Unused Word tab

[Clitheroekid]

I've been using Word for around 30 years, but I just realised this evening that in all that time I have never clicked on the `Developer' tab (now remedied, though I can see why I never bothered!)

It made me realise how many other buttons I've never clicked - for example `Thesaurus' or `Research' on the `Review' tab (you can tell it's an ancient version of Word that I use) and although I think I've clicked on the `References' tab I'm not sure I've actually used any of the facilities on offer.

Even on the `Home' tab I noticed, on exploring, an option called `AutoText', but I have no idea what it does.

It's probably because I've never had any actual instruction on how to use Word (or, for that matter,any of the other programs I use, such as Excel and Outlook). I still haven't a clue about such things as document templates, and I always seem to mess up paragraph numbering and indentation when it gets to sub and sub-sub-paragraphs, as it often does with legal documents. I've just picked it up as I've gone along, Googling on the odd occasion when I don't know how to do something.

And the reason I've never had any formal instruction is probably because I've effectively been working for myself ever since I started using Word, so there's been no employer insisting that I have to learn how to use programs effectively.

I can't say it's really caused me any problems, and although I'm aware of the possibility that I may be missing out on ways to save time and increase productivity I'm now at a time of life that I'm really not that bothered.

But it made me wonder whether my experience of learning on the job is typical, or have most of my fellow Fools had formal instruction?

[Urbandreamer]

But it made me wonder whether my experience of learning on the job is typical, or have most of my fellow Fools had formal instruction?

I would say that it is likely that most people are self taught in the majority of things.
Before I retired I was a software engineer and taught myself the C programming language from a book.

HOWEVER: I did attend a number of structured courses and I do think that a combination is a better way to go.

The trouble, as you have found with Word is that you know the bare minimum to achieve your purpose, and even at that may not know the easiest or quickest method.

You say that you have been using word for 30 years, and have never used "document templates".

Dear Sir,
In reference to your statement, may I remark that such template upon how to correspond were at one point, before the advent of the personal computer, taught in secondary schools. For it is the nature of things that all must write letters of job application or in the process of their employment to communicate with employees or suppliers.

Ok, I'll drop the point about templates. But again, a dictionary and thesaurus were once a common requirement, before word processors.

Specific to computer letters, the mail-merge facility was great before email. Write a stock letter about moving house and print a load with intended recipient and appropriate postal addresses. They even made special envelopes with a window to show the address that you put upon the enclosed letter.

Automatically generating a table of contents is great, if you are writing a reference document.

Moving from Word. Spreadsheets (excel) have incredibly powerful features, that seem to involve too much effort to learn. Too much effort, every time that you repeat the same task!

As for your reason for not having formal training. Courses are available and it is not unknown for people to chose to do them, paying if needed.
Here are a couple of free ones.
Microsoft Word
Excel

Ps, I'm self taught in spreadsheets and word processing, though I don't use either Word or Excel anymore.

[Gerry557]

I worked for a large organisation that the IT dept would decide on what hard and software would be used. Often it was outdated which helped in one way as you learned how to use it.

The Office suite was introduced with no instructions or courses. This resulted in lots of self learning or bringing in Barry's wife as she had used it before and gave us an overview.

I was expected to use an Access database and was provided an all singing and dancing designed one that was "simple to use" Unfortunately it failed at the first step with all the bosses watching and the chap introducing it running away with his tail between his legs. I deduced the problem, the serial numbers had to be in a set format and the designer had locked the system to prevent idiots like me changing it.

I asked for some Access training as this was going to be an ongoing requirement of the job. Obviously I tried learning it myself and started designing my own. Eventually I was sent on a one day begginers course but by this time I knew more than the instructor. Over time Office became the norm and there was more people with a range of knowledge with word being most popular and Access almost avoided.

My access databases were designed for none users. Lots of simple button clicking and typing of the relevant info with help pages built in.

Then one year they had a new IT contract and Access wasn't part of the programme. There were meetings to discuss how we were going to manage by removing Access. I asked for an extra 10 people to manually go through all the records.

They did a trial without access to Access. The bosses never got the stats they needed at meetings and I struggled with trying to revert to a manual processes but with less manpower. Fortunately I left before the cut off actually kicked in full time.

Even so I suspect I only used about 10% of Access capability, 15% Excel and 30% Word. My partner was proficient in Word so she taught me bits that I needed and I helped her design an Access database at her new job.

So not using parts of a programme is not unusual.

[Nocton]

I've always been amazed how cos. are prepared to invest thousands in software and hardware, but very little in training. My experience is that most users don't use more than about 10% of Word or 5% of Excel. I was told at one organisation I did volunteer work for that: "N can do things with Excel that we never even thought possible". I mostly use LibreOffice or OpenOffice now, but it has always seemed to me that a free open-source office package delivering the 5-10% required by most would be even more popular than those two.

