How you ever wanted to get the contents of a table in MS Word? There’s a few ways to do this in Word. For example,

• Do you want to get the table’s contents only, ie the plain text? Or
• Do you want to get the table’s contents and keep the format of the table, for example, keep the content in rows?

Here’s how to do both.

How To Convert Tables Into Plain Text

In this example, we’re going to extract the contents of the table. The simplest way to do this is to convert the table to text.

Depending on your version of Word, it’s as follows:

• Select the table. (Table, select Table in Word 2003).
• Click Table, Convert and then Table to Text.
  
• Choose Convert Paragraph Marks to Text
  

This converts the table into text and then adds a paragraph mark for each character. The result is that you get a long list of words.

How To Convert Tables Into Plain Text And Keep Table Format 

How about if you wanted to keep the formatting?

You can use the Convert Tabs to Text option to convert the table to textANDadd tabs between each word.

To do this:

• Select the table.
• Click Table, Convert and then Table to Text.
• Choose Convert Tabs to Text.
  

This means your table settings are removed but the layout looks the same.

Related posts:

1. How to Convert Boring Text into Stunning Tables
2. How to Convert Word Tables into Plain Text
3. Converting Tables to Text

What’s the best way to select text in Microsoft Word? There’s different ways you can do this depending on what you want to select.

For example, do you want to select text one word at a time?

Or do you want select text, starting on the left and working your way into the document? Or maybe from right to left?

5 Ways To Select Text In Microsoft Word

1. Mouse – Click and drag the mouse to select text.
2. Shift + Arrow – Hold down Shift and an arrow key on your keyboard. If you hold down, for example, the right arrow key, then Word will select text as you move to the right.
3. Shift + Ctrl – To select one word at a time, hold down Ctrl and Shift at the same time and also use the left or right arrow keys.
4. Shift + Mouse – Another option is to use the Shift key and the Mouse. For example, hold down Shift and click to select the text between the insertion point and where you clicked. If you move the mouse around the page, while holding down Shift, you’ll see how it works.
5. Shift + Down Arrow – Let’s say you want to select a large block of text below where you’re typing. Maybe you want to select and delete it. To do this, hold down Shift and the down arrow, i.e. the arrow on the keyboard that points downwards.

Those are five ways to select text in Microsoft Word.

What others can you think of?

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Wouldn’t it be nice to open your MS Word documents with a single click, instead of having to double click?

It sounds like a small detail but if you write for a living, then every way you can save time, helps you write the next document faster.

How To Open Folders With a Single, Not Double, Click

To do this you need to change the folder options:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Select Folder Options.
   
3. Select the General Tab.
4. Under, Click items as follows, select Single-click to open an item.
   

By the way, you can also select to open each folder in the same window or in a new folder. If things go wrong, click Restore Defaults to return to the original settings.

Related posts:

1. How to change the list of document options in Word 2007
2. Word 2003 Tip – How to Change the Background Color in a Word Document
3. How to open Read-Only Word files?

There are two problems with the spellchecker in Microsoft Word. One is that it struggles to accept words which are not in its dictionary, even when it appears you’ve asked it to accept this word.

The second is that, in some documents, you may need to use several languages. For example, if you need to include a quote in French or use different UK or Australian English.

How do you Force Word Spell Checker to Accept Non-US Spellings?

Before we explain how to fix this, let’s look at WHY this happens. Why does Word use one language setting over another

There are a few reasons:

• Normal.dot – The Normal.dot file, i.e. where fonts, formats, styles etc are controlled, affect the language settings. When you change this file, all documents that use Normal.dot are affected.
• Sections – Word uses ‘sections’ to assemble a document. It therefore applies the language setting for each ‘section’ as it processes the document. If you have different sections and different languages, then be careful when running the spellchecker. It applies each respective language setting per section. To see the sections, click the backward P in the menu bar.
• Deleting Sections – If, for example, you do Insert, Page Break and add a new page; you’d see the following. Next, if you make the first page US English and the second UK English, you’re still fine. Microsoft Word will use two different spellcheckers. BUT, if you delete the page break, you lose the first setting. The second, in this case UK English becomes the default setting
• Detect Language Automatically – Turn on this setting if you use more one language in a document, as Microsoft Word can automatically detect each language as you type it. However, it’s not foolproof. Check that Microsoft Word doesn’t ‘help’ you and automatically correct a word.
• Changed Language Settings – You may have accidentally changed you document language settings when you cut and pasted from another document with a different language setting.

