Easily Format Word Docs from Scratch or Using Templates

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

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Microsoft Word is the world's most popular word processing app. Depending on what kind of legal, formal, or personal paper you’re writing, each has its own formatting guidelines. Fortunately, Microsoft Word makes it easy to format the layout, text, and other objects in your document. If you’re new to using Microsoft Word, don’t worry. You can be formatting your document like a pro in no time. This wikiHow guide will teach you simple ways to format a Word document on your PC or Mac computer.

Things You Should Know Method 1 of 5:

Formatting the Layout

Step 1 Explore the Word user interface.

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Step 2 Align your document.

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Step 3 Set the line spacing of your document.

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Step 4 Adjust the page orientation.

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Adjust the page orientation. If you need to write the document in a different orientation, click the Layout tab at the top of Word, select Orientation, and choose either Portrait or Landscape.

Step 5 Change the size of the paper.

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Step 6 Adjust the headers.

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Step 7 Insert page or section breaks with the Breaks menu.

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Step 8 Adjust the margin size with the Margins tool.

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Step 9 Add columns.

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Step 10 Add bullets and numbers to make lists.

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Step 11 Experiment with document styles.

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Step 12 Reveal hidden formatting symbols if you’re having trouble.

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Step 13 Use the View menu to change your view of the document.

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Formatting Text

Step 1 Change the font face.

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Change the font face. On the Home tab, you will a drop-down menu containing a list of fonts to choose from. Use your mouse to select the text you want to change, then choose a font from the list.

Step 2 Change font size and color.

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Step 3 Make text bold, underlined, or italicized.

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Step 4 Highlight text on the page.

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Adding Pictures, Graphs, & Tables

Step 1 Drag an image into your document.

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Step 2 Enable text wrapping.

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Step 3 Edit your image in the Picture Format tab.

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Step 4 Add a graph or chart in the Insert tab.

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Step 5 Modify your graph.

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Modify your graph. When you choose a graph type, a new tab will appear in the Ribbon menu called Chart Design. Navigate to that tab with the chart selected to make changes to the look of your graph or chart, or choose the Edit in Excel button to make changes to the data in your chart.

Step 6 Use the Table.

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Using a Formatted Template

Step 1 Choose a template from the New Documents pane.

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Step 2 Click Create to open the template.

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Step 3 Select <a href=text within the template to modify it." width="460" height="345" />

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Step 4 Modify your template with the Styles pane.

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Step 5 Save your modified template as a document.

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Save your modified template as a document. When you’ve made the changes you want to the template, save it the same way you would any other Microsoft Word document.

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Saving in Other Formats

Step 1 Click the file menu and select Save a Copy….

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Step 2 Open the File Format dropdown menu.

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Open the File Format dropdown menu. You’ll see this menu at the bottom of the Save a Copy or Save As window.

Step 3 Select the format you want from the menu.

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Community Q&A

What is Microsoft publishing? Community Answer

Publisher is a tool for making posters, leaflets, booklet,s etc. It's for when you need to create something that isn't a standard document.

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How do I move from page one to page two of a Word document? Community Answer In Word 2016, on the insert tab, either select insert new page or page break.

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