Most of us learn typing on the fly. And it’s practice that speeds up things for us, eventually. We start off as two-finger typists and graduate to using a couple more of fingers. If you want to learn typing, the best way is to enroll for a typing course, or download a typing tutor and patiently learn the tricks to type.
But did you know if used some of the commands that good old Microsoft Word has, you would end up finishing your work faster? Here are some of them.
1. AutoCorrect, corrections on the fly: While typing, especially when you have a tight deadline to meet, you end up making errors. Some of us actually press the Backspace button and delete all that we have typed to reach the typo. Press the Ctrl button, and then use the back arrow key to reach the word you typed incorrectly. But what is even better is to use the AutoCorrect feature. If there are words you type incorrectly always, type it in, the wrong way, right click and select AutoCorrect. Choose from the options given or go to the AutoCorrect Options to define more. The next time you type the word incorrectly, Word will fix it for you instantly.
2. AutoText: When you are writing your thesis or report, there will be certain words and phrases which have to use ad infinitum. And if you find yourself copy pasting it each time, here’s help. Use AutoText. Type in the phrase, select it and press Alt and F3. This brings up the Create AutoText dialog box. Select OK. The next time you start typing the phrase, Word will offer to insert the AutoText entry for you, and if you want it to, just press Enter!
3. Use of keyboard shortcuts to change case: Some parts of your report have to be in uppercase, some in sentence case, some in lower. Having to keep fiddling with the Caps lock to do this can be quite tiresome. Instead, just select the word, and press SHIFT+F3. This will toggle through all the case options and you can choose the one you want.
4. Use keyboard shortcuts to change font size: While writing your report, there will be headlines, subheads, captions, etc which need to be in a different font size. Once you have typed them you go hunting for the Font size scroll down box, and choose the size that suits. Instead, just select the words, press CTRL+SHIFT+> to increase the size. Or to decrease the font size, press CTRL+SHIFT+<. This works in Word 2007. In older versions, CTRL+] and CTRL+[ will work.
