Theresa Estrada | Author at Microsoft 365 Blog

Starting from blank: Design templates in the Word 2013

Theresa Estrada — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Last month, we introduced the Start screen in the new Word and discussed how templates and built-in content can be used to quickly create great looking documents. We know that over half of all Word sessions start from a blank document. These documents can end up looking very different, but in previous versions of Word they all started with the same settings. In the new Word, we have made it easier for you to create great looking documents, allowing you to focus on content instead of formatting.

The post Starting from blank: Design templates in the Word 2013 appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Top 10 reasons students will love Word 2013

Theresa Estrada — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:45:00 +0000

The new Office is packed with features that students will love and Word is no exception! Today, we present the Top 10 reasons we think students will be head over heels for the new Word. Download the Customer Preview today and tell us which of these is your favorite new feature!

The post Top 10 reasons students will love Word 2013 appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Working with images gets simpler in the new Word

Theresa Estrada — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:00:00 +0000

How many times have you tried to move an image or a chart in Word and gotten frustrated when it unexpectedly landed somewhere other than where it was dropped? Working with images is one of the top pain points that we hear about from customers, so in the new Word, we’ve simplified the experience with 3 great new features:

The Layout Options button gives you quick access to change how your image interacts with the rest of your document.
Live layout lets you see your document’s new layout in real time as you reposition, resize or rotate images

Alignment guides help you visually align your images with important areas of the document.

The post Working with images gets simpler in the new Word appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Starting off right: Templates and built-in content in the new Word

Theresa Estrada — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:30:00 +0000

We know you put a lot of effort into making a document look great. At the end of the day, you want a polished document that invites people in. One that is professional looking, with obvious attention to the details, and that you can be proud to share with your friends, family, colleagues, coworkers, or the world. In this release, we wanted to make it easier than ever for you to create those documents.
In this post, I’ll talk about how new starting options, templates, and built-in content can make it easier to go from start to finish using the new Word in the Office Customer Preview.

The post Starting off right: Templates and built-in content in the new Word appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Present a Word document online

Theresa Estrada — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 06:01:00 +0000

You want to meet real time to write or refine a Word document but often times the people you need to meet with cannot be at the same place at the same time. With the growing usage of messaging and audio/video conferencing software, people are collaborating from multiple locations. Whether you’re a student who needs to finish a class project with your peers, a small business owner who wants to share a contract with clients, or a family member writing a holiday letter with someone in another location, we know it’s important for any Word user to be able to easily share and work together on their documents.
We set out to create a simple, rich sharing experience that gives the presenter confidence their attendees are able to follow along, wherever they are in the document. By adding an interactive communication channel, such as IM or voice/video applications, you can create a complete real time collaboration experience. The Office Presentation Service is free for all Office 2013 customers to use; all you need is a Microsoft account and Microsoft Office 2013.

The post Present a Word document online appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Changing your style in the new Word

Theresa Estrada — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:10:00 +0000

There are lots of reasons to spend time styling your document – you may be trying to follow a publishing requirement, to make your document stand out, or just make it easier to read. In Word 2013, we’ve made it easier than ever for you to quickly change the look of your entire document until you have it just right. While the styles gallery has been available on the Word home tab since Word 2007, some people just assume styles are meant for people who want big blue text. As it turns out, that’s not true. I’m here to tell you that Styles are handy, and if you use them to format your text as your write your document, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the improvements in Word 2013.

The post Changing your style in the new Word appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Unlock PDFs with Word 2013

Theresa Estrada — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 10:15:00 +0000

We’ve all received PDF files with content that we wanted to reuse. This means that most of us have been disappointed by the difficulty of getting good content out of a PDF. For example, if you try to copy and paste table rows from a PDF viewer into Word, you frequently end up with a collapsed single line of text. Most existing PDF viewers, in essence, limit people who use PDF’s to a “look but don’t touch” experience. PDF Reflow, a new feature in the upcoming release of Word, changes the landscape by letting you convert PDFs into editable Word documents.

The post Unlock PDFs with Word 2013 appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Introducing Word 2013

Theresa Estrada — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Last Monday, we announced the Office Customer Preview - now that the Preview is publically available, Tristan Davis, Senior Lead Program Manager, kicks off a series of Word 2013-focused posts, giving you an introduction to the new release, as well as the underlying philosophy that drove the investments the team made.

The post Introducing Word 2013 appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Understanding images: Part 3 – Anchoring

Theresa Estrada — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 21:05:00 +0000

Why do figures, or images, sometimes jump to a different page in your Word document? This is one of the great mysteries of Word and today, I’ll reveal the answer.
To get to the bottom of this question, it’s important to understand the concept of anchoring. Every floating figure in a Word document is actually attached to the page. This point of attachment is called the “anchor” and is indicated by a small anchor icon. To see this, you’ll need to enable the display of the icon by clicking the File tab and then clicking Options. In the Display section, select the check box next to Object Anchors. Now, when you select a floating figure, you’ll see the anchor icon appear on the page.

The post Understanding images: Part 3 – Anchoring appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.

Understanding images: Part 2 – Wrapping styles

Theresa Estrada — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Wrapping text around figures, also known as graphic objects or images, can help give your documents a more polished look and help focus attention on the most important content. Last week, I wrote about the basics of inline vs. floating figures. One of the big differences between these types of images is that floating images are positioned separately from the text, allowing text to wrap around, over, and behind the images. Word has several wrapping styles that give you control over how the image integrates with the document. Today, I’ll explain the options and share my thoughts on when to use each one.

The post Understanding images: Part 2 – Wrapping styles appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.