Cheat Sheet: 10 Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word. The name's practically synonymous with "productivity app." If you're reading this article at work (shame on you!) there's a pretty decent chance you've got a Word doc open right now, and you probably think you've got a good handle on Microsoft's word processor. We'll bet you don't know as much as you think you do.

Don't believe us? Read on for 10 quick tips and tricks for Microsoft Word--we think at least a few will suprise you. If you're such a Word expert that they don't, hit the comments and share some of your favorites tips.

Be Selective with How You Select

You already know that double-clicking selects a single word, and you probably figured out that triple-clicking selects an entire paragraph. But if you just want to select a single sentence, hold down Ctrl and click on any word. To select an entire table, hold down Alt and double-click.

Add a Comment Box

When a friend or family member sends you a document to proofread, don’t waste your time writing a lengthy email detailing all the horrendous mistakes you found; mark up their Word file instead. Highlight a portion of text, click the Review tab in the Ribbon bar, and select New Comment.

Insert Bullets and Number Lists Using Your Keyboard

When inspiration hits, lifting your fingers off the keyboard to use your mouse can mess up your mojo, but what do you do if you need to insert a bullet or numbered list? It’s simple: type an asterisk and hit the spacebar to auto-create a bullet list. You can do the same with numbers and dashes.

Use the Built-In Thesaurus

You don’t need to hop online to use a thesaurus, the folks in Redmond had the good sense to bundle one in Word. To use it, highlight an entry and press Shift+F7. Pretty simple, right? Or maybe we should say it’s trouble-free, straightforward, effortless, uncomplicated, or painless.

Backup/Transfer Your Settings

Nearly every customization you make to Word gets saved in the Normal.dot template, a hidden file that you should keep backed up. You’ll find it by navigating to C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates. Be sure to enable viewing of hidden files, folders, and drives.

Extend Word’s Trial Period

Microsoft allows you to test drive Office 2010 free for 30 days; after that, you have to pony up for a license and activate. Or you can ‘rearm’ Office for another 30-day trial, up to 5 times for a total of 180 days. To rearm, open an elevated command prompt and go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform and run OSPPREARM.exe. If you installed the 32-bit edition of Office on a 64-bit OS, replace Program Files with Program Files (x86).

Insert Screenshots into Word

One of our favorite new features in Word 2010 is the ability to glue screen grabs right into the document we’re working on. Just use the Print Screen key as normal to grab an image, and then go to Insert > Illustrations > Screenshot.

Hop Back and Forth with Bookmarks

To add a bookmark in Word, position your cursor and go to Insert > Links > Bookmark. Give your bookmark a name and click Add. To jump back to that point, just go back to the Bookmark menu, highlight your entry, and click Go To.

Select Text Vertically

Did you mess up your numbered list? Maybe some funky symbols got placed at the beginning of each sentence when you copied over an email. Whatever your reason for wanting to select text vertically, you can do so by holding down the Alt key and using your mouse cursor.

Password Protect Work Documents

One of these days, you’re going to punch your obnoxious roommate square in the face for digging around your personal documents. Or better yet, just lock your docs. To password protect a Word document, click on File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password