To fix this:

• Use Ctrl + A to select the entire document.
• Click the Language option on the lower toolbar.
• Select the language you want, for example, UK English.
• Click OK.
• Click Default IF you want to make it the default language from now on.

Conclusion

To force the spell checker in Word to accept non-US spellings, change the language setting to the language of your choice or… if possible, add that word to your US dictionary.

Just make sure that you don’t accidentally ‘fix’ these foreign words when running the spellchecker.

Have you had problems with the spellchecker in Word?

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2. Changing the Default Font in Word
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How do you hide the page number so it doesn’t appear on the cover sheet of your document? When you add page numbers to Microsoft Word, it automatically adds these to the footer. Maybe you don’t want these to appear on the front page, for example, of a report. How do you turn it off?

Word 2003 – Hide Page Number on First Page

There are different ways to do this and it also depends on the version you’re using. Try this:

• Double-click the Header in your document. The Header and Footer toolbar appears.
• Click the Page Setup.
• Click the Layout tab.
• Select Different first page.
  

  Hide Page Number on First Page of Microsoft Word documents

• Click OK.
• Save and close this document.

Note: The Header area now says First Page Header.

Word 2007 – Hide Page Number on First Page

Let’s say you’re using Word 2007. Try this:

• Click in the document.
• On the Page Layout tab, click the Page Setup Dialog Box Launcher.
• Click the Layout tab.
• Under Headers and footers, select the Different first page check box.
• Click OK.

Exceptions:

If the Different first page check box is already selected, don’t clear it. Instead, delete the page number in the First Page Header/Footer area.

Related posts:

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2. How to Hide Text
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How do you turn on (or off) MS Word’s Automatic Language Settings? If you’re writing with more than one language in a document, Microsoft Word can automatically detect each language type as you write.

Automatic Language Settings – Turn On

To setup this feature:

• Click Tools, Language, and then Set Language.
• Select the Detect language automatically check box.

Automatic Language Settings – Turn Off

To turn off automatic language detection, clear the Detect language automatically check box.

Automatic Language Settings – Turn Off Specific Languages

Let’s say you want to turn off a specific language, for example, English (Ireland):

Remove it from the list of enabled languages in the Microsoft Office Language Settings tool.

Warning

When you remove the language, you won’t be able to use features provided by that language (for example, síneadh fadas for Irish) in Microsoft Office.

Do you have any problems with the Automatic Language Settings in Word?

Related posts:

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3. How to get rid of Crop Marks in Microsoft Word 2002 / 2003 / 2007

There are two ways you can go to the end of a Word document. The first is to use a keyboard shortcut and the second is to create a macro. There are pros and cons of each approach. Here’s how to do it.

Using Keyboard – Go to end of MS Word document

If you want to go directly to the end of a Word document when its opens:

Press Ctrl+End

This takes you to the very last character in the document.

If you want to go back to the start of the document:

Press Ctrl+Home

Using Macros – Go to end of MS Word document

You can also setup a macro to do this.

To create a macro, add the following lines of code in the Autoopen macro:

Sub AutoOpen()
Selection.EndKey Unit:=wdStory
End Sub

Which is better?

If you simply want to go to the end of the document, then use Ctrl+End.

However, if you want to run several macros at the same time, for example, to change fonts, format the document and so on, then use the macro to bring you to the end of the document when it’s finished processing.

Does this work on your keyboard? What other shortcuts do you use in Microsoft Word?

Related posts:

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How do you remove the page number from the front page and start the second page with 1? Many user guides and technical documents hide the page number on the cover sheet.

Instead, the page numbering begins on the inside pages, usually on page two. If you want you can:

Start page 2 as 2

or

Start page 2 as 1

Why would you start it at 1? If you start it at 2, and then create a Table of Contents, where is page 1?

Page 1 is actually the cover sheet, which usually doesn’t have a page number on it. So, that’s a bit confusing. Instead, start page 1 on the second page, i.e. sheet of paper, and use this as your starting point in the table of contents.

Start numbering on the second page with 1

To start page numbering on another page, follow these steps:

• Remove the page number from the first page.
• Click the Insert tab, Headers & Footers, and Page Number.
• Click Format Page Numbers.
• In the Start at box, type 0.

