The following is a list of articles at the Word MVPs' FAQ site that I wrote or contributed to:

Most Frequently Asked

Why is my “Blank Document” not blank? Perhaps the number 1 question right now. Many add-ins (especially the Norton Office Plug-in and the Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for Word) not only cause Word to prompt you to save the Normal template every time you quit Word but also seem to result in saving a document as or in Normal.dot.

“Page X of Y” displays or prints as “Page 1 of 1,” “Page 2 of 2” (or “Page 2 of 1”) and so on A "golden oldie": this problem was "fixed" by Word 2000 SR-1 but has now been reinstated by a recent Office XP service pack.

Formatting applied to one paragraph affects the entire document Another very popular FAQ, addressing a problem evidently caused by add-ins.

Other Application Errors

I selected a block of text and pressed Delete (or Backspace) and nothing happened! Although the article doesn't say so, this also explains why certain keyboard shortcuts don't behave as expected (you get the Find dialog when you expect to go to the top of the document, for example, or you press Enter and lose your paragraph indent).

There is a line in my document that I can’t delete because I can’t select it. How did it get there, and what can I do about it? (It's a border!)

Whenever I open a document using File Open all my formatting is gone, and there is garbage at the end
But the document looks fine if I open it from the list at the bottom of the File menu or double-click on it in Windows Explorer

Text at the top of the page is unaccountably indented (explains how an orphaned page number frame can cause problems)

Whenever I try to use Equation Editor I get an error message and the program shuts down (again, mostly Word 97, fixed by a Service Release)

Some of the tabs in Tools | Options look wonky. They’re either blank or the text is shifted down and to the right

Basics

What do all those funny marks, like the dots between the words in my document, and the square bullets in the left margin, mean? Read this article! Not only does it explain what the "funny marks" are, it explains why you might sometimes want to be able to see them.

Ruler of all you survey: How to make the best use of Word’s rulers If you don't have Word's rulers displayed, you're missing out on a lot of convenience.

Setting tabs
Or how to prevent tabbed paragraphs from going all over the place when pasted between documents Explains not only how but also when to use tabs (and when a table is a better choice).

The strait and narrow: using columns How and when to use columns

What is the Default Paragraph Font?

Page Layout

Creating a Template - The Basics (Part I)

What is the difference between the Normal and Body Text styles? And why you should avoid using/customizing Normal.

Typographical Tips from Microsoft Publisher

Tips and tricks for copy fitting

Booklet printing: Or how to print a folded booklet with numbered pages half the size of your paper This is one of my most popular articles. Although Word 2002 and 2003 have a built-in booklet feature, it's just flaky enough to make a lot of users happy to use this more manual method instead.

I want the headings in my multi-column document to span the columns. How can I achieve this?

The rand “virus” (or how to insert dummy text into a document) When you're setting up a document template, you may want to get an idea of how a real document will look. There are several quick ways of inserting a block of dummy text for this purpose.

Why does the appearance (or layout) of my document change when I open it on a different machine?
I created a document on my home computer and formatted it just the way I wanted it. When I took it to work and opened it there, it had completely changed. All the page breaks were in different places and my graphics were out of place. How can I make my document stay the way I want it? This is technically a "printing" problem, which is why it's also listed below under "Printing and Fonts."

Long Documents

How can I create a landscape section and still have a portrait page number? A very common problem; this article gives step-by-step instructions for all versions of Word, beginning with explanation of how to create a landscape section.

How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately Instructions for setting up a standard "long document" with front matter and chapters.

Customizing your table of contents with switches This article takes you beyond what you can accomplish through the Table of Contents dialog alone.

Why do my footnotes sometimes end up on a different page from their references in the text?
Or, I don’t want my footnotes broken and continued on the next page; I want the whole footnote on the same page. How do I do that?

I have a footnote reference in a column, and I want the footnote to span both columns. Is this possible?

