CS10001 Class Note: Chapter 5 Productivity Applications
Objectives
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Describe how word processing and desktop publishing software have revolutionized writing and publishing
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Discuss the potential impact of desktop publishing and Web publishing on the concept of freedom of the press
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Speculate about future developments in word processing and digital publishing
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Describe the basic functions and applications of spreadsheets and other types of statistical and simulation programs
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Explain how computers can be used to answer what-if questions
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Explain how computers are used as tools for simulating mechanical, biological, and social systems
Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace
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Doug Engelbart
 One of the pioneers of the computer hardware and software
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In 1968, he demonstrated his Augment system:
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Mouse
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Video display editing
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Mixed text and graphics, windowing
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Outlining
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Shared-screen video conferencing
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Computer conferencing
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Groupware
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Hypermedia
The Wordsmith’s Toolbox
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WYSIWYG
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What You See Is What You Get
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Word processing tools and techniques
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Entering text
 Text is displayed on the screen and stored in the computer’s RAM.
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Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory.
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Editing text
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Navigate to different parts of a document.
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Insert or delete text at any point.
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Move and copy text.
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Search and replace words or phrases.
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Formatting the document
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Font Technology o Formatting characters o Characters are measured by point size (one point = 1/72 inch). o A font is a size and style of typeface. o Serif fonts have serifs or fine lines at the ends of each character. o You can use mono-spaced fonts and proportionally spaced fonts.

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Margin settings
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Line spacing
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Indents
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Tabs
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Justification (Left, Right, Justify, and Center)
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Advanced formatting features o Style sheets o Headers and footers o Multiple variable-width columns o Multicolumn tables o Graphics o Automatic editing features o Hidden comments o Table of contents and indexes o Coaching and help features (sometimes called wizards) o Conversion to HTML for Web publishing Record and reuse macros
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Proofreading the document
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Saving the document
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Printing the document
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Outliners and idea processors
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Arranging information into levels
 Rearranging ideas and levels
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Hiding and revealing levels of detail as needed
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Digital references
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Dictionaries, quotation books, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and other references are now available in digital form.
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The biggest advantage of the electronic form is speed.
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The biggest drawback is that quick and easy copying might tempt writers to plagiarize.
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Synonym finders
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A computerized thesaurus can provide instantaneous feedback for synonyms.
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Spelling checkers
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Compare words in your document with words in a disk-based dictionary
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Words might be flagged, but you make the decision to ignore or change the spelling.
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Grammar and style checkers
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Analyze each word in context, checking for errors of content
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Check spelling
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Point out possible errors and suggest improvements
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Analyze prose complexity using measurements such as sentence length and paragraph length
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Form letter generators
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Mail merge capabilities produce personalized form letters.
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Create a database with names
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Create a form letter
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Merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter
 You can incorporate custom paragraphs based on the recipient’s personal data.
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Each letter looks as if it were individually written

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Collaborative writing tools
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Groupware: software designed to be used by a workgroup
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Provides for collaborative writing and editing
 Tracks changes and identifies them by the originator’s name
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Compares document versions and highlights differences in documents
Emerging Word Tools
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Processing handwritten words
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Diversity in handwriting makes it difficult
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Processing words with speech
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Speech recognition software
 Intelligent word processing software
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Word processors that are able to anticipate the writer’s needs
The Desktop Publishing Story
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Rules of thumb: creating professional-looking documents
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Use the Return or Enter key only when you must
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Word-wrap moves text to the next line
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Use tabs and margin guides, not the Spacebar, to align columns
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WYSIWYG is a matter of degree
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Text that looks perfectly aligned on-screen may not line up on paper.
 Rules of thumb: Creating Professional-Looking Documents (cont.)
 Don’t underline
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Use italics and boldface for emphasis; italicize book and journal titles
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Use only one space after a period
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Proportionally spaced fonts look better without double spaces.
 Take advantage of special characters
 Bullets (•), em dashes (—), and curly or smart quotes (“ ”) make your work look more professional.
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What is desktop publishing?
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The process of producing a book, magazine, or other publication includes several steps:
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Writing text
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Editing text
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Producing drawings, photographs, and other graphics to accompany the text
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Designing a basic format for the publication
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Typesetting text
 Arranging text and graphics on pages
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Typesetting and printing pages
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Binding pages into a finished publication
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With modern DTP (desktop publishing technology), the production process can be accomplished with sophisticated tools that are affordable and easy to use.
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A desktop publishing system generally includes:
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One or more Macs or PCs
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A scanner and/or digital camera o Transforms photographs and hand-drawn images into computer-readable documents

