The Word window: creating and saving documents

An essay, an application, an invitation, a CV — most documents you will ever write are made in a word processor. Microsoft Word is one of the best-known word processors: you can use it for anything from a one-page letter to a hundred-page thesis with a table of contents, tables and pictures. Let's start by getting to know its window.

Parts of the Word window

When you open Word, you first see the start screen with your recent files and ready-made templates. Choose Blank document and a white page appears with the commands above it. These are the main parts of the window:

• Title bar — at the very top. On the left are the AutoSave switch and the Save button, in the middle the file name, and next to it the Search box (Alt+Q): if you don't know where a command is, just type its name.
• Ribbon — the command area, divided into tabs: File, Home, Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View, Help. Inside each tab, commands are arranged in groups, e.g. Home › Font. On touchscreen computers you will also see a Draw tab.
• Quick Access Toolbar — a small row of buttons for the commands you use most. If you can't see it, right-click the ribbon › Show Quick Access Toolbar. To add any command to it, right-click the command › Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
• Page and cursor — the white page sits in the middle of the work area. The blinking vertical line is the cursor (insertion point): whatever you type appears there. The ruler above the page (View › Show › Ruler) shows indents and tab stops.
• Status bar — at the very bottom: the current page (Page 2 of 5), the word count, the text language, the view buttons and the zoom slider.

Views and zoom

Word can display the same document in several ways. Switch views in the View › Views group or with the buttons on the right of the status bar:

Change the zoom with the slider on the status bar, by holding Ctrl and turning the mouse wheel, or in the View › Zoom group: 100%, One Page, Multiple Pages and Page Width (the page fills the window's width). Zoom only changes what you see on screen — the printed text stays the same size.

Creating and saving a document

1. 1
   Create a new document

   On the start screen choose Blank document. If Word is already open, use File › New › Blank document or Ctrl+N. The new document opens with the temporary name Document1.

2. 2
   Save for the first time

   Press Ctrl+S. In the window that opens, type a file name and choose a location — OneDrive or a folder on your computer. Click More options… for more choices; F12 opens the classic Save As dialog directly. Word saves the file in .docx format.

3. 3
   Use AutoSave

   If the file is on OneDrive, the AutoSave switch turns On and every change is saved within seconds. You can restore an older version via File › Info › Version History. For files on your computer, press Ctrl+S often.

4. 4
   Save as PDF

   Choose File › Export › Create PDF/XPS Document, or pick the PDF (*.pdf) type in File › Save As (when AutoSave is on, this command is called Save a Copy). A PDF looks the same on every device but is hard to edit — keep the .docx too.