Chapter 3
Creating and Opening Documents
Introduction
- Word files are called documents.
- Whenever you start a new project in Word, you'll need to create a new document, which can either be blank or from a template.
- You'll also need to know how to open an existing document.
To create a new blank document:
When
beginning a new project in Word, you'll often want to start with a new blank
document.
1.
Select
the File tab to access Backstage view.
2.
Select New,
then click Blank document.
3.
A new blank
document will appear.
Create Document from Template:
To create a new document
from a template:
A template is
a predesigned document you can use to create a new document
quickly. Templates often include custom formatting and designs,
so they can save you a lot of time and effort when starting a new project.
1.
Click
the File tab to access Backstage view, then
select New.
2.
Several
templates will appear below the Blank document option. You can
also use the search bar to find something more specific. In our example, we'll
search for a flyer template.
3.
When you
find something you like, select a template to preview it.
4.
A preview of
the template will appear. Click Create to use the selected
template.
5.
A new
document will appear with the selected template.
You can
also browse templates by category after performing a search.
To open an existing document:
In addition
to creating new documents, you'll often need to open a document that was
previously saved. To learn more about saving documents, visit our lesson
on Saving and Sharing Documents.
1.
Navigate
to Backstage view, then click Open.
2.
Select This
PC, then click Browse. You can also choose OneDrive to
open files stored on your OneDrive.
3.
The Open dialog
box will appear. Locate and select your document, then click Open.
4.
The
selected document will appear.
Most features in Microsoft Office, including Word,
are geared toward saving and sharing documents online. This is done
with OneDrive, which is an online storage space for your documents
and files. If you want to use OneDrive, make sure you’re signed in to Word with
your Microsoft account.
To pin a document:
If you frequently
work with the same document, you can pin it to
Backstage view for quick access.
1.
Navigate
to Backstage view, click Open, then select Recent.
2.
A list of recently edited documents will appear. Hover the mouse over
the document you want to pin, then click the pushpin
icon.
3.
The
document will stay in the Recent documents list until it is unpinned. To unpin a
document, click the pushpin icon again.
Compatibility Mode
ü Sometimes you may need to work
with documents that were created in earlier versions of Microsoft Word, like
Word 2010 or Word 2007. When you open these types of documents, they will
appear in Compatibility Mode.
ü Compatibility Mode disables certain
features, so you'll only be able to access commands found in the program that
was used to create the document. For example, if you open a document created in
Word 2007 you can only use tabs and commands found in Word 2007.
ü In the image below, you can see
how Compatibility Mode can affect which commands are available. Because the
document on the left is in Compatibility Mode, it only shows commands that were
available in Word 2007.
ü To exit Compatibility Mode,
you'll need to convert the document to the current version
type. However, if you're collaborating with others who only have access to an
earlier version of Word, it's best to leave the document in Compatibility Mode
so the format will not change.
ü You can review this support
page from
Microsoft to learn more about which features are disabled in Compatibility
Mode.
To convert a document:
If you want
access to the newer features, you can convert the document to
the current file format.
1.
Click
the File tab to access Backstage view, then locate and select
the Convert command.
2.
A dialog
box will appear. Click OK to confirm the file upgrade.
3.
The
document will be converted to the newest file type.
