What is Word Processing?
Word Processing is the use of computers to create, revise, and save documents for printing and future retrieval. Word is a software application that allows you to do these things.
To Start Word:
Double click on the Microsoft Word icon.
The Word application window:
The components of the application window are:
Title bar: the bar across the top of the window. It is blue whenever that particular window is active. The title bar contains the program name (Word) and document name on the left. On the right are the Minimize, Maximize (or Restore) and Close buttons.
Menu bar: the area directly beneath the title bar. It displays the names of the drop-down menus for the current applications.
Toolbars: the area below the menu bar. Toolbar buttons provide shortcuts for accomplishing many Word tasks. When you point to a button with the mouse pointer and pause, its name appears. For example, if you point to the capital letter B, you see “Bold” appear. Likewise with the I (Italic) and U (Underline).
To use a button, click on it. The first button on the standard toolbar is the New button.
If you can’t locate an item (button) on the toolbar, click on the More Buttons button (the down arrow at the very end (far right) of any toolbar) and you’ll see even more items from which to choose.
Certain items in the toolbars have many items from which to choose. Click once on the little down arrow to the right of the item. This “drops down” a list of all the possible choices for that item. For example: on the formatting toolbar, you see “Times New Roman” and if you click on the arrow, you’ll see a list of all the fonts that are available. You can scroll through the list by pointing to the up/down arrows and holding the left click down. To select a font simply point to it (with the mouse pointer) and click once.
Located below the toolbars, it sets tab stops and indents.
Vertical scroll bar: to the right of the text area.
Use this scroll bar to display different areas (up/down) of the document.
Horizontal scroll bar: below the text area.
Use this scroll bar to display different areas (left/right) of the current page.
Located across the bottom of the window, it displays information about the active document, such as the current page number.
Located above the status bar, they are used to switch views.
Task bar: at the very bottom of the screen. From the task bar you can access the Windows Start menu and other open applications.
The Office Assistant runs by default each time you start the Word program, and is displayed in the lower-right corner of the screen. To use the Office Assistant, click on it, then type a question in the text box provided, and then click on Search (or press Enter) to find an answer to your question (or display other questions that may lead you to the answer that you seek). You can type key words, instead of an entire question, if you prefer.
Undo
To reverse your last action, click on the Undo button (arrow pointing left).
Use this to restore deleted text, for example.
Note: not all actions can be undone, such as Save or Print.
To redo an action that was undone, click on the Redo button (arrow pointing right).
As you type, and reach the end of a line, the text automatically moves down (wraps) to the next line.
This feature applies to certain common words, dates, or names.
After you type the first few letters, the complete word or phrase will appear above the cursor. Press Enter to accept the suggestion, or just keep typing to reject it.
It saves time and mistakes.
This feature automatically corrects text as you type.
Some examples: it will automatically correct 2 initial capitals, capitalize the 1st letter of sentences and the names of days of the week.
To view the many AutoCorrect options,
Select Tools from the menu toolbar.
Select AutoCorrect.
To add your own entry:
fill in the Replace and With fields, then select Add.
For example:
Replace: nai With: North Allegheny Intermediate High School
Identifying cursor location:
In the lower left corner of the screen is an area that identifies cursor location. It also happens to show how many pages are in the whole document.
To position the cursor (blinking vertical bar) anywhere in the text area, move the mouse pointer (I-beam) and click.
Press Home - to move to the beginning of a line.
Press End - to move to the end of a line.
Press Ctrl+Home - top of the document.
Press Ctrl+End - end of the document.
Press PgDn or PgUp - down or up by one screen’s worth of text.
Saving a file:
Until it is saved, a document exists only in computer memory, which is a temporary storage place. For permanent storage, a document must be saved to a disk. It is important to save your work frequently (every 10 to 15 minutes).
Choose File, Save As to save a file for the first time, or to save the changes in a file with a different name (other than the one specified in the title bar), in a different location, or in a different format.
A “Save As” window pops up.
Near the top of this window is a field called “Save in:” Pay close attention to this field any time you save a file. This is where your file will be saved. Click the down arrow for this field to see all the possible places where files can be saved.
