A Beginner's Guide to Word Processing
Using Microsoft Words


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Introduction:

There are many reasons for using computers today. Word processing is one area that has demonstrated how powerful computers can be. There are many different names of word processors, and many can be quite complicated. In fact today it is difficult to buy a computer without word processing software included some how. Although there are many different kinds of software, most share the same basic functions, and do not require advanced computer or typing skills to use. These basic functions include:
  • typing
  • saving documents
  • opening documents
  • copying
  • pasting
  • cutting
  • printing
  • checking spelling
Starting Up

As mentioned above there are many different names of software for both the Macintosh and Windows 95 computer. These include Microsoft Word, ClarisWorks, Word Perfect, WordPad, AppleWorks, etc. Typing skills make using all of them easier, of course, but not necessary. Even somebody who hunts and pecks all of their keys will still actually type faster than writing by hand. Therefore you need not worry about being able to type faster than your boss can talk.

  1. To start, open up your word processor. This is usually done by double clicking on the icon of the software.
  2. When the software has loaded, it already has opened a blank document to start with. You can now start typing right away. To indent at the start of a paragraph, use the tab button on the keyboard instead of the space bar. The space bar may look alright on the screen, but will look sloppy when printing your document out.

     

    As this letter being typed, it will underline in red any words that the software does not recognize, usually misspellings or foreign words.

    This feature can be turned off, or you can ignore it (most software do not do this anyway). The red lines will not appear when printing on paper. (Later in this tutorial you will be shown how to use the spell checking tools.)

    You should also notice that the text that you are typing automatically scrolls to the next line. You do not have to hit Return or Enter at the end of each line. The only time you should hit Enter or Return is at the end of a paragraph.
     

  3. Continue to type your paragraph and hit enter or return at the end. Hit tab to indent your next paragraph and continue to type.

     

     

    Saving
     

  4. By now it is a good idea to save your document. This is easy. Since it is the first time to save this document, click with your mouse and hold the button down on the word File at the top left hand corner of the screen. This pops up a menu. Slide down to Save as… and let go of the mouse button.
     

     

  5. A window pops up, and you have to choose where you will save to. You can do this by clicking with your mouse. The example below is for Microsoft Word version 7.

     

     

     
  6. I am choosing to save to my My Documents folder.

     

     

     
  7. Give your document a name.

     

     

     
  8. Click on save when done.

     

     
  9. It is always a good idea to save every ten or fifteen minutes. Computers are known to freeze or crash. If this happens and you have not saved, you could lose all of your work. From now on you only need to click on File and slide down to Save.

     

     

     

  10. If you wish to quit and work on your document later, click on File and slide down to Exit or Quit. This is usually at the bottom of the File menu.

     

     

     
    Opening Your Document

     

  11. Open your word processing software the same way you did in step one. Now click on the File menu again and slide down to Open…

     

    Your document should now appear before you on the screen.

     

    Copying and Pasting

     

  1. If you wish to copy any part of your document to paste to another part, you first have to select the text that you want copied. This is done by clicking and dragging over top the text to copy. Click and hold the mouse button at the beginning of the text, then carefully drag it to the end of the text. All of the text you selected will appear highlighted. If you highlight too much, or not enough, do not worry, just try again.

     

     

     

  2. Click on the Edit menu and slide down to copy. This copies what you selected to a virtual clipboard which you can not see.

     

     

     
  3. Click your mouse at the end of your document, or wherever you want to paste to. Click on the Edit menu and slide down to Paste.

     

     

     

  4. The text that you copied to the virtual clipboard then appears right where you clicked.

     

     
     

    Cutting and Pasting

     

  5. If you wish to move some text from one place to another, you might want to cut the text instead of copying it. Cutting and copying are the same, except that cutting removes the text but still puts it on the virtual clipboard. To do so click and drag over the text that you want cut.

     

     

     
  6. Click on Edit and slide down to Cut. This removes the text and places it on to the invisible virtual clipboard.

     

     

     
  7. Click where you want to paste the text to.

     

     

     
  8. Click on Edit and choose Paste.

     

     

     
  9. The text that you copied to the virtual clipboard then appears right where you clicked.

     

     

     
    Spell Checking

    The spell checker is a great tool to have on a word processor, but it is not perfect. It only looks at every word that you typed, one at a time, and checks it with a dictionary. It does not look at each word in its context. Therefore if you typed their when you really wanted the word there, it will not correct the mistake. This means that you will still have to proof read your document yourself.
     

  10. Unlike all of the features explained before, the spell checking tool is not in the same place for all software. It is often found in the Edit menu or the Tools menu. In this case (Microsoft Word) it is in the Tools menu. So we click on the Tools menu and slide down to Spelling and Grammar….

     

     
  11. A spell check window pops up. Depending upon your software, you may have to click on a button that says Start. In this case we do not have to, it starts spell checking right away. When it finds a word that it does not recognize, it will show you and also give some alternative suggestions. If the word is spelled correct (spell checking does not usually recognize names as an example) then click on Ignore, or Ignore All. If it is misspelled, click on the correct word in the suggestions, and then click on Change. Do not click on the Add button, or in some cases the Learn button, as this will add the misspelled word to the computer's dictionary.

     

     
  12. When it has finished checking all of the words you have typed, it will usually let you know. Click on OK, or in some cases Done.

     

     

     

     
    Printing

     

  13. When you have finished everything and have checked it all over, you will probably want to print your document. To do this click on the File menu and slide down to Print….

     

     

     
  14. A printing window pops up. There is a lot of information here, and you probably do not need to worry about most of it. You can change the number of copies you wish to print, but otherwise just click OK or Print.

 

 

That's it! Although there is many more things to do on word processors, that is the basics. Go ahead and practice and get used to your word processor. Once you have the hang of it, there is no going back. Do not be afraid to experiment a little with the other functions when you are ready.

If you ever make a mistake, do not worry, just click on Edit and slide down to Undo.

 

 

When you are finished and want to leave, save and click on File and slide down to Quit or Exit at the bottom of the menu.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Resource: http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/alummis/beginnerword

 

 

 

 


Last update: October 12, 2005.

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© 2005 Pattawan Suwannapan
Royal Roads University