HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
MS WORD INTRODUCTION
MS Word is a word processing program. MS Word has many features and with it, a person can
create reports, letters, faxes, memos, web pages, newsletters, and much more. The information and lessons
covered in this section will help you learn how to prepare documents correctly and efficiently. To begin the
process, let’s take a look at how to open MS Word.
As with any program, there is generally more than one way to open a program. The most common
way is illustrated below. To begin, click on the Start button located at the bottom left side of
the screen.
Once you click on the Start button, the popup Start menu should
appear. The menu will resemble the one on the left. Many of the options will
appear on all Start menus as they are the default settings and come from the
manufacturer that way.
Most computers will have the Shut Down option, Run, Help, Find,
Settings, Documents, Programs, New Office Document, and Open Office
Document options. Any option with a black arrow to the right of it indicates
that when the option is chosen, another menu will appear with further choices.
With the Start menu visible, you will take the mouse pointer and run
the mouse up to the Programs option. When the Programs option is
highlighted, another popup menu of all programs available on the system will
appear to the right of the Start menu.
When the Programs menu appears,
search through the listing of programs and look
for the program titled Microsoft Word. The icon
will be a capital W that is blue in color. Move
the mouse pointer to highlight Microsoft Word
and left click the mouse one time to open the
program.
Now that we have Microsoft Word open,
let’s take a look at what you should see on your
screen.
Before we actually create a document, let’s take a look at the parts of the Microsoft Word window.
Take some time to review the picture below to become familiar with the different parts of the Word window.
As you continue on with the lessons for MS Word, you can refer back to this graphic if you need help
remembering the names of the parts of the window.
Title Bar
Standard toolbar
Menu Bar
Formatting
toolbar
Insertion point
Ruler
End-of-file marker
Menu Bar
Menu Bar
Vertical scroll bar
Menu Bar
Horizontal scroll bar
View buttons
Status bar
The graphic above shows the parts of the Word application window in general terms, but let’s take a
closer look at several parts of the window to better understand what function they perform. First let’s take a
look at the title bar. The Title Bar indicates the name of the program that is currently running and in the case
of Word, indicates the number of the document at which you are currently looking. When you first open up
the Word application, it creates document one. The next document that is created will be called document
two. You can have multiple documents open; however, you can only work in one at a time.
Directly under the title bar, you will find the Menu Bar. The menu
bar contains words and when an option on the menu bar is activated, it
displays a list of commands. Some of the commands have images next to
them so you can quickly associate the command with the image on a toolbar.
Most menus are located on the menu bar at the top of the Word window.
Shortcut menus are available when you right-click text, objects, or other
items.
Notice the image of an open folder beside of the Open option. Once
you can associate the images with the commands, it is often quicker and/or
easier to use the Standard Toolbar and the Formatting Toolbar to achieve
the same result. Many of the more common or widely used commands from
the Menu Bar are listed are the next page.
File Button – Options
1. New – Creates new document
2. Open – Opens a document saved on hard drive or disk
3. Save – Saves document to hard drive or disk
4. Save As – Saves a document to hard drive or disk. Allows you to change name when revising
5. Page Setup – Allows you to change margins, paper size, and paper orientation
6. Print Preview – Allows you to see a preview of what the printed page would look like
You cannot make changes in Print Preview. Click on the close button to close print preview
7. Print – Allows you to print document, page range, number of copies, and collate
Edit Button – Options
1. Undo – Erases last action
2. Redo – Puts back last action that has been erased.
3. Cut – Deletes a highlighted section of text or a picture
4. Copy – Copies a highlighted section of text or a picture
5. Pastes – Actually puts copied text into a new document
6. Find – Allows you to search through a document for a certain word
7. Replace – Allows you to replace a given word for another
Insert Button – Options
1. Break – Insert a page or column break
2. Page Number – Allows you to number pages
3. Date/Time – Allows you to insert current date
4. Auto Text Picture – Allows you to insert pictures, drawings, or clip art
5. Picture – Inserts clip art, photos, or other art work into documents
Format Button – Options
1. Font – Allows you to change Font, font size, font color, and effects
2. Paragraph – Allows you automatically indent first line of paragraph, line spacing – double space
3. Bullets and Numbering – Allows you to insert numbers or bullets to as accents
4. Columns – Inserts columns on page
5. Tabs – Allows you to set tabs
Tools Button – Options
1. Spelling and Grammar – Allows you to check for spelling and grammar errors. Be careful with
this option. If the dictionary on the hard drive doesn’t include a word then the computer thinks the
word is spelled incorrectly.
