Happy Fourth

For most people in the United States, this is a holiday weekend. Yesterday, July 4, was Independence Day, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Because the holiday was on a Friday this year, that means that the festivities will, no doubt, continue through the weekend. In our town, fireworks have been going off for a couple of nights and I expect them for a few more.

If you are celebrating this weekend, I hope you have a safe, happy time.

—Allen
     

WordTips (menu) for 5 July 2025

Text boxes
Creating Usable Figure Captions

Many people add both images and figure captions within text boxes so they can be easily positioned within a document. Doing so, however, has drawbacks as the figure captions are not as easily accessible for cross referencing or for inclusion in a Table of Figures. This tip describes how you can rectify this situation so that the captions are again usable.

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Word is a great word processor
Calculating Dates with Fields

Can you calculate dates using fields? Yes, but you probably don't want to except as a learning experience. An easier way is to do your calculations using macros instead.

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Do You Need an Index?

Word includes dozens of tools that, if used properly, can make your documents easier for readers to use. Chief among these tools are those that allow you to create indexes and special tables. Here's how you can master these tools to benefit your documents and your readers.

 
Word is a great word processor
Replacing Text in a Macro

When using a macro to process text in a document, it is not unusual to replace one portion of a text string with another piece of text. Some versions of VBA include commands to perform this task, but not all do. This tip presents a handy function you can use to make sure a replacement is done correctly.

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Mail merge
Merging with Two Data Sources

Setting up a Word mail merge to combine a data source with a merge document is easy. But what if you want to use two data sources? Well, depending on what you want to do, you may be out of luck.

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WordTips YouTube Channel

Do you like to learn visually? Make sure you check out the WordTips YouTube channel. New videos are added weekly. (I typically try to add them on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

New video: Using Overtype Mode
When you type information into a document, what you type is normally inserted just the left of the insertion point. Word includes another editing mode that replaces existing text with whatever you type. This Quick Tip describes what overtype mode is and how it works.

 

New video: Creating Accessible Documents
Did you know that millions of people with disabilities rely on assistive technologies to read and interact with digital documents? Creating accessible Word documents isn't just a nice-to-have, it's essential for ensuring everyone can access your content, and in many organizations, it's becoming a legal requirement.

 
     

Special Note!

I've been publishing WordTips for years. Decades, actually. The newsletter you are reading right now is for very old versions of Word. I still publish it because I know that some people are still using very old versions of Word. Most people, however, are using newer versions of the program. If you are are using a newer version of Word (2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, or the version in Microsoft 365), then you should seriously consider changing to the version of the newsletter designed for you. You can do so by clicking this link.

Thanks for your support of WordTips, and I hope you enjoy whichever version of the newsletter you receive. If you have any questions, just let me know.

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