What is a word processing table

Presentation on theme: «Word Processing Microsoft Word»— Presentation transcript:

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Word Processing Microsoft Word
An application that lets you write and edit documents. Popular word processors include, Microsoft Word and WordPerfect.

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Word Processing Terms Typeface Font Indent
A typeface defines the shape of the characters. Some common typefaces are Times New Roman, Arial, and Courier. If you look closely, you will see that the letters in each of these are shaped differently, some narrower, some rounder. Font A font is collection of letters and numbers in a particular typeface. The font includes the typeface plus other qualities, such as size, pitch, and spacing. For instance, within the Times Roman family, there are many fonts to choose from, including different sizes, italic, and bold. Indent An indent is one or more spaces that are used to move the text to the right of the left margin.

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Word Processing Terms Alignment Tab Margins
The alignment refers to the way lines of text are arranged relative to the edges of a block of text. For example, the text can be flush with the left side of the document (left aligned), flush with the right side of the document (right aligned), or centered horizontally on the document (centered). Tab The tab function in a word processor works much like the tab function on a typewriter. Tab stops can be set in the ruler at the top of the page. When the tab key is pressed, the cursor will move to the next tab location. This allows the user to indent paragraphs and lists. Margins Margins are the blank space to the left and right sides and at the top and bottom of a page. The size of the margins can be increased or decreased.

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Word Processing Terms Header/Footer Line Spacing Word Wrap
The header/footer are one or more lines of text that appear at the top/bottom of every page of a document. The header often includes information like names and titles. The footer consists of one or more lines of text that appear at the bottom of every page of a document. Line Spacing Line Spacing refers to the number of blank spaces between lines of type. The most common line spacing’s are single-spaced and double-spaced, but the line spacing in a word processor can be set to almost any amount of line spacing. Word Wrap Word wrap is a word processing feature that permits information to be keyed on successive lines without having to tap the return/enter key at the end of each line.

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Word Processing Terms Table Ruler Template
A collection of data arranged in rows and columns. Tables are commonly used in word processing programs. They are also used in spreadsheets and database programs. Ruler In a word processor, you can use the ruler to set the indent, margin and tab markers and this can allow complex formatting options. Never use the space bar and return key to align text. Template Templates establish the initial document setting and formats. A word processing program like Microsoft Word uses the «normal» template as the basis for all documents. A user can modify the «normal» document, and/or may create other templates to use.

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What is the Insertion Point?
The point where the cursor is located. Where your text will appear. Can move using the mouse or arrow keys.

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Microsoft Word: Practice
Log on to the computer in front of you. Open a new Microsoft Word document. Type the name of your favorite subject so that it follows this format on the top line. Favorite Subject: ???? Push Enter twice Write 3 sentences about 3 fun/interesting things you have done lately. Using your mouse move the insertion point back to the first line before the word “Favorite” and type your name so that it looks like this, except with your information… Mrs. Ketron’s Favorite Subject: Computer Literacy Using your arrow keys move the insertion point right before the colon and type the word “is,” it should now read… ???? Favorite Subject is: ????

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File Menu: Save your work – name your document Practice
You should do this soon after you begin working. (shortcut – control + S) Practice Save your work so far on your network account in your “computers” folder. Name the file “WPPractice”

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Page Layout Menu: Practice
Change the page orientation to landscape and make your margins all 1 inch. Save your work using the short cut. Ctrl+S Use to set-up columns Select the text you want to make into columns. Then, select column style.

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Other Options: Double click a word to select it, or highlight more than one word using the mouse by clicking and dragging. Right click to Cut and Paste, to delete or move text. To Undo a change click the Undo button in the top left corner of the screen. Find and Replace Locate on the Home Menu Can review work, quickly make changes, etc.

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Practice Using your “WPPractice” document move your insertion point Right before your name and press enter twice. Move your insertion point back up to the first line and on this line type… I used the word “the” this many times: Now use the “find” function to answer the statement and enter the answer after the colon. Save your work!

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Insert Menu: Add a Header/Footer Add Page Numbers
Selecting will show and allow you to edit these spaces. Add Page Numbers Add Pictures/Shapes/WordArt

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Insert Menu: Practice Using your “WPPractice” document…
In the header insert the file name. In the footer insert the page number. Add a clipart image that shows something that you are interested in. Put this image below your text. Save your work!

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Home Menu: Use to change font type, underline, bold, italicize, change color, and add effects. Use to change line spacing Select Paragraph to set spacing or use toolbar. Use to create lists Select the text you want to make into a list. Then select numbered or bulleted style.

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Home Menu: Practice Using your “WPPractice” document chance the font and color of the first line. Create a numbered list out of the text you have typed. Save your work!

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Formatting Marks To see or hide formatting marks, click the Show/Hide button on the Home Menu Word inserts a paragraph mark each time you press ENTER to start a new paragraph. One arrow appears each time TAB is pressed. Dots show how many times you press the SPACEBAR between each word, or if you accidentally press the SPACEBAR between letters in a word. One dot is one space; two dots are two spaces. Normally there should be one space between each word. Dots are different from periods at the ends of sentences. Periods (which you always see) are on the bottom of the line. Dots are higher up, toward the middle of the line.

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Practice Using your “WPPractice” document turn the formatting marks on and off to see what they look like.

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Review Menu: Spelling and Grammar
As you type, Word might on occasion insert a wavy red, green, or blue underline beneath text. Red underline: This indicates either a possible spelling error or that Word doesn’t recognize a word, such as a proper name or place. If you type a word that is correctly spelled, but Word doesn’t recognize it, you can add it to Word’s dictionary so that it is not underlined in the future. Green underline: Word thinks that grammar should be revised. Blue underline: A word is spelled correctly but does not seem to be the correct word for the sentence. For example, you type «too,» but the word should be «to.» Right click on these to revise as you go or check at the end! Language tools — thesaurus Word Count

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Practice Using your “WPPractice” document use the thesaurus to find a new word for “Favorite” on your first line and use it instead. Save your work!

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Insert Menu: Inserting a Table Table  Insert Table
Select number of rows Select number of columns Push “OK”

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Practice Using your “WPPractice” document move your insertion point to the top of the 2nd page. Here you need to create a table with 7 columns and 3 rows to display your daily schedule using the following format. Save your work! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Algebra Computers English Study Hall History Art Biology Mrs. Stammen Mrs. Ross Mr. Hope Mr. Moody Mr. Brown Mr. Ingle Mr Davidson

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Other Home Menu tricks:
Text Justification Increasing and Decreasing Indents

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Practice Using your “WPPractice” document center all of the information with the cells of you table like shown below… Save you work! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Algebra Computers English Study Hall History Art Biology Mrs. Stammen Mrs. Ross Mr. Hope Mr. Moody Mr. Brown Mr. Ingle Mr. Davidson

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When using Microsoft Word…
To view long documents use Scroll bar or Page up/Page Down Use Templates know they are there for you (more online too)! Always Print Preview before actually printing!

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Practice View your “WPPractice” document using the print preview function so that you can see how it looks. You do not need to print your work!

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Other Word Process Options…

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Open Office Text Document
FREE word processing software. Download from Not as many bells and whistles but very usable alternative to Microsoft Word.

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Google Document FREE, online work processing software that allows you to create and share your work online and access your documents from anywhere. To access Google Documents log-in to your Google account and select documents for the menu located in the top left corner of the screen.

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Google Document Cont. Under the “Create New” button select document.
Documents can be shared, allowing others to view your document and or collaborate with you on it creation. For more information watch the following video… Google Documents Video

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The End!

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Something Extra! Part of a Letters
Return Address – Consists of a line for the street address and one for the city, state, and zip. Date – Key on the line below the city, state, and Zip Code consists of the Month, day, and year. Letter Address — Key the first line of the letter address a QS below the date. A personal title or professional title is keyed before the receiver’s name. Salutation – A greeting keyed DS below the letter address. Should use same level of formality you would if talking on the phone. (eg. Glenn, Mr. Helms) Body – Begin the letter body a DS below the salutation. Paragraphs are SS with DS between them. Complimentary close – A farewell keyed a DS below the last line of the body. (eg. Sincerely, Cordially) Name of the writer – Key the name of the writer a QS below the complimentary close, and may be preceded by a personal title.

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Something Extra! (continued)
Block Format All parts of the letter begin at the left margin. Side margins = 1”, Top Margin = 2” or vertical centered. Modified Block Date line is lined up with the complimentary close ½ or 2/3 of the way over to the right. Indenting paragraphs is optional in modified block format

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Something Extra! (continued)
Mixed Punctuation A colon follows the salutation and a comma follows the close. If using this format and want it to be more personal rather than business looking use a comma after the salutation instead of the colon. Open Punctuation Omit all punctuation after the salutation and the close.

  • Definition of a Word Processor
    • What is a word processor?
  • Purpose of Word Processing.
  • Basic Word Processing Features and Concepts
  • Using a Word Processing Package — Microsoft Word
    • Starting Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Word Screen Layout
    • Editing a Document
  • Editing a Document
    • Block Operations
    • Find and Replace
    • Proofreading
  • Formatting a Document
    • Text Formatting
    • Paragraph Formatting
    • Formatting Pages
  • Creating and Editing Tables
    • Creating Tables
    • Formatting and Editing a Table
    • Table Conversions
  • Mail Merge Document
    • To Create the Main Document
  • Inserting Graphics
    • Working with Graphics
    • Editing and Formatting Pictures
  • Printing a Document
    • Printing in Microsoft Word


Definition of a Word Processor

What is a Word Processor?

  • A word processor is an application software that enables a person to create, save, edit, format and print text documents. Word processing is the act of using a word processor.

Examples of word processors

  • Examples of word processors include, Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, WordStar, Lotus WordPro and many others.


Purpose of Word Processing.

— A Word processor is a tool that can be used to prepare & produce documents. It can be used in:

  1. Writing Letters (i.e., Business & general mail).
  2. Writing Memos.
  3. Writing Books.
  4. Writing Articles, Research letters such as Reports/thesis and Term papers.
  5. Writing Essays and Projects.
  6. Writing Curriculum vitae and Resumes.
  7. Writing weekly Newsletters on sports, entertainment, etc.
  8. Writing Lease agreements and other legal documents

A word processor has a number of advantages over the type writer that include:

  1. A document can be stored in the computer for future reference in computer files that do not occupy physical space like the one on paper. This creates a paperless document-processing environment.
  2. Typing using a word processor is easier and more efficient because some actions are automated. For example, word-wrap feature automatically takes the cursor to the beginning of the next line once you reach the end of the current. Another automatic features common in most word processors is automatic insertion of a new page after reaching the end of the current page.
  3. Most word processors have special editing tools such as spelling and grammar checkers and thesaurus that help the user to easily Correct grammar and spelling mistakes. A thesaurus helps to find a word or phrase with similar meanings.
  4. With insert and type over modes available in most word processors, one can easily insert or replace a word or a phrase without affecting the structure and neatness of the document.
  5. Word processors have superior document formatting features. Formatting refers to the art of making the document more attractive and appealing to the eye. Such features include, underlining, boldfacing, italicization, applying different colors etc.
  6. While a typewriter may require that we retype the entire document when we want many copies, with a word processor, printing lets you produce as many copies per session as needed.
  7. Using the cut, copy and paste commands, you can incorporate other text without having to retype it.


