Microsoft Office Tips & Tricks

Check here each month for tips and tricks to help make using Microsoft Office easier and faster.

The Format Painter and Reverse Printing

Tip #1: The “Format Painter” button on the Standard Toolbar can save a lot of time when formatting a document.  Example:  A paragraph is formatted with Book Antiqua font, font size of 14 pt., Italic, and left right margins at .75.  Three more paragraphs in the document require the same formatting but you don’t want to go through all the above steps.  Select the paragraph with the correct formats and double click the Format Painter button.  Now Double Click in the left margin of the first paragraph that requires the same formatting.  (Be sure the mouse pointer is a right pointing arrow when double clicking).  Repeat for any other paragraphs needing the same formats.  When finished, click the Format Painter button again to turn it off.  With a single click on the Format Painter button you can only “Paint” one time.

Tip #2: Tired of re-arranging a multiple page document?  Word can print a document in reverse order, beginning with the last page. (Don't select this option if you're printing an envelope).

On the Tools menu, click “Options”, and then click the “Print” tab.

Under “Printing options”, select the “Reverse print order” check box.

John Kahland
South Padre Office Center