Composing text in Word

Question

I would like to request a special mode of operation in Word, possibly titled "Composition Mode."

I am a hobby writer, however composing in Word can be a pain when pop up menus, you know all whiz bag special features you've built into Word over the years like highlighting and the deleting text from the keyboard, suddenly activate and erase your work. 

This mode, when activated from the control ribbon, would do the following,

1. Disable all keyboard shortcuts (I know you're all proud of them and for some users, they're great, but this user and most neophytes, they are a pain in the ass that just interrupts the creative flow.)
2. Only allows advanced controls to be activated through selection on the control ribbon by selection with the mouse and right clicking or on the text pane by left clicking the mouse in the text pane.
3. Disable research and other pop up panes, if I want them, I'll find them in the ribbon. Usually, I don't and their sudden appearance on my work is just a distraction.
4. Slow down reselection of the cursor position, maybe even require a double click to move it around the work. This is also a huge distraction when composing. In fact, while composing this, I've had to correct that mistake half a dozen times as text is suddenly inserted in the wrong place.
5. Auto-save as a working version, to be written over the saved version only when commanded by the user, or maybe not. As an optional feature this may be well worth it to preserve the original work only to be written over after revue by the user.
6. Only allow text selection by actually dragging the cursor over the work and holding down the mouse button, with a sufficient delay as to preclude accidental selection, and then changing of work that is already done. 

Please do not take offense. Like I stated earlier, keyboard shortcuts, text selection from the keyboard, and all the hyperlinked panes incorporated into Word are just great FOR HYPER ADVANCED USERS, for the rest of us they just get in the way.

So, can you finally cure this vexing problem that has plagued all us normal people since the '90's?

Answer 1

If you insist on torturing yourself with Word, you can turn off or disable some features, but not all of them.

• Keyboard shortcuts: Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard shortcuts Customize (the button at the bottom left corner of the dialog). In the Customize Keyboard dialog, select All Commands in the Categories list. Then work your way down the Commands list; each time you see a shortcut in the Current Keys box, click on it and click the Remove button. This will take a long time, but needs to be done only once.
• AutoCorrect and AutoFormat As You Type: Go to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options. On the AutoCorrect tab of the dialog, uncheck all the boxes. Then go to the AutoFormat As You Type tab and uncheck all the boxes there. (The tab that says only AutoFormat can be ignored, because it takes effect only when you manually start an AutoFormat, and the button for that isn't on the ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar by default.) More on this at http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/TameAutoFormat.htm.
• Spelling and Grammar: In the File > Options > Proofing page, uncheck "Check spelling as you type" and "Mark grammar errors as you type".
• To disable the Research pane: Follow the instructions in HansV's post marked as the Answer of November 16, 2013 at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2010-word/how-to-completely-remove-research-task-pane. (The same procedure works in Office 365 / Word 2016.) If you identify another pane that you want to disable, put its name in the command in place of "Research".
• You can slow your mouse movements in Windows (not in Office alone) by going to the Control Panel, opening the Mouse settings dialog, and moving the setting in the Motion section of the Pointer Options tab.

As far as I know, your other requests are not available in Office or Windows, but third-party programs or add-ins that implement them may be available.

Answer 2

Okay, then what? Like how do I turn the bastards off?

Answer 3

Yes and no.

Wordpad makes composition even more clumsy. In fact, I never use it. I only use notepad to publish final products into Mobi e-books.

What gives me fits is gestures, which I HATE, and the wondering cursor. And all the dialogs that open without my command just waist my time. If I want research or any of the rest of it, I know where to find it. I don't want it opening all on its own.

Couple that with the  fact that WordPad does not readily translate to anything else, including Android, Apple, or web based applications and your suggestion is a non-starter.

I know Microsoft is the giant in the industry. But it is not the end all be all. Microsoft phones, for example, just flat suck. I've had one, never again. They are not agile enough for mobile business communications. For example, even though I have Microsoft Office available for all my mobile devices, I never use it. For the simple fact that the program loading response is measured in geologic time. If I have to stand around for half an hour waiting for the program to come up, it's not a effective use of my time.

I use Mobi's version, for the simple fact that it doesn't waist my time. I can also save a doc as a PDF, sign it, and share it. It is then a document legally admissible in court. Like a contract. Even though it was composed on the hood of my car.

Try doing that with Office from a phone or tablet. Good luck with that! This same application will also readily flip back and forth to Microsoft office without a hitch. So I can continue work from my tablet or phone on my laptop, save it back to my cloud account, and open the same docs in the field. Microsoft phones DO NOT play well with others. I found that out the hard way and almost lost a job. That's why they don't sell well and rarely have repeat customers. Get the point?

Answer 4

It sounds like you'd be happier with Notepad or Wordpad, something that has almost no features other than entering text. When it's time to format the text -- if you ever do that -- you can open the text file in Word.

Some of the other things you asked for, such as never saving over an existing file without specific user action, can be accomplished in Word by changing your habits: in this case, use Save As (F12) instead of Save, and you will be prompted to overwrite or to change the file name. If you don't want keyboard shortcuts, you can remove their assignments (in the dialog at File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard Shortcuts Customize).