Near the bottom of this window is a field called “File name:” Pay close attention to this field any time you save a file. Whatever you type in this field will be the name of your file.
Filenames can contain letters, numbers, and some symbols, including spaces. You can make the filenames as descriptive as you like.
After you have decided where to save your file and the file name, click the Save button which is towards the lower right corner of the save window.
Observe the title bar. The file’s new name is displayed.
To update a previously saved file, click on the Save button. (looks like a floppy disk). This saves the file with the same name and in the same location.
To create a new document, click on the New button which is on the far left of the toolbar (looks like a piece of paper with the corner folded).
Click on the Open button (yellow folder with arrow).
In the Open window, select the file you want, then click the Open button.
Before you can move, copy, or format text, you must select it.
With the mouse pointer, point to one end of the text.
Press and hold the left mouse button.
Drag across the text.
Release the mouse button.
To select one word quickly: Double click anywhere on the word.
To select an entire line (or many lines at once):
move the mouse pointer to the left margin (the mouse pointer becomes an arrow),
click once
(or click and drag to select many lines of text.)
To deselect, click anywhere in the document.
Copy text
Select the text,
click on the Copy button (2 pieces of paper),
move the mouse pointer to the destination,
click once,
click on the Paste button (clipboard and piece of paper).
Select the text,
click on the Cut button (scissors),
move the mouse pointer to the destination,
click once,
click on the Paste button (clipboard and piece of paper).
- or -
Select the text,
place the mouse pointer anywhere in the selection (it becomes an arrow),
click and drag to the new destination
release the mouse button.
Press the Backspace key to delete text to the left of the cursor.
Press the Delete key to delete text to the right of the cursor.
Select any section of text, then press the Delete key.
Select the text to be replaced.
Type the new text.
By default, Word is in insert mode.
To change to overtype mode, double click on OVR on the status bar or press the Insert key. To change back to insert mode, choose OVR or Insert again.
The buttons on the formatting toolbar allow you to quickly the appearance of all or part of a document. Select the text to change, then click on the button of your choice.
Some formatting buttons are toggles. For example: if a piece of text is in Bold and you want to remove the Bold simply select the text and click on the Bold button.
If you want to apply a formatting feature (or features) to the entire document,
Press Ctrl-A.
For additional formatting options, select Format, Font.
Copy Formats
To copy formats from one area of text to another
Select the formatted text to copy from,
click on the Format Painter button (looks like a paintbrush),
then select the text to copy to.
Align Text
To change the alignment of text (left,
center, right),
select the text,
click on the desired Formatting toolbar button. (Align Left, Center, Align Right). They are conveniently grouped together.
Place the cursor where you want to begin,
click on the Spelling button (ABC /checkmark) on the standard toolbar.
You can also check spelling on a single word or a range of text:
Select the word or range,
then click on the Spelling button.
To check Spelling/Grammar as you type:
Select Tools
Select Options
Spelling and Grammar Tab
Under “Spelling” be sure that “Check spelling as you type” has a checkmark.
Under “Grammar” be sure that “Check grammar as you type” has a checkmark.
Then, as you type, Word puts a wavy underline on your errors:
Spelling – red
Grammar – green
To preview each page exactly as it will appear when it is printed, click on the Print Preview button (piece of paper with a magnifying glass).
Close – to close print preview and return to the document.
Click on the print button. (printer).
Select File from the menu toolbar
Margins tab,
Click in the Landscape box
click on OK.
Select File from the Menu Toolbar.
Select Print,
In the Print range box, specify what pages you would like to print.
(“Current page” prints whatever page the cursor is on).
Select File from the Menu Toolbar.
Select Print,
In the Copies box, specify the number of copies to print.
(“Reveal Codes” in WordPerfect)
Certain keyboard strokes such as pressing Enter, Spacebar, and Tab keys do not “appear” in your document (they appear as blank space). In some cases, you may need to see exactly what’s going on “behind the scenes.”
Press the Show/Hide button.
