1) The Word interface at a glance

• Title bar: File name, window controls (minimize/maximize/close).

• Quick Access Toolbar (QAT): Small customizable toolbar (usually top-left) for one-click Save/Undo/Redo/Print, etc.

• Ribbon (tabs → groups → buttons): Main command area (Home, Insert, Design, Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View).

• Document area: Where you type/edit.

• Status bar: Page number, word count, proofing status, language, view mode.

• Zoom slider & View buttons: Bottom-right for zoom; Read/Print/Web/Layout views.

• Backstage (File tab): New/Open/Save/Export/Print/Info/Options.

2) Ribbon basics (how it’s organized)

• Tabs (top labels) → Groups (clustered commands) → Buttons (commands, galleries, split buttons).

• Contextual tabs appear when you select an object (e.g., Picture Format, Table Design/Layout, Chart Design).

• Mini Toolbar pops up on text selection (quick font/paragraph tools).

• Tell me/Search (Alt+Q): Type what you want to do (fast command finder).

3) Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

Why use it: Always visible, even when switching tabs—saves time.
Customize: Right-click any command → Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
Recommended QAT set: Save, Undo, Redo, Quick Print, Print Preview, Paste Special, Format Painter, Superscript, Subscript, Show/Hide ¶, Styles Pane.

4) Backstage (File tab)—high-frequency actions

• New (templates), Open, Info (protect, inspect, version history), Save/Save As, Print, Share, Export (PDF), Options (proofing, display, customize ribbon/QAT).
  Shortcuts: Ctrl+N New, Ctrl+O Open, Ctrl+S Save, Ctrl+P Print.

5) Tab-by-tab cheat sheet (groups → key buttons)

Home (everyday formatting)

• Clipboard: Paste, Cut, Copy, Format Painter.

• Font: Family/Size, Bold/Italic/Underline, Color/Highlight, Clear Formatting, Superscript/Subscript, Change Case.

• Paragraph: Bullets/Numbering, Multilevel list, Align L/C/R/J, Line/Paragraph spacing, Shading, Borders, Increase/Decrease Indent, Sort, Show/Hide ¶.

• Styles: Heading 1/2/3, Normal, Styles Pane.

• Editing: Find (Ctrl+F), Replace (Ctrl+H), Select.

Insert (add content)

• Pages: Cover Page, Blank Page, Page Break (Ctrl+Enter).

• Tables: Insert & draw tables; Quick Tables.

• Illustrations: Pictures, Online Pictures/Icons, Shapes, SmartArt, Charts, Screenshot.

• Links: Hyperlink (Ctrl+K), Bookmark, Cross-reference.

• Header & Footer: Header, Footer, Page Number, Date/Time.

• Text: Text Box, WordArt, Drop Cap, Signature Line, Object.

• Symbols: Equation, Symbol.

Design (document look)

• Document Formatting: Themes, Colors, Fonts, Paragraph Spacing.

• Page Background: Watermark, Page Color, Page Borders.

Layout (Page Layout)

• Page Setup: Margins, Orientation, Size, Columns, Breaks, Hyphenation.

• Paragraph: Indent Left/Right, Spacing Before/After.

• Arrange: Position, Wrap Text, Bring Forward/Send Backward, Align, Group, Rotate (for objects).

References (academics & long docs)

• Table of Contents: TOC gallery, Update TOC.

• Footnotes: Insert Footnote, Insert Endnote.

• Citations & Bibliography: Insert Citation, Manage Sources, Style (APA/MLA/Chicago), Bibliography.

• Captions: Insert Caption, Cross-reference, Table of Figures.

• Index: Mark Entry, Insert Index.

• Table of Authorities (legal).

Mailings (bulk, personalized)

• Create: Envelopes, Labels.

• Start Mail Merge: Letters/Envelopes/Labels/Emails, Select Recipients (list/Excel/Outlook), Insert Merge Field, Preview Results, Finish & Merge.

Review (quality & collaboration)

• Proofing: Spelling & Grammar (F7), Thesaurus (Shift+F7), Word Count.

• Accessibility: Check Accessibility.

• Language: Translate, Set Proofing Language.

• Comments: New Comment, Reply, Delete.

• Tracking: Track Changes, Simple/All Markup, Accept/Reject, Compare.