You’re documents will now start at 1… from the second page onwards

Conclusion

You don’t have to start at 0. If you want, for example, to use a different numbering format for the front section of the document, i.e. before the real document starts, you can change the ‘In the Start at box, type 0’ to a different number and experiment with this arrangement.

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If you need to write  technical documents, and are looking for Microsoft Word templates to get started, then download these documents to help your writers.

When you order this set of templates you get the following Audience Analysis, Data Sheet, Documentation Plan, Error Message, Fact Sheet, FAQ, Installation Plan, Quick Start, ReadMe, Release Notes, Setup Guide, Sys Admin, Troubleshooting, User Guide included in the download.

Here’s a screenshot of one of the templates to show you how detailed the it is.

Instant Download For Only $49.99!

Writing Templates

Use these Technical Writing templates (233 pages MS Word) to write technical documents faster, save time on formatting, provide a consistent standard across your publications, and ensure that your company delivers professionally looking documents to your customers. Scroll down to see what’s inside!

This Technical Writing template pack includes the following documents.

Audience Analysis

Use this 30 page template to define all aspects of your target audience. This template helps you focus your writing by identifying the pain points, needs, and requirements of your target readers. This serves as a foundation for all subsequent sales and marketing documents.

Data Sheet

This 2 page template helps you create a professional looking data sheet in minutes. It covers all the critical areas you need to document when developing software, hardware and sales data sheets. You can use this when building your marketing kit, preparing for trade shows, and sharing with prospective clients.

Documentation Plan

If you plan to write a large set of documents, then this 7 page Documentation Plan template will help you identify the deliverables, estimate the page count, schedule writers, and keep the project within budget. This serves as project plan for your document creation activities.

Error Message Guide

Use this 14 page template to create an Error Message guide for you software products. This template includes sample text to get you started and suggested headings, chapters, and numbering systems to help your writers get started faster.

Fact Sheet

This 2 page Fact Sheet template is ideal if you want a short document that captures the key points about a new software, hardware or solution offering. You can use the template to create a Fact Sheet in minutes and then share it with clients, prospects and publish it on your site.

FAQ Guide

You can reduce calls to your Technical Support Department by publishing a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that answer the most common queries from customers. You can also include this in your technical documentation pack when handing over software to a new client.

Installation Plan

After you have developed an application, it makes sense to create an Installation Plan (22 pages Microsoft Word) that shows your customers how to install the software. You can use this template to describe the steps to do this and make sure that customers can install your product with minimal fuss and frustration. This also reduces the pressure of support departments and other business units.

Product Document Plan

If your software product is quite complex and comes with detailed technical document, then use this Product Document Plan to identify, itemize, and track all the document versions used in this release. This helps end users, system administrators, and others refer to the correct document when installing, troubleshooting, or operating software.

Quick Start Guide

This 14 page template helps users get started faster with your product. Some users don’t want to read through the user guide but prefer to get started immediately (and then read the user guide). This template will help you write a Quick Start Guide that achieves this goal and documents the essential steps in a slim, easy to understand document.

ReadMe Template

This Read Me template helps you capture the critical points you want to flag to users before they use the application. Typically, the Read Me file will be short, direct and actionable. Use this 2 page template to get started.

Release Notes

This very detailed 17 page Release Notes template cover all items that need to be included in each software release. It helps your writers by providing a framework for each set of Release Notes and ensures continuity between each publication.

Setup Guide

You can use this Setup Guide template (29 pages) to describe how to setup software, hardware or other devices, such as a mobile application. This template includes all the main steps involved in setting up software and helps your writers get this written faster as they simply need to fill in the blanks.

Sys Admin Guide

System Administrators can use this 35 page Microsoft Word template to document the most important tasks that need to be monitored, serviced, tracked and controlled. The template provides tips and guidelines on setting up your first Sys Admin Guide with sample text for each section.

Troubleshooting Guide

Every software product comes with a list of known issues. You can reduce calls to your technical support centre by helping users troubleshoot your product and resolve the most common issues that arise. This 12 page template gives your writers a framework to document these issues quickly.

User Guide

The User Guide is probably the most important document for customers. We’ve created four different user guide templates (some for internal, others for external use), so you can choose the one that works best for you. This User Guide template pack also includes sample guidelines and instructions on how to write the user manual.

