© Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION chapter 5 Introduction to Word Processing Objectives 1. Describe the basic functions of a word processing program and the types of projects that are best managed by using it. 2. Define common terms related to word processing. 3. Use appropriate keyboard shortcuts to speed up document creation and editing. 4. Describe the basic MS Word window and related navigational functions. 5. Create, format, edit, save, spell check, and print Microsoft Word documents. 6. Use the appropriate features when creating Word documents. Introduction A word processing program permits us to manipulate text and related objects such as pictures. If the need is to use mathematical processes to manipulate numbers or to manage data, then a word processing program is not the correct application to use. The main purpose of a word processing program is to permit the user to create text documents, edit (insert, delete, and replace) text and objects, format the document to increase readability and appearance, print a copy of the document, and save the document for future use or reference. This chapter provides the basics of word processing using Microsoft Word 2010. © Inga Ivanova/ShutterStock, Inc. 215 ch05.indd 215 5/28/2013 6:14:47 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 216 CHAPTER 5: Introduction to Word Processing Definitions Understanding some of the common concepts related to text manipulation makes using the help system easier and increases your problem-solving skills when things go wrong. Block A block is a selected (highlighted) section of text that the program treats as a unit. You can apply most indi- vidual formatting functions, such as bold and under- line, to blocks of text, thereby making formatting and editing functions much more efficient. Clipboard A clipboard is a holding area or buffer for copied or cut data for later use. You can place data onto a clipboard and can then paste it into another document, another application, or another location within the original document. In Office 2010, the Office Clipboard can hold as many as 24 items at a time (see Chapter 4 for details). Format Formatting is the process of editing the appearance of a document by altering the look of fonts and using inden- tations, margins, tabs, justification, and pagination; format conditions affect the document appearance. In Word, format features vary depending on whether you are formatting characters (font, size, emphasis, and spe- cial effects such as highlight or superscript/subs cript), paragraphs (tabs, alignment, indentation, line spacing, and line breaks), or pages (headers, footers, margins, paper size, and orientation). Hard Return The hard return is a code that you insert in the docu- ment by pressing the Enter key. A hard return usually marks the end of a paragraph. In Word, the paragraph mark is . Users may toggle the paragraph markers on to show marks in the document when typing or toggle them off by clicking the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. To always show the Show/Hide feature click the File Tab, Options, Display, and place a check in Paragraph marks. Insert To “insert” means to add characters in the text at the point of the cursor, thereby moving all other text to the ch05.indd 216 5/28/2013 6:14:48 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Definitions 217 right. Insert mode is the opposite of overtype mode and is the default in most word processing programs. In Office 2010, the Insert tab is next to the Home tab on the ribbon; use it to insert pages, tables, illustra- tions, links, and so forth. Move Move is a function in word processing programs that permits the user to relocate text or graphics to another place in the document or to another document. Outliner Outliner is a feature of many word processing pro- grams that enables the user to plan and rea rrange large documents in an outline form. Overtype Overtype means to replace the character under the cursor by the character typed. To turn it off, click the File Tab, click Options, click Advanced, and clear the Use the Insert Key and Use Overtype Mode check boxes. ScreenTips ScreenTips are small windows that display descriptive text when you rest the pointer on a command or icon. Office 2010 offers enhanced ScreenTips with larger windows and more text. Scrolling Scrolling is the process of moving around a docu- ment to view a specific portion of a page of text when the entire document does not fit on the screen. This navigation process does not change the location of the insertion point until the user clicks elsewhere in the document. SmartArt SmartArt is a feature in Office 2010 that permits you to easily create a visual representation of your informa- tion. A common use of it is to display organizational structure in an organization. Soft Return A soft return is the code that the prog ram inserts in the document automatically when the typed line reaches the right margin. Template A template contains predesigned formats and structure. It creates a copy of itself when you open it. When you select File, New you will see a list of templates with more available online at Office.com. Some commons ones are budgets, calendars, memos, and resumes. ch05.indd 217 5/28/2013 6:14:48 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 218 CHAPTER 5: Introduction to Word Processing Toggle Toggling switches from one mode of operation to another mode: on or off. For example, a user might toggle from insert mode to replace/overtype mode. Word Wrap This feature automatically carries words over to the next line if they extend beyond the margin. Data Exchange Word processing software saves documents in file formats that are unique to that software program. Office 2010 documents, worksheets, and presentations are saved in XML with extensions that end in “x” or “m.” The x indicates an XML file that has no macros. An m indicates the file contains a macro. Many word pro- cessing programs allow the option of saving documents under another file format by using the Save As feature. For example, you can save a Microsoft Word 2010 document in several ways, such as a Word 2010 document (docx), Word tem- plate (dotx), rich text (rtf), Word 97–2003 (doc), PDF (pdf), or Word XML (xml). This feature permits you to exchange a file with others who are working with dif- ferent word processing programs, versions, or systems. It also permits you to save a word processing file as a Web page (htm or html). Other file formats are also available. By default, Word 2010 uses the docx format. Saving Work Every person probably has at least one horror story that he or she can tell about lost data or documents. To avoid accidental loss of data, follow these tips: 1. Periodically save your work. When typing a document, the computer holds that document temporarily in random access memory (RAM). Once you instruct the program to save the document on a storage device, the document exists both in RAM and on the storage device. If power goes off (even temporarily), you lose all the data in RAM. While you can set your Office programs to use the AutoRecover feature, this is not a substitute for regularly saving your work through the Save command. AutoRecover does not replace the Save command; it is only effective for unplanned disrup- tions, such as a power outage or a crash. AutoRecover files are not designed to be saved when you close the program in an orderly fashion. Conversely, you do not lose data stored on secondary storage devices unless that medium gets corrupted. 2. Pay attention to software warnings. These warnings are hints to remind you that doing certain things will have a predetermined result. For example, saving a document with the same name as another one results in a message ch05.indd 218 5/28/2013 6:14:49 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION Saving Work 219 Figure 5-1 Warnings that a File Exists with the Same Name asking whether the file is to be replaced (Figure 5-1). Do not respond with “Replace existing file” unless you have no need for the original document. 3. Always keep a backup or duplicate copy of a document. That backup could consist of a CD, USB storage device, or another hard drive. Store the backup in a different place. If something happens to the original document or the computer, the backup copy will then be available for restoring the data. A particularly valuable document, such as a thesis or research paper, should have a backup that you keep in a different location from the prim ary document. Many options for automatic backup are available today from places like MozyHome, MediaFire, or SkyDrive. If you select an online backup service, do your homework first. Some people will also send a copy of the document to themselves as an email attachment thereby having it in another place, the mail server. 4. Word 2010 AutoSaves a document as a draft for 4 days when you choose “Don’t Save” or exit without saving. To find it click File, Recent, and click the box at the bottom of the page. Again, these files may not be perfect when retrieved or as you remembered them. ch05.indd 219 5/28/2013 6:14:49 PM © Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC. NOT FOR SALE OR DISTRIBUTION 220 CHAPTER 5: Introduction to Word Processing Introduction to Microsoft Word 2010 Examples in this text use Microsoft Office Word 2010 for Windows 7.