BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Microsoft Word Basic Topics
Handout
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Microsoft Word Toolbars and Special Features
Tabs
Left TabCenter Tab
Right TabDecimal Tab
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Standard Word Features
The Insertion Point
The blinking line at the top of the document is called the Insertion Point. Whenever you type text in Word this is where your text will appear. Therefore before you begin typing your text you must make sure the insertion point is in the appropriate location.
The I-Beam
In Word when your mouse is located over the typing area it looks like an I. This is called an I-Beam and it allows you to move your insertion point to various locations and highlight text.
End of Document Mark
The end of document mark is the flat, horizontal line displayed near the left margin. This marker always marks the end of your text in the document. You cannot physically move this marker yourself, it will move automatically as you are typing.
Show/Hide Symbols
Show/Hide symbols are non printing characters that are used as place holders in your document. Different symbols mark different keyboard keys that have been used such as, the <Enter> key. The most common symbols seen in a document are:
Character / Key/ <TAB>
/ <SPACEBAR>
/ <ENTER>
These symbols are a toggle which means they can be turned on or off. The button pictured below allows you to do this.
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Saving a File
Save AsUse this command if you are:
- Saving the file for the first time.
- Giving the file a name.
- Changing the location of where the file will be saved.
SaveUse this command to update an existing file.
Rules for Naming a File
- No more than eight characters.
- No special symbols or characters.
- No spaces.
When you save a file, Word will automatically assign an extension to that file. The extension for Word is “.DOC” and it identifies the file as a Word file.
AutoCorrect
AutoCorrect is a feature in Word that allows you to automatically fix common spelling and typographical errors. It does this as you are typing and it is activated by the <SPACEBAR>. For example AutoCorrect can automatically fix these types of errors:
Error / Fix / Rulethe / the / Replace common errors
JAnuary / January / Correct TWo initial CAP’s
don;t / don't / Replace common errors
saturday / Saturday / Captitalize names of days
it's hot. / It's hot. / Capitalize the first letter of sentences
If you decide you don't like Autocorrect you can turn this feature off by selecting the Tools menu and the AutoCorrect command.
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
The Edit, Replace Command
This command is used to find a text string and replace it with another. From the menu bar select Edit and then the Replace command. You will get this dialogue box:
In this dialogue box you will have several search options to help you find more specific text strings. Listed below are the search options available to you:
Match Case. Finds text strings that match the exact upper and lower case combinations typed in the Find What box.
Find Whole Words Only. Finds only the text with whole words. Doesn't find it if it is a portion of a word. For example if you were looking for the word "go" in the Find What box with this feature turned on, it would not find goes, gone, gopher, going.
Use Pattern Matching. Allows you to use wildcards such as the asterisk(*). For example if you were looking for "ch*" in the Find What box, it would find change, church, choice.
Sound Like. Finds any words that sound like what was typed in the Find What text box. For example if "Kaitlin" were typed in it would also find "Caitlin".
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Alternative Ways of Selecting Text
One way to select text is to click and drag the mouse over any text you may want to highlight. You'll find that sometimes this process is time consuming and difficult so you will need alternatives. One of these alternatives is the Selection Bar. The Selection Bar is the blank half inch at the left margin where your mouse pointer will change from the I-Beam to a right pointing arrow. With this arrow you can select text a number of different ways. Here is a list of shortcuts:
To Select: / Use this Mouse Technique:A word and the trailing spaces / Place the I-Beam on top of the word and double click
A Line / Move mouse into Selection Bar until it changes into a right arrow and click once.
More than one line / Move mouse into Selection Bar until it changes into a right arrow and click and drag down to desired line.
A paragraph / Move mouse into Selection Bar until it changes into a right arrow and double click.
The entire document / Move mouse into Selection Bar until it changes into a right arrow and triple click or press and hold the <CTRL> key and click once.
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Copying and Moving Text
You can copy and move sections of your text in any of your documents. You can keep the information in one document or you can use it in several different documents.
To copy text, use the following steps:
- Select the text that you want to copy.
- Under the Edit menu, elect the Copy command or click on the Copy button.
- Position the insertion point where you want to copy to.
- Under the Edit menu, select the Paste command or click on the Paste button.
To move text, use the following steps:
- Select the text that you want to copy.
- Under the Edit menu, select the Copy command or click on the Cut button.
- Position the insertion point where you want to move to.
- Under the Edit menu, select the Paste command or click on the Paste button.
Undo
The Edit Undo command will reverse the last command you gave to the computer. In Word Undo will let you reverse a series of commands. Basically in Word you have unlimited Undo.
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Formatting in Word
There are two different types of formatting you can do in Word. One type is Character Formatting where you make changes to your text. Examples of character formatting would be changing the font and font size or making text bold or italic. The second type is Paragraph Formatting which would include changing the alignment, bulleting or numbering text and changing indents.
You can do either of these format types a number of different ways. The most useful is using a combination of both menus and shortcuts. One of the most helpful menus is the Format menu:
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Using the menu and also the formatting toolbar you can use a number of different features to give your documents a professional look. Most of the buttons on the formatting toolbar are toggles which means they can be turned on and off. To make quick formatting changes use some of the following buttons:
Bullets Button
Numbering Button
Decrease Indent Button
Increase Indent Button
Borders Button
Print Preview
Print Preview enables you to see what your document will look like before you print it. When you are in Print Preview you may use the <PAGE UP> and <PAGE DOWN> to move through your pages. Also Print Preview allows you to view multiple pages at one time.
Your Print Preview Button looks like this:
Your Multiple Pages button:
9/13/2004- 1 -
BHS MS Office Monday NightsMS Office Word Mike Carco
Line Spacing
By default all of your documents are single spaced. However, you can change the line spacing by using the following steps:
- From the menu bar select the Format menu and the Paragraph command.
- Click on the drop down arrow under Line Spacing at:
- Choose a line spacing size
- Click on OK
Page Breaks
There are two types of page breaks. Automatic page breaks are done automatically by Word. Manual page breaks are done by you. To enter a manual page break use the following steps:
- Place the insertion point immediately to the left of the first character you want on the new page.
- Press <CTRL> + <ENTER>
9/13/2004- 1 -