MS WORD

This means Microsoft word.

Word Processor
This is a programme that is used to type, edit and format a text the way one would like it to
appear or it is a software package (program) used for producing documents such as letters,
memos and reports.
Who needs Word processor?
Anybody whose work involves writing letters and memos, producing reports such as project
proposals, writing research and scientific papers, preparing book manuscripts e.t.c.
Types of word processors
1. Dedicated Word processor
These have the following characteristics
- They are typewriter like
- They have a processor built machine
- They cannot do anything else except word processing.
- They are much faster.
2. Non-dedicated word processor.
These are the application program packages of a computer.
Features of Word processor.
- To add, insert and delete characters, words, lines or blocks of a text.
- To move words, lines or blocks of text from one part of a document to another or
another document all together.
- To copy part or all of a document to another.
Typical Word processing packages on the market
1. Word perfect
2. Ms word
3. Multimate
4. Wang writer

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 COMMAND USED IN MS WORD

What is the word screen?

When Microsoft word is started a new blank document appears on the word screen.
Basic features
i. Cursor position - A blinking insertion point which shows where the text you type will
appear.
ii. Menu bar – When selected, it opens to display the word commands
iii. Document title – Shows the title of the current document
iv. Ruler – Used to set tab stops and indents.
v. Tool bars – These are buttons used to choose Word commands quickly.
vi. Status bar – This displays information about the current active document or highlighted
command.
- Shows the page number and the total number of pages
- Position of the cursor
- Section
- Line and column
v. Scroll bar – Used to see parts of the document not currently visible.

Using the toolbar

One can use the tool bar to quickly call up a Word command instead of using the menu bar.
Displaying and hiding the toolbars.
One can choose the type and number of toolbars to be displayed on the screen by checking or
uncheking them depending on the required text or formatting style.
NB. When toolbar is checked it is displayed on the screen.
Procedure
a. Click the view menu from the menu bar
b. Click toolbars
c. Click on any of the listed toolbars to either check it or uncheck it.
Let’s start by writing a paragraph.
The blinking insertion point indicates where the net characters you type will appear on the
screen.

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Type the following: (ignore the red or green underline)
I am pleased to be the bearer of good news! Yesterday the cursor committee voted unanimously
to present one of its 1995 awards to your company. “Tip Top Roofing”. Your efforts during the
past year to forge the industry alliances needed for a successful recycling program are an
impressive demonstration of Tip Top Roofing’s ongoing commitment to the environment.

As each line of text reaches the right edge of the screen the next word you type moves to a new
line. “This is called Word Wrapping”. When entering text in word you don’t have to worry about
pressing enter key to end one line and start another.
Checking spelling and grammar
a. Type the text
b. Click tools
c. Click spelling & grammar
d. Click ignore or change as required
To save a new file for the first time
a. Click file
b. Click save as
c. In the filename box type the name of the file
d. In the save in box select the drive or directory where the file is to be saved
e. Click save.
Keyboard strokes/shortcut
a. Press ctrl+s
Exiting a document
a. Click file
b. click close
NB: Just as in case when one is closing /exiting Word program. When closing a document, word
gives you a chance to save the changes done to it. At this point you have also a chance to abort
the closing of the document or not to save any changes.
Opening a document.
a. Click file
b. Click open
c. In the filename box type the name of the file

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 d. In the look in box select the drive or directory where the file is
e. Double click the filename or click open
Key board stroke/shortcut
Press ctrl+open

BASIC FORMATING
Selecting text
a. Point at the staring point
b. Click the left button
c. While holding button down drag across the document to the end point.
To cancel the selection.
- Using the mouse-click anywhere in the document window
- Using the keyboard – press any arrow key
Underline in Ms Word.
Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click U from the toolbar.
Procedure 2
a. Select the text
b. Click format
c. Click font
d. Move tounderline box
e. Select the type of underline
f. Click ok
Key board stroke/shortcut
Select the text
Press ctrl+u
Changing text to italic
Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text

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 c. Click I from the tool bar

Procedure 2
a. Select the text
b. Click the format menu
c. Click font
d. Under font style, select italic
e. Click ok
Key board stroke/shortcut
Select the text
Press ctrl+i
How to bold the text
Procedure 1
d. Type the text
e. Block the text
f. Click B from the tool bar
Procedure 2
f. Select the text
g. Click the format menu
h. Click font
i. Under font style, select bold
j. Click ok
Key board stroke/shortcut
Select the text
Press ctrl+b
How to change the font /size
Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click the down arrow of the size button and select the desired size
Procedure 2
a. Type the text

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 b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Move to font and click
e. Choose and click the font or size required
f. Click ok.
Inserting different colours
Procedures
a. Type the text.
b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Click font
e. Under colour area, choose and click the colour desired
f. Click ok.
Inserting date into a text
Procedure
a. Move the cursor to where the date is to be inserted.
b. Click insert from the menu.
c. Move to date and time and click
d. Click ok.
Setting margins or indenting text
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Click paragraph
e. Type the left margin as required
f. Type the right margin as required
g. Click ok
Changing line spacing
Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click format

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 d. Click paragraph
e. Under line spacing area, choose and click the required one
f. click ok

Procedure 2
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click the down arrow of the line spacing button from the tool bar
d. Click the desired size
Alignment or justification
This is used to move a text to the left , right or ccentre. It is mainly in the headings of headlines
of a text.
Procedure.
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click paragraph
d. Click alignment area, than choose and click the alignment desired i.e. left right or centre
e. Click ok.
Inserting numbers and bullets
These are used to highlight a point
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Move to bullets and numbers and click
e. Choose and click bullets and numbers require
f. Click ok.
Inserting a textbox
It is used to enclose a text
a. Type the text
b. Block the text

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 c. Click insert
d. Move to text box and click
Converting case
Case or letters can be converted into upper (capital letters) or lower (small letters).

Procedures
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Move to change case and click
e. Choose and click upper or lower case as required
f. Click ok.
Drop caps
This is enlarging the first character of the paragraph relative to the text for the current paragraph.
Procedure
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click format
d. Click drop cap
e. Specify the type of drop and the number of lines
f. Click ok
Graphics
Graphics are pictures or photos inserted into a text.
Procedure.
a. Move the cursor to where the pictures
b. Click insert
c. Move to picture and click/move to clip art and click
d. Choose and click the picture required
e. Click ok (click insert)
The move command
The move command is used to transfer a document or text from one place to another. From it
original place remains blank.

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Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click edit
d. Click cut
e. Place the cursor to where the text is to be moved
f. Click edit
g. Click paste.
Procedure 2
a. Select the text
b. Click the cut button from the tool bar
c. Move the cursor to where the text is to be moved to
d. Click the paste button from the tool bar
Procedure 3
a. Select the text
b. Right click on the selected text
c. Click cut
d. Move the cursor to where the text is to be moved to
e. Right click
f. Click paste
The copy command
This is used to transfer a text from one place to another but the text still remains in its origin
position. It is like a duplicate.
Procedure 1
a. Type the text
b. Block the text
c. Click edit
d. Click copy
e. Place the cursor to where the text is to be moved
f. Click edit
g. Click paste.

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Procedure 2
a. Select the text
b. Click the copy button from the tool bar
c. Move the cursor to where the text is to be moved to
d. Click the paste button from the tool bar
Procedure 3
a. Select the text
b. Right click on the selected text
c. Click copy
d. Move the cursor to where text is to be moved to
e. Right click
f. Click paste
Inserting special characters (symbols)
This allow you to insert characters, which you cannot get from the keyboard
