Word Basics
Unit 3 – Formatting Documents
Elizabeth Steel Ponder
Palestine Public Library
Adult Services
Unit Objectives
 Explore different variations of text style and how font
choice can effect the readability and mood of your
message.
 Add/Delete Bold, Italics, and Underline styles to your
text.
 Copy formatting from one section to another
 Change default font
 Use special effects to enhance your text.
 Format Paragraphs – line spacing
 Using Borders and Shading
 Increase knowledge of shortcut keys
Menu shortcuts
 To access a menu from the menu bar without
the use of the mouse –
 ALT+the underlined letter in the menu word.
 Example:
 To access the Format menu you would press ALT+o
because the letter “o” is underlined in the menu title.
 Use the arrow keys to move up and down or press
ALT+the letter underlined within the drop down
menu.
Selecting Fonts
Did you know…?
Some people
consider typing
in all caps to be
YELLING?!
 The font you use determines the tone or mood that
your document will give to it’s reader.
 Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a
text:
 Who is your audience?
 If you are writing a business letter, choose a professional looking
font such as Times New Roman
 If you would dress up to talk to this audience, your document
needs to be “dressed-up” as well.
 Fonts can be dressy or casual, silly or serious, old-fashioned to
modern
 Choosing the right font can either encourage or discourage
people from reading your message. The wrong typeface can
make your message go unread.
Appropriate vs.
Inappropriate Fonts
 There are no “good” or “bad” fonts – only
appropriate and inappropriate.
 How do we know we have chosen the
correct font? It all depends…
 For online help, check out
http://www.esperfonto.com/
 This website will suggest fonts for you to
help you ensure that you have selected the
best one for your audience.
An Exercise in Mood
Change
Just as an example of how the typeface of your
text can effect the reader’s mood, notice how
the same word gives off different emotions as it
is displayed.
Each time the word “house” is displayed I want
you to think about what TYPE of house it
makes you imagine. (Victorian, Haunted,
Professional, Fun, etc.)
House
House
House
House House
House
House
House
Bauhaus 93
Edwardian Script
Arial
Chiller
Algerian
Helevitca
Bradley Hand
Blackadder
House
Old English
House
Stencil
House
House
House
Ravie
Monotype Corsiva
Gigi
Font
 A FONT is a design set for characters –
more simply it is how the characters that
you type appear on screen and paper.
 A Typeface, such as Times New Roman,
defines how the letters will look. Within
that type face there are several STYLE &
EFFECTS variations:
 Bold , Italics, Underline, Shadow, Bold
Italic, Emboss
More on Fonts
Times New Roman 18pt
Arial 22pt
Courier New 16 pt
 Typeface can also be effected by size.
 Each font can be used in different sizes.
 Font sizes are measured using points
72pt
(i.e. , 24pt,
, etc). A point is
roughly 1/72 of an inch. For that reason,
a 72pt font will be about 1” tall when
printed.
10pt
Exploring the Font Dialog Box
Shortcuts to Selecting
Fonts
Highlight and right-click the text
you would like to change and
select “Font” from the
Drop-down menu.
Pull-down Fonts List located
on the Formatting Toolbar
Keyboard Font Shortcuts
To do this
Press
Change the font.
CTRL+SHIFT+F
Change the font size.
CTRL+SHIFT+P
Increase the font size.
CTRL+SHIFT+>
Decrease the font size.
CTRL+SHIFT+<
Increase the font size by one CTRL+]
point.
Decrease the font size by
one point.
CTRL+[
Font Dialog Box


Font Style –
Bold
 Select Bold from the font
style menu
 You can also make text bold
by:
 Clicking the Bold button
 Ctrl+b

Italics
 Select Italics from the font
style menu
 You can also make text italics
by:
 Clicking the Italics button
 Ctrl+I