2. Language - Contains a thesaurus to help you vary your vocabulary
3. Envelopes – Allows you to print envelopes and labels
Options – You can change many defaults here such as, spelling and grammar check
Table Button – Options
1. Draw a Table
Help Button – Options
1. Microsoft Word Help
The default position of the Standard Toolbar is directly under the menu bar. A toolbar can contain
buttons with images (the same images you see next to corresponding menu commands), menus, or a
combination of both. Microsoft Word includes many built- in toolbars that you can show and hide as needed.
Tool buttons that are in color are active. This means that the function completed by the tool button is
an available option. Tool buttons that are light grey, like the two arrows above, are inactive. The function
these buttons activate is not available at this time. Notice in the graphic below, the Undo Button is now blue
which indicates it is active. The graphic below also indicates the name or function of each tool button.
Drawing
Toolbar
The “New” tool button on the Standard tool bar is the same command that is found under File on the
Menu bar. You can use either option to open a new document. Most applications have at least two methods
of completing the same function. Refer back to page three of your handout if you cannot remember what
each function does.
The Formatting Toolbar is generally located to the right of the Standard toolbar or directly
underneath the Standard toolbar. The Formatting toolbar allows you to change the look of your document.
Below is a graphic that identifies each tool button. A brief explanation of what each tool button does is
located on page 5.
To change the Style, Font, or Font size of your text, you put the mouse pointer over the black down
arrow beside of the current selection and left click one time. A drop down menu will appear, and your other
options will be indicated. You can activate tool buttons on the Formatting toolbar before you type the text by
putting the mouse pointer over the tool button and left clicking one time. When you finish the text you want
formatted, you can turn off the tool button by putting the mouse pointer over the button and left clicking one
time again.
Formatting Toolbar definitions:
1. Style - A style is a set of formatting characteristics that you can apply to text in your document to
quickly change its appearance. When you apply a style, you apply a whole group of formats in one
simple task. For example, you may want to format the title of a report to make it stand out. Instead of
taking three separate steps to format your title as 16 pt, Arial, and center-aligned, you can achieve the
same result in one step by applying the Title style. When you start Microsoft Word, the new blank
document is based on the Normal template, and text that you type uses the Normal style. This means
that when you start typing, Word uses the font, font size, line spacing, text alignment, and other formats
currently defined for the Normal style. The Normal style is the base style for the Normal template,
meaning that it’s a building block for other styles in the template.
2. Font - A set of type characters of a particular typeface design and size. Two of the most commonly
used fonts are Times New Roman and Arial. There are many different types of fonts that can be used.
Specialized fonts have been developed and are often used for decoration or for emphasis. Examples of
fonts are as follows:
Algerian
Harlow Solid
Brush Script MT
Georgia
Castellar
Monotype Corsiva
EngraversMT
Old English Text
Chiller
3. Font size – This option changes the size of the letters within a document. Sizes range from 8 point to
72 point. The larger the number, the larger the text. Examples of font sizes:
14 point
16 point
18 point
20 point
22 point
4. Bold – Text typed with the bold option on is printed in thick heavy type
5. Italic - Of or being a style of printing type patterned on a Renaissance script with the letters slanting to
the right: This sentence is printed in italic type.
6. Underline – This function will add an underline to all selected text.
7. Left Align – This function begins any text on the left hand side of the page.
8. Center Align – This function centers text in the middle of a page.
9. Right Align – This function begins any text on the right hand side of the page and moves toward the
left hand side of the page.
10. Justify – This function spreads out the text typed to even out where each sentence ends. This function is
most obvious when reading a book.
11. Numbering – This function allows you to create numbered lists or outlines.
12. Bullets – This function allows you to create bulleted lists.
13. Font Color – This function allows you to change the color of the text.
The Ruler allows you to see the amount of space available on a page to enter text. The white area
shown on the ruler below is available space for text or graphics. The grey area to the right of the ruler is the
margin indicator. This area is not available for use. If a graphic is placed in this area it will not print out. To
activate the ruler options, click on View and then on the drop down menu click on Ruler.
