Displaying Different Views of a Document

In Word, you can view a document in a variety of ways:

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

Full Screen Reading view:
This view displays as much of the content of the document as will fit on the screen at a size that is comfortable for reading. In this view, the Ribbon is replaced by a single toolbar at the top of the screen with buttons that you can use to save and print the document, access references and other tools, highlight text, and make comments. You can also move from page to page and adjust the view.

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

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

You switch among views by using buttons in the Document Views group on the View tab or by using the buttons on the View toolbar in the lower-right corner of the window.

You can use other buttons on the View tab to do the following:

• Display rulers and gridlines to help you position and align elements.
• Display a separate pane containing the Document Mapa list of the headings that make up the structure of the document while viewing and editing its text.
• Display a separate pane containing thumbnails of the document's pages.
• Arrange and work with windows.
• Change the magnification of the document.

You can also adjust the magnification of the document by using tools on the View toolbar at the right end of the status bar. You can click the Zoom button and select (or type) a percentage, drag the slider to the left or right, or click the Zoom Out or Zoom In button at either end of the slider.

When you are creating more complex documents, it is easier to place elements exactly if you turn on the display of non-printing characters. These characters fall into two categories: those that control the layout of your document and those that provide the structure for behind-the-scenes processes such as indexing. You can turn the display of non-printing characters on and off by clicking the Show/Hide  button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

You can hide any text by selecting it, clicking the Font Dialog Box Launcher at the right end of the Font group's title bar on the Home tab, selecting the Hidden check box, and clicking OK. When the Show/Hide  button is turned on, hidden text is visible and is identified in the document by a dotted underline.