Word Settings

Have you ever noticed that when you insert a picture in MS Word, the program automatically puts it in the line with the text? Like this:

I don't know about you, but most of the time, I much prefer that the text wrap around the picture and really integrate it into the document. Like this:

To make that happen, I usually have to go through and change the formatting for each picture. What a pain! I mean, if I'm always going to change the picture formatting, wouldn't it just be more efficient to have Word format the picture to my preferences from the get go?

To change the way Word formats a picture upon insertion, you'll need to go to the Options window. (Tools menu, Options choice).

Once in the Options window, you need the Edit tab.

You're looking for the Insert/paste picture as field. Use the arrow to pull down the list and choose the formatting you prefer.

Click OK.

And that's it!

Next time you insert a picture, you should find that it is automatically formatted to meet your standards from the very beginning.

Data Dr 8/25/2006

More tips

If you ask me, Word is presumptuous to decide that we should be opening documents in its Normal view. Hey, Bill Gates., you might use Normal--I never do. I prefer Preview (in Word 2002, it's called the Print Layout view). A quick workaround is to switch views with shortcut keys: Ctrl-Alt-P gets you to Preview or Print Layout view, depending on your Word version, and Ctrl-Alt-N takes you back to Normal view. Me? I hardwired the view I like best by editing normal.dot (Word's Global Template). Close Word and use Start, Search, All files and folders to locate normal.dot on your hard disk. Preserve your original normal.dot file by copying it with the name default.dot. Right-click normal.dot and choose Open; don't double-click the file, because that just opens a new document. Make whatever modifications you want: Change the fonts, remove toolbar items switch to Preview or Print Layout view. Save normal.dot and close it. The next time you open Word, the program will have all your new settings.

Word Shortcuts

To Quickly Change the Case of Text
Select the text you want to change and press SHIFT+F3. Each time you press the F3 key, the text case switches between Title Case, UPPERCASE and lowercase.

Save All Word Documents at Once
Hold down SHIFT and click the File menu. When you hold down SHIFT, two new options appear on the File menu: Close All and Save All. To save all your open documents at once, click Save All.

Select Column of Text
To select a vertical block of text that is not in a table, such as a column of numbers, press and hold down the ALT key and then drag your mouse over the text. Once the text is selected, you can Copy or Cut.

Copy Text or Graphic
Select the item or text you want to copy. Press and hold down the CTRL key. The use the mouse to drag the item to the desired position. A copy of the original item is made right where you want it. This is helpful when you're creating a document that will include a lot of repeated text or images.

Add Fake Text to a Document
Place your mouse cursor where you want to insert the text in your document. Type =rand(4,5) and then press ENTER. The numbers in parentheses correspond to the number of paragraphs (4) and the number of sentences per paragraph (5). You can change the numbers in the parentheses to put more or less text on the page.