As the oldest of the Office applications, Microsoft Word was already packed with extensive word processing capabilities˳ It’s a pleasant surprise then that Word 2013 boasts useful new and improved features across the board, from document creation to reading, editing, and collaboration˳
1˳ A New Look for Word
The first change you’ll see when you launch Word 2013 is a startup screen rather than a blank document, as in older versions of Word˳ In the left pane, you’ll see a list of your most recent Word documents as well as the option to open additional files˳ In the right pane, you can pick from various templates, such as blank, flyer, blog post, and many more as well as search Microsoft’s library of online templates˳ If you are a long-time Word user, this new landing page may take some getting used to, but it can be disabled if the old look is preferred˳
The New Design Tab
Word 2013 still supports the Ribbon interface but now features for styling a document are combined within the new Design Tab so they’re easy to find˳ Document formatting can be quickly defined by choosing Themes, Colors, and Fonts to use with them˳ From here, you preview your choices and can even save your formatting as a default for all new documents˳
2˳ Easy Graphic Alignment and Layout Options
The new Alignment Guides in Word 2013 make lining up images and other objects a snap˳ They are a visual way to show when the object, such as an image, chart, or SmartArt illustration, is aligned with the top of a paragraph or to a heading or other elements on the page˳
Convenient Layout Options
Select a picture, chart, or SmartArt object, and the handy new Layout Options icon appears outside the object’s top right corner˳ Click it to configure placement and text wrapping options, all without moving to the Ribbon˳
When you right-click an object and choose, for example, Format Picture or Format Shape, a new formatting task pane opens˳ This pane replaces the dialog box from earlier versions and stays open as you work and shows easy to follow formatting options for the currently selected object˳
3˳ Improved Reading in Read Mode
If you use Word more to read documents than to create them, you’ll like Word 2013’s new Read Mode which is clean and distraction-free˳ Switch to the Read Mode and the Ribbon collapses as do most of the tabs˳ This new view automatically resizes a document to the full window and displays your documents in easy-to-read columns˳ Click the on-screen arrows to flip through the pages or, if you’re using a touch-screen monitor or tablet, swipe the screen from either edge of the display˳ Right-click on any unfamiliar words to display a definition without leaving Read Mode˳ You can also click on any image, table, or chart to enlarge it for easier reading˳
Resume Your Work
Now, when you reopen a document, Word 2013 remembers where you were and lets you keep reading or editing right where you left off, even when you reopen an online document from a different computer or device˳ This feature is supported in multiple views including Read Mode as well as Print Layout, the default view in Word˳
4˳ Smarter Collaboration
Reviewing documents with Tracked Changes and comments is easier now with Word 2013’s new Simple Markup view˳ From Simple Markup, complex markups are hidden and the final document is displayed˳ However, you still see indicators in the left margin where tracked changes have been made˳ When you double-click one of these lines, Word switches to the All Markup view so you see the full edits˳ Click the indicator line again, and Word goes back to Simple Markup˳
Another improvement is you can lock the Track Changes feature in Word which means someone needs to enter a password to make Word stop Track Changes˳ This is a great way to ensure all changes are recorded when your document is being reviewed by multiple people˳
Comments are better too because they now have a reply button which gives users the option to keep a conversation within one small speech bubble˳ Now it’s easy to track comments right next to the related text instead of creating a multitude of comments on one topic˳ And when a comment is handled, you mark it as done˳ It will be greyed out to keep out of your way, but the conversation will still be there if you need to revisit it later˳
5˳ Open and Edit PDFs inside Word
Opening and editing PDFs is finally a full-fledged feature in Word 2013˳ In past versions, you could save a Word document as a PDF, but you couldn’t edit a PDF without converting it to a Word document first˳ Now you simply open a PDF as if it is a Word document and edit it as usual˳ Word handles just about any PDF you want to work with, even if it has multiple tables, large images, different fonts, and so on-all without the need of a third?party application˳
6˳ New and Improved Table Features
Word 2013 finally addresses the frustration of formatting different width and style borders in a Word table˳ The handy Border Painter tool and Border Styles feature simplify and speed up formatting˳
Select a Line Style, Line Weight, and Pen Color or choose a preset from the Border Styles list, and then paint the borders onto the table˳ With the Border Sampler tool, it’s now also possible to sample an existing border and then use the Border Painter to duplicate the style elsewhere in the table˳
To add a new row to a table, just hover your mouse outside the left edge of the table at the point where the row is to be inserted˳ Click on the small icon that pops up and you’re done˳ There’s a similar icon for easily adding a new column˳ There are also new choices for working with tables on the Mini Toolbar which pops up when you either select a portion of a table or right-click on a table˳
7˳ Better Management of Long Documents
Long documents can become unruly to manage especially if you’re working in just a small portion of it˳ New Expand/Collapse options in Word 2013 let you collapse and expand the headings of a document to make it easier focus only on the portion you need˳ To do this, you must format the document’s headings using the built-in styles Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on˳ To hide the paragraphs, hover your mouse to the left of a formatted heading and then click the small triangle that appears, leaving just the heading text visible˳ For menu control of the Expand/Collapse option, just right-click on a heading˳
8˳ Multimedia Magic
If you design newsletters, flyers, brochures, or other graphical documents in Word, you can now add web photos and videos directly into a Word document˳ To add a video, choose Online Video from the Insert tab in the Ribbon˳ This opens the search tools for Bing Video or YouTube within Word without the need to toggle between Word and your Internet browser˳ And, if you already have a video in mind, just paste in the embed code˳ Keep in mind these videos will only play while your computer is connected to the Internet˳
9˳ Get on the Cloud
Like other programs in the new Office suite, Word 2013 is connected to the cloud anytime you’re online˳ OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud-based file storage service, is integrated into Word and is now the default save location˳ (You can also change the default to save locally to your computer˳) After you upload files to OneDrive or SharePoint, they are available for you or your colleagues to view or edit them online from a variety of devices˳
Present Online
Office 2013’s new Office Presentation Service is one way to present Word documents online˳ You must be signed into your Microsoft Account to use this feature˳ Once everyone is connected to the service-which is run via the Microsoft Word Web App-they’ll be able to follow along as you present the document˳ The interface supports comments being made during the presentation, and participants can create a printable and downloadable PDF of the document˳
10˳ Touch Screen Functionality
Microsoft Word 2013, along with the entire Office suite, is built with touch screens in mind˳ A touch screen isn’t required for Word, but if you’re using it on a Windows tablet or touch-enabled monitor, you’ll find the navigation is simple and straightforward˳ Tap on images or charts to zoom in or scroll through a document with your finger or a stylus˳ Press and hold (the touch version of right-clicking with your mouse) on a word and see various options for it like Font, Synonyms, and so on˳ Expand or collapse sections of a document by tapping˳ Double-tap with your finger to zoom in and make tables, charts and images in your document fill the screen˳ To continue reading and to zoom out, tap or click again outside the object˳
Conclusion
With features that make your day to day work easier, there’s a lot to like about the new Microsoft Word 2013˳ While it packs in quite a few updates, you should have no trouble getting accustomed to it because most of the menus, options, and tools behave like previous versions of Word˳ You’ll soon discover Word is more flexible than ever, allowing you to work more efficiently, and from just about anywhere˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Microsoft-Word:-Top-10-New-Features-in-Word-2013&id=8871845
