CHAPTER THREE

WORD PROCESSING
3 Overview
A word processor, or word processing program, does exactly what the name implies. It
processes words. It also processes paragraphs, pages, and entire papers. Some
examples of word processing programs include Microsoft Word, WordPerfect (Windows
only), AppleWorks (Mac only), and OpenOffice.org.

The first word processors were basically computerized typewriters, which did little
more than place characters on a screen, which could then be printed by a printer.
Modern word processing programs, however, include features to customize the style of
the text, change the page formatting, and may be able to add headers, footers, and
page numbers to each page. Some may also include a "Word Count" option, which
counts the words and characters within a document.

While all these features can be useful and fun to play with, the most significant
improvement over the typewriter is the word processor's ability to make changes (edit)
to a document after it has been written. By using the mouse, you can click anywhere
within the text of a document and add or remove content. Since reprinting a paper is
much easier than retyping it, word processing programs have make revising text
documents a much more efficient process.

3.1 Word processing terminologies

3.1.1 What are the five main tasks performed with a word processor?

The five tasks performed with a word processor are to create, edit, format, save and
print documents.

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3.1.2 What does it mean to format something? Name three different types of objects
that a word processor can format.

To format something means to change its appearance or its location on screen. The
three different objects a word processor can format are characters, paragraphs and
documents. Examples of formats are bold or italics for characters, indents or alignment
for paragraphs and margins or print orientation for documents. Some word processing
programs can work with a fourth object, a section. A section is a subdivision of a
document that can have its own margins, headers or footers.

3.1.3 Word processors have a feature called Word Wrap. Define the term Word
Wrap.

Unlike typewriters, with word processing programs there is no need to press the enter
key at the end of a line of text when you want to create a new line. Word processor
programs keep track of how many characters there are in a word and can sense the
approach of the right margin. When a word is too long to fit on a line, the word
processor program automatically creates a new line and drops the word down onto that
line.

3.1.4 Name three uses for the Enter key.

Three uses for the Enter key are to:

1. Create a new paragraph.

2. To create blank lines between paragraphs.
3. To break an existing paragraph into two separate paragraphs.

3.1.5 What two keys can you use to remove blank lines between paragraphs? What is
the difference between the two keys?

The two key that can remove one character at a time are backspace or delete. Press the
backspace key and you remove one character at a time to the left of the insertion point.
Press delete and you remove one character at a time to the right of the insertion point.

3.1.6 What is a block? Describe two different ways to select a block.

A block is any collection of characters that you highlight or select using either the mouse
or the keyboard. To select a block with the mouse, click and drag the mouse pointer over
the text you want to select. To select a block with the keyboard, hold down the shift key

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and, while holding shift down, press any of the keys used to move the insertion point
such as any of the four arrow keys.

3.1.7 Briefly describe two ways to copy or cut text.

When you copy and paste text, you duplicate it, that is, the original text remains where it
was and a duplicate of that text is placed somewhere else in the same document or in a
different document. When you cut and paste text, you move or relocate it to another
location in the same document or into another document. Highlighted text is removed
from its original location and placed somewhere else. Before you can copy or cut text,
you must highlight it using one of the methods described above for selecting a block of
text. Once the text is highlighted, you can choose the Copy or Cut commands from the
Edit menu or use the keyboard shortcuts for Copy or Cut. The keyboard shortcut for
Copy is control+C; Cut is control+X.

3.1.8 Briefly describe two ways to undo mistakes you might make in a document.

Choose the Undo command from the Edit menu to undo a mistake. While some
programs have a multi-level undo (you can undo more than your last action) most
programs only let you undo your last action. If you can’t use Undo to correct a mistake,
another option is to close your document without saving any changes. While closing you
work without saving changes will allow you to reverse unwanted changes to a document,
you may also lose desired changes too. Use this method only as a last resort.

3.1.9 What is an indent? Include in your answer four different types of indents.

An indent is an amount of space between one or more lines in a paragraph and the page
margins. The four types of indents are:

Left; all lines of a paragraph are moved in from the left margin.

Right; all lines of a paragraph are moved in from the right margin.

First line; the first line is to the right of all other lines.

Hanging; the first line is to the left of all others.

3.1.10 What is the difference between a hanging indent and a first line indent?

A paragraph with a hanging indent has the first line to the left of all other lines in the
same paragraph; a paragraph with a first line indent has the first line to the right of all

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others. Although all other lines of a paragraph with a first line indent often start at the
left margin, sometimes the other lines are themselves indented also.

3.1.11 Name and describe each of the four types of paragraph alignment.

Paragraph alignment has to do with how the lines of a paragraph line up in relation to
the margins of a document. The four types of paragraph alignment are: left, right, center
and justified.

Left: The left side of a left aligned paragraph lines up smoothly with the
left margin while the right side of the paragraph is uneven or ragged.

Right: The right side of a right aligned paragraph lines up smoothly with
the right margin while the left side is uneven or ragged.

