Microsoft Word 2016 Made Easy Training Tutorial

Microsoft Word is a word processing program that you can use to create various types of documents. You can create standard letters, memos, faxes, envelopes, labels, and many other types of documents. You can also create your own custom documents, as you have complete control over the appearance of your documents. Learn this and more during this lecture.

If you are an experienced Word user, you will notice that the interface in Word 2016 is similar to the interface used in Word 2013. For new users of the program, as with any program, you should begin by familiarizing yourself with your working environment. You should start by learning the names and locations of the tools you will need to create Word documents. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The Title Bar is the bar that runs across the top of the application window. The name of the document that you are working on will be displayed in the center of this bar. At the right end of the Title Bar is a button group. There are four buttons in this group. They are, from left to right, “Ribbon Display Options,” “Minimize,” “Maximize/Restore Down,” and “Close.” Learn this and more during this lecture.

The primary tool that you will use in Word is the Ribbon. This object allows you to perform all of the commands available in the program. The Ribbon is divided into tabs. Within these tabs are different groups of commands. The commands in each group can be accessed either through the use of the buttons, boxes, or menus that are available within the group. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Starting in Word 2010, the “File” tab within the Ribbon replaces the functionality of the older “Microsoft Office” button that appeared in Word 2007. You can click the “File” tab in the Ribbon to open a view of the file called the “Backstage View.” In this view, you can perform all of your file management. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The Quick Access Toolbar is located above the Ribbon, by default. However, you can also place it below the Ribbon, if desired, by clicking the “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” button at the right end of the toolbar and then selecting the “Show Below the Ribbon” command. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Because of the increased use of touchscreen computers, Word has been redesigned with a new mode to allow for easier access to the buttons and other commands found within the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar. This mode is called touch mode. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Microsoft Word provides you with a ruler that you can use to set tabs within a document and assist in the placement and positioning of document text and document objects. Depending upon which document view you are using, the ruler may appear differently. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The scroll bars can appear both vertically and horizontally along the right and bottom sides of your document window. They have arrows at the each end that point in the direction in which they will scroll the document when you click them. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The document view buttons are a group of buttons located in the lower right corner of the application. They are also located in the Ribbon under the “View” tab. You can click these buttons to change the working view of your document. By default, Word will open in “Print Layout” view, which is the view most commonly used for standard document creation. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In the lower right corner of the application window, you will see the Zoom slider. You can use this tool to change the magnification level of the document. This does not modify the document in any way, but rather changes your perception of how close or far away the document appears onscreen. Learn this and more during this lecture.

At the bottom of the application window is a long, thin, horizontal bar in which you find objects such as the “Zoom Slider” and the “Document View” buttons. The bar within which these tools appear is called the Status Bar. Here you can see various statuses that are capable of being monitored in Word. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Another feature in Microsoft Word is the Mini toolbar. When you select text within a document and hold your mouse pointer over it, you will see a small toolbar appear just above the selection. Learn this and more during this lecture.

If you are new to Word, then you may be wondering what a “keyboard shortcut” is. A keyboard shortcut simply allows you to press a combination of keyboard characters in order to execute a command function instead of clicking a button in the Ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To open a document, you must first know where the document you want to open is located. When you initially open Word, you can see a listing of recently opened documents shown in the panel at the left side of the startup screen under the “Recent” section. You can open one of these listed documents by clicking on its name within the panel to reopen it. Learn this and more during this lecture.

If you have multiple documents open and want to close only the one you are working on, just click the “x” in the upper right corner of the application window. Clicking the “x” is equivalent to executing the “Close” command found in the “File” tab. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you first open Word, you will see a startup screen that allows you to create a new document. Simply click the type of document that you want to create within the listing of available templates that appears at the right side of the startup screen. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you save a document for the first time, you will use the “Save As” command so that you can choose where to save the file and what to name it. Learn this and more during this lecture.

A new feature introduced in Word 2013, allows you to attempt to recover unsaved document files. If you want to see if Word has automatically saved a copy of an unsaved document that you were working on, select the “File” tab within the Ribbon and click the “Open” command at the left side of the Backstage View. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you open a new document, the insertion point cursor appears in the upper left corner of the document. This insertion point cursor identifies where any text that you type with your keyboard will appear. When you want to insert a new line or end a paragraph, press “Enter” on your keyboard. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To move the insertion point cursor, you must have characters on the page, even if they are non-printing (invisible) characters like the ones that the “Spacebar,” “Tab,” and “Enter” keys create when you press them. Learn this and more during this lecture.

