Word

1. Menus (leading to commands, submenus (arrows) or dialog boxes(...))
2. Shortcut menus (right-click on an object to see which commands apply)
3. Toolbars (click on the icons to select a commands)

Word Interface

Before going over this material use View/Toolbars to ensure that only the Standard and Formatting toolbars are showing.

• Menu bar
• Standard toolbar
• Formatting toolbar
• Horizontal ruler
• Vertical ruler
• Task pane
• Status bar

Inserting and Modifying Text

Inserting text

1. The insertion point is a flashing vertical line that indicates where text will be entered.  The insertion point is always at the beginning of a new document but can be moved anywhere in an already existing document. 
2. Most beginners overuse the Enter key.  The only time you should use the Enter key is to end a paragraph.  This is because word processors use word wrap which automatically wraps text onto the next line.  Thus we should have more soft returns (created by Word) than hard returns (created by the user).
3. Word is always in one of two modes; insert or overtype.  Insert mode is often more convenient when entering text for the first time and overtype mode is more convenient for editing text.  Use the Insert key to toggle between the two modes and the status bar to determine which mode is active.
4. The Insert/Date and Time command allows you to insert the current date and time in a variety of formats.

Editing text

1. Many operations in Word involve a select-then-do process.  The selection is accomplished by holding down the left mouse button at the beginning of the selection, press and hold the left mouse button as you move to the end of the selection and then releasing.  The highlighted text can be moved, modified, formatted or deleted.
2. Delete text
   The delete and backspace buttons are used to delete one character to the left or right.  To delete several characters at once, highlight the characters to be deleted and press the Delete key or begin typing.
3. Move text
   The Windows clipboard provides a temporary storage for text, graphics and other objects. 
   Use the Windows clipboard and a combination of the Cut, Copy and Paste commands to copy or move text.  To copy text use Copy and Paste. To move text use Cut and Paste.  You may use the Menu bar, the cut and paste icons or the shortcut menu obtained using the right-click.
4. Use the Tools/Spelling and Grammar command to check your spelling and grammar.
5. The Undo and Redo commands are effective for correcting editing mistakes and may be accessed via the Edit menu or using the icons on the standard toolbar.

Formatting text

1. The Format/Font command gives complete control over the font (Arial, Times Roman), font style (bold, underline, italic), font size, font color and several other text effects such as subscripts, superscripts and even Las Vega lights. 
2. Many of these text effects can be obtained using the formatting toolbar.
3. The Format Painter can be used to copy the format from one block to the next.  To copy a selected format to one location, click the Format Painter once.  To copy a selected format to several different locations, double-click the Format Painter and then click on it again when you are finished.
4. Character styles
   A style is a set of formatting characteristics that you can apply to text, tables, and lists in your document to quickly change their appearance. When you apply a style, you apply a whole group of formats in one simple task.  For example, instead of taking three separate steps to format your title as 16 pt, Arial, and center-aligned, you can achieve the same result in one step by applying the Title style.  A character style affects selected text within a paragraph, such as the font and size of text, and bold and italic formats.  Styles may be applied to selected text by using the Styles List Box on the formatting menu.  To create a new character style, click Styles and Formatting on the Formatting toolbar and click on New Style.  Type in a name for your style and select the formatting options that you want.

Creating and Modifying Paragraphs

Formatting text is a local method of changing the appearance of a document.  In this section we consider modifications at the paragraph level such as alignment, indents, tabs, hyphenation and line spacing.  Other operations such as borders and shading are set at the character, paragraph or page level.

