The Modern Professional’s Guide to Word 365

In this segment we look at simple selection techniques through to nuances that can make copying and pasting data from Excel or from another Word document frustrating and how to deal with them.

I encourage you to watch all of the videos in this segment because whilst so many clients I work with THINK they know how to do some of these things, one tiny, tiny tip can save hours of stress and frustration…

Whilst it might seem simple, knowing about the Show/Hide tool and how to leverage it can save lots of frustration in your documents wondering why Word isn't doing what you expect it to do.

Watch the video to see what I mean.

Rather than apply the same formatting to multiple areas of your documents one step at a time, the Format Painter tool allows users to capture the format elements of selected text and apply it quickly and easily to other parts of your document. 

Keep an eye out for the extra tip to make it even more efficient!

This segment explores some handy ways to select elements of your document for copying and pasting, moving for formatting.

Everyone knows how to insert a page break in a document right? 

Ahhhh, NO!

You may have seen in a document you have received where there is a large amount of space before a page break with the Enter symbol displayed (if you can't see it you need to go back and watch the Show/Hide video!)

Knowing how to insert a page break quickly using keyboard shortcuts means you can easily "containerize" your content onto separate pages making your documents and reports look more professional.

Watch the video to see how easy it is to do....

Bullets and numbering is often one of the most frustrating things for users in Word documents.  The numbers don't adjust where you want them to or the bullets activate when you don't want them to.

In this video, and in the workbook notes, I cover what you need to know about working with bullets and numbering to help set your lists up for automation and success.

Whilst it might seem simple, taking a few moments when you copy and paste data from one Word document to another can save you so much time and frustration trying to format documents so the text matches.

In this video I cover what you need to know.

Like copying and pasting from one Word document to another, copying and pasting data from Excel into Word can have it's challenges.  You need to be across the options so you can make the right selection for your needs without having to waste time reformatting your data.

Whilst it might seem easier to copy and paste, often clients I work with will have a document content that they want to insert into another document - such as when you might create a report that has multiple contributors.  Each provides their input and then you need to pull it together into one document.

This feature enables you to do that.

However unlike copy and paste, this ONLY imports the content.

You may need to reformat the document so all the formatting is the same.

This is the last video of this section.

When you finish, make some notes about the tips and shortcuts you have learnt and where detail examples of current documents where you might apply the shortcuts.

In this section we cover a range of simple automation tools that you can use to make entering common text or numbering your pages easy and professional.

We also explore the dictate feature available in Word 365 that minimizes the need for typing.

Watch the video as Donna goes into a bit more detail on what this section will cover and how to leverage the topics covered.

Autocorrect is a feature of Microsoft Excel that automatically corrects commonly mis-spelt words but it can also be leveraged to make inserting common text such as client names, or abbreviations easy.

Similar to Autocorrect, QuickParts enables users to insert common "blocks" of text into documents with a few clicks.  Useful for things such as common clauses, terms and conditions, or banking details it's faster and easier than copying and pasting and ensuring the text is the same every single time you enter it in.

Watch the video then make some notes about text or data in your everyday documents that you could create QuickParts for.

Regardless of whether you are a touch or two finger typist, the Dictate feature in Microsoft Word (also available in Outlook) is a great tool to leverage when you want to get your thoughts on paper without having to type and think at the same time!

Unlike earlier dictation software tools, the Dictate feature of Microsoft Office requires minimal work to set up and I've found it tends to be pretty accurate or requires minimal correction.

Whilst you can use it to dictate a paragraph or two, it won't enable you to dictate and entire document all at once.

Watch the video to see how it works.

Page numbering is a simple way to make your documentation look professional.

In this video we explore how easy it is to set up and the different looks you can create.

In this section we explore some for advanced features and tools that are utilized in documents. 

We explore where you might use these tools and outline tips to leverage them to make producing professional documents easy.

Watch this short videos where Donna sets the scene of what you will learn in this section.

Most Word users will have inserted a table in a document at one time or another.  This video explores tables and a shortcut to quickly insert a table as well as how to save time formatting your tables regardless of if they are small or large.

Watch the video then make some notes about where and how you can apply what you have learnt to your existing documents.

Section breaks in Word documents enable you to format documents so that part of a document is in multiple columns or so portrait and landscape pages such as an Excel worksheet can be inserted into Word documents easily and effortlessly.

In this segment, Donna shows you how to insert section breaks for various situations.

Watch the video and consider what documentation you have where section breaks would make them easier to work with.

In this video Donna shows how to use the previous topic, Section Breaks to insert a landscape page of Excel data into a Word document.

Whilst they might seem easy, headers and footers can be a bit tricky, especially when working with longer document where you might want different headers on different pages or different sections of your document.

Watch the video and make notes about where you might need to change existing documents to ensure you have more effective headers and footers.

A lot of clients I work with struggle with images or pictures in documents.

It's not the inserting of the pictures, rather it's manipulating them so that text is positioned correctly or reducing the size of images when you have a lot of them in a document.

This video takes you through the process of inserting images, understanding how to change how they are placed in a document and understanding how to compress them.

Once you have watched the video, make some notes regarding documents or reports where you might need to edit pictures of compress them to reduce file size.

A watermark is a transparent image in a document that sits in the background.  One of the most common uses for it is to let a receiver of your document know visually that the document is in draft form or that it is confidential.

This video shows how to activate watermarks and switch them off when you no longer need them.

The final section of this course focusses on more advanced tools in Microsoft Word that can be leveraged to make documentation look more professional and easy to update.

In this section's videos  we dive into:

• Styles in Word, what they are and how leveraging them can make documentation more professional and easier to update;

• Table of Contents, what they are and how to get Word to create them for you easily and effortlessly with a few keystrokes and

• Templates, how they can save you time, stress and frustration with repetitive documentation.

Don't forget to make notes as you go of documents you create or work on that could benefit from the use of these tools so you can leverage what you learn in this course!

In this video we explore what a Style is in Microsoft Word and how to leverage them to make document formatting easy and consistent.

In the last video we covered Styles in Word.  In this video we explore table of contents which leverage styles in a Microsoft Word document to create an automated table of contents that is easy to update and makes documentation look more professional.

Once you've watched the video, consider where you might combine styles and a table of contents in your documentation. 

We've covered so many tips, shortcuts and tools in Microsoft Word, the final piece of the puzzle is templates.

Templates enable you to have documentation you might use regularly such as a report or client proposal with foundation content in it. 

It is much less risky than saving an existing proposal and hoping you have replaced all the client specific data in it.

In this video we explore what a template is and how easy they are to create and use.

Once you've watched the video, make some notes of documents you create on a regular basis where a template might save you time and reduce risk.

In this video, Donna closes out the course, summarizes what has been covered and how you can use it, then encourages you to take the next steps including:

• Leaving course feedback

• Taking a look at her other Udemy courses - search "donna hanson"

• Using Udemy for Business? Then encourage colleagues to do this course.