Content

• Steps
• Advice

Microsoft Word is the most popular Word text editor in the world. Depending on what text (legal, formal or personal) you are writing, you will need to follow its own formatting guidelines. If you're using Microsoft Word to do this, it's pretty easy to follow those guidelines, since the Word app has all the tools needed. If you are new to Microsoft Word, don't worry. You can format text like a pro after only a short amount of time.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Format text layout

1. 

   Explore Word's user interface. Familiarize yourself with the interface elements including all formatting tools. You may need to enable the tools on the toolbar. You can do this by selecting the toolbar from the "View" tab and choosing "Standard".
   • The menu bar is the bar at the top of the screen where you see File, Edit, View, and many other important menu buttons.
   • The toolbar is just below the menu bar and shows common tasks such as saving, printing, and opening documents.
   • The Ribbon is located at the top of the workspace, below the toolbar, and categorizes Microsoft Word features into categories like Home and Layout tabs.

2. 

   
   
   Text alignment. Different types of text require different types of text alignment. You can choose whether to align all the text left, right, or center by clicking the alignment buttons in the Paragraph section of the Ribbon.
   • These buttons look like miniaturized versions of text, with small black lines corresponding to the alignment to be performed.
   • You can find the alignment buttons near the center of the Ribbon bar, after the underline button, and before the bullet button.

3. 

   
   
   Sets spacing between lines of text. Adjust the settings by clicking the Line and Paragraph Spacing button. After using this tool, each text you type will be adjusted according to the line spacing you have set.
   • Find the Line and Paragraph Spacing button on the Ribbon bar behind the alignment buttons. This button has a multi-line shape and to the left is a two-way arrow pointing up and down.
   • If you want to edit the spacing of an existing paragraph or line, you need to highlight the text and click the Line and Paragraph Spacing button to edit.
   • You can also edit paragraph and line spacing by clicking the Format tab on the menu bar at the top of the screen, selecting "Paragraph" in the list and choosing the desired spacing.
   • Many specialized texts such as college essays and cover letters should be spaced in a Double style.

4. 

   
   
   Adjust the direction of the page to rotate. If you want to write the text in a different direction, you need to click the "Orientations" option in the Page Layout section of the menu bar, and choose either Portrait or Landscape style from the drop-down list.

5. 

   Change the paper size in the Page Layout section of the menu bar. If you want to print the document according to a certain paper size, you need to click the “Size” button and choose the desired size from the drop-down list.
   • This will change the size of the text you are writing.

6. 

   Adjust the header and footer of the text. The header contains the details that will appear on each page of the paper.
   • To set the header of your text, you need to double-click on the top part of the page and the Header field will appear.
   • Adjust the footer of the text. The footer is like the header of a document. All text in the footer will appear at the bottom of each page of text.
   • To set the footer of text, you need to double-click on the bottom part of the page and the Footer field will appear.
   • You can also format the header and footer by selecting the “View” tab from the menu bar at the top of the screen and clicking “Header and Footer” in the list. This will open the Header and Footer sections on the page and allow you to create them.

7. 

   Adjust margins. Click the "Margins" button in the Page Setup section of the Page Layout tab and choose a margin from the available margin settings listed in the drop-down list.
   • If you want to use a custom margin size, you need to click "Custom Margins" at the bottom of the drop-down list to set it as you like.

8. 

   More Collum. If you need to produce newspaper-like text, you can do this by adjusting the formatting of the text according to the columns. Click on the "Columns" option from the Ribbon, choose numbers and align columns as desired from the drop-down list. You will find the Columns button in the top row of the Ribbon bar. This button is a small blue rectangle icon that is split in half.
   • If you want to create one, two or three columns, you can do so using the given options. If you prefer to create more columns, you will need the "More Columns" option.
   • Note that this column option is different from the columns you have when inserting things like tables into text.

9. 

   Add bullet points and numbers. Highlight the text you want to be numbered or bulleted and click the Numbering or Bullets button on the Ribbon bar.
   • These buttons are located side by side on the Ribbon, right next to the alignment buttons. Numbering is a three-line button with a number on the left, while Bullets is a small three-line button with a bullet symbol on the left.

10. 

    Format the text style. All text has standard styles built in (eg Normal, Title, Heading 1). The default text style is Normal. The template on which the text is based (such as Normal.dotx) determines what Style appears on the Ribbon and on the Styles tab.
    • Before applying a Style, you will see all available styles and you can preview how they will look when applied.
    • On the Home tab or below the Format tab on the menu bar, under Styles, select and click the desired Style.
    • You can also click the Modify button on the Styles tab to create your own Style.
    • If left as default, Word applies a paragraph style (eg Heading 1) to the entire paragraph. To apply Paragraph Style to a part of a paragraph, you need to select only the correct part.
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Method 2 of 3: Format fonts

1. 

   Adjust font settings (font). On the Ribbon, you'll see drop-down menus for font and size. To change the text, you must first select the text you want to work with. You can choose individual characters, specific words, or whole paragraphs. After selecting the text, you can format it. For example, you can change the font, size, and color.
   • Click to the left of the first word you want to select and hold the pointer and drag the cursor to all words you want to select.

2. 

   Resize, color and highlight text. Go to the drop-down on the Ribbon to choose the font, size, color and highlight as you like. You will see the first font button, located on the left side right next to the Style button. Next, you will find that the button size is at the default size (usually the font size is 12).
   • Always consider the rule formatting of the text you are writing when choosing font size and style.
   • The standard font for most professional and college text is Time New Roman with a font size of 12.

3. 

   Choose the desired text emphasis style. In addition to setting the font size and style, you can also adjust the emphasis on words and lines in the text. Right next to the sizing button, you'll see Bold (bold button), Italics (italic button), and Underline (underline button). The Bold button has a bold uppercase B, the Italics button is an italic capital I, and the Underline button is an underlined capital U.
   • Just click the buttons on the Ribbon after you've chosen the font you want to edit.

4. 

   Set the text highlighting and font color. If you want to add color and highlight text, you can do this by selecting the part of the text you want to add color to and clicking the Text Highlight or Font Color buttons on the Ribbon.
   • Look at the Ribbon to find the Highlight, the button that looks like a blue ABC letter with a white bar below, and a font color button with an A with a black bar below it.
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Method 3 of 3: Add photos and charts

1. 

   Drag the photo onto the text. Place the photo where you want it. After releasing the picture, it can be a bit difficult to move the picture to the desired position. There are a few ways to make moving photos easier:

2. 

   Use the Wrap Text feature. The Wrap Text feature changes the layout of the text, allowing the text to be displayed at will no matter where the picture is located.
   • Right-click on the picture and point to Wrap Text. Choose the alignment that best suits the text. As you point at each option, you will be previewed to see how the picture will appear.
   • Select the picture and hold down Ctrl. While holding the key, use the arrow keys to move images in the text.

3. 

   Add a chart. Click the "Insert" tab, then click the "Chart" option. When you select Chart, a new toolbar will appear on the Ribbon and show multiple charts to choose from. Choose your favorite chart type, such as the pie chart.

4. 

   Edit chart. Scroll to the section to edit in the window, then choose from a variety of charts, such as the beautiful "3-D Pie".
   • Click "OK" to insert the chart into the Word document and display the "Chart in Microsoft Word - Microsoft Excel" window.
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Advice

• Unless you are allowed to write free-style text, you need to learn about the text's principles before adjusting the formatting.
• In addition to the page layout, footer, header formats (which affect entire text), all other formatting tools can only be applied to specific sections of text.