Microsoft Word how-to guides
Quick answer
Most Microsoft Word layout and formatting tasks live in three places: the Layout tab for margins, orientation, columns and breaks; the Insert tab for page numbers, headers, pictures, symbols and equations; and the References tab for tables of contents and citations. Each guide below gives Windows, Mac and web steps.
Practical Microsoft Word guides with short videos, covering page layout, headers and page numbers, document structure, inserting objects, symbols and equations, and fixing common problems. Every guide lists the exact menu path for Word for Windows, Word for Mac and Word for the web where they differ.
Video walkthroughs
Page layout
- How to Add Dotted Lines in Word (4 Methods) Video To add a dotted line in Word, set a tab stop with a dot leader: open Layout > Paragraph dialog launcher > Tabs, enter a position, choose leader 2 (dots), click Set and OK, then press Tab. For a full-width dotted line, type *** on a new line and press Enter, or apply a dotted bottom border.
- How to Change Line Spacing in Word (Document or Selection) Video To change line spacing in Word, select the text (or press Ctrl+A for everything), go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and pick 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0. For exact values, choose Line Spacing Options and set Line spacing plus the Before and After paragraph spacing. Word's default line spacing is 1.15.
- How to Change Page Background Color in Word (and Print It) Video To change the page background color in Word, go to Design > Page Color and pick a theme or standard color, or More Colors for a custom one. Choose No Color to remove it. Word doesn't print page color by default, so turn on File > Options > Display > Print background colors and images first.
- How to Remove Extra Spaces in Justified Text in Word (3 Methods) Video Large gaps in justified Word text usually come from manual line breaks (Shift+Enter), which Word stretches to the full width. Show formatting marks, replace each line break with a normal paragraph, or turn on the Layout option that stops Word expanding spaces on lines ending with Shift+Return. Hyphenation and condensed character spacing shrink the remaining gaps.
- How to Make Two Columns in Word (Whole Document or Selected Text) Video To make two columns in Word, select the text you want in columns (or nothing, for the whole document), then go to Layout > Columns > Two. Use Layout > Columns > More Columns to change the spacing or add a line between columns, and Layout > Breaks > Column to push text into the next column.
- How to View Two Pages Side by Side in Word (3 Methods) Video To view two pages side by side in Word, go to View > Multiple Pages in the Zoom group and adjust the zoom until two pages fit. For page-by-page reading, use View > Side to Side or View > Read Mode. To compare two different documents, use View > View Side by Side instead.
- How to Change Margins in Microsoft Word (2 Methods) Video To change margins in Word, go to Layout > Margins and pick a preset such as Normal (1 inch) or Narrow (0.5 inch). For exact values, choose Custom Margins, type the Top, Bottom, Left and Right values, set Apply to, and click OK. Word for Mac uses the same Layout > Margins path.
- How to Delete a Blank Page in Word Video To delete a blank page in Word, press Ctrl+Shift+8 (Cmd+8 on Mac) to show paragraph marks, then select the empty paragraph marks, page break or section break on that page and press Delete. If the blank page follows a table at the end of the document, set the last paragraph mark to 1 pt.
- How to Make a Page Landscape in Microsoft Word (4 Methods) Video To make one page landscape in Word, select everything on that page, open the Layout > Page Setup dialog (the small arrow), choose Landscape, set Apply to: Selected text, and click OK. Word adds the section breaks for you, so only that page turns landscape. For the whole document, use Layout > Orientation > Landscape.
Headings, contents and references
- How to Alphabetize in Word (Lists and Tables) Video To alphabetize in Word, select the list, go to Home > Sort, set Sort by to Paragraphs and Type to Text, choose Ascending (A to Z) or Descending (Z to A), and click OK. To sort a table, select it and use Layout > Sort, where you can tick Header row and sort by up to three columns.
- How to Add Citations and References in Word (APA, MLA, Chicago) Video To add citations in Word, choose a style under References > Style, click at the end of the sentence, then select Insert Citation > Add New Source and fill in the Create Source form. Reuse saved sources from Insert Citation, and add the reference list with References > Bibliography.
- How to Number Headings in Word (1, 1.1, 1.1.1) Video To number headings in Word as 1, 1.1 and 1.1.1, apply Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles, then go to Home > Multilevel List > Define New Multilevel List. Click More, link level 1 to Heading 1, level 2 to Heading 2 and level 3 to Heading 3, and click OK. Word renumbers headings automatically.
- How to Create a Table of Contents in Word (Automatic and Custom) Video To create a table of contents in Word, apply Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles to your section titles, click where the contents should go, and choose References > Table of Contents > Automatic Table 1. After editing, click References > Update Table > Update entire table to refresh headings and page numbers.
Pictures, forms and objects
- How to Add a Watermark in Word (Text or Image) Video To add a watermark in Word, go to Design > Watermark and pick a preset such as CONFIDENTIAL or DRAFT. For your own text or a logo, choose Custom Watermark, select Text watermark or Picture watermark, and click OK. Word places it behind the text on every page.
- How to Make a Picture a Circle in Word (2 Methods) Video To make a picture a circle in Word, select it and go to Picture Format > Crop > Aspect Ratio > 1:1 to make it square, then Crop > Crop to Shape > Oval. Or draw a circle with Shift held down and fill it with Shape Format > Shape Fill > Picture.
