Another Long Week

Another week in our new abode, a week marked by weaving our way around boxes and general disarray. Things are getting put where they belong, but the process is long and, at times, tedious. Every day, though, it feels a bit more like home.

I hope that things are going well in your corner of the world. I hope that you enjoy the tips in this week's newsletter.

—Allen

WordTips (ribbon) for 27 June 2026

Including a Date-Based Special Notice in a Letter

Do you want a document to include a special notice if the current date is in the last week of the month? This can be elegantly accomplished by using a combination of a macro, a field, and a Building Block, as demonstrated in this tip.

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Changing Measurement Units

When working in Word's dialog boxes, most people understand that you should enter measurements using inches. If you don't like inches, you can change the default unit of measurement to something more to your liking.

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Journal Your Life

Journals go by many names--diaries, sketchbooks, or simply blank books. Regardless of the name, though, journals provide a way for you to record, track, create, dream, and illustrate your life. Journals make it not only possible, but easy. Check out our complete line of high-quality, convenient journals today!

Making Bottoms of Pages Line Up

Want to make your text look good on the finished page? This tip discusses a common speed bump in this quest--making the bottom of each page line up.

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Updating a Field in a Text Box

If you put a field into a text box, you might be surprised to find that it doesn't update when you try to update all your fields. That is because Word doesn't really update "all" fields when you update. This tip presents several techniques you can use to achieve the updating you desire.

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WordTips YouTube Channel

Do you like to learn visually? Make sure you check out the WordTips YouTube channel. New videos are added weekly. (I typically try to add them on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

New video: Locking Track Changes On
Track Changes is a powerful tool to help you know what has been changed in a document. You may want to make sure that others don't turn off Track Changes in a document you are working with. This Quick Tip shows how you can lock Track Changes so that only you can turn it off.

New video: Getting Rid of Markup
Word includes editing tools that allow you to track what changes you've made in a document. Making the tracked changes go away can be a bit confusing unless you know how Word deals with those changes.

Help Wanted

This section is for those having problems making Word behave. If Word is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

Finding Contractions

Our house style guide mandates that contractions be avoided within prose. Is there a setting within Word or some way that I can easily find contractions? I can't just search for apostrophes, as they could be used in possessives.
—Beth Nolan (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)

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