Tables, Borders, and Forms

Table basics This article actually goes somewhat beyond the "basics" thanks to the brilliant technical editing and additional content supplied by fellow Word MVP Dave Rado.

Keeping a table together on one page This article and the next one address users' common concerns about table placement.

How do I control where the page breaks will fall in a table which extends over several pages?
Or: If I insert a manual page break, then my table heading is not repeated on the next page
Or: I added an extra row to my table, and suddenly, all but the first row jumped to the next page

I tried to use the { =SUM(ABOVE) } formula in a table but the answer was obviously incorrect (this article includes a link to the TableCellHelper macro, which provides the current cell address, along with the total number of rows and columns in the table)

Run for the border: using borders in Word

Why don’t my table borders print? The difference between borders and gridlines (see also [my hide gridline article])

There is a line in my document that I can’t delete because I can’t select it. How did it get there, and what can I do about it? It's a border!

I'm designing a form that needs to have "fill-in-the-blanks" lines. What is the best way to create them? This article includes links to a series of forms tutorials by Dian Chapman.

Printing and Fonts

The bottoms of my pages don’t print
The page number, footer, or page border doesn't print or prints only partially (or: one side of my landscape pages won't print) Possibly one of the most frequently asked questions in the Word newsgroups

Word shows only one or two fonts in its Font list
I have a lot of fonts installed. I can see them in the Windows Font folder, and I can use them in other programs, including other Office applications, but they are not displayed in Word’s font list Probably the most frequently asked question about fonts

How can I insert special characters, such as dingbats and accented letters, in my document?

How to create fractions in Word

I’d like to delete some fonts, but I’m afraid I’ll remove some that Word needs. What fonts do I have to keep?

Why does the appearance (or layout) of my document change when I open it on a different machine?
I created a document on my home computer and formatted it just the way I wanted it. When I took it to work and opened it there, it had completely changed. All the page breaks were in different places and my graphics were out of place. How can I make my document stay the way I want it?

Customization and Backup

How to change the default settings for Word documents How to change the default font, page setup, line spacing, etc.

How can I make Word open new documents in a certain view (Normal or Page Layout) or at a specified zoom ratio? Mostly for Word 97 and earlier; the Single Document Interface in Word 2000 and above makes this iffy at best.

Word is always making changes I don’t expect. How can I get more control over my formatting? AutoFormat As You Type can be tremendously helpful. It can also be extremely frustrating. You have to show it who's boss.

How can I make Word save or back up my document automatically?

Numbering and Dates

How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately

How to print two pages on one sheet of paper, with page numbering Not a substitute for booklet printing, but users do sometimes want to do this. Word 2000 and above allow you to do this through the Print or Page Setup dialog ("2 pages per sheet"); this article is aimed at earlier versions.

Making a date
Or: I put the date at the top of my letter using Insert Date. Why doesn’t the date update to the current date when I later print the letter?
Or: I don’t want the date on my letter to change every time I print a copy. How can I make it stay the same?

Graphics

I inserted some graphics in a document, but now I can’t see them; or there is just an empty box where one should be; or my graphics won’t print

The graphics in my document have turned into red X’s

The graphics in my document keep reverting to their original size after I’ve resized them (mostly a Word 97 problem)

Creating upside down or rotated text in Word

Spelling and Correction

How to edit your Custom Spelling Dictionary
Or how to remove or amend a misspelled word from your custom dictionary after inadvertently pressing the "Add" button while running the spell checker

How to “remove” a word from Word’s main Spelling Dictionary
Or how to get a word that Word thinks is correctly spelt to show up as a spelling error

Exploiting AutoCorrect How to use this Word feature to save many keystrokes in retyping frequently used terms.

Useful Stuff

Is There Life After “Reveal Codes”? For users migrating from WordPerfect, this article describes how to get information on formatting and structure using a variety of Word tools and features.

Cleaning up text pasted from the Web

Better than an Easter egg: Using ToolsCalculate