Computersight -

Microsoft keeps pushing its Office 2007 Home and Student editions as one of the best gifts for the holiday season, but at over $300, it’s quite pricey. Nevertheless, if you’ve got a copy, one of the first things you’ve probably noticed in the new Microsoft Word version is the program layout, which has changed significantly over the 2003 version. The new tabs at the top of the screen are much better than the old drop-down menus, but that’s not the only improvement to the program.

There are so many features in Microsoft Word 2007 that it would take forever to list them all, but I’ll go through 10 of them that you probably didn’t know about.

Cover Page Feature

Submitting a school project or assignment, but realize that you forgot to include a cover page? No problem! On the Insert tab, click “Cover Page” to insert a fully-formatted cover page with a title, author, date and other information.

Bookmark Feature

If you have a 10+ page document and don’t want your readers using CTRL+F to try and find what they’re looking for, bookmarks are the way to go. On the Insert tab, click on “Bookmark.” You can then assign a name to a specific part of your document. After that, create a Hyperlink to jump directly to a bookmarked location.

Hyperlink Feature

Speaking of Hyperlinks, Microsoft Word automatically parses most URLs, but for those it doesn’t, you can do so by clicking the Insert tab and selecting the “Hyperlink” button. This lets you create a link to a Web page, a picture, an email address, or another program.

SmartArt Feature

Need a Flow Chart? No problem! On the Insert tab, click on the “SmartArt” button. SmartArt graphics allow you to visually communicate information. They range from graphical lists and process diagrams to more complicated things such as Venn diagrams and organizational charts.

ClipArt Feature

Once again on the Insert tab, the “ClipArt” button lets you insert drawings, movies, sounds or even stock photography into your document to illustrate a specific concept.

Balloons Feature

When reviewing a document for spelling and grammatical errors, the Balloons feature comes in handy. On the Review tab, click “Balloons” to activate the feature. When you make a revision to the document, it will show as a balloon, either in the margins of the document or within the document itself.

DropCap Feature

Ever wonder how they make it in books and novels so that the first letter of the paragraph is larger than the rest of the letters?  Well, the DropCap feature makes this a breeze to do. Sure, you can simply enlarge the font size of the first letter in your paragraph, but this way it’s much more fun. Just go to the Insert tab and click on the “Drop Cap” button.

WordArt Feature

With this nifty feature, you can insert decorative text into your document. Just click on the “WordArt” button in the Insert tab.

Header and Footer Feature

Also located on the Insert tab are the “Header” and “Footer” buttons. With these, you can force specific text to appear on the top and bottom of your pages when you print them out. This is really useful for titles and page numbers.

Watermark Feature

And we’ve saved the best feature for last! Placing a water mark on your page ensures that someone else cannot just steal your work, photocopy it, and claim it as their own. For instance, you can place your name as your Watermark, and it will be displayed in lighter font behind the text in your document. You can also select a picture to use as a Watermark. On the Page Layout tab, click “Watermark” and then click “Custom Watermark.”