11 advanced features of Microsoft Word that will make your life easier

Microsoft Word is more than just a basic word processor; is packed with powerful features designed to make your writing and document management smoother and more efficient. Still, many users only scratch the surface of what Word can really do. There are plenty of lesser-known features of Microsoft Word that you should know about if you want to be truly proficient with the software.

1 Hide the ribbon and go full screen

Writers want peace. Because Microsoft Word’s interface is packed with features, it can feel a little overwhelming when you just want a distraction-free view of your text.

To minimize distractions while typing, you can hide the ribbon by pressing a button Ctrl + F1 keyboard shortcut. Alternatively, click on Ribbon display options (small arrow in the lower right corner of the ribbon) and select Show cards only. For an even cleaner workspace, choose Full screen mode the option to hide the ribbon and cards.

Similarly, you can press while reading or viewing a document Alt + W + F enable Word reading mode. In this mode, you can tap or double-click to zoom in and create graphics such as tables, charts, and images to fill the screen.

2 Reorganize using the Outline view

Outlining your main ideas and finishing your first draft quickly is a surefire way to increase your writing productivity. With Outline view, you can quickly jump to specific heading levels in a long document, effectively plan main sections before writing the body, and easily move large blocks of text.

To access it, go to View tab and click the button Contour in Views group. This will bring up a special toolbar named Contourswith controls for promoting or lowering the level of selected text. Use the controls to hide or show the selected text.

3 Find and fix errors with Microsoft Editor

When it comes to grammar and spelling, you don’t necessarily have to rely on third-party tools because Word includes Microsoft Editor. He can check your document for grammatical and spelling errors, as well as provide suggestions for clarity and brevity.

You can access the Microsoft Editor by clicking on Editor v button Home table From here you can view the designs in Editor panel and click them to incorporate them into the document.

4 Convert tables to graphs

Choose: a neatly formatted table with lots of data, or a nicely designed chart visualizing that data for you? Since these are visual creatures, it’s often pointless to opt for the latter.

Word makes it easy to convert tabular information into a chart. When you don’t have too much tabular data, it’s best to create a chart in Word instead of killing yourself unnecessarily with Excel.

To convert a table of data into a chart:

1. Click on Insert tab on the ribbon.
2. Click on Object tool within Text group and select Object.
3. From the list Types of objectstake your pick Microsoft Graph and click OK.

5 Write the equations

The equation editor has always been an important feature of MS Word. In recent versions of Word, it is simply known as Equation. Select to use it Insert > Equation > Insert New Equation.

Then use the Equations toolbar to create advanced math, physics, or chemistry equations. Word also provides a collection of familiar equations that you can insert with just a click.

6 Use the clipboard

The Clipboard tool in Word can hold up to 24 items and is compatible with all Office applications. This capability allows you to cut and copy multiple items and then move them anywhere in your document or open Office applications.

To access it, go to Home and click the drop-down arrow next to it Box. Then you can click on Options button at the bottom to control the clipboard functions. For example, you can disable Show status near taskbar when copying feature that displays the number of items you’ve copied in the lower-right corner of the Word window.

7 Restore an older version of the document

Do you regret making too many changes to the document? No problem. Using Word’s Version History feature, you can easily retrieve an older version of a document—if you’ve saved it to OneDrive or SharePoint.

Simply click on the file name and select Version history. Then select or click the previous version of the document you want to view Restore restore it.

8 Translate text easily

All Office applications use Microsoft Translator for translations. With it, you can translate a word or a sentence, or even translate an entire document and display it in a separate Word file.

You can find Translate functions in Word, etc Review table The Translator a tab will appear on the right where you can select and change languages. You can also use this sidebar to highlight words and explore their full meanings.

9 Font beautification using pair alignment

Kerning adjusts the space between two individual letters to improve the visual appearance. It is turned off by default in Word, and you usually don’t need to modify it. However, if you need to submit a five-page homework assignment, you can save yourself the effort by increasing the space between letters instead of adding unnecessary content.

Click on the small pop-up arrow Font in Home table Then go to Modern tab and check the box for Kerning for fonts. Now experiment by entering a small point size in the field. Note that some fonts and font sizes don’t look good with pair alignment.

10 Check your document

Whenever you create or edit a document, some user information is automatically added to the file, which can be a problem if you want to share it. The Document Inspector makes it easy to remove this information.

To access the document inspector, go to File > Info > Review Document > Detect Issues > Review Document.

You can check the hidden content by checking the appropriate boxes. After the review, all categories containing sensitive data will be marked with an exclamation mark. Then you can use Remove all button for each category to delete the data and complete the document.

11 Take advantage of hidden text

Hidden text is a non-printable character attribute that can be useful in a variety of situations. For example, it can help you create a simple quiz by hiding the answers, print two versions of a document by hiding parts of the text, or temporarily hide confidential information without deleting it.

To hide or show text in a Word document:

1. Select the text you want to hide or the hidden text.
2. Press Ctrl+D for access to Font dialog box.
3. Select or deselect Hidden checkbox.
4. Click OK.

The Microsoft Word tips above should help you speed up your workflow in no time. Whether you’re working on a school essay, a work project, or something personal, most of these tips are sure to help.