Basic Word Processing Features and Concepts

  1. They allow the user to create a file, save it and open it again and again for reuse, editing or formatting.
  2. They have almost similar document windows with the following Features:
    1. Most are designed to look like a piece of paper with a few
    2. Most of the screen is blank before typing of text.
    3. There is a cursor, which blinks at the position where you can Begin entering text.
    4. There is a status bar or line that provides the user with current status information such as saving operation, the name of the file in use, the current page, the current imaginary horizontal-line and column cursor position.
    5. Word wrap: The feature that automatically moves a word or cursor to the beginning of the next line if it does not fit at the end of the current line.
    6. Scrolling: This is the vertical movement of text document on the screen. We can scroll through a text document using the up or do n arrow keys, page up and page down keys and also using, a mouse in windows based word processors.
    7. Help: Sometimes we get lost, confused or need more information on how to use an application. Help contains instruction, tips, pointers, explanations and guidance. You can get help by either pressing F1 on the keyboard or clicking Help from the menu.
    8. Editing Modes: Word processors have two editing modes, insert and type over mode. In insert mode, every character typed between words, lines or characters is placed at the cursor position. This pushes all the text in front of the cursor away without deleting it.
      — However in type over mode every character typed deletes what was there before and replaces it with new text at the cursor position.
  3. Nearly all word processors have a spelling checker, thesaurus (Dictionary of synonyms) and grammar checker.
  4. They provide for the use of headers and footers, indexing, footnotes and references, typefaces (fonts) and character set.
  5. Most word processors have ability to create and import tables, text and graphics from other programs.
    — Mostly, word processors are used for writing letters, reports, projects, books, essays, memos curriculum vitae etc.

Factors to consider when choosing a word processor The choice of a word processor depend on:

  1. The type of operating system. For example, most microcomputers are currently running on Windows based operating system such as Microsoft Windows. This means that you should consider acquiring a graphical user interface based Word Processor,
  2. Its user-friendliness, i.e. ease of use.
  3.  Its formatting and editing features. They should be good and varied.


Using a Word Processing Package — Microsoft Word.

  • Microsoft Word is one of the components of Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office is integrated software with a number of interrelated programs. The programs include Microsoft Word, a spreadsheet called Microsoft Excel, and a database management system called Microsoft Access, communication software called Microsoft Outlook, and a presentation package called Microsoft PowerPoint among others.
  • Although there are several versions of Microsoft Word, the most common are Word 97, Word 2000, Word XP and Word 2003, Word 2007, Word 2010, Word 2013, Word 2016, Word 2019. These versions of Microsoft Word are found in Microsoft Office 97, 2000, XP and 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 suites respectively.

Starting Microsoft Word

  • There are a number of ways you can start Microsoft Word. However the Simplest is by using programs start menu.Starting Microsoft Word from the start menu
    1. Click the start button.
    2. Click All Programs option from the menu.
    3. Search for Microsoft Office from the sub menu and click it.
    4. Search for Microsoft Word 2013 from the submenu and click it.
    5. This will launch Microsoft Word 2013 application
  • A Microsoft Word icon may also be available on your desktop for quick access. Double click on the icon to start the application

Microsoft Word Screen Layout

Parts of A Window

The File tab replaces the Office button from Word 2007. You can click it to check Backstage view, which is the place to come when you need to open or save files, create new documents, print a document, and do other file-related operations.

Title bar

  • A title bar is mostly a blue strip at the top of the window that displays the title of the currently running application or task. However it is possible to change the color of the title bar using the display properties.
  • The title bar also enables the user to move the window around the desktop. This is possible by pointing to it then dragging using the mouse.
  • On the right of the title bar are three tiny buttons called minimize, restore/maximize and the close buttons.
  • The minimize button reduces a window to become a button on the taskbar. The restore/maximize button stretches the window to cover the entire desktop or restore it to its original size respectively.
  • The close button is used to close and exit a window.
  • At the left hand side of the title bar is a quick access toolbar which provides you with access to commands you frequntly use. By default Save, Undo, and Redo appear on the quick access toolbar. You can use Save to save your file, Undo to rollback an action you have taken, and Redo to reapply an action you have rolled back.

Quick Access Toolbar

  • This you will find just above the File tab and its purpose is to provide a convenient resting place for the Word most frequently used commands. You can customize this toolbar based on your comfort

Ribbon

ribbon

  • Ribbon contains commands organized in three components:
    • Tabs: They appear across the top of the Ribbon and contain groups of related commands. Home, Insert, Page Layout are example of ribbon tabs.
    • Groups: They organize related commands; each group name appears below the group on the Ribbon. For example group of commands related to fonts or or group of commands related to alignment etc.
    • Commands: Commands appear within each group as mentioned above

Tabs

  • The Home tab gives you access to some of the most commonly used commands for working with Word 2013, including copying and pasting, formattingaligning paragraphs, and choosing document styles. The Home tab is selected by default whenever you open Word
    home tab
  • The Insert tab allows you to insert pictures, charts, tables, shapes, cover pages, and more to your document, which can help you communicate information visually and add style to your document
    insert tab
  • The Design tab gives you access to a variety of design tools, including document formatting, effects, and page borders, which can give your document a polished look
    design tab
  • The Page Layout tab allows you to change the print formatting of your document, including margin width, page orientation, page breaks, and more. These commands will be especially helpful when preparing to print a document
    page layout tab
  • The References tab allows you add annotations to your document, such as footnotes and citations. From here, you can also add a table of contentscaptions, and a bibliography. These commands are especially helpful when composing academic papers
    references tab
  • You can use the Mail Merge feature in the Mailings tab to quickly compose letters, address envelopes, and create labels. This is especially useful when you need to send a letter to many different recipients
    mailings tab
  • You can use the Review tab to access Word’s powerful editing features, including adding comments and tracking changes. These features make it easy to share and collaborate on documents.
    review tab
  • The View tab allows you to switch between different views for your document and split the screen to view two parts of your document at once. These commands will also be helpful when preparing to print a document.
    view tab
  • Contextual tabs will appear on the Ribbon when working with certain items, such as tables and pictures. These tabs contain special command groups that can help you format these items as needed
    contextual tab
  • Certain programs, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, may install additional tabs to the Ribbon. These tabs are called Add-ins

Help

  • The Help Icon can be used to get word related help anytime you like. This provides nice tutorial on various subjects related to word

Zoom Control:

  • Zoom control lets you zoom in for a closer look at your text. The zoom control consists of a slider that you can slide left or right to zoom in or out, . and + buttons you can click to increase or decrease the zoom factor.

View Buttons

  • The group of buttons located to the left of the Zoom control, near the bottom of the screen, lets you switch among Word’s various document views.
    • Print Layout view: This displays pages exactly as they will appear when printed.
    • Web Layout view: This shows how a document appears when viewed by a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer.
    • Read Mode view: to hide the writing tools and menus and to leave more room for the pages themselves. Read Mode automatically fits the page layout to your device, using columns and larger font sizes, both of which you can adjust.

Rulers

  • Word has two rulers — a horizontal ruler and a vertical ruler. The horizontal ruler appears just beneath the Ribbon and is used to set margins and tab stops. The vertical ruler appears on the left edge of the Word window and is used to gauge the vertical position of elements on the page.
  • If the ruler is not visible on the screen, then display it using the following procedure.
    1. Click the View menu option.
    2. On the drop down menu that appears, click Ruler. A check mark or tick will appear next to it showing that the ruler is displayed on the screen.

Work area/Document Area

  • This is the working area where you can enter text or graphical objects. All windows based application programs provide the user with a unique working area suited to that particular application. The flashing vertical bar is called the insertion point and it represents the location where text will appear when you type.

explore word window

Status bar

  • This is an interactive strip at the bottom of the screen that acts as a communication link between the user and the program. It displays interactive activities like saving, opening, background printing, cursor position etc.

Scroll bars/button and scroll arrows

  • Scroll bars or buttons are horizontal and vertical bars on the borders of a window that the user drags to scroll upward, downwards, to the right or left of a document. Scroll arrows are arrows at the end of the scroll bars that the user clicks instead of dragging the scroll button. Using scroll bars or arrows is equivalent to using the arrow keys on the keyboard

Dialog Box Launcher:

  • This appears as very small arrow in the lower-right corner of many groups on the Ribbon. Clicking this button opens a dialog box or task pane that provides more options about the group

Backstage View

  • The Backstage view has been introduced in Word 2013 and acts as the central place for managing your documents. The backstage view helps in creating new documents, saving and opening documents, printing and sharing documents, and so on.
  • Getting to the Backstage View is easy: Just click the File tab, located in the upper-left corner of the Word Ribbon.
  • It is simple to exit from Backstage View. Either click on back arrow on the top leftor press Esc button on the keyboard to go back in word working mode

Running the Program

Creating a document

Saving a new document

  1. Click the File tab and select Save or Save As option. The difference between Save and Save As is that although both give the save as dialog box when saving for the first time, Save allows the user to save document without the opportunity to change the file name or the location. The figure below shows a Save As dialog box.
  2. In the file name box, type a unique name for the document
  3. Select a the location or drive you want to save in, by clicking the down arrow on the right of save in list box,
  4. To save the file in a different format or type such as PDF, Word 97-2003 document etc., click the down arrow on the right of Save as type list box and choose a file type.
  5. Click the save button. The file will automatically be saved as a Microsoft Word document.

save as dialog box

Saving New Changes:

  • There may be a situation when you open an existing document and edit it partially or completely, or even you would like to save the changes in between editing of the document. If you want to save this document with the same name then you can use either of the following simple options:
    • Just press Ctrl + S keys to save the changes.
    • Optionally you can click on the floppy icon available at the top left corner and just above the File tab. This option will also save the changes.
    • You can also use third method to save the changes, which is Save option available just above the Save As option as shown in the above screen capture.
  • If your document is new and it was never saved so far, then with either of the three options, word would display you a dialogue box to let you select a folder, and enter document name as explained in case of saving new document

Opening an existing document

  • There may be a situation when you open an existing document and edit it partially or completely. If you want to open an existing document then follw the following simple options:
    1. Click the File tab and select Open option. Alternatively press Ctrl + O key combination on the keyboard.

      opening document

    2. The Open dialog box shown appears.
      open folders
    3. Select a drive or folder where the file is saved.
    4. In the file name box, type or select the name of the document you want to open.
    5. Click the open button

— To open a document created in another program, click the file format you want in the files of type box, and then double click the document name in the folder list. You can also use wildcards in the file name box for example, type *. Document to find Microsoft Word files.

Protecting a document with a password

  • A password is a combination of characters that prevents other users from opening and changing a document without permission. If a document is protected by a password, only the person who knows the password can open the document or edit it.

To save a document with a password

  1. Create or open the document you want to protect
  2. Click the file tab and choose Save As.
  3. Click the down arrow on the Tools button in the save as dialog box
  4. Click General options.
  5. Type in a password in the password to open. This prompts the user to enter password when opening a document.
  6. Type in a password in the password to modify. This prevents the user from making changes to a document unless the user enters the correct password.
  7. Finally click OK.

Closing a document

  • Closing a document means unloading the current active document from memory so that the user can create or open another without necessarily exiting from Word.

To close a document:

  1. Click the File tab and select Close option
  2. This will close the document and if you had other documents open, Word displays the last document you used

NB: You can close a document by pressing Alt + F4 keys or by clicking the close button on the top right of the title bar. If you have not saved the open document, Microsoft Word prompts you to save the document first.


Editing a Document

  • Editing refers to making necessary changes to an existing document. Apart from manual editing using delete, insert and overtype/overwrite commands, Microsoft Word provides the user with inbuilt tools such as the spelling and grammar checker, thesaurus, undo and re-do, find and replace etc.

Block Operations

Selecting (highlighting) a block of text

  • The purpose of selecting text is to enable the user perform a number of editing or formatting operations on the selected block of text. Microsoft Word presents the user with a number of ways for selecting a block of text. You can either select a block of text using the mouse or keyboard.

