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MS Word: Formatting, Mail Merge and Track Changes

Basic 4 min read Updated

In the syllabus of AR-IITD

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Key points

  • Watermark is under Design, table of contents under References, track changes under Review
  • Mail merge lives under the Mailings tab and needs a main document plus a data source
  • Merge fields must be inserted through Insert Merge Field, not typed
  • Ctrl+Enter is a page break; Shift+Enter is a line break
  • Ctrl+Shift+E toggles track changes; Ctrl+Alt+M adds a comment
  • F7 is spelling, Shift+F7 is thesaurus
  • .docx document, .dotx template, .docm macro-enabled
On this page
  1. Ribbon tabs: where each feature lives
  2. Mail merge
  3. Track changes and comments
  4. Breaks
  5. Shortcuts

Ribbon tabs: where each feature lives

TabMain features
HomeFont, paragraph, styles, find and replace
InsertTable, picture, header and footer, page number, symbol
DesignWatermark, page border, page colour
LayoutMargins, orientation, size, breaks, columns
ReferencesTable of contents, footnote, citation, caption
MailingsMail merge, envelopes, labels
ReviewSpelling, comments, track changes, compare, restrict editing
ViewRead mode, zoom, macros

Key point

Watermark sits under Design, table of contents under References, and track changes under Review. Exams ask which tab holds a feature far more often than how the feature works.

Mail merge

Mail merge sends one letter to many people with personal details filled in automatically, such as interview call letters to shortlisted candidates. It has two parts:

  • Main document: the text common to every letter.
  • Data source: the list of recipients, which can be an Excel sheet, an Access table, Outlook contacts, a Word table or a CSV file.

The sequence is: Start Mail Merge, Select Recipients, Insert Merge Field, Preview Results, Finish and Merge.

Exam tip

Merge fields appear as chevrons, but typing those chevron characters from the keyboard does not create a field. They must be inserted through Mailings and then Insert Merge Field, or no data is pulled in.

Track changes and comments

Track changes records every edit so it can later be accepted or rejected. This is the standard way to vet a draft before approval. Compare shows the differences between two versions of the same file.

Breaks

  • Page break: starts a new page.
  • Section break: allows different orientation, headers or page numbering within one document.
  • Line break: starts a new line inside the same paragraph.

Shortcuts

ShortcutAction
Ctrl+E / L / R / JCentre, left, right, justify alignment
Ctrl+EnterPage break
Shift+EnterLine break
Ctrl+Shift+ETurn track changes on or off
Ctrl+Alt+MNew comment
F7 / Shift+F7Spelling and grammar / thesaurus
Shift+F3Change case
F12Save As
Ctrl+KInsert hyperlink
Ctrl+HReplace

Example

File types: .docx is a normal document, .dotx a template, .docm a macro-enabled document, and .doc the older 97 to 2003 format.

Practice questions

Answer all, then check. Explanations appear after checking.

1The Mail Merge feature in MS Word is available under which tab?
2Which keyboard shortcut turns Track Changes on or off in MS Word?
3Pressing Ctrl+Enter in MS Word inserts a:
4In MS Word, the F7 key opens:
5An office must send individual call letters to 150 candidates whose details are in an Excel sheet. Consider: 1. The main document holds the text common to all letters. 2. The Excel sheet can be the data source. 3. Merge fields can be created by typing the chevron characters from the keyboard. Which are correct?

Finished this topic? Tick it off.

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