This displays on the screen all nonprinting characters:
Enter – paragraph mark
Space bar – dot
Tab – right arrow
Note: Even if you have Show/Hide on when you print, the Show/Hide symbols will not print.
The Edit option on the menu toolbar has 3 items grouped together:
Find, Replace and GoTo.
Selecting any of these 3 options brings up the same window which contains the Find, Replace and GoTo tabs.
Find - searches for whatever text you specify.
Replace – searches and replaces with whatever text you specify in the
“Find what” and “Replace with” fields.
During the Find/Replace search you’ll have 3 options:
Replace – replace the highlighted text and continue searching
Find Next – leave the highlighted text unchanged and continue searching
Replace All – replace all occurrences of the text without confirmation.
For example:
A document pertaining to Hosack Elementary contains the word “Hosack” many times. You want to use the same document for Franklin Elementary. Use the Replace feature to find all occurrences of “Hosack” and replace them all with “Franklin.”
GoTo
Provides an efficient way to move through large documents.
You can enter a page number and GoTo to the top of that page.
To view 2 parts of the document simultaneously
At the top of the vertical scroll bar is the Split Box. Drag it onto the document. To remove the split, double-click on the split.
Mail Merge -
Create a data source
Getting started with the Mail Merge Wizard
Customize the Field Names
Rearrange the order
Add new fields
Delete unneeded fields
Rename fields
Add records
Save data source
Edit data source
Sort records by clicking on field name
Can add, change, and delete records
Create main document
Select from Task Pane:
Address Block
Greeting line
More items
Perform the merge
Merge data source information into mailing labels
Mail Merge Wizard
Change document layout
Select label type & size
Open the data source (Access file)
Arrange label layout on first label
Address Block
More Items
Clip Art (optional)
Copy layout to all remaining labels on page
Perform the merge
Create return address labels
How to update the data source from Word and/or Access
Select Tools, Select Letters and Mailings, Select Mail Merge Wizard.
You’ll see a Task Pane on the right side of the screen.
Select “Letters” and click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Select “Use the current document” and click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Select “Type a new list”. A few lines below that click “Create.”
The “New Address List” window appears.
Click on the Customize… button.
The “Customize Address List” window appears.
Notice the Field Names that are listed. You can add, change and delete these fields as needed.
Move Up and Move Down – these buttons allow you to change the order of your fields.
How to use: click on a field, then click Move Up or Move Down and watch its location change in the field list.
Hint: If you add a field and it’s not where you want it to be, simply use these buttons to relocate it.
Add - click on a field, click Add, type in whatever you want to call the field, click OK. Note: the newly created field will be placed immediately below the field that was selected when you clicked “Add.”
For example: if you want to add “middle name”, click on First Name, click Add, type in “middle name” then click OK. Middle name now appears below First Name.
Delete - click on the field to be deleted, click Delete, select Yes to confirm the deletion. The field is now gone.
Rename –click on the field to be renamed, click Rename, type in the new name, click OK.
When you’re finished customizing, click OK.
You can now begin entering the data for each record.
Some data entry guidelines:
To advance from one field to the next, use any of the following: Enter, Tab, down arrow, or click in field.
You can leave fields blank. For example, if you don’t have somebody’s email address, you can leave that field blank for that person.
You may need to use the vertical scroll bar to see all the fields in the data record.
You do not have to number the records; they are numbered automatically.
When done entering a record, to add the next record, either hit Enter till you get the next blank record or click New Entry.
When done entering records, click on Close.
The “Save Address List” window appears.
Double check the “Save In” field at the top of the window - be sure it’s the right location. If not, use the drop-down arrow and change it.
Type in the File name (bottom of window), then click Save.
Next, you’ll see the “Mail Merge Recipients” window.
Read the information at the top of the window.
Some nice options:
You can sort the data by clicking on the field name.
You can resize the columns for better readability just like you do in Excel (double-click or click & drag on the right edge of the column heading.)
Notice the horizontal scroll bar – use it to see the whole record for a person.
If you notice that a change needs to be made, click on the record that needs updating, then click Edit.
You can change any of these records, add and delete records.
When done with this window, click OK.
