Formatting Paragraphs in Microsoft Word 2007

When you format paragraphs within a document, you can change the look of the entire document. Formatting a paragraph allows you to change line spacing, indent lines, and alter all of your paragraphs or just a few so that they look the way you want them. Many of the tools you can use to format your paragraphs will be located in the 'Page Layout' tab of the Ribbon in the 'Paragraph' group.

Changing Paragraph Alignment

Paragraph alignment refers to how you want your text to appear. You can choose to center the text, align it left, right, or justify (which means aligning it between both the right and left margins).

To align your paragraphs, go to the 'Home' tab on the Ribbon. In the 'Paragraph' group, you'll see the four buttons you'll use to align your paragraph. Look at the picture below.

The highlighted button allows you to align your text to the left. To align your text, simply select the text you want aligned to the left, then click on the button.

The next button is to center your text, followed by right align, then justify. When you justify your text, all lines will be exactly the same length. MS Word 20007 will alter character spacing to make this happen and give your document a clean look.

Indenting Paragraphs

Indenting paragraphs simply allows you to set different margins for different lines of text.

You have several options for indenting paragraphs:

First line: This controls the left boundary for the first line of the paragraph.
Hanging: Controls the left boundary for every line in the paragraph except the first one.
Left: Controls the left boundary for every line in the paragraph.
Right: Controls the right boundary for every line.
To indent paragraphs, you have two different options:

Option 1: Go to the 'Home' tab on the Ribbon. Select the indent buttons in the 'Paragraph' group. They are pictured below.

These allow you to indent left or indent right. The indention increases each time you click on the button.

Option 2: Click the arrow on the 'Paragraph' group tab. Click the Indents and Spacing tab. From this dialogue box, you can set indentions.

Add Borders or Shading to a Paragraph

Just as you can add a border or a color to an entire page, you can also add a border or color to an entire paragraph or a group of paragraphs.

To do this:

Select the 'Home' tab on the Ribbon.
Click the Borders button in the 'Paragraph' group.
A dropdown menu will open and allow you to select what type of border you want.

Apply Paragraph Styles

Style refers to the format of your paragraph. MS Word offers several quick styles that you can use. These include headings, no spacing, subtitles, emphasized text, list paragraph, etc. To apply a style, go to the 'Home' tab on the Ribbon and go to the 'Styles' group. You'll see some styles in white boxes (as pictured below). You can scroll through these styles to find one you want to use, or you can click the arrow in the 'Styles' tab to select the one you want.

Below are some different styles applied to text.

Subtle reference: The girl ran to the store to get some bread for dinner.

No spacing: The girl ran to the store to get some bread for dinner. (This style leaves out any spaces between lines that may have been inserted in prior paragraphs.)

Paragraph list: The girl ran to the store to get some bread for dinner. (Note the indention in this line that would signify a list.)

Getting to know the different styles and what they do to your text is a matter of using MS Word 2007 frequently.

Note: You can also apply a style to an entire document or individual lines, as well as paragraphs.

Creating Links within a Document

Did you know that you can place URLs, or addresses of Internet websites, that readers can click? When they click on those URLs they will be taken to the website.

Creating links with MS Word 2007 is very easy.

Go to the 'Insert' tab, then the 'Links' group.
Click the Hyperlink button.
A dialogue box will open that will prompt you to add the text that you want to appear. This text will be the word(s) your readers click on to go to the website. It will be the link.
Next, it will ask you for the address of the website. If it's on your computer or in your recent files, you can select it. However, you can also type the address in.

Change Spacing Between Paragraphs and Lines

You can use MS Word's features to change the spacing between paragraphs and lines. This paragraph, for example, is double spaced. That is called changing the spacing between lines and paragraphs.

To change spacing between lines and paragraphs, go to 'Page Layout' on the Ribbon and use the 'Paragraph' group. Click on the arrow in the 'Paragraph' tab and go down to Spacing. There you can select the points between lines, or the more common single, double, and multiple spacing from the drop down box.

Picture of Spacing Dialogue Box:

cell into then click OK.

Split a table by clicking the Split Table button.

Adjusting Column Width

You can manually adjust the width of an entire column or row by positioning the mouse pointer over the border to be adjusted, holding the left mouse button, and dragging it left or right.

You can also adjust the width of columns and height of rows by locating the Cell Size group on the Layout tab. Use the boxes to set the width and height of cells.

To distribute the rows and columns evenly, use the buttons to the right of the width and height windows. Use the button on top to distribute columns evenly, and the button on bottom to distribute rows evenly. You can also set the Autofit rules from this group.

Position Text Within A Cell

Just like in an ordinary document, you can choose whether to center text within a cell, or whether to align it right or left, or toward the top or the bottom. Use the same commands to align text within the margins of a document to align text within a cell. To set the vertical alignment, select a cell and click the tiny arrow at the bottom of the Cell Size group. Click the Cell tab in the Table Properties window. Select the appropriate vertical position and click OK.