Selecting with a mouse

  1. To select a word, place the insertion pointer on the word then, double Click it.
  2. To select a sentence, positions the mouse pointer at the left margin until it changes to a right arrow, and then click once.
  3. To select a paragraph, place the pointer at the beginning or end of the paragraph. Notice that the pointer changes to I-beam. Now drag the I-beam over the text to be selected and release the mouse button at the end of the text you wish to work on.

Selecting with the keyboard

  1. To select one word, move the insertion pointer to the beginning or End of the word then press Shift+Ctrl+Right or left arrow.
  2. To select one line, press Shift+Up or Shift+Down arrow key. Alternatively, move the insertion point to the end or beginning of The line then press Shift+Home or end keys respectively.
  3. To select an entire page; press Shift+Page Down or Shift+Page Up.
  4. To select the entire document, press Ctrl+A or place the cursor at the beginning of the document then press Shift+Ctrl+End.

Deleting text

  1. To delete a character or a word from the right to the left, place the insertion pointer on the right of the word then press the backspace key.
  2. To delete a character to the right of the cursor position, place the Insertion pointer on the left of the word then press the Delete key.

To delete a block of text

  1. Highlight the text to be deleted.
  2.  Press the Delete key.

Restoring deleted text

  • To restore text that has just been deleted in the current word processing session: click the Undo buttonon the quick access toolbar or press CTRL + Y on the keyboard

Copying and moving text and objects

  • Copying means creating a duplicate of text or an object while moving means changing the position of text or an object in a document. In Microsoft Word, you can copy or move a block of text.
  • To use copy and paste or cut and paste operations, word makes use of a temporary memory which is called clipboard. When you copy or cut a text then temporarily it stayed in clipboard. When you copy or cut a text then temporarily it stayed in clipboard and in second step you can paste this content at desired location.

To copy a block of text:

  1. Highlight the text,
  2. At second step, you have various options available to copy the selected text in clipboard. Just use any one of them which you like most:
    • Using Mouse Right Click: If right click on the selected text, it will display copy option, just click this option to copy the selected content in clipboard.
    • Using Ribbon Copy Button: After selecting a text, you can use copy button available at the ribbon to copy the selected content in clipboard.
    • Using Ctrl + C Keys: After selecting a text, just press Ctrl + C keys to copy the selected content in clipboard
      copying text
  3. Finally click at the place where you want to copy selected text and use either of these two simple options:
    • Using Ribbon Paste Button: Just click paste button available at the ribbon to paste the copied content at the desired location.
    • Using Ctrl + V Keys: This is simplest way of pasting the content. Just press Ctrl + V keys to paste the content at the new location

To move text and objects

  1. Highlight the text,
  2. At second step, you have various options available to cut the selected text and put it in clipboard. Just use any one of them which you like most:
    • Using Mouse Right Click: If right click on the selected text, it will display cut option, just click this option to cut the selected content and keep it in clipboard.
    • Using Ribbon Cut Button: After selecting a text, you can use cut button available at the ribbon to cut the selected content and keep it in clipboard.
    • Using Ctrl + X Keys: After selecting a text, just press Ctrl + x keys to cut the selected content and keep it in clipboard
  3. Finally click at the place where you want to move the selected text and use either of these two simple options:
    • Using Ribbon Paste Button: Just click paste button available at the ribbon to paste the content at the new location.
    • Using Ctrl + V Keys: This is simplest way of pasting the content. Just press Ctrl + v keys to paste the content at the new location.

Typing modes

  • There are two typing modes in a word processor that assist the user in typing or editing text documents. These are:
    1. Insert mode.
    2. Overtype/typeover mode.

Insert mode

  • This is the default mode in most word processors. In this case when text is inserted between words or characters it pushes the existing text away without replacing it.

Typeover mode.

  • In this case, when text is typed between existing words or characters, the new text automatically replaces the existing text by deleting it. To switch between typeover and insert mode, simply press the insert key on the keyboard or double click the OVR label on the status bar.

Find and Replace

  • When you need to search for a word or phrase in a large document, use the Find command. In case you wish to replace a word or phrase, use the Replace option.

Find

  1. Click the Find option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl + F to launch the Navigation pane shown in step 2
  2. Enter a word which you want to search in the search box, as soon as you finish typing, Word searches for the text you entered and displays the results in the navigation pane and highlight the word in the document as well as follows:
    navigation pane
  3. You can click clear button (X) to clear the search and results and perform another search.
  4. Finally if you are done with searching operation, you can click close button (X) to close the Navigation Pane.

NB: You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F to find.

Some search options: 

— You can specify search options by clicking the option button to display them. They include:

  1. Match case: This identifies only text that matches in case with that in the find what box e.g. it will not find the word DEEN if you typed deen and selected the match case option.
  2. Whole Word: Searches for a word or phrase that is whole. If it is part of another word it will not be found, e.g. the word ever will not be found in words like however, whenever etc. during the search.
  3. Use wildcards: Wildcards are special symbols such as * and ? That are used to represent a set of words with certain characters in common e.g. names like Jeff, Joe, Jane can be represented using a wildcard as J* which means all names starting with J.
  4. Like: Searches for words, which are similar in pronunciation e.g., fare and fair.

Replace command

  • Click the Replace option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl + H to launch the Find and Replace dialog box shown in step 2 appears
  • Type a word which you want to search and a word which would like to replace with in the Find and Replace dialog box as follows:
    replace command
  • Click Replace button available on Find and Replace dialog box and you will see first occurrence of the searched word would be replaced with the replace with word. Clicking again on Replace button would replace next occurrence of the searched word. If you will click Replace All button then it would replace all the found words in one go. You can also use Find Next button just to search the next occurence and later you can use Replace button to replace the found word.
  • You can use More >> button available on the dialog box to use more options and to make your search more specific like case sensitive search or searching for whole word only etc.
  • Finally if you are done with finding and replacing operation, you can click Close (X) or Cancel button of the dialog box to close the box.

Proofreading

  • Proofreading refers to checking whether the document has typographical or grammar errors. Microsoft Word has tools for proofreading e.g. spelling and grammar checker, Thesaurus, Autocomplete and Autocorrect.

Spelling and grammar checker

  • The spelling and grammar checker is an inbuilt tool that helps the user to correct spelling errors and incorrect grammar structures. However, the checker can only recognise errors of those words whose correct spelling is in its dictionaries. A correctly spelt word used wrongly cannot be detected hence the document should be proofread just before and after printing.
  • Word is intelligent enough to identify misspelled or misused, as well as grammar errors and underlines them as follows.
    • A red underline beneath spelling errors.
    • A green underline beneath grammar errors.
    • A blue line under correctly spelled but misused words.
  • To check the accuracy of spelling and grammar:
    1. Click the Review tab and then click Spelling & Grammar button
    2. A Spelling and Grammar dialog box will appear and will display wrong spellings or grammar and correct suggestions as shown below:
      spelling checker
    3. Either choose one of the following buttons:
      1. Change to correct only the highlighted incorrect word.
      2. Change all to correct all the occurrences of the misspelled word.
      3. Ignore to retain the highlighted and continue. For example, although a word like jembe may not be in the custom dictionary, in the Kenyan context, the word is acceptable therefore if highlighted, click Ignore.
      4. Ignore all to retain all the occurrences of the same word or phrase in the document from another language e.g. a Kiswahili
      5. Click Add to add the word into the custom dictionary. In case you want to undo the changes made, click on the Undo button at the lower bottom of the spelling and grammar dialog box.
  • NB: You can close the spelling and grammar dialog box even if the process is not complete by choosing Close.
  • If you will click a right mouse button over a misspelled word then it would show you correct suggestions and above mentioned options to fix the spelling or grammar mistake

Using the thesaurus

  • This is an editing tool that helps the user find words or phrases with similar meaning (synonyms) or opposite meaning (antonyms) to the one selected.

To use the Thesaurus:

  1. Select a word or a phrase.
  2. Click the Review tab and then click Thesaurus
  3.  Word displays words with similar or opposite meanings.
  4. On the drop down arrow against each word, click insert to replace the selected word with the new word.

NB: You can also find the synonyms and antonyms by right clicking on the selected word and choosing synonyms on the menu that appears.

Autocomplete 

  • The auto complete feature displays a complete word when the user types the first few characters of the word.
  • This enables the user to type faster by simply accepting the suggested word if indeed he/she intend to type it.
  • To accept the suggestion, simply press the Enter key, and continue typing other word or phrases. 
  • The figure shows an auto text that automatically completes Thursday text entries
    autocomplete

Autocorrect

  • The auto correct feature automatically detects wrongly spelled or capitalised words and replaces them with the correct word. However, the settings of auto correct are user defined e.g. if a person keeps on typing the word certain as certain, set the auto correct feature to replace the later with the former.

To turn auto correct on/off

  1. Click the File tab in the top left.
  2. Click Options on the left.
  3. In the new window that opens, click Proofing, on the left.
  4. Click AutoCorrect Options, near the top of the right panel of that window. A new window will open.
  5. To turn on the spelling checker corrections, select the Replace text as you type check box, and then select the Automatically use suggestions from the spelling checker check box.
  6. To turn off the spelling checker corrections, click Automatically use suggestions from the spelling checker check Box at the bottom of the dialog box
  7. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Undo and redo

  • Undo: It reverses the last command that was issued in Order to revert back to the previous state. To undo, click the undo button on the quick access toolbar or use CTRL+Z shortcut on the keyoard.
  • Redo:  It does the last undone action. To redo, click the redo button on the quick access toolbar or use CTRL + Y shortcut on the keyboard.


Formatting a Document

  • Formatting refers to applying various styles or features to enhance the document’s appearance. You can format text, a paragraph or a page.

Text Formatting

  • Text formatting refers to features such as changing fonts (type, style and size of characters), changing text color, underlining, bolding Italicising etc. You can use either the formatting tools bar or the Format menu to underline, bold, etc.

To format existing text using the format menu

  1. Highlight the text to be formatted
  2. Right click on the highlighted text and choose font. A dialog box with all Text formatting features is displayed
  3. To change font type and size, where necessary scroll down the Font list box then click the font required, for example Verdana font style would appears as Verdana. To increase the font size, where necessary, scroll down the Size list box and select the required size e.g. 12 points (pt). A point is 1/72 of an inch in height. 72 points i.e. 72/72 is equivalent to 1 inch For example «Verdana» is in Times New Roman 16 points and «Verdana» is in Verdana 16 points.
  4. Bolding text: Bolding makes the selected text appear darker than the rest of the text. To bold text:
    1. Activate the font dialog box.
    2. From the font dialog box, select Bold.
  5. Underline text: Underlining refers to placing a line at the base or bottom of a word or a phrase. To underline:
    1. Activate the font dialog box.
    2. Click the down arrow at the right of Underline style and select. The underline style required e.g. single, double, dashed etc.
  6. Italicising text: To italicise is to make the text slant forward.
    1. To italicise activate the font dialog box.
    2. Click Italic.
  7. Changing the font color: In most cases, the font default color is black. However you can change the font color for example to red, green, blue etc. To change the font color,
    1. Activate the font dialog box
    2. Click the down arrow at the right of font color list box and select the color of your choice.

Using formatting toolbar

  • The formatting toolbar lets the user easily format text by clicking the required format button. To format some text, highlight it first then click the home tab. Select a command on the toolbar.
  • For example to bold text, highlight it then click then bolding command (B) on the formatting toolbar.

formatting toolbar

Paragraph Formatting

Text alignment

  • Text alignment refers to how text is lined up on the page relative to the left, right or center of the page. There are four ways in which text can be aligned namely left aligned, centered, right aligned and justified.

aligning text

Left alignment

  • Lines of text are lined up evenly along the left margin but unevenly at The right margin.
  • This is the default alignment.