Total page count: 233 pages

15 Technical Writing Templates

Use these MS Word templates as a guide for writing your own technical documentation. Delete any sections that do not fit your topics; add sections where needed.

Technical Writing Template: Writers & Editors

The target audience for these templates includes Technical Writers, IT Managers, Test Managers, Product Managers, System Administrators, Security Officers and others who develop software, systems and technical solutions.

3 Free Templates

You also get these three free templates:

• Audience Analysis worksheet (MS Excel)
• Document Control worksheet (MS Excel)
• User Guide Checklist (MS Word)

Technical Writing Template: Screenshots

Installation Guide Template – 22 pages

Documentation Plan Template – 16 pages

Release Notes Template – 17 pages

User Guide Template – 16 pages

Instant Download For Only $49.99!

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1. Special Offer on User Guide Templates
2. User Guide Templates
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If you’re looking for a nice set of user guide templates, then download these Microsoft Word files online. We’ve created four templates that work for business, technical, testing and software projects. You can download all templates online and modify them to suit your requirements.

Download Now for $9.99 – Buy Here!

Table of Contents

Our User Guide templates can be used to create user guides, user manuals, getting started guides and other types of technical documents.

1. Introduction

1.1. Purpose

1.2. Scope

1.3. System Organization

2. Describing the System

2.1. Key Features

2.2. Inventory

2.3. Environment

2.4. System Operations

3. Installing, Starting and Stopping the System

3.1. First-time Users

3.2. Access Control

3.3. Installing the system

3.4. Starting the system

3.5. Stopping and Suspending the system

4. Step by Step Instructions for using the system

4.1. Instructions

4.2. Conventions

4.3. Errors, Malfunctions, and Emergencies

4.4. Messages

4.5. Quick-Reference

5. How to use this template

The templates also come with a tutorial that explains all the key steps in creating a user guide, such as:

5.1. How to add your logo to the cover page

5.2. How to add your logo to the header

5.3. Updating the Table of Contents

5.4. Adding Notes

5.5. Adding Warnings

5.6. Adding Comments

5.7. Bullet Lists

5.8. Numbered List

5.9. Adding Code Samples

5.10. Samples Tables

6. Appendix A – Reference Documents

7. Appendix B – Glossary of Terms

Sample Screenshots

Cover page of User Guide template #1

Instructions on how to use this template

Cover page of User Guide template #2

Tips on how to add warnings & comments to your user guide

Cover page of User Guide template #3

Instructions on how to update the Table of Contents, add styles, add comments, add notes and change the headers and footers.

User Guide cover page

Use the Document History section to capture revisions, track approvals, and record the distribution list

Table of contents of the user guide

About this Guide section highlights how the document is organized, who should use it, and typographical conventions used in the guide

Instructions on updating the Table of Contents and adding notes

Samples tables that can be used for presenting information

User Guide Template: Sample Forms

Contents & Format

All templates are in Microsoft Word format (.doc) and can be download online for only $9.99. The template pack includes the following documents:

4 x User Guide Templates	22 pages each
1 x Information Product Checklist 1 x User Guide Checklist 1 x User Guide Final Check	3 Forms

Download Now for $9.99 – Buy Here!

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2. Download Policy Manual
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MS Word creates Metadata in a variety of ways. As a result, there is no single method to remove all such content from your documents. The following sections describe areas where metadata may be saved in Word documents.

Whenever you create, open, or save a Word document, it creates metadata. Metadata is used for a variety of purposes to enhance the editing, viewing, filing, and retrieval of Office documents.

Here are some examples of metadata that may be stored in your documents:

• Your name
• Your initials
• Your company or organization name
• The name of your computer
• The name of the network server or hard disk where you saved the document
• Other file properties and summary information
• Non-visible portions of embedded OLE objects
• The names of previous document authors
• Document revisions
• Document versions
• Template information
• Hidden text
• Comments

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One area where many Business Consultants get tripped up is confusing Business Rules and Business Requirements. We looked at how to write Business Requirements last week, so let’s look at what Business Rules and Business Requirements have in common and where they differ.

Business Requirements – Excel Template

Difference Between Business Rules and Business Requirements?

