Using the right click in Word

                Ever wonder why there are two (2) buttons on the mouse?  This is so that you can do things you often want to do with text, but without having to find the right place on the ribbon and tabs.  Each Office program offers different functions when you right-click, but these can save you a lot of time and trouble.  In Word, when you right-click, you are given many options:              

You can change formatting:

You’ll notice that there are options to change font and font size, change text to Bold or Italic, change text color, change text indent, bullet point (and you can even change the bullet). 

You can even change the type Style (Title, Heading1, etc.)  by clicking on either of Styles (down at the bottom) or the A with a pen next to it at the top.

 Generally you need to click on the text you want to change, then right click.  Sometimes, you’ll need to highlight the text you want to change.

You’ll also notice that there are drop-down arrows, which provide additional choices. 6For example, if you click on the Type Style’s drop down arrow, you’ll be given a menu of the type styles, right there.

If you’ve highlighted text, you can cut, copy or paste it, insert a hyperlink, change the formatting to bullets or numbering.

If you’ve clicked on a word, you can find synonyms, or even translate it into another language.

You can even look up information about a topic on-line, by right clicking on a word, and then selecting Look Up…

Don’t get disappointed if it doesn’t work the first time.  It can take a little practice to click or highlight correctly, so Word knows what you want to do. 

How to add internet activities to Edline

• 1. Decide on activities which you want students to do and write them up in Word. (You can use Excel, also.) (See “Using the Internet to Teach” for ideas. Copies are available at http://www.teacherweb.com/CT/stbernardschool/mrslo/photo6.stm )
• 2. Include internet addresses in your document. The best way to be sure you get the address right is to highlight the URL (the address shown at the top of the page when you are in the Internet), and copy it (CTRL + C, which means hold down the CTRL key while you press the C key). Then paste it into your document (one way is to click where you want the material added, then press CTRL + P ).

•3.       Save your document as a Word 97 to 2003 document.  If you forgot, just go back and do a  

Save As and be sure to select Word 97 to 2003 document (an option given either immediately or as part of the Save dialog    - if there click on the “Save as type” line at the bottom, and choose” Word 97-2003 document.”  

Remember that Edline doesn’t know how to handle Word 2007 documents yet.  Hint: When I know that I am going to upload a document, I save it to my desktop so that I don’t have to navigate down through folders to find it.

My apologies to Rich for invading his turf. 

• 4. Log into your Edline account, select the class you want to use, click on Assignments (or on Edit next to Contents if you haven’t added an Assignment yet). Click on “Add” to add a new Assignment.
• 5. Under Document Title type in what you want to call the assignment.
• 6. Under Add Content, click on “Import an existing file.” You will be given the choice to Import Existing File. Click on Browse to find your Word document, created earlier. Be sure to click on the one with the correct format – it has a .DOC extension, not a .DOCX extension at the end of the name. Click on Import.
• 7. Under Multiple Postings, add other classes you may want to have this same assignment.
• 8. Click on Save and Return. That’s it.

Formatting woes in Word

Ever wonder why Word won’t place words on the page as you want it to, or why Word is printing a blank page that you didn’t ask for? 

Word has a handy tool that will show you the secret formatting that is probably what is creating problems for you.  Click on the Show/Hide icon, right in the middle of the ribbon in the Home tab.   It looks like a paragraph mark: ¶

Click on it now.  Suddenly, you can see dots for spaces ∙∙∙ and  ¶  for paragraphs.  If you’ve tabbed in a few extra times, like this →    →    →  that will show, also.

These symbols won’t print, when you print your document, and if they annoy you, simply click the icon again to make the formatting invisible again.  But when you aren’t getting the results you expect, clicking the Show/Hide icon can often help you see where you went wrong.

The cursed cursor

You have been typing along, and have come to the end of your paragraph, and Word has – wrongly – decided you want to keep your indent at the same level.  But of course that’s never true, is it?  You want it back at the left margin.  And you certainly didn’t want your paragraph to be completely indented.  (And the way out of that has been sooooo  annoying.)  But finally, there is hope.

When you have been placed at the annoying new line, simply backspace.

• One backspace will leave you at the same indent as the start of the text for the previous line.
• Two backspaces will leave you at the indent directly under the number/ letter/bullet point.
• Three backspaces will take you back to the left margin.

Like this.

If you already started typing (or you’re looking at a document that already has this problem in it), all is not lost.  Click your cursor at the very start of the text you want to change, and then backspace one, two or three times (depending upon where you wanted to be).  I’ve noticed that the tab never goes in as far as previously, so you may need to tab again to match up your paragraphs.

Do you ever outline in Word?  Word calls that a “multilevel list.”  To “show” Word that you’re done with your outline, press Enter once to get to a new line, then press it once again, to convince it that you’re at the end of your list.  If you have gotten yourself a couple of levels deep into your outline, you’ll have to press Enter a few more times to get the cursor back to the left margin. 

Remember, if you’ve tabbed too far, you can hold down the Shift key while you press Tab and this will move you back one tab.

For a tutorial on this whole topic, see http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC102161651033  This takes about 30 minutes, and will take you through some of the finer points.

Special thanks to Rich Pilny for asking me about this so that I investigated it further, instead of continuing to speak colorfully to my computer when it indented in ways I did not intend.

Using the right click in Word

                Ever wonder why there are two (2) buttons on the mouse?  This is so that you can do things you often want to do with text, but without having to find the right place on the ribbon and tabs.  Each Office program offers different functions when you right-click, but these can save you a lot of time and trouble.  In Word, when you right-click, you are given many options:              

You can change formatting:

You’ll notice that there are options to change font and font size, change text to Bold or Italic, change text color, change text indent, bullet point (and you can even change the bullet). 

You can even change the type Style (Title, Heading1, etc.)  by clicking on either of Styles (down at the bottom) or the A with a pen next to it at the top.

 Generally you need to click on the text you want to change, then right click.  Sometimes, you’ll need to highlight the text you want to change.

You’ll also notice that there are drop-down arrows, which provide additional choices. 6For example, if you click on the Type Style’s drop down arrow, you’ll be given a menu of the type styles, right there.

If you’ve highlighted text, you can cut, copy or paste it, insert a hyperlink, change the formatting to bullets or numbering.

If you’ve clicked on a word, you can find synonyms, or even translate it into another language.

You can even look up information about a topic on-line, by right clicking on a word, and then selecting Look Up…

Don’t get disappointed if it doesn’t work the first time.  It can take a little practice to click or highlight correctly, so Word knows what you want to do.