MasterClass 1 – Getting Started with Word

Short, punchy training of less than three hours so that you can get on with your day

Getting Started with Microsoft Word Work with documents to format, cut and copy information within and between documents page layout – tabs – print – help. 1 Contact us to book 2 Pay ($225)

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This is my take on Word and how to get the best out of it with the least effort. I’ve used and taught Word since it’s inception as a Word Perfect clone – Word for DOS – in the pre-Windows days of flipping floppies and 640×480 CRT’s. Yeah, that old!

Here are some suggestions to help you on your way, pointers on what to avoid and foundationing for you to capture the feel of Word. Mastering Word isn’t about memorising arcane sequences, it’s more about getting in the head-space of the nerds that bolted it together from Visual BASIC; a mutant spawn of programmers with low people skills leaving a legacy of programmatic workflows and linear sequencing. Short take is that despite many makeovers, it’s still a clunky beast. Effective, powerful and efficient but a beast nonetheless.

So now you’ve had a giggle, let’s move on…

First and foremost is that you can’t break it! You can ‘stuff it up’, crash it and maybe lose some work and time, but your computer isn’t going to start smokin’ because of a Word error.

Worse case scenario is an uninstall, reboot and reinstall; you won’t even lose your work – unless you’ve been naughty and haven’t backed up! It’s OK to experiment, play and explore. Actually that’s the best thing, for if you follow your curiosity, you’ll learn heaps without much sweat and might even enjoy thecexperience!

Second is that it’s never too late to start, nor to let a lack of ‘technical know-how’ hold you back. The only way to get experience or to gain skills is to get stuck in. My mum was 92 when she first learnt Word and at 96 published her first trilogy (Hague Publishing, the first novel is Gypsies & Gentry – read an excerpt here). Go mum! .

How to ‘get’ Word

1. Open it up and look around.
   Pay attention to what changes. The former is important because it’s good to know your environment and the latter super important because its critical to now when and how your environment changes. Mush of what appears mystical and obscure becomes clear and dandy when you notice and pay attention to subtle changes on your screen.
2. Note things you want to remember – active participation is great for jogging those brain cells and great as an aide memoir – and question what you see (approach Word like a child, poking, prodding and questioning everything!).
3. Don’t overthink things and get into a flap. but be mindful of what you are doing (and of what you have just done) so that when the inexplicable occurs you are not left hanging without a rope.

Handy Shortcuts

Let’s work on some productivity muscle. These shortcuts make life in Word easier and help maintain a creative flow. Take the time to learn a few and Word will become easier and faster, plus you’ll be more productive.

1. Memorise your first keyboard shortcut command, ‘Undo‘: [Ctrl]+[Z] (it’s way quicker than using the ‘back arrow’). The action is to:
   1. Press and hold the [Ctrl] key on your (physical, not virtual) keyboard
      (it’s to the left and right of the [Spacebar])
   2. Tap and release the [Z] key then release [Ctrl].
      This is a most useful command.
2. The shortcut for its alter-ego; to undo an ‘Undo’ (Redo) is [Ctrl]+[Y].
   See The Great UNDO for more.

So play already!

Getting Started with Word Course

You need little or no knowledge of Microsoft Word. However, it’s beneficial to have a general understanding of computers and how to get around, especially working with files and folders.

• create a new document
• work with a document
• display documents using various views
• select and work with text in a document
• cut and copy information within and between documents
• use a range of font formatting techniques
• format paragraphs
• work effectively with features that affect the page layout of your document
• work with tabs
• print a document
• obtain help for Word whenever you need it

Your First Document

• Creating Documents in Word
• Typing Text
• The Save As Dialog Box
• Saving a New Document on Your Computer
• Typing Numbers
• Inserting a Date
• Document Proofing
• Checking Spelling and Grammar
• Making Basic Changes
• Saving an Existing Document
• Printing a Document
• Safely Closing a Document

Working With a Document

• The Open Place
• The Open Dialog Box
• Opening an Existing Document
• Navigating With the Keyboard
• Scrolling Through a Document
• Page Zooming
• Viewing the Ruler
• Showing Paragraph Marks
• Counting Words

Viewing Documents

• Viewing Multiple Pages
• Splitting the Window
• Opening a New Window
• Understanding and Changing Document Views
• Understanding and Viewing a Document in Read Mode
• Viewing Gridlines

Working With Text

• Techniques for Selecting Text
• Selecting Text Using the Mouse and the Keyboard
• Editing Text in Insert Mode and Overtype Mode
• Deleting Text
• Using Undo and Redo
• Understanding Find and Replace
• Finding and Replacing Words
• Using Go To

Cutting and Copying

• Understanding Cutting and Copying
• Cutting, Copying and Pasting
• Drag and Drop Cutting and Copying

Text Appearance

• Understanding Font Formatting and Tools
• Working With Live Preview
• Changing Fonts and Font Size
• Increasing and Decreasing Font Size
• Making Text Bold, Italic, Underlined and Highlighted
• Changing Case
• Changing Text Colour
• Using the Format Painter
• Using the Font Dialog Box
• Clearing Font Formatting

Working With Paragraphs

• Understanding Paragraph Formatting and Text Alignment
• Changing Text Alignments, Line Spacing and Paragraph Spacing
• Indenting and Outdenting Paragraphs
• Starting a Bulleted List, adding Bullets to Existing Paragraphs and Removing Existing Bullets
• Starting a Numbered List, Numbering Existing Paragraphs, creating a Multilevel List and Removing Existing Numbers
• Borders and Shading Dialog Box, Shading Paragraphs
• Applying Borders to Paragraphs
• The Paragraph Dialog Box Indents and Spacing, Line and Page Breaks

Working With Pages

• Changing Page Margins and Setting Custom Margins
• Changing Page Orientation, Paper Sizing and Setting Custom Paper Sizes
• Inserting and Removing Page Breaks
• Inserting, Formatting and Removing Page Numbers

Tabs

• Using Default Tabs
• Setting and Modifying Tabs on the Ruler
• Setting Tabs in the Tabs Dialog Box
• Setting Tab Leaders, Bar Tabs, Mixed Tabs and Removing Tabs

Printing Your Documents

• Understanding Printing
• Previewing Your Document
• Quick Printing
• Selecting a Printer
• Printing the Current Page, Specifying a Range of Pages and the Number of Copies

Getting Help

• Understanding How Help Works
• Using Tell Me
• Accessing and Navigating the Help Window
• Using Google to Get Help
• Printing a Help Topic

Course based upon part of the Level 1 Word from Watsonia Publishing