Project 1: Word Basics
Icon: Word 2002Icon: Word 2003 Task Pane

 Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
Did you want: Working with Words: Word 2007,2010,2013,2016 or españolIcon: Change web
Word 2002/2003 and the other Office XP programs add a new feature to the application window, the Task Pane. This pane displays at the right of your document and changes, based on what you are doing. Its purpose is to give you easy access to frequently used commands related to what you are doing.

Window: Word 2002 with New Document Task Pane

Word 2002 - Task Pane = New Document


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Word97-2003

Before you start...

Project 1: Word Basics
   Interface To subtopics
       Views
       Navigating
       Toolbars
       Standard Bar
       Formatting Bar
       Status Bar
       Ruler
       Task Pane Icon: Word 2002Icon: Word 2003
       Smart Tags Icon: Word 2002Icon: Word 2003
    Getting StartedTo subtopics
    FormatTo subtopics
    ImagesTo subtopics
    Pre-PrintTo subtopics
    Manage Printing
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

Project 2: Auto ToolsTo subtopics

Project 3: BrochureTo subtopics

Project 4: ReportTo subtopics

    Search
    Glossary

Different Panes for Different Tasks

There are several different sets of commands that display in the Task Pane. Some are available for all Office programs, and some are specific to the program you are in.

Office XP:

  • New Document

  • Clipboard

  • Search 

  • Insert Clip Art

Office 2003:

  • Getting Started

  • Help

  • Search Results

  • Clip Art

  • Research

  • Clipboard

  • File Search (on File menu)
     

  • New Document

  • Shared Workspace

  • Document Updates

Icon: Word 2002Word 2002:
  • Styles and Formatting
  • Reveal Formatting
  • Mail Merge
  • Translate

Icon: Word 2003 Word 2003:

  • Styles and Formatting
  • Reveal Formatting
  • Mail Merge
  • Translate
     
  • Protect Document
  • XML Structure

Sample Office XP Panes

By default, only certain buttons and menu commands for Task Panes are shown. You can customize the menus and toolbars, if you wish, to include commands or buttons that are not shown.

Icon: Word 2002New Document -
Lists recent documents and links for new documents and templates.

Menu:
File | Button: New (Word 2002) New

The default New button does not open the pane. It just creates a new document.

 Pane: New Document (2002)

Icon: Word 2003 New Document-
Links to create a new blank document, XML document, Web page, or E-mail message. You can use an existing document or a template to create a new document.

 Pane: New Document (2003)

Icon: Word 2003 Getting Started -
Lists recently opened documents and links to Microsoft Office Online, with a Search box.

 Pane: Getting Started (2003)

Clipboard -
This Office Clipboard keeps track of up to 24 selections or images that you copied or cut in Office XP programs. This is not the same as the Windows Clipboard, which only remembers the last thing you copied.

Menu:
Edit | Button: Office Clipboard Office Clipboard

 

 Pane: Office Clipboard

Icon: Word 2002Search -
Icon: Word 2003 Basic File Search
Allows you to search selected folders or online sites or just the current document.

Searches for the text you specify, but primarily in Microsoft Office files or web pages. You need to let Office index your documents for this to work.
 

Button:
 Icon: Word 2002Button: SearchSearch

Menu:
Icon: Word 2002File | Button: SearchSearch
Icon: Word 2003 File | File Search

 		 Pane: Search

Icon: Word 2002Insert Clip Art -
Icon: Word 2003 Clip Art -
Opens a search form to look for images, then it shows thumbnails of the results. Not all image formats will show thumbnails.

Menu: Insert | Picture | Button: Clip Art (Word 2002)Clip Art

 		 Pane: Insert Clip Art Pane: Results - search for Clip Art

Sample Word Panes

Styles & Formatting-
Shows the styles available and the formatting you have applied in the document.

Button: Button: Styles and FormattingStyles and Formatting
 

Menu: Format | Button: Styles and FormattingStyles and Formatting.

 Pane: Styles and Formatting

Reveal Formatting -
Shows the formatting that applies to the current selection or cursor location.

Menu:  Format | Button: Reveal FormattingReveal Formatting

Pane: Reveal Formatting

Mail Merge -
Walks you through the process of creating a mail merge document.

Menu:
Tools | Letters and Mailings | Mail Merge Wizard

 

 Pane: Mail Merge

Translate -
Links you to translation services. Requires an Internet connection and signing up for a service.

Menu:
Tools | Language | Translate

 Pane: Translate

Managing the Task Pane

Default pane

Icon: Word 2002Word 2002 and all of the Office XP programs: New document pane
Other programs use a name that is  appropriate for that program, such as New Workbook for Excel and New Page or Web for FrontPage.

Icon: Word 2003 Word 2003 and all Office 2003 programs: Getting Started pane

Switch panes

As you work, the pane will change if you use certain menu commands or toolbar buttons. You can customize the toolbars to show a button for a pane that doesn't have a button in the default toolbar.

Pane: New Document - list of panes openedPane: New Document - List of panesYou can switch what the pane shows from the pane itself. Clicking the arrow at the top of the pane will open a list of available panes for you to choose from. First in the list are the standard Office panes, then come any panes that are special to the particular program.
 

Hide pane

Three Close buttons - Word, document, task paneYou can hide the Task Pane by clicking Button: Close its Close button. Be careful not to click the button that closes the document, or the one that closes Excel. So many Close buttons!
 

Menu: View | Task PaneShow pane

If the Task Pane has been closed, you can show it again with the menu command  View  |  Task Pane .

You can also open the Task Pane by right clicking a toolbar and selecting it from the popup list of toolbars.