Productivity Software Chapter 7 Productivity Software

Acquiring Software Commercial software Software that must be purchased Stand alone products Solve one type of problem (e.g. PhotoShop) Software suites Solve many problems (e.g. MS. Office) Shareware Try before you buy (e.g. Tune Up Utilities) Teaching tip An excellent example is to create a letter in Word. Then in Excel, create a simple spreadsheet. Link the spreadsheet into the letter. Arrange both products on the screen. Change the spreadsheet and the letter should update automatically.

Acquiring Software Freeware Open source No obligation to purchase Donations often accepted Software may be distributed freely Open source Programs distributed with source code Allows users to modify the software E.g. Linux and OpenOffice Does have copyrights Teaching tip The best piece of freeware on the market is spy-bot. Spy-bot is an excellent tool for stopping and removing spyware products on your computer. Get a copy at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html. Patrick Kolla, the author, asks for an optional donation to cover costs.

Open Office

Word Processing Programs Entering and editing text Formatting text Creates text documents Graphics and other objects are supported

Calculates numbers and finances Data viewable in many ways Spreadsheet Programs Calculates numbers and finances Data viewable in many ways Tables Graphs

Spreadsheet Interface

Spreadsheet Programs Interface Rows, columns and cells Cell holds data or formulas Formula bar Dates Formulas (e.g. SUM, MAX, MIN …) Teaching tip Open Excel in your class and demonstrate the power of a formula. I often use the financial formulas to calculate credit card payment amounts and the future value of investments.

Presentation Programs Creates slides for a presentation

Personal Information Managers PIM software Keep track of contact information Track upcoming events and times Appointment reminders can be set MS Outlook is popular

Personal Information Managers

Graphic File Formats Acquiring Images Graphics software

Bitmapped images 1. Graphic File Formats Bitmapped images Vector images Bitmapped images Also called raster images Image is drawn using a pixel grid Each grid contains a color Used to store drawings or photographs Resizing image can reduce quality

Bitmap Resized This image was drawn as a straight line.

1. Graphic File Formats Vector images Drawn using mathematical formulas Formulas describe the line properties CAD and animation software Resizing image will not reduce quality Teaching tip Remind your students of the algebra classes they took in high school. The functions they plotted on the Cartesian plane are similar to vector equations.

Vector file formats Graphic File Formats Common bitmapped file formats BMP, EMF, GIF, JPG, PICT, PNG, TIFF Vector file formats Most vector formats are proprietary Two universal formats exist DXF IGES Discussion point Discuss when JPGs are appropriate. A picture of my daughter will lose some detail in her shirt. This is OK. However, a JPG of my most recent CAT scan may lose detail of a tumor. This is not OK.

2. Graphics Software Paint programs Create bitmap images Includes sophisticated tools Artists draw with several brushes E.g. Windows Paint Open Paint SW then

WV Graphics Software Draw programs Create vector based images Objects have an outline and fill E.g. Adobe Illustrator WV Open Xara X SW

Photo-editing software Graphics Software Photo-editing software Modify and manipulate digital images Images can be enhanced Picture can be repaired Pictures can be completely changed E.g. Photoshop and GIMP Use

Enhancing a Photo Teaching tip This image is an example of the solution to the project found in the Instructor’s Manual.

Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) Graphics Software Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) Generates vector files Engineering and design fields Drawings accurate to the millimeter E.g. AutoCAD

Graphics Software 3D modeling software Generates three dimensional images Image can be shaped on screen Image is animated frame by frame Use paint to draw a box to demonstrate the 2D and 3D image

Multimedia Basics Medium Multimedia Way of sharing information Voice, pictures, text More effective with multiple mediums Multimedia presents information with one medium Multimedia Using a combination of moving and still pictures, sound, music and words

Thanks