Creating Lists in MS Word 2007

Whenever you want to list things, whether it's items or points for an outline, adding what's called bullets or numbers to that list can make it look more organized and easier to read. You're going to learn how to create bulleted and numbered lists using MS Word 2007.

Bulleted and Numbered Lists

The types of lists you can create are really simple and easy to remember. Bulleted lists have bullet points, numbered lists have numbers, and outline lists can contain letters and numbers. We're going to learn how to create all three.

· If you want to create a list with existing text: · Select the text you want to make a list.

Note: Above is an example of a bulleted list.

Click on the 'Home' tab and go to the 'Paragraph' tab. Select either the bulleted or numbered list button, whichever you need, as pictured below.

(You'll notice that the first button is for a bulleted list, the second for a numbered, and the third for an outline.)

When creating a new list:

1. Put the cursor in the document where you want to create the list.

2. Click either the bulleted or numbered list button. 3. Start to type.

Note: Above is an example of a numbered list.

Creating a Nested List

A nested list is defined as a list with several indentions in the text. Nested lists are often used for outlines and looks like the example below:

· Creating a list is easy.

o First you decide what kind of list you want.

§ Bulleted

§ Or Numbered

To create list as the one above, follow the steps to create a list, then use the to create an indention by placing the cursor at the beginning of the text to be indented, the clicking the bullet button.

Format Your List

You can change the formatting of the bullets or numbering by using selecting either the arrow beside the bulleted or numbered list button, then making a selection from the drop down box.

Below is a picture of the different formats for bullets that you can choose from:

Sorting Lists

Once you create a list, you can also sort it alphabetically, either ascending or descending. There's no need to worry about putting things it alphabetical order as you type. MS Word 2007 will do it for you.

To do this:

Create your list as outlined in the steps above.
Select the list or parts of the list to be alphabetized
Click and complete the dialogue box. (Default will sort your list descending.)
It's really that easy, as shown with the example list below.
The original bulleted list looked like this:

·        Mango

·        Orange

·        Apple

·        Fig

·        Grape ·        Apricot

But when you select the text in the list, then click , the list is alphabetized for you.

Take a look:

·        Apple

·        Apricot

·        Fig

·        Grape

·        Mango ·        Orange

You can sort paragraphs of text or lists using the sort ascending or sort descending button .

Creating Outlines

Creating an outline is a lot easier than it sounds in MS Word 2007. You will create the outline the same way you have the lists, either with existing text or creating a new one. However, instead of selecting bulleted or numbered lists, you will select the outline button.

As with the bullets and numbers, clicking the down arrow beside the outline button will provide you with available formats.

Page Formatting

Perhaps one of the most important things you can learn in MS Word is how to format your page. It would be fairly reasonable to go through and edit your own document, without the help of any of the editing features, and to do everything else the old fashioned way--by hand instead of by the click of the mouse. But formatting the page of your document on your own could be tedious and frustrating without the help of the MS Word features. Remember, this isn't your old typewriter and setting margins is now a lot easier!

Page Margins

Changing or setting page margins in MS Word 2007 is as easy as a few steps. It really doesn't take any time at all once you know where to go and what to do.

· Click the 'Page Layout' tab on the Ribbon.

· Go to the 'Page Setup' Group (remember, group titles are below the toolbars, directly above the document body). Click 'Margins'.

· Choose 'Default Margin' or click on the 'Custom Margins'and complete the box that appears. It will look like this:

How to Change the Orientation, Size of the Page, or Size of the Columns

Note: Columns in MS Word refer to any vertical space where text, pictures, graphics, or other information is entered, whereas rows are horizontal. You can create columns on your page to create two columns of text or pictures, etc or you can create columns in tables.

Go to the Ribbon and click on the 'Page Layout' tab.

In the 'Page Setup' group, click Orientation, Size, or Columns, whichever you need.

You can see these in the picture below, beside Margins.

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Orientation. When you click on Orientation, you will be asked to select between Landscape and Portrait. Landscape and portrait refer to how the document will be printed. Choose Landscape and your document will be printed horizontally. This is the most common orientation. If you select Portrait, it will be printed from top to bottom (vertically). This is best for professional photos of several people. If your document contains several photos, you may want to choose Portrait.

Size. Clicking on this will produce a drop down menu with different sizes that you can choose from. Choose the size of your final document. You can choose legal, A4, credit card size, etc.

Columns. This feature is really simple. Choose how many columns you want in your document page. Remember, columns go up and down and will be placed side by side on your page.

Apply a Page Border and Color

MS Word allows you to put a border around your page or color your page for printing. This is sometimes called shading.

To put a border or color on your document:

· Click the 'Page Layout' tab. You should already know where this is.

· Go to the 'Page Background' group and select either Page Border or Page Color, depending on which one you want.

Page Color. You can select one of the colors shown, or click More Colors or Fill Effects. More Colors allows you to easily create your own shade. Fill effects gives patterned or gradient backgrounds that you can add to the page as the background.

Page Borders. The following picture is the dialogue box that you will see when clicking on Page Borders. You can use this dialogue box to color or shade your page also. As you can see, you'll be asked to choose the type of border (left column), the style, color, width of the border, and if you want any artwork in the border. It's as easy as clicking through choices and deciding what border you want to use.

On the right, you'll see a drop down menu that allows you to choose if you want to apply the border to the entire document. Click on Options below the drop down menu to set margins for the border.

