As the oldest of the Office applications, Microsoft Word was already packed with extensive word processing capabilities. It’s a nice surprise that Word 2013 has new and improved features that are useful in everything from document creation to reading, editing, and collaboration.

1. A new look for Word

The first change you’ll see when you start Word 2013 is a splash screen instead of a blank document, as in previous versions of Word. In the left pane, you will see a list of your most recent Word documents, as well as the option to open additional files. In the right pane, you can choose from various templates such as blanks, brochures, blog posts, and many more, as well as search Microsoft’s online template library. If you are a long time Word user, this new landing page may take some getting used to, but can be disabled if you prefer the old look.

The New Design tab

Word 2013 still supports the Ribbon interface, but now the functions to design a document are combined within the new Design tab so that they are easy to find. The format of documents can be quickly defined by choosing Themes, Colors and Fonts to use with them. From here, you can preview your options, and you can even save your formatting as the default for all new documents.

2. Simple graphics layout and alignment options

New alignment guides in Word 2013 make it easy to align images and other objects. They are a visual way to show when an object, such as a SmartArt picture, graphic, or illustration, is aligned with the top of a paragraph or with a heading or other elements on the page.

Convenient design options

Select an image, graphic, or SmartArt object, and the handy new Layout Options icon appears outside the upper-right corner of the object. Click on it to set text wrapping and placement options, all without moving to the ribbon.

When you right-click an object and choose, for example, Format Image or Format Shape, a new Formatting task pane opens. This panel replaces the previous versions dialog and stays open while you work and displays easy-to-follow formatting options for the currently selected object.

3. Improved reading in reading mode

If you use Word more to read documents than to create them, you will like Word 2013’s new reading mode, which is clean and free of distractions. Switch to read mode and the ribbon will collapse just like most tabs. This new view automatically resizes a document to full window and displays your documents in easy-to-read columns. Click the arrows on the screen to flip through the pages, or if you are using a touch screen monitor or tablet, swipe the screen from either edge of the screen. Right-click on any unknown word to display a definition without exiting reading mode. You can also click on any image, table or graph to enlarge it and make it easier to read.

Resume your work

Now when you reopen a document, Word 2013 remembers where you were and lets you continue reading or editing right where you left off, even when you reopen a document online from a different computer or device. This feature supports multiple views, including reading mode and print layout, the default view in Word.

4. Smarter collaboration

Reviewing documents with posted changes and comments is now easier with Word 2013’s new Simple Markup view. From Simple Markup, complex marks are hidden and the final document is displayed. However, you will still see indicators on the left margin where the recorded changes were made. When you double-click one of these lines, Word switches to All Marks view so that you see the complete editions. Click the indicator line again and Word will revert to Simple Dialing.

Another improvement is that you can lock the Track Changes feature in Word, which means someone must enter a password for Word to stop Track Changes. This is a great way to ensure that all changes are recorded when multiple people review your document.

Comments are also better because they now have a reply button that gives users the option of having a conversation within a small speech bubble. It’s now easy to keep track of comments alongside related text instead of creating a multitude of comments on one topic. And when a comment is handled, it marks it as done. It will be dimmed so it doesn’t bother you, but the conversation will still be there if you need to revisit it later.

5. Open and edit PDF files within Word

Opening and editing PDF files is finally a full feature in Word 2013. In previous versions, you could save a Word document as a PDF, but you couldn’t edit a PDF without first converting it to a Word document. Now just open a PDF as if it were a Word document and edit it as usual. Word handles almost any PDF you want to work with, even if you have multiple tables, large images, different fonts, etc., all without the need for a third-party application.

6. New and improved table functions

Word 2013 finally addresses the frustration of formatting borders of different widths and styles in a Word table. The handy edge painter tool and edge styles feature make formatting quick and easy.

Select a line style, line weight, and pen color or choose a preset from the list of border styles and then paint the borders on the table. With the Border Sampler tool, it is now also possible to sample an existing border and then use the Border Painter to duplicate the style elsewhere in the table.

To add a new row to a table, simply hover your mouse outside the left edge of the table at the point where the row will be inserted. Click on the little icon that appears and you’re done. There is a similar icon to easily add a new column. There are also new options for working with tables in the Mini Toolbar that appears when you select a part of a table or right-click on a table.

7. Better handling of long documents

Long documents can become difficult to manage, especially if you are working on only a small part. New Expand / Collapse options in Word 2013 allow you to collapse and expand the titles of a document to make it easier to focus only on the part you need. To do this, you must format the document titles using the built-in Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on. To hide paragraphs, hover your mouse to the left of a formatted heading, and then click the small triangle that appears, leaving only the heading text visible. For menu control of the Expand / Collapse option, simply right-click on a header.

8. Multimedia magic

If you design newsletters, flyers, brochures, or other graphic documents in Word, you can now add photos and web videos directly to a Word document. To add a video, choose Online Video from the Insert tab on the ribbon. This opens the search tools for Bing Video or YouTube within Word without the need to switch between Word and your Internet browser. And, if you already have a video in mind, just paste the embed code. Please note that these videos will only play while your computer is connected to the internet.

9. Upload to the cloud

Like other programs in the new Office suite, Word 2013 is connected to the cloud anytime you are online. OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud-based file storage service, is built into Word and is now the default save location. (You can also change the default to save locally on your computer.) After uploading files to OneDrive or SharePoint, they are available for you or your colleagues to view or edit online from a variety of devices.

Present online

The new Office Presentation Service in Office 2013 is a way to present Word documents online. You must be signed in to your Microsoft account to use this feature. Once everyone is connected to the service, which runs through the Microsoft Word web application, they can follow the process while presenting the document. The interface supports comments that are made during the presentation, and participants can create a printable and downloadable PDF of the document.

10. Touch screen functionality

Microsoft Word 2013, along with the entire Office suite, is designed with touchscreens in mind. A touchscreen is not required for Word, but if you’re using it on a Windows tablet or touch-enabled monitor, you’ll find navigation simple and straightforward. Touch pictures or graphics to zoom in or scroll through a document with your finger or a stylus. Long press (the touch version of right-clicking) on ​​a word and see various options for it, such as Font, Synonyms, etc. Expand or collapse sections of a document by tapping. Double-tap your finger to zoom in and make the tables, graphs, and images in your document fill the screen. To continue reading and to zoom out, tap or click outside the object again.

conclusion

With features that make your daily work easier, there are many things you like about the new Microsoft Word 2013. While it includes quite a few updates, you should have no trouble getting used to it because most of the menus, options, and tools behave just like previous versions. of Word. You’ll soon discover that Word is more flexible than ever, allowing you to work more efficiently and from virtually anywhere.