1. Microsoft Word Basics Office Productivity Tools 1
Laboratory Exercise # 4
Microsoft Word Basics
Objectives:
At the end of the session, the students are expected to: •
Start Microsoft Word application
Use common tools such as menus, toolbars, and dialog boxes
Start a new document
Input text in the document
Use templates and Word document wizards
Open and close documents
Edit Word documents such as copying and moving text
Use keyboard and mouse to move documents
Save Word documents
Check documents for errors such as wrong spellings and grammars
Materials: •
1 PC with pre-installed Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Word 2003
Printer [Optional]
Basic Principles:
Microsoft Word or simply Word is a word processor application that supplies you with all the important tools
that you need in creating a wide variety of document types such as memos, outlines, newsletters, etc.
Word provides you a window called Word window where you can create your documents. In order to use
Word application, you must open the Word application window by following these steps: •
Choose Start
All Programs. •
Starting from All Programs, choose Microsoft Office
Microsoft Word.
Figure 4.1 Starting Microsoft Word
The Word application window is displayed when you launch Word. You use the Word window to create
documents. The window also provides you items that will help you explore and use the application itself.
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The largest area of the Word window is blank and this is the place where you create your documents. The
other areas of Word window are the menu bar, toolbar, and status bar. These other areas provide a fast
way to access the different commands and features that you use in Word. The other areas also provide
information about your document.
Figure 4.2 Word Window
Table 4.1 Elements of the Word window
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You can access the commands and features of Word application in several ways. You can access the
commands by using the menus and buttons that are located in the menu bar and buttons respectively.
You can access all the commands and features that Word offers in the Word menu bar. Word’s menu is
located below the title bar and is activated by clicking a particular menu name. Word uses a menu system
called personalized menus that allows you to quickly access the commands you use most often.
The steps in accessing a menu are:
1. Click the title of the menu you want to select.
2. Select the command on the menu that invokes a particular feature.
Figure 4.3 View menu
Word also provides a fast way to access commands that does a particular document element. Just select
the document object and then right-click to display a shortcut menu that provides commands related to the
particular object with the object you are working on.
Figure 4.4 Shortcut menus related to text
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Word provides toolbars which offers a very quick and straightforward way to access commands and
features that are used often. Word provides several toolbar which contains buttons for a specific group of
tasks. Right-click any toolbar currently shown and select it from the list that appears to place additional
toolbars in the Word window. You can add or remove buttons from the Word window. Toolbar options are
equipped to each toolbar so that you can modify the buttons shown on the toolbar.
The steps in adding or removing buttons from a toolbar are:
1. Click Toolbar Options button on any toolbar. A drop-down list area will be displayed.
Figure 4.5 Toolbar Option button
2. Click Add or Remove Buttons and then select the name of the toolbar that appears on the pop-up
menu.
Figure 4.6 Standard Toolbars
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Figure 4.7 Formatting Toolbars
3. A check mark must be present to the left of the button for it to appear on the toolbar. For button
without a check mark, clicking the space occupied by the check mark will make the button present
on the toolbar.
4. Click outside the button list to close the pop-up menu.
You can close the Word application by choosing File
Exit or simply clicking the Close button located on
the uppermost right of the Word window. You might be prompted to save any work you have done in the
application window when you close Word.
Figure 4.8 Closing Word application
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You can have three ways in starting a new document in Word. These are: •
Using Word’s default template.
Using Word’s templates or user-defined templates.
Use one of the Word wizards.
Using an existing Word document.
You are actually using Word’s default template which is the Blank Document template when you create a
new document from scratch. There are no premade texts when you use the Blank Document template. It
just shows all the default settings Word offers you such as default settings for margins, fonts, and other
document attributes. Word opens a new blank document for you when you opened a Word application
window.
The steps in creating new documents are:
1. Select File
New where the New Document task pane displays options in creating new Word
documents.
Figure 4.9 New Document Task Pane
2. Click the option you want for your new document on the New Document task pane.
You do not need to base your document on a blank page. You can use one of the special document
templates that Word offers. These templates make creation of new documents easier. Templates have
special text and document attributes that makes the look and layout of the new document predetermined.
The attributes are margins, fonts, graphics, and other layout attributes.
The steps in using Word template in creating new Word documents are:
1. Select File
New.
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Figure 4.10 Creating new Word document
2. Click the On My Computer link under the Templates heading.
Figure 4.11 On My Computer under Templates heading
3. Choose the templates you want in the Templates dialog box that appears (for example the Memo
template).
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Figure 4.12 Memo tab of the Templates dialog box
4. Click OK.
5. The new document based on the template used will appear.
Figure 4.13 New Word document using Contemporary Memo template
Using templates on new documents already contain headings, document layouts, and text attributes. The
Contemporary Memo template already has a predetermined format and it automatically included the
current date in the memo for you. You can easily input text in the document because of the Click Here and
Type boxes that are placed in the document. Many templates contain text that will help you on how to use
the template.
Another way of creating new documents is the use of Wizards that actually walk you through the document
creation process and make sure that you enter the appropriate text in the proper place in the document.
