The Hermit Hermit's Free Library  MS-Word

This article describes how to use text effects available in MS-Word 2007 and up in order to add more interest to titles and text in documents such as brochures and posters.

Spicing up Titles in MS-Word

A tutorial in the over-priced, over-rated Shelly/Cashman microcomputer applications textbook series instructs students to enter the title of a text in all caps, like this:

Text in All Caps

All caps was the best we could do with typewriters, but in the age of word processing all caps is outdated, unsophisticated, and unsightly. Here are some alternatives.

Small Caps

Small caps look more sophisticated than all caps, and they're easy to do. Here's how:

Start by capitalizing each word

Change to small caps

So, title case with small caps

Text in small caps

Now add italics

  1. Re-select the text
  2. Click the italics tool in the Font group (or press Ctrl-I)

Italicized title case with small caps

Text that is italicized and in small caps

One last text effect - Outline

  1. Re-select the text
  2. Open the Font dialog box (Ctrl-D)
  3. Place a check next to Outline in the Effects section
  4. Click OK

Small caps / Sans serif / Outline

Text that is small caps, sans serif, and outline effect

Small caps / Serif / Outline / Font color

Text that is small caps, sans serif, and outline effect with color

Text Effects

With the release of MS-Word 2007, Microsoft replaced the old "WordArt" feature with "Text Effects" (as opposed to just "Effects").

This update was a case of "something lost, something gained". While we can no longer rotate and warp text the way we could with WordArt, Text Effects does offer a multitude of choices and combinations of lines, borders, fills, shadows, reflections, glows, and 3-D'ness.

The method works just like applying all other effects: select the text, open the Format Text Effects dialog box, and select the effects you want.

Just be sure not to simply click on the Text Effects tool in the Font group - that only brings up a few boring pre-sets which don't even begin to tap into the many possiblities offered by Text Effects.

Instead, after selecting the text, launch the Font dialog box, and then click on the Text Effects button at the bottom of the dialog - that brings up the Format Text Effects dialog box and opens a whole new world of possibilities



Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied

Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied

Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied

Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied

Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied

Title text with an MS-Word Text Effect applied