2. Create and manage files

In this chapter

Create files

Open and move around in files

Display different views of files

Display and edit file properties

Save and close files

Practice files

For this chapter, use the practice files from the Office2016SBSCh02 folder. For practice file download instructions, see the introduction.

When working in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you save content in individual files. In each app, you can save files as different types depending on each file’s purpose. The standard files are Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations. Regardless of the app or file type, you use similar techniques for creating and working in files, for changing the display of content, and for displaying and modifying the information that is stored with each file (its properties).

You don’t often create files when working with Outlook items (although you can create template files and save items as files). The component of this chapter that relates to Outlook is the discussion of views. In Outlook, you choose views not of a file but of an entire module—such as the Calendar module. Displaying different views of modules can help you to locate specific items or information more easily. Similarly, displaying different views of files or different file elements can make it easier to work in a document, on a worksheet, or on a slide. Each app offers a variety of content views.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to creating files, opening and moving around in files, displaying different views of files, displaying file properties, and saving and closing files, using techniques that are common to working in files created in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

Word and Excel offer content templates that provide purpose-specific placeholder content for documents or workbooks.

PowerPoint has some content templates, but most are design templates that control thematic elements (colors, fonts, and graphic effects) and slide layouts. Each template has a corresponding theme, so you can create a presentation based on one template, but then entirely change its appearance by applying a different theme.

When you start Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, the app displays a Start screen that gives you options for opening an existing file or creating a new one.

There are different ways to start new files:

You can start from a blank document, workbook, or presentation that contains one page, worksheet, or slide. You can then add content, apply structure and design elements, and make any necessary configuration changes.

You can save time by basing your file on one of the many content and design templates that come with the Office apps. You can also preview and download many prepopulated templates from the Office website. These templates provide not only the design elements but also suggestions for content that is appropriate for different types of presentations, such as reports or product launches. After you download a template, you simply customize the content provided in the template to meet your needs.

To create a new blank document, workbook, or presentation

1. Start the app.

2. When the Start screen appears, press the Esc key.

Or

1. If the app is already running, click the File tab to display the Backstage view.

2. In the left pane of the Backstage view, click New to display the New page.

3. On the New page of the Backstage view, click the Blank file thumbnail.

To preview design templates

1. Display the New page of the Backstage view.

2. On the New page, scroll the pane to view the design templates that were installed with the app.

3. Click any thumbnail to open a preview window that displays a sample document page, worksheet, or title slide.

4. Do any of the following:

• Click the Create button to create a document, workbook, or presentation based on the template that is active in the preview window.

• Click the arrow to the right of the preview window to view the next template, or the arrow to the left to view the previous template.

• In the upper-right corner of the preview window, click the Close button to close the preview window without creating a document, workbook, or presentation.

To create a document, workbook, or presentation based on an installed template

1. Display the New page of the Backstage view.

2. Scroll the pane to locate the design you want to use.

3. Double-click the thumbnail to create the file.

To create a document, workbook, or presentation based on an online template

1. Display the New page of the Backstage view.

2. In the search box at the top of the page, enter a term related to the template content or design you’re looking for, and then click the Search button.

Or

Below the search box, click one of the suggested searches.

3. In the Category list, click any category or categories to further filter the templates.

4. Scroll the pane to locate a design that fits your needs.

5. Double-click any thumbnail to create a file based on the template.

If you open a document that is too long to fit entirely on the screen, you can bring off-screen content into view without changing the location of the cursor by using the vertical scroll bar in the following ways:

Click the scroll arrows to move up or down by one line.

Click above or below the scroll box to move up or down by the height of one screen.

Drag the scroll box on the scroll bar to display the part of the document corresponding to the location of the scroll box. For example, dragging the scroll box to the middle of the scroll bar displays the middle of the document.

If the document is too wide to fit on the screen, Word displays a horizontal scroll bar that you can use in similar ways to move from side to side.

You can also move around in a document by moving the cursor. To place the cursor in a specific location, you simply click there. You can also press a keyboard key to move the cursor. For example, pressing the Home key moves the cursor to the left end of a line.