Borders and Shading

The way information in a table is presented determines how easily it can be understood. Use the borders and shading features to control the look of a table.

The borders and shading tools can be found in the Table Styles group on the Design tab under Table Tools.

Want to learn more? Take an online course in MS Word 2007.

Microsoft Word 2007 provides some customizable templates. Roll your mouse over one of them, and you will see a preview in your selected table.

Use the Borders button to add or remove borders or adjust the stroke width. Use the Shading feature to control the color of a cells.

Tables

Tables help you organize and present information in way that stands out from other text on the page. MS Word 2007 has included many new features that make drawing and designing tables a snap. Literally.

Creating Tables

To create a table, move the cursor to the place on the page you'd like to insert a table then select the Insert tab. The Table group is right below the Insert tab.

When you click the table icon, a menu will appear that looks like this:

There are five ways to create a table from this menu:

· By highlighting the boxes at the top of the menu
· By selecting Insert Table
· By selecting Draw Table
· By Selecting Quick Tables
· By converting text into a table

Creating a table by highlighting the boxes

Use your mouse to highlight the boxes at the top of the menu. The boxes represent the rows and columns in a table. For example, to create a table that has four rows and four columns, you'd drag your mouse four boxes down from the upper left hand corner, and four boxes over. Rows are the ones that go down, columns are the ones that go over. As you drag your mouse over the boxes, a preview will appear at the insertion point in your document:

When you have the number of rows and columns you want, click the left mouse button to insert the table into the document.

Create a table by using the Insert Table command

Make sure the cursor is at the place where you want to draw a table, then select Insert Table from the Table menu. Another menu will open that looks like this:

Choose the number of rows and columns you'd like by entering the number into the appropriate boxes. The AutoFit behavior selections determine the size of the table. If you plan on creating a number of tables that share the attributes that you have selected, you can check the Remember dimensions for new tables box. When you do this, the next time you select the Insert Table command, all dimensions will be prefilled. Click okay to create the table.

Drawing a Table

Drawing a table gives you more control over the appearance of the table at the outset. This is particularly helpful if your table will not be uniform in nature.

When you draw a table, the cursor does not need to be positioned at the insertion point in your document. Just select Draw Table from the Table menu and the mouse pointer will turn into a pencil. You can then draw a table anywhere in the document:

As you can see, when you draw a table, it can be as uniform or as unconventional as you like.

Converting text into a table

You can also convert text into a table. To do this, place a comma where you want to separate each item into a column and place a paragraph where you want to begin a new row. Then select the text you want to convert. From the tables group menu select Convert Text to Table. A menu will appear that looks like this:

If the number of columns doesn't match your expectations, make sure all of your separator characters (in our case, commas) are in place and be sure to select Separate text at Commas.

Quick Tables

Quick Tables are a set of predefined table styles, or templates, that can be easily customized to fit your needs. To see them, click the Table icon and select Quick Tables from the menu. The table will be placed at the insertion point in your document. Once the Quick Table has been created, you can replace the placeholder text with text of your own by selecting it and typing. You can also create your own Quick Tables by selecting a table that you've created and clicking the Save to Quick Table Gallery button at the bottom of the Quick Table menu.

Entering Text

To enter text into a cell, simply select that cell by clicking on it. The cursor will appear in the cell and you can start typing.

Table Tools

Whenever you create or select a table, the table tool commands will activate automatically. These appear as two new tabs at the right side of the ribbon: Design and Layout.

You can use these commands to customize your tables, everything from the color of each cell, to the borders, to text alignment.

Inserting rows and columns

You can insert rows and columns anywhere in a table. To do so:

1. select a row or column

2. click the Layout Tab

3. find the Rows & Columns group. It looks like this:

4. use the buttons to insert a row or column. You can insert a row above or below the selected row, and insert a column to left or right of the selected column.

Alternatively, you can quickly insert a row or column by selecting a row or column and right clicking on it. In the menu, click Insert, then use the buttons to insert a row or column.

Deleting Cells, Rows or Columns

To process to delete an individual cell, a row, or a column is the same for all three. Select the cell, row or column to be deleted and find the Rows & Columns group on the Layout tab. Click the Delete button and select the appropriate command.

You can also delete cells, rows and columns by right-clicking inside a cell. In the menu select Delete Cells. Click the appropriate command and click Ok.

Merging Cells and Splitting Cells

To merge cells, drag your mouse over the cells while holding the left mouse button to select them. In the Layout tab, select the Merge Cells button from the ribbon. It is located in the Merge group on the ribbon. Alternatively, select the cells you'd like to merge and click the right mouse button. Select the Merge Cells from the menu.

To split a cell, select it by clicking on it, then click the Split Cell button on the ribbon. This button is also found in the Merge group. Choose the number of rows and columns you'd like to split the cell into then click OK.