1. Format as you type.
   Click the Show/Hide button to display paragraph marks. Press Enter to start a new paragraph.  Select the paragraph mark and use the toolbars to change the formatting. Type your text.
2. Format existing paragraphs.
   Select the entire paragraph or paragraphs and use the toolbars to change the formatting.
3. Paragraph alignment.
   Left is the most commonly used and is the easiest to read. 
   Centered is used for short blocks of text such as titles.
   Right has limited use for situations such as captions that fall on the left side of an image.
   Justified is commonly used in publications using columns in its layout such as newspapers and magazines.
4. Indenting paragraphs.
   There are four types of indent; left, right, first-line and hanging.  The left and right indents can be used together to create a nested paragraph.  A first line indent can be used to distinguish a new paragraph from the previous one.  The hanging indent indents every line of a paragraph except the first one.  To indent a paragraph, click anywhere in the paragraph and use the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent button or drag the Left Indent, Right Indent, First Line Indent or Hanging Indent markers on the horizontal ruler.
5. Line spacing.
   Click in a paragraph or select several paragraphs.  Use the Format/Paragraph command to select single space, double space or any other spacing between lines.  The command allows you to add extra spacing before the first line or after the last line.  This is better than adding a blank line between paragraphs.
6. Format/Paragraph command.
   This command can be used to specify alignment, indentation, line spacing and pagination for selected paragraphs.
7. Tabs
   Word automatically sets tab stops at every 0.5 inches.  You can create your own tab stops by clicking the box at the left end of the ruler until you see the tab stop you want.  The choices are Left Tab marker, Center Tab marker, Right Tab marker and Decimal Tab marker.  Click in the ruler where you want the tab stop.
8. Bullets and Numbering
   To create a numbered (bulleted) list, type the number 1 (asterisk), a period and the text of the first item and press enter.  To convert a paragraph into a numbered (bulleted) list, select the paragraph and click on the Numbering (Bullets) button.  To create a custom numbered (bulleted) list, choose Bullets and Numbering from the Format menu.  Select the Numbered (Bulleted) tab.  Click Customize and make your selections.  A list style applies similar alignment, numbering or bullet characters, and fonts to lists.
9. Borders
   Click in the paragraph that is to have a border.  Click the down arrow of the Borders button and select the border you want to apply.  To create a custom border, click in the paragraph that is to have a border and choose Borders and Shading from the format menu.  Select the border style, color and line thickness.
10. Paragraph styles
    A paragraph style controls all aspects of a paragraph's appearance, such as text alignment, tab stops, line spacing, and borders, and can include character formatting.  A paragraph style affects the entire paragraph.  You cannot apply a paragraph style to only a part of a paragraph.  To apply a paragraph style to an existing paragraph, place the insertion point anywhere in the paragraph and use the Style List box on the Formatting toolbar to select an appropriate style.  To create a new paragraph style, click Styles and Formatting on the Formatting toolbar and click on New Style.  Type in a name for your style and select the formatting options that you want.

Formatting Documents

Desktop publishing

1. Page Setup menu
   Choose Page Setup from the File menu and select the orientation (Portrait, Landscape), paper size, paper source, line numbers and borders (pictures, paragraphs, page).
2. Columns.
   To flow text into columns, select the text and use the Columns button on the Standard toolbar.  To modify the columns layout, click anywhere in the section having columns and choose Columns from the format menu.
3. Side by side layout.
   Use tables to create side by side layout.
4. Page borders.
   Choose Borders and Shading from the Format menu and click the Page Border tab.  Select the settings and the parts of the document that you want to have a border and click OK.  You can choose an art border using a similar sequence of steps.
5. Borders around an object.
   Select the object and choose Borders and Shading from the Format menu.  Click the Border tab and select the type of border you wish to apply.
6. Dropped capital letters.
   Click to the right of the first letter in your paragraph and choose the Drop Cap from the Format menu.
7. Writing text sideways.
   Click the Text Box on the Drawing toolbar to create a text box.  Use Format/Text Direction to set the direction for the text.
8. Sidebars.
   Set a wide margin using File/Page Setup.  Use the Drawing toolbar to create a text box.  Add text or pictures.
9. Margin notes.
   Use Insert/Text Box or the Text Box on the Drawing toolbar to add a text box.
10. Pull Quote.
    Use the drawing toolbar to select a shape.  Right-click on the shape to add a fill color, add or remove a border, add text and make many other adjustments.
11. Word art.
    Use Insert/Picture/Word Art and select a style and add the text.

Tables

1. Create a table.
   For small tables you can use Table/Draw Table or the Table button on the standard toolbar. For large tables use the Table/Insert menu.  You can insert text or pictures into the cells of a table.  When working with the cells in a table you can select adjacent cells by dragging and nonadjacent cells by using the Ctrl key.
2. Add or delete rows and columns.
    Use Table/Insert to insert rows and columns.  Use Table/Delete to delete rows and columns. 
3. Resize rows and columns.
   To even up the column widths, select the columns and click the Distribute Columns Evenly on the Tables and Borders toolbar.  To even up the row heights, select the rows and click the Distribute Rows Evenly on the Tables and Borders toolbar.  Column widths can be adjusted by double clicking on  column borders.  Table/AutoFit may also be used to adjust cell, row and column sizes.  Also see Table Properties.
4. Merge or split cells.
5. Use Table/Merge Cells to merge cells and Table/Split Cells to split cells. 
6. Format tables.
7. Use Table/AutoFormat to select a built-in format for the table.  The Table and Borders toolbar allows you to adjust the line style, add a fill color to selected cells and adjust the borders.
8. Table Properties.
   The Table/Properties dialog box allows you to set the horizontal alignment of the table on the page, text wrapping, borders and shading, row dimensions, column dimensions and vertical alignment within cells.
9. Table styles
   Table styles provide a consistent look to borders, shading, alignment and fonts in tables.

Templates and Wizards

A template is partially completed document that contains text, graphics, styles, toolbars and page layout specifications.  Word uses the Normal template which contains a default format and content.  Other more specialized templates may be accessed via the File/New command.  Wizards are similar to templates, but they hide more of the implementation details from the user.