The following table lists ways to use your keyboard to move the cursor.

In a long document, you might want to move quickly among elements of a certain type; for example, from heading to heading, from page to page, or from graphic to graphic. You can do this from the Navigation pane.

To open a recent document, workbook, or presentation

1. Start Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

2. On the Start screen, in the Recent list, click the file name of the file you want to open.

Or

1. With the app running, click the File tab to display the Backstage view.

2. In the left pane of the Backstage view, click Open to display the Open page.

3. In the right pane of the Open page, scroll the file list if necessary to locate the file you want to open, and then click the file name to open it.

To open any existing document, workbook, or presentation

1. Start Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

2. On the Start screen, at the bottom of the left pane, click Open Other Files to display the Open page of the Backstage view.

Or

With the app running, display the Backstage view, and then click Open to display the Open page.

3. In the Places list, click the local or network storage location where the file is stored.

4. Navigate to the file storage folder by using one of the following methods:

• In the right pane, click a recent folder. Then click any subfolders until you reach the folder you want.

• In the left pane, click Browse to open the Open dialog box. Then click folders in the Navigation pane, double-click folders in the file pane, or enter the folder location in the Address bar.

5. Double-click the file you want to open.

To open the Navigation pane in a document

1. On the View tab, in the Show group, select the Navigation Pane check box.

To browse by object in a document

1. Open the Navigation pane, and then do any of the following:

• At the top of the Navigation pane, click Headings. Then click any heading to move directly to that location in the document.

• At the top of the Navigation pane, click Pages. Then click any thumbnail to move directly to that page of the document.

• At the right end of the search box, click the arrow. In the Find list, click the type of object you want to browse by. Then click the Next and Previous arrows to move among those objects.

Word 2016 includes the following views:

Print Layout view This view displays a document on the screen the way it will look when printed. You can review elements such as margins, page breaks, headers and footers, and watermarks.

Read Mode view This view displays as much document content as will fit on the screen at a size that is comfortable for reading. In this view, the ribbon is replaced by one toolbar at the top of the screen with buttons for searching and navigating in the document. You can view comments, but you can’t edit the document in this view.

Web Layout view This view displays the document the way it will look when viewed in a web browser. You can see backgrounds and other effects. You can also review how text wraps to fit the window and how graphics are positioned.

Outline view This view displays the structure of a document as nested levels of headings and body text, and provides tools for viewing and changing the hierarchy.

Draft view This view displays the content of a document with a simplified layout so that you can quickly enter and edit text. You cannot view layout elements such as headers and footers.

Excel 2016 includes the following views:

Normal view This view displays the worksheet with column and row headers.

Page Layout view This view displays the worksheet on the screen the way it will look when printed, including page layout elements.

Page Break Preview view This view displays only the portion of the worksheet that contains content, and any page breaks. You can drag page breaks in this view to move them.

PowerPoint 2016 includes the following views:

Normal view This view includes the Thumbnails pane on the left side of the app window, the Slide pane on the right side of the window, and an optional Notes pane at the bottom of the window. You insert, cut, copy, paste, duplicate, and delete slides in the Thumbnails pane, create slide content in the Slide pane, and record speaker notes in the Notes pane.

Notes Page view This is the only view in which you can create speaker notes that contain elements other than text. Although you can add speaker notes in the Notes pane in Normal view, you must be in Notes Page view to add graphics, tables, diagrams, or charts to your notes.

Outline view This view displays a text outline of the presentation in the Outline pane and the active slide in the Slide pane. You can enter text either directly on the slide or in the outline.

Reading view In this view, which is ideal for previewing the presentation, each slide fills the screen. You can click buttons on the navigation bar to move through or jump to specific slides.

Slide Show view This view displays the presentation as a full-screen slide show, beginning with the current slide. It displays only the slides and not the presenter tools.

Slide Sorter view This view displays thumbnails of all the slides in the presentation. In this view, you manage the slides, rather than the slide content. You can easily reorganize the slides, group them into sections, and apply transitions to one or multiple slides. You can also apply transitions from one slide to another, and specify how long each slide should remain on the screen.

