Tips for the Mac version of Word

I’ve been asked if the tips I’ve been posting could be used by a Mac Word user. I’m not a Mac user; however, finding information about the topic was easy. A quick Google search brought me to an MVPS website that explains the differences. Here’s the address for the website: http://word.mvps.org/mac/differences.html

According to this website, two keystrokes are the primary difference between the Windows (PC) and Apple (Mac) versions of Word.

Ctrl Key: When PC instructions say to use the control (Ctrl) key, a Mac user would select the Command key. For example, Ctrl + C on a PC is copy. The same command on a Mac is Command + C.

Right-Click: When Windows instructions say to right-click, a Mac user would select the Control key, and then click. On the Mac keyboard, the Control key is a symbol, which you can see when you visit the website.

In addition, the website includes a list of keyboard equivalents for Mac users along with complete information on other differences.

So the answer to the question of whether these tips would work for a Mac user is yes if you make the appropriate substitutions.

Word's Sticky Keys

Do you find yourself pressing a key—for example, the Shift key—while you ponder what you’re going to write next? If you hold down the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt key for too long or idly press one of these keys while you think, Word automatically pops up a dialog box that asks you if you want to enable sticky keys.

In a panic, many users click the wrong response and enable a tool designed to help disabled people use a computer keyboard more easily. To add to the problem, many users don’t know how to turn off sticky keys. Lots of users just close down the document and start again…never sure of what triggered sticky keys in the first place.

By default, Word enables sticky keys, but you can turn them off permanently.

In Word 2003 or 2007:
1. Display the Accessibility Options. Click Start, Control Panel, Accessibility, and then Accessibility Options. The dialog appears.


2. Remove the check mark from the Use Sticky Keys field, and then click OK.

In Word 2010:
1. Press the Shift key five times to display the sticky key message.
2. Click the link: Go to the Ease of Access Center to disable the keyboard shortcut. The Set up Sticky Keys dialog appears.


3. Remove the checkmark from the option: Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times, and then click OK.

Word "Find Next" Workaround

When I’m searching a Word document for a repetitive word or phrase, I find it distracting to have the Find dialog displaying while I’m searching. As you search, the dialog can move all over the screen as Word moves it out of the way so that you can see the instance of what you searching for. Or worse, the dialog sits right on top of the text that shows the word or term. You can’t minimize the dialog because you need to see it to click the Find Next button. A workaround is available. Here are the steps.

For earlier versions of Word:
1. Open a document to search.
2. Display the Find dialog (Ctrl + F) in Word, and enter a search term in the Find what field.
3. In the dialog, click Find Next to find the first instance of the search term, and then click Cancel to close the dialog box.


4. Hold down the Ctrl button and press the Page Down button to move to the next instance of the search term. To move backward through the document, use Ctrl + Page Up.
OR
5. Move your cursor to the buttons at the end of the page scroll bar. They are set to Previous Page and Next Page by default. However, when you start a search, the button change to Previous Find/Go To and Next Find/Go To.
6. Click the down button to find (go to) the next instance of your search term. To move backward through the document, click the up button.



For Word 2010:
1. Open a document to search.
2. Confirm that the Navigation pane is displaying. You’ll see the pane on the left side of the document.

If the pane isn’t displaying, click the View tab, and click the Navigation Pane option on the Show portion of the ribbon.

3. Enter a search term in the search field immediately below the pane title Navigation and press Enter.

All instances of the search term are immediately highlighted, and the system automatically scrolls to the first instance. In addition, the buttons at the end of the page scroll bar have been changed to Previous Find/Go To and Next Find/Go To automatically. Click the down/up buttons to search. Or, you can also use Ctrl + Page Up or Page Down buttons to move to the next instance of the search term.

Searching for Other Stuff
As an aside, if you click the radio button between the down and up buttons at the end of the page scroll bar, a pop-up menu appears. As you can see from the sample below, you have lots of options for changing what the down and up buttons browse for. For example, if you added comments to a document, you can click the Comments icon, and use the down and up buttons to move from comment to comment in your document.

Searching a Web Page

So, you're on a RootWeb text page. You know the kind I'm takin' about...one of those transcribed text pages that goes on and on. The last thing you want to do is read the entire page looking for your family name. The good news is that you don't have to read the page from stem to stern. You can use a keyboard shortcut to display a Find toolbar that you can use to complete an electronic search.

First, display a web page, and then hold down the Ctrl button, and type F. A Find toolbar appears above the web page.

Second, enter a search term in the Find field. The page usually scrolls to the first instance of the search term. Lots of times, all instances are highlighted.



This sample happens to be for Internet Explorer. The Explorer Find includes a few additional options that others might not offer.

Third, check the entry. If this isn't what you're looking for, click the Next link. In some systems, you click a down arrow beside the Find field.