Click “Next...” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Begin composing your letter, and, in the appropriate locations, click on the following in the Task Pane to add the necessary fields:
“Address block …”
“Greeting line…”
“More items…”
When done composing your letter, click “Next…” at bottom of Task Pane.
Notice in the Task Pane, it says “Preview your letters”
Click on the << or >> to view the letter for each individual.
If you discover a mistake with someone’s data, click on “Edit recipient list…” and you’ll see a “Mail Merge Recipients” window where you can select a record and make changes to it. Click on the record, then click Edit. Make the needed changes. Click Close, then OK.
You can also check/uncheck recipients in the Mail Merge Recipients window so that they are included/excluded.
When done, click “Next…” at bottom of Task Pane. You are now on the last step of the mail merge.
In this view, you can make a change to a letter and it will appear on ALL letters. To view the other letters, use the “previous record” (<) and “next record” (>) buttons on the Mail Merge toolbar.
If your letters need no further editing, then you can go ahead and print them. Click on “Print…” in the Task Pane.
If you need to make a change on one letter, for example, but not all of them, then click on
“Edit individual letters…” Now, whatever change you make will only affect the letter you make the change on.
Preview / print / save the document as desired.
Merging Addresses into mailing labels
Create a new blank document
Select Tools, Select Letters and Mailings, Select Mail Merge Wizard.
You’ll see a Task Pane on the right side of the screen.
Select “Labels” and click Next at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Select “Change document layout”
Click on “Label options…”
The Label Options window appears.
In the Label Products field, verify that Avery Standard is selected
Select 5160- Address from the Product number list box.
Click on OK
Click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Select “Use an existing list” then click “Browse…”
Find your data source (notice that it’s an Access file!), click Open.
You’ll see the Mail Merge Recipients window; sort or edit if needed, then click OK
Click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
“Arrange your labels” is at the top of the Task Pane.
Read the directions in the Task Pane. Notice that you are instructed to lay out your label using the 1st label on the sheet. That’s where the cursor is blinking. If you can’t see it, move the horizontal scroll bar to the left.
Select from the Task Pane to add the necessary fields:
“Address block…”
“More items…”
This would be an OK place to insert a picture if desired:
To add a picture to your labels:
Insert, Picture, Clip Art
Later
Search text – type in “holiday” for example.
Click Search
Click on the picture that you want.
Double-click the picture in the label.
You’ll see the “Format Picture” window.
Select the Layout tab.
Click in the box above “In front of text”
Click OK.
Resize and/or move picture as needed.
At top of Task Pane, click drop-down arrow and select Mail Merge.
Under “Replicate labels” in the Task Pane, click on Update all labels.
Click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Click “Next…” at the bottom of the Task Pane.
Preview / print / save the document as desired.
From Word, have a new blank document on the screen.
Click on Tools, Letters and Mailings, then select Envelopes and Labels
The Label tab is selected
Type in address
In the print box, “Full page of the same label” is selected
In the Label box, a label size is selected.
Click on it to view the Label Options window. Change label size if necessary.
Click on OK
Click on New
Document
Preview / Print / Save as desired.
To update your data source:
From Word, have a new blank document on the screen.
Click on Tools, Letters and Mailings,
Notice the option “Show Mail Merge Toolbar”
– if it already has a checkmark beside it, leave it alone.
– if it does not have a checkmark beside it, click on it to select it.
On the Mail Merge Toolbar, click on the 2nd button from the left called “Open Data Source”
Click on the file that is your data source, then click Open
(At this point you don’t see anything yet.)
On the Mail Merge Toolbar, click on the 3rd button from the left called “Mail Merge Recipients” (there’s a pencil on it).
Make needed changes and when done, click OK.
A table is text that is arranged in a grid of rows and columns. You can create a table from scratch or you can convert existing text into a table. Once you have created a table, you can easily modify it, sort and calculate the data in it, and quickly make it attractive using a preset table format. You can also build tables by drawing rows and columns exactly where you want them. Tables are an excellent tool for displaying data that is typically found in lists or columns.
To get the tables and borders toolbar to appear:
select View on the menu bar, Toolbars, Tables and Borders.