After you have learned how to enter text, you will next need to learn how to select it. When you select text, changes that you make will only affect the selected text. This includes formatting, replacing, or deleting the selected text. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In Word, the “Spacebar,” “Tab,” and “Enter” keys all create characters within your document- just like any other key on your keyboard does. Normally you cannot see these characters, but they can sometimes be problematic when they are accidentally selected. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The document view buttons are located in the lower right corner of the application, to the left of the “Zoom” slider on the Status Bar. They are also located in the Ribbon under the “View” tab in the “Views” button group. Clicking any of these buttons will change the working view of your document. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Microsoft Word provides you with a ruler that you can use to set tabs within a document and assist in the placement and positioning of document text and document objects. Depending upon which document view you are using, the ruler may appear differently. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When working with multiple types of objects or specialized placement of text in your document, you may find gridlines to be useful. These lines can help you to accurately place objects into your document. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In Word, the Navigation pane is used to quickly search or navigate through your document. You can easily enable the display of the Navigation pane by first clicking the “View” tab in the Ribbon. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You can easily change the magnification level of your document using the Zoom slider. It is located in the lower-right corner of the application window. You can click and drag the slider left, towards the minus symbol (-), to shrink the magnification level, which appears as a percentage to the right of the zoom slider. You can click and drag the slider to the right, or towards the plus sign (+), to increase the magnification level. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Word allows you to open an exact copy of the document you are currently working on. To do this, first click the “View” tab in the Ribbon. Within the “Window” button group you can then click the “New Window” button. A new window will open containing an exact copy of the document you were working on. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you have multiple document windows open, you may want to organize them so you can view the contents of each at the same time. There are different options available to you in Word to do this. The option we will discuss in this lesson is “Arrange All.” This command will arrange all open document windows vertically on the screen. Learn this and more during this lecture.

If you find yourself needing to edit an extremely long document, you may find the “Split” function to be helpful. Enabling this function will split the current document window into two separate panes. Each pane will scroll independently allowing you to view and work with two sections of the same document, simultaneously. Learn this and more during this lecture.

With Microsoft Word, you can compare documents side by side. The “View Side by Side” function will open both document windows at the same time, giving equal space to each. To enable this view, first click the “View” tab in the Ribbon and then click the “View Side by Side” button. Since this is a toggle button, to turn off side by side view, click the “View Side by Side” button again. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To quickly switch between open document windows, you can click the “View” tab in the Ribbon. Within the “Window” button group you will see a “Switch Windows” drop-down button. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In Word, full screen mode maximizes the amount of document area by removing everything else from the Word window. To switch to full screen mode, first click the “Ribbon Display Options” button in the button group at the right end of the Title Bar and then select the “Auto-hide Ribbon” command. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Since Word 2007, there have been four different basic file format types available. The first and default file format type is the “Word Document.” This is a Word document that does not contain macros or code, and is the type of file most users create by default. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In Word, you can delete characters, words, paragraphs, or all of the text in your document quickly and easily. You can use the “Backspace” and “Delete” keys on your keyboard to remove text while typing. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When working with documents, you will often want to move or copy text, or other selected document elements, from one place to another. Word makes this frequent occurrence easy to manage through the use of the Clipboard feature. Learn this and more during this lecture.

The “Undo” command, located in the Quick Access Toolbar by default, is one of the most useful functions ever created. It allows you to reverse the last command, or last few commands, that you performed. The drop-down arrow next to the “Undo” button contains a list of your last few previous actions. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You can use the commands in the “Editing” group on the “Home” tab in the Ribbon to execute several commands that can assist you in editing Word documents. You can use the functions in this section to quickly find and replace document content. This can be extremely useful for quickly revising standard documents that need minor, repetitive changes to the text. Learn this and more during this lecture.

While working with Word, you are given several different ways you can select the text and objects contained in your document. To select document text, click and drag your mouse over the text to select it. This technique can also select objects that have a text-wrapping setting of “In Line with Text.” Learn this and more during this lecture.

