Word 2019 For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956415
ISBN: 978-1-119-51406-0; ISBN: 978-1-119-51405-3 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-119-51408-4 (ebk)
The only thing standing between you and your writing is your word processor. Yeah, I know: It’s supposed to be helpful. Well, it tries. Computers can do only so much. But you, as a smart person, are capable of so much more, which is why I’m guessing you opened this book.
Welcome to Word 2019 For Dummies, which removes the pain from using Microsoft’s latest, greatest, most confusing word processing software ever! This book is your friendly, informative, and entertaining guide to getting the most from Word 2019.
Be warned: I’m not out to force you to love Word. This book won’t make you enjoy the program. Use it, yes. Tolerate it, of course. The only promise I’m offering is to ease the pain that most people feel from using Microsoft Word. Along the way, I kick Word in the butt, and I hope you enjoy reading about it.
I don’t intend for you to read this book from cover to cover. It’s not a novel, and if it were, it would be a political space opera with an antihero and a princess fighting corrupt elected officials who are in cahoots with an evil intergalactic urban renewal development corporation. The ending would be extremely satisfying.
This book is a reference. Each chapter covers a specific topic or task you can accomplish by using Word 2019. Within each chapter, you find self-contained sections, each of which describes how to perform a specific task or get something done. Sample topics you encounter in this book include
I give you no codes to memorize, no secret incantations, no tricks, no presentations to sleep through, and no wall charts. Instead, each section explains a topic as though it’s the first thing you read in this book. Nothing is assumed, and everything is cross-referenced. Technical terms and topics, when they come up, are neatly shoved to the side, where you can easily avoid reading them. The idea here isn’t for you to master anything. This book’s philosophy is to help you look it up, figure it out, and get back to work.
You hold in your hands an active book. The topics between this book's yellow-and-black covers are all geared toward getting things done in Word 2019. All you need to do is find the topic that interests you and then read.
Word uses the mouse and keyboard to get things done, but mostly the keyboard.
I use the word click to describe the action of clicking the mouse’s main (left) button.
This is a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+P. Press and hold down the Ctrl (Control) key and type the letter P, just as you would press Shift+P to create a capital P.
Sometimes, you must press more than two keys at the same time, such as Ctrl+Shift+T. Press Ctrl and Shift together and then press the T key. Release all three keys.
Commands in Word 2019 exist as command buttons on the Ribbon interface. I may refer to the tab, the command group, and then the button itself to help you locate that command button.
Menu commands are listed like this: Table ⇒ Insert Table. This direction tells you to click the Table command button and then choose the Insert Table item from the menu that appears.
Some of Word’s key commands are kept on the File screen. To access that screen, click the File tab on the Ribbon. To return to the document, click the Back button, found in the upper left corner of the File screen and shown in the margin. Or you can press the Esc key.
When I describe a message or something else you see onscreen, it looks like this:
Why should I bother to love Evelyn when robots will
eventually destroy the human race?
If you need further help with operating your computer, I can recommend my book PCs For Dummies, 14th Edition (Wiley). It contains lots of useful information to supplement what you find in this book.
This book was written with the beginner in mind, but I still make a few assumptions. Foremost, I assume that you're a human being, though you might also be an alien from another planet. If so, welcome to Earth. When you conquer our planet, please do Idaho last. Thanks.
Another foolish assumption I make is that you use Windows as the computer's operating system. For Word 2019, you must use Windows 10. The Office 365 version of Word is similar to Word 2019 and it runs on older versions of Windows, though it’s not the same. Differences between Word 2019 and Office 265 Word are mentioned in the text. This book doesn’t specifically address the Macintosh version of Word, which is different.
This book doesn’t cover using Windows. Word is a program (software) that runs under the Windows operating system. You must understand both to get the most from your PC.
Throughout this book, I use the term Word to refer to the Microsoft Word program. The program may also be called Word 2019 or even Microsoft Office Word 2019. It’s all Word as far as this book is concerned. Word 2019 is part of the Microsoft Office 2019 suite of programs. This book doesn’t cover any other part of Microsoft Office, though I mention Excel and Outlook wherever they encroach on Word’s turf.