This is the dialogue box that will appear:

Insert Headers and Footers (Including Page Numbers)

If you want to insert header and footer information (page numbers, title, date, etc), you first have to decide if you want headers or footers. Remember, headers go at the top of the page. Footers go at the bottom.

To insert headers or footers:

· Go to the Ribbon and click on 'Insert.'

· Go to the 'Header and Footer' Group.

· Click header or footer.

· Choose a style. The header and footer dialogue box will display on the screen to allow you to do this.

· Below is the header dialogue box. As you can see, it will ask you to select the style of header.

Once you select your style of header, it will take you back to your document where you can then insert the header information, including title, page number, date, etc. The same steps are applied when you click on Footer.

If you simply want to insert page numbers, then click thePage Number button that is to the right of Footer. A drop down box will appear which will allow you to choose where to place the page numbers. If all you want to do is add page numbers, this is quicker and easier to do then going through the Header or Footer dialogue.

Create a Page Break

A page break is the point where one page ends and another begins.

To create a page break:

· Go to the 'Page Layout' tab.

· In the 'Page Setup' group, select the Breaks dropdown menu.

· Select Page Break

Insert a Cover Page

· Click the 'Insert' tab on the Ribbon.

· Go to the 'Pages' group and click Cover Page.

· Choose a style for your cover page from the menu that appears.

Insert a Blank Page

· Click the 'Insert' tab on the Ribbon.

· Select Blank Page from the 'Page' group. (Blank page is located directly beneath Cover Page.)

The blank page will appear after the current page.

Inserting Graphics, Pictures, and Table of Contents

By now, you should be familiar with the navigational menus and toolbars and pretty much know your way around the program.

In this article, we're going to cover things you can insert into your document such as graphics, pictures, watermarks, and a table of contents. Keep in mind, whenever we're inserting something into the document, we're going to use the 'Insert' tab on the Ribbon as pictured below.

Inserting Special Characters Into Your Document

Special characters refer to punctuation, symbols, or other items that are not generally available on keyboards, such as copyright symbols, trademark symbols, etc.

To insert special characters or symbols:

1. Place your cursor where you want the symbol to appear.

2. Click the 'Insert' tab.

3. Click the Symbols button in the 'Symbols' group.

4. Choose the symbol you want.

Inserting Equations

You can create and insert mathematical equations into your document using MS Word 2007.

To do this:

· Place your cursor where you want the equation.

· Select the 'Insert' tab.

· Click the equation button

(located beneath Symbol) and select your equation. You'll see a box similar to the one below.

To edit an equation, click 'Design' in the Ribbon while the equations dialogue box is open. (See above picture.)

How to Insert Illustrations, Pictures, and SmartArt

Inserting illustrations and pictures are probably two of the easiest things to do in MS Word.

· To insert illustrations, graphics, SmartArt, and pictures:

Click on the 'Insert' tab in the Ribbon

Move the cursor to the place in the document where you want the graphic, illustration, SmartArt, or picture to appear.

For pictures, graphics, and illustrations, click Pictures

in the 'Illustrations' group, then locate and select the file that you want to insert in your document.

For SmartArt, which includes timelines, processes and workflows that you can use, select the SmartArt button in the 'Illustrations' group. The dialogue box (pictured below) will appear. Select the SmartArt you want to insert into the body of your document.

Resizing Graphics

Resize graphics by clicking on the graphic, then dragging a corner until you get it the size you want it. You can also resize a graphic by clicking on it, then right clicking and selecting 'Size.'

Watermarks

A watermark is a light image that appears behind all text and images in a document. It can be inserted to authenticate a document, mark it as a sample, etc.

To put a watermark in your documents:

Go to 'Page Layout'
Click the Watermark button in the 'Page Background' group.
Select the watermark you want to use or click 'Custom Watermark' and create your own.
If you want to remove a watermark, follow the steps above, then click 'Remove Watermark'.

Creating a Table of Contents for any body of work that you create in MS Word is also very quick and easy.

The quickest way to create a Table of Contents is to put all chapter titles, subtitles, section headings, etc as Headings. Any category that you want listed in a Table of Contents should be listed as Headings.

To list categories, chapter titles, etc as headers:

Go to the 'Home' tab in the Ribbon
Go to the 'Styles' group. Select Heading as the style you want to apply.

The lower the number (ex. Heading 1), the larger the font of the heading. You'd want to use a larger heading for chapter titles and smaller headings for subtitles.

Creating a Table of Contents

When you're finished with your document and ready to add a Table of Contents, or TOC, select the place in the document where you want it to appear and put the cursor there.

· Next, click the 'References' tab in the Ribbon.

· Click Table of Contents in the 'Table of Contents' group. You'll see this drop down menu.

· Select the format you'd like to use for your Table of Contents. (Notice how important Headings are in the format. )

Update a Table of Contents

If you've edited your document or made changes to headings, you can update your Table of Contents without redoing the whole thing.

· Apply all headings to the document.

· Select the 'References' tab in the Ribbon. · Select Update Table in the 'Table of Contents' group. This is right beside the Table of Contents button.

Delete a Table of Contents

If you should decide you don't want to use a Table of Contents or need to delete it for any reason, that is also as simple as the click of a mouse.

Simply click on the Table of Contents again. Scroll down the drop down menu until you see 'Remove Table of Contents.' Clicking on that will remove the Table of Contents from your document. Be careful doing this, however, Your Table of Contents cannot be recovered once it is deleted.