Center: The lines of a center aligned paragraph line up with the center of
the page; neither the left nor the right side of a center aligned paragraph
are lined up smoothly with the margins.

Justified: The lines on both sides of a justified paragraph line up smoothly

with the margins.

3.1.12 Discuss the term inherit as it applies to paragraph formatting. Name three
things a paragraph might inherit.

Each time you press the enter key, you create a new paragraph. The new paragraph
automatically inherits (acquires) all formats from the paragraph that contained the
insertion point when the enter key was pressed, usually the paragraph above. Some
formats that a new paragraph may inherit are font, font size, alignment, indents and
tabs.

3.1.13 Name three different ways to apply formats to text.

Formats can be applied by selecting a command from the format menu, by clicking a
toolbar icon or with keyboard shortcuts.

3.1.14 What happens when I press the Tab key? What are tabs most often used to do?

When you press the tab key, the insertion point moves a fixed amount of space to the
right, usually one half inch. Tabs are most often used to create columns of text whose
lines all begin the same distance from the left margin.

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3.1.15 Define the terms header and footer.

Word processing programs reserve space at the top and bottom of every page in a
document. A header is text that prints in the reserved space at the top of every page in a
document. A footer is text that prints in the reserved space at the bottom of every page
in a document. Although headers and footers print at the top and bottom of every page
in a document, you only type header or footer text once, usually in a header or footer
dialog box. Once you have entered the text in the appropriate dialog box, the word
processing program places the text in the appropriate location on every page in the
document.

3.1.16 How can I get an overview of a document before I print it?

The Print preview command allows you to view the pages of a document in a miniature
view. It is a good idea to use the Print preview command before actually printing your
work. By previewing your work before printing, you can catch formatting errors you
might otherwise miss in normal view. If you do find errors, you can go back to normal
view and correct the errors before printing, saving time, paper and toner.

3.1.17 It isn't necessary to print an entire document every time. Name three different
options you have for printing less than an entire document.

Word offers you three options for printing less than an entire file. You can print just the
current page, the page that contains the insertion point. You can print a range of pages
or you can select (highlight) just some of the text in a document and print only whatever
you select.

3.1.18 Define the terms Portrait and Landscape as applied to printing a document.

There are two orientations you can choose for printing a file, portrait or landscape.
When you print a file in portrait orientation, the file is printed in the typical vertical
layout. A file printed in landscape orientation is printed sideways along the widest
dimension of the page. Remember, when printing in landscape mode, you don’t adjust
the paper in the printer. The word processing program takes care of printing the page
according to whatever choice you make.

3.1.19 What is HTML? How do I convert a word processing document into HTML?

The letters HTML stand for hyper text markup language. HTML is a set of codes applied
to text that control how a page on the World Wide Web appears. With today's newer

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word processing programs such as Word, to convert a document into its HTML
equivalent, choose Save as Web page from the file menu.

3.2 Microsoft word 2007

Microsoft Word 2007: Word Processor

When you launch MS Word 2007, its program window appears on screen. A screenshot
of the window is shown below with the screen elements labeled. This tutorial will
introduce these elements in brief. You would learn about them in detail in the
subsequent tutorials.

Title Bar

The title bar shows the name of the document on screen. When a new document is
started, Word 2007 gives it a generic name like ‘Document 1’ and this is displayed on the
title bar. When you save the document with a name, the generic name on the title bar is
replaced by the given name.

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Quick Access Toolbar

Located in the top left corner of the Word 2007 window, the Quick Access Toolbar
contains some of the most frequently used commands like Save, Undo, Redo. You can
add more commands to the Quick Access Toolbar as per your need. This toolbar helps
you to perform Word tasks speedily by providing one-click access to oft used
commands.

Window Controls

These are a set of three buttons in the top right corner of the program window.

→ The right button (displaying an x), is the Close button. On clicking, this button
closes the current document but not the Word program.
→ The left button is the Minimize button which minimizes the program window
to the taskbar.
→ The middle button, sporting a rectangle, is the Maximize button, which, on
clicking, maximizes the Word 2007 window and the button image changes to a
pair of rectangles. Another click restores the program window to its previous size
and the button image to a single rectangle.

Ribbon

You can think of the Ribbon as a collection of seven horizontal tabbed toolbars arranged
on top of each other. These toolbars are accessed through their tabs. The toolbars have
command buttons, menus and input boxes arranged in groups. Some groups have dialog
launchers (represented by a downward pointing arrow) which, when clicked, display a
dialog box related to that group.

At any given time, only one tabbed toolbar is visible. When Word is launched, the
Home tab is current and the toolbar attached to it is at the top, enabling you to invoke
its commands by clicking them. When any other tab is clicked, its toolbar comes to the
top and you can use the commands stored on it.

You may minimize the ribbon by clicking the 'Customize Quick Access Toolbar' button
located to the right of the 'Quick access Toolbar' and choosing 'Minimize the Ribbon'
from the drop-down menu. The Ribbon can also be minimized by double clicking the
active tab; clicking any tab of the minimized Ribbon will redisplay it once again.

