How to Use the Tools Menu in Microsoft Word

1. Change settings in the 'Tools' menu to control how Microsoft Word behaves. Click 'Options' and when the pop-up window opens you have many choices, including how you view, edit, save and print documents.
2. Modify the appearance of Microsoft Word by selecting 'Customize' from the 'Tools' menu. Add common commands, such as 'Create Table' or 'Grow Font Size,' and remove buttons used less frequently, such as 'Find' or 'Permissions.' You'll wonder why everyone doesn't personalize their menus once you try it and see how much time you save.
3. Select 'Spelling and Grammar' from the 'Tools' menu to ensure you're writing mechanics are correct. You can change how the spelling and grammar check works by modifying choices in the 'Options' area in the 'Tools' menu. Some common changes include checking spelling as you type, which dictionary to use, ignoring some mistakes, and ignoring certain types of words.
4. Click 'Word Count' in the 'Tools' menu. This tool is especially useful for students whose teachers assign essays requiring a certain number of words and for professional writers with a picky editor.
5. Summarize your writing automatically. Click 'AutoSummarize' and you'll see options for how you want the summary to look. Mostly useful if you have a very long piece of writing and want to give an overview to draw the reader in.
6. Change how Microsoft Word corrects your documents by selecting 'AutoCorrect' from the menu. Writers rely on this to catch common errors like capitalizing the first word of each sentence.
7. Collaborate with peers on a document or share a document without fear that someone will make an irreversible mistake. You can protect the document so that it can not be modified with the 'Protect' button or you can 'Track Changes' to ensure that you have approved all modifications before official publication.