Change the view of Word documents

At the bottom right of the Word document are several icons, or shortcuts. These refer to different display modes of the document: ‘Focus’, ‘Reading Mode’, ‘Print Layout’ and ‘Web Layout’. The positions all have their own function.

Word opens documents in ‘Print Layout’ by default . A document is then displayed as it appears when it rolls out of the printer. This mode is especially useful for checking texts for errors just before printing. Check, for example, how words are broken at the end of a line. Are the header and footer correct? Or, in this mode, view the position of images and the page margins (the amount of white space around the typed part of the page). Quickly correct any flaws before printing. This ultimately saves paper and ink.

Read a document? ‘Read mode’ makes this easier. To do this, click on the open book icon at the bottom . The toolbar at the top (the Ribbon) disappears, the document takes up the entire window, and the text appears in columns. The number of columns that are displayed depends on, among other things, the size of your screen. Does a document consist of several pages? On the left is the text of the first page and on the right of the second page. Use the arrows on the side to scroll to the next or previous page. Similar to turning a page in a book or magazine. You can also use the scroll bar below the document to browse.

‘Reading mode’ is really only meant for easy reading. It is not possible to change or type the texts. So you don’t have to worry about accidentally deleting pieces of text while reading.

In ‘Reading mode’ a minimized menu is active instead of the usual Word menu. You can choose from: ‘File’ (the standard File menu), ‘Tools’ (search and translation functions) and ‘View’ (including column width, layout, page color, navigation, comments and reading).

The ‘Web Layout’ mode shows how documents will look when you publish them online. In this mode, page margins and page breaks are missing, allowing more text to fit into the image. Unlike ‘Reading mode’, you can simply edit text in this mode. To attempt? Click the Web Layout icon at the bottom of Word .

Focusing on the details in a Word document, such as typos, typos or other text errors? One click on Focus helps to focus better on the text. The Ribbon, other toolbars, and the Taskbar disappear. But what the document actually looks like depends on which view was already set: ‘Print Layout’, ‘Reading Mode’ or ‘Web Layout’.

The background turns black when the document is in ‘Print Layout’. You will then only see a white document, while the rest of the screen is dark. This makes the document very noticeable. The text is in columns when ‘Reading mode’ is selected. And the text has no margins when ‘Web Layout’ is active. But in all cases, toolbars are hidden. That’s less distracting!

Finished? Press the Escape key (aka ‘Esc’) on the keyboard to exit ‘Focus Mode’. The document will then be displayed again in ‘Print Layout’, ‘Reading Mode’ or ‘Web Layout’.