Just as we were getting comfortable with our cozy, fuzzy version of MS Word, along comes Word XP. This article explains some of its important new features and how to make the most of them. Time to get your sneakers on and let's get off to a running start with Word XP.

Multiple Documents
In older versions of Word, new documents took over the entire Word window. With Word XP, each new document opens in a separate window. It's easy to switch between documents by simply choosing a document from the list on the 'Window' menu. The 'Arrange All' command from the 'Window' menu conveniently lets you view all open Word documents at the same time. You can also switch which document is currently active by pressing [Alt]+[Tab].

The Word XP Task Pane
With the XP version, Microsoft decided to change some of the screen layout. For example, the Word XP task panes display on the right hand side of the document you're working on. The options that display in these panes vary depending on your most recent commands. In earlier versions of Word, a lot of these commands would have been displayed in dialog boxes.

Moving the Toolbars
If you have a preference for where a toolbar should appear, you can easily move it by first clicking on the left edge of the toolbar. The mouse cursor will turn into a four-headed pointer. Then, to move the toolbar, simply drag it to where you want it to appear and click to place it there.

Finding What The Buttons On A Toolbar Do
To get the name of any button on a toolbar, simply hover the mouse cursor over it. You can also bring up additional details of what the buttons do by choosing "What's This?" from the "Help" menu. The mouse cursor will turn into a "?" symbol. Move the cursor and click on any button (or other Word object) to bring up details on it.

Adding Buttons To A Toolbar
It's a little complicated but you can add buttons to any toolbar. Start by picking "Toolbars" from the "View" menu. Then pick "Customize" and bring the "Commands" tab to the front. Next, select an item from "Categories" and an item from the list of "Commands". Drag the command to a toolbar. This will create a new button. The new button will only have a text label. Once you've added the default button, right click on it and pick "Default Style". The new button will become a plain square. Right click on the new button again but this time, pick "Change Button Image" and select an image of your choice. Finally, gasp, pant, close the "Customize" dialog box.

Thankfully, it's a little easier to remove a button from a toolbar: Start as before by picking "Toolbars" from the "View" menu then select the "Customize" option. Finally, simply drag the button you want removed off from the toolbar.