Use the Insert Table button (looks like a chart) on the Standard toolbar – or -
click Table on the menu bar, select Insert, Table.
A grid opens. Use this grid to indicate the number of rows and columns you want the new table to contain.
Type in your text. Use Tab to move from one cell to the next.
To select a cell, place the mouse pointer toward the left edge of the cell so that it becomes a small black arrow, then click.
To select a row, place the mouse pointer toward the left edge of the row so that it becomes a large white arrow, then click.
If the cursor is in the last cell in the table, pressing Tab creates a new blank row at the end of the table.
The text you intend to convert to a table must be formatted with tabs, commas, or paragraph marks so that Word can interpret the formatting and create the table.
Select the text, then use the Insert Table button on the Standard toolbar or
Select the text, then select Table, Convert, Text to Table.
Ways to adjust:
Position the mouse pointer over the right border of a column or row (any cell) so that the pointer becomes opposite-facing arrows, then drag the border.
Double click the column border to make the column fit the text.
use the AutoFit command on the Table menu
specify the column width and row height you want using the Table Properties command on the Table menu.
To adjust the table so that all rows are the same height:
Click anywhere in the table
Click the Table Select icon (little square with arrows) that appears at the upper-left corner of the table.
Click Table on the menu bar
Select AutoFit
Click Distribute Rows Evenly.
(or just click that button on the Tables and Borders toolbar)
Try the other options in AutoFit.
With cursor anywhere in the table, select Table on menu bar, Table Properties.
You can:
set a specific row height and/or column width,
change the alignment of a table on the page. (left, center, or right aligned),
change the vertical alignment of text in cells. (top, center, bottom).
Try out the Cell Alignment button on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
(white button with lines and a drop down arrow).
Click on its drop-down arrow, place the pointer on the blue bar at the top of the menu, notice the “Drag to make this menu float” message. Click and drag the menu closer to the area where you’re working.
Be sure the cursor is in the appropriate location in the table
Click Table on the menu bar
Select Insert
Select Column to the left / right or Rows Above / Below
Notice that after you insert a row or column, when you begin typing, the insertion point is in the first cell.
Use the same commands that you use to copy and move text in a document.
Select the entire row or column that you want to move, click the Cut or Copy button.
Place the insertion point in the location you want, then click the Paste button.
With the cursor in the table, click the Table AutoFormat button on the Tables and Borders toolbar (looks like a chart with a lightening bolt).
Notice the vertical scrollbar for the list of formats. To Preview each format, use the up/down arrow keys to actually select different formats & preview them.
Select the Subtle 2 Format, for example. Notice the “Apply special formats to” section. Select /deselect these items and watch the preview area to notice the changes.
Shading
Select cell(s) to format, click on the Shading Color button (looks like paint can) drop down arrow.
Notice that as you move the mouse pointer across the colors, the color name appears.
Select a color. Now notice that whatever color you just selected is right on the Shading Color button (under the paint can). If the next item you want to shade happens to be the same color, you can just click on the button, rather than having to pull up the color list.
Borders
To add or remove borders, select the cell(s), click the Outside Border button (looks like a square) arrow.
It can be found in 2 places and you can use either one:
Tables and Borders Toolbar
Formatting Toolbar.
This type of formatting applies to whole cells. You can still format text using the formatting toolbar for font, size, bold, italic, underline, left, center, right justify, highlight, and color of text.
Cell references in a table
|
A1 |
B1 |
C1 |
D1 |
|
A2 |
B2 |
C2 |
D2 |
|
A3 |
B3 |
C3 |
D3 |
Row 1
Row 2
Row 3
Col. A Col. B Col. C Col. D
Place the cursor in the cell where you want the result to go.
Click on Table on the menu bar, then click Formula.
In the Formula text box, Word suggests a formula based on cursor location.
If this formula is what you want, click OK.
If not, delete the formula that’s there and type in your own beginning with the equal sign.
For example: =b2-c2
It doesn’t matter if the letters are lower- or upper-case or both.
