Word Document Views – Understanding and Utilizing

The Word Document Views information in this blog pertains to Office 365 Word 2019, but much of the information can be utilized for Word 2016.

Word gives you 5 different views for your document – Read Mode View, Print Layout View, Web Layout View, Outline View and Draft View. The view you utilize may vary for each document depending on what you are working on. The various Word document views can be changed from the View tab, Status Bar or Quick Access Toolbar (if you have added them).

Word Document Views – Read Mode View

This view is utilized to read a document like reading an eBook. The Ribbon and most of Word’s features are hidden.

Switch to Read Mode

Click the View tab then click Read Mode button, in the Views group.

OR

Click the Read Mode button on the Status Bar.

Exit Read Mode

Click Print Layout button on the Status Bar.

OR

Click the View button (in the upper left of the window) and click Edit Document.

Read Mode Options

Read Mode view includes a list of Tools and View options which can be accessed by clicking either the Tools button or View button.

Find Button

1. Click the Tools button in the upper-left corner of the Word window.
2. Click Find.
3. The Navigation pane will open. Type your search criteria in the search box and click Enter.
4. The number of results is listed below the search box.
5. The Results tab will list all the results, which you can scroll through.  You can also use  the up and down arrows to scroll through the results.

View Button

1. Click View button in the upper-left corner of the Word window.
2. Click the option you wish to use –
   • Edit Document – Click this option to return to Print Layout view so you can edit your document.
   • Focus – (New option in latest Office 365 Word 2019) Click this option to eliminate distractions so you can focus on your document. It removes all menus and panes.
   • Navigation Pane – Click this option to open the Navigation pane, where you can navigate through the Headings, Pages or run a search and Navigate the Results.
   • Show Comments – Click this option to show the Comments within the document in a column on the right.
   • Column Width – Click this option to set how you wish to view your document. By default, your document is shown in two columns. You can change this to Narrow or Wide.
   • Page Color – Click this option to change the page color from the default None (white) to Sepia (less bright) or Inverse (black).
   • Layout – Click this option to switch from column view to Paper Layout. The Paper Layout option turns off column view so no matter how wide you make your window; your document is displayed in only one column.
   • Syllables – Click this option to show the breaks between syllables.
   • Text Spacing – Click this option to increase the spacing between words, characters and lines.
   • Read Aloud – Click this option to read text aloud and highlight each word as it’s read.

Word Document Views -Print Layout View

This view is best utilized to edit a document containing images, headers, footers, columns, etc.

Switch to Print Layout View

Click Print Layout button on the Status Bar.

OR

Click the View tab and click the Print Layout button, in the Views group.

Word Document Views -Web Layout View

This view is best utilized to edit and create a document to be saved as a web page. In this view you can see the background, text is wrapped to fit the window and images appear as they would online.

Switch to Web Layout View

Click Web Layout button on the Status Bar.

OR

Click the View tab and the click Web Layout button, in the Views group .

Word Document Views -Outline View

This view is best utilized to move sections of your document or when working with outlines. In this view, your document is displayed as an outline and the outline tools are available.

Switch to Outline View

Click the View tab and click the Outline button, in the Views group.

Exit Outline View

Click Page Layout button on the Status Bar.

OR

Click the Outlining tab and click Close Outline View, in the Close group.

Example of Outline View

Display Style Area Pane

The display Style Area Pane shows on the left side of the document window. It lists the styles used within your document, making it easy to navigate large documents as well as move and edit styled paragraphs. The width can be expanded by placing your cursor on the right border and dragging the double-arrow to the right. Or, you can decrease the size by dragging the double-arrow cursor to the left.

Activate Display Style Area Pane

If you do not see the pane, it can be activated by following the steps below:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Options in the left column.
3. The Word Options dialog box will open. Click Advanced in the left column.
4. Navigate to the Display section.
5. Insert a measurement greater than 0″ in the Style area pane width in Draft and Outline views box.
6. Click OK to accept your change and close out of Options.

Outline View Options

1. Navigation Tools
   • (Expand) – Expand the selected item.
   • (Collapse) – Collapse the selected item.
   • Show Level – Use the Drop-down arrow to choose which levels to show in the outline.
   • Show Text Formatting – Check this option to show the outline as formatted text.
   • Show First Line Only – Check this option to show only the first line of each item.
   • Show Document – Show the embedded subdocument content and display the controls for managing the content.
   • Collapse Subdocuments – Toggle between showing the full path of the subdocument or the content.
2. Edit Tools
   • (Promote to Heading 1) – Promote selected item to the highest level of the outline.
   • (Promote) – Promote selected item to a higher level.
   • Outline Level – Use the drop-down arrow to choose the outline level for the selected item.
   • (Demote) – Demote selected item to a lower level.
   • (Demote to Body Text) – Demote selected item to the lowest level of the outline.
   • (Select Paragraph) – Select a paragraph (or click and drag to select multiple) for moving or deleting.
   • (Select Heading and its Subparagraphs) – Select a paragraph and its subparagraphs for moving or deleting.
   • (Move Up) – Move selected item up within the outline.
   • (Move Down) – Move selected item down within the outline.

Switch to Draft View

Click the View tab and click Draft, in the Views group.

Exit Outline View

Click Page Layout button on the Status Bar.

Activate Display Style Area Pane

If you do not see the pane, it can be activated by following the steps below:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Options in the left column.
3. The Word Options dialog box will open. Click Advanced in the left column.
4. Navigate to the Display section.
5. Insert a measurement greater than 0″ in the Style area pane width in Draft and Outline views box.
6. Click OK to accept your change and close out of Options.

Please check out my You Tube video – Word Document Views for a detailed walk through on utilizing the various views.

NOTE: If you are having trouble with your styles, please take a look at my Word 2016 Formatting Diagnostics article or my You Tube videos – Word 2016 Style Inspector and Word 2016 Reveal Formatting. They contain steps/tips for using Word’s Reveal Codes and Style Inspector. They also include information for utilizing the Status Bar for troubleshooting.

If you have any questions, or would like further information on Word Document Views please leave me a comment. Thank you.