Want to get the most out of Office 2007? While the popular features are well known and widely loved, there are still a few secret hacks out there to make this baby really sing. Here are a few tips and tricks that even the seasoned pro probably doesn’t know:
1. Create Your Own Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
In Word 2007, you can assign keyboard shortcuts with the macros, styles, and other uniqueness you use most frequently. Click the Office button and then click the Word Options. Next, click the Customize tab and click on the button labeled Customize. This brings up another dialog box. Choose the item on the list that you wish to create a keyboard shortcut for. Select a category, then choose the command, style, font, macro, or other item that you’d like to assign a keyboard shortcut.
Now, enter in the new keyboard shortcut by clicking in the box labeled Press New Shortcut Key. If this particular shortcut is already assigned, Word will let you know so that you can pick another command. When you are finished, click on the Assign button. Now hit Close. Check to see that the shortcut is working.
2. Set a New Default Tables Format
Do you get tired of having to reset the same format over and over when you’re entering tables in Word? Well, you can change what Word uses as the default format. Determine what format you want all of your tables to be in. Then, go to Table and select Table AutoFormat. Next, choose the style of table and special formatting you need. Set this as default by clicking on the Default button. Now hit OK to save your changes. Once completed, when you create a new table, it will be in your preferred format.
3. View a Word Document in Two Separate Windows
When you’re working with a long document, editing, copying, and pasting can be a real pain. To avoid getting carpel tunnel syndrome scrolling up and down, you can open the same Word 2007 document in two separate windows.
Click on the View tab, and then find the button New Window. Instead of creating a new document, this opens up a secondary view of the same document you already have open. Whenever you make changes in one window, those changes are automatically made in both versions. Whenever you are done with the secondary window, just click either one to close. It doesn’t matter which one because the two are always identical.
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