(Illustration is from Word 2000)
New Creates a new blank document using the default template. The File New command on the menu gives you a choice of templates. (Templates will be explained a little later!)
Open Brings up the Open dialog box for you to choose a document to open. Recently opened files are listed at the bottom of the File menu. Using the menu may be faster for documents that you have opened recently.
Save Saves the current document back where it came from. If the document has never been saved before, you will get a dialog box to choose a folder or filename. This can get you into trouble if you are editing an old document for a new purpose and don't want to lose the old one.
You must use the menu command File Save As to get the dialog box you need to save with a different filename. Otherwise you will overwrite the old document.
Print Will automatically print the whole document without giving you a chance to preview or make changes to page settings. The tool tip for this button shows which printer will be used. Don't use this button unless you are very sure you are ready to print the whole document.
Print Preview Shows what your document will look like when it is printed. You should always preview before you print. By checking carefully before you actually print, you can avoid mistakes and save a lot of time and paper.
Spelling and Grammar Checks the spelling and the grammar of the selected text or of the whole document. Possible spelling errors are marked with a wavy red underscore. Wavy green underscores mark possible grammar errors. Word's dictionary doesn't know every word in the world. You can add words you want Word to know to the custom dictionary, in the file CUSTOM.DIC. This list of the words that you've added can be edited with a text editor like Notepad to remove words you added by mistake.
Cut, Copy, Paste Work the same as do under Windows
Cut (scissors button) removes the selected text to the Clipboard.
Copy (two pages button) places a copy of selected text on the Clipboard.
Paste (clipboard and paper button) places a copy of what was on the Clipboard at the cursor location. Word 2002 can use the Microsoft Office Clipboard, which holds up to 24 items.
Format Painter Copies the formatting of the selected text and then applies it to other text that you drag across. Double-click the button and you can apply the formatting many different places.
Undo & Redo Word keeps a list of your editing actions and a list of the ones you have reversed. The Undo button reverses the last action in the list. The Redo button reverses your last reversal. The arrows drop lists of actions. If you select an action on the list, all the actions to that point are undone (or redone). This can save a lot of clicking, if you can tell how far back you need to go. You can undo the actions one at a time by clicking on the button directly. The arrow on the button is gray when there are no actions in the list. The number of actions remembered depends on how much memory is available, with a maximum of 100. Tables and Borders Opens a toolbar for drawing and modifying tables. You can actually draw a table, if you need one with complex rows and columns. Using the Table button, described below, is easier for simple tables. The toolbar also lets you set borders and shadings (background color) for the whole page, a paragraph, a picture, a frame, a text box, a table, a table cell, or selected text. You can change shadings from this toolbar, but changing borders of things other than tables may be easier with the Borders and Shadings dialog on the Format menu.
Table Inserts a table at the cursor location. You set the number of rows and columns .
Excel Inserts an Excel spreadsheet. You select the number of rows and columns the same as for a table. You must have Excel installed for this to work, of course.
Columns Lets you divide the page into several vertical columns, like a newspaper. Select the number of columns you want.
Drawing Opens a bar of drawing tools with which you can create graphics from within Word. These tools create vector drawings, which use shapes instead of individual dots.
Document Map Opens a pane to the left of the document window with a hypertext outline of the document.
Show Marks Toggles the display to show or not show marks for things like paragraph and page breaks, tabs, and spaces. Seeing these marks can be very helpful, especially when your document is not behaving as you intended. But marks also are distracting and make it hard to tell what the whole page really looks like.
Zoom Offers you choices for the display of your document. You can enlarge it to see details or to read small type. You can shrink it to see the whole page, or even two pages at a time. Most of your work will probably be done at 100%. Help By default, this button opens a small window with the default Office Assistant character, an animated paper clip named Clippit. It will also wiggle around. Some people find it highly annoying and some are amused. You can always turn it off after you become familiar with how Word works.
The Office Assistant shows a light bulb when there is a tip about what you are doing. Click on the light bulb to see the tip. You'll only see a tip once unless you reset the tips in Office Assistant's Options (on the search window above). There are also some choices about what tips you want to see.