To align left,

  1. Highlight your text.
  2. Simply click the left alignment button. Alternatively click format, Paragraph. And select left from the alignment list box as shown in Figure 1.20.
  3. Click OK. To apply the choice.

Right alignment

  • This is opposite of left alignment. Lines of text are lined up evenly along the right margin but unevenly at the left margin.

To align right,

  1. Highlight your text
  2. Simply click the right alignment button. Alternatively click Format, Paragraph. select Right from alignment list box, then click OK..

Center alignment

  • The lines of text are centered unevenly between the left and right margins.

To center text,

  1. Highlight your text,
  2. Simply click the Center, button. Alternatively click format, paragraph, select centered from alignment list box, then click OK.

Justification

  • Lines of text are arranged evenly along the left and right margin.

To justify text,

  1. Highlight your text
  2.  Simply click the Justify alignment button. Alternatively click Format, paragraph, select Justify from Alignment list box, then click OK.

Change case

  • When typing a text, there are a number of cases the user may intend to apply in order to create contrast within the text. These are:
    1. Sentence case: All the first characters in a sentence are in uppercase (Capitalised).
    2. Lowercase: All characters appear in lowercase.
    3. Uppercase: All characters appear in uppercase.
    4. Title case: All the first characters of each word in a sentence appear in uppercase.
    5. Toggle case: It changes upper cases to lowercases and vice versa.

change case

To change case in an existing text;

  1. Highlight the text.
  2. Click the Change Case button
  3. From drop down list, select the case type to be applied.
  4. Click OK.

Drop caps

  • There are times when you wish to attract the reader’s attention by making the first character in a sentence large, taking more space in the next line. Such kind of a character is said to be «dropped». an example is shown in the snip below

dropped example

To apply drop cap;

  1. Highlight the first character in the sentence
  2. From the Insert Tab, click Drop Cap. A drop down menu appears. Select Drop cap options to open the drop cap dialog box
  3. Select font in case you wish to apply a certain font to the drop capped
  4. Specify the number of lines to drop.
  5. Click OK

drop cap dialog
Drop cap dialog box

Indenting paragraphs

  • Indentation refers to moving the text away from the margin. You can indent the first sentence in a paragraph (first line), the whole paragraph (full indent) or the rest of the text except the first line (hanging indentations).

First line indent

  1. Select the paragraph to be indented
  2. Click the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher available on Home tab. Paragraph properties dialog box appears
  3. Click the down arrow in the list box under Special and select First Line.
  4. Specify by how far the paragraph is to be indented from the margin In the by text box
  5. Click OK to apply the indent and close the dialog box. The paragraph will be indented

NB: You can also indent the first line by positioning the cursor at the beginning of the paragraph then press the Tab key.

Hanging Indent

  1. Select the paragraph to be indented
  2. Click the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher available on Home tab. Paragraph properties dialog box appears
  3. Click the down arrow in the list box under Special and select Hanging.
  4. Specify by how far the paragraph is to be indented from the margin In the by text box
  5. Click OK to apply the indent and close the dialog box. The paragraph will be indented

Full indent

  1. Select the paragraph to be indented or position the cursor anywhere in the paragraph
  2. From the home tab, click the Increase or Decrease indent Button or simply press CTRL+M to increase indent and CTRL+SHIFT+M to decrease indent.

Setting tabs

  • Tabs are used to indent the first line of a paragraph or create columnar data. By default the tab stop is set at 0.5 of an inch.

To change the default setting:

  1. Click the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher available on Home tab. Paragraph properties dialog box appears
  2. On the paragraph dialog box click Tabs
  3. Enter a new value for tab stop in the Tab stop Position box.
  4. Choose the type of tab either left, center or right.
  5. If need be specify the Tab leader option
  6. Click the Set button then OK.

Setting tabs using the ruler

  • The easiest way to set tabs is by using the ruler. On the left corner of the horizontal ruler is a tab alignment button that lets the user select the type of tab. The figure below illustrates the tab alignment button while table 1.1 gives an explanation of each alignment button.
    tab button

To set the tab using the ruler;

  1. Click on the tab button to choose the required tab type. Notice that the tab type keeps on changing as you click the tab button.
  2. Set the tab stop by clicking where you want it to be on the ruler.
  3. Drag the tab stop
Button Name Purpose
left tab Left tab Text is left aligned
 centre tab Center tab Text is centered
bar tab Bar tab Inserts a vertical line at
Tab stop and align text to
The right of the line
 decimal tab Decimal tab  Text is aligned at decimal
Character
 right tab Right tab Text is right aligned

Table 1.1 Examples of tabs

Line and character spacing

  • Line spacing refers to the vertical distance between lines of text. The default line spacing is single spacing. This type of spacing accommodates the characters in a text leaving a small extra space between lines. Character spacing on the other hand refers to the space between the characters in the text.

To change line spacing:

  1. Highlight the text,
  2. Click the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher available on Home tab. Paragraph properties dialog box appears
  3. Click the down arrow from the Line Spacing list box and select the Type of spacing required e.g. double, 1.5, at least etc.
  4. Click OK to effect the changes.

To change character spacing:

  1. Highlight the text
  2. Click the Font Dialog Box Launcher available on Home tab. Font properties dialog box appears
  3. Click the Advanced button
  4. Under character spacing, adjust the spacing as required
  5. Click OK.

Bullets and numbering

  • Bullets and numbers are used to mark steps in a procedure or items in a list.

To apply bullets and numbers in a list:

  1. Select the list.
  2. Click the Bullet Button triangle to display a list of bullets you want to assign to the list. You can select any of the bullet style available by simply clicking over it.
  3. If you are willing to create a list with numbers then click the Numbering Button triangle instead of bullet button to display a list of numbers you want to assign to the list. You can select any of the numbering style available by simply clicking over it.

To create numbered list as you type.

  1. Type 1, fullstop (.) and then either press the SPACEBAR or press TAB key, and then type the rest of what you want in the first item of the numbered list.
  2. When you are done with typing, press Enter to add the item in the list automatically and go to add next item in the list.
  3. Repeat Step 2 for each list item.

To create bulleted list as you type.

  1. Type *, and then either press the SPACEBAR or press TAB key, and then type the rest of what you want in the first item of the bulleted list. 
  2. When you are done with typing, press Enter to add the item in the list automatically and go to add next item in the list.
  3. Repeat Step 2 for each list item

Section breaks

  • A break is used to identify where a section, a column or a page ends and the beginning of next. This allows the user to apply more than one paragraph or page format in the same document especially when it comes to page layout, size, different margins etc.

To insert a section break

  1. Position the text cursor in the document where the break is to be inserted.
  2.  Click the breaks button from the page Layout Tab.
  3. From the Drop down list, select the type of section break to insert e.g. page break.

Formatting Pages

Inserting page breaks

  • A page break identifies the end of one page and the beginning of the next. 
  • Word automatically inserts a new page after the current one is full. However, there may be a need to start a new page even if the current one is not full.

To insert page breaks

  1. Position the pointer where the break is to be inserted.
  2. From the Insert Tab, click on the page break button.

Alternatively

  1.  Click the breaks button from the page Layout Tab.
  2. From the Drop down list, select page break.

Creating columns

To, create columns on existing text:

  1. Highlight the text
  2. From Page Layout Tab, click Columns.
  3. From the drop down list, select the number of columns.
  4. If you need more than three columns, select more columns which will launch the Column dialog box. You can then type the number of columns you need in the Number of columns text box
  5. In the Width and spacing boxes, specify the column widths and space between columns
  6. Click OK

Page setup

  • Page setup options let the user specify the size of the margins, paper size, paper source and layout.

Setting margins

  • Margins are blank spaces around the edges of the page. Only text and objects inside the margins are printable.

To set up margins:

  1. From Page Layout Tab, click Margins Button.
  2. From the drop down list, select the margins you want.
  3. You can customize your margin by selecting the custom margin option which will launch the page setup dialog box
  4. Enter the values for the left, right, top and bottom margins in the respective boxes.
  5. Click OK.

Setting the paper size

  • By default, the paper size may be either Letter or A4. An A4 paper has dimensions 210 mm x 297 mm

To specify a different paper size

  1. From Page Layout Tab, click the Size Button.
  2. From the drop down list, select the paper size you want.
  3. You can customize your paper size by selecting the more paper sizes option which will launch the page setup dialog box
  4. Enter the dimensions in the height and width boxes.
  5. Click OK.

Specifying page orientation

  • The term page orientation refers to the positioning of the page in relation to the text.
  • The two available orientations are:
    • Portrait: text and graphics are printed with the longest side vertically upright. For example, on an A4 piece of paper, the 210 mm edges are at the bottom and top.
    • Landscape: With landscape, text and graphical objects are placed with the longest side of the page placed horizontally and the lines of text printed parallel. For example, to create a timetable on an A4 page, the 297 mm side should be horizontal.

To select the orientation:

  1. From Page Layout Tab, click the Orientation Button.
  2. From the drop down list, select the orientation you want.

Page layout

  • This option lets the user specify how text will be placed on the page from the margins. By default, text starts from the top margin.

To change the layout

  1. From the Page Layout tab choose Page setup dialog box launcher. The page setup dialog box Appears.
  2. Click on the Layout tab.
  3. From the Vertical alignment tab, select the alignment required then click OK.

Inserting headers and footers

  • Headers, footers and page numbers make it easy to locate information. Headers are few words placed at the top of every page while footers appear at the bottom.

To insert headers and footers:

  1. From the Insert Tab, click on the Header or Footer button
  2. From the drop down list, select the type of header you wish to insert.
  3. The contextual tab appears for you to customise your header or footer
  4. Edit the header to your preference and click close header and footer from the contextual tab

Inserting page numbers

— To give your document page numbers

  1. From the Insert menu, click Page number button.
  2. From the drop down list select the position you wish to insert the page numbers
  3. You can also choose the format page numbers option to change the number format, i.e. 1,2,3,…, A,B, C etc. or select the page number to start from from using the start at box


Creating and Editing Tables

Creating Tables

  • A table is a feature in Microsoft Word made up of rows and columns that is used to organise and enhance display of information.

Creating a new table

  • You can create a table either by using the Insert Table command from tables menu, or by using Draw Table tool that resembles a pencil to create more complex tables.

To create a table using the insert table command;

  1. From the Insert Tab, click on the Table button. 
  2.  From the drop down list, select the insert Table option
  3.  In the Insert table dialog box displayed, specify the number of rows and columns.
  4. Click OK. The table will be displayed on the screen and you can start entering data in it.

NB: You can insert a table by clicking the table button on the insert tab, then drag to select the number of rows and columns.

To create a table using the drawing tool:

  1. From the Insert Tab, Click on the tables button, then click the Draw table button from the drop down list. The mouse pointer changes to a pencil symbol
  2. Drag the pointer to draw the outline of the table
  3. Fill in the table with rows and columns by dragging the pointer as you would draw using an ordinary pencil.

Formatting and Editing a Table

Inserting rows and columns

— To insert a row:

  1. Click a row where you want to add an additional row and then click Layout tab
  2. Now use Row & Column group of buttons to add any row below or above to the selected row. If you click Insert Below button, it will add a row just below the selected row
  3. If you click Insert Above button, it will add a row just above the selected row.

