Long Documents with Microsoft Word

Transcription

1 1 Lng Dcuments with Micrsft Wrd Typgraphy basics Type ONE SPACE after a full stp. Duble spaces are fr typewriters, with their extra-wide letters. With prprtinal cmputer fnts, duble spaces lk tacky. Every prfessinal bk, jurnal, and magazine n yur shelf uses ne space, and s shuld yu. The qute marks n yur keybard are nt REAL QUOTE MARKS they re called straight qutes, r typewriter qutes. Typgraphers r curly qutes are what the real wrld uses; an apstrphe is a single clsing curly qute. Yur wrd prcessr prbably cnverts straight qutes t real qutes n the fly (check the Autcrrect > Autfrmat settings) but smetimes it messes up, s learn t type them by hand. Dn t UNDERLINE anything (particularly nt in these web-link days, and even thugh sme ld style bks say yu shuld). Use italics instead: ALL CAPS and underlining are bth typewriter relics. The key beside the zer n yur keybard is a hyphen, nt a dash. T make a DASH n a typewriter, yu wuld type tw hyphens (and Wrd will even cnvert them if yu d), but see Insert Symbl t learn the shrtcut fr an en dash and an em dash. EN dashes are used in a range (frm x t y, replacing the t ), while lnger EM dashes shw a break in a sentence like this (r yu can use an en dash with a space either side like this.) There are a multitude f SPECIAL CHARACTERS available in all fnts (Insert > Symbl): curly qutes f curse, a degrees symbl ( ), an ellipsis ( ), a bullet ( ), sme math symbls (, ±, ), Spanish punctuatin (, ), and accented characters (é, à, î, ñ, ö, š, and mst imprtantly the macrn: ā). Dn t try and fake these yurself; fr example, by making a degrees sign ut f a small superscripted. Typewriter fnt. Tw spaces prprtinal fnt. Tw spaces prprtinal fnt. One space Hyphen En dash Em dash Get used t using Insert > Symbl t find special characters and learn the keybard shrtcuts (which vary between Mac and PC). Try keeping a list f useful shrtcuts n a Pst-It n yur mnitr until yu ve learned them. Tabs and indents If yu find yurself typing tab-tab-tab-tab, smething s wrng. Yu re prbably using the default TAB STOPS, which are nly half an inch apart. Set yur wn: click the tab stp buttn, click in the ruler. Chse left tabs except in special cases (e.g., when setting clumns f numbers, use a decimal tab stp). The gal is a single tab between each item in a table this will make editrs much happier, as they wn t have t delete hundreds f superfluus tabs. And never use the space bar t make things line up; this nly wrks n typewriters. INDENTS are als cntrlled frm the ruler. Yu dn t need t indent the first line f yur very first paragraph; we can see where it starts. All ther paragraphs can have a small indent: a few letters, abut a quarter inch. Dn t use the tab key; drag the first-line indent marker in the ruler (like tabs, these ruler settings nly affect the paragraph yu re in, r thse yu ve selected). Leave the left and right indent markers, unless yu want t bring the whle paragraph in frm the left and right margins as a blck qute. Yu shuld either indent paragraphs, r put space between them (see belw), but nt bth. Nt all citatin systems agree with this advice. Check all f these details in yur citatin style guide. HANGING INDENTS are used mstly fr bibligraphies. Select all the paragraphs yu want t frmat. Set the first-line indent at the margin, and bring the left indent in a little. Yu can make lists using hanging indents and a tab stp, r with Wrd s bullets and numbering tl.

