—
Introduction
Microsoft Word, or simply MS Word, is the gold standard when it comes to text editing. Belonging to the Microsoft Office 2016 professional suite, it currently boasts over one billion users rely on the application daily. It translates to almost one in seven individuals in the world. This is a staggering number that remains unmatched in the tech world.
Despite the high number of users of this program, not all people know how to harness the full potential of the application. The program has a multitude of wonderful features that enable the easy creation of documents, text files, and reports. If you can make your day-to-day work easier, you will be more efficient and productive. This ought to be the ultimate goal of any software piece.
In this article, we tell you our favorite tricks, shortcuts, and timesavers to improve your productivity. The good thing with the suggestions you will read here is that they work with all MS Word versions, even if you use the Office 2016 Pro suite.
1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Copying, Cutting, and Pasting
The shortcuts ctrl + c for copy, ctrl + v for pasting, and ctrl + X for cut, can save a lot of time. Once you master these commands, you will easily zoom through document creation at lightning-fast speeds.
2. Zoom out or in quickly to save eye strain
Some people prefer working on Word with windows that are zoomed in to 150%. On the other hand, some people do not like constantly scrolling on the right and left or up to zoom out to see the whole document. Whatever your preference, you can always zoom without hassle. You only need to use the Window> Zoom to select the right settings for you.
3. Delete entire words at a time.
If you are like most people, you are probably fed up with having to press and hold the Backspace key to delete an entire word. The other option is to first highlight the word and then press the Delete or Backspace button. But did you know that there is an easier way to do it? You just need to place the cursor at the end of the word or phrase that you want to delete and press Ctrl + Backspace. It makes this otherwise tedious process a lot easier.
4. Use Smart Lookup to search the Internet.
Smart Lookup is a smart new feature introduced in Office 2016 suite to enable you to find information quickly without leaving the document that you are working on. It will take you to your chosen search engine without opening another tab. Smart Lookup will find the information you are looking for automatically.
And the best part is that it’s very easy to use this feature. You only need to highlight the word or phrase that you want to find out its meaning, and the Smart Lookup feature will appear on the list of options. It’s like a shortcut to going to a web browser, and you don’t have to open a new window. This is a powerful tool with the capability of transforming a simple question into a massive knowledge base.
5. Removing unwanted formatting
Do you want to change a document you downloaded from elsewhere into a format you are familiar with? Strange formatting can bog you down. Fortunately for you, clearing this formatting is as easy as ABC. You only need to press Ctrl + Space, and then select the Clear All Formatting button. In the newer versions, for instance, in Office 2016 professional plus, you will see an eraser that’s located on the Home tab on an A. It clears formatting from the highlighted text so you can begin with your preferred style.
6. Tell the program what you want to do.
In the majority of later MS Word versions, you will find the “Tell me what you want to do” feature at the top end of the toolbar. The feature allows you to insert a word or a group of words regarding any instruction and it will quickly tell the command that you are looking for.
7. Multiple Clicks for selecting blocks of text
Instead of using the wearisome drag and highlight technique, you only need to select text chunks with your mouse and double-click and it will highlight them. If you click three times, it highlights the whole section or sentence.
8. Insert Links quickly into a document
Like the copy, paste, and cut commands, mastering the keyboard shortcuts for inserting web links into a document will save you valuable time. The command here is Ctrl + K. It could become among the best tools you have around.
9. Choose Your Own Default Font, Not Microsoft Word’s
So Calibri isn’t exactly your cup of tea? Would you rather use Verdana or Times New Roman? Worry not, because MS Word enables you to set your own default font. The command tends to be different from one version to the next, but the best way to use it is by clicking Format>Font, and then choose the attributes you like. After that, click Default.
10. Search for any Word easily and quickly
Using the mouse to manually navigate to a word can be nothing short of dreary. Instead, just use the Ctrl + F command, and it will search the document to find the word you are looking for.
There is a dropdown in the Find menu that contains the word Replace. This will automatically replace the phrase or word you found with another different phrase or word you specify.
Conclusion
No matter how proficient you think you are in MS Word, you could use a boost in knowledge to make your work more efficient and productive. Do you want to know about how the Office productivity suite can impact the way you do your operations? These tips will shorten your work and enable you to accomplish your chores much faster. By mastering the tips, tricks, and shortcuts, you will be the go-to pro for your colleagues
—
This content is brought to you by Yulia Potapova.
Photo: Shutterstock
