Desktop computing proficiency is a skill required of most job seekers and it is typically listed quite prominently in employment postings. Often this translates to knowledge of and skill with Microsoft Word and other elements of the Microsoft Office productivity suite.

Certifications at various levels are available for many versions of Office products and all require a base knowledge (or higher) of how to use each software to complete various tasks. Can you identify the shortcuts and features that have been around for a while?

What follows is a self-test of 25 questions based on the general concepts and topics related to all current versions. The answers appear at the end of the questions. Good luck!

1. You need to adjust spacing between paragraphs in an existing document. Which of the following measurements is used in the spacing configuration boxes for paragraph layout?
A) Font
B) Points
C) Pica
D) Inches

2. Given the values shown in the document and the entry in the Find and Replace dialog box, which value(s) will be found?‍

A) 1
B) 10
C) 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000, and 1000000
D) None of the entries

3. Which of the following is NOT one of the Office Themes available by default with Microsoft Word?
A) Colorful
B) Dark Gray
C) Grayscale
D) Black
E) White

4. Which keyboard shortcut in Word hides the ribbon?
A) Shift + F3
B) Ctrl + F1
C) Alt + F5
D) Ctrl + Shift + F7

5. What is the default interval of time between Save AutoRecover actions in Microsoft Word?
A) 2 minutes
B) 10 minutes
C) 20 minutes
D) 30 minutes

6. Clicking on the Open arrow in the Open dialog box after selecting a file name will do which of the following?
A) Open the file
B) Offer choices for ways to open the file
C) Save the file
D) Close the file

7. Macro-enabled MS Word documents should be saved with which file extension?
A) docx
B) dotx
C) docm
D) rtf

8. Which of the following tabs is not, by default, shown in the Microsoft Word ribbon?
A) Design
B) Mailings
C) References
D) Developer

9. Which of the following happens when the highlighted option is checked?‍

A) Hidden text in this document will now be printed along with non-hidden text.
B) Hidden text in all documents will now be printed along with non-hidden text.
C) Only hidden text in this document will now print.
D) Only hidden text in all document will now print.

10. A user reports that the Dictate option beneath the Voice group is not appearing for them. Which is the most likely reason for this not being present?
A) They do not have an Office 365 subscription.
B) They have not installed the feature.
C) They are lacking a webcam.
D) They have not authenticated the install.

11. Which keyboard shortcut in Word brings up the Open dialog box?
A) Ctrl + F12
B) F11
C) Alt + F10
D) Shift + F8

12. Clicking on the File tab in Word brings up which view/experience?
A) Hospitality
B) Home
C) Backstage
D) Private

13. A user reports that each time they enter three consecutive equal signs and press Enter, Word is turning this into a double line and they correctly suspect a AutoCorrect setting is responsible for this but do not know which one. What setting should you suggest they uncheck in their AutoCorrect configuration to keep this from happening?
A) Automatic bulleted lists
B) Border lines
C) Tables
D) Built-in styles

14. Which of the following is the template which opens when Microsoft Word is started that includes default styles and customizations?
A) Normal.dotm
B) Default.dotx
C) Start.docx
D) Blank.dxc

15. As shown in the dialog box, Word can control widows and orphans. What are widows?‍

A) Single lines of text at the bottom of a page/column
B) Single lines of text at the top of a page/column
C) Single lines of text to the right of a page/column
D) Single lines of text to the left of a page/column

Please visit GoCertify to attempt the remaining 10 questions of this quiz.

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ANSWERS

1. B: The measurement used in the spacing configuration boxes for paragraph layout is points. Twelve points are the same as one pica and six pica are equal to one inch.
2. A: The search specified is for the number one and then the wildcard specifies that it is not (!) to be followed by a zero. This leaves only the first entry as a match for the find operation.
3. C: Grayscale is not one of the four Office Themes available by default with Microsoft Word. The available themes are Colorful, Dark Gray, Black, and White.
4. B: Pressing Ctrl + F1 will hide the ribbon (or display it if it has been previously hidden). Shift + F3 switches the case of text, while Alt + F5 restores a document window size, and Ctrl + Shift + F7 updates links in a Word source document.
5. B: The default interval of time between Save AutoRecover actions in Microsoft Word is 10 minutes but this can be configured to any value desired from the File > Options > Save dialog box.
6. B: Clicking on the Open arrow in the Open dialog box after selecting a file name will offer a number of ways of opening the file:

7. C: Macro-enabled MS Word documents should be saved with the .docm file extension, as opposed to .docx which is used for non-macro-enabled documents. The .dotm extension should be used for macro-enabled Word templates, as opposed to .dotx which is used for non-macro-enabled templates. The .rtf format is Rich Text Format and often used for compatibility with other programs (which would not accept Word macros).
8. D: The Developer tab, by default, is not shown in the ribbon. It is added to it by going to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
9. B: By checking this box in the Word options dialog box, hidden text in all documents — not just this one — will now be printed along with non-hidden text.
10. A: An Office 365 subscription is required to use the Dictate option.
11. A: The Ctrl + F12 keyboard shortcut will display the Open dialog box. The F11 key moves you to the next field, while Alt + F10 brings up the Selection task pane, and Shift + F8 reduces the text selected.
12. C: Clicking on the File tab in Word brings up the Backstage view/experience.
13. B: By default, the Border lines setting is checked in AutoCorrect settings. This will convert several sets of three consecutive characters into lines across the page. Among the ones it will convert are three equal signs into a double line. Unchecking this setting will disable the change.
14. A: Normal.dotm is the template which opens when Microsoft Word is started that includes default styles and customizations.
15. A: A widow is a single line of text at the bottom of a page/column. Conversely, an orphan is a single line of text at the top of a page/column.

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