Creating Thank You note in MS-Word
Creating a Thank You card in MS-Word
A hand written note can say a lot to the recipient about how much you care.
So, this productivity blog (and video) is about using MS-Word to make a Thank You note.
With MS-Word open at a blank document, the first thing to do is make the page an A5 size and change the margins:
1. Selecting [Page Layout] > [Size] > [A5]
2. Still working in the [Page Layout] tab, select [Margins] > [Narrow]
To assist in placing items (such as titles etc) on the card, I’m going to turn on the Gridline:
1. Selecting [View] > Gridlines
Now to place the tile of our card (“Thank you”) on the page, I’m going to use a Text Box and locate this towards the bottom of the page so when I print the page I can folder the page in half and write on the inside.
To insert a text box and position it:
1. Selecting [Insert] > [Text Box] > select an image to work with
2. Now drag the image (keep your cursor on the board of the image) to the bottom of the page
3. You might like to resize the image to take up the width of the page (work with your cursor on the edge of the image to re-size it)
Now to put the text in the box,
1. Click inside the box and type
2. You might like to adjust the text font and size you use. I often use Brush Script MT with 48 points.
When ready to print, I suggest folding an A4 page in half and cutting it into two A5 pieces of paper and place one piece in the printer then
1. Select [File] > [Print]
Now simply folder your card in half and write on the inside.
Word Formatting shortcut keys
Short cut keys can sometimes save you a second (or two) when you are navigating around MS‑Word. Here are five of my favourite short cut keys for formatting a document.
- Trying to make some text stand out? After selecting your text, try pressing [Ctrl + Shift + K] to give you small caps text. [Ctrl + Z] will undo this if you don’t like it).
- [Shift + Enter] will create a soft return. Great for when you need an extra blank line between bullets points or numbered lists.
- Need to centre your text? Try pressing [Ctrl + E]. Note: [Ctrl + L] will left align, and [Ctrl + R] will right align your text.
- Need to have a date in a document that changes to the current date when you re-open the document? Try [Shift + Alt + D]. This will insert the current date and you can update it by clicking on the update tag that is displayed when you next open the document.
- A quick way to indent a paragraph is to press [Ctrl + M]. You can do this multiple times to increase the indent, and when you want to cancel the indent press [Shift + Ctrl + M].
When I use the + symbol between keys, this means to hold down the first (and sometimes second) key before pressing the last key.
All of these short cuts work in Word 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016. If you are using a Mac, replace the Ctrl key with the Command key.
Watch our video on how to use these short cut keys.