Encrypting Documents

How you can be like a super secret CIA agent and encrypt documents using Word 2007.

Microsoft (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Security>Microsoft Word

Styles, Doc Defaults, Style Sets, and Themes

In all previous versions of Word the Document Defaults were hardcoded into Word. That is, you couldn't change them. This means that the way you would change the default properties applied to your documents would either be to change the Styles within the Template used to create the document, or to write a macro that went through all documents and updated the properties defined by the Normal Style (the paragraph Style applied to text by default). In Word 2007, you can certainly still do the former, but should know the following before you do the later: by default, the Normal Style is empty.

Microsoft (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Style Sheets>Microsoft Word

Styles' Order of Operations

In Word, a style defines a set of formatting properties that are indirectly applied to characters, paragraphs, list, or tables. Instead of directly applying bold, then 14 point font, and then red to text, you can use a style to indirectly apply these three things in a single click. This is useful because you can quickly and consistently apply rich formatting, and can later change the definition of the style all the text the style is applied will change.

Microsoft (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Style Sheets>Microsoft Word

Stories in Word

To Word, comments, the body of your document, footers, etc. are basically the same. And this is good because if a feature works in one story, there's a very good chance it works in all stories. This is why you can track changes in not only the body of your document (i.e., "main story"), but also in headers, footers, endnotes, text boxes, etc. Put simply, this common story architecture enables as much Word goodness in as many places in Word as possible.

Microsoft (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

Pasting Tracked Changes

There are only three possible behaviors when pasting tracked changes. The one you get depends on whether Track Changes is on or off in both the document you copied from [source] and the document you are pasting into [destination].

Microsoft (2008). Articles>Word Processing>Collaboration>Microsoft Word

How To Get More Out of Google Docs

Part of the appeal of Google's suite of web-based productivity applications is the integration between them -- Gmail can send events to Google Calendar, Calendar sends reminders and note to Gmail and so on. Lately Google has extended that integration to make working with Google Docs a little bit easier.

Wired (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Collaboration

Microsoft Office Open XML Formats

This session will provide a technical description of the new Microsoft Office Open XML formats that will become the default XML based formats of the coming version of Microsoft Office (Office 12). The Microsoft Office XML formats provides a great Open and standard-based XML format for Office Documents that enables new XML document scenarios that were not possible before.

Paoli, Jean and Brian Jones. IDEAlliance (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Information Design>XML

The ODF Plugin for MS Office

The OpenDocument Format ("ODF") shows promise for bringing the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) to the common desktop PC of the future as the native file format for office documents in the next-generation office suites including OpenOffice, StarOffice, KOffice, Workplace, Writely and others. An ODF Plugin for MS Office -- currently under development by the OpenDocument Foundation -- can deliver this promise to the 450 million legacy Windows desktop PCs already in place. Sam Hiser, an officer of the OpenDocument Foundation, will discuss the origins and design objectives of the Foundation's ODF Plugin. He will also discuss the strategic goals of the Foundation's ODF Plugin while showing how the Plugin effort is already influencing the development of the ODF standard itself at OASIS. An audience of general business people and software developers will leave Hiser's presentation with a clear understanding of the ODF Plugin, its context of relevance and development, and how it can alter the landscape for XML.

Hiser, Sam. XML 2006 (2006). Articles>Word Processing>XML>Microsoft Word

Word and OpenOffice for XML Authoring

In this session, three panellists and audience members will discuss creating XML documents using two familiar word processors: Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. Paul Bernard will introduce some real-world examples of how publishers are using Microsoft Word in XML workflows, and how Office 2007 and OpenXML will affect those processes. Jon Parsons will discuss XML, Office 2007, and content management for document integration in the middle tier. Lisa Richards will discuss XML authoring in OpenOffice.

Hatter, Clyde, Mark Jacobson and Jon Parsons. XML 2006 (2006). Articles>Word Processing>Information Design>XML

How to Use MS Word Without Frustration

I am well aware of the irritating, hair-tearing frustration Word gives you when it won’t do what you want it to. Here’s a series of mini-articles showing you how to ‘get a grip’ on the program and make it do what you want, not what it ‘thinks’ you want.

Bentley, Carol. Technical Communication Center (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

Word: Turn Off Pagination

If you’re working in a long or large document, Word’s background pagination can become a productivity killer. While it’s occurring, you can’t work as fast as usual, and sometimes, you can’t work at all until the paginating stops. You can turn off this background pagination, but only in certain view modes in Word.

CyberText Consulting (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Workflow>Microsoft Word

Differences in Use Between OpenOffice Writer and Word  

This document summarizes the differences in use between OpenOffice.org Writer 1.1.x and Microsoft Word (various versions).

OpenOffice.org (2007). Articles>Documentation>Word Processing>OpenOffice

Word: Separate Out Macros and Attach Them to All Documents

I needed to make some macros available to all Word documents I opened. I wouldn’t need the macros for every document, but I would need them for many documents. The documents I was working on used different templates, so adding the macro to each template was not an option.

CyberText Consulting (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word

Word 2007: Using Table Styles

You have an existing table in a Word 2007 document. It’s pretty plain and you want to jazz it up a little. Here’s how to quickly change the styles applied to your table.

CyberText Newsletter (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Style Sheets

Word 2007: Using Quick Tables

Quick Tables are a quick and easy way to insert a pre-formatted table. However, the default tables are probably not what you want, so you need to know how to add your own.

Cybertext Consulting (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Style Sheets>Information Design

How To Write Documents Faster

Most people don’t know what the AutoCorrect feature in Word really does. I use to correct the document AS I WRITE and to enter long strings of text automatically.

Walsh, Ivan. I Heart Tech Docs (2009). Articles>Word Processing>Editing>Microsoft Word

Exporting Your Writing from Google Docs 

A short article that discusses how to use the bulk export feature of Google Docs to back your work up to your computer.

Nesbitt, Scott. ScottNesbitt.net (2009). Articles>Technology>Online>Word Processing