How to Use the Ribbon in Word 2007

The Microsoft Office button has replaced many of the menu options from previous versions of Microsoft Word. The Microsoft Office button is the colorful Microsoft Office logo located in the upper left corner of the Word 2007 window. Click on this button to access the following commands:

• To open a new blank document
• To open existing documents
• To save and "save as" documents
• To print documents
• To close documents

Click on the Word Options button for more tools and Word 2007 preferences.

TIP: Any of these commands can also be added to the Quick Launch bar located at the top of the window next to the Microsoft Office button.

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In previous versions of Word, you would open the File menu to change the page setup options such as page orientation and margin settings. In Word 2007, these settings can be changed on the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon. Just click the button for Margins and Orientation and a drop-down list will open up where you can make your selections.

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In previous versions of Microsoft Word, you clicked on the Edit menu or used the Standard toolbar for the following commands:

• Undo and Redo
• Cut, Copy, Paste and Paste Special
• Clipboard
• Find & Replace

In Word 2007, those commands are located on the Home tab on the Ribbon. For Paste options, just click on the Paste button; to use Find and Replace, just click on the Find or Replace buttons; and for Undo and Redo, use the buttons on the Quick Launch bar.

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To create Headers and Footers in previous versions of Word, you either went to the View menu, or opened up the Headers and Footers toolbar. In Word 2007, to create a header or footer, just click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon. In the center of the Ribbon there is a group called "Header & Footer". Just click on the assigned buttons for additional options.

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In previous versions of Word you would use the Formatting toolbar to make most of your formatting changes. These formatting commands included:

• Font
• Alignment
• Line Spacing
• Numbering
• Bullets

In Word 2007, these formatting commands are located on the Home tab on the Ribbon in the Font and Paragraph groups.

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• Page Breaks in Word 2007

Page Break options in previous versions of Word were located under the Insert menu. In Word 2007, to insert a page break, go to the Page Layout tab and click on Breaks. A drop-down list will appear. Just click on the type of page break that you need.

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• Columns in Word 2007

In Word 2007, columns are created by going to the Page Layout tab and clicking the Columns button. A drop-down list will open with various column options. Just make a selection from the list, or click More Columns for more options.

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• Watermarks in Word 2007

Watermarks are much more conveniently located in Microsoft Word 2007 than in previous versions of Word. Just go to the Page Layout tab and click on the Watermark button. A drop-down list will appear with all your watermark options. Just click on one to insert it into your document, or click the Custom Watermark link at the bottom of the list to create your own. To remove a watermark, just click Remove Watermark.

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Some other tools that I'm sure you used in previous versions of Word are the Spelling & Grammar Checker, inserting symbols, and the word count feature. These are all still available in Word 2007, and here is where you can find them:

• Spelling & Grammar Checker in Word 2007 is located on the Review tab on the Ribbon. It is the first button on the left. You can also add this button to your Quick Launch bar for faster access.

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• Symbols in Word 2007: You can insert symbols in Word 2007 by going to the Insert tab and clicking the Sybmol button at the end of the Ribbon. A drop-down box will open up with all the available symbols. If you don't see the symbol you need, click More Symbols to display more. (For a quick keyboard shortcut you can use for certain symbols, see this article on adding accent marks in MS Word.)

• Word Count in Word 2007: In previous versions of Word, if you wanted to see how many words or characters were in your document, you would go to the Tools menu and click on Word Count. Word 2007 makes this feature even more convenient by displaying the total number of words in the status bar at the bottom of your document.

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Alternatively, you can click on the Word Count button on the Review tab. This will display the Word Count dialog box with all your document statistics including number of pages, words and characters.

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Now that you know where all of your basic commands are, this should make working in Microsoft Word 2007 less of a frustration. It will take some time to get used to, but just give Word 2007 a chance and you'll learn to love it.

Be sure to browse through the other Microsoft Word user guides found here on Bright Hub's Windows Channel. More are being added on a regular basis, so bookmark us and check back often.