2 2 Paragraph frmatting LINE SPACING is ne f the best ways t imprve readability, ften better than making the text bigger. Check Frmat > Paragraph r press the buttn n the Hme ribbn. The default is single spaced : try setting an exact line spacing abut 120% f yur fnt size (e.g., 10 pt Gergia n 12 pt line spacing, alias Gergia 10/12 ). Increase line spacing by a pint r tw if the readability is cmprmised, fr example with sans-serif fnts like Arial r Helvetica. Get cntrl f yur PARAGRAPH SPACING. Dn t press Enter twice between paragraphs; that inserts a whle typewriter-like line f space, which is usually t much. Try manually setting a lesser amunt, like 6 pts, r 3 pts between the references in yur bibligraphy. Nte that any space set after ne paragraph is added t any space befre the next ne. Rather than frmat each paragraph manually, learn t use STYLES. These are preset frmats, with names like Nrmal r Heading 1. Sme apply t a whle paragraph, thers (character styles) t just a few letters. Yu can mdify the premade nes, create yur wn, imprt them frm ther dcuments using the Organiser within the Manage Styles functin, r even pen the Nrmal template and alter them there t affect all subsequent dcuments. Once yu ve applied a style t every paragraph, yu can make glbal changes, like all sub-headings 1 pt bigger in a flash. Styles als allw yu t create autmatic tables f cntents, r use Wrd s utlining tl. Dcument management r Fund within the View ribbn Use PAGE BREAKS r SECTION BREAKS (Next Page) rather than multiple Enters t begin a new page: chse frm the Page Layut ribbn r click Insert > Break. Sectin breaks are fr when yu need t change headers, margins, r page numbering in the curse f yur dcument. Fix Wrd s manic AUTOCORRECTING. Yu can cntrl these aut crrectins by chsing File > Optins > Prfing > AutCrrect Optins. Turn ff thse functins that are nt required. Avid the muse; learn SHORTCUTS frm the menu and nline Help a minimum wuld be Open, New, Save, Cpy, Paste, Cut, and Print (keep gd shrtcuts n a Pst-It near the cmputer until yu ve memrized them). Duble-click selects a wrd, triple-click a paragraph. Clicking t the left f a line selects it, and duble-clicking there selects the whle paragraph. Bnus: try shift-clicking and ctrl-dragging The WORD COUNT functin can tally the whle dcument r just a selectin. The current wrd cunt is fund in the status bar at the bttm f the windw. Finally, dn t rely n Wrd s SPELLING CHECKER it wn t tell yu if yu used the wrng wrd and beware its Grammar checker, which is smetimes unhelpful r actually misleading. Yu can turn either ff by clicking File > Optins > Prfing. Further reading Williams, Rbin. The Mac [PC] is Nt a Typewriter. (Peachpit Press, 1995). Shrt twin bks, cvering much f this wrkshp but mre elegantly. Anther f hers is The Nn-Designer s Design Bk (Peachpit Press again) she als has nn-designer bks n Fnts and the Web. All are highly recmmended.

3 3 Outlining Outline view is an enrmusly pwerful way f planning and structuring yur dcument, but mst peple dn t knw abut it. Using utline view Chse Outline view frm the bttm left crner f the windw, r chse the View ribbn and click n the Outline buttn. When yu type in Outline view, yu autmatically make headings with the Heading 1 paragraph style applied. Prmting, demting, and bdy text Demting a heading makes it int Heading 2, Heading 3, etc. Demting t Bdy Text cnverts it t Nrmal paragraph style. Yu can als drag a heading (by the little + r - handle) left and right t prmte r demte it. Hiding, shwing, and rearranging Rearrange yur text by dragging headings up and dwn, using the little handles in frnt f them (r use the up and dwn buttns). All yur subheadings, figures, and bdy text g alng fr the ride. When yu ve typed quite a bit f bdy text, yu may need t hide sme f it t see the structure f yur dcument. Use the + r - buttns (r duble-click n the + r - handles)t cllapse the sectin yu re currently in, r cllapse the whle dcument back t higher level headings using the numbered buttns r the Shw Level menu. Shw All t cancel. It s als useful t shw the first lines f each paragraph. If yu write tpic sentences fr yur paragraphs, this means yu can see the whle structure and lgical flw f yur writing n just a page r tw. Big advantages Outline is a thinking tl: It gets yu writing right away, and makes it easy t jt dwn ntes and rerder yur argument. Take advantage f as many levels f subheadings as yu need t rganise yur writing; yu can delete sme later. Outline uses Wrd s built-in Heading styles. These are essential fr creating autmatic tables f cntents, chapter and sectin numbering, and keeping yur frmatting cnsistent. See Wrkshp II fr mre n styles. Outline makes it easy t navigate thrugh huge dcuments. Shrtcuts Ctrl-Shift-Left Arrw Ctrl-Shift-Right Arrw Ctrl-Shift-N Ctrl-Shift-Up Arrw Ctrl-Shift-Dwn Arrw Ctrl-Shift-Plus Ctrl-Shift-Minus Ctrl-Shift-A Prmte Demte Make bdy text Mve up Mve dwn Expand Cllapse Expand/cllapse all Ctrl-Shift-L Shw first line/shw all Ctrl-Shift-2 etc. Shw up t Heading 2 (and s n fr ther levels) r Fund within the View ribbn

