WORD PROCESSORS AND MICROSOFT WORD

The Word processors were special-purpose computers (1970s – early 1980s) to do word processing. They allowed functions such as:

o Save the text you were working on

o Bring the text back to work on it again.

o Addition and correction of text

o Had a small window that showed 1 or 2 lines of available text for correction.

o Mail merge (one list with addresses in one of the memories, merged with the form text)

Not all the Word processors machines had all these features and the more features it had, the more expensive the machine would be. The general-purpose computers began to have word processing programs that eventually led to replace word processing machines.

The word processing software is used to produce documents such as reports, letters, papers, and manuscripts. Individuals use this kind of application software for correspondence; students use it to write reports and papers. Writers use it for novels; scientists use it to write research reports, and business people use it to write memos, reports, letters, and marketing materials. When a document exists in an electronic format, it is easy to reuse them, share them, and even collaborate them. Today’s best selling software include Microsoft Word, Corel Word Perfect, and Lotus Word Pro.

Essential Features of Word Processing

· Keyboard Layout: Basically follows the typewriter keyboard layout (“Qwerty”). Many keyboards include numeric keypads to type numbers quickly and a special-purpose function keys.

· Interface Issues: For command driven word-processing software, interface depend upon keystrokes, function keys and menus to trigger specific actions. When GUI word processors appeared, the mouse replaced keystroke and made text editing easier. It also introduced WYSIWYG (“What you see is what you get”), which shows on screen the word-processed text exactly as it will be printed.

· Editing Features: Allows writers to make additions, deletions and corrections of text easier than word processor machines. Electronic cut and paste, search and replace are very helpful operations in text editing.

· Formatting Options: Allows to writers to center text, justify lines, automatic page numbering, footnotes, label makers, automatic formatting of tabular data (i.e. numbers with decimal point are aligned accordingly).

· Type Fonts, Styles, and Sizes: Word processor lets users choose from a variety of different fonts (Times New Roman, Arial), styles (Bold, Italics) and sizes (measured in points). There is also proportional spacing that puts more or less space between letters depending on the font type and the letters typed.

Additional Features of Modern Text Processing

· Spelling and Thesauri: Spelling is possible, because the software contains a built-in dictionary with thousands of words. This feature provides on-line thesaurus help. Contains synonyms, antonyms to improve the vocabulary of the document. Contains synonyms, antonyms to improve the vocabulary of the document.

· Style Checking: Performs suggestions and/or corrections in grammar of a sentence, paragraphs and the overall document (it proofreads!).

Starting Microsoft Word 2002

1. Click the Start button

2. Click on Microsoft Word on the Programs menu. If you don’t see it there, go to Microsoft Office group first.

3. You can start typing a sample document. If you are typing a paragraph, just keep typing and when the text reaches the right margin, it will automatically move to the next line.

4. If you want to start a new paragraph, when you want to move to a new one, press ENTER.

Opening a Document

1. If you want to open a document from your diskette (floppy disk), insert it in the floppy drive.

2. Click File on the menu bar and then click Open. Or you can click the Open button in the toolbar (it’s the button to the left of the save button).

3. If you see your document, then select it and click the Open button.

4. If you don’t see your document, then you can click on the Up One Level icon or the Look in arrow box to search for your file. Once you find it, click the Open button.

Selecting and Replacing Text

1. For example, let’s say that you want to replace the text Mylanta tastes like Cheerios. Click and drag with your mouse over the text you want to replace.

2. Type Cheerios doesn’t taste like Mylanta. Notice that the previous text was replaced.

Understanding the Clipboard

à The clipboard is a temporary area in the computer’s memory for storing text and graphics that you want to reuse.

à When you use a program such as Word, you use the Office Clipboard, which can hold up to 24 items.

à You place text and graphics on the Clipboard by selecting the text or graphic and using the Copy or the Cut menu option (or button in the toolbar).

à When you cut text, you remove it from the document and place it on the Clipboard.

à On the other hand, when you copy text, you place a copy of the text on the clipboard without removing the original text from the document.

Moving Text

1. Select a Text with the mouse (as explained in Selecting and Replacing text)

2. Click the Cut button on the toolbar (the scissors) or go to Edit on the menu bar and click Cut.

3. Move the mouse pointer to wherever in the document you want to move the text and click the mouse button to activate the insertion point.

4. Click the Paste button on the toolbar or go to Edit on the menu bar and Click Paste.

Copying Text

It is similar to moving text; except that when you copy text it remains in its original location.