The Insertion Point or curser as it is more commonly known indicates where the text or graphics
will be placed within a document. You can move the insertion point by hitting enter or using the arrow keys.
The Vertical and Horizontal Scroll Bars allow you to move around the page to see all of the text
that is written on a page. To move a page up or down, use the Vertical Scroll Bar. Place the mouse pointer on
the black up or down arrow and click the left mouse button. You can also move the page up or down by left
clicking on the grey square on the scroll bar, holding down the left mouse key and drag the square up or
down as desired. To move a page to the right or left, use the same action except on the Horizontal Scroll Bar.
The View buttons , located at the bottom left hand side of the window, allow you to change the way
you look at a document. Normal view is a simplified layout of the page. Print Layout view shows how a
document will look when it is printed. It is recommended that you use the Print Layout view when creating
documents.
The Status Bar is a horizontal area at the bottom of the document window in Microsoft Word. It
provides information about the current state of what you are viewing in the window and any other contextual
information. The Status Bar indicates which page is currently being shown in the window, the section of the
page being shown in the window, the number of the page in the current window in relation to the total
number of pages in the document, the distance from the top of the page to your insertion point, the line of
text where the insertion point is located, and the distance, in number of characters, from the left margin to the
insertion point.
The key concepts in this section include:
v Identifying the major parts of the Microsoft Word Window
v Identifying what commands are listed on the Menu Bar
v Identifying what commands are listed on the Standard and Formatting toolbars
If you can identify all the concepts above, you are doing great!!!! If you cannot, you might want to go
over this section of the text again.
Lesson One
MS Word
Key Concepts:
v Creating a new document
v Working in multiple documents
v Entering text into a document
v Navigating through a document
v Saving a document
v Looking at a document in print preview mode
v Printing a document
To create a new document in Microsoft Word you must first open the program Microsoft Word. To
open the program, left click on the Start button, highlight the Programs option on the Start Menu, and left
click once on Microsoft Word on the Programs Menu.
When MS Word opens a new blank document is displayed. The document is currently titled
Document One. The file name will remain Document One until the document is saved using the ‘Save As”
command and a new file name is assigned.
Several documents can be opened at the same time. However, only one document can be actively
worked on at a time. Any other opened documents can be viewed on the task bar at the bottom of the
window. To open one of these windows, left click on the name of the document to be opened, and it will
open up in a new window. You can toggle back and forth between these windows. The several purposes of
this feature is to allow the user to have access to other information that might be helpful in creating a new
document, copy and paste information, or multitask.
As you enter text into your document, the cursor will move towards the right margin, and the status
bar will change to reflect the position of the cursor. To place a space between words in a sentence, strike the
space bar at the bottom of the keyboard. It will place one empty space each time it is struck. Striking the
enter key is not necessary as you type in the text. Unlike a typewriter, MS Word has a default function*
called Word Wrap. This feature allows you to continuously type in text and the program automatically
moves down to the next line when no further space is available for the text. *(A default function is one that
occurs each time you open up a document in MS Word.) The enter key is struck when you want to start a
new paragraph or you want to insert a blank line between lines of text. If you hit the enter key at the end of
each line, the program assumes that you are starting a new sentence or paragraph and that the first word of
the sentence should be capitalized. The program will also assume that there should be some type of
punctuation at the end of the previous sentence or paragraph.
As text is entered into the document, another default function of MS Word is being performed. The
program automatically checks for spelling and grammatical errors. Spell check is used to check the spelling
of the text. When a word is misspelled, it will be underlined in red. MS Word uses a preset dictionary to
check the spelling of the text. If a word is not in the dictionary, spell check assumes that the word
is misspelled. You will often see last names underlined because of this. The city of Parkersburg is
also often underlined because it is not in the dictionary the computer uses. New words can be
added to the dictionary to help correct this. You will often find that spell check often makes mistakes. Do not
rely solely on spell check.