Why do we need to document Business Rules before starting to gather Business Requirements? Is there a connection between Business Requirements and Business Rules? One of the problems for Business Consultant is that they may focus so much on gathering Business Requirements, that they forget the underlying Business Rules which define how the business functions. Unless you’re clear on the difference between the two, you may end up gathering requirements which you may have to revise change later on if they contradict or break an existing business rule.

What is the difference between a business rule and a business requirement?

• Business Rules – these are statements (or conditions) that tell a person whether they can perform a specific action that relates to how the business operates. Business Rules also give you the criteria and conditions for making these decisions.
• Business Requirement – this may include what you need to do to enable the business rule to be implemented. In other words, a business requirement may not be valid if it contradicts or breaks an existing business rule.

Example of Business Rules

Let’s step back a minute. My Dad has three pet ducks at his home. One water duck and two land ducks. Yes, it gets very loud sometimes.

So, here are some rules regarding the ducks health and safety:

• Ducks cannot be given bread. It may choke them.
• Ducks cannot be left unattended when swimming. They are poor swimmers and may drown.
• Ducks must be given water with all meals. Helps them digest.
• Duck must have buddies. They’re very socialable and pine when alone.
• Ducks must be kept out of the kitchen. Yes, I see the irony

Ok, these are some of the rules we have for the ducks.

From Business Rules to Business Requirements

Now, imagine we were building a new apartment block for millionaire ducks. No doubt there will be many requirements about their lifestyle, feeding, entertainment and transport. While gathering and defining these requirements, we need to consider:

• The new apartment owners must not allow folks to give bread to the Ducks.
• If you’re building a swimming pool. They can have a pool if it’s a requirement, but they also need a life guard.

You get the idea, right?

Connection Between Business Rule and Business Requirements

Now that we’ve looked at how Business Rules work, let’s look at how and where they are connected:

1. Do business rules exist even when you can’t implement a requirement? Yes. The Business Rules inn independent of the requirements gathering process. It can and must exist independently of other processes.
2. Does implementing a business requirement mean complying with the business rule? Depends. In general, Yes, but there can be exceptions.
3. Does implementing the business requirement make it easier to comply with the business rule? Yes. The connection will be stronger across all business process and allow greater understanding of how the Business Rules to Business Requirements function.

Sample Business Rule

This is an example of business rules for a bank taking credit card applications over the web.

Example: Taking Credit Card Applications Over The Web

• Business Rule: Customer has an Email Address.
• Business Requirement: Ability for bank staff to send and receive emails to the customer.

Now if we change the business rule:

• Revised Rule: Customer must have a valid Email Address.

Note: A second rule is required to define ‘valid email address’. An Email Address is considered Valid if does not return as ‘undeliverable’ within 60 minutes of being sent out.

Additional Business Requirement to support Business Rule:

System will immediately send email to customer once email address is received. The email is not batch processed but sent in response to each email received.

Note: The smallest change in the wording of the business rule can have significant impacts on other business processes. When testing business requirements make sure that you consider all possible scenarios where the revised business rule will impact other parts of the business.

Recap

• Business rules describe what you may or may not do in a specific business scenario. It also gives the criteria, conditions and exceptions for making these decisions.
• Business Requirements capture what a user must do to implement and/or comply with a Business Rule.
• You may need different sets of business requirements to implement different sets of business rules, for example, when dealing with complex business processes with complicated conditions and exceptions.
• Business rules are independent of business requirements and shouldn’t be changed to accommodate a requirement.

Be careful when changing a business rule in case it impacts how a business process functions.

Conclusion

There is one final point I want to share. Make sure that ownership of the business rules is properly assigned to someone – and make the person accountable.

One approach is to assign this activity to a business analyst with strong skills in document control and with the ability to push through new versions of revised Business Rules.

Try to find the most practical solution for managing your business rules. We used a networked Excel spreadsheet at a large European bank and it worked very well. All documents were version controlled and we followed a strict naming convention which made it easier to retrieve and update the rules when needed.

Don’t get tripped up on the technology. Once the team understand how the documents are structured, written and shared, then you should be fine. Also, remember to purge out-dated business rules. This means you’ll have fewer documents to manage and should speed up annual audits if/when the auditors want to check your document repository.

Final tip: in the Excel spreadsheet, cross-reference the business rule to the business requirements so you can quickly identify where one change impacts another.

About the Author:  Ivan Walsh runs the How to Write a Business Plan Blog. He also shares Small Business Information for Entrepreneurs at Klariti.com

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