If you use Microsoft Word frequently, the need to change settings such as font or margin spacing every time you start a new document can be frustrating. Fortunately, there are many default settings you can change once and never touch again (if you don’t want to).
Autocorrect option
By using AutoCorrect, as you type your text, Word will automatically capitalize specific words, replace double hyphens with a hyphen, turn special characters into symbols, and more. Additionally, you can change the AutoCorrect settings to suit your specific needs.
Go to File > Options. Select “Proofing” and click “AutoCorrect Options” on the right.
When the window opens, use the AutoCorrect tab to adjust capitalization, add text replacements, and make corrections to capitalization and the Caps Lock key.
Next, go to the AutoFormat tab to choose replacements such as hyphen to hyphen, straight quotes to smart quotes, and fractions to fractions.
You can also use the AutoFormat As You Type tab to make formatting changes as you type and the Math AutoCorrect tab for equation-related substitutions.
On Mac, go to Word > Preferences from the menu bar and select “AutoCorrect” to change these settings.
Settings for spelling and grammar
If you like running the spelling and grammar checker in Word, you can customize specific items to suit your style or requirements.
RELATED: How to improve Microsoft Word’s grammar checker
Go to File > Options. Select “Proofing” and go to the When you correct spelling and grammar in Word section on the right. Check or uncheck the boxes for things like checking spelling and grammar as you type and showing readability statistics.
To go through the additional grammar options, select “Settings” to the right of Writing Style.
Select your writing style from the drop-down menu at the top, then check the boxes for the items you want to check. This is a large list, including settings for general grammar, clarity, conciseness, formality, inclusiveness, and more. Click “OK” when you’re done.
In the When correcting spelling in Microsoft Office programs section, you can also check the boxes to ignore capital letters, words with numbers, and Internet or file addresses. Just note that these changes affect all Office programs, not just Word.
On Mac, go to Word > Preferences in the menu bar and select “Spelling and Grammar” to adjust these options.
Screen options
Do you find yourself consistently closing the white space between pages? Want to see specific formatting marks like those for paragraphs? You can easily make changes to how your documents are displayed.
Go to File > Options. Select “View” and go to Page View Options on the right. Check or uncheck the boxes to display white space between pages, strikethrough marks, and document tooltips on hover.
In the section below, check the boxes for the formatting marks you want to see. These include tabs, object anchors, spaces, and more. Once you’ve checked a box for a mark, you’ll see it in your document without having to manually display formatting marks on the Home tab.
Click “OK” to save your changes.
On Mac, go to Word > Preferences from the menu bar and choose “View”. Not all of the same settings above are available for Word on macOS.
Cut, copy and paste settings
When you cut, copy, and paste a lot, it’s handy to adjust these default settings to save time.
RELATED: How to change the default setting for pasting in Microsoft Word
Go to File > Options. Select “Advanced” and go to the Cut, Copy and Paste section on the right. At the top of the list, use the drop-down boxes to choose how you want to format when pasting text and images. For example, you may always want to paste images in line with your text.
For additional options, click on “Settings”. Then check the boxes for things like adjusting spacing and merging formatting when pasting from Excel or PowerPoint. Click “OK” when you’re done.
On Mac, go to Word > Preferences in the menu bar and select “Edit” for these options.
Fonts and character spacing
Are you constantly changing the font or spacing between characters? You can easily set a default font and default spacing for your documents.
Go to the Home tab and open the Fonts dialog using the small arrow in the corner of the Fonts section of the ribbon.
Open the Fonts tab and select the style, format, size, color and effects you want to use when opening a Word document. Click “Set as Default” when you’re done.
Open the Advanced tab to change character and number spacing, kerning, and ligatures. Click “Set as Default” when you’re done on this tab.
Then click “OK” at the bottom of the window to save all changes.
On Mac, go to Format > Fonts in the menu bar to change these options.
Document margins
You can also set default margins to avoid the tedious process of changing them every time you start a new document.
RELATED: How to change page margins in Word
Go to the Layout tab and open the Print Format dialog box by clicking the small arrow in that part of the ribbon.
Open the Margins tab and use the top section to set your margins. Either enter the measurements in the boxes or use the arrows to increase or decrease them in small increments.
Click “Set as Default” when you’re done and “OK” to save your changes.
On Mac, go to Format > Document from the menu bar and open the Margins tab to see these settings.
Track Changes Settings
Do you and your colleagues collaborate on documents frequently and keep track of your changes? You can adjust the settings for the Track Changes feature in Word to match your preferences.
Go to the Review tab and open the tracking changes option using the small arrow in the tracking section of the ribbon.
In the next box, select “Advanced options”.
You can then change the appearance of insertions and deletions, the color of the author, and options for moves and formatting. Select “OK” when done and “OK” in the Track Change Options box.
On Mac, go to Word > Preferences in the menu bar and select “Track Changes.”
Click for hyperlinks
Maybe you want to simply click a hyperlink to open it instead of holding down the Ctrl key. You can make it happen with just a few steps.
RELATED: How to follow hyperlinks in Word 2013 without holding down the Ctrl key
Go to File > Options. Select “Advanced” and go to the Editing Options section on the right. Uncheck the box for “Use CTRL + Click to follow hyperlink.” Press “OK” at the bottom to save the change.
Moving forward, you can click any hyperlink in a Word document to open it instead of holding down Ctrl while clicking.
On Mac, simply click a hyperlink to follow it by default.
For more Microsoft Word tips and tricks, check out How to Add New Buttons to the Microsoft Office Ribbon or Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.
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