4 4 Styles Styles are set f predefined frmats yu can apply t paragraphs (r just t a few characters). If yu change a style definitin, all the text using that style changes. Styles are indispensible fr lng dcuments, because they free yu frm having t frmat everything manually. Chsing styles Click r select smewhere in the paragraph (fr a paragraph style) r select sme text (fr a character style). Chse styles frm the Styles sectin f the Hme ribbn, and use Ctrl-Y (the Red cmmand) t repeatedly apply them. Yu can als use a keybard shrtcut that yu ve previusly created fr the style. At the very least, all yur text paragraphs shuld be Nrmal and yur headings Heading 1, 2, r 3. Editing styles T edit a style, g t Hme > Styles and click n the buttn. Yu may want t view All Styles rather than just the nes yu re currently using. Right click n the style yu want t change and select "Mdify": changes yu make here will affect all the text using this style. Turn ff Autmatically Update, r Wrd will change the style definitin every time yu manually frmat sme text (nt that yu shuld be ding that much). Creating a new style T create a new style, g t Hme > Styles and click n the buttn then click n the New Styles buttn ( ). Name and edit the style; dn t frget t manually apply it t the paragraph in questin when yu re dne. Chse Based On carefully, t create a hierarchy f styles, and pick a sensible Fllwing style (fr example, when yu re typing a heading and hit Enter, the style shuld switch t Nrmal). Sme styles cme with Wrd and shuld just be edited (Captin, Ftnte, Reference); any thers yu ll need t create yurself. Style sheets This is a list f all the styles in use. T print yur styles sheet, click n File > Print, then click n the Print All Pages drp dwn menu. Select Styles t print the style sheet and Key Assignments fr their keybard shrtcuts. Tips Every paragraph shuld have a style applied t it (unless yu have a very gd reasn). There shuld be n empty paragraphs : use Paragraph then click n the Hme ribbn t make space between things. There shuld be n multiple spaces: use tabs. There shuld be n manual page breaks: use Keep With Next t make headings stay with their text. Avid ding any manual frmatting if yu can; d it with styles instead. Create keybard shrtcuts fr the main styles. Set up styles fr fllwing paragraphs t save n typing.

5 5 The Fix-yur-dcument checklist Make the whle thing Nrmal t strip ff all the frmatting. Find and Replace all empty paragraphs (^p^p) with single paras (^p). D the same t take up duble spaces, fix dashes, etc. Make sure the definitin f Nrmal includes firstline indents and the minimum line spacing yu need. Apply Heading styles t all the headings using yur keybard shrtcuts. Change their definitin until yu get the spacing yu want; yu may want an autmatic new page befre each Heading 1, fr example. Optinal: create an unindented Nrmal style fr paragraphs fllwing headings. Edit the predefined styles fr ftntes, captins, headers, and fters. Create styles fr blck qutes, cde samples, references (with a hanging indent), and bulleted lists. Insert figures and test/edit the Captin style. Enter yur citatins, create a bibligraphy, and edit the Reference style. Insert a Table f Cntents and edit the TC styles. Suggested Style Sheet Cntent Heading 1 Heading 2 Heading 3 Nrmal Unindented Nrmal Blckqute Ftnte Captin Header/fter References Bulleted list Numbered list TOC 1, 2, 3, etc Table text Managing styles When pasting in new text, right-click t chse the pasting type (Use destinatin theme, Keep surce Frmatting, Text nly etc.). Styles belng t the dcument, nt t Wrd as a whle. Yu can cpy styles int a dcument by clicking the buttn in the Styles prtin f the Hme ribbn > the buttn and Imprt/Exprt. Then click n Clse File n the In Nrmal prtin f the dialgue bx > Open File then select the dcument whse styles yu want t cpy acrss. If yu want t change the styles f all future dcuments, yu need t edit the Nrmal Template (a Wrd template called nrmal.dt which lives smewhere n yur cmputer). Any time yu see an Add t template ptin in a dialgue bx, yu can edit the Nrmal template. But it s a gd idea t create yur wn set f templates, each with a different style sheet, and save them in the Templates flder fr later use.

