Learning Microsoft Word 2007 - Step 6

n the Word 2007 Tutorials Insert tab edition we will go step by step through each section of the Insert tab just like we did on the Home Tab. We will continue to work on the greeting card we started. I know this is a long process to make a simple card but I want you to have a through understanding of all the functions of Word 2007.

The insert tab's name fits its function well. Anything you think you might want to add to a word document you use the insert tab to insert the extra features into your document.

We will work our way through from left to right.

On the far left the first section is Pages. The three categories you can insert for pages are; Cover Page, Blank Page, and Page Break. These three features are useful if you are creating a professional or long document.

We will not use them for our card but lets go through what each feature does. Click on the down arrow next to cover page.

Notice how you get a selection of already designed cover pages you could use for a business report or other professional looking document. This can be a huge time saver. Once you click on the design you want Microsoft Word 2007 will design your cover page and all you need to do is highlight the text and type your changes.

Moving onto the Blank Page. When you are typing a long document as you type a new page will automatically start as you are typing. The Blank Page button allows you to insert a blank page anywhere in your document manually.

Page Break button will force a page break anywhere you select. You will see this  in your document if you click the page break button. To delete a page break place your cursor behind the Page Break and press the Backspace button.

Moving right along to the tables section. Tables can get tricky. For a senior or beginner computer user tables can be great for creating their own calendars. Click on the down arrow in tables.

At the bottom of the menu you will see quick tables. Until you are very comfortable using table I would recommend using this feature. You can scroll through the pre-designed table and choose one. When you select a predesigned table Microsoft Word 2007 will automatically create your table to incorporate into your word document.

When Word 2007 creates your predesigned table another 2 tabs will appear. Notice the Table Tools tabs Design and Layout. In the beginning you will probably only use the table styles section under the Design Tab. If you would like more information please email me and I will send you more detail on how to create a more complex table.

Next we will cover the Illustrations section. Illustrations is where you can add pictures of all types and styles to your document.

The first selection in Illustrations is Insert a picture from a file. When you click on this a window will open for you to browse to a photograph or other picture you have saved on your computer. I used this to create birthday invitation for my daughter with her current picture in the background. You can have a lot of fun incorporating personal photos into your documents.

Now open your Birthday card we started and click on the Clip Art Button.

After clicking on the Clip Art Button notice the clip art menu that appears in the right column of your Word document. At the top of the Clip Art menu in the Search for: text box type birthday and click go. You could also type balloons or birthday cake. When you click go it will find clip art pictures to match your key word.

Scroll through the pictures until you find one you like. When you have chosen a picture click on it and it will be inserted into your document. Then Click on the bottom right corner of the picture and dragged the picture so it enlarges. Make sure the picture does not go past the 4" marker on the top and does not go below the 5" marker on the left side ruler. Your picture should look something like this.

The card we are creating is going to be a quarter fold so we will need to rotate the picture. To do this click on the top center green dot above your picture. You will see an arrow going in a circle. Hold down the mouse and drag the picture around until it is upside down.

Now that your picture is rotated lets put a boarder around it. Under Picture Tools and the Format Tab click on Picture Boarder then Weight then More Lines.

The Format Picture Window will come up. When the window appears Change the width to 6 pt. Then click the drop down arrow next to Compound type: and select a line style you like. Then in the left column in the Format Picture Window click Line Color Click the drop down arrow under the color selections and choose a color you want to boarder the Clip Art Picture you choose. Click Close so the changes take effect.

Now we will quickly move through the next three buttons in the Illustrations section. If you click the drop down arrow on shapes you will see a long list of shapes you can insert into your Word 2007 document. To insert a shape simply click in the location of your document you want the shape to appear and click the shape.

SmartArt is a unique tool. SmartArt will automatically design graphically designed lists, hierarchy charts, pyramids and more. SmartArt will put the graphics into your document and you can customize it by highlighting and changing the text.

The Chart button will let you choose the style chart you would like then automatically open an Excel spread sheet for you to enter your data to create your chart.

Moving onto the Links section, this section is great if you are writing a document that readers will be reading on the computer. These three buttons create links in your document that a reader can click on to jump to a website, booked marked section of your document, an email address, or another program. If you would like more information on these buttons please contact me.

In the Header and Footer section there are three buttons. By clicking the Header button you are able to select the style for the text that will appear at the top of each page of your document. The Footer is the same as the Header but will appear at the bottom of each page of the document. Page Number will give you a selection of putting your page numbers at the top of page, bottom of page, page margin, or current position along with a formatting and removal option.

OK we are back to creating our greeting card. In the next section of the Insert Tab you see Text. The Text section lets you do even more formating to your text in a document. For creating greeting cards and other fancy documents using this text function is easier than using the basic text in the Home Tab.

Click on the Text Box Button.

A menu will drop down and you will see several variations and styles of text boxes to choose from. We are going to customize our text box for our greeting card so click on the Draw text box link at the bottom of the menu.

This will change your mouse cursor to look like a + sign. Click about a 1/2 inch from the right side of your upside down picture and drag the cursor to the bottom right corner of the upside down picture. When you are finished you should have a white text box on the right side of your picture that looks like this.

Once you have created your text box click on the format tab to the far right of the tab list at the top of Word 2007, Under Text Box Tools.

This menu will give you a bunch of options to change the look at feel of your text box. We won't go through all of the sections.

We will start with the first section Text. Click on text direction. Notice when you click this button the cursor changes to go vertical down the text box on your card. Type HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Notice how the background of the text box is covering up part of the image in the background. To fix that click on Shape Fill in the Text Section of the Format Tab. Then click No Fill.

There is still an outline around the text box. To remove the black outline of the text box click Shape Outline then select No Outline.

Click anywhere in the white space of your document to exit out of the Format Tab.

To change the style of your text highlight it and return to the Home Tab.

Moving on through the Text section. Quick parts is will insert reusable pieces of content, including fields, document properties such as title and author, or any preformatted snippets you create.

Word Art can be a fun way to play with text.

When you click on the WordArt button you get a selection of several styles of text. Choose one and a window will open for you to type your text. When you click OK you will get another selection of editing options. Please email me if you want further detail

Drop Cap puts a large capital letter at the begining of a paragraph.

Signature Line is just that it provides a line with an X with the name and title you choose under the signiture line.

The Date and Time button will put the date and time into your document and automatically update it every time you open the document.

Object inserts an embeded object into your document such as a media clip or an excel document.

Moving onto the last section Symbols. Click on the drop down arrows next to Equation and Symbol to get an idea of the type of text you can creat with these options.

That completes the Word 2007 Insert Tab section of these tutorials. Click next to move onto the Page Layout tab or choose another tutorial from below.