Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 8, 2017)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you have ever tried to explain computer configuration or processes to someone over the phone, you know the process can be quite frustrating. You are never quite sure if the person on the other end is looking at the same thing on their screen that you are.

A quick way to ease this predicament is to write up your instructions and include pictures. Word, in conjunction with Windows, makes this quite easy. Try this the next time you are faced with this task:

On your computer, walk through the steps you want to explain.
At appropriate times, capture the entire screen or a single dialog box to the Clipboard. You do this by pressing the Print Screen key to capture the entire screen, or Alt+Print Screen to capture the active window or dialog box.
Paste the captured screen information into Word by pressing Ctrl+V.
Add any explanatory text necessary.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 until you are finished.
Save your document.

At this point you can e-mail the document to the remote site, or you can transmit it in some other way, such as printing or by disk.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1272) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Formatting a Table Using a Macro

Tables are a great way to present information in an easy-to-understand manner. If you want to do some specialized ...

Discover More

Using Older Spelling and Grammar Checking

If you prefer the older spelling and grammar checking process used in Word, then you will find this tip helpful. It only ...

Discover More

Running Macros Based on Keywords

Wouldn't it be great if Word could execute a macro every time someone typed in a particular keyword or phrase? Word may ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Clip Art Sizing Difficulties

A discussion of problems a reader was having resizing clip art in Word.

Discover More

Cropping Graphics

Need your hide some of the outside edges of a graphic? You can instruct Word to crop (or hide) those outside edges by ...

Discover More

Using MPF Graphic Files

There are all sorts of file formats used to store graphics. You might think that one of those formats is the MPF format, ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is three less than 5?

2017-04-09 12:47:15

Craig

I agree with the comment below from Allen. The Windows Snipping Tool works well at capturing an image, whole or partial. In addition, the Print Screen buttons on the keyboard never functioned or did what they where supposed to.

2017-04-08 16:23:23

Allan

While this is a convenient way, I think another way offers a better advantage.
Use the Snipping Tool to access ONLY what you want and then place it in the document.
I do this all of the time.
I got a kick out of your I'm not a robot question--What is two less than 7?

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.