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A high-resolution printer
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Software (see next slide)
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Desktop publishing software:
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Image-editing software
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Page-layout software combines the various source documents into a coherent, visually appealing publication o QuarkXpress o Publisher o PageMaker o InDesign
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Saves money
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Saves time
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Can reduce the number of publication errors
 Offers new hope for every individual’s right to publish
Beyond the Printed Page
 Paperless publishing and the Web
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A common prediction is that desktop publishing—and paper publishing in general—will be replaced by paperless electronic media.
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Electronic books and digital paper
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The electronic book , or ebook, is a handheld device that can contain anything from today’s top news stories to lengthy novels.
 Digital paper, or epaper, is a flexible, portable, paper-like material that can dynamically display black-and-white text and images on its surface.
The Spreadsheet: Software for Simulation and Speculation
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The malleable matrix
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The spreadsheet consists of:
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Cells (the intersection of a row and column)
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Addresses (column letter and row number, e.g., A1, C12)
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Spreadsheets can contain:
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Values, such as numbers and dates
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Labels, such as column and report headings, that explain what the values mean
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Formulas can be:
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Relative , so they refer to different cells when they are copied
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Absolute, so the formula references never change when they are copied
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Lists can be created for organizing basic information
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Automatic replication of values, labels, and formulas
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Similar to copy and paste function of word processors
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Functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, SQRT) automate complex calculations.
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Macros store keystrokes and commands so they can be played back automatically.
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Templates offer ready-to-use worksheets with labels and formulas already entered.
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Screen Test: Creating a Worksheet with Microsoft Excel
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Formulas can be used to calculate
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Spreadsheets offer many automatic features such as replication of data
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Create charts from the data in your spreadsheet

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Rules of thumb: avoiding spreadsheet pitfalls
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Plan the worksheet before you start entering values and formulas
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Make your assumptions as accurate as possible
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Double-check every formula and value
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Make formulas readable
 Check your output against other systems
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Build in cross-checks
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Change the input data values and study the results
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Take advantage of preprogrammed functions, templates, and macros
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Use a spreadsheet as a decision-making aid, not as a decision maker
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“What If?” questions
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Spreadsheets allow you to change numbers and instantly see the effects of those changes.
 “
What if I enter this value
?”
 “What if I don’t complete the third lab? Can I still get an A?”
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Equation solvers
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Some spreadsheets generate data needed to fit a given equation and target value.
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Spreadsheet graphics: from digits to drawings
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Charts allow you to turn numbers into visual data.
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Pie charts show proportions relative to the whole.
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Line charts show trends or relationships over time.
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Use bar charts if data falls into a few categories
 Use scatter charts to discover, rather than to display, a relationship between two variables
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Rules of thumb: Ending spreadsheet errors
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Choose the right chart for the job
 What’s your message?
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Pie charts, bar charts, line charts, and scatter charts are not interchangeable
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Keep it simple, familiar, and understandable
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Use charts in magazines, books, and newspapers as models
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Strive to reveal the truth, not hide it
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Relate to the rest of the document
Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets
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Money managers
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Accounting and Financial Management software allows you to electronically handle routine transactions such as:
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Writing checks
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Balancing accounts
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Creating budgets
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Using online banking services
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Preparing taxes
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Automatic mathematics
 Mathematics processing software
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Software turns abstract mathematical relationships into visual objects
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Generally, they include an interactive, wizard-like question-and-answer mode, a programming language, and tools for creating interactive documents that combine text, numerical expressions, and graphics.

