Documents Deep Dive

Structure with Styles

Why use Styles:

Automatic Table of Contents
Consistent formatting throughout
Easy global changes (change Heading 1 once, all update)

Hierarchy:

Title → document name
Heading 1 → major sections
Heading 2 → subsections
Heading 3 → sub-subsections
Normal → body text

Modify Style: Right-click style → Modify → Change font, spacing, color

Page Layout

Section Breaks

Use for different headers/footers in parts of document
Insert → Break → Section Break (Next Page)
Unlink sections to have different content

Page Numbers

Start on page 3:

Insert Section Break before page 3
Double-click footer on page 3
Uncheck "Link to Previous"
Insert Page Number → Format → Start at 1

Different First Page

Design → Different First Page (checkbox)
First page can have no header, rest have header

Mail Merge

Use cases: Personalized letters, labels, envelopes, emails

Process:

Data source: Excel file with columns (Name, Address, etc.)
Main document: Template with placeholders
Merge: Combine to produce individual documents

Steps (Word):

Mailings → Start Mail Merge → Letters
Select Recipients → Use Existing List → select Excel file
Insert Merge Fields where personalization needed
Preview Results to check
Finish & Merge → Edit Individual Documents (or Print)

Conditional content:

{IF {MERGEFIELD Gender} = "M" "Mr." "Ms."}

Formatting Fixes

Problem	Solution
Paragraph spacing inconsistent	Select all → set Before/After spacing explicitly
Tab stops not aligning	View ruler → clear tabs → set new tab stops
Images jumping around	Right-click image → Wrap Text → choose wrap style
Page breaks in wrong places	Insert manual Page Break where needed
Table breaking across pages	Table Properties → Row → uncheck "Allow row to break"

Tables

Convert text to table: Select text → Insert → Table → Convert Text to Table Repeat header row: Table Properties → Row → Repeat as header row Resize columns: Double-click column border to auto-fit

Track Changes

Enable: Review → Track Changes Accept/Reject: Review → Accept/Reject buttons Compare documents: Review → Compare → select original and revised

Keyboard Shortcuts (Word)

Action	Windows	Mac
Heading 1	Ctrl+Alt+1	Cmd+Option+1
Heading 2	Ctrl+Alt+2	Cmd+Option+2
Page break	Ctrl+Enter	Cmd+Enter
Find & Replace	Ctrl+H	Cmd+H
Select all	Ctrl+A	Cmd+A

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