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Using the Writing Tools of Word (1)

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In the next few articles, I will introduce the writing tools that make it easier to create letter-perfect documents. In summary, these tools can help you insert hyphens automatically; check spelling, grammar, and readability; help you find synonyms or antonyms, and even correct or add text automatically.

To start with, I will first talk about using automatic hyphenation. Hyphens break up words into their component syllables so you can use the last bit of space at the end of one line for part of a word and then put the rest of it at the beginning of the next line. Besides, we use hyphens in compound words or proper names, such as 'self-awareness'. With proper hyphenation, a document will have a less ragged right margin, because every long word at the end of a line is hyphenated rather than being moved to the line below in its entirely.

To turn on automatic hyphenation, follow these steps:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to be hyphenated in your document.

2. Choose 'Language' from the 'Tools' menu, and then choose 'Hyphenation'. You'll see the 'Hyphenation' dialog box.

3. Select the 'Automatically Hyphenate Document' check box.

4. Select any other options you want.

5. Click 'OK'. Word will then automatically hyphenate words to fill line endings throughout your text selection or your document.

For the options in the dialog box, below are their functional descriptions:

*Automatically Hyphenate Document' tells Word to hyphenate the entire document, even if you have selected text in your document.

*Hyphenate Words In CAPS' tells Word to hyphenate acronyms and other all-caps words that it would normally ignore.

*Hyphenation Zone' tells Word about the amount of space left at the end of a line that activates automatic hyphenation. Click the arrow buttons or enter a value. Setting a smaller value will make the document's right text margin more even, but it will do so at the expense of more hyphens.

*Limit Consecutive Hyphens To' tells Word not to hyphenate a line if a certain number of consecutive previous lines already contain hyphens. Setting a limit here helps you avoid over-hyphenation.

Moreover, you can check each automatic hyphen before it is applied just by clicking the 'Manual' button in the dialog box. Word will insert the first automatic hyphen, show you how the word will be hyphenated, and ask your permission. You can click 'Yes' to insert the automatic hyphen, or click 'No' to skip this hyphen and jump to the next possibility. If you click 'Cancel', it will stop the automatic hyphenation.

Furthermore, if you don't like the automatic hyphens that Word creates, you can easily remove them by:

1. Choosing 'Language' from the 'Tools' menu, and then choose 'Hyphenation' to display the 'Hyphenation' dialog box.

2. Clearing the 'Automatically Hyphenate Document' check box.

3. Clicking 'OK' and the automatic hyphens will disappear.

Even better, you can cancel them immediately after you have applied it by pressing <Ctrl> and <Z> keys simultaneously or choosing 'Undo Hyphenation' from the 'Edit' menu.

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(Email address: 'Daniel_KC_To@police.gov.hk')