• Protect: Restrict Editing, Block Authors.

View (how you look at the doc)

• Views: Read Mode, Print Layout, Web Layout.

• Show: Ruler, Gridlines, Navigation Pane.

• Zoom: Zoom controls, One Page/Multiple Pages.

• Window: New Window, Split, View Side by Side, Synchronous Scrolling.

• Macros: Record Macro, View Macros.

(Some versions include a Help tab and Dictate/Designer buttons.)

6) Contextual tabs (appear when you select an object)

• Picture Format: Remove Background, Corrections, Color, Artistic Effects, Compress Pictures, Change Picture, Picture Styles, Arrange, Crop.

• Shape Format: Edit Shape, Shape Fill/Outline/Effects, Align, Size.

• Chart Design & Format: Add Chart Element, Quick Layout, Switch Row/Column, Select Data, Change Chart Type, Chart Styles.

• Table Design & Layout: Table Styles, Banded rows/columns, Header Row, Total Row; Insert/Delete rows/columns, Merge/Split cells, Distribute, AutoFit, Cell margins, Sort, Repeat Header Rows.

• Header & Footer: Different First Page, Different Odd/Even, Page Number, Link to Previous, Close Header & Footer.

• Drawing Canvas/Equation/Ink tools as applicable.

7) Most-used buttons & quick shortcuts (daily drivers)

8) Paragraph & page control buttons you’ll need a lot

• Line & Paragraph Spacing, Before/After spacing, Increase/Decrease Indent.

• Borders & Shading (for emphasis and tables).

• Columns (Layout) for newsletters.

• Margins/Orientation/Size (Layout) for print readiness.

• Header/Footer & Page Number (Insert) for academic/pro reports.

9) Right-click context menu (fast actions)

• On text: font, paragraph, Synonyms, Link, Comments, Styles.

• On image/table: Wrap Text, Size & Position, Insert/Delete rows/cols, AutoFit, Table Properties.

• On header/footer: page number format, different first page, etc.

10) Customizing the Ribbon & QAT (make Word fit you)

• Ribbon: File → Options → Customize Ribbon → add/remove Tabs/Groups/Commands; create your own group (e.g., “My Formatting”).

• QAT: File → Options → Quick Access Toolbar (or right-click a command → Add to QAT).

• Export/Import customization: same dialog → Import/Export (move your setup to other PCs).

11) Troubleshooting quickies

• Numbering misbehaves: Use Multilevel list linked to Heading styles; avoid manual spacing.

• Images jump: Set Wrap Text (Square/Tight) and Fix position on page; use Align and Position.

• Large file size: Use Compress Pictures; avoid huge images; use PDF for sharing.

• Weird spacing: Toggle ¶ Show/Hide to see hidden marks; fix Before/After spacing.

12) 10-minute practice drill

1.   Insert a Cover Page, then add Page Numbers (bottom-center).

2.   Type three section headings, apply Heading 1/2, then insert a Table of Contents.

3.   Add a Picture, set Wrap Text → Square, and Crop it.

4.   Insert a 3×4 Table, apply a Table Style, and Repeat Header Rows on page break.

5.   Set Margins to Narrow, Orientation to Landscape; export to PDF.

13) One-page recap

• QAT for one-click essentials (Save/Undo/Redo/Print/Format Painter/¶/Superscript/Subscript).

• Ribbon tabs:

• Home: Text & paragraph (lists, styles, ¶).

• Insert: Pages, tables, images, links, headers/footers.

• Design: Themes, colors, watermarks, borders.

• Layout: Margins, orientation, size, columns, breaks, arrange.

• References: TOC, footnotes, citations/bibliography, captions/index.

• Mailings: Mail merge workflow.

• Review: Spelling, track changes, comments, protect.

• View: Views, ruler/navigation, zoom, split/side-by-side.

• Contextual tabs: Picture/Shape/Chart/Table tools when objects are selected.

• Right-click + Mini Toolbar = fastest local formatting.

• Customize Ribbon/QAT via File → Options.

• Shortcuts: Ctrl+S/Z/Y/C/V/X/F/H/K/N/O/P, Ctrl+Enter, Ctrl+Alt+1/2/3, Ctrl+J, Ctrl+]/[.