Working in Word? Printing tip can save time

The other day one of my clients was working in Word and called me about a tip I told him about that he couldn’t remember anymore. He had a document that had many lines in it and for some reason, they didn’t show up correctly in the standard Print Layout or Normal views. If the lines didn’t line up, he had to switch between Print Preview and Print layout to tweak them, deleting or adding underline characters.

Except he really didn’t have to because you can do simple editing in Print Preview.

This little known feature is great if you’ve ever spotted a last-minute goof right before sending a file to the printer. You don’t have to switch back to Normal view. Instead, in the Print Preview, take note of the little magnifier icon (to the right of the Print button). You might think it’s just for zooming in, but it’s also what makes it possible to edit. When you click the button, your cursor turns into an “I” beam so you can make changes.

•Here’s another tiny tip most Word users don’t know. When working in tables, most people know that you can change row and column sizes, just by clicking and dragging the borders. But if you want them to be a particular size, it can be challenging to get them just right. However, if you hold down the Alt key while you drag or hold down both the left and right mouse buttons while you drag, Word shows you the dimensions in the ruler.

Even if you only save a few minutes with each of these tips, those minutes do add up over time. When it comes to Word, sometimes these little things can mean a lot.