In working with a lot of designers and consultants, I find that they have trouble with documents because they still don't know Microsoft Word very well. So I came up with a quick test that will tell you how well others know Microsoft Word in relation to the kinds of documents most of us do. Here it is.

__ 1. Created an automatic table of contents
__ 2. Modified a style
__ 3. Added or subtracted buttons from the tool bar
__ 4. Used a font other than Times New Roman
__ 5. Turned off automatic numbering
__ 6. Added a column to an existing table
__ 7. Used both landscape and portrait pages in the same document
__ 8. Set up indents using the ruler.
__ 9. Inserted links to other documents
__10. Converted a word document to a PDF
__11. Changed spacing between paragraphs
__ 12. Use the Help menu to find out how to do something
__ 13. Inserted a picture
__ 14. Used a short cut for cutting, pasting or repeating an operations
__ 15. Checked spelling and grammar
__ 16. Tracked or accepted changes
__ 17. Used odd and even footers
__ 18. Added a chart
__ 19. Used a yellow highlighter
__ 20. Added or removed a border

I didn't realize there would be a test today. *wink*

Nice list. I would probably add two simple things that make a big difference: Used Paragraph Styles (instead of manually changing properties every time) and Inserted Page Break (instead of pressing the Enter multiple times).

I know Word is one of the most popular software instructional designers use for several reasons but I still try to avoid it every time when I anticipate lots of pages with graphics and tables.

quote:

I still try to avoid it every time when I anticipate lots of pages with graphics and tables.

Yup - ultimately, it's a lousy desktop publishing program.

You can learn a lot about a person's skill with Word by invoking "reveal formatting".

It might *look* pretty when printed, but seeing a bunch of spaces, tabs, and paragraph returns in the soft copy.... aaaarrrrgghhhhh.