Produce Word Processed Documents

When you open a new, blank document and click Show/Hide

on the Standard toolbar, you see the insertion point followed by a paragraph mark

. The paragraph mark contains all of the formatting for that first paragraph. You can change paragraph formatting either by selecting the paragraph mark and setting its formatting attributes before you start typing, or by typing your text, selecting it along with the paragraph mark, and then changing the text's formatting.

When you press ENTER to end one paragraph and begin another, the resulting new paragraph has the same characteristics as the previous one. For example, to make all the body paragraphs in your term paper left-aligned and double-spaced, you only have to set those attributes for the first paragraph. Pressing ENTER carries the formatting over to the next paragraph.

You can hide or show paragraph marks and other formatting marks by clicking Show/Hide

. Showing paragraph marks helps you see where each paragraph ends and makes it easier to select the formatting characteristics you want to change.

Changing the space between paragraphs

Many factors determine how text is positioned. Margins determine the distance from the edge for all the text on a page, while paragraph indentation and alignment determines how paragraphs fit between the margins. You can also determine how much space occurs between lines, and before and after paragraphs.

Margins determine the overall width of the main text area — in other words, the space between the text and the edge of the page.

Indentation determines the distance of the paragraph from either the left or right margins. Within margins, you can increase or decrease the indentation of a paragraph or group of paragraphs. You can also create a negative indent (also known as an outdent), which pulls the paragraph out toward the left margin. You can also create a hanging indent, in which the first line of the paragraph is not indented, but subsequent lines are.

Horizontal alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, centred, or justified. For example, in a left-aligned paragraph (the most common alignment), the left edge of the paragraph is flush with the left margin.
Vertical alignment determines the paragraph's position relative to the top and bottom margins. This is useful, for example, when you’re creating a title page, because you can position text precisely at the top or centre of the page, or justify the paragraphs so that they’re spaced evenly down the page.

Indenting Paragraphs

You can indent a single line in a paragraph to set it off from the rest of the paragraph. It's common to create a first-line indent, which moves the first line of a paragraph in by a specified distance but leaves the rest of the paragraph where it is. You can also create a hanging indent, in which the first line of the paragraph is not indented, but subsequent lines are.

You can set the indentation of individual lines by using the horizontal ruler, by using the Indents and Spacing tab (Format menu, Paragraph command), or by using Click and Type.

You can also indent text by using tab stops. Tab stops are best used for formatting single lines of text, especially when you want to set tab stops with leader characters. Tab stops are not recommended for creating complex elements such as columns or tables.

A first-line indent

Select the paragraph you want to indent.
If you don't see the horizontal ruler, click Ruler on the View menu.
On the horizontal ruler, drag the First Line Indent marker to the position where you want the text to start.

Tip

For more precision in setting a first-line indent, you can select options on the Indents and Spacing tab (Format menu, Paragraph command). In the Special list under Indentation, click First line, and then set the other options you want.

Examples of paragraph indentation

	Text with a first-line indent
	Text with a hanging indent. Hanging indents are frequently used for bibliographic entries, glossary terms, resumes and bulleted and numbered lists
	Text with a negative indent. Use the By box on the Indents and Spacing tab (Format => Paragraph) to create a first line or hanging indent within a paragraph that has a negative indent.

Line Spacing

Line spacing determines the amount of vertical space between lines of text in a paragraph. By default, lines are single-spaced, meaning that the spacing accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space.

Paragraph spacing determines the amount of space above or below a paragraph. When you press ENTER to start a new paragraph, the spacing is carried over to the next paragraph, but you can change the settings for each paragraph.

If a line contains a large text character, graphic, or formula, Microsoft Word increases the spacing for that line. To space all lines evenly, use exact spacing, and specify an amount of space that is large enough to fit the largest character or graphic in the line. If items appear cut off, increase the amount of spacing.

Single	Accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space. The amount of extra space varies depending on the font used.
1.5 lines	One-and-one-half times that of single line spacing.
Double	Twice that of single line spacing.
At least	Minimum line spacing that is needed to fit the largest font or graphic on the line.
Exactly	Fixed line spacing that Microsoft Word does not adjust
Multiple	Line spacing that is increased or decreased by a percentage that you specify. For example, setting line spacing to 1.2 will increase the space by 20 percent.

Controlling paragraphs

Select the paragraphs that contain lines you want to keep together.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph, and then click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Select the Keep lines together check box.

Select the paragraphs you want to keep together on a page.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph, and then click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Select the Keep with next check box.

Select the paragraph that you want to follow the page break.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph, and then click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Select the Page break before check box.

Select the paragraphs in which you want to control widows and orphans.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph, and then click the Line and Page Breaks tab.
Select the Widow/Orphan control check box.

Note This option is turned on by default.

Page margins

Page margins are the blank space around the edges of the page. In general, you insert text and graphics in the printable area inside the margins. However, you can position some items in the margins — for example, headers, footers, and page numbers.

Once you set up a document as a booklet, you work with it just as you would any document, inserting text, graphics, and other visual elements.

Change page margins

Note To change the default margins, click Default after you select new margin settings. The new default settings are saved in the template on which the document is based. Each new document based on that template automatically uses the new margin settings.

Margins of the left page are a mirror image of those on the right page. That is, the inside margins are the same width, and the outside margins are the same width.

On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Margins tab.
In the Multiple pages list, select Mirror margins.
In the Inside and Outside boxes, enter values for the mirror margins.

A gutter margin setting adds extra space to the side or top margin of a document you plan to bind. A gutter margin ensures that text isn't obscured by the binding.

On the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the Margins tab.
In the Gutter box, enter a value for the gutter margin.
In the Gutter position box, click Left or Top.

Note To change the margins for part of a document, select the text, and then set the margins you want. In the Apply to box, click Selected text. Microsoft Word automatically inserts section breaks before and after the text with the new margin settings. If your document is already divided into sections, you can click in a section or select multiple sections, and then change the margins.

Word Processing Skills

Paragraph mark