To Create a New, Blank Document:

When beginning a new project in Word, you'll often want to start with a new, blank document.

1. Select the File tab. Backstage view will appear.
   
   Clicking the File tab
2. Select New and then click Blank document.
   
   Creating a new document
3. A new, blank document will appear.

To Open an Existing Document:

An existing document is a document that has been previously saved. To learn more about saving a document, visit our lesson on Saving and Sharing Documents.

1. Navigate to Backstage view and then click Open.
   
   Opening a file
2. Select a location option:
   • Recent Documents displays all of your recently edited documents, including those saved to SkyDrive.
     
     Viewing recently edited documents
   • SkyDrive gives you access to your SkyDrive folders. Select SkyDrive and click Browse if you've saved your document to the cloud. Opening a workbook from SkyDrive
   • Computer gives you access to the files you've saved locally on your computer. In our example, we will select this option and then click Browse.
     
     Opening a locally saved document
3. The Open dialog box appears. Locate and select your document and then click Open.
   
   Opening a document

Word 2013 also allows you to open existing PDF files as editable documents. This is useful when you want to modify a PDF file. Read our guide on Editing PDF Files for more information.

To Pin a Document:

If you frequently work with the same document, you can pin it to Backstage view for quick access.

1. Navigate to Backstage view.
2. Click Open. Your recently edited documents will appear.
   
   Viewing recently edited documents
3. Hover the mouse over the document you wish to pin. A pushpin icon  will appear next to the document.
4. Click the pushpin icon.
   
   Pinning a document
5. The document will appear in Recent Documents until it is unpinned.
   
   The pinned document

To unpin a document, simply click the pushpin icon again.

You can also pin folders to Backstage view for quick access. From Backstage view, click Open and then locate the folder you wish to pin, then click the pushpin icon.

Pinning a folder to Backstage view