Category: Word processing

Dear Otto: How do I set the default font on MS Word

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Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please contact me at askatechteacher at gmail dot com and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from a reader:

MS Word opens with Calibri 11 and I want Times New Roman 12. How do I change that?

The easiest way to answer this is by showing so here’s a quick video on that:

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#109: MS Word Skills Assessment for Grades 3-8

This assessment is comprehensive, designed not to test students. but assess their knowledge as an aid to you in determining where to begin. Use it when you start a new class or to determine where are the holes in their learning.

All of these skills are covered in a multi-year once-a-week project-based program, such as described in other parts of this blog. If your classes don’t cover all of these skills, adapt the assessment to your needs. If you use Google Docs, adapt it to that program.

Click on each page of lesson plan.

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Tech Tip #102: Doc Saved Over? Try This

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: My youngers often save a blank document over their MS Word file. How? Instead of ‘file>open’, they use the menu command ‘file>save-as’ and then they lose all their work. Is there any way to retrieve the file?

A: Absolutely, though it doesn’t work all the time. Bring the student’s file folder in Windows Explorer. Right click on the file name for the lost Word file and select ‘Restore previous version’. Select the latest version that’s not today.

Every time I do this, I’m a hero for ten minutes.

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Tech Tip #98: Speed up MS Office with Quick Access Toolbar

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Q: I tend to do the same actions over and over on my MS Office software. How do I create a customized tool bar with my favorite tools?

A: This one is going to improve the quality of your life immediately. It’s so simple, you’ll wish you’d known it months ago.

First, you need Office 2007 or later because earlier versions don’t include the Quick Access toolbar. It looks like this:

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Tech Tip #81: I Have Office 2010; Everyone Else Has 2003–They Can’t Read My Stuff

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As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: My school updated to Office 2010 and many parents are still on 2003. What can I do so they can read my stuff?

A: When you save the doc, go to File-save as, and select file type 97-2003

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Tech Tip #79: Saving Your File so Everyone Can Read it

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Q: I need to make my Word document readable by colleagues that don’t have MS Word. What do I do?

A: MS Office 2007 and 2010 makes that easy. (more…)

Tech Tip #73: Alt+??? Brings up which Menu Command?

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Q: I always forget the keyboard shortcuts for the menu commands. Can you give me a list?

A: I’ll do one better. MS Office 07 and 10 makes that easy. Just push the Alt key and it tells you what number or letter is associated with which menu command. (more…)

Tech Tip #72: How to Move Pics Around in Documents

Q: I put a picture in my document, but it won’t move. How do I fix that?

A: Word’s default for putting a picture on a page is ‘inline’–it treats it as text. Like words on a document, it can’t be easily moved.

Here’s how to fix that:

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Tech Tip #64: Reset Default Font

Q: If you’re like me, you don’t like MS Office 2007 or 2010’s default font of Calibri, size 11 with a double space between paragraphs. Here’s how you fix that:

Type a couple of paragraphs in any document
Highlight what you typed and right click
Select font
Change the font to what you prefer. In my case, it’s TNR 12
Click the Default button on the lower left and approve that this is, in fact, how you’d like a future documents to be formatted when opening a new document. If it asks whether you want this for future documents, say Yes.
Now right click again and select Paragraph
Make sure Line Spacing is single (or double if you’re following MLS)
Go to Spacing and make sure both Before and After show 0 pts.
Click Default

That’s it. The next time you open a document in MS Word, it will open with this revised formatting.

Questions you want answered? Leave a comment here and I’ll answer it within the next thirty days.

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Tech Tip #63: Don’t Like Double Space Between Paragraphs?

Q: Word 2010 comes with a double space between paragraphs as the default, but I don’t like that. I’ve tried to reset it to single space, but it doesn’t fix it. What do I do?

A: I don’t like it either. What was Bill Gates thinking? Don’t as many people start a paragraph with a tab indent as a double space between paragraphs? Now I have to fix that every time I open a Word doc. Here’s how to do it (in Word 2010):