Microsoft Word has a lot of different functionality and features, including text editing tools like text formatting, grammar and spell checking, templates for different types of documents and various layout options. It also has features that allow you to collaborate with other users and access files on multiple devices.
Whether you have handled documents for work or school, you have probably encountered how Microsoft Word works and its basic features. Some features might seem tricky at first, but mastering them can make your documents look more professional and high-quality, making the effort worthwhile.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the main features that you might use most often when working with Word documents.
Contents
1. Text formatting
One of the most basic and essential features of MS Word is the ability to format text, whether you want to change the font or size, add bold or italic formatting, change colors or alignment, or make other stylistic changes.
You can access text formatting tools by clicking on the “Home” tab in the toolbar at the top of your screen. From here, you have a variety of different formatting options to choose from.
2. Grammar and spell checker
Writing documents, whether for work or school, often requires a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
This is where the MS Word spell checker can come in handy, as it will flag possible spelling or grammar errors that you may have missed. In Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, choose Home > Editor to review its suggestions. Other versions may show Review > Spelling & Grammar. Read each suggestion before accepting it, especially for names or specialist terms.
3. Styles
In addition to basic text-formatting tools, MS Word also offers a range of customizable styles that you can apply to your text. These styles are organized into categories, such as “Headings” or “Quotes,” and offer different formatting options for different types of content.
For example, you can use the “Heading 1” style to format a main heading in your document. Or, if you want to set a quotation apart from the surrounding text, you can apply a Quote style. A quote style changes the text formatting; it does not add a source citation or create a bibliography. Those are separate tools on the References tab in desktop Word.
You can also modify a style to update all the text that uses it in the document. In desktop Word for Windows, right-click the style in Home > Styles, choose Modify, and make your changes. Direct formatting of one heading does not redefine the style; choose Update [Style Name] to Match Selection to do that. This makes it easy to quickly change the look and feel of your document without having to manually adjust every instance individually.
Select your text and choose a style from the Styles gallery on the Home tab. For a custom style in desktop Word for Windows, right-click formatted text, choose Styles > Create a Style, and name it for reuse in your document.
4. Templates
If you often work with similar types of documents, such as reports or proposals, you may find it helpful to use a template when creating your documents.
A template is essentially a pre-made document that you can customize to suit your needs. This can save you time and effort, as you won’t have to start from scratch each time you need to create a new document.
There are many different templates available in MS Word, ranging from simple text-based templates, like letterheads or resumes, to more sophisticated layouts, like menus or brochures. You can also create and save your own template for your own use or for sharing.
To use a template in desktop Word for Windows, choose File > New and select a template, or search for the type of document you need. Open the template and replace its sample text with your own content.
5. Add-ons
You can add custom functionality to your MS Word documents by using add-ins, which are essentially extra features or tools that you can download and install.
Some common examples of add-ins include productivity tools, such as calculators, calendars, or timers, and tools for working with online resources or specialist reference managers. Word already has its own table of contents, bibliography and collaboration features, so you do not need an add-in just to use those tools.
To use add-ins in current Word for Windows, choose Home > Add-ins or File > Get Add-ins. Select More Add-ins to browse, then choose the add-in you want and select Add. Follow any setup instructions from its developer; the controls it adds can vary by add-in.
6. Page Setup
Page Setup is the feature to set up your document layout, including margins and orientation. It lets you choose the paper size and adjust the page margins, so the document fits its purpose, whether you are preparing a letter, a report or a handout. To print several document pages on one sheet in Word for Windows, use the pages-per-sheet setting under File > Print.
You can access these tools on the Layout tab in current desktop Word; older versions may label it Page Layout. For example, choose Layout > Orientation for a landscape page, or Layout > Margins to change the white space around your text. Headers and footers are added separately from the Insert tab.
Headers and footers are useful tools for adding text that will appear at the top or bottom of each page in your document. This can be particularly helpful if you need to include information such as page numbers, a watermark, or other small pieces of content that should stay consistent throughout the entire document.
This feature is accessible from the Insert tab. In desktop Word, choose Header or Footer and select a design; Word for the web groups them under Header & Footer. You can add text or images and customize fonts, colors and sizes. Use Different First Page when a title page needs its own header or none at all.
8. Symbols
If you need to use symbols or special characters in your document, such as mathematical symbols, foreign language accents, etc., MS Word makes it easy to insert them into your document with just a few clicks.