OR

  1. Place the cursor where you want to insert a row
  2. Right click, point Insert then click Row above or Row below.

— To insert a column:

  1. Click a column where you want to add an additional column and then click Layout tab
  2. Now use Row & Column group of buttons to add any column left or right to the selected column. If you click Insert Left button, it will add a column just left to the selected column.
  3. If you click Insert Right button, it will add a column just right to the selected column.

OR

  1. Place the cursor where you want to insert a column
  2. Right click, point Insert then click Column to left then Column to the Right.

Adjusting the column width:

  1. Position the mouse pointer on the row or column boundary until the mouse pointer changes to an arrowed cross.
  2. Drag the boundary to the required size.

Deleting rows, column or cells

  1. Select the rows, columns or cells to be deleted.
  2. Click Layout tab
  3. Under the Delete Button, select either delete, cells, columns or rowsto delete the selected cell, column or row respectively

Merging cells in a table

— This refers to combining more than one cell in a table.

To merge cells:

  1. Select cells to be merged
  2. Right click and then click Merge cells.

Splitting cells in a table

— This refers to subdividing a cell or cells into more cells.

To split cells:

  1. Select cells to be split
  2. Right click then click Split cells. A dialog box appears that lets you specify the number of rows and columns that the selected cells will be split.

Formatting table borders and shading

  • Word provides the user with automatic formatting feature that lets you choose border styles and shading.

To format a table:

  1. Select the table. To select a table, click over the table anywhere which will make Cross Icon visible at the top-left corner of the table. Just click this cross icon to select the table.
  2. From Layout Tab, click Properties Button.
  3.  From the dialog box that appears select borders and shading
  4. Select your preffered borders and shading
  5. Click Ok to apply the effects.

OR 

  1. Select the table. 
  2. From Design Tab, click either borders or shading button
  3. Select your preferred borders or shading from the respective drop down lists.

Table Conversions

  • With convert feature in Microsoft Word, you can convert a table to lines of text and vice versa.

To convert a table to text

  1. Select the entire table or row and columns you want to convert to text.
  2. From contextual Layout tab, click on the Convert to text button. A dialog box is displayed that requires you to specify how the text will be separated after conversion
  3. In the separate text with box enter or select the character to be used as a separator.
  4. Click ok

To convert text to table:

  1. Select the text that you want to convert to a table.
  2. From the insert menu, click on the table button.
  3. From the drop down list select Convert text to table. A dialog box is displayed that requires you to specify the number of rows and of columns
  4. From Separate text at, specify whether the table will be defined by paragraphs, commas, Tabs or other characters.
  5. Click OK.

Performing arithmetic calculations in a table

  • It is possible to perform mathematical calculations such as sum, product and count, if a table has numerical figures.

To perform calculations:

  1. Click the cell in which you want the result to be placed.
  2. From the Contextual layout tab, click Formula. A formula dialog box is displayed. 
  3. If Ms-Word proposes a formula that you do not want to use, delete it from the Formula box, making sure that you don’t delete the equal sign
  4. In the Paste function box, click a function. A Function is a mathematical formula that accomplishes calculations in a table. E.g., to add numbers, click SUM
  5. To refer to the contents of a cell in the formula, type the cell references in the parentheses. Use a Comma to separate references to individual cells, or a Colon to separate the first & the last cells in a selected range.
    Examples;
    • To add the numbers in cells A1, A3 & C2, type: =SUM(a1, a3,c2)
    • To find the average of values in cells A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 & C2, type: =Average(a1:c2)
  6. In the Number format box, enter a format for the numbers, e.g., to display the numbers as a decimal percentage, click 0.00%.
  7. Click the OK button..

Sorting

  • In Microsoft Word you can sort a list of text, numbers and dates in ascending or descending order.

To sort a list or table:

  1. Highlight the text list or table you want to sort.
  2. From the Contextual Layout Tab, click Sort.
  3. Select the type of data to be used when sorting i.e. Text, Number or Date.
  4. Click either Ascending or decending
  5. Click OK.


Mail Merge Document

  • Mail merge is the process of generating personalised letters or documents by combining a main document, e.g. a letter, with an existing data source such as the address book.
  • Therefore in mail merge, the three files created are:
    1. The primary file (main document)
    2. The secondary file (Data source)
    3. Merged file

To Create the Main Document,

  1. Open an existing Word document, or create a new one.
  2. From the Mailings tab, click the Start Mail Merge command and select Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard from the drop-down menu.
    The Mail Merge pane appears and will guide you through the six main steps to complete a merge. The following example demonstrates how to create a form letter and merge the letter with a recipient list.
    1. Choose the type of document you want to create. In our example, we’ll select Letters. Then click Next: Starting document to move to Step 2
    2. Select Use the current document, then click Next: Select recipients to move to Step 3.
    3. Now you’ll need an address list so Word can automatically place each address into the document. The list can be in an existing file, such as an Excel workbook, or you can type a new address list from within the Mail Merge Wizard.
      — From the Mail Merge task pane, select Use an existing list, then click Browse… to select the file.
      — Locate your file and click Open.
      — If the address list is in an Excel workbook, select the worksheet that contains the list and click OK.
      — In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, you can check or uncheck each box to control which recipients are included in the merge. By default, all recipients should be selected. When you’re done, click OK.
      — From the Mail Merge task pane, click Next: Write your letter to move to Step 4. If you don’t have an existing address list, you can click the Type a new list button and click Create. You can then type your address list.
    4. Now you’re ready to write your letter. When it’s printed, each copy of the letter will basically be the same; only the recipient data (such as the name and address) will be different. You’ll need to add placeholders for the recipient data so Mail Merge knows exactly where to add the data. To insert recipient data
      — Place the insertion point in the document where you want the information to appear.
      — Choose one of the four placeholder options: Address block, Greeting line, Electronic postage, or More items.
      — Depending on your selection, a dialog box may appear with various options. Select the desired options and click OK.
      — A placeholder will appear in your document (for example, «AddressBlock»).
      — Repeat these steps each time you need to enter information from your data record. In our example, we’ll add a Greeting line.
      — When you’re done, click Next: Preview your letters to move to Step 5.
      NB: For some letters, you’ll only need to add an Address block and Greeting line. Sometimes, however, you may want to place recipient data within the body of the letter to personalize it even further
    5. Preview the letters to make sure the information from the recipient list appears correctly in the letter. You can use the left and right scroll arrows to view each document.
      — Click Next: Complete the merge to move to Step 6.
    6. — Click Print… to print the letters
      — A dialog box will appear. Click All, then click OK.
      — The Print dialog box will appear. Adjust the print settings if needed, then click OK. The letters will be printed.


Inserting Graphics

Working with Graphics

  • The term graphics refers to non-text images generated by a compute! This includes photographs, drawings and graphs. Graphics present information in a form that is easy to understand.
  • You can insert a graphical object from Microsoft Clip Gallery, a scanner or by using drawing tools available in Microsoft Word.

Inserting an image from a scanner

  • The computer must be connected to a scanner to complete this procedure. A scanner is a data capture device that transforms a hand copy or real graphical object into digital form.

To scan an object:

  1. Position the insertion pointer where you want your picture to appear,
  2. From the insert tab, point to Picture and then click from scanner or Camera.
  3. To scan, follow the instructions that come with your scanner.
  4. When the image appears on the screen you can edit and format it as required the same way you would with a clipart.

Inserting a picture from another file

  1. Position the insertion pointer where you want your picture placed,
  2. From the insert tab, point to Picture, then click «From file
  3. Locate the file that contain the image you want to insert eg from your floppy disk, from a compact disk etc.
  4. Select the object you want to insert
  5. Then click the Insert button.
  6. When the image appears on the screen you can edit and format it as required the same way you would with a clipart.

Editing and Formatting Pictures

To format or edit a picture:

  • Microsoft Word provides the user with a picture editing toolbar that lets you adjust the brightness, contrast, change it to black and white or grayscale and crop the image.
  • Cropping refers to hiding the unwanted details so that they do not come out when printing.
  • To display the picture toolbar, click on View menu, point to toolbars then select Picture.
  • The picture toolbar has buttons that enable a person to format a picture to format a picture, click it to select it then use the commands on the picture toolbar.

Drawing an object using MS Word drawing tools

  • Microsoft Word provides the user with basic drawing tools such as polygons, lines, a circle, stars and banners, call outs and many others. If the drawings toolbar is not displayed, click on View menu, toolbars then click on Drawing. The toolbar will be displayed which a button has labeled Auto shapes, an arrow, a line, square and a circle

To draw a line, a circle an arrow or a rectangle:

  1. Click on the appropriate shape button. The pointer changes to a plus sign.
  2. Place the pointer where you want to draw that shape and drag to the required size.

To draw an object using the Auto shapes:

  1. Click the Auto shapes button. A menu is displayed showing categories of shapes you can choose from
  2. Point to the category required then select the type of object you wish to draw
  3. Place the pointer where you want to draw that shape and drag to the required size.

Editing and formatting a drawn object

  • You can resize, move, fill color and change the drawing outline.

To resize or move a drawing.

  1. Click anywhere inside it. The place holders appear.
  2. To move it, hold down the mouse button and drag.
  3. To resize it, place the pointer at one of the place holders and drag.

To fill the object with color and fill effects:

  1. Click the object. The place holders appear.
  2. Click the down arrow of fill color button, the one that looks like a bucket pouring ink.
  3. Select the color you want applied. To fill the drawing with texture, gradient or pattern, click the Effects button. From the resulting dialog box, select the appropriate fill effect.


Printing a Document

Printing in Microsoft Word

  • Because the main purpose of any word processor is to prepare documents for printing, this cannot be accomplished without a printer. The choice of a printer depends on the quality of hardcopy desired. Before you print, it is very important that you preview you document to confirm that no details are outside the printable area and that the document layout is okay.

To print:

  1. Click the File tab and then Print option which will display a preview of the document in the right column. You can scroll up or scroll down your document to walk through the document using given Scrollbar. Middle column gives various options to be set before your send your document to the printer.
  2. You can set various other printing options available. Select from among the following options, depending on your preferences
  3. Once you are done with your setting, click on Print button which will send your document to the printer for final printing.

Goals

  • Students will recognize the major types of word processing programs.
  • Students will discriminate the types of problems that are best solved
    with various types of word processors.
  • Students will recognize the major tools that are available in word
    processor application programs.
  • Students will use a text editor to create and modify a simple ASCII
    text file.
  • Students will use a high end word processing program to practice
    common text formatting problems.

Prereqs

  • Comfort with the keyboard and mouse
  • Experience with the STAIR process for solving problems
  • Familiarity with principles of data encoding
  • Familiarity with differences between hardware and software
  • Understanding of the attributes of RAM
  • Familiarity with operating systems, file names and directories

Discussion

Word processing is one of the most common applications for computers
today. It would be difficult to spend a day in a modern office or
university without coming into contact with a word processing program.
Most people have had some contact with word processing. We shall
examine the concept in some detail, so you will be familiar with a
number of levels of word processing software applications, the types
of tools such programs make available to you, and so you will know
what kinds of problems are best solved with this type of program.

How Word Processors Work

The advantages of word processing programs can best be illustrated by
thinking of some of the disadvantages of typewriters. When we use a
typewriter to create a document, there is a direct connection between
the keys and the paper. As soon as you press a key on the keyboard,
there is an impact on the paper, and the document has been modified.
If you catch a mistake quickly, you can fix it with correction tape or
white-out. If your mistake is more than one character long, it is
much harder to fix. If you want to add a word, move a
paragraph, or change the margins, you have to completely retype the
page. Sometimes this necessitates changes on other pages as well. A
one word change could lead to retyping an entire document.