The Word wizards are located on the same tabs where the templates can be found. Only web pages, legal
pleadings, letters and faxes, memos, and other documents tabs contain wizards.
The steps in creating new documents using Word wizards are:
1. Select File
New to open the New Document task pane.
2. Click On My Computer link under the Templates heading. The templates dialog box will appear.
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Figure 4.14 Memo Wizard icon under Memos tab
3. Double-click the appropriate wizard icon to start the document creation process. The introductory
screen of the wizard dialog box is displayed when you double-click a wizard icon. The introductory
screen also shows the outline of the document creation process for the type of document.
Figure 4.15 Memo Wizard
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Figure 4.16 Sample document using Memo wizard
Another way in creating new documents is through the use of existing document. This approach provides
the ability to create a copy of an existing document. It also allows you to open an existing document and
Word treat it as a new document without a filename.
The steps in creating new documents from existing documents are:
1. Select File
New.
2. Select From Existing Document link under the New heading.
Figure 4.17 From Existing Document link
3. The New from Existing Document dialog box is displayed.
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Figure 4.18 New form Existing Document dialog box
You are now ready to input text after creating a new document. Notice the insertion point, which is a
blinking element that appears in the upper-left corner of your new document. This is the area where text
can be inserted. The insertion point moves to the right as you type in text to your document. The text
automatically wraps to the next line when you reached the end of the line.
Figure 4.19 Insertion Point
You must press ENTER when you reached the end of a paragraph. You manually insert a paragraph
break when you press the ENTER key at the end of the paragraph. Click Show/Hide button to view
manually placed paragraph breaks. Paragraph breaks are called paragraph marks and are located on the
Word Standard toolbar.
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Figure 4.20 Show All Paragraph Marks
Once you create a new document, you need to save the new document you created. One important
aspect of working in any application software is to be able to save your work. The steps in saving a
document are:
1. Select File
Save or click the Save button located on the Word toolbar. Click Save As if you
want to save the file into other format besides Word.
Figure 4.21 Buttons located on the File menu which are used for saving files
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Figure 4.22 Save button on the Word toolbar
2. Type the filename into the File Name box. Use the drop-down list to select a different file type.
3. Click the Save In drop-down arrow to save the file to other location besides the default location
(My Documents).
4. Double-click the selected folder in the Save In box to open the folder.
5. Click the Save button after you have specified a name and a location for the new document. Word
will return to its original document window after saving the document.
Figure 4.23 Save As dialog box
You need to save and close the document after you have finished working on your document. Select File
Close or click Close button located on the right side of the document to close a particular document (not
to close the whole application). Closing one of the documents does not close the Word application. You
can select File
Exit to close the Word application itself.
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Figure 4.24 Closing Word document
There will be times that you will need to open an existing document. Opening an existing document is a
straightforward process. You will see that the dialog box for Open contains many attributes similar to the
Save As dialog box.
The steps in opening an existing Word file are:
1. Select File
Open or click the Open button located on the Word toolbar. The Open dialog box
will be displayed.
Figure 4.25 Opening an existing file using File menu
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Figure 4.26 Opening an existing file using Open button located on the Word toolbar
2. Word displays the files and folders in your My Documents by default. Click the Look In drop-down
arrow if it is located somewhere else in your computer.
3. Click the file and then click the Open button to open the selected file. The file appears in a Word
document window.
Figure 4.27 Open dialog box
After learning the basic concepts needed in managing Word documents, you now need to manage the text
present in the document. You may want to add, delete, or replace text in a document. The primary tool for
placing the insertion point using the mouse to any part of the document that contains text is called the I-
beam. It looks like a capital “I”. You can place this in any part of the document by clicking the left mouse
button.
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Figure 4.28 I-beam
You can add text in the document in two ways. These are: •
Insert – This is the default text mode in Word. Just place the I-beam where you want to insert the
text. Make sure that the OVR indicator on the Status bar near the bottom of the screen is not
active or is in color gray.
Typeover – Use Typeover if you want to add new txt and simultaneously delete text to the right of
the insertion point. Press the Insert key on the keyboard and add your new text. The Word status
bar displays the message OVR when you use Typeover mode. Simply press the Insert key on the
keyboard again to return to Insert mode.
Figure 4.29 Typeover mode
Word provides several shortcuts and tools for moving around the document when you try to edit it. You
can move to different position on the current page when you use the mouse. You can also use the mouse
to move through the document by using the horizontal and vertical scrollbar.
The vertical scrollbar provides Previous Page (<<) and Next page (>>) buttons that can be used to move to
the previous page or to the next page. Click the buttons by using the mouse to move in the direction that
you want to go.
The horizontal scrollbar is much similar to vertical scrollbar. It is used to scroll only to the left and the right
of a document page.
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Figure 4.30 Horizontal and Vertical Scrollbars
The fastest way to move through the document is through the use of keyboard with the help of keyboard
shortcuts. It is more efficient to move in a document using the keyboard than using the mouse.