This book covers using Word for anyone from a bare beginner to a modestly sophisticated scrivener. More advanced material is covered in its companion book, Word 2016 For Professionals For Dummies. I recommend that book if you really want to dig into advanced topics such as manuscript preparation, using Word in a legal office, programming macros, and other “professional” word processing duties. The title covers Word 2016 specifically, but nearly all of it also applies to Word 2019.
This icon flags useful, helpful tips or shortcuts.
This icon marks a friendly reminder to do something.
This icon marks a friendly reminder not to do something.
This icon alerts you to overly nerdy information and technical discussions of the topic at hand. The information is optional reading, but it may enhance your reputation at cocktail parties if you repeat it.
Start reading! Behold the table of contents and find something that interests you. Or look up your puzzle in the index.
Read! Write! Let your brilliance shine!
My email address is dgookin@wambooli.com. Yes, that’s my real address. I reply to all email I receive, and you’ll get a quick reply if you keep your question short and specific to this book or to Word itself. Although I enjoy saying “Hi,” I cannot answer technical support questions or help you troubleshoot your computer. Thanks for understanding.
You can also visit my web page for more information or as a diversion: www.wambooli.com. This book’s specific support page can be found at www.wambooli.com/help/word. I place errata and updates on that page, as well as write frequent blog posts with Word information, tips, and tricks.
To find this book’s online Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for Word 2019 Cheat Sheet in the Search box.
Enjoy this book. And enjoy Word. Or at least tolerate it.
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Learn how to start Word 2019 and decipher the Word screen.
Familiarize yourself with how to quit and minimize Word 2019.
Get to know the PC keyboard and the touchscreen.
Learn how to read the status bar and discover secret symbols representing special characters in your text.
Chapter 1
IN THIS CHAPTER
Starting Word
Deciphering the Word screen
Understanding the Ribbon
Zooming in and out
Quitting Word
Minimizing Word
According to the popular book Pencils For Dummies, the pencil is the ultimate word processing tool. It’s easy to use, it’s wireless, and it features the original Undo command, in the form of an eraser. And that’s about as funny as Pencils For Dummies gets.
As a writing tool, the pencil remains popular and easy to figure out, but it’s not that technologically advanced. Your typical Ticonderoga #2 lacks many of the powerful capabilities you find in a sophisticated application like Microsoft Word, which is why Word requires a more formal introduction.
As a digital resident of your PC, Microsoft Word serves as a loyal subject to the king of computer realm, Windows. To get work done in Word, you must contend with the multitudinous ways available in Windows to start the Word program. These methods can vary from the obvious to the obnoxiously cryptic, so instead I present you with the three most common ways to start your Word day:
Ensure that you sport a proper posture as you write. Your wrists should be even with your elbows. Your head should tilt down only slightly, though it’s best to look straight ahead. Keep your shoulders back and relaxed. Have a minion gently massage your feet.
Other nerdy terms for starting a program: Run. Launch. Open. Fire up. Beg. Thrash. Whimper.
Propriety demands that I show the traditional, boring way to start Word. I’ll be quick:
Press the Windows key on the keyboard.
The Windows key is adorned with the Windows logo icon, which I won’t illustrate here because it changes more frequently than teenage fashion. The key is nestled between the Ctrl and Alt keys to the left of the spacebar. A duplicate is found on the right side of the spacebar on desktop computers. Use either key.
Look for Microsoft Word on the Start menu.
The item might be titled Word or Word 2019 or something similar.
If you don’t find Word right away in Windows 10, click the All Apps button to hunt it down. In Windows 7, click the All Programs button.
Sometimes Word is found on a Microsoft Office or Office 2019 folder or submenu.
Watch in amazement as the program unfurls on the screen.
The best way to start Word, and the way I do it every day, is to click the Word icon on the taskbar. Word starts simply and quickly.
The issue, of course, is how to get the Word icon on the taskbar. If the icon doesn’t appear on the taskbar, follow these steps to add it:
Find the Word icon on the Start menu.
See the preceding section, Steps 1 and 2.
Choose the command More, Pin to Taskbar.
The Pin to Taskbar command might appear directly on the right-click menu; otherwise, you find it on the More submenu.
The Word icon is pinned (permanently added) to the taskbar. From there you need click it only once to start the program.
