• Whenever you type a URL or email address in Word, Word automatically converts it to a hyperlink. Then whenever you click on it, you are transported to that location or to creating a mail message to that person
• Problemsà you can’t backspace over and correct typos; you end up following the link
• also, the link can pick up extraneous characters (like a parenthesis) and then the link or email address will not work properly
• The default display of hyperlinks is blue-underlined.
• to get rid of auto-hyperlink: Tools à Auto Correct à AutoFormat as you Type, uncheck "Internet and network paths with Hyperlinks"
• If you do want auto-hyperlink, you can turn it into something more legible by changing the style that is associated with it. You can adjust both the on-screen appearance and the printed appearances by changing the color feature (unless of course you us a color printer)

• You can also change the color of the followed link

MRU à push it up to 9

Set up your default template "normal.dot" to suit you:

• choose the font you will use most often, and the size (e.g. maybe 11 point is more desirable that 10 point)
• adjust headings to your liking, ones that you will use. More and more, optimizing your use of Word and some of its navigational features (Document Map) are based on the use of Headings. The ones that come as the default are a bit quirky. Change them to something you like. The following are suggested by Woody (starting on this page, this document uses Woody’s suggestions)

Word normally comes up in Normal View. If you prefer Page View and have the power to use it, why not automatically open up Word in Page View?

• File à Open,
• Navigate to c:\Program Files\Office 97\Templates
• Open normal.dot
• Viewà Page Layout
• File à Save
• File à Close

A great time saver. You can put just about anything into auto correct that you can put into a Word documentà pictures, hyperlinks, tables, formatted text

• To create entries à select what you want to enter
• Toolsà Auto Correct and follow instructions

In turn, it is important to check out what Word assumes. Look at the entries on the list. For example, characters such as ellipses and smiley faces are there. Originally, these were strings of characters that could be read and understood by almost anything. Now Word has changed them into weird character codes that other products (such as email) may not be able to read.

To eliminate an entry: Toolsà AutoCorrect, click on entry, click delete

Once the "poor stepchild of auto correct," Auto Text it is now even more powerful

Anything that smacks of an autotext entry will bring up a ToolTip yellow note. Simply hit tab to insert it.

When Word is installed, it automatically picks up two settings

1. Name of person
2. Name of company

To get rid of entries you don’t want: Insert à Auto Text, click item once, click delete

Put in long phrases that you use frequently

There is also a toolbar now dedicated to AutoText—this is handy for putting graphics on as well.

If screen real estate is valuable, turn off rulers:

View à Rulers, uncheck

You can still see them by hovering the cursor over the bottom of the toolbar

thoroughly useless? Adjust Zoom factor to see entire working area

View à Zoom

Toolsà Options à View, uncheck "Horizontal Scrollbar"

Tools à Options à Edit

Determine which of these best suit your style of entering and editing text

This eliminates multiple spaces before and after a cut and paste. If you are doing work with html code or things where you don’t want automatic adjustment of spaces, here’s where to turn it off

This determines how word interprets tabs and backspaces when it is autoformatting bulleted and numbered lists. Turn if off? Woody recommends turning it off, I like this ability.

• Word decides to help you construct numbered and bulleted lists as you type. Sometimes the "infinite wisdom" of Word does not coincide with what you want.
• To find out what the alleged rules are that Word follows when it AutoFormats see: Help à Contents and Indexà Find tabà type "AutoFormat" and select topic "Learn about AutoFormat changes Word makes"
• Woody says that Word doesn’t obey those rules very closely
• One of the great annoyances of Word is that it will begin autonumbering if you begin a paragraph with a 1, A, a, or i followed by punctuation
• Autonumbering not only places a number at the beginning of each paragraph, it inserts a tab and then formats the whole paragraph with a hanging indent. This indent varies depending on what kind of list you’re using and whether you type a space or a tab after the punctuation mark
• Word automatically goes into autobulleting if you type any of the following punctuation marks followed by a space or a tab and then text:

asterisk *

a dash -

two dashes --

greater than symbol ->

dash, greater than ->

equals sign, greater than symbol

also anytime you insert a symbol followed by two or more spaces or a tab character and then type text. The symbol becomes the bullet.

Autonumbering and autobulleting are subject to some strange behavior.

These formatting changes are hard to undo.

Why not just use the toolbar offerings and turn off the rest?

To undo: Tools à AutoCorrect, "Autoformat As You Type", clear "Automatic bulleted lists" and "Automatic numbered lists"

• This is an especially welcome aid for the hurried typist with slow fingers. However if there are words that you use that have two initial capital letters you can tell word to ignore them.
• Tools à AutoCorrect, then click Exceptions and bring up the INitial CAps tab
• List words that you want allowed.
• Leaving the check mark in the box next to "Automatically add words to list"à anytime you backspace and correct a two initial cap word twice, it will be added to this list.

