Microsoft Word is a word processor, part of the Microsoft Office suite of computer applications. It is commonly used by technical writers, sometimes in combination with document design applications.
#27239
"Page X of Y" Gives Wrong Numbers
If you have applied the latest service release for your version of Word, and you still have the Page X of Y problem, any of the solutions mentioned below will work for you.
Rado, Dave and Suzanne Barnhill. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27233
Word 2000 can be a nightmare when it comes to positioning shapes – Word 97 was much more predictable.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#22050
The Power of Word Templates and Styles
One of the more powerful features of Microsoft Word rests in the capability for the user to develop specialized document templates. I have found it beneficial, as you will see in the Template Library area of this site, to develop a “library” of specialized templates I rely on to speed document production for my clients. The templates allow me to get through that difficult document design phase. Much time and effort has been devoted to defining effective documentation formats and I have integrated those features in the templates. I overcome any “design” debate by presenting a proposed format (sometimes with outline) for approval. This way unique requirements are identified and implemented immediately, in this early stage.
#20706
Publishing Documentation in Microsoft Word: Don't Do It!
To save costs, many small businesses take the do-it-yourself route to publishing product and support documentation. The tool of choice is often Microsoft Word - after all, you probably already have a copy of it and know how to use it reasonably well. But while using Word to develop your materials is an acceptable choice, using it to publish documentation is not! Read on to learn some of Word's shortcomings as a publishing method, and what alternatives are available.
Rosteck, Tanja S. Suite101 (2001). Articles>Documentation>Software>Microsoft Word
#26750
Word can be very unforgiving! Once a document becomes too unwieldy, it starts to stagger and then collapses, wiping out all the formatting in the process. In some cases, you can recover the raw text but, as a rule, the layout and presentation is destroyed. However, there are several ways that reduce the likelihood of this occurring.
Klariti (2006). Articles>Software>Word Processing>Microsoft Word
#27191
Ruler of All You Survey: How to Make the Best Use of Word's Rulers
If you work for a company of any size at all, then simply getting your staff to use the ruler properly will save them many hours every week, and significantly increase your company's profitability.
Barnhill, Suzanne and Dave Rado. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27231
Running a Macro Automatically When a Document is Created, Opened or Closed
If you want a macro to be fired whenever any document is opened, regardless of which template the document is attached to, the simplest way is to write an AutoOpen macro and store it in Normal.dot.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Programming>Microsoft Word
#20779
In considering the leakage of information through hidden text mechanisms in commonly used information interchange formats we demonstrate how to automate and scale the search for hidden data in Word documents. The combination of this scaling with typical behaviour patterns of Word users and the default settings of the Word program leads to an uncomfortable state of affairs for Word users concerned about information security. We discuss some countermeasures employable by users and note more general consequences of these effects.
Byers, Simon. User-Agent (2003). Articles>Word Processing>Security>Microsoft Word
#20382
A Short List of Tips for Technical Writing using Microsoft Word
This document provides some pointers on how you can make Microsoft Word work better for you. I assume that you already have a pretty good understanding of the use of Word. This document only covers concepts or techniques that will make the program work better for you. The document was originally developed with Word 97 in mind, but it seems to be relevant for more recent versions as well, though the exact key strokes may differ.
Woodward, Richard T. Texas A and M University. Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Microsoft Word
#15195
Single Sourcing with RoboHelp and Word 
Details a nine-step process for single sourcing with eHelp's RoboHelp and Microsoft Word.
Barefoot, Darren K. Intercom (2001). Articles>Single Sourcing>Microsoft Word>Adobe RoboHelp
#21679
So You Think You Know What a Template Is?
So you think you know what a Template is? Well, what is it?
#27188
Some of the Most Useful Word Shortcuts
This list doesn't attempt to be comprehensive, but is a list of the shortcuts which save me the most time.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#24179
Speaking in Tongues: Dealing with Word's Dictionaries
Word has powerful language tools, but if you don't understand how they work, even a simple spellcheck can pose problems. In this article, I'll discuss how to take full advantage of Word's language settings.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#26118
This section shows you how to use Word’s spelling, grammar, and research tools. You also learn how to hyphenate documents, print envelopes and labels, and work with XML.
