For those who are already up to speed with the most recent versions of Microsoft Office, these tools may be old news. But perhaps you are still using Word 2003, where these tools are hidden deep within toolbar menus, or perhaps you haven't yet had the chance to explore Word 2010 and use it to its full potential.
Styles
If you're used to individually formatting all the headings and subheadings in your documents, then this simple tool will transform the way you use Word forever. Type the text for your main heading, highlight it and click "Heading 1" in the Styles toolbox on the "Home" tab. Don't like the font? Format your text the way you want, right click on it, and click "update Heading 1 to match selection". Now all the text you select as "Heading 1" will be ready-formatted exactly how you want it! Check out "Colours" and "Fonts" under "Change Styles" for ready-made combinations, or "Themes" under the "Page Layout" tab for a complete Style package!
Table of contents
This is where the Styles tool really starts to save you time. If you have Styled all your headings and subheadings, simply go to the "References" tab, click "Table of Contents", pick the one you want and see it magically appear before your eyes, ready-formatted!
Cover pages
Another handy tool to quickly make documents appear more polished and professional. Go to the "Insert" tab, click "Cover page" and select the an appropriate style to your document. It's as easy as that!
Convert text to table
This is a neat one that I only discovered recently! If you already have some text typed out, rather than drawing a table and copying the text into individual cells, simply highlight the text, go to the "Insert" tab, click "Table" and head down near the bottom of the menu and click "Convert Text to Table".
Smart art
Here, you can create quick graphics that effectively break up a report or jazz up a presentation, and save you designing your own using individual shapes.
And there you have it - 5 tools to get you started with Word 2010! What's your favourite feature?
