Add a custom tab to your Word ribbon

I gave an informal talk today to science editors about using macros, but it was my very first tip that generated the most excitement. You can add a your own customised tab to the Word ribbon! For example, I have added a tab called MB Macros to my Word ribbon as a way of easily … Continue reading Add a custom tab to your Word ribbon

Create a table of contents using Word Styles

Creating a table of contents (TOC) is super easy if you have applied styles to your headings. If you are new to styles, start at my introductory post What are Word Styles and how do you use them? Contents How to insert an automatic table of contents Points to note How to update the table … Continue reading Create a table of contents using Word Styles

Use Word Styles for navigating around and restructuring your document

Word Styles offer more than simply and consistently formatting text; they give you lots of power in organising your whole document. For those new to using Styles, you might want to check out the introduction in my previous post: What are Word Styles and how do you use them? In the next few posts I'll … Continue reading Use Word Styles for navigating around and restructuring your document

What are Word Styles and how do you use them?

You can easily format text in Microsoft Word with the options you can see in your Home ribbon. You can choose your font, font size, colour, bold and italics (character options) and also paragraph options like bullet points, alignment, indenting, spacing between lines and paragraphs, and lots more. With this manual formatting, you can create … Continue reading What are Word Styles and how do you use them?

What Word style is your text is formatted in?

Here are six ways to check what Word style your text is in (the last two are my favourites): Six ways to see your Word style Quick Styles gallery Styles pane Style Inspector pop-up Apply Styles pop-up (PC) Draft view Quick Access Toolbar (PC) Summary What next? Six ways to see your Word style Quick … Continue reading What Word style is your text is formatted in?

Microsoft Word skills for editors: basic to advanced

Many editors prefer the features and power of Microsoft Word – especially when copyediting – over Google Docs and other online and collaborative programs. So, even though the latter are increasingly being used for writing and producing documents, Word remains the standard program for editing documents. Nowadays it’s pretty much assumed that writers and editors have … Continue reading Microsoft Word skills for editors: basic to advanced

Tips and tricks: Opening your Word document in multiple windows

It can be really useful to look at your Word document in two separate, independent windows. And it's very simple, but unless you've played around with the menu options you may not be aware of it. To see how it works, first open up a Word document. On my PC, I then go to the … Continue reading Tips and tricks: Opening your Word document in multiple windows

Tips and tricks: Summarising tracked changes in Word

A few months ago, I wrote about having trouble getting an author to see my tracked changes in Word (and showed a solution for that problem in PDFs). Since then, I've come across some solutions in Word too. I wanted my client to see my tracked edits, but they seemed to not see the edits … Continue reading Tips and tricks: Summarising tracked changes in Word

Tips and tricks: Post to your blog directly from Word

I'm insanely pleased to have discovered this, even though I don't actually blog very often. But I could have used it in jobs I've had in the past, and may even be tempted to blog more now! Did you know you can post to a blog directly from Microsoft Word? This is exciting for a … Continue reading Tips and tricks: Post to your blog directly from Word

Editing Indigenous content and other tips

I include a regular 'Tips and tricks' column in the Editors Victoria newsletter, linking to many online resources and tools. This month I wrote about editing Indigenous content – highlighting a discussion and resources presented at the national editors' conference in Brisbane last year. Other recent tips and tricks I've shared include: setting up Google … Continue reading Editing Indigenous content and other tips

Review: Lots of tips and procedures for better onscreen editing

I wrote this review for the Editors Victoria newsletter. The title of Geoff Hart’s book Effective Onscreen Editing (3rd edition) by no means conveys the full gamut of what this book contains. Indeed, it turns out be over 800 pages long, covering topics as diverse as how to securely transfer files, set pay rates and … Continue reading Review: Lots of tips and procedures for better onscreen editing