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Research Guides

Microsoft Word for Dissertations

While the context of this Guide is dissertations, the many features described here will also help you format research papers, conference abstracts, case studies, and other complex documents.

Tips & Tricks

This is just a collection of tips and tricks we think you'll find useful, but which don't really fit anywhere else in this Guide.

How do I keep a table from splitting across two pages?

  1. Select all the rows in the table, as well as the caption/title and any other text that needs to be kept together with the table (source citation, for example)
  2. Go to the Home tab 
  3. Open the Line Spacing tool  and select Line Spacing Options...
  4. In the dialog box that appears, click the Line and Page Breaks tab
  5. Check the boxes for Keep With Next and Keep Lines Together
    • If those checkboxes are all black or have a dash (-) in them, click them until they display a check (√)
  6. Click OK.

Now, even if you add text above that table, as soon as it gets to the point that it would normally push the caption or the last row to another page, instead it will move the whole table and caption/title to the next page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exporting to PDF

After spending so much time ensuring that the Word document is formatted properly and in an accessible manner, it is now time to export the Word document to PDF so that all the accessibility features are preserved. First, we'll make sure that your fonts will be embedded in your document (especially important if you're using specialized or uncommon fonts). Then we'll save the file in the PDF/A format,

What is PDF/A?

PDF/A is a variation of the PDF format that ensures a document can be reproduced exactly the same way, regardless of what software -- including screenreaders -- is used. Basically, all of the information necessary for displaying the document and its elements in the same manner is embedded in the file—leaving your documents safe, accessible, and secure for the long term. 

 

First, set Microsoft Word to embed fonts in your PDF

1) Edit the Save settings for Microsoft Word:

  • On a Mac, open the Word menu and select Preferences
  • On a Windows computer, go to the File tab and open Options

2) Then, select the Save settings and make sure the two options to "Embed fonts in the file" and "Embed only the characters used..." are checked.

3) Click OK (Windows) or close the Save settings window (Mac)

 

Second, save the file as PDF/A

For most things we do in Word, there's not much difference between Mac and Windows. Unfortunately, there are some differences when it comes to this particular process, and even some differences depending on your own computer setup.

If you're a Mac user but you have easy access to a Windows machine, you could save several steps (like downloading and installing Adobe Acrobat) by moving over to that Windows machine for this process.  

 

 — WINDOWS —

With your file open, go to the File tab. If you see "Save as Adobe PDF" as an option, then:

  1. Click Save as Adobe PDF
  2. In the window that appears, click Options
  3. Check the box for "Create PDF/A-1a:2005 compliant file"
  4. Ensure that the boxes for "Create Bookmarks" and "Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks" are checked.
  5. Click OK
  6. Select a location to save your file, and click Save
  7. You're done

If you do NOT see "Save as Adobe PDF" as an option in the File tab, then:

  1. Click Save As
  2. Where the file format says "Word Document", click to open the menu and instead choose "PDF *.pdf"
  3. Select More options, which is right under "PDF (*.pdf)"
  4. In the window that appears, make sure "Optimize for:" is set to Standard
  5. Click Options
  6. In the Options window, check the box for "PDF/A compliant"
  7. Check the box for "Create bookmarks using: Headings"
  8. Ensure that the boxes for "Create Bookmarks" and "Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks" are checked.
  9. Click OK to close the window
  10. Select the location to save your file, and click Save
  11. You're done

 

 

 — MAC —

Word on a Mac won't give you an option to save as PDF/A directly, so we'll first have to create a PDF and then use Adobe Acrobat to convert that file to PDF/A. This adds a few steps over what Windows users have to do, unfortunately.

  1. With your file open, go to the File menu and select Save As...
  2. From the File Format: pop-up menu, select "PDF"
  3. Select "Best for electronic distribution"
  4. Then click Export
    • If Word complains that your file is too big, then start again and this time instead of "Best for electronic distribution", choose "Best for Printing". This will happen if your file size is greater than about 40MB, and it just means that the Table of Contents and your various Lists won't be "clickable".  Rackham doesn't require that, and the document will still be accessible and in good shape when we're done.

Once your PDF is finished exporting, open it in Adobe Acrobat (not Acrobat Reader)

If you don't already have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, U-M students can download it for free from here. When you launch Acrobat, be sure to log in with your umich credentials (more info available here).

  1. With your file open in Acrobat, open the File menu and select Save as Other
  2. Choose Archivable PDF (PDF/A)
  3. Select the location to save your file, and click Save
  4. You're done

My chapter titles have to be in title case. What is title case?

Case has to do with which words should be capitalized. 

  • lowercase means that none of the words are capitalized.
  • Sentence case means you capitalize the first word of the sentence.
  • I BET YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT UPPERCASE MEANS!
  • And Title Case Means You Should Capitalize All the Major Words in the Text, but Not the Minor Ones.

If you're uncertain what might be a "major" or "minor" word, here's a fun little web site that will take care of it for you, based on the requirement of your particular Style Guide.

Can I divide my dissertation into "Parts"

Rackham generally prefers that you not divide your dissertation into Parts (Part I, Part II) in addition to chapters, but if you feel strongly that it is important for helping the reader understand or navigate your dissertation, then they won't turn you down if you include them.  But they will insist that the part title ("Part I") not be on a page by itself. So if you'd like to include Parts, place it just before the Chapter title, style the "Part" as Heading 1 and delete the "Chapter X" that will appear.  This will ensure that the title, "Part I", will have the two-inch top margin that Rackham requires.

 


 

Part I

Chapter 1 - Introduction

 

Last Updated: Nov 13, 2024 2:23 PM
Subjects: How-to