This sample is from a Google Chrome page.

To close the Find toolbar, click the X.

For the most part, the Find tool will search text on a website. However, it will not search an image or graphic.

The Ctrl + F combo works in some form or fashion in every piece of software I use. So when in doubt, try Ctrl + F, and see what happens.

Slip Sheeting

When I speak to people about constructing books with several chapters on a PC, they are always surprised when I talk about adding blank pages at the end of chapters. Blank pages are necessary, because, as a standard, chapters usually start on right-hand (odd numbered) pages. Open any book to see the layout. You have:
--left-hand pages, which are even numbered pages
--right-hand page, which are odd numbered pages

When you are writing on a PC and you reach the end of a chapter, you need to note whether you are ending on a left or right (even or odd numbered) page. You know that you will want your next chapter to start on an odd numbered page. If the last page of your chapter is an odd numbered page, you need to add a blank page...the slip sheet...as the "back" of your right-hand (odd numbered) page.

To see a physical representation, get two sheets of paper. Note that you have four surfaces to write on. Mark the front and back of the first sheet and the front of the second sheet. What do you have left? The back side of a sheet with no mark on it. This page is the slip sheet...the back of an odd numbered page...the blank page.

When you are on your PC, you have to add the blank page manually. You can add a blank page in a number of different ways. The easiest way is to press Enter until you see a new blank page, and then hold down the Ctrl key and press Enter to add a hard return. If you turn on the hidden codes (see previous post), you'll see this:




Your cursor lands on a new page...an odd numbered page, which is where you want your cursor to be. You can now start writing your next chapter.

The Road to Englewood w/Pattie and Pam

On Wednesday Pam and I traveled south from Wesley Chapel to do two presentations at the Englewood Genealogical Society of Florida. The occasion was the tenth anniversary celebration of the society.

Pam started the afternoon with her signature presentation "Taming Templates". The society then celebrated their anniversary with cake, cookies and beverages much to the delight of 111 attendees. The next presentation was one of my favorite "Nurturing the Next Generation of Genealogists".

Pam and I had a great time talking to everyone before and after the presentations and want to thank the society for their hospitality.

Stringing Documents Together

After a presentation at the Englewood Genealogical Society today, two people asked me about adding text from other files. Both of these people wanted to be able to write separate chapters of books, and then combine the chapters afterward to form the book. This type of task is usually done with a Master Document. However, using the Master Document requires some advanced Word skills.

After some thought, I realized there was an easier solution. This solution assumes that the person has formatted the text using Styles, including applying Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3 Styles to titles so that they can be used to generate a table of contents.

Here’s the solution to stringing documents together:
1. Open an instance of the Blank document. *
2. Click the Insert tab.









3. Click the arrow beside Object. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Text from File. The Insert File menu appears.
5. Navigate to and select the document that includes the text you want to add (Chapter 1).
6. Click Insert.
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 to add the text from the next document (Chapter 2).
8. Repeat the steps again to add text from a third document, and any text from subsequent documents (Chapter 3...).

* You might want to create a title page, and then add text to the end of the title page rather than opening an instance of the Blank document. Use steps 3 through 6 to add the text from documents.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Do you need a list of all keyboard shortcuts? Here's an address that will take you to the list: support.microsoft.com/kb/126449

The list is a long one. If you're new to keyboard shortcuts, one strategy for learning them is to learn them one by one. Pick one, use it, and when you can use it without thinking about it, pick another shortcut. Over time, you'll find that you've learned many of these shortcuts.

I plan on continuing to post information about the shortcuts that I use. Post a comment if you have a question about any of the shortcuts and I'll see if I can help.

See also http://technology-tamers.blogspot.com/2012/02/keyboard-shortcuts.html

Clearing Your Desktop

When you have too many programs open on your desktop, have you ever wanted to just clear your desktop? Instead, you start clicking the Minimize or Close button on each program you have open. It’s a long process to get them all minimized or closed.

A shortcut is available if you are using a Windows keyboard.

Here’s how you use it.
1. Look for a key with the Microsoft Windows logo on it. The key is frequently located in the lower left of your keyboard near the CTRL and ALT keys.
2. Hold down the Windows key, and then type M. The system minimizes all open programs at once. Your desktop is cleared.

Thesaurus on the fly

Have you ever wanted to look up a word quickly to confirm its meaning or find a synonym? Here's a quick way to display the Thesaurus in Word:

1. Double click the word to select it.
2. Hold down the Shift key, and press F7.

A Research pane appears on the right side of your document. You can check the synonyms for your word and have a loose definition of the word or select a substitute word.

1. With your cursor, point at the substitute word you want to use. A drop-down arrow appears to the right of the word.
2. Click the arrow, and then select Insert. The system replaces the word.