Feel Tips - Print Word Section Setup

The print feature of Microsoft Word offers a lot of flexibility. But there is no direct solution to print Word sections. However, there’s one trick most of us might not know can help you do it. If you know the section’s number, you can print that section. The secret is to combine the section number with the character “s” in the form ssectionnumber. But how to know a section’s number in Word document?

Luckily, there’s an easy method to know a section’s number. Right-click the status bar and check Section. In the status bar, Microsoft Word will display the Section indicator. That’s the number we need.  In Word 2003, this indicator is shown by default. 

After we get the section number, we need position the insertion point in the section which we want to print to update the indicator accordingly. Then, follow the steps below to use the number in print string.

1. Click the File tab and click Print in the left pane. (Choose Print from the File menu in Word 2003)
2. Choose Print Custom Range from the first setting’s dropdown. (You don’t have to choose anything in Word 2003; just enter the section code in the Pages option in the Print Range section.
3. Preface the section name with the “s” character. For instance, to print section two, enter “s2”.
4. Then, click Print. (In Word 2003, click OK.)

By using this trick, we can also combine this section-printing code with page numbers. Just separate the page numbers with comma characters. For example, to print page 3, section 4, and pages 13 through 15, we need to use the following string: 3, s4, 13-15. 

Feel Tips - Fast Exchange Word to PowerPoint by Using Styles

Because of a bit confusing, some Word users dislike using styles. But usually, styles come in handy and even the most basic users can benefit from them. For example, if you’re lucky enough to have presentation information in a Word document, you don’t need to start from scratch to build your presentation. You can just start with Word. By using Word styles, we can create a presentation either. This can save lots of time for all of you.

The key to successfully do this job is preparing the Word document before opening in in PowerPoint. Because PowerPoint only use text formatted with the default heading styles, here I recommend work with a copy of the document. Now, follow the instructions below to prepare the Word document.

1. Create a copy of the document.
2. Apply Heading 1 to slide titles.
3. Apply Heading 2 to bullet points.
4. Apply Heading 3 to text which you want included with each bullet point. It’s unnecessary to add bullets in Word because PowerPoint will do that for you.
5. Save the Word document and close it.

After finish preparing job, then open the Word document in PowerPoint. Based on the heading styles, PowerPoint will automatically create slides. Don’t worry if you won’t get it right at the first time.  Most adjustments will be obvious to you:

• PowerPoint created three slides based on two styles: TOC Heading (Contents) and Heading 1 (Galleries and Using Galleries). The formatted text is also the slides’ titles. If you want to keep the Contents slide, you might want to adjust its style to match the other two slides. Or, you might want to remove the heading style to exclude it from the presentation. If you want to include the table of contents text, apply the appropriate heading style.

• PowerPoint used the Heading 2 text under each Heading 1 text as bullet points for each slide. With a bit of preparation, those are correct as is.
• PowerPoint used the Heading 3 text to create a second bulleted layer. You might want to leave as is, or reformat in Word by including a hard return to reposition each specific bullet. In addition, you’d probably want to shorten each statement.

After shortening the text and adding hard returns to the Heading 3 text, PowerPoint will automatically create a slide from Word document. If it’s possible, work from a copy of the document, which can help you make the adjustments freely.

In addition, if there are graphic files, you need insert those separately because PowerPoint won’t import them from a Word document.

By using this Word tips, you can fast exchange Word to PowerPoint. For this time-save behavior, it’s worth learning some more about styles. 

Feel Tips - Change Number Alignment in Word Numbered List

Numbered list is one of the most common styles in Word document. Select the items and go to Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Numbering.  In Word 2003, we will do this on the Formatting toolbar. After you create a numbered list, you probably would notice that Word uses left aligned numbers by default in the list. And the number alignment can’t be obviously changed. However, a number right-aligned list can be a few clicks away if you finish this post.

There is an example below. Now, the number of the Numbered list is left-aligned. Follow the simple steps below. We will make it right-aligned.  

1. Select the items and right-click the numbered list.
2. Then, choose Numbering. If you are using Word 2003, choose Bullets and Numbering.
3. Select Define New Number Format from the list below the gallery. Click the Customize button when you use Word 2003.