1. Select a Text with the mouse (as explained in Selecting and Replacing text).

2. Click the Cut button on the toolbar (the scissors) or go to Edit on the menu bar and click Cut.

3. Move the mouse pointer to wherever in the document you want to move the text and click the mouse button to activate the insertion point.

4. Click the Paste button on the toolbar or go to Edit on the menu bar and Click Paste.

Saving a different copy of your document

1. Click File on the menu bar.

2. Click Save As.

3. In the File name textbox, type the new name that you want to give to the copy of your original document.

4. Click on the Save in list arrow and select the storage device where you want to save your document (A: 3 ½ Floppy Drive, or C: )

5. Click on the Save button.

Finding and Replacing Text (global replacing)

1. Click Edit on the menu bar, and then click Replace. Click More if you want to set additional options

2. In the Find what textbox, type the text that you want to replace. For example, if you want to replace the word vertex, you would type that word.

3. In the Replace with text box, type the new word. For example, you would type vortex there to replace vertex. Click Replace (replace once) or Replace All to change all the instances of the old word.

Moving Around the Screen

Keys Movement

Arrow Keys one space left, right, up or down

CTRL + ® beginning of next word

CTRL + ¬ beginning of previous word

Home beginning of line

End end of line

Pg Up up one screen (about 17 lines)

Pg Dn down one screen (about 17 lines)

CTRL + Home beginning of document

CTRL + End end of document

Changing Fonts

1. Select the text that you want to change to another font.

2. Go to the Font list arrow in the toolbar or click Format on the menu bar and click Fonts.

3. Select the new font from the list and click OK.

Changing Fonts Sizes

1. Select the text that you want to change to another font size.

2. Go to the Font Size list arrow in the toolbar or click Format on the menu bar and click Fonts.

3. Select the new font size from the list or type the size that you want in the size textbox and click OK.

Applying Basic Font Effects (Bold, Italics, Underline…)

1. Select the text that you want to apply the effect.

2. Click on the Bold button (B) if you want to make your text darker. Click on the Underline button (U) to underline the text. Click on the Italics button (I) to make the text appear in italics.

Applying Other Font Effects (Superscript, Subscript, Shadow…)

1. Select the text that you want to apply the effect.

2. Click Format on the menu bar, and then click Font.

3. In the section that says Effects, put a checkmark on the check box next to the effect that you want.

4. Click Ok.

Creating and Using AutoCorrect Entries

1. Click Tools on the menu bar, and then click AutoCorrect Options.

2. Type the word that you want to automatically correct in the Replace textbox. (I.e. the word dr.)

3. Type the replacement in the With textbox. (I.e. the word Dr.) and click Add

4. Click Ok.

5. Every time you type dr., it will be replaced by Dr.

Checking Spelling and Grammar

Words that are not in this program’s dictionary are underline with a red, wavy line. Possible grammatical errors are underlined with a green wavy line.

1. Press the CTRL Home to go to the insertion point at the beginning of your document.

2. Go to Tools on the menu bar and click Spelling and Grammar or just press F7.

3. If there is a word that the speller thinks its wrong, but you want to leave it as it is, then click Ignore. If it is repeated several times and you want to leave it as it is, then click Ignore All.

4. If you want to correct a misspelled word, then click Change to change it once, or Change All for every instance of the word.

5. If by mistake you type the same word twice (are are) you can click Delete and it will remove the duplicate.

6. Click Ok when it finishes.

Saving a Document in Word

1. Click on the Floppy disk icon or go to the File menu and click Save.

2. In the File name textbox, type the name that you want to give to your document.

3. Click on the Save in list arrow and select the storage device where you want to save your document (A: 3 ½ Floppy Drive, or C: )

4. Click on the Save button.

Closing a Document and Exiting Word

1. Click File on the menu bar, then click Close

2. Click Yes, if necessary (if you want to save your work)

3. Click File on the menu bar, and then click Exit. Microsoft Word will terminate.

READ COMPUTER CONCEPTS: CHAPTER 3, SECTION C (pages 128 – 132)

READ MICROSOFT OFFICE XP

o UNIT A (WORD 2002)

§ Pages A2-A5, A8, A10-A13, A16, A17

o UNIT B (WORD 2002)

§ Pages B2-B15

o UNIT C (WORD 2002)

§ Pages C2-C9, C14, C15