The mathematical operators are:
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Division
If you make a change to a number that is part of a formula, Word does not automatically update the result like Excel does.
To update the result, you must select the number to be updated so that it appears in gray, then press F9.
Caution: if the cursor is after the number and the number is not in gray, it won’t work.
If you need to simply add up a column of numbers, click in the cell where you want the result to go, then click the AutoSum button (looks like an “E”) on the Tables and Borders Toolbar.
To sort on a single column, click anywhere in the column and click on the Sort Ascending (AZ) or Sort Descending (ZA) button.
To sort on more than 1 column, click anywhere in the table, click Table, Sort, select the first “Sort by” column, then the “Then by” column(s).
If your table has a header row, be sure to select “Header row” under the heading “My list has.” This will prevent the first row (header row) from being included in the sort.
Click anywhere on the row where you want to start the new table, click Table on the menu bar, click Split Table. The table is divided into 2 tables separated by a blank line.
Sometimes you may not want your table to contain the same number of cells in each row or column. For example, you might need only one cell in the header row or an extra cell in the last column to display an important total. Word’s Draw Table feature allows you to customize your tables by drawing cells exactly where you want them.
Be sure the Tables and Borders toolbar is displayed.
Click the Draw Table button (pencil) on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
The mouse pointer has changed to the Pencil pointer. (pencil)
You use this pointer to draw a new table.
Place the pointer where you want to begin drawing, then click and drag down and to the right as far as you need to go, then release the mouse button.
Now you can click on any of the borders and draw lines in any direction to create whatever columns / rows you need.
When done drawing, click the Draw Table button (pencil) on the Tables and Borders toolbar to deactivate the Pencil pointer.
Now you can type in your table as needed.
Don’t forget about the Distribute Rows / Columns Evenly buttons on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
When you merge cells, you combine 2 or more cells to create one larger cell.
When you split cells, you divide a single cell to create two or more separate cells.
Select the cells to be split, then click the Split Cells button (looks like a grid) on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
Select the cells to be merged, then click the Merge Cells button (looks like a grid) on the Tables and Borders toolbar.
Text that is formatted in newspaper columns flows from one column to the next column. You can apply column formatting to a section, to the whole document, or to the selected text.
Click the Columns button (looks like 2 columns of black dashes) on the Standard toolbar, slide the mouse pointer to the right to select up to 4 columns, then click.
- OR -
Click on Format on the menu bar, click Columns, select the number of columns there.
Click on Format on the menu bar, click Columns. You can use the Columns dialog box to change the number of columns, adjust the width and spacing of columns, create columns of unequal width, and add lines between columns.
A section is a part of a document that is separated from the rest of the document by section breaks.
Dividing a document into sections allows you to apply different formats to individual sections of the document.
Format options include margins, columns, headers and footers, page size and orientation, page numbering.
This comes in handy when, for instance, you want part of your document to be in columns, and the rest you do not.
To insert a section break: place the cursor at the insertion point,
click on Insert on the menu bar, Break, Continuous.
Use the Show/Hide button (looks like a paragraph marker) to see where you’ve applied section breaks.
Text that is formatted in newspaper columns wraps from the bottom of one column to the top of the next. If the text does not fill all the columns on a page, you may end up with a page that has columns of unequal length. You can balance the length of unequal columns by inserting a continuous section break at the end of the last column. This will distribute the columns evenly.
If you want the text to break at a particular point, you can insert a column break, which forces the text after the break to move to the top of the next column.
Place the cursor immediately before the text where you want the break to go, click Insert, Break, Column break.
Caution: When a page has a column break, inserting a continuous section break will not balance the columns on that page.
Select Insert on the menu bar, Picture, Clip Art.
Search text – type in “holiday” for example.
Click Search
Click on the picture that you want.
Double-click the picture
You’ll see the “Format Picture” window.
Select the Layout tab.
Click in the box above “In front of text”
Click OK.
Resize and/or move picture as needed.
Click on the figure to select it. Notice the points around it. To resize the picture, click and drag on any of those points.
The green dot is to rotate the picture.
To delete the picture, click on it to select it, and hit the delete key on the keyboard.