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Statistics and data analysis
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Statistical and data analysis software
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Collects and analyzes data that tests the strength of data relationships
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Can produce graphs showing how two or more variables relate to each other
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Can often uncover trends by browsing through two- and three-dimensional graphs of data, looking for unusual patterns in the dots and lines that appear on the screen
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Scientific visualization
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Scientific visualization software uses shape, location in space, color, brightness, and motion to help us visualize data.
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Visualization helps researchers see relationships that might have been obscure or even impossible to grasp without computer-aided visualization tools.
Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation
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Computer modeling uses computers to create abstract models of objects, organisms, organizations, and processes.
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Examples of popular computer models:
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Games (chess boards, sports arenas, and mythological societies)
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Models of organisms, objects, and organizations
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Flight simulators and simulations of science lab activities
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Business, city, or nation management simulations
 Computer simulations: the rewards
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Computer simulations are widely used.
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There are many reasons:
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Safety
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Economy
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Projection
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Visualization
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Replication
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Computer simulations: the risk
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GIGO revisited
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The accuracy of a simulation depends on how closely its mathematical model corresponds to the system being simulated.
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Some models suffer from faulty assumptions.
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Some models contain hidden assumptions that may not even be obvious to their creators.
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Some models go astray simply because of clerical or human errors.
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Still, Garbage in, Garbage out is a basic rule of simulation .
 Making reality fit the machine
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Some simulations are so complex that researchers need to simplify models and streamline calculations to get them to run on the best hardware available
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Sometimes this simplification of reality is deliberate; more often it’s unconscious
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Either way, information can be lost, and the loss may compromise the integrity of the simulation and call the results into question
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The illusion of infallibility

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A computer simulation, whether generated by a PC spreadsheet or churned out by a supercomputer, can be an invaluable decision-making aid
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The risk is that the people who make decisions with computers will turn over too much of their decision-making power to the computer
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Risks can be magnified because people take computers seriously
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Inventing the future: truly intelligent agents
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Future user interfaces will be based on agents rather than on tools
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Agents are software programs designed to be managed rather than manipulated
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An intelligent software agent can:
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Ask questions as well as respond to commands
 Pay attention to its user’s work patterns
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Serve as a guide and a coach
 Take on its owner’s goals
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Use reasoning to fabricate goals of its own
 Tomorrow’s agents will be better able to compete with human assistants
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Future agents may possess a degree of sensitivity
 A well-trained software agent in the future might accomplish these tasks:
 Remind you that it’s time to get the tires rotated on your car and make an appointment for the rotation
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Distribute notes to the other members of your study group or work group and tell you which members opened those notes
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Keep you posted on new articles on subjects that interest you and know enough about those subjects to be selective without being rigid
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Manage your appointments and keep track of your communications
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Teach you new applications and answer reference questions
 Defend your system and your home from viruses, intruders, and other security breaches
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Help protect your privacy on and off the Net
Lesson Summary
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Even though the computer was designed to work with numbers, it can be an important tool for working with words as well.
 Word processing software enables you to use commands to edit text on screen, without having to retype messages.
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Outlining software, spell checkers, and online references can be very helpful.
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Desktop publishing produces professional-quality text-and-graphics documents.
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Spreadsheets can be used for tracking, calculating, forecasting, and almost any other task that involves repetitive numeric calculations. Most spreadsheet programs have charting capabilities.
 Specialized software allows you to perform accounting tasks, tax preparation, and a variety of business functions without the aid of spreadsheets.
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Symbolic mathematic and statistical-analysis software can help present data in meaningful ways.
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Scientific visualization software can help us understand relationships that are invisible to the naked eye.
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Computer modeling and simulation can be powerful tools for understanding the world and making better decisions.