Word processing is a type of software that focuses on the ability to
handle text. The computer does this by assigning each letter of the
alphabet and each other character on the keyboard a specific numeric
code. These numeric codes are translated into computer machine language,
and stored in the computer’s memory. Because the information is in memory,
it is very easy to change and manipulate. This is the key to the
success of word processing.

Example

Information in memory can be moved very quickly and easily. If we
want to change a word in a document, what happens in the computer is
something like this:

Imagine Darlene has started out her resume with the following word:

REUME

Obviously she has forgotten a letter. If she were using a typewriter,
the page would be trashed, and she would have to start over. Since
this is a word processor, Darlene can manipulate the memory containing
codes for the word «REUME» and add the «S» to it. When she tries, the
following things happen:

She moves her cursor to the spot in the text where she wants the S to
show up. The «cursor» is a special mark on the screen that indicates
at which place in the document the computer is currently focused. In this
case, Darlene wants to put an S between the E and the U. Her word
processor won’t let her put the cursor between two letters (although
some will), so she puts it on the U.

By moving the cursor, Darlene is telling the program to move around in
memory as well. When she place her cursor on the U on the screen, she
is telling the program to point to the corresponding spot in the
computer’s memory. The computer is now concentrating on the memory
cell that contains the code for the character «U».

She checks to be sure she is in insert mode (more on that later),
and she types the letter «S».

When Darlene does this, the computer shifts all the letters one memory
cell to the right, and inserts the code for the S in its proper
place.

Word processors and RAM

It sounds like a lot is happening. That’s true, but computers do all
these things so quickly that it seems instantaneous to us. You don’t
really have to know exactly where the stuff is in memory, or how it
gets moved around. The important thing to understand is that all the
information in your document is stored in some kind of digital
format in the computer’s memory. When you modify a document, you are really
modifying the computer’s memory. A word processing program handles
all the messy memory manipulation, so all you have to do is concentrate
on writing your paper.

RAM (Random Access Memory), where all the action is happening, has
one serious drawback. It only lasts as long as the computer is receiving
electrical power. Obviously this will cause some problems, because you
can’t just carry a computer around to show people your documents.
(Imagine the extension cord!) You also might run into some serious
problems if your computer were suddenly hit by a monsoon or something,
and you lost electrical power. In short, you cannot count on RAM memory
alone.

Word processing programs (as well as almost every type of program) are
designed to allow you to copy your information. Computer scientists
refer to the information your program is using as data. The data in
RAM can easily be duplicated to floppy disks or a hard drive. This is
called saving. Copying the data from RAM to a printer is called
printing. You can also copy data from other places to RAM. Copying the data
from the disk is referred to as loading the data. You might already
know what saving and printing are. We don’t mean to insult you by
telling you again. We just want to illustrate that it all boils down
to copying binary information to and from RAM.

Types of Word Processing Programs

There are many flavors of word processing programs. Different
programs are better for different types of jobs. One common problem
is deciding which program you will use to do a certain type of job.
It is important to know your options.

Text Editors

The simplest programs that do word processing are known as text
editors. These programs are designed to be small, simple, and cheap.
Almost every operating system made has at least one built in text
editor. Most text editors save files in a special format called
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange — Whew!)
ASCII is a coding convention that almost all computers understand.
Each letter is assigned a numeric value that will fit in eight digits
of binary notation. «a» is 97 in ASCII, and «A» is 65. All the
numeric digits, and most punctuation marks also have numeric values in
ASCII. You certainly don’t need to memorize all the codes, (That’s
the text editor’s job.) but you should recognize the word « ASCII».
The biggest advantage of this scheme is that almost any program
can read and write ASCII text.

Text editors can be wonderful programs. The biggest advantage is the
price. There is probably already one or more installed on your
computer. You can find a number of text editors for free on the
Internet. Text editors are generally very easy to learn. Since they don’t
do a lot of fancy things, they are generally less intimidating than
full fledged word processor packages with all kinds of features.
Finally, text editors are pretty universal. Since they almost all use
the ASCII standard, you can read a text file written on any text
editor with just about any text editor. This is often not the case
when using fancier programs.

The ability to write ASCII text is the biggest benefit of text
editors. ASCII is also the biggest disadvantage of most text editors.
It is a very good way of storing text information, but it has no way
of handling more involved formatting. Text editors generally do not
allow you to do things like change font sizes or styles, spell
checking, or columns. (If you don’t know what those things are, stay
tuned. We will talk about them later in this chapter.)

Text editors aren’t all simple, though. Text editors are actually the
workhorses of the computing world. Most computer programs and web
pages are written with specialized text editors, and these programs
can be quite involved. You won’t need to learn any hard-core text editors
for this class, but you may end up learning one down the road.

If all you want to do is get text written, and you aren’t too
concerned about how fancy it looks, text editors are fine. (In fact,
this book was written entirely in emacs, a unix-based text editor.)

Common text editor programs:

  • Windows: Notepad
  • Macintosh: SimpleText
  • Linux: vi, emacs
  • Multi-platform: notepad++, jedit, synedit, many more

Integrated Packages

Frequently these software packages are included when a person buys a
new computer system. An integrated package is a huge program that
contains a word processor, a spreadsheet, a database tool, and other
software applications in the same program. (Don’t worry if you don’t
know what a spreadsheet or a database is. We’ll get there soon
enough!) An integrated application package is kind of like a «Swiss
army knife» of software.

The advantages of an integrated package derive from the fact that all
the applications are part of the same program, and were written by the
same company. It should be relatively easy to use the parts of an
integrated package together. These programs tend to be smaller, older
versions of larger programs, so they might be less complicated to use.
Since they were presumably written together, they should all have the
same general menu structure, and similar commands. (The command to
save a file would be the same set of keystrokes in all the programs,
for example.) Integrated packages are often designed with casual
users in mind. This might make them easier to use than more robust
programs. The word processor built into an integrated package is
probably more powerful than a typical text editor. Integrated
packages are often already installed on new computers, so they might
not cost you any more than the original purchase price of the
computer. The word processor on an integrated package will almost
certainly give you some features you would not expect to find on plain
text editors.

Integrated packages have some disadvantages. With the advent of
graphic user interfaces and modern operating systems, programs have
become more and more standard even if they were written by completely
different companies. Almost every program for Windows uses Alt-F-S to
save, for example. Also, as in the Swiss army knife analogy, the
programmers had to make some compromises in order to make all the
applications fit in one program. A Swiss army knife does contain a
saw, but if you had to cut down a tree, wouldn’t you rather use a real
saw? The programs in an integrated package are usually stripped down
or older versions of the company’s high end software. They certainly
have fewer features, and might be less friendly. Word processing
programs that are part of integrated packages generally have their own
special code for storing text information, although they can usually
read and write ASCII as well. (However, if you choose to save in
ASCII, you cannot save all the special formatting commands).

Common Integrated Packages:

  • Microsoft Works
  • Lotus Works
  • Claris Works

Today the trend is to package all the high-level programs together, so
MS-Office and OpenOffice.org both contain fully-featured Word
Processors, Databases, Spreadsheets, and more.

High-End Word Processors

Word processing programs have evolved a great deal from the early
days of computing. A modern word processing program can do many
things besides simply handling text.

Since the early ’90s, most word processors feature a WYSIWYG
interface. WYSIWYG (pronounced «whizeewig») stands for «What You See
Is What You Get.» This means that the screen will look reasonably
like the printed document. This feature is important because the
real strength of word processors is in the formatting they allow.
Formatting is the manipulation of characters, paragraphs, pages, and
documents. Most of the word processor features we will discuss below
are various ways of formatting the text, or changing the way it looks
on the page. Formatting was possible before WYSIWYG, but it required
more imagination from the writer, because you couldn’t see the effects
of the formatting until you printed out the document.

Modern word processors also are designed to have numerous features for
advanced users. Since a large portion of most people’s computer time
is spent with a word processing program, it is important that these
programs have features to make editing documents easier. Some of the
additional features that one can expect to find on a modern word
processor are spelling and grammar checkers, ability to handle
graphics, tables, and mathematical formulas, and outline editors. The
word processing market is a very competitive one, and the major
software companies are always competing to have the word processor
with the most advanced features available.

Software companies are also interested in making their programs as
easy to learn as possible. With this goal in mind, most word
processors come with tutorial programs, extensive on-line help, and
clear menus.

These full featured word processors sound wonderful, and they are.
You might wonder if they have any drawbacks. Of course they do.
Word processing programs as have been described often cost hundreds of
dollars. The cost seems prohibitive for something that doesn’t even
have a physical presence! Many of the features of full-fledged
word processors are not needed by casual users. Sometimes the sheer
number of unneeded features can be intimidating. Using a full-power
word processor just to write a couple of letters a week is like
killing flies with a chain saw. You simply might not need that much
power to do the job properly. High end word processing programs
almost always save documents in special proprietary codes rather than
as ASCII code. This means the programs can save all the special
formatting that ASCII cannot handle (like font sizes, columns,
graphics, and so on.) It also means that if you write a document in
WordPerfect, you may not be able to read it in Word. Even
different versions of the same program might not be able to read each
other’s documents directly. There are ways you can work around this
problem, but you should know it exists.

High-end Word Processing Packages:

  • WordPerfect
  • Microsoft Word
  • OpenOffice.org Write

Ironically, there is now a trend away from WYSIWYG towards
«semantic markup.» The idea is not to put all the formatting details
in place, but to explain the meaning of the text in the document. The
actual markup of each meaning is defined in a separate document. For
example, here’s the semantic markup of this paragraph:

<p class = "update">
Ironically, there is now a trend away from WYSIWYG towards
"semantic markup."  The idea is not to put all the formatting details
in place, but to explain the meaning of the text in the document. The
actual markup of each meaning is defined in a separate document.  For
example, here's the semantic markup of this paragraph:
</p>

In another part of the document I describe how to format «updates»:

  .update {
    border: 1px black solid;
    background-color: #FFFFCC;
    padding-left: .5em;
  }

It’s completely OK if you don’t understand any of the code. The
important idea is how markup can be separated from meaning.

Desktop Publishing

Another classification of programs you should know about has an
uncertain future. These programs are called desktop publishing
applications. Desktop publishing takes text that has already been
created, and applies powerful formatting features to that text.
Traditionally, applications that allowed the integration of text and
graphics, and allowed the development of style sheets were thought of
as desktop publishing. Such a program makes it easy to create other
kinds of documents rather than just plain pages. With a desktop
publisher, there are already style sheets developed to help you create
pamphlets, cards, signs, and other types of documents that you wouldn’t
be able to create on a typewriter.

The higher end word processing programs give you most of the features
you could want in a desktop publishing program. It is possible to do
many of the same things. Desktop Publishers are still very popular in
certain specialty fields (graphic arts, printing, and publishing,) but
the effects can be duplicated with skillful use of a word processing
program.

Common Desktop Publishing programs:

  • Pagemaker
  • Microsoft Publisher

Sign / Banner Programs

Another level of desktop publishing that has become very popular is
the advent of specialty printing programs such as «The Print Shop» or
«Print Master +». These programs are designed specifically to help the
user create signs, banners, and greeting cards. They are very easy to
use, and much less expensive than full-feature desktop publishing
applications, but again the effects can be duplicated with a higher
end word processor.

How Do You Choose Which Word Processor You Use?

