While Microsoft Teams has increasingly become the focus of many users due to the home office in the Corona pandemic, Microsoft Word has long been a classic of the US group. The program, which is part of the paid Microsoft Office package, is one of the most widely used writing programs worldwide. In Germany, too, the market share of Microsoft Office as office software is 85 percent, as the Nielsen Company found out in its “Office Report 2020”. Google Docs is far behind – with a market share of only nine percent.
But although Microsoft Word has long been an integral part of everyday office life for most employees, many useful functions of the paid writing program are often still largely unknown.
formatting over [Alt] + [Shift] + [N]
A fairly simple trick allows users to paste text into Microsoft Word already formatted without having to make any manual adjustments. Instead of changing the font, size and color afterwards, “Chip” advises changing the text with the key combination [Alt] + [Shift] + [N] formatted directly into the document. The copied text is automatically converted to the standard format template. Smaller adjustments and details can of course still be made later by hand.
New clipboard saves data
The keyboard shortcuts [Strg] + [C], [Strg] + [V] and [Strg]+ [X], with which texts can be copied, pasted and cut, are already familiar to most users. According to “PC Welt”, however, with the new Windows 10 update it is now possible to save up to 25 entries in the new clipboard. This can be activated in the “Settings” under “System” and “Clipboard”. Screenshots made with the print key are also saved to the clipboard. Incidentally, according to “PC Welt”, the clipboard can also be made visible via a cloud on other devices that are connected to one another via OneDrive and a user account.
Search and replace
It can also be very useful to use the search and replace function to correct minor errors. While the search function [Strg] + [F] already familiar to most users, it enables the keyboard shortcut [Strg] + [H] For example, not only to find double spaces, but also to correct them collectively using “Replace all” with just one space.
“What would you like to do?” search box
But the more irregularly you use Microsoft Word as a writing program, the more difficult it is to remember possible, time-saving key combinations. Many hidden and long-forgotten features can be rediscovered via the “What would you like to do?” search field at the top of the program bar. As “invoice” explains, the search bar makes it easy to search for the desired function. As a rule, Word offers its users the appropriate menu for selection almost immediately. Hyphenation, page breaks and special characters can be found easily.
Translate with Word
What many also don’t know: A text written in Word does not have to be translated in Google Translate and then reinserted into the document. There is also a translation function within the program itself, which can be used to convert the selected text into another language simply by right-clicking and choosing “translate”.
Mark with the F8 key
The “Zeitblossoms” Internet portal gives Word users another practical tip: Highlighting very long or specific texts in particular can take up an unnecessarily long time. You can use the F8 key to click on the start and end of the marking without having to keep the mouse button pressed the entire time. The selected text is then marked as usual.
Count number of words and characters
Also, in certain cases, it can be useful to know the number of characters and words in your text. For example, if there is a minimum number of words for an article, the marked text can be analyzed under “Check” under “Word count”. According to “invoice”, it’s even faster with the key combination [STRG] + [SHIFT] + [I]. This makes it possible, for example, to check the number of pages, characters, paragraphs, words or lines.
Professional designs as a template
The last tip can be of particular interest to people who find artistic design difficult or get on their nerves. According to “Chip”, via “Design” on the top bar of the Word document, different designs can be selected to be applied to the document. This means that documents can be designed not only more clearly, but also more professionally.
Pauline Breitner / Editor finanzen.net
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