6 6 Sectins and Masters Page Numbering and Sectins The best way is with Insert > Page Number > Frmat Page Numbers. Margins, headers/fters, and ther page level frmatting belngs t the SECTION, nt the whle dcument. Mst dcuments have nly ne sectin, s yu wuld never ntice this. A SECTION BREAK (Page Layut > Break > Sectin Break) allws yu t re-insert page numbering fr that sectin and chse a new scheme. Yu als have the ptin f leaving the first page f each sectin (e.g., each chapter) unnumbered. A Next Page sectin break is usual fr a new chapter, while a Cntinuus sectin break is gd fr briefly changing margins r clumns. HEADERS and FOOTERS have their wn margins, smaller than the main text. They aren t just fr page numbers; try Printed n [inserted date] with yur drafts. Watch ut fr a Same as Previus message near the header/fter, r yu ll change ther sectins t; the Link t Previus buttn tggles this. If yu want t change just ne sectin, make sure Same as Previus setting is ff fr bth header and fter, bth fr that sectin and the sectin fllwing. If yu change margins, chse whether the whle dcument changes r just that sectin (r all fllwing sectins); yu can even switch t LANDSCAPE fr a page, perhaps t accmmdate a large table. But if yu d this, the page number will be in the wrng place (the upper right crner, rtated) when yu cllate yur printut. Master Dcuments D yu need t split yur Wrd dcument up? Pssibly, if it cntains s many huge graphics that its file size ges ver 50 MB, r it becmes very slw t pen and scrll thrugh. Pssibly als yu ll be sharing different chapters with different peple simultaneusly. But if yu dn t, keep it as ne dcument (and make lts f backups f different ages). Master dcuments in earlier versins f Wrd were very buggy, and they still might have prblems. I wuld create a skeletn dcument t act as yur master dcument. Yu can create placehlders fr the title page, table f cntents, tables f figures and captins, abstract, and references. Then yu ll insert the actual chapters int this master dcument as subdcuments, which yu can expand r cllapse as cnvenient. G t the Master Dcuments tlbar frm Outline view and click n Shw Dcument. Yu can Insert ne f yur chapters as a subdcument; Cllapsing the view shws yu just the link t yur chapter. It s a gd idea t rganise all yur files neatly, then create the master dcument, then create the links, and then nt mve everything arund. Dn t use any f the ther buttns: Master dcuments are very prne t crruptin, and yu culd lse r scramble yur text if yu d anything ther than what I ve described. The styles in master dcuments take pririty ver the styles in yur individual chapters, but it s better t get yur styles all srted ut first befre yu create the master. And edit yur chapters directly, nt frm within the master. T avid crruptin prblems, assemble the master late in the prcess, generating the table f cntents last f all. Click here TIP: Yu can rtate a ne-page sectin t landscape view t fit in an extra-wide table, but the page number n the bttm right f the landscape sectin will end up in the tp right, n its side, when yu print and bind all the pages. When in the crrect psitin, click n Page Number > Page Margins > Large Left. Drag the text bx t the crrect psitin, frmat it frm the Hme ribbn and click Text Directin t rtate it 90 clckwise.

7 7 Captins and Crss-References Tables f Cntents Click References > Table f Cntents. Wrd uses yur basic Heading styles as TC entries, but yu can chse ther styles t include, and chse hw many levels f heading are used. The default is usually t Shw and Right Align the page number, using a dtted leader tab; there are several templates available. The different levels in the TC all have their wn paragraph styles, and it s best t frmat these styles rather than the text directly. Yu have t click n the page number itself t get access t the TC style, as Wrd annyingly makes mst f the TC text int a hyperlink. Figures, Tables, and Captins When yu insert a figure (r a table r equatin), dubleclicking brings up the tab fr wrapping text arund it. Usually yu dn t need t d this in a thesis the text can jump straight ver it. Yu can select the figure, right-click > Insert Captin. The Label (e.g. Figure ) and the Number are inserted fr yu by Wrd, and yu can add ptinal text after them. (The captin will be an rdinary paragraph if yur graphic is, r a text bx if the figure has text wrap. Decide befre yu insert the captin.) Numbers change as yu mve the captin arund, and if yu chse AutCaptin figures will be numbered when yu insert them. Yu can get really fancy and make part f the captin number refer t the chapter number, but yu have t use Heading 1 fr the chapter name, and apply a multilevel list frmat (in shrt, it s a headache). The imprtant part abut captins is that yu can insert a Table f Figures r Table f Tables, and Wrd will use yur captin text and autmatically add page numbers. Keep the captin text cncise: if yu need explanatry text after it, use a new paragraph and style. Crss-references Inserting a crss-reference (References > ) adds a field that can cntain any number f things: the name r page number f the figure/equatin/table that yu created a captin fr (this is anther reasn why we use captins), r the captin text, r just the wrds abve r belw, s these remain accurate if yu mve the figure, r a cmbinatin f thse things. S yu can create a crss reference that says (see Table 1: All knwn Aepyrnis egg dimensins, belw) r (see Figure 5, p. 244). If yu d mve figures arund, yu may need t rightclick n the field t update it, r use F9 (maybe Select All s every field gets updated). Click here