Underline
 Select Underline Style from the
drop-down menu.
 You can also make text
underline by:
 Clicking the Underline button
 Ctrl+u
Underlining Text
 Underline Style – if you
would like to underline
text with something
other than a straight
line, explore the
Underline Style dropdown menu in the font
dialog box.
 Samples of Underline
Style
Copying Formatting to
Another Section
 After you have spent several minutes to
set up the formatting you would like to
use in your document, the last thing you
want to have to do is to repeat those
steps exactly in another part of your
document.
 To save time and energy, use the Format
Painter tool in Microsoft Word.
Format Painter
2
1. Select the text with the style
that you would like to duplicate.
3. Highlight the text you would like
apply the formatting to.
2. Click the Format Painter paint
Brush from the Standard toolbar.
4. When you release the mouse
button, whatever text you
highlighted will now have the same
formatting as the original
highlighted text.
1
3
Formatting Paragraphs
 To change the way that
the text is placed on the
page, you will want to
format the paragraphs.
 To design a paragraph
(use double spacing, set
a deeper indentation,
alignment, etc), click on
Format from the Title
Menu.
 In the Format drop-down
list, pick Paragraph. The
Paragraph dialog box
will appear.
Alignment
 Alignment sets the
position of paragraphs
relative to any indentation
formatting. Alignment can
be changed by using the
buttons detailed in the first
lesson or through the
paragraph dialog box.
 Alignment options – Left
align, right align, center, or
justify.
*Tip – Clicking the ? Button on
any dialog box will open the
help menu for additional
instructions on how to use this
feature of Word.
Aligning Text
 Word gives you the ability to align you text with
the left margin, center, right margin, or justified.
 To change text alignment – Click the
appropriate button on the formatting toolbar
Center Align
Justify – aligned with both left and right
Left Align
Right Align
Line Spacing
Line spacing sets the
amount of vertical space
between lines of text.
 Single space will be the
default.
 To Double Space –
 Click the down arrow in
the Line Spacing box.
 Click Double
 Click OK.
*Tip – Always look at the
Preview box below to make
Sure your changes will
Produce the desired effect.
Borders & Shading
 We will begin by applying borders to text.
 Borders can be on the left, right, top, bottom or
all of the way around a selected text or
paragraph.
To insert a border –
1. Highlight the text
you would like to
apply a border to.
2. Click Format from
the Title Menu
3. From the Format
Drop-down, click
Borders and
Shading.
Inserting Borders
Setting: This option
allows you to
determine what
TYPE of border you
would like – box,
shadow, 3-D,
custom.
Style: Choose your
border style – solid
line, dashed line,
wavy line, etc.



Clicking Borders &
Shading will open the
dialog box.
From the Borders tab
you will see several
different options for
your border.
You can preview the
changes in the Preview
pane.
Borders & Shading
Dialog Box
Color
Drop
Down –
Use this
drop
down
palette to
select a
color for
your
border.
Border Application
Button – each one of
these buttons turns the
border on or off for the
selected text or paragraph.
Apply To
Dropdown –
Select
either
paragraph
or text to
apply your
border to.
Border Dialog Box
Width Drop-Down List –
Select the width of the
border that you apply.
Show Toolbar – This button
will close the dialog box and
open the Tables & Borders
Toolbar.
Borders Dialog Box –
Horizontal Line
 If you would like to insert a horizontal line
to separate areas of your page, you can
do this in the Borders Dialog Box.
 Be Warned – any text you have
highlighted will be deleted by the
insertion of a horizontal line. Make sure
you have clicked off text before
proceeding.
Horizontal Line Dialog Box
To insert a Horizontal Line –
•Click the place in the document you would
like to have a horizontal line inserted.
•Click Format > Borders & Shading >
Horizontal Line button under the Borders Tab.
•Horizontal Line Dialog Box will open. Scroll
down to select the line you would like to use.
•Click OK – The chosen line will be inserted
Page Borders
Under the Page
Border tab you
can apply a
border to the
entire page.
Just like with the
Borders tab, this
tab allows you to
choose a style,
an application,
and style.
Look for a
preview in the
preview window
Applying Shading
Applying shading is another way to make
certain text stand out in a document.
 To shade a word or group of words, you
will need to highlight or select the text to
be shaded.
 Proceed to the Borders & Shading Dialog
Box (see instructions on slide 20)
Shading
1. Word will default to the
Borders tab. To use
Shading, click the
Shading Tab
2. Choose a “fill” color for
your shaded area. The
More Colors to make
your own colors.
3. Look at the
Preview pane to see
what the changes
will look like.
Use Apply to:
to change the
text that the
shading will be
applied to.
Shading Patterns
Word gives us the
option to determine
the transparency or
shading pattern for the
area you shade.
Use the drop-down list
to select transparency
or scroll down further
to reveal patterns
available.
Shortcuts to Borders &
Shading
Borders Shortcuts
Shading Shortcuts
• Highlighting
• Word can highlight
things in a document for
you.
• Click the highlighter
button and select a
color.
• As long as the
highlighter is turned on,
anything you select will
be highlighted.
• To turn off the
highlighter, click the
button again.
• You can apply a border or
make changes to a border
by clicking the Border button
on the Format Toolbar.
•Click the down arrow to
drop down a list of possible
borders. Click the border
you would like to
incorporate.
Practice What You’ve
Learned
 Open the file “Practice Unit 3” from the
desktop.
 Read the document and apply the
changes that are necessary to make it
look like the printed final product.
 When you have been able to duplicate
the final product using today’s new skills
successfully, print a copy and turn it in.