4. In the resulting dialog box as the image shows above, choose Right from the Alignment dropdown. Use the Number Position dropdown if you are using Word 2003.

5. After the setting, click OK. Microsoft Word will immediately change the alignment from left to right.

I think most users like the numbers right aligned. Unfortunately, this trick is a temporary document-specific action. If you save and close the document which you’ve changed the number alignment, it will default turn to left alignment when you open it the next time. Hope sometimes the default setting can be adjusted by Microsoft.

Feel Tips - Calculating Rows and Columns in Word Table

Microsoft Excel can help users easily calculate values in rows and columns. However, if you don’t like Excel, but you need to evaluate values, you can do the job in Microsoft Word.  Although, the calculating feature of Microsoft Word is rudimentary, it is useful when you need do calculating in Word processing.

The main steps are simple:

1. Create a table in Word document and enter the values you’ll be calculating.
2. To calculate rows, add a new column to the right or left of the table and click Formula in the Data group (on the contextual Layout tab).
3. To calculate columns, add a new row to the bottom or top of the table and click Formula.

It is straightforward to calculate values in a Word table. Word will do most of the work for you. Below is a simple example. We will calculate total commissions by salesperson and by specific vehicle types.

First, follow the steps below to add a calculating column:

1. Click any cell in the right-most column to insert a new column and click Insert Right in the Rows & Columns group on the contextual Layout tab. In Word 2003, select Insert from the Table menu, and then select Columns to The Right.
2. Select the second cell in the new column (not the header cell, the one at the end of the Smith row).
3. Click Formula in the Data group. In Word 2003, choose Formula from the Table menu.
4. Word anticipates your needs and supplies the appropriate formula for you - add everything to the left of this cell. If Word doesn’t supply the formula for you, enter =SUM(LEFT)
5. From the Format dropdown, select the currency format, $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00).
6. Click OK. You can resize the column to accommodate the new content.
7. Repeat the process for each row, but be careful. Once you add the first formula, Word will detect values above the current cell and default to ABOVE instead of LEFT, in the formula. You’ll need to change =SUM(ABOVE) to =SUM(LEFT).

Second, add totals to each column.

1. Add a new row (Total) at the bottom of the table.
2. Click in the third cell - the Car, New column.
3. Click Formula in the Data group.
4. You won’t have to change the formula, because Word will detect the values above and default accordingly.
5. Set the format.
6. Click OK.
7. Repeat the process for each column.

The values can’t be updated automatically in a Word table. To update a calculating cell, we need to select it and press [F9].  To update all of the calculations, we can select the entire table and press [F9].  Similarly, if we want to update calculating cells in some area, we can just select the area and press [F9].

Feel Tips - Convert a List to Formatted Table in Word Document

In Microsoft Word document, list and table are both used for users to easily get the point of content.  Lists are great, but sometimes a table is much better.  In this post, you will learn how to fast convert list to table in Word document.  Now, let’s go to the steps.

1. First, select the list content. (Click the Move handle, the small four-arrow pointer at the top-left corner.)
2. Go to the Insert tab in the menu bar.
3. Click the Table option in the Tables group.
4. Choose Convert Text to Table from the dropdown list. (In Word 2003, choose Convert from the Table menu and then select Text To Table.)

Word does a good job of assuming the table setup based on the list’s composition. In this case, Word wants to create two columns, based on the tab characters that separate the two columns. This is correct, so click OK without changing any settings.  That won’t always be the case, so be sure to check the settings carefully.

Then, the whole list to table conversion is finished.  

After create the table, if you want to reduce the width of the first column or want to add some styles, you can go to the Live Preview (in the ribbon versions) where you can quickly format the table by selecting the table and clicking the contextual Design tab and hovering over the many styles in the gallery (in the Table Styles group).

By clicking the Table Styles dialog launcher (the arrow in the group’s bottom-right corner) to display the entire gallery we can get more choices for styles. In Word 2003, we can choose Table AutoFormat from the Table menu to find predefined formats.

In this case, the format adds bold to the top row, assuming it’s a row of headings, so remove the bold from the second column in the first row. To move the entire table, click the Move handle and drag and drop the whole table.

Vice versa, to remove the table or convert table to text, we can select it and click Convert To Text in the Data group on the contextual Layout tab. Then, Microsoft Word will remove the table and its format, leaving the text in its original list form.