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Office Button

Clicking 'Office' button reveals a drop-down menu showing commands for file
operations. These commands are described below in brief.

→ New: When you click this button, the 'New Document' window comes up
displaying three panes. The first pane shows a list of templates types, the second
pane shows the templates available for the template type selected in the first pane
and the third pane shows a preview of the template selected in second pane. You
can start a new document based on a template selected from amongst these. By
default, the blank document template is chosen. Clicking the Create button starts
a new document based on the selected template. Notice that Word 2007 offers a
wide variety of templates from the Microsoft Office Online.
→ Open: Starts the Open dialog where you can navigate to your documents folder,
select an existing (i.e. previously saved) document and open it in Word window.
→ Save: Clicking Save button saves the current document if it has been given a
name and saved earlier, otherwise it launches the Save As dialog.
→ Save As: Opens the Save As dialog. Here you can assign a name to a new
document and save it. You may also rename a document saved earlier and save it
with the new name.
→ Print: This command is used for printing the current document.
→ Prepare: Clicking this button opens a menu which provides information
regarding the current document and has commands for preparing it for
distribution.
→ Send: You may use this command to email a document or to fax it via internet.
→ Publish: This command allows you to create a blog post and publish it.
→ Close: You can close the current document using this button. However, the Word
2007 program keeps running.
→ Word Options: Opens the Word Options Dialog where you can chose your
preferred settings for display, proofing, saving, language, etc. It also provides
facility for customizing the Ribbon and the Quick access Toolbar.
→ Exit Word: Clicking this option closes the Word 2007 program together with all
open documents.

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Help Button

Located below the Window Controls in the top right corner of Word window, this
button brings up the Word Help window.

Rulers
The horizontal ruler is used to set tabs and indent text. You may use the vertical ruler to
set vertical location of text in the document. If the rulers are not visible, click the View
Ruler button immediately below the Ribbon on the extreme right.

The rulers show measurements in inches or centimeters, depending on the units of

measure specified in Word Options.

Tab Selector

Repeated clicking of the Tab Selector shows five tab markers and two indent markers.
By choosing the desired tab or indent marker and clicking on the horizontal ruler, you
can set tabs or indent text.

Status Bar

On the left hand side, the status bar displays document information such as the current
page number and total number of pages, word count, language, proofing error
notification, etc. You can customize the information display by right clicking the status
bar and making selections out of the context menu that pops up.

View Buttons

These buttons allow you to use five different document views:

→ Print Layout View: This view shows the document as it will look when it is
printed.
→ Full Screen Reading View: This view shows the document on full screen to
make reading your document more comfortable.
→ Web Layout View: Web Layout view enables you to see your document as it
would appear in a browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer.
→ Outline View: Outline view displays the document in outline form in which
headings could be displayed without the text. When you move a heading, the
accompanying text will move with it.

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 → Draft View: This is the most frequently used view for editing your document.

Zoom Tools

The Zoom slider lets you zoom out or zoom in the current document. The zoom range
is from 10% to 500%. The current zoom level is displayed on the taskbar immediately
left of the slider. Clicking the zoom level opens the Zoom dialog where you can specify
the desired zoom level.

Vertical & Horizontal Scroll Bars

The vertical scroll bar is located at the extreme right of the Word 2007 window while the
horizontal scroll bar is at the bottom of the window just above the status bar. Vertical
scroll bar is always visible while the horizontal scroll bar appears only when the
document width exceeds the screen width.

The scroll bars let you scroll the document up-down vertically or left-right horizontally.
To scroll, you need to click and drag 1the scroll box showing three vertical/horizontal
lines. The document moves in a direction opposite to the movement of the scroll box.

Text Area

Text area is a frame between the rulers and the scroll bars which is a large area looking
like a blank sheet of paper. This is the text area where you type the text of the document.
You will see a blinking vertical line in the top left corner. This is the Cursor. The typed
characters appear at its location. As a character appears at its location, the cursor moves
to its immediate right.

Mouse Pointer

In Word, you use the mouse to choose commands, move around in the document, select
and move text, etc. As you move the mouse pointer across the screen, it takes different
shapes. It is a right pointing arrow within the left margin of the text area and an I-beam
in the rest of the text area. Outside the text area, it takes the shape of a left pointing
arrow.

The mouse is used to perform following actions:

→ Point: Positioning the mouse pointer on an item.

1Click and drag: place a mouse pointer over the object, press left button of mouse and move
the mouse while pressing the left button until the object move to the new location and them
release it.
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 → Single click: Clicking the left mouse button once.

→ Double click: Clicking the left mouse button twice in quick succession.

→ Triple click: Clicking the left mouse button thrice in quick succession.

→ Right click: Clicking the right mouse button once.

→ Drag & Drop: Pointing to an item, pressing and holding the left mouse button
while moving the pointer to a new location and releasing the mouse button.

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