View options are available from the View Shortcuts toolbar near the right end of the status bar and from the View tab of the ribbon.

When you want to focus on the layout of a document, worksheet, or slide, you can display rulers and gridlines to help you position and align elements. You can also adjust the magnification of the content area by using the tools available in the Zoom group on the View tab, or the Zoom button or Zoom slider at the right end of the status bar.

If you want to work with different parts of a document or workbook, you can open the file in a second window and display both, or you can split a window into two panes and scroll through each pane independently. You’re not limited to working with one file at a time. You can easily switch between open files, and you can display more than one app window simultaneously.

Not represented on the View tab is a feature that can be invaluable when you are fine-tuning the layout of a document in Word. Nonprinting characters, such as tabs and paragraph marks, control the layout of your document, and hidden characters provide the structure for behind-the-scenes processes, such as indexing. You can control the display of these characters for each window.

To switch among views of a file

1. Do either of the following:

• On the View Shortcuts toolbar, click the view button you want.

• On the View tab, in the File Views group, click the view you want.

To change the magnification of content in the app window

1. On the View tab, in the Zoom group, click the Zoom button to open the Zoom dialog box.

2. In the Zoom dialog box, select a Zoom to option or enter a specific percentage in the Percent box, and then click OK.

Or

1. In the zoom controls at the right end of the status bar, do any of the following:

• At the left end of the slider, click the Zoom Out button to decrease the zoom percentage.

• At the right end of the slider, click the Zoom In button to increase the zoom percentage.

• In PowerPoint, at the right end of the status bar, click the Fit slide to current window button.

To display or hide rulers, gridlines, and guides in a document or presentation

1. On the View tab, in the Show group do any of the following:

• Select or clear the Ruler check box.

• Select or clear the Gridlines check box.

• In PowerPoint, select or clear the Guides check box.

To display nonprinting characters and formatting marks in a document

1. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Show/Hide ¶ button.

To split a window into two panes

1. On the View tab, in the Window group, click the Split button.

To display a different open document, workbook, or presentation

1. Do either of the following:

• On the View tab, in the Window group, click the Switch Windows button, and then click the file you want to view.

• Point to the app button on the Windows taskbar, and then click the thumbnail of the presentation you want to display.

To display multiple open files of one type at the same time

1. On the View tab, in the Window group, click the Arrange All button.

You can examine the properties that are attached to a file from the Info page of the Backstage view.

You can change or remove basic properties in the default Properties pane or expand the Properties pane to make more available, or display the Properties dialog box to access even more properties.

To display file properties

1. Display the Info page of the Backstage view. The standard properties associated with the file are displayed in the Properties area of the right pane.

2. At the bottom of the Properties pane, click Show All Properties to expand the pane.

3. At the top of the Properties pane, click Properties and then click Advanced Properties to display the Properties dialog box.

To edit file properties

1. In the Properties pane, click the value for the property you want to edit to activate the content box.

2. Enter or replace the property value, and then press Enter.

Or

1. In the Properties dialog box, do either of the following:

• On the Summary page, click the box to the right of the property you want to modify, and then enter or replace the property value.

• On the Custom page, select the property you want to modify in the Name list, and then enter or replace the property value in the Value box.

You can save the file in a folder on your computer or, if you have an Internet connection, in a folder on your Microsoft OneDrive. If your company is running Microsoft SharePoint, you can add a SharePoint site so that it is available from the Places pane of the Save As page, just like any other folder.

Clicking Browse at the bottom of the left pane displays the Save As dialog box, in which you assign a name to the file.

After you save a file for the first time, you can save changes simply by clicking the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar. The new version of the file then overwrites the previous version.

Every time you open a document, workbook, or presentation, a new instance of the app starts. You can close the file and exit that instance of the app. If you have only one document, workbook, or presentation open, you can close the file and exit the app or you can close the file but leave the app running.