Grammar check is used to determine if a sentence is grammatically correct. It is completed with the
Spell Check. When a sentence’s structure is grammatically incorrect, MS Word will underline the sentence
with a green line. The grammar check feature will identify sentence fragments and misplaced or missing
punctuation. Grammar check also identifies passive sentences. Again, while this feature is helpful, it is not
perfect so do not solely rely on it. Double check all work.
If you make a mistake while entering text, and you catch the mistake quickly, hit the backspace key
to go back and correct the mistake. If however you have typed a whole paragraph before finding a mistake in
the first sentence, you have two main options. (And no one does not involve a hammer.) One option is that
you can erase the entire paragraph, fix the mistake, then retype the paragraph. This however is very time
consuming and aggravating. The second option involves knowing how to navigate through the page so that
you can go immediately back to the area that is incorrect, (without losing any other text), fixing the mistake,
and then returning to the end of the text to continue entering text. Which one would you prefer?
There are many options that can be used to move through a document. One of the most common is to
use the Vertical and Horizontal Scroll bars to move within a document. Left click on the black, single
arrows to move up, down, right or left. You can hold down the left mouse key to move more quickly. You
can also put the mouse pointer on the grey squares on the scroll bars, hold down the left mouse key, and drag
the squares up, down, right or left to view different areas of the page.
Another method of navigating is Click and Type. Use the mouse to move the cursor to a different
position in a document and fix a mistake. The mouse pointer in a word document is called an I-beam. It is
called this because it looks like a capital I. Move the I-beam to the point in the document where changes
need to be made and click the left mouse button once. This will insert a cursor where the I-beam is located.
Then use the backspace button to erase a mistake or start typing to include further text. The rest of the text
will move down the page to allow for the new text. When the text is correct, move the I-beam to the end of
the text, left click the mouse, and continue entering text into the document.*
* To use the Click and Type feature you must be working in the Print Layout View. You can change
the view by clicking on the view buttons with the mouse or by clicking on the View option on the menu bar.
A third method of moving through a document is to use the keyboard. Below is a list of the buttons
that will help you with navigation and the function of each button or set of buttons. If two buttons need
pressed, press them at the same time.
Left Arrow
Right Arrow
Up Arrow
Down Arrow
End
Home
Page Up
Page Down
Control & Left Arrow
Control & Right Arrow
Control & Up Arrow
Control & Down Arrow
Control & End
Control & Home
Control & Page Up
Control & Page Down
Moves one character to the left
Moves one character to the right
Moves up one line
Moves down one line
Moves to end of a line
Moves to the beginning of a line
Moves up one screen
Moves down one screen
Moves one word to left
Moves one word to right
Moves up one paragraph
Moves down one paragraph
Moves to the end of a document
Moves to the beginning of a document
Moves to the top of the previous page
Moves down to the top of the next page
Once you have all the information typed in the document, you will want to save it. As a precaution,
you might want to save the document every 5-10 minutes as you work on it. The reasoning behind this is that
sometimes accidents happen and you can lose all of your information. Power surges, power outages, or the
program freezing up are only three possible problem you might run across when working on a computer. As
the old saying goes “Better to be safe than sorry”.
To save a document you can use the Save As feature or the Save feature. However, the two features
are different. Use the Save As feature the first time you save a document. It allows you to rename the file. To
save a file using the Save As command, move the mouse pointer to the word File on the Menu Bar and left
click. Move down the drop down menu and highlight the Save As option and left click. When the Save As
window opens, move the pointer down to the text box beside of File Name and type in the name you wish to
save the file as. Do not use punctuation or symbols in the file name. Letters and numbers only should be used
to avoid conflict with the program.
Save can be used after you have renamed a file. However, if you click Save any changes you have
made to the document overwrites what information was in the document when it was last saved. If you wish
to keep the first copy and save the document with the changes, you will need to click on Save As and rename
the document. Often when versions of a document are being created, additional versions will have numbers
after the file name. An example might be Version 1, Version 2, Version 3. Version 1 is the original
document. Version 2 has some changes from Version 1 and Version 3 has changes from both Version 1 and
Version 2.
It is recommended that if you are unsure of any changes you have made to a document, you should
save the document using Save As and rename it. That way if the changes are not what was needed or
something in the original document was accidentally deleted, it will be easier to fix the document.
