New Features in Microsoft Word 2010

Microsoft is set to launch Word 2010 this year and with this new version comes some much needed updates. Microsoft added a lot in this version to streamline your process allowing you to use Word for all aspects of your document from graphics, to image editing, and of course, words. The walkthrough above gives you a taste of what to expect in Word 2010 but let’s go over the improvements.

• Screenshots:

Word 2010 now allows you to take full application screenshots and gives you the ability to select just the parts of the screen you want. You no longer have to mess with print-screen and paint to add the perfect screenshot to your document.

• Improved Charts and Diagrams:

Microsoft has made huge strides in an attempt to streamline using images in word. By using SmartArt graphics it’s dead simple to create beautiful and informational diagrams to add power to the content of your document. Microsoft also advertises the ability to change bullets to visuals making it even easier to transform a standard document into a well-rounded piece.

• Artistic Effects:

Word 2010 continues with images in mind allowing you to quickly adjust your graphics by adding effects such a photocopy, chalk sketch, blur, paint strokes, and many more. Microsoft has also expanded word art giving you many more options including reflections and glow effects.

• Remove Background of Images:

Have you ever download an image that would be perfect for your document minus the background? Well, with word 2010 its dead simple to remove those pesky defects. All you have to do is select your image, click format, and select ‘background removal’. From there, you can allow word to automatically remove the background but for complex images you will need to use the mark to include/remove buttons to specify what you want to keep.

• Improved Search:

Word 2010 now searches through graphics, footnotes, tables, and comments to find the information you are really looking for.

• Improved Spell Checker:

Sometimes you spell a word correctly but accidentally type the wrong word. (For instance, two, to, too or there, their, they’re.) Now, those mistakes will be corrected by Word’s new context sensitive spell checker. If one was to type ‘Who owns the toy other their.’ Word would detect the mistake and suggest changing the sentence to ‘Who owns the toy over there?’. Pretty useful for all users.

• Language Translations:

¿Hablas español? If so, Word’s new translation features are for you. Including many languages from Spanish to German and English translating text is easier than ever. With language courses becoming more and more popular, and required, being able to translate from your current language to the one you are learning, all from your word processing application, is a nice touch.

• Mobile Document Support:

Being able to collaborate on your document is a growing advantage. Word 2010 now allows multiple users to work together on a document and also includes a word web application. Similar to google docs, this web application allows users to create, edit, and view documents right from the browser. Even if you don’t have a browser available, Word Mobile 2010, for Windows Mobile smartphones, allows you to do the same activates right from your phone.

• Ligatures:


Above are some common ligatures. This effect makes you font look fancy but also keeps the letters separate allowing you to search the text as if the font were regular. Of course, not all fonts support ligatures, but you can enable them in supported fonts by going to font preferences, selecting advanced, and selecting ‘standard only’ in the ligatures box.