Table 4.2 Keyboard shortcuts used in moving through the document
You can use the mouse or keyboard in selecting text. However, the mouse is an excellent tool for selecting
text in your document. You can double-click a word to select it and also use different numbers of mouse
clicks or the mouse in combination of Shift key to select sentences, paragraphs, or even block of text. You
can select either a single line or the entire document by using the mouse. You can also select a text using
the mouse pointer in the selection bar with the selected sentence.
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Table 4.3 Mouse shortcuts in selecting text
Figure 4.31 Selection bar
Another important aspect in editing the text in your document is being able to delete, move, or copy text in
your document. Each of these tasks can be easily done by the use of mouse and keyboard. You may use
commands to delete, move, or copy selected text.
You can delete text in several ways. The simplest way to delete a text is by the use of the Delete key or
Backspace key of the keyboard. The keys works in different ways if there is no text selected. Their
functions are: •
Delete – Deletes one character at a time to the right of the insertion point.
Backspace – Deletes one character at a time to the left of the insertion point.
You can delete more than one character by selecting the text and then pressing the Delete key. You can
also delete text and replace it by selecting the text and then typing the new text.
You can copy, move, or paste a text to a new location using the keyboard, context menu, or the Edit menu.
The steps in copying, moving, or pasting text to a new location are:
1. Select the text that you want to copy or move.
2. There are several ways to copy or move a selected text. These are:
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19. selecting Paste, or clicking the Paste icon on the Word toolbar.
Office Productivity Tools 1 •
Select Edit
Copy if you want to copy or Edit
Cut if you want to move the selected text. •
You may press Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+X to move the selected file.
Right-click the selected area and choose Copy or Cut in the context menu.
Click the Copy or Cut icon on the Word Toolbar.
3. Place the insertion point in the document where to place a copy or to move the selected text.
4. Paste the selected text by selecting Edit
Paste, pressing Ctrl+V, right-clicking the position and
selecting Paste, or clicking the Paste icon on the Word toolbar.
Figure 4.32 Cut, Copy, and Paste button
A Paste Smart Tag icon will appear after pasting the selected text. It will appear directly below to the text
you have pasted. This icon provides a shortcut menu that will allow you to keep the formatting from the
original text to the copied or moved text. The Paste Smart Tag simply allows you how the text is pasted to
its new location.
Figure 4.33 Paste Smart Tag icon
You can copy and move multiple items using the Office Clipboard which resides in the task pane. It can
hold up to 24 separate items. The following steps in using the Office Clipboard are:
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20. Figure 4.34 Opening Office Clipboard
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1. Select Edit
Office Clipboard.
Figure 4.34 Opening Office Clipboard
2. Select and copy or cut each item to the Clipboard.
Figure 4.35 Office Clipboard located in the task pane
3. Place the insertion point to the location where you want to copy or move the selected items onto
the Clipboard. Click the item you want to copy or move in the Office Clipboard. Word will
automatically insert the selected item to the new location.
4. Remove step 4 if you want to paste other items from the Clipboard into your document.
Another way to move text is by selecting the text and dragging it to the new location. This technique is
called drag and drop. Place the mouse on the text block after selecting the text and hold down the left
mouse button. A Move pointer will appear when you do this technique.
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Figure 4.36 Using drag-and-drop technique
There are times that we typed in misspelled words and uses wrong grammars in our document. You may
correct these misspelled word and wrong grammars individually. The steps in correcting misspelled words
are:
1. Place the mouse pointer on the flagged word (wavy red) and click the right-mouse button. This will
display the shortcut menu related to misspelled words.
Figure 4.37 Correcting misspelled word
2. Click on the word you want to use in replacement of the misspelled word.
3. Click Ignore All if the word is correct and you do not want it flagged at all in the current document.
4. Click Add to Dictionary if the word is correct and you do not want it to be flagged in the same or
other document.
The steps in correcting a suspected grammatical error are:
1. Right-click the text or text block indicated by the green wavy line.
2. A shortcut menu will appear offering suggestions on how to correct the error. Select the option
that you think is right in replacement error.
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Figure 4.38 Correcting grammatical error
3. Click Ignore Once if you think there is nothing wrong with the grammar or you want to make the
necessary changes manually.
4. The Grammar dialog box will appear if you choose Grammar. The Grammar dialog box also offers
suggestions related to the error.
Figure 4.39 Grammar dialog box
Word offers a feature called AutoCorrect that uses a list of common spelling errors and typos to correct
entries in your documents. The steps in placing words in the AutoCorrect list are:
1. Select Tools
AutoCorrect Options. The AutoCorrect dialog box will appear.
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Figure 4.40 Launching AutoCorrect Options dialog box
2. Enter the word as you misspell it in the Replace box. Enter the correct spelling in the With box.
3. Click Add to add the entry to the AutoCorrect list.
4. Click OK. To close the dialog box.
Figure 4.41 The AutoCorrect Options dialog box
After adding the word to the AutoCorrect word list, Word will correct the misspelled word for you
automatically. This feature will help speed up your typing.
Procedures:
Activity 1
Exploring menus of Microsoft Word application
1. Open a word document.
2. Click each menu present in the Word application and enumerate all the commands and features
present on it.
Laboratory Exercise # 4 – Microsoft Word Basics