• A nice feature but you may want to add to the list of exceptions.(common abbreviations for examples) after which you don’t want capitalization to happen.
• Toolsà AutoCorrect, click on Exceptions and click on First Letter tab. Add any exceptions.
• Here again, leaving the check in the box "Automatically add words to list" will place new entries here after you’ve made the correction manually, twice.

Tools à Options, User Information. Be sure to vereify your name(used for Fileà Properties entries), initials (used for Insert Comment) and address(used for Toolsà Envelopes and Labels)

ClipArt Pictures setting in File Location dialog actually controls the place Word looks when you click on Insertà Picture à From File. If you commonly store pictures along with your documents, you should change this setting to point to My Documents or whatever folder contains your documents.

Word has taken it upon itself to use a folder called My Documents as the default. You can change this here as well.

Despite the annoying characters, the help system that lies within is really pretty good. Ditch the character and just call up the Office Assistant when you need it by clicking on the ? in the Toolbar or by pressing F1

To change to another character, you probably need to go back to your CD-ROM.

This wizard kicks in whenever you begin a paragraph with Dear or To.

The Letter Wizard is virtually undocumented.

To turn off, bring up Office Assistant by hitting F1, Right click on it. Pick Options. In the "Show tips about" section, uncheck the box that says "Using features more effectively." (Realize this turns off other advice as well.)

With each new version of Word or Office applications, particular assumptions are made about the kind of user you are and the kinds of tasks you will be performing. Remember when single or double spacing was a big deal? Those buttons have been removed from the toolbars and others have taken their places. If you don’t use some of the tools why not remove them and put up those that you do. But before you strip out the questionable ones, give them a try. The new Document Map button is especially handy if you prepare long documents and need a fast way to navigate through them. It does however presume that you are using the Heading styles.

Evaluate what you feel is useful, what is expendable. What follows are a few suggestions.

To customize, Tools à Customize, go to the commands tab. Once this dialog box is open, the toolbars become malleable. You can select and drag buttons on and off the toolbars. If you are working with a template, make sure the appropriate selection appears in the "Save in" list box.

If you wish to put a vertical bar between two buttons, click the button on the right and drag it just a smidgen to the right. Release it and a bar should appear.

If you use different templates in your work, why not try the "dot dot dot" version of File New? This allows you open a new file and select a template, rather than always just giving you "normal.dot".

You can now choose between a "Close" or a "Close All" button.

Print One Copy, Print Preview, Check Spelling à Woody would have you nix the last two and instead have an Envelope and Label button. If you do a lot of labels and envelopes, this is a good idea.

• Page View + Zoom can take the place of print preview
• Rather than doing a batch spell check, simply leave the red squiggles turned on

Cut, Copy and Paste are often the only key combinations Word users learn. If not, leave the buttons.

Some feel the Format painter is too much of an "oddball" and would prefer simply using character styles.

Anyone for navigating via a Find command? There is now a new Navigational button or dot between the arrows on the right hand scroll bar but in actuality it takes more clicks and time to use than the edit menu. The Find binoculars and the Go To button can speed up this process.

Two new buttons, the Insert Hyperlink and the switch to Web Toolbar.

The Insert Hyperlink is a handy button, but one button to simply turn on another toolbar seems to be a waste.

The Show Tables and Borders Toolbar: Why a button to simply bring up a toolbar, especially with the added capability of the right click mouse button?

Insert Table Button: Quick and spiffy way to create a table.

Insert Spreadsheet button: Using this button you can exploit Excel’s powerful spreadsheet capabilities while working in Word.

Snaking columns button: How often do you use this one? Formatà Columns is just as easy to use.

Drawing Toolbar: yet another button to bring up a toolbar.

All three of these can be very valuable buttons:

The Document Map button turns the Map on and off. This is not for every one, but working with long documents this is a valuable tool.

Show All button toggles you in and out of viewing hidden characters.

Zoom button is very handy and can be used in place of print preview.

This help button is redundant if you have the Office Assistant on the desktop or if you remember to use F1 instead. For those who used to love Reveal Codes in Word Perfect or who want to look at formatting information, there is what some call the "format sniffer" because it displays information about the selected character, Find the "What’s this?" command or remember Shift-F1.

The Style… button allows you to quickly bring up the Style dialog box. If doing a lot of style work or even just checking style definitions, this is a handy shortcut.

Using these buttons is more reliable and predictable than simply turning out autonumbering or autoformating.

The outside border button: this can be better served by choosing Tables and Borders.

The Hightlight and Font color buttons might be useful to some. Since they are font attributes, why not put them with the other font attribute buttons.

Click Toolsà Customize, Commands and make sure the appropriate template name is showing in the "Save in" box. If it is your default template, it should be "normal.dot"

Return to Toolbars tab.

To reset the Standard toolbar, select it and click Reset.

Repeat for the Formatting toolbar.