In the past people were using typewriters to process words.The typewriter did fair job of getting readable characters onto paper. But once those characters appeared on the paper, it was hard to get them off. Since you did not get a chance to see your words until they were on paper, therefore,
by the time you’re realized you had made a mistake, it was too late. You had to erase the mistake or start the document over. This problem was solved when computer word processing programs gave you a chance to preview the pages of your document before they were printed out.
by the time you’re realized you had made a mistake, it was too late. You had to erase the mistake or start the document over. This problem was solved when computer word processing programs gave you a chance to preview the pages of your document before they were printed out.
Word processing refers to the use of a computer program to prepare and print documents. This computer program is called the word processing software. Word processing software can be used to create letters, memos, and a variety of other types of document, through the software, the user enters the text with help of input device, such as keyboard, views it on the monitor, changes it as necessary, save the document on disk, and gets a hard copy of it from printer. While text entry, editing and printing are important capabilities of word processing software, they are not the only ones. In fact the software can do a great many more tasks. For example, it allows easy setting of margins, line spacing, and tabs to at desired page format. When the text is entered from the keyboard, lines will "wrap around" the margins automatically, continuing to the beginning of the next line, without hitting the return key.
Other useful function of word processing software are inserting, deleting, centring material and searching document for a particular sequence of characters, underline, boldface or italicized material. An important operation with word processing software is the ability to electrically "cut" or "copy" a block of material from the document and "paste" it somewhere else either in the current document or in a completely different document.
Advantages of working MS Window environment.
1. Some advantages of using Window include these factors:
The ability to run more than one application at a time.
2. The ability to copy and move information among application.
3. The ability to link or embed objects from one into another.
4. The ability to display on the screen what you will get from the printer.
Different levels of formatting a document
Document formatting is the processing of overall appearance of a document. A formatted document can communicate a message better than the same message in unformatted document. A formatted document not only reflects your own personality to your work but also improves its readability. All word processing programs have a number of features that make it easy to format your document. This include features for setting of margins, tab, and indents, fonts, spacing, column, paging, header and footers, borders shading, footnotes etc.
It is to be noted that word processing program came with default settings. Default settings are the setting automatically
Used by a program unless the user change them. Thus for example a word processing program may automatically prepare a document single-space, left justified, with one inch right margins unless you alter these default setting.
Difference between the File: Save and File: Save As commands?
Save command is used to save the current document or new document and Save As command is used to save the current
Document with a new name.
Selection of an entire document using the mouse
By holding down the left mouse button and dragging the mouse pointer downword until end of document is reached.
Shortcut keys for applying bold, italic and underline text
Keyboard shortcut Description
Ctrl + B Bolds the selection
Ctrl + I Italicizes the selection
Ctrl + U underline the selection
Difference between typeface and font
Typeface
Typeface refers to the design of the characters such as PAKISTAN is an Islamic country. Typefaces also fall in two additional broad categories; Serif and Sans Serif. Serif type has fancy curls and decorative look while Sans Serif does not.
Font
Font refers to the physical characteristics of a typed character.
These characteristics include its typeface, point size, style, pitch
and spacing. There are two general categories of fonts:
1. Mono space font in which each character takes up exactly the same space.
2. Proportional font in which each character has a slightly different
Width like the letter I and M.
Alignment option of paragraph
The way how the text is align with the margins of document is called justification or alignment. You can align or apply justification to paragraph either before or after text is typed. Word provides four different types of alignment.
Left alignment
It is used to align the text at the left margin.
Centre alignment
It is used to align the text at the centre between the margins.
Right alignment
It is used to align the text at the right margin.
Full justification or alignment
It is used to align the left and right ends of the lines of the paragraphs with the left and right margins respectively.
(i) Arrow keys
Changing the margins in a document.
Word allows you to set the top, button left, right margin for a page using margin tab in a page set up. Word provides the default setting of 1.25 inches for left and right margins and 1 inch for the top and bottom margins
Previewing a document
Click on the file menu on the menu bar and the choose the print preview option to preview a document. or Click on print preview button that is available on the standard toolbar.
Modes available in Print Preview
(i) Zoom mode
(ii) Edit mode