[Urbandreamer]

It's just occurred to me that not only have I attended structured training, I've given such training.

One of my managers had an idea (actually a good idea) that we should try and train each other in XYZ parts of the job.

At the time half of the team were using an outdated software version control package called CVS. The other half, the current industry "standard" called git.
I ran a training course in both, though I knew CVS better.

I learned a hell of a lot about git preparing my course, and later courses. Eventually I found other courses upon git which I evaluated and directed the team towards.

As said about word and excel, most of the time only part of the facilities of the package were used. However knowing what the other parts were for was hugely valuable upon the rare occasions that there was a need to use them.

Ps, for those who know of github and other such public hosting sites, we didn't use them. Instead we kept the software within the company.

[genou]

Specific to computer letters, the mail-merge facility was great before email. Write a stock letter about moving house and print a load with intended recipient and appropriate postal addresses. They even made special envelopes with a window to show the address that you put upon the enclosed letter.

If you are sufficiently Luddite to still send physical Christmas cards, it is worth learning how to do a label run. They still sell peelable labels to print the results on.....

[dionaeamuscipula]

But it made me wonder whether my experience of learning on the job is typical, or have most of my fellow Fools had formal instruction?

I've had fairly extensive training on specialist programs such as ERPs, but everything else is self taught. In word processing I started on a rival package to Word but eventually had to bite the bullet and convert, which required me to train other users as well as learn it myself. At the time Word was rubbish, but it was slowly becoming the standard.

Nowadays I probably use about 30% of Word's capabilities, but what I use mostly suits me fine.

Along the way, I have for a variety of reasons reviewed quite a lot of documents created by others, and until recently a lot of them were absolutely terrible. A popular error was to end every line with a hard enter, then to put multiple spaces in the next line to create an indent. As fonts moved on from single spaced to kerned, the number of spaces would dramatically increase. Nowadays they are generally about the same standard as the ones I create myself, and they infrequently contain anything that sits outside my comfort zone, which suggests that most others use about the same 30% as I do.

DM

[Clitheroekid]

In word processing I started on a rival package to Word but eventually had to bite the bullet and convert, which required me to train other users as well as learn it myself. At the time Word was rubbish, but it was slowly becoming the standard.

Yes, me too. I recall buying a second hand Apricot 286 at auction, and noticing that when I switched it on there was a blank screen except that at the bottom right it said:

Doc 1 Pg 1 Ln 1" Pos 1"

It meant absolutely nothing to me, but after hitting a few random keys something popped up to say it was WordPerfect 5.1.

This was long before the days when you'd just go to YouTube for a tutorial, so I went to my local bookshop (remember those?) and bought a book called something like WordPerfect for Dummies. I remember it was quite a hefty manual, and must have been at least 300 pages long.

I then opened it at page 1 and worked through the first 3 or 4 chapters, by which time I'd learned enough to produce some basic documents. I think I may have dipped in again from time to time if I wanted to know how to do something, but I never got more than about a quarter of the way through it.

I got to love WP 5.1, which always seemed to me to be a very elegant program, but I gradually realised that Windows, and therefore Word, was becoming the default option, so I reluctantly transferred my allegiance. I really disliked Word, to the extent that I think I actually reverted to WP 5.1 on a couple of occasions, but it gradually improved and like everyone else I eventually got used to it.

I do recall that an excellent feature with WP was the `reveal codes' function, which enabled me to see immediately why a document hadn't formatted properly. There was no equivalent with Word, and I must have wasted hundreds of hours over the years trying to undo the formatting that Word, in its dumb stupidity, had imposed on my beautiful documents!

So I really feel quite nostalgic now when I look at a WP 5.1 page - https://db.barbanon.org/post/00000736.html

[servodude]

I do recall that an excellent feature with WP was the `reveal codes' function, which enabled me to see immediately why a document hadn't formatted properly. There was no equivalent with Word, and I must have wasted hundreds of hours over the years trying to undo the formatting that Word, in its dumb stupidity, had imposed on my beautiful documents!

Isn't that the job of the pilcrow ( ¶ ) button in word?

It reveals the hidden stuff behind white space - and THEN you "just" need to know that formatting is normally applied to the paragraph (which ends with the plicrow)
or that's how we taught it anyways... but that was 20-<cough> years ago and even then most of the stuff being done in word (or excel) would have been better off being done in something else

Horrible bloated over-featured unintuitive software

-sd

[kempiejon]

Isn't that the job of the pilcrow ( ¶ ) button in word?

I was going to say that but I had no idea it had a name. Well it must have but I didn't know it. Ta.