Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word or Word is a powerful word processor that is part of the Microsoft Office Suite developed by Microsoft. Microsoft Word is available for Windows and Macintosh platforms.


Microsoft Word 2016

Microsoft Word 2016 is the current version of Microsoft Word for Windows and Macintosh. It is the standard version of Word found on lab, faculty, and multimedia classroom computers.

Students can download the full Microsoft Office Suite for free. For instructions on how to do so, click here.


FAQs

What is the current version of Microsoft Word on most faculty and lab computers at Gustavus?

  • Microsoft Word 2016 is the most current version on both Windows and Macintosh computers.

Note: For Office 2007 or later, the default file format is .docx. This means that any computers running Office 2007 or later will be able to access such files, but if someone tries to access such a file from Office 2003 or 2004, it will not work. To ensure backwards compatibility, simply select the .doc format when saving the document if you wish to make it compatible with Office 2003 or 2004.

How do I change the default line spacing back to single like in previous Word versions?

Microsoft Word 2008 has a line spacing default set at 1.5 instead of 1 like the previous versions of Word. Microsoft's reasoning for this is to enhance readability. Despite this, 1.5 size line spacing isn't always appropriate for many documents at the workplace.

To change the default from 1.5 size line spacing to 1 start at the Home tab on the ribbon. Next click the Change Styles drop-down menu on the right hand side on the ribbon, then go to Style Set and click Word 2003. Next, click Change Styles again and finally click Set as Default. This causes Word 2007 to follow the style set of Word 2003, which uses single line spacing as default, amongst other changes.

How do I turn on Foreign Language spell-check in Word?

Go to the Tools menu from the top menu bar and select Language, a box will open up that will give you a list of languages from which you can choose the language you wish to spell-check in. Note, if you wish to spell-check some text that existed before you changed the language, you will need to highlight the text before turning switching languages.

Microsoft Help Pages