You use the Word program to create documents, which are stored on your computer in much the same way as people pile junk into boxes and store them in their garages. To start Word, open a Word document. Follow these steps:
Locate the Document icon.
Use your Windows kung fu to open the proper folders and hunt down a Word document icon, similar to the one shown in the margin.
Double-click the icon.
This step is a standard Windows operation: Double-click an icon to open a program. In this case, opening a Word document starts the Word program.
The document is opened and presented on the screen, ready for whatever.
Documents are files. As such, they are managed by Windows. If you need to find a lost document or rename it or organize your documents into a folder, you use Windows, not Word.
Like all programs in Windows, Word offers its visage in a program window. It’s the place where you get your word processing work done.
After starting Word, you may first see something called the Word Start screen, as shown in Figure 1-1. It’s friendlier than that ominous empty page that has intimidated writers since the dawn of paper.
FIGURE 1-1: The Word Start screen.
You can use the Start screen to open a previously opened document, start a new document based on a template, or start with a blank document.
Previously opened documents are listed on the left side of the window, as illustrated in Figure 1-1. Word’s templates are found under the Featured heading. Templates you’ve created appear under the Personal heading. Click a template thumbnail to create a new document based on that template.
To start on a blank document, click the Blank Document template. Then you see the ominous empty page, which I wrote about earlier.
Once you’ve made your choice, Word is ready for you to start writing. Word is also equally content if you just stare at the screen and await inspiration.
The Word Start screen appears only when you first start the Word program. It doesn’t appear when you start a new document while the Word program window is already open.
Writing is scary enough when you first see that blank page. With a computer, the level of terror increases because Word festoons its program window with all kinds of controls and doodads. I recommend that you refer to Figure 1-2 to get an idea of some basic terms. Ignore them at your peril.
FIGURE 1-2: Word's visage.
The details of how all these gizmos work, and the terms to describe them, are covered throughout this book. The good news is that the basic task of typing text is straightforward. See Chapter 2 to get started.
To get the most from Word’s window, adjust its size: Use the mouse to drag the window’s edges outward. You can also click the window’s Maximize button (refer to Figure 1-2) to have the window fill the screen.
An important part of Word’s interface is the Ribbon. It's where a majority of Word’s commands dwell and where settings are made. These items appear as buttons, input boxes, and menus.
The Ribbon is divided into tabs, as shown in Figure 1-3. Each tab holds separate groups. Within the groups, you find the command buttons and doodads that carry out various word processing duties.
FIGURE 1-3: The Ribbon.
To use the Ribbon, first click a tab. Then scan the group names to locate the command you need. Finally, click the button to activate the command or to display a menu from which you can choose a command. This book describes finding commands on the Ribbon in exactly this manner: tab, group, command button.
To ensure that you always see all the command buttons, adjust the program’s window as wide as is practical.
Clicking the File tab replaces the contents of the Word window with a screen full of commands and other information. To return to the Word window, click the Back button (shown in the margin) or press the Esc key.Microsoft may believe that showing and hiding the Ribbon is a feature, one that you control according to your preferences. I find that this option frustrates most people, especially when you unintentionally hide the Ribbon.
To resolve Ribbon frustrations, use the Ribbon Display Options menu, located in the upper right area of the Word window and illustrated in Figure 1-3. Choose an item to determine how to display the Ribbon. Your choices are
To temporarily hide the Ribbon, click the Collapse the Ribbon button, labeled in Figure 1-3. To bring back the Ribbon, click a tab, and then at the spot where the Hide the Ribbon button appears, click the Pushpin icon, shown in the margin, to make the Ribbon stay open.
I recommend that you keep the Ribbon visible as you discover the wonders of Word.
If you’re using Word on a tablet, you can adjust the spacing between buttons on the Ribbon by activating Touch mode. This spacing feature makes the Ribbon more useful in Touch mode. Follow these steps:
Click or touch the Customize Quick Access Toolbar button.
The button appears to the right of the Quick Access toolbar buttons. (Refer to Figure 1-2.)
Choose Touch/Mouse Mode.
The Touch Mode button appears on the Quick Access toolbar, shown in the margin.
