MS Word
🔒 Log in to trackWord interface, views and basics
🔒 Log in to trackMS Word is a word processor. You use it to type, edit, format and print documents. Its commands sit on a Ribbon made of tabs. The File tab opens Backstage view. Print Layout is the default view. Pressing Enter starts a new paragraph, because Word wraps lines by itself.
What Word is
MS Word is a word processor. It makes letters, reports, applications and resumes. It belongs to the Microsoft Office suite and first appeared in 1983. A file made in Word is called a document.
Parts of the Word window
Read the window from top to bottom.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title bar | Shows the file name and the program name |
| Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) | Small buttons at the top left. Default buttons: Save, Undo, Redo |
| Ribbon | The wide band of commands. Commands sit in groups, and groups sit in tabs |
| Work area | The white page where you type |
| Status bar | The bottom strip. Shows page number, word count, view buttons and zoom slider |
The Ribbon tabs are File, Home, Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View. The small arrow in the corner of a group opens its full dialog box.
Note: You can add more buttons to the QAT. Use the small drop-down arrow at its right end.
File tab and Backstage view
The File tab is not an ordinary tab. It does not show a ribbon. It opens the full-screen Backstage view.
Backstage view holds New, Open, Save, Save As, Print, Share, Export, Close and Options. Every program setting lives under Options.
Tip: If a question asks where to find Print, Save As or Options, answer File tab.
The five views
Views change how the page looks on screen. You pick them on the View tab or on the status bar.
| View | Use |
|---|---|
| Print Layout | The default view. Shows the page as it will print |
| Read Mode | Full-screen reading. Hides most editing tools |
| Web Layout | Shows the text as a web page |
| Outline | Works with headings. Good for long reports |
| Draft | Plain text. Hides pictures, headers and footers |
Rule: When a question says "default view", the answer is Print Layout.
Everyday basics
- Word wrap: When a line is full, Word moves the next word down by itself. Press Enter only to end a paragraph.
- Undo is Ctrl+Z. Redo is Ctrl+Y. Both sit on the QAT.
- Word count shows on the status bar. You can also use the Review tab or Ctrl+Shift+G.
- Zoom runs from 10% to 500%. It changes the size on screen only. It never changes the printed size.
- AutoCorrect fixes typing errors as you type. For example, teh becomes the.
- Office Clipboard keeps up to 24 cut or copied items.
- Format Painter copies formatting. Double-click it to paint more than once.
- Templates are ready-made layouts. The normal template is Normal.dotm.
- Help opens with F1.
Document window keys
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+N | New document |
| Ctrl+O | Open |
| Ctrl+S | Save |
| Ctrl+P | |
| Ctrl+W | Close the document |
| Alt+F4 | Exit Word |
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Which tab holds this feature?
The question names a feature and asks for its tab: Track Changes, page numbers, mail merge, margins.
Recall the tab map: Home is formatting, Insert is objects, Layout is page setup.
References holds TOC and footnotes. Mailings holds mail merge.
Review holds spelling and Track Changes. View holds views and zoom.
Remember that File is not a ribbon tab. It opens Backstage.
Each feature belongs to one tab, and the options mix them up on purpose.
In MS Word, the Track Changes option is found on which tab?
Show solutionHide solution
Track Changes records edits for a reviewer.
Checking and teamwork tools sit on one tab.
That tab is Review.
Review
View identification and purpose
The question describes a view, or asks for the default view.
Print Layout is the default. It shows the page as it prints.
Read Mode is for reading. Web Layout shows a web-page look.
Outline works with headings. Draft shows plain text.
For "see margins and page breaks", choose Print Layout.
Each view has one purpose, and the default is always Print Layout.
Which view of MS Word is the default view?
Show solutionHide solution
Name the view that shows the page as it prints.
That is the one Word opens with.
Print Layout
Status bar, word count and zoom
The question asks where the word count shows, or what zoom changes.
The status bar sits at the bottom. It shows Page x of y, word count, view buttons and zoom.
Word count also has Review tab and Ctrl+Shift+G.
Zoom changes only the screen size, not the print size.
Word count and zoom sit in familiar places, so this is a recall question.
In MS Word, the word count of a document can be seen on the status bar and on which tab?
Show solutionHide solution
The status bar shows a live count.
The Review tab has the Word Count tool.
Ctrl+Shift+G also opens it.
Review tab
Word basics and Backstage view
The question asks what the File tab opens, or what Word and its file are called.
Word is a word processor and its file is a document.
The File tab opens Backstage view.
Backstage holds New, Open, Save As, Print, Share, Export and Options.
The QAT default is Save, Undo and Redo.
Backstage view is the one place for file-level jobs.
Clicking the File tab in MS Word opens the:
Show solutionHide solution
The File tab shows no ribbon.
It shows a full-screen menu of file jobs.
Backstage view
Undo, Redo and word wrap
The question describes a line reaching the margin, or asks for Undo and Redo keys.
Undo is Ctrl+Z. Redo is Ctrl+Y.
Word wrap moves the next word to a new line by itself.
Enter ends a paragraph. Shift+Enter ends a line inside the same paragraph.
Students press Enter too often, so the exam checks word wrap.
When a typed line reaches the right margin, MS Word:
Show solutionHide solution
The next word does not fit on the line.
Word moves it down automatically.
Enter is needed only for a new paragraph.
Moves the next word to a new line (word wrap)
Clipboard, Format Painter and AutoCorrect
The question asks how many items the Office Clipboard holds, or what copies formatting.
The Office Clipboard keeps up to 24 items.
Format Painter copies formatting only. Double-click locks it.
AutoCorrect fixes typing errors as you type.
These three helpers are small facts that are easy to test.
Which Word tool copies the formatting of selected text to other text?
Show solutionHide solution
The tool must copy looks, not words.
It sits in the Clipboard group.
Double-clicking it lets you paint again and again.
Format Painter
Shortcuts that save time
Default view is Print Layout: what you print is what you see. Read Mode is for reading. Web Layout is the browser look. Outline shows headings. Draft is bare text.
New, Open, Save, Print and Options live under the File tab. They are not on the Home ribbon.
Where do you find the Options setting in MS Word?
Show solutionHide solution
Options controls all program settings.
All such settings live in Backstage view.
Backstage view opens from the File tab.
File tab, then Options
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Pressing Enter at the end of every line.
Let word wrap work. Press Enter only to end a paragraph.
Choosing Draft as the default view.
The default view is Print Layout.
Looking for Print or Options on the Home tab.
Both are in Backstage view, under the File tab.
Thinking zoom changes the printed size.
Zoom changes only the size on screen.
Placing Track Changes on the Insert tab.
Track Changes is on the Review tab.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Word is a word processor in MS Office, first released in 1983. The file is a document.
Tabs: File, Home, Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View.
The File tab opens Backstage view: New, Open, Save, Print, Options.
QAT default buttons: Save, Undo (Ctrl+Z), Redo (Ctrl+Y).
Status bar: page number, word count, view buttons, zoom. Print Layout is the default view.
Enter ends a paragraph. Word wrap ends lines by itself.
Office Clipboard holds 24 items. Format Painter: double-click to lock.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.