# Word Documents

> Word Documents & Formatting

- Skill: `comeonoliver/word-documents` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add comeonoliver/word-documents`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/comeonoliver/word-documents/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Docs & Writing
- Author: ComeOnOliver (https://skillmd.com/u/comeonoliver)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/comeonoliver/word-documents

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# Word Documents & Formatting

Help users create professional, well-formatted Word documents.

## When to Use
- Formatting business documents, reports, proposals
- Setting up styles, headers/footers, page numbers
- Creating table of contents
- Mail merge for personalized letters/emails
- Track changes and document review
- Creating reusable templates

## When NOT to Use
- Spreadsheet work (use excel-formulas)
- Slide presentations (use powerpoint-presentations)
- Web content or markdown (use appropriate tools)

## Step-by-Step Instructions

### 1. Set Up the Document

**Page Setup:**
- Margins: Normal (1 inch) for most documents; Narrow (0.5 inch) for dense reports
- Orientation: Portrait for text-heavy; Landscape for wide tables
- Paper size: Letter (US) or A4 (international)

**Use Styles (Critical!):**
- Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 for document structure
- Normal for body text
- Quote for block quotes
- List Paragraph for bullet/numbered lists
- This enables: automatic TOC, navigation pane, consistent formatting

### 2. Document Structure Templates

**Business Report:**
1. Cover page (Insert → Cover Page)
2. Table of Contents (References → Table of Contents)
3. Executive Summary
4. Introduction / Background
5. Findings / Analysis (with subheadings)
6. Recommendations
7. Appendices

**Proposal:**
1. Cover page
2. Executive Summary
3. Problem Statement
4. Proposed Solution
5. Scope of Work
6. Timeline
7. Budget
8. Team Qualifications
9. Terms & Conditions
10. Appendices

### 3. Formatting Best Practices

**Fonts:**
- Professional: Calibri, Garamond, Georgia, Arial
- Headings: 14-16pt bold
- Body: 11-12pt
- Use ONE font family throughout (or two max: one for headings, one for body)

**Spacing:**
- Line spacing: 1.15 or 1.5 for readability
- Space after paragraphs: 6-12pt (instead of double-entering)
- Don't use manual spacing (Enter key) — use paragraph spacing settings

**Headers & Footers:**
- Insert → Header/Footer
- Include: document title, page numbers, date, company logo
- Different first page: check "Different First Page" in Header & Footer Tools

### 4. Table of Contents
1. Apply Heading styles to all section titles
2. Place cursor where TOC should appear
3. References → Table of Contents → choose style
4. Right-click TOC → Update Field → Update Entire Table (when content changes)

### 5. Track Changes & Review
- Review → Track Changes (toggle on)
- Accept/Reject individual changes or all at once
- Add comments: highlight text → Review → New Comment
- Compare documents: Review → Compare → select original and revised

### 6. Mail Merge
1. Mailings → Start Mail Merge → choose type (Letters, Envelopes, Labels, Email)
2. Select Recipients → Use Existing List (Excel file works well)
3. Insert Merge Fields: «FirstName», «Address», etc.
4. Preview Results → check formatting
5. Finish & Merge → Print or create individual documents

### 7. Templates
- Save as .dotx (Word Template) for reuse
- Include: styles, headers/footers, placeholder text, formatting
- Store in: File → Options → Save → Default personal templates location

## Common Formatting Fixes

### Fix Inconsistent Formatting
1. Select all text (Ctrl+A)
2. Clear formatting (Ctrl+Space for font, Ctrl+Q for paragraph)
3. Re-apply styles from the Styles pane

### Remove Extra Blank Lines
- Find & Replace (Ctrl+H)
- Find: ^p^p (two paragraph marks)
- Replace: ^p (one paragraph mark)
- Click Replace All (may need to run multiple times)

### Fix Numbered Lists
- If numbering restarts unexpectedly: right-click → Continue Numbering
- If numbering won't restart: right-click → Restart at 1

## Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using spaces/tabs for alignment (use tab stops or tables instead)
- Manual page breaks everywhere (use "Page break before" in paragraph settings)
- Not using styles (makes TOC and formatting changes impossible)
- Embedding huge images at full resolution (compress: Format → Compress Pictures)
- Not using section breaks for different headers/footers or page orientations