1. Letters
2. Memos
3. Reports
4. Resumes
5. Legal documents
6. Publications
7. Web pages

Technical documents

1. Special characters.
   Use Insert/Symbols, Insert/Object Microsoft Equation or the Symbols font.
2. Subscripts and superscripts.
   Type text you want to format as a subscript or superscript and select it.  Press Ctrl+Shift+equal sign to create a superscript or Ctrl+equal to create a subscript.  Use the right arrow to move out of the subscript/superscript zone.
3. Footnotes.
   Click in the document where you want to place the footnote mark.  Select Insert/Reference/Footnote and choose Footnote.  Click Insert and type in the text for the footnote.  Double-click the footnote number to return to the place in the document where the footnote was inserted.
4. Endnotes.
   Same as footnotes except they are collected at the end of the document.  In Normal View, click where you want to place the endnote.  Choose Insert/Reference/Footnote and choose Endnote.  Click Insert and type the text for the endnote.
5. Captions.
   Figures, tables and equations often require captions.  Select the item to be captioned and choose Insert/Reference/Caption.
6. Numbering headings.
   Be careful that headings have a consistent style.  Choose Edit/Select All and then Format/Bullets and Shading.  Select a numbering scheme.
7. Numbering lines.
   Choose File/Page Setup, click the Layout tab and then click Line Numbers.
8. Create an equation.
   Choose Insert/Object/Microsoft Equation and use the templates provided.  Use the tab key to move between the various fields. They can be nested to create even the most complicated equations. 
9. Create a chart.
   Excel charts can be embedded or linked.  When a chart is linked to a word document, changes to the data in Excel are made automatically in the Word document.  To embed use Insert/Object/Microsoft Excel Chart.  To link to an Excel chart, open the Excel worksheet and select the cells you want to copy.  Switch back to Word and choose Edit/Paste Special/Paste Link.
10. Index, Table of Contents, Table of Figures.
    Use Insert/Reference/Tables and Figures menu.
11. Inserting alien objects.
    Use Insert/Object to insert worksheets, equations, organizational charts, graphs, sound clips, PowerPoint presentations and more.

Long documents

1. Styles
   Using text and paragraph styles makes it easier to maintain a consistent format throughout a lengthy document.
2. Bound documents.
   Use File/Page Setup.  If you are going to print or copy the document to both sides of the paper, turn on the Mirror Margins checkbox.  Set the margin dimensions.  Set the gutter value equal to the room required for binding.  Specify if you want the gutter on the left side or at the top of the page.
3. Organizing long documents.
   Switch to outline view.  Use the tools on the Outlining toolbar to expand, collapse, promote or demote heading levels.  To move a topic, palce the mouse over a plus or minus sign and drag the topic to its new location.
4. Headers and footers.
   The headers and footers are in a different electronic plane than your main document.  To insert a header or footer, use View/Header and Footer and type in your text.  If your document has three or more pages, you can set up alternating headers for odd and even-numbered pages.  To do this use File/Page Setup, click the Layout tab and check the appropriate box.
5. Page numbers.
   Use Insert/Page Numbers.
6. Find and replace
   The Edit/Find, Edit/Replace and Edit/Go commands share a common dialog box and allow to you to find and/or replace multiple occurrences of a word or go to a specific line, page, table, graphic,... in the document.
7. Several layouts.
   In a long document, different parts of the document may have different layout requirements.   Select the part of the document whose orientation or margins you wish to change.  Use the File/Page Setup menu to make the changes for the selected portion of the document.
8. Sections or chapters.
   Long documents are often divided into sections or chapters which are to begin with odd page numbers.  To create chapter/section break use Insert/Break and choose the Odd Page option.
9. Comments.
   Use Insert/Comment to insert a comment.  The comments are visible in Print View.  Use the appropriate buttons to delete the comments.
10. Document Map.
    Use View/Document Map to see an overview of the structure of a document.
11. Master documents and subdocuments.
    To create a master document, switch to Outline view.  Add text and graphics as desired to the master document.  Click the Insert Subdocument button and open the subdocument.  Insert a new paragraph and repeat until all the subdocuments are added.

Managing Documents

1. Save and Save As.
   Use Save As to save a document after it has been created, to save a file under a different name or to save a document using a different file format.  Use Save to save an existing document.
2. File formats.
   The Save As command allows you to save a document as a template, text file, web page or as a previous version of Word.

Working with Graphics

1. Clipart.
2. Drawing toolbar.
   The drawing toolbar allows you to create graphics in Word.  Use the toolbar to insert Rectangles, Ovals, Textboxes, WordArt, ClipArt, Pictures and a variety of shapes.   The drawing button allows you to determine how text will wrap around the image, group objects together or separate them, change the order of the objects (change the object in front), flip objects, align objects manually or by using a grid.
3. Picture toolbar.
   The picture toolbar allows you to insert a picture and adjust the color, brightness and contrast.  The picture can also be cropped, rotated and formatted (using the format button on the drawing toolbar).  The text wrapping and transparent color can be set.