As always, the critical question is: «What kinds of problems are you
trying to solve?» For most beginners, the lower end word processor
that came with their computer is a fine start. If it does what you
need, and you are happy with it, don’t spend money unnecessarily.
Many people find that if they do a lot of writing, they begin to yearn
for the features of a more powerful word processing program. As you
gain experience, you will find a favorite program and learn its
commands and idiosyncrasies well. You will find if you concentrate on
the concepts, that all word processors of a certain level are pretty
much the same, although the exact layout and command structure may
differ. You will also probably discover if you do a lot of writing
with the computer that you have several programs you use
interchangeably. A skilled computer user often chooses the program to
solve a specific problem much like a golfer chooses a different club
for each type of shot. Sometimes a text editor is sufficient, and
sometimes only the best, most powerful, and most expensive program
will do the job properly. Learning what is best for you is part of
the process.

Layout of Word Processors

Word processing programs of any type usually share the most basic
features. They universally reserve most of the screen for the text
being edited. Most word processing programs also contain a
menu structure with most of the programs commands available in a
hierarchical organization scheme. Many word processors have graphic
toolbars with icons representing the most critical commands. Almost
all such programs have scroll bars or some other mechanism for
allowing the user to move around in large documents. All word
processors also have a cursor, which is usually a small box or line,
which shows the user where in the document she is currently typing.

Commands Available In Most Word Processing Programs:

Different types of word processing programs will have different
commands available. Generally, text editors have the fewest commands.
More complex programs often start with the same types of commands and
add to them. Commands may be available in a number of ways; by
locating them on the menu system, by looking up shortcut keys, or by
pressing an icon on a graphic tool bar. If in doubt, utilize the
on-line help to locate the command you want.

File Handling Commands

Any level of text editor or word processor will have commands to save,
load, and print your text. These commands are so frequent that you
will usually see many ways to invoke them.

Save Document
Allows you to save your document onto some kind of disk.
If you have already saved this document at least once, it will save
the document to the same drive, directory, and file name you used last
time. Saving a document really means making a copy of the codes in
memory that represent the document, and copying those codes onto a
disk file. If you have never given this document a name, a Save
command often acts like a Save As. (see below) You might also look for
a Write command, a picture of a disk, or a Save As command.
Save As…
Often you will see this command in addition to a save command. There
is a subtle difference between the two commands. Save As {it always}
asks you for the name and location of your file. Most of the time,
the Save command does not ask for this information. If the Save
command does not know what to call the file (because you have never
saved it before) it will automatically invoke a Save As. The only
time you absolutely must use a Save As is when you want to load a
file, make some changes to it, and save it as a NEW file with a
DIFFERENT name. If you use the Save command, the new changes will be
written on top of the old document. With Save As, you can force the
changed document to be in a new file. This really doesn’t happen very
much. Many people spend their whole lives using nothing but Save.
Load or Open
You will almost always see a command that allows you to open or load a
document. These terms usually mean the same thing. You will usually
get some sort of a dialog box asking you for the directory and file
name of a text document, and the program goes to the disk, grabs the
file, and loads it into the editing area of the screen. (Actually, it
loads the file into memory, and then shows a copy of the memory onto
the screen.)
Print
A print command takes the document and copies it to the printer.
Obviously, for this to work, you must have a printer attached to your
machine. There are occasional variations to this command. You might
get a dialog box that asks you which pages to print, how many copies you
want, which printer you want to use (if more than one is set up on
your computer), and so on. You might also see a Print Preview command
that shows a picture of what the page will look like when printed.
This is especially useful when you are using a program that does not
support WYSIWYG.

Editing Commands and Block Manipulation

There are a number of commands you will find on nearly any word
processor that enable you to manipulate text in special ways.
Frequently you will find these commands on an Edit menu. The editing
commands are based on a concept called block manipulation.

Block manipulation simply means taking a «chunk» of text and marking
it in some way so it can be treated as one unit. Once a block of text
is marked as such, it can be deleted or manipulated easily.

Marking a Block
Many modern programs allow you to mark a block of text with the mouse.
Simply point the mouse at the beginning of the text you want to mark,
hold down the mouse button, and drag to the end of the block. You
will probably see the text you have dragged over change color. Some
programs put highlighted text in inverse video. Many programs also
allow you to select text with the Shift key and the arrow keys in
combination. This is sometimes more precise than the mouse
techniques. Some older programs require you to move the cursor to the
beginning of the text, mark it as the beginning of a block, move to
the end of the text you want to manipulate, and mark it as the end of
the block. Learn how your program does it. It is worth the effort.
Copying a Block
You will usually find some kind of command called Copy. It only works
after you have marked a block of text. Copy by itself doesn’t do
anything on the screen, but it is still a very important command.
What it does is to take the block of text and make a copy of it in a
special part of memory called the clipboard (or sometimes the buffer).
The copy command does not change the original text; it just places a
copy of the text in the clipboard.
Cutting a Block
Cutting is very similar to copying. You must start by marking a block
of text. When you activate a cut command, the original block will
disappear. It isn’t gone forever, though. A copy of it has been made
in the clipboard.
Pasting a Block
The paste command doesn’t make much sense until you have cut or copied
a block of text into the clipboard. The paste command copies the
contents of the clipboard into the document at whatever point the
cursor was sitting when the paste command was activated.
How Block Manipulation Works
These commands really need to be used together to be useful. Which
ones you use depend on the kind of problem you are trying to solve.
If you had to write «I will not talk out in class» 100 times, you
might write the phrase once, mark it as a block, copy it, and then
paste it 99 times.

If you have written a document and realize that the last line really
belongs at the beginning of the document, you might mark the line you
want to move as a block, cut the block move the cursor to the
beginning of the document, and activate the paste command.

Formatting Commands

Another set of commands are found less frequently on text editors, but
are common on higher-level word processors. These commands are for
formatting various elements of a document. You may find a format
menu. Many of these commands also are available on toolbars.

Formatting a Character

A character is one letter or other symbol. There are many ways to
format characters in word processing programs. It is possible to make
characters bold, italic, underlined, or perhaps some other attribute.
Not all word processors will do all these things, but most will do
bold, italic, and underline. Often you activate the command by
choosing it from a menu, clicking on a toolbar icon, or activating a
key sequence. Once you have started the command, anything you type
will be typed in that style. When you want to go back to standard
letters, you activate the same command again. Commands that turn off
and on like this are called toggles, because they are reminiscent of
toggle switches. Many word processors allow you to enter the text
without any format, then to select a set of characters as a block
(like you did to copy and paste), then to activate the command.
Experiment with your word processor to see how it works.

Word processors that feature WYSIWYG frequently support the use of
fonts. A font is defined in computing as a combination of a special
character set and type size. In the typewriter world, you were pretty
much stuck with the size and style of letters the typewriter came
with. Some of the later typewriters had the characters on a ball you
could change, but you still had very little control of exactly how the
letters looked. In a modern word processing application, you have a
great deal of control. You can choose different type faces that look
like script, handwriting, Old English, or whatever. After you have
chosen a basic look for your letters, you can choose what size the
letters are.

Fonts are measured by typesetters in points. 72.25 points is
equivalent to an inch. Most standard text is 10 points. A newspaper
headline might be 200 points. You may be able to control other
attributes of each letter, such as its color, a shadow, and other advanced
features.

Formatting Paragraphs}

Most writing is organized into paragraphs. These divisions make a
document easier to read. There are ways you can control how
paragraphs look on the screen. You can control how your program
handles indention. You can often force the computer to indent the
first line of every paragraph automatically. You can also frequently
control the line spacing inside the paragraph, the amount of spacing
between paragraphs, and the justification.

Justification refers to how the text is lined up between the margins.
Most documents created with a typewriter or word processor are
left-justified. That means that the left margin is lined up perfectly, but
the right margin is a little ragged. The computer keeps track of the
right margin for you when you use a word processor, so you don’t have
to press the «Enter» key at the end of every line (in fact you
shouldn’t press «Enter» at the end of every line. The only time you
should press «Enter» is when you want to end a paragraph!) The
automatic process the computer uses to send text to the next line is
called word wrap. If you want to have the right margin line up
cleanly, but let the left one be a little ragged (Maybe as you type
the return address and date of a business letter) you can choose a
right justify command. If you look at books and magazines, you will
see that both the right and left columns are justified. Many word
processors will allow you to justify both margins. This works by
adjusting the amount of space between letters and words so the margins
work out perfectly. The computer does it automatically when you ask
it to do so. Another form of justification is centering. When you
center a line, you tell the program to give it equal left and right
margins, regardless of the length of the line. Centering is useful
for headlines, but is often distracting when used for body text.

The other major element of a document is the page. There are some
page formatting commands you should be able to find in any word
processor as well. You will probably have some way to adjust the
margins of the page. Note that there are top and bottom margins, as
well as left and right margins.

You can also frequently find some kind of header/footer command.
Headers and footers are special areas at the top and bottom,
respectively, of the page. These areas are not used for regular text,
but reserved for special things like a title at the top of every page,
page numbers, and footnotes. You will have to experiment a little
to see how your word processor handles these features, but they are
well worth learning. You will never go back to the old way of writing
footnotes once you have mastered using footers to automate the
process.

One more page formatting command you might find useful is page
orientation. Many word processors allow you to choose how information
is printed on the page. The «up and down» orientation we are used to
seeing on typewritten documents is called portrait mode. (If you
think about painted portraits, they are usually up-and-down rectangles.)
When your document is printed «sideways» it is referred to as landscape
mode. (Landscape paintings are often oriented in this way.)

       __________
       |  ___   |       ________________
       | /o o  |       |              |
       ||  L  | |       |    /WWW     |
       ||___/| |       |  /          |
       |    /  |       |/            |
       |_/_____|       |______________|
       Portrait             Landscape
         mode                 mode

Most of the time you should use portrait mode, but sometimes landscape
mode is appropriate, especially when you are doing something special
like tables, graphics, or fancy desktop publishing.

Commands Found in More Advanced Programs

High-End Formatting Tools

There are a few more elaborate formatting tools generally found
only in the higher end word processors. These tools border on desktop
publishing, and allow you better control of your document. You
probably won’t use them every day, but they are wonderful when you
need them.

Tables
On a typewriter, creating a table required judicious use of the TAB
key and very careful planning. Most advanced word processors allow
you to create tables very easily. You can usually select the number
of rows and columns, change the size and format of rows and columns,
and easily copy and paste specific cells. The table tool is worth
learning.
Columns
Sometimes you will want to have a page formatted into two or more
vertical columns. This was quite tedious on a typewriter, but there
is usually some kind of tool to make column creation easier on a
modern word processor.
Lists
You will frequently find tools for making lists. Lists can have
automatic numbering (like an outline) or each list item might have a
small icon marking, called a bullet. Most modern word processing
programs have some kind of tool to make list management easier.
Graphics
Most high-end word processing programs enable you to incorporate
graphics into text documents with relative ease. Often they
incorporate small painting programs so you can generate your own
graphics as well. To make graphics and text easier to work with, many
word processing programs include frames, which are boxes on the screen
that can hold text and graphics. When you mix text and graphics on a
page, you may want to investigate frames in the on-line help so you can
have more control over how the text and graphics interact.

Composition Tools

Many word processors have other advanced features that help a writer
with the mechanics of writing properly. These tools can be
instrumental in avoiding common writing mistakes.

Spell Checking
A spell checker is a program that looks at a document and compares
each word in the document to an electronic dictionary. If it finds
the word in the dictionary, it moves on to the next word. If it does
not find the word, it stops and asks the user for guidance. Good
spell checkers try to guess what word the user was trying to type and
make suggestions. Even if you are a very good speller, you should get
in the habit of running your materials through a spell checker. It is
a quick and relatively painless way to keep typos from marring your
paper.