Word provides you with a tool that helps you to quickly identify and correct misspelled words and grammatical errors in your documents. It is the “Spelling & Grammar” tool. As its name clearly states, this tool identifies and corrects both spelling and grammar errors in your document. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You can customize many features of the “Spelling & Grammar” tool. To view the “Proofing” options for Word, you can click the “File” tab in the Ribbon and then click the “Options” command in the list on the left side of the Backstage View. You can then click the “Proofing” category along the left-side of the "Word Options" dialog box. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Word comes with a built-in thesaurus that will allow you to look for synonyms for words. To perform this function, you have a couple of different options. The first, and easiest way, is to right-click the word you would like to lookup. From the popup menu that appears, you can hover over the “Synonyms” command to see a short list of available choices. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You may need to occasionally know how many words are contained in your document. By default, Word displays the total word count for your document in the Status bar at the bottom of the application window. It should display near the left hand side of the Status bar. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Microsoft Word comes equipped with a built-in translation engine as well as access to machine translation on the internet. If you need to translate a document into another language, Word gives you a couple different options. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Formatting the font (or “text”) within your document can give your document a finished and polished appearance. You can add bolding or italics to emphasize selected text, change the color of the text, or add many other stylistic options. It is very easy to apply font formatting. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Advanced font formatting options are available through use of the “Font” dialog box. To access this dialog box, you can click the “Font” dialog box button in the lower right corner of the “Font” group in the “Home” tab of the Ribbon. In this dialog box there are two tabs- the “Font” tab and the “Advanced” tab. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you are formatting text, you may want to simply copy the formatting from one text selection and then paste only the formatting onto other text selections. This can save you a lot of time when formatting documents that have a standard appearance for many sections. Word provides you with the “Format Painter” button in the “Clipboard” group of the “Home” tab in the Ribbon. This button allows you to copy and paste the formatting, but not the content, from one selection of text to multiple other selections. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Word contains many preset “Styles” that you can add to your text. To apply a preset style, you can first select the text to apply the style to or set the style before entering your text. Either way, you will click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon and select a preset style from the “Styles” button group. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To remove a preset style from text, first select the text from which you want to remove the applied style. You can then click the “Normal” style in the “Styles” button group of the “Home” tab. Learn this and more during this lecture.

In Word, you have several choices on how you would like to align your paragraphs. Alignment refers to the appearance of the left and right sides of the paragraph. By default, Word aligns paragraphs to the left. You can change this alignment so that the right sides are symmetrical (right alignment), or so the lines are centered with even space on both sides (center alignment), or justified (both left and right sides are aligned). Learn this and more during this lecture.

With Word, you have many choices as to how you would like to add indentation to your documents. Hitting the “Tab” key on your keyboard will add a tab of a half-inch. You can also increase or decrease the indentation of the entire left side of your paragraphs by using the “Increase Indent” or “Decrease Indent” buttons located in the “Paragraph” group on the “Home” tab in the Ribbon. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Like most word processing programs, you can modify the line and paragraph spacing in your document. Line spacing is the amount of space allotted to go between each line in your paragraph. Paragraph spacing is the amount of space to be inserted before and after the paragraphs in your document. Learn this and more during this lecture.

With Microsoft Word, you have complete control over how your document appears. You are able to change the layout of your document to suit any need you may have. You can apply layout changes to your document as a whole, or you can select specific sections and change just the layout for those sections. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When you create a document, you set a paper size such as 8.5” by 11.” When you reach the end of the specified page size in Word, an automatic page break is inserted. Sometimes these automatic page breaks occur in places where you would rather not have them occur. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You may need to create a document that contains columns, similar to a newsletter. This is helpful when you want information to be separated vertically and have the text flow from one column to the next, on the same page. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When using columns in Word, text flows automatically from one column to the next. You may find you need to stop the text in one column and start it again in the next column. You can do this by inserting a “Column Break.” Learn this and more during this lecture.

All documents based on the “Normal” template contain space for header and footer information. In order to view and edit the content of the headers and footers while working in the document, however, you will need to be using the “Print Layout” view of the document. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To adjust the settings of your document for printing purposes, you can open the “Page Setup” dialog box. To access this dialog box, first click “Layout” tab in the Ribbon and then click the “Page Setup” dialog box launcher button in the lower right corner of the “Page Setup” button group. Learn this and more during this lecture.

When creating documents, you may need to adjust the margins when you go to print your document. To set the margins for your document, you can first click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon. Then in the “Page Setup” button group, you can click the “Margins” drop-down button. In this drop-down you will find a “Last Custom Setting” option, six preset margins and a “Custom Margins” command. Learn this and more during this lecture.

There are many different paper sizes available for you to use. You will want to set the paper size for your document to match the paper size you need to use when you want to print it out. Learn this and more during this lecture.

To adjust the layout settings for your document, you will want to access the “Layout” tab of the “Page Setup” dialog box. To do this, click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon and then click the “Page Setup” dialog box launcher in the lower right corner of the “Page Setup” button group. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You may need to add line numbers to your document, and Word makes this an easy task. To add line numbers, you can first click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon. Then in the “Page Setup” button group, simply click the “Line Numbers” drop-down button to display a list of options. Learn this and more during this lecture.

Word allows you to control how it will hyphenate words at the end of a line, if at all. To choose the hyphenation settings for your document, first click the “Layout” tab in the Ribbon. Then, you can click the “Hyphenation” drop-down in the “Page Setup” button group. Learn this and more during this lecture.

A template is a “master” document, from which you create the copies of the documents that you actually work on. For example, when you create a new blank document in Word, it is actually a copy of the “Normal” template. Learn this and more during this lecture.

You can create a “personal” document template that is stored on your computer for documents that you may frequently create and only need to change slightly between copies. Learn this and more during this lecture.