Word 2000 in a Nutshell

Setting Options

The next thing to think about when creating a template is how the options for the document are set on Word’s Tools → Options dialog. Chapter 3, covered the options on all of the tabs on this dialog in detail, so I’m not going to rehash that here. Instead, I’ll give you a few things to think about when designing your template:

• Decide how the document should be viewed by the people who will be using the template. Tools → Options → View offers a number of options for displaying hidden formatting marks, field codes, scrollbars, status bar, and more. If you think any of these are useful, turn them on. If you think they’ll get in the way, disable them.

• The Tools → Options → Print tab holds many settings controlling how a document is printed. Make sure these settings are correctly set.

• Tools → Options → Spelling & Grammar controls Word’s spellchecker. For my template, I’m turning off the squiggly lines that appear under spelling and grammar errors by disabling the “Check spelling (grammar) as you type” options. I usually find it much better to run a check after the document is complete, so as not to interrupt my train of thought while writing. If I wanted to get really fancy, I could also create a customized writing style based on the MLA style guide that Word used while checking grammar. To do this, open Tools → Options → Spelling & Grammar. Select a writing style from the drop-down list and click Settings to open a dialog that lets you modify the actual grammar settings. ...