Computerworld -
There are two basic types of Word 2010 users: Those who upgraded from Word 2007 and those who skipped from Word 2003 (or an earlier version) directly to 2010. These two groups are likely to have very different experiences in learning Word 2010.
That's because with its Office 2007 suite, Microsoft introduced a new interface that radically changed how users interact with common features and functions. The company's newest Office 2010 software keeps the 2007 interface, with a few notable changes. This means that former Word 2007 users will find a few small interface tweaks and a handful of very useful new features in Word 2010, while those who haven't used Word 2007 are likely to feel completely bewildered.
This Word 2010 cheat sheet can help both types of users, covering how to get around as well as how to take advantage of what's new. We've noted which sections of the story former Word 2007 users can skip over.
Check out our other Office 2010 cheat sheets: Excel 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010 and SharePoint 2010.
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Computerworld - There are two basic types of Word 2010 users: Those who upgraded from Word 2007 and those who skipped from Word 2003 (or an earlier version) directly to 2010. These two groups are likely to have very different experiences in learning Word 2010.
That's because with its Office 2007 suite, Microsoft introduced a new interface that radically changed how users interact with common features and functions. The company's newest Office 2010 software keeps the 2007 interface, with a few notable changes. This means that former Word 2007 users will find a few small interface tweaks and a handful of very useful new features in Word 2010, while those who haven't used Word 2007 are likely to feel completely bewildered.
This Word 2010 cheat sheet can help both types of users, covering how to get around as well as how to take advantage of what's new. We've noted which sections of the story former Word 2007 users can skip over.
Check out our other Office 2010 cheat sheets: Excel 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010 and SharePoint 2010.
Get acclimated to the new Word
To help you find your way around Word 2010, here's a quick guided tour of the revamped interface; follow along using the screenshot below.
The Quick Access toolbar. Introduced in Word 2007, this mini-toolbar offers buttons for the most commonly used commands, and you can customize it with whatever buttons you like.
The File tab/Backstage. The File tab in Word 2010 replaces the Office orb button in Word 2007, which replaced the old File menu found in earlier versions of Word. Click it, and it leads you to Backstage, a new command center where you can handle an array of tasks, including opening, printing and sharing files; customization; version control and more. As you'll see later in this story, Backstage represents the biggest change from Word 2007.
The Ribbon. Love it or hate it, the Ribbon is here to stay in Word. The Word 2010 Ribbon looks and works much the same as the Word 2007 Ribbon, with one nifty addition: In Word 2010 you can customize what's on the Ribbon.
The Navigation pane. This addition in Word 2010 lets you easily navigate around your document; it shows the document's organization by headings and lets you jump to any of them. It's also a search tool and can display thumbnails of all of the pages in the document. Normally, the Navigation pane is hidden; to display it, click the Find button that appears at the right edge of the Ribbon when you're on the Home tab, or press Ctrl-F when you're in any tab.
The Scrollbar. As in Word 2007, the scrollbar (for scrolling up and down in your document) has two minor extras: There's a small button at the top that looks like a minus sign that lets you split your screen in two, and just below that, there's a small icon that displays or hides a ruler when you click it.
The Status bar. As in Word 2007, the status bar displays information such as the number of pages and number of words in your document. If you highlight an area of text, it will display the number of words in the highlighted area.
The View toolbar. Here's another piece of the interface that looks and works like the one in Word 2007 -- and it's not much different from earlier versions. It lets you choose between print layout, full screen, Web layout, outline and draft views. There's also a slider that lets you zoom in or out on your document.
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