Once a document has been saved, you can then print it. You do not need to save a document to print
it, however, if something goes wrong you would have to retype it before you could print it out again. So just
to be safe, save the document before you do anything else. It is recommended that before you print out a
document you look at the document in the Print Preview mode.
Print Preview allows you to see how the document will print out before you actually print it out. It
allows you to see mistakes with spacing or with the margins. To activate the Print Preview command, you
can move the mouse pointer to the File option on the Menu Bar and click the left mouse button. On the drop
down menu highlight Print Preview and left click again. This will take you to the Print Preview screen.
This is a cropped version of a Print Preview Screen. Notice that the title bar indicates that this is a
preview of what is to be printed. The Print Preview Screen has a menu bar and the Print Preview Tool Bar.
The options on the Print Preview Tool bar are from left to right
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Print
Magnifier – This allows you to click on part of the page and increase it to read it better
One Page – Allows you to see one page in a document
Multiple Pages – Allows you to look at several pages in the same document at the same time.
However the pages will be smaller and you may need to magnify them to see them better.
Zoom – This allows you to shrink a page to see the entire page at one time or increase the page to
view just a small section of it.
View ruler – puts the ruler on the print preview screen
Shrink to Fit – This option shrinks the document so that it fits in your field of view on screen
Full screen – This option increases document to fit entire field of view on screen.
Close – This option takes you back to the Normal or Print Layout View where you can make any
necessary changes. * No changes to a document can be made in the Print Preview Mode.
Help
Once you have previewed the document and determined that it is correct, you can use the Print tool
button on the toolbar to print out the document. Once you have printed out the document you are finished.
Congratulations! You have just created, saved, and printed your first document.
Activity One
Creating, Saving, and Printing a document.
Follow all instructions. If an activity is completed incorrectly, it will have to be redone.
You have just read an advertisement for a two-day workshop on Anger Management and Conflict
Resolution. The workshop is one that you would like to attend but you would need time off from work to go
to the workshop. Write the following memo to your shift supervisor requesting two days off to attend the
conference.
Instructions:
1. Create a new document.
2. Type in the text below. Any text in parenthesis is an action and the correct information should be
entered. Example: (Today’s Date) current date should be entered here not “Today’s Date”.
3. Place one blank line between each paragraph. You will need to hit the enter key twice to place the
blank line in the document.
4. Save the document as Word Activity One.
5. View the document in Print Preview to determine if there are any mistakes. Make any necessary
corrections to the document.
6. Print one copy of the document.
7. Submit the letter to your online ins tructor.
(Today’s Date)
(Instructor’s Name), Shift Supervisor
Anger Management and Conflict Resolution Workshop
At my last review session, it was commented that all area supervisors should have up to date methods of
dealing with employees temperamental or who have problems dealing with other employees or management.
It has come to my attention that a two-day workshop is being offered at West Virginia University at
Parkersburg next month. The workshop will include seminars on 10 Effective Ways to deal with an Angry
Employee, How to Solve Employee Conflicts through Discussion, and Handling Difficult Situations.
I believe that this workshop will be extremely helpful in updating my skills and will allow me to bring back
the most current information to be discussed and reviewed at the next area supervisors’ meeting. I would like
your permission to attend this workshop at West Virginia University at Parkersburg. Please contact me when
you have reached a decision so that I can send in the reservation form and workshop fee.
Thank you,
(Your Full Name)
Activity Two
Creating, Saving, and Printing a document.
Follow all instructions. If an activity is completed incorrectly, it will have to be redone.
Your instructor has requested a document from you. The document will contain three paragraphs. In
the first paragraph, you have been instructed to tell about yourself. In the second paragraph, you have been
asked to write about your educational goal. (If you do not plan on attending further schooling, write about
your family) The last paragraph is to contain your employment goals. What type of job, where you would
work, and expected salary are but three examples of things you can discuss in this paragraph.
Instructions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Create a new document.
Create the three paragraphs listed above.
Place one blank line between each paragraph.
Save the document as Word Activity two.
View the document in Print Preview to determine if there are any mistakes. Make any necessary
corrections to the document.
6. Print one copy of the document.
7. Submit to your online instructor.