Tap the button to switch the Ribbon between Mouse and Touch modes. In Mouse mode, the buttons on the Ribbon appear closer together. In Touch mode, more space is added between the buttons, which makes it easier for your stubby fingers to tap the proper command.
Just to keep you on your toes, Word offers multiple ways to view your document in its window. The blank area where you write, which should be full of text by now, can be altered to present information in different ways. Why would you want to do that? You don’t! But it helps to know about the different ways so that you can change them back.
The standard way to view a document is called Print Layout view. It’s the view shown in this book, and it’s how Word typically presents a document. A virtual page appears on the screen, with four sides, like a sheet of paper with text in the middle. What you see on the screen is pretty much what you’ll see in the final results, whether printed or published as an electronic document.
The other views are
To switch between Read Mode, Print Layout, and Web Layout views, click one of the View buttons, found in the lower right corner of the Word program window. (Refer to Figure 1-2.)
To get to Outline and Draft views, as well as to see all View modes in one location, click the View tab and choose the appropriate command button from the Views group.
When your document looks weird in the Word program window, switch back to Print Layout view to fix the problem. Click the Print Layout button on the status bar, or click the View tab and choose Print Layout in the Views group.
When the information in Word’s window just isn’t big enough, don’t increase the font size! Instead, whip out the equivalent of a digital magnifying glass, the Zoom command. It helps you enlarge or reduce your document’s presentation, making it easier to see or giving you the Big Picture look.
Several methods are available to zoom text in Word. The most obvious is to use the Zoom control found in the lower right corner of the Word window, on the status bar. Adjust the slider right or left to make the text larger or smaller, respectively.
To set specific zoom sizes, click the 100% button on the status bar. Use the Zoom dialog box to set a size based on percentage, page width, or even multiple pages.
Zooming doesn't affect how a document prints — only how it looks on the screen.
If the computer’s mouse has a wheel button, you can zoom by holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard and rolling the mouse wheel up or down. Rolling up zooms in; rolling down zooms out.
It's the pinnacle of etiquette to know when and how to excuse oneself. For example, the phrase “Well, I must be off” works a lot better than growling, “I wish you all would rot” before leaving a family dinner. The good news for Word is that’s completely acceptable to quit the program without hurting its feelings.
When you've finished word processing and you don't expect to return to it any time soon, quit the Word program. Click the X button in the upper right corner of the Word program window. (Refer to Figure 1-2.)
The catch? You have to close each and every Word document window that’s open before you can proclaim that you’ve completely quit Word.
The other catch? Word won’t quit during that shameful circumstance when you’ve neglected to save a document. If so, you’re urged to save, as shown in Figure 1-4. My advice is to click the Save button to save your work; see Chapter 8 for specific document-saving directions.
FIGURE 1-4: Better click that Save button.
If you click the Don’t Save button, your work isn’t saved and Word quits. If you click the Cancel button, Word doesn’t quit and you can continue working.
You don't always have to quit Word. For example, if you're merely stopping work on one document to work on another, quitting Word is a waste of time. Instead, you close the first document. Follow these steps:
Click the File tab.
The File screen appears. Commands line the left side of the screen, as shown in Figure 1-5.
Save the document, if you’re prompted to do so.
The shame! Always save before closing. Tsk-tsk.
FIGURE 1-5: The File tab screen.
After the document has closed, you return to the main Word window. You don’t see a document in the window, and many command buttons are dimmed (unavailable). At this point, you can create a new document or open a document you previously saved.
Bottom line: There’s no point in quitting Word when all you want to do is start editing a new document.
There’s no urgency to close a document. I keep mine open all day, saving frequently. Occasionally, I wander off to do something not work related, like play a game or see who’s being obnoxious on Facebook. To return to the document at any time, click its button on the Windows taskbar.
To swiftly start a new, blank document in Word, press Ctrl+N.
Don’t quit Word when you know that you’ll use it again soon. In fact, I've been known to keep Word open and running on my computer for weeks at a time. The secret is to use the Minimize button, found in the upper right corner of the screen. (Refer to Figure 1-2.)
Click the Minimize button to shrink the Word window to a button on the taskbar. With the Word window out of the way, you can do other things with your computer. Then when you're ready to word-process again, click the Word button on the taskbar to restore the Word window to the desktop.