In desktop Word for Windows, choose Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. Browse the grid and use the Font and, where available, Subset menus to narrow the choices. Different fonts contain different characters, so try another font if a symbol is missing. Select the symbol and choose Insert. The dialog does not have a general symbol-search bar.
9. References and citations
MS Word has a feature to make it easy to cite references and include citations in your document. Some features also include the ability to automatically create a bibliography based on the sources you’ve cited, saving you time and effort when writing academic papers.
Other reference tools include footnotes, in-text citations and a bibliography. Desktop Word offers a selection of citation styles, rather than every possible format. Choose the style required for your paper and check the generated references against your course or publisher guidelines.
To access this feature in desktop Word, click the References tab. Choose a citation Style, then select Insert Citation > Add New Source and enter the source details. Once you have added citations, place the cursor where you want the reference list and choose Bibliography. If you add another source later, select the bibliography and choose Update Citations and Bibliography.
10. Bullets and numbering
If you need to create a list of items in your document, such as a shopping list or summary statistics, you can use this feature in Microsoft Word.
You can easily do so using the “Bullets and Numbering” buttons from the toolbar. Simply click on one of these buttons to insert either bullets or numbers into your text. You can also customize these lists by editing colors, fonts, sizes, etc.
Word also gives you control over the look of every level in a nested list. If you click the small arrow next to the Bullets or Numbering button, you can pick a different bullet shape, switch to letters or Roman numerals, or define a brand new format. This is handy when you need a list that follows a house style, such as a legal outline that uses 1, 1.1, 1.1.1 or a checklist that uses square bullets instead of round ones.
For longer documents, multilevel lists are especially useful. You can demote an item with the Tab key and promote it with Shift+Tab, which keeps the numbering consistent as you reshuffle ideas. If you ever need to restart the count partway through, right-click the first item and choose Restart at 1, or set a custom starting number from the same menu. Small touches like these keep complex lists readable without forcing you to retype anything by hand.
11. Comments
Comments in Microsoft Word allow for clear communication and collaboration within a document. They help in providing feedback, asking questions, or offering suggestions without altering the original content.
For example, when editing a report, you can leave a comment asking for clarification on a specific data point. Your colleague can then reply to the comment with the necessary information, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
12. Track Changes
Track Changes is a valuable tool for reviewing and editing documents, as it highlights all modifications made by collaborators. You can enable this feature by clicking the “Review” tab and “Track Changes”.
Changes in the document are marked, and the owner can choose to keep or discard them. This is useful because it makes it clear who changed what and makes it easy to decide whether to accept or reject the changes.
13. Real-time Collaboration
With Microsoft Word, multiple users can work on the same document simultaneously, boosting productivity and enabling instant feedback.
Word also supports co-authoring, where multiple users work on the same document at the same time. For the usual Microsoft 365 workflow, save the .docx file to OneDrive or SharePoint, choose Share, and give your collaborators edit permission. Colored flags show where people are working; they are different from the colored revision marks used by Track Changes.
14. Version History
For documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint in Microsoft 365, Word offers Version History so you can view and restore earlier saved versions. A file saved only to a local folder does not gain this cloud version history automatically, and the versions available depend on the storage service and its settings.
This can come in handy if, for example, after a series of edits, you realize that an earlier version of your research paper had a critical paragraph that you accidentally deleted. With version history, you can retrieve that paragraph if it exists in a saved version. In current Microsoft 365 apps, click the document name and choose Version History; some Windows versions also offer File > Info > Version History. Open an earlier version to inspect it before choosing Restore.
15. Integration with OneDrive
You can save Word documents on OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, making it easy to access and collaborate on documents from various devices.
This is useful if, for example, you start working on a project report at the office, save it to OneDrive, and then continue editing it from your home computer or phone without worrying about emailing files back and forth.
Conclusion
Microsoft Word is a flexible, capable tool, and the features above only scratch the surface of what it can do once you start combining them in real documents. Some of the main features include tools for formatting text, inserting images or tables, referencing sources, and creating lists of items. Whether you are writing an academic paper, preparing a presentation, or simply needing to create a basic document, MS Word has the tools you need to get the job done. Open a blank document and try a few of these features the next time you sit down to write, and you will likely find a couple that change how you work.