To save a document, workbook, or presentation for the first time

1. Click the File tab to display the Backstage view.

2. In the left pane of the Backstage view, click Save As.

3. On the Save As page of the Backstage view, click a storage location, and then click a recently accessed folder in the right pane, or click Browse.

4. In the Save As dialog box, browse to the folder you want to save the file in.

5. In the File name box, enter a name for the file.

6. If you want to save a file in a format other than the one shown in the Save As Type box, click the Save as type arrow and then, in the Save as type list, click the file format you want.

7. In the Save As dialog box, click Save.

To add a cloud storage location

1. On the Save As page of the Backstage view, click Add a Place.

2. In the Add a Place list, click Office 365 SharePoint or OneDrive.

3. In the Add a service window, enter the email address you use to sign in to the cloud storage service, and then click Next.

4. In the Sign in window, enter the password associated with the account, and then click Sign In to add the cloud storage location associated with that account to the Places list.

To save a file without changing the name or location

1. Do any of the following:

• On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save button.

• In the left pane of the Backstage view, click Save.

• Press Ctrl+S.

To close a document, workbook, or presentation

1. Do any of the following:

• At the right end of the title bar, click the Close button to close the file and the app window.

• Display the Backstage view, and then click Close to close the file without exiting the app.

• On the Windows taskbar, point to the app button to display thumbnails of all open files of that type. Point to the thumbnail of the file you want to close, and then click the Close button that appears in its upper-right corner.

Create files

Open and move around in files

Display different views of files

Display and edit file properties

Save and close files

1. Start PowerPoint and create a new, blank presentation.

2. Display the available presentation design templates.

3. Preview a template that you like.

4. Without closing the preview window, preview the next or previous template.

5. From the preview window, create a presentation based on the currently displayed template. Notice that the unsaved blank presentation closes.

6. Leave the presentation open for use in a later set of practice tasks.

1. Open the NavigateFiles document from the practice file folder.

2. In the second line of the document title, click at the right end of the paragraph to position the cursor.

3. Use a keyboard method to move the cursor to the beginning of the line.

4. Use a keyboard method to move the cursor to the beginning of the word Regulations.

5. Use a keyboard method to move the cursor to the end of the document.

6. Use the scroll bar to move to the middle of the document.

7. Use the scrollbar to change the view of the document by one screen.

8. Open the Navigation pane.

9. In the Navigation pane, click the Landscaping heading to move the cursor directly to the selected heading.

10. At the top of the Navigation pane, click Pages. On the Pages page, scroll through the thumbnails to review the amount of visible detail, and then click the thumbnail for page 5 to move the cursor directly to the top of the selected page.

11. At the right end of the Navigation pane title bar, click the Close button (the X) to close the pane.

12. Close the document without saving it.

1. In Normal view, display slide 2 of the presentation. Then switch to Slide Show view.

2. Move forward through the presentation to its end. Then switch to Slide Sorter view and select slide 1.

3. Display the presentation in Reading view. Use any method to navigate to slide 4, and then use the most efficient method to return to slide 1.

4. Display the presentation in Normal view.

5. Use commands on the View tab to arrange the DisplayViews presentation and the presentation you created in the first set of practice tasks side by side on the screen.

6. In the DisplayViews presentation, display the gridlines. Notice that they appear in both open presentations.

7. Switch to the presentation you created in the first set of practice tasks. Display the guides. Notice the effect of these actions in the other open presentation.

8. Set the magnification of the active presentation to 60% and notice the effect of this action in the other open presentation.

9. Leave both presentations open for use in a later set of practice tasks.

1. Open the DisplayProperties workbook.

2. Display the workbook properties.

3. Expand the Properties list to display all properties. Then display the advanced properties.

4. In the Properties dialog box, set the Title property to Shipping Costs. Then close the dialog box.

5. Verify that the title appears in the Properties list on the Info page of the Backstage view.

6. Close the workbook and save your changes.

1. Save a copy of the DisplayViews presentation in the practice file folder as MyPresentation. Close the presentation and this instance of PowerPoint.

2. Close the presentation you created in the first task without exiting PowerPoint. Then exit the app.