- How to Create a Drop-Down List in Word Video To create a drop-down list in Word, show the Developer tab (File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Developer), click where you want the list and select Drop-Down List Content Control. Then select Properties, click Add for each choice, and click OK. Readers pick one option from the list.
- How to Insert a QR Code in Word (3 Methods) Video To insert a QR code in Word, use the free QR4Office add-in (Home > Add-ins), enter your link and select Insert. Or create the code in a free online QR generator and paste it in. On Windows, a DISPLAYBARCODE field also turns a link into a QR code with no add-in.
- How to Insert a Signature in Microsoft Word (Step-by-Step Guide) Video To insert a signature in Word, scan or photograph your handwritten signature, add it with Insert > Pictures, Crop it, and apply Picture Format > Remove Background. On Windows, add Insert > Signature Line for the signer's name and title, and save the block to Quick Parts to reuse it. On Mac, save it as AutoText.
- How to Insert Clickable Checkboxes in Microsoft Word (2 Methods) Video To insert a clickable checkbox in Word, turn on the Developer tab (File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Developer), place your cursor, and click Check Box Content Control in the Controls group. Click the box to tick it. In Word for the web, use Home > Checklist (Ctrl+comma) instead.
- How to Put an Image and Text Side by Side in Word (4 Methods) Video To put an image and text side by side in Word, select the picture, click Layout Options, choose Square, then drag the image beside the paragraph. For a layout that never shifts, insert a 1-row, 2-column table, put the image in one cell and the text in the other, then set borders to No Border.
Symbols and equations
- How to Copy Math from ChatGPT or Gemini to Word (4 Methods) Video To copy math equations from ChatGPT or Gemini to Word, ask the AI for the LaTeX code, then in Word press Alt + = (Control + = on Mac), set the input to LaTeX on the Equation tab, paste the code and choose Convert > Professional. For a whole answer full of formulas, export it as a .docx with an extension or Pandoc.
- How to Insert a Degree Symbol in Word (3 Methods) Video To insert a degree symbol (°) in Word on Windows, hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad, or type B0 and press Alt + X. On a Mac, press Option + Shift + 8. Inside an equation, type \degree and press Space, or pick ° from Insert > Symbol.
- How to Type the Delta Symbol (Δ, δ) in Word (3 Methods) Video To type the delta symbol in Word on Windows, type 0394 and press Alt + X for capital Δ, or 03B4 and Alt + X for lowercase δ. Inside an equation, type \Delta or \delta and press Space. You can also insert either letter from Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
- How to Insert Special Symbols in Word (Codes and Shortcuts) To insert a special symbol in Word, go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols and pick it. Faster: on Windows, type its Unicode code (for example 03C0 for π) and press Alt + X, or press Alt + = and type an equation code such as \pi, then Space.
- How to Insert the Square Root Symbol in Word (3 Methods) Video To insert a square root symbol in Word, press Alt + =, type \sqrt and press Space. For a plain √ in normal text, type 221A and press Alt + X on Windows, or press Option + V on a Mac. You can also pick √ from Insert > Symbol > More Symbols.
- How to Write Math Equations in Word (6 Methods) Video To write a math equation in Word, press Alt + = (or go to Insert > Equation) to open an equation box, then type the formula or build it with the Structures and Symbols on the Equation tab. You can also hand-write it with Ink Equation, type linear shortcuts like a/b, or insert a built-in formula.
Fix common problems
- How to Open a WPS File in Word (and Convert It to DOCX) Video To open a WPS file in Word, go to File > Open > Browse, change the file type list from Word Documents to All Files, select the .wps file and click Open. Then use File > Save As and choose Word Document (.docx) so it opens normally from now on.
- How to Recover an Unsaved Word Document (4 Methods) Video To recover an unsaved Word document, open Word and go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents, select the draft and click Open, then click Save As in the yellow bar. If Word crashed, reopen it and pick the file from the Document Recovery pane instead.
- How to Remove Hyperlinks in Word (3 Methods) Video To remove a hyperlink in Word but keep its text, right-click the link and choose Remove Hyperlink. To remove every hyperlink at once, press Ctrl+A and then Ctrl+Shift+F9. To stop Word creating links as you type, clear Internet and network paths with hyperlinks in AutoCorrect Options.
- How to Turn Off Compatibility Mode in Word (3 Methods) Video To turn off Compatibility Mode in Word, open the document, go to File > Info and click Convert, then click OK in the upgrade message. Save the document with Ctrl+S so the title bar no longer shows Compatibility Mode and every current Word feature is available.
- How to Turn Off Dark Mode in Word (Windows, Mac and Web) Video To turn off Dark Mode in Word for Windows, go to File > Account, open the Office Theme list and choose White or Colorful instead of Black or Use system setting. On a Mac, go to Word > Preferences > General and select Turn off Dark Mode. In Word for the web, click View > Dark Mode.
- How to Unlock Selection in Word (6 Fixes) Video To unlock selection in Word, go to Review > Restrict Editing and select Stop Protection, entering the password if asked. If the document is Marked as Final, select Edit Anyway. Also switch from Viewing to Editing mode, clear the file's Read-only setting, and check that Office is activated.