Keep in mind that spelling checkers are not perfect, and they cannot
catch every mistake. The following poem excerpt points out the
problem:

				Ode To The Spell Checker

                             I have a spelling checker. 
                              It came with my PC. 
                          It plane lee marks four my revue, 
                           Miss steaks aye can know sea. 
                            Eye ran this poem threw it, 
                            Your sure reel glad two no. 
                           Its vary polished in it's weigh, 
                            My checker tooled me sew. 

    

(This poem can be found in its entirety at:
http://selma.ucd.ie/~pdurkin/Jokes/spellcheck.html It is attributed
to Jerry Zar, the Dean of the Graduate School, NW Ill. U)

Grammar Checkers
There are also tools available on most high end word processors that
will check your grammar for common mistakes. Grammar checkers are
wonderful at catching mechanical problems like incomplete sentences
and subject-verb agreement. Grammar tends to be more subjective
than spelling, so the advice of a grammar checker might or might not
be useful to you. It is worth running to check your mistakes, but it
will never replace the lessons you learned from your English teachers
or a skilled editor. When grammar checkers first came on the market,
a reporter tried testing the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.
The program gave the speech extremely poor marks. Many people
consider it to be one of the most beautiful passages of American
English ever. Use a grammar checker if you have one, but also use
your judgment.
Outline Editors
These features allow you to organize your thoughts in outline format.
The advantage is that you can choose to see only your main ideas or
headings, and have all the text hidden. This feature allows you to
move the main headings around and all the text associated with the
headings will automatically move appropriately. If you are going to
do term papers or other serious writing, you should investigate this
feature.

Vocabulary/Important Ideas

Word Processing
A type of software that specializes in handling text. Word processing
programs typically contain commands for handling and formatting text
documents.
Insert/Overwrite Modes
Most word processors allow you to choose one of these modes. When you
are in {bf insert} mode, any text you type is inserted into the
document at the cursor position. {it Overwrite} mode also types text
at the cursor position, but it writes over the top of existing text,
much like a typewriter with correcting tape. Most experienced word
processor users prefer insert mode for most of their work.
Text Editors
A classification of word processing software characterized by its low
cost, ready availability, tendency to work only in ASCII format, and
inability to do high-powered formatting.
ASCII
American Standard C}ode for Information
Interchange. A standard convention used to encode text, numbers, and
common punctuation in numeric format so they can be stored in a
computer’s memory. Nearly all computers and programs can work with
some form of ASCII. Text editors are designed especially to work with
ASCII-based documents.
Integrated Packages
Programs that contain all the major applications within one «super
application». These programs are useful, but often lack some of the
more advanced features of full-fledged application packages.
WYSIWYG
What You See is What You Get.
A capability often found on higher-level word processing
programs. The screen mimics the output of the printer, so the typist
can see pretty much what the final output of the document will be.
Proprietary
The term {it proprietary} is frequently used when discussing software to
denote a certain idea that is particular to a specific brand of
software. When a program uses a proprietary scheme to save word
processing documents, for example, other programs may not be able to
read these documents without some kind of translation.
Desktop Publishing
A classification of word processing software that concentrates on
incorporation of graphics, powerful formatting, and development of
complex styles including newsletters, signs, and pamphlets.
Style Sheet
In desktop publishing, a template that specifies how a certain type of
document will be created. Style sheets are used to define a uniform
look and feel for documents of the same general type. For example, a
company might issue a standard style sheet for intra-corporation
memoranda. Many high-end word processors incorporate this feature.
Sometimes style sheets are referred to as templates.
Scroll Bars
Horizontal or vertical bars which indicate the cursor position in a
document. Usually scroll bars can be used with the mouse to
facilitate moving through the document.
Cursor
A small mark on the screen, usually a rectangle, underline, or
I-shaped design. The cursor indicates the exact position within the document
(and memory) where any commands and typing will be executed.
Save
The Save command saves a document without prompting for the file
name, unless the file has never been saved before. If this is the
case, it invokes a Save As command instead.
Save As
This command always prompts for a file name. It is used when
you want to save the changes to file without changing the file already
saved on the disk.
Load (or Open)
This command prompts the user for a file name, then loads the document
into the application.
Print
A print command is used to send a copy of the document to the
printer.
Print Preview
This command is especially useful in non-WYSIWYG environments. It
allows you to see a preview of the document exactly as it will be
printed. It is often a good idea to invoke this command before you
print a document, to be sure it will turn out exactly as you plan.
Block Manipulation
The process of defining a section of text so it can be copied, pasted,
or otherwise manipulated as one unit.
Copy
A copy command takes a block of text and copies it to a memory
buffer without removing the original text. Used to it
duplicate sections of a document.
Cut
This command copies a block of text to a memory buffer, and removes
the original text from the document. Used to {it move} sections of a
document.
Paste
This command takes the block of text last placed in the buffer by a
cut or copy command, and inserts it into the document at the current
cursor position.
Formatting
The process of defining how a document will look. Formatting can
occur at the character level, as well as at the paragraph and page
level.
Character Attributes
The special modifications to letters, such as {bf boldface} and {it
italic}
Font
The combination of character set and size that defines how an
individual character looks. Most word processing packages allow the
user to choose from many fonts.
Toggle
A command is referred to as a {it toggle} if repeated execution of
the command causes something to switch between two modes. Insert
and Overwrite modes are good examples of toggles. Often character
attributes are also considered toggles.
Point
A point is a type setter’s measurement of character size. Officially,
there are 72.25 points to an inch.
Justification
The way the lines of text are arranged on the page. The usual options
are left-justified, right-justified, centered, and both-justified.
Left-Justified
The text is lined up so that the left margin is even. The right
margin will not be even in left-justified text.
Right-Justified
The text is lined up so that the left margin is ragged, but the right
margin is even. Often used to line up dates and return addresses on
business letters.
Both-Justified
The text is lined up so that both the left and right margins are lined
up, as in a newspaper or magazine.
Centered
The text is lined up with an equal distance from the left and right
margins. Usually used in headlines.
Word Wrap
A behavior of word processing programs which automatically moves words
too large to fit the current line onto a new line. Eliminates the
need to press «return» at the end of each line.
Headers, Footers
Special areas at the top and bottom of word processing documents.
These sections are reserved for information that will appear on {it
each page} of the document. Usually page numbers, document name, or
document author will be in the header/footer area. The footer is
also useful for holding footnotes.
Landscape Mode
Documents in this mode print the long part of the page horizontally, as
in a landscape painting.
Portrait Mode
Documents in this mode print the long part of the page vertically,
as in a portrait painting.
Table
A section of a document organized into rows and columns. Higher-end
word processors often have a number of tools to help make tables
easier to create and manage.
Column
Vertical separation of text into two or more sections. Newspapers and
newsletters are often arranged in columns. High-end word processing
programs and desktop publishing programs usually include some tools to
make column manipulation easier.
Spell Checker
A feature of higher-end word processing programs that compares each
word in a document to a dictionary of proper spellings. Most spell
checkers «guess» which word the user was trying to type and give the
user some guesses to choose from.
Grammar Checker
A feature in word processing programs that checks a document for
common grammatical errors. Grammar checkers can also grade documents
for readability and complexity. Sometimes grammar checkers are
separate programs.
Outline Editors
A feature or program that easily enables the user to create and
manipulate outlines. Most of these programs allow you to hide the
body text so you can see and modify the subject headings. The
associated body text is automatically moved with the appropriate heading.

Summary

Word processing programs are a type of software that make
it easier to create and modify text documents. Word Processing
applications are organized into a number of categories according to
their complexity: Simple programs that manipulate ASCII are called
Text Editors. More complex programs that feature formatting commands
are called Word Processors. Some word processors are included in
integrated application packages, which also feature other application
programs. Such packages are convenient, but may not have all the
features of larger programs. Full-featured word processing programs
contain many options for formatting text and documents. They also
might contain special utilities for more complex formatting and
composition. Desktop publishing programs are designed for more
complex formatting, especially the integration of text and graphics.

Most word processing programs contain the same types of commands,
although the exact ways to access these commands may vary. You will
almost always see file handling commands, including commands to Load,
Save, Save As, and Print. Frequently, you will also see commands for block
manipulation, including Copy, Cut, and Paste. More advanced programs
may contain special commands for formatting characters and paragraphs,
as well as other commands to deal with tables, columns, and lists.
The fanciest word processing programs may also contain commands to
assist with composition, such as spelling and grammar checkers and
outline editors.

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A table is a group of squares based to add things in eg:numbers,
graphs and details about people.

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Word Processing Features

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  1. Word Processing Features Business and Technology Using Microsoft Word

  2. Creating Tables • Table – an arrangement of text or numbers in rows and columns • Row – horizontal placement of cells in a table • Column – vertical stack of cells in a table • Cell – intersection of a column and a row • Gridlines – outline of rows and columns

  3. Steps to Create a Table • Click the Insert Tab • Click the Table button • Choose the columns and rows using the grid or • Choose Insert Table and insert the # of columns and rows

  4. Sorting Data in Tables • Choose the Sort button on the Layout Tab • Make sure Header Row is selected • Can sort by up to three different columns • Ascending Sort – sorts from A to Z or smallest to largest • Descending Sort – sorts from Z to A or largest to smallest

  5. Table Rows and Columns • Inserting Rows and Columns • On the Layout Tab • To insert rows use the Insert Above/Insert Below buttons • Deleting Rows and Columns • On the Layout Tab • To delete rows/columns use the Delete button

  6. Advanced Table Features • Split cells • Select columns/rows to split • Click Split cells to separate • Merge cells • Select the columns/rows to merge • Click Merge cells to join cells • Formulas • Located on the Layout tab • Allows you to create formulas in a table • Table Styles • Set of formatting options for tables

  7. Templates • Templates are predesigned files that you can use to create a new file. • Using Templates • Click the Office Button and New • Three choices • Installed Templates • My Templates • New from existing

  8. Creating Templates • After designing your document: • Click the Office Button • Save as • Change Save as Type to Word Template • Save your file to your destination folder • To use again: • Click the Office button and New • New from Existing • Select your template and Create New

  9. Macros • A bunch of commands grouped together as a single command to accomplish a task automatically • Used to automate tasks • To use — Go to Office Button • Click Word Options • Popular • Show Developer Tab in the Ribbon

  10. Mail Merge Features • Data source – contains the records or fields used in another document • Field – Single characteristic that appears in columns • Record – complete set of data appears in rows

  11. More Mail Merge Features • Main Document – contains the information that does not change in a mail merge • Form Letter –Contains merge fields to indicate where to print data from the data source • Merge Field – placeholder in the main document to be replaced with data in a data source

  12. Onscreen Forms • Similar to templates • On the Office button, choose New • In the Microsoft Office Online Section, choose Forms • Some categories: • Academic • Business • Community

  13. Thesaurus • A built-in reference for finding synonyms for words in a document • Right-click on a word and choose synonym Or • Use the Thesaurus tool on the Review Tab in the Proofing section

  14. Spelling and Grammar Check Spell Check Grammar Check A feature used to locate and correct grammar errors Indicated on screen by green, wavy underline • A feature used to locate and correct spelling errors • Indicated on screen by underlined misspelled words in red, wavy underlines and misused words in blue, wavy underlines

  15. Hyphenation • Allows Word to break lines between syllables of words • Three choices • None • Automatic • Manual • On Page Layout Tab in the Page Setup section

  16. Find and Replace • Find – command that lets you specify how to locate data in a file • Replace – command that lets you search for data and replace it with other data • On Home Tab in Editing Section

  17. Source • Microsoft Office 2007: Introductory Course. William Robert. Pasewark , et al. — Course Technology — Boston, Mass. — 2008

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