If you want the list flush with the left margin, be sure to move the table before converting it back to text. In Word 2003, select the list and choose Convert from the Table menu. Then, select Table To Text.

Feel Tips - Type Text into Scanned Word Document

In our normal daily working days, we usually need fill in different scanned paper forms.  However, you can use Microsoft Word to fill them in. With an easy trick mentioned in this post, Microsoft Word can help us render most paper forms into an electronic file. This trick is not perfect but works in a pitch.

First, we need save the scanned document as a graphics file. The mainly most used image formats like jpg, png and bmp can be used by Microsoft Word. Now, insert the scanned document file in to Word by following the steps below.

1. Create a Word document and open in a blank document. Open the header section. In Word 2007 and 2010, just double-click in the top margin area. In Word 2003, choose Header and Footer from the View menu.
2. After goes to the header section, click the Insert tab. Then, click Picture in the Illustrations group. In Word 2003, choose Picture from the Insert menu, and then choose From File. Browse to the file and double-click it or select it and click Insert.
3. Then, choose Behind Text from the Text Wrap dropdown in the Arrange group on the contextual Format tab. In Word 2003, right-click the picture, and choose Format Picture. Click the Layout tab, choose Behind Text, and click OK.
4. Close the header section.  Don’t worry if the graphic dims a bit.

Now, the scanned document has been inserted into header as background. Then we can type as normally would by using the graphic as guideline.

Most likely, the form won’t align just right the first time you try. However, we can simply open the header and adjust the position of the form as needed. We can also change the font, font size, and tab stops to accommodate the form’s fill-in positions.

Wish this Word trick for typing text into scanned document in Word is useful for your daily job.

Feel Tips - Customize Word Bullet Points

Powerful Microsoft Word offers adequately bullet characters for users. But if you want add some with distinction or creativity you can customize Word bullet points by yourself.

To create a bulleted list in Word document is very easy. In Home tab area, select the list and click Bullets in the Paragraph group. It couldn’t be simpler. The default bullet character is generic enough to be adequate for most documents, but you might want something more distinct or artistic. If you want to customize the bullet points in your Word document, just follow this post.

First, enter the list and format it as we normally would. Now, we’ve created  a list in Word document as the image below.

With the bulleted list intact, we’re ready to customize the bullet character, as follows:

1. Right-click anywhere inside the list.


2. From the resulting submenu, highlight Bullets, and then choose Define New Bullets (Choose Bullets and Numbering in Word 2003).

3. In the resulting dialog, you can choose three routes for customizing the bullet character: Symbol, Picture, and Font.

4. To insert a symbol, click Symbol.

5. In the resulting dialog, choose an appropriate font and symbol character. For instance, change the Font to Wingdings and then select the diamond.

6. Click OK twice.

From the image above we can find that this trick doesn’t update the sub-items. Anyway, at this present, there’s not much we can do about that. However, this solution can import a picture file. Simply click Import and select the picture file. Although the results won’t always be useable, but don’t be afraid to experiment.

Customize Word bullet points by yourself can be easy through this trick. This can help you produce a more professional and creative document.

Feel Tips - Format Numbered List in Word Document

Number list in Word document is used usually in our daily work. Microsoft Word offers powerful functions for users to format content includes Number list. However, if you just want to format the numbers in a numbered list that would be difficult if you don’t know the quick trick in this post.

When we create a bullet or numbered list and wish to format the number for one item in that list, what usually happens is you end up formatting the entire item, or the entire list. In fact, we can easily control which part to be formatted even only the number of the list. Now, follow the steps below.

1. In the Home tab area, click Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group. In Word 2003, click Show/Hide on the Formatting toolbar.
2. Select only the Paragraph mark at the end of the line whose number you want to format. For instance, set the paragraph mark at the end of #6.
3. With the paragraph mark selected, apply the format. We can apply red Font Color.

If you want to format the numbers of multiple items, but not all of them, we can hold down Ctrl key when select markers. And then format the numbers as you wish.

To format all of the numbers in the list, without changing the format of the actual text, click any number in the list to highlight all of the numbers and then format as you normally would. Word will extend the format to new items.

Wish this trick for formatting numbered list can make your document colorful.