Glenn, Walter. O'Reilly and Associates (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#26749
Stop Graphics from Increasing the Size of Your Word Documents
When you insert a graphic into your Word document, it increases the file size automatically as Word has to ‘store’ (i.e. duplicate) a rendering of the graphic in the document. To avoid this happening, you can reduce the file size by storing only the links to the graphics and not the actual graphic itself.
Klariti (2006). Articles>Software>Word Processing>Microsoft Word
#27192
Strait and Narrow: Using Columns
When you open a new blank document in Word, you begin typing at the left side of the screen/page and continue typing to the right margin, where Word wraps your text back to the left so you can start again. All your lines of text are full width. But sometimes you need to divide your text into two or more columns.
Barnhill, Suzanne and Dave Rado. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#24203
Taking Advantage of "Automatic Text" Features
I recently began looking for a way to eliminate the need to manually perform small repetitive tasks. In Microsoft Word, that way is through the software’s 'automatic text' features: Autoformat, Autocorrect, and Autotext. In this article, I’ll focus on these features in Word, but will also discuss how to lighten the work load in other software.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#29383
Ten Obscure Word Tricks to Expedite Common Chores 
Buried within Word are lots of cool tricks that not too many people have discovered. These are small things--shortcuts that, in some cases, may not look much more efficient than pulling down a menu and heading for the dialog box you need. But if you perform a certain task a thousand times a week, being able to bypass some steps or automatically slap a change into a document without having to stop and think about it can be a welcome convenience. The techniques included here include things like making vertical text selections, creating a shortcut to launch Word using a specified template, placing the Calculate command on a toolbar for quickly adding numbers, and duplicating text and objects with the mouse.
Gilbert, Jody. TechRepublic (2006). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#23462
For long Word documents, I never use the main/sub document feature. It's unreliable. Instead I link the graphics without saving in the document. When the document is completed I change it to relative path (using a Find & Replace procedure) for reliable file transfer.
Ring, Peter. TC-FORUM (1997). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27184
Troubleshooting Word 2004 for Macintosh
If you have no clue what is causing your problem with Word, work through The Basics and all the General Troubleshooting topics. Beyond the basics, probably 70% of the problems in Word are caused by a corrupt Normal template or corrupt Preferences.
Word MVP Site, The (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27197
Turning Word into a Pseudo-Database by Using Mail Merge Query Options
Purists might argue that the power it gives ordinary users isn't necessary because they should use Access queries for this sort of thing and link the merge to the query. But in my experience, many people who are very comfortable working with Word and Excel find Access (or any full-fledged database application) very difficult to work with, and can get the job done far more quickly and easily using a combination of Word and Excel. At the end of the day, getting the job done is what matters. The vast majority of the world's databases (in terms of number of databases, rather than in terms of amount of data) are stored in Excel spreadsheets.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Databases>Microsoft Word
#27199
Typographical Tips from Microsoft Publisher
In one form or another, Word is ubiquitous. If you buy a new computer, chances are good that it will come with some version of Office or Works Suite (which includes Word) installed. Word is a powerful word processing program that incorporates many of the features of a page layout application, but there are times when a page layout or desktop publishing application is what is needed. If you are using the Small Business Edition of Office 97 or Office 2000 SBE, Professional, or Premium, you have such a program: Microsoft Publisher.
Barnhill, Suzanne and Dave Rado. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Typography>Microsoft Publisher
#29343
Use Handwriting Recognition to Sign Letters in Word
Microsoft Word 2002's Handwriting Recognition feature allows you to use a pen and electronic tablet or a mouse to add a signature to your documents. Find out how you can start adding this feature to all your letters.
Richardson, Mary Ann. TechRepublic (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27224
Useful WordBasic Commands That Have no VBA Equivalent
When Microsoft released Word 97, a new programming language VBA replaced the WordBasic language that had been available in earlier versions of Word. For most things, VBA is a much more powerful and flexible programming language than WordBasic, but there are a few very useful WordBasic commands which have no direct equivalents in VBA. Fortunately, VBA includes the WordBasic object, which gives access to most of the old WordBasic commands.
West, Jonathan. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Programming>Microsoft Word
#27198
The macrobutton field can be used as a text marker within a template, or, as the name implies, it can be used to run a macro.
Mayor, Graham, Jonathan West and Hak-lok Ng. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
