How to Use Microsoft Word 2007 As a Journal
There are a couple of different methods to keeping a journal with Microsoft Word 2007. The easiest method is to keep one long document and enter each entry at the end of the document. The other method involves downloading a free template from Microsoft Office Online. You can keep a personal journal as well as other types of journals, such as food diaries, business expenses or home improvement journals. Free templates for those types of journals and more can be found on Microsoft Office Online.
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Things You'll Need
- Microsoft Word 2007 installed on a PC
- Internet connection (optional)
- Thumb drive (optional)
- External hard drive (optional)
Instructions
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Document
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1
Open a new Microsoft Word document.
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2
Click on "Insert" in the top menu choices at the top of the page. In the text box to the right, choose "Date & Time." You can also just type the date and time. Hit "Enter" two times to make two blank lines of space.
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3
Write as much as you wish for that day's entries. You can change the font type, sizes and emphasis by using the buttons found in the "Home" tab at the top of the page.
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4
Click the "Microsoft Office" button located in the upper left hand portion of the screen. It is a large round circle with the Windows logo in it. This will provide a menu full of choices. Choose "Save As" then either "Word Document" or "Word 97-2003 Document." The cursor will appear in the "File Name" section. Name your document anything of your choosing.
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5
Click on "Tools" that is just to the left of the word "Save." Scroll down to "General options." This will open a window that will allow you the option of password-protecting your document. Follow the screen prompts if you would like to password-protect the document; otherwise, choose "Cancel."
Template
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6
Connect to the Internet and visit the link found in the Resources section below to navigate directly to the Microsoft Office Online templates page.
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7
Scroll through the various types of journal templates available and choose one by clicking on it.
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8
Click "Download" to download the template and read the terms and agreements of downloading the template. After you agree to the terms and conditions, the template will open in a new Microsoft Word document.
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9
Follow Steps 2 to 5 in the above section to continue creating your journal.
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1
Tips & Warnings
The journal is for your own personal use. You have the option to add pictures from either the clip art file or a file you have on your hard drive. This can be done by using the "Insert" option in the top menu choices. Try to stay consistent with your journal entry headings or date formats, as it will allow you to find entries more reliably when searching for them in the future.
Save your work periodically and be sure to make one or more backup copies of your journal. The document or file your journal is kept in can be copied to a portable USB drive such as thumb drive or an external hard drive. Keeping a password on your journal file is strongly recommended to help protect your privacy.
