1.2 billion people use Microsoft Word.

Most of us think we know it inside out.

But we don't.

Here are 8 Microsoft Word tips you'll wish you already knew:

#1: Convert a pdf into Word.

Frustrated by not being able to edit a pdf?

Open it in Word + suddenly it's editable.

• File>Open
• Select the pdf
• It'll convert it to Word
• Edit the text freely

This even works with an image.

#2: Start typing anywhere on the page.

You don't need to start at the very top line.

• Move your cursor to wherever you want to write
• Double click on that spot

Now you can start typing in the middle of a page.

#3. Sort a list into alphabetical order.

Have a random list that you need put in the right order?

• Select the text
• Click the sort icon in the home tab
• Choose to sort text in ascending order

Do the same with numbers or dates.

No need to dive into Excel.

#4: Remove all distractions.

Find the white space overwhelming?

Use focus mode to remove all the noise.

• View tab>Focus
• Change the background color

Now it's just you and your document.

#5: Use shortcuts.

Shortcuts save you hours of your life.

Here's a few you'll wish you knew:

• cmd/ctrl + enter - inserts page brea
• cmd/ctrl + f - opens the find tab
• type * + a space - start a bulleted list
• shft + F3 - change to lower case

Save yourself time.

#6: Add citations.

Adding citations manually is painful.

Instead, do it quickly in Word.

• References tab > 'insert citations'
• Add the details
• It'll appear in your doc

Next time just click 'citations', and choose that same one again.

Simple.

#7: Add placeholder text.

Sometimes you just need to a fill space with dummy text.

=lorem (P,L)
=rand (P,L)

(where P is the number of paras and L is the number of lines)

• 'lorem' gives you lorem ipsum text
• 'rand' gives you random sentences from Word help files

#8: Cut + paste multiple items.

We all know how to cut + paste.

But you can store multiple snippets of cut text at once.

• Highlight the text and press ctrl/cmd + F3
• Repeat several times
• Press ctrl/cmd + shift + F3

Now all the copied snippets can be pasted together.