Word 2000 in a Nutshell

Configuring Word with Tools → Options

The Tools → Options command is used to change Word’s settings. Use it to specify what components of a document are viewed onscreen or printed. Set user information (name, address, and all that), file locations (for example, where templates are found and the location documents are saved by default), and even control Word’s interface to some extent. There are ten tabs on the Tools → Options dialog and we’ll be examining them all in the upcoming sections.

Tools → Options → View Tab

The View tab (Figure 3-1) controls the on-screen display of a document. Turning off some of the display options can make Word redraw and scroll documents more quickly. Some of the options, like displaying the formatting marks, are turned off by default, but may be valuable when enabled. It’s awfully hard to use Word well if you can’t see half of what it’s doing. The options on this tab only apply to the active document and to new documents created after the options are set, but not to any existing documents, even if they’re currently open.

Figure 3-1. Choosing what is displayed in a document

The Tools → Options → View tab is broken down into four sections: Show, Formatting marks, Print and Web Layout options, and Outline and Normal options.

Tools → Options → View → Show

The Show section of the View tab (Figure 3-2) controls how Word displays certain interface elements ...