reading, Web Layout, Outline and Draft), your current Zoom level, and a Zoom Slider.  Click the Zoom level to open the Zoom Dialog Box, which displays additional zoom options, or use the Zoom Slider to easily increase or decrease zoom level.

To add icons to the Status Bar, right-click anywhere on the Bar to bring up a list of additional options. 

Saving a Word 2007 document that is compatible with older versions of Word

To save a Microsoft Word 2007 document in a format that is compatible with older versions of Word, you must use Word 2007's enhanced Save As feature. Follow the instructions below:

• In Microsoft Word 2007, click the Office Button in the top-left corner of your screen
• Move your cursor over Save As and select Word 97-2003 Document

• Type a name for the document, as usual. The Save as type box should say Word 97-2003 Document. Note that you can change this option back to normal Word Document and vice versa.
• When ready, click Save. The saved file should now open normally in older versions of Microsoft Word.

Note that once you have saved a file in this manner, when opened in Microsoft Word 2007 the file will run in Compatibility Mode.  Compatibility Mode enables older versions of documents to be edited in Word 2007 with limited access to the new and enhanced features of Word 2007.  To enable these features and exit Compatibility Mode, select Convert from the Office Button menu. 

Saving a Word document as a PDF

There are two easy ways to save Word 2007 documents as PDFs: using a free third party application or installing Microsoft's PDF add-in.

Which method is best?

Not sure which method is best for you? Keep the following in mind:

• The third party application used here, CutePDF Writer, works on almost all printable documents, including websites and pictures, but is a little more complex to use.
• Microsoft's PDF add-in is very easy to use, but only works on Microsoft Office 2007 programs.
• Overall, it wouldn't hurt to  have both methods available for use. For instructions, see below:

Using a third party application

There are numerous third party applications available on the internet that enable you so save files as PDFs. One of the best of these is CutePDF. To download and use CutePDF, follow the instructions below:

• Go to the CutePDF Download website and click Free Download, located on the left-hand side of the page. Download the file, and use the setup wizard to install it.
• Once the file is installed, the CutePDF Writer Readme webpage  should launch automatically in your web browser. This page contains handy instructions on using, installing, and uninstalling the program, so feel free to read and bookmark the page.
• CutePDF Writer is now installed and ready to use. This program works on a variety of document types; almost everything that can be printed, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, web sites and pictures, can be exported to a PDF file.
• To try it out, open a Microsoft Word document, click the Office Button (   ) and select Print. In the menu that opens, select CutePDF from the Name: drop-down list.

• With CutePDF Writer selected as printer, click OK. Don't worry - this won't actually print anything. Instead, a Save As window will appear, and you can save your document, as usual, to a desired location. Notice that PDF Files (*pdf) is selected for Save as type. Click Save, and you have now exported a Microsoft Word document to PDF format. 

Using Microsoft's PDF add-in

With Office 2007, you can download a PDF add-in from the Windows website which enables you to easily save Office files (such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets) as PDF files. Make sure you have an active connection to the internet, and follow the instructions below to download and install the add-in:

• In Word 2007, click the Office Button (   ) and select Save As > Find add-ins for other file formats
• In the window that appears, under What do you want to do?, click Install and use the Save as PDF or XPS add-in from Microsoft, then click the link to go to the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for 2007 Office programs.

• The download website will open. At this point, you may have to Validate your version of Microsoft Office. To do so, click Continue and follow the instructions that follow, then download the add-in install file. If you have already validated Office, you will be given the option to Download right away.
• Once you have downloaded the file, follow the instructions to install the add-in. Once the add-in is installed, you should be able to save Office documents as PDF files by clicking the Office Button > Save As > PDF or XPS, as shown below:

• From here, save your document, as usual, to a desired location. You have now exported a Microsoft Word document to PDF format.
• You can also easily send PDFs as email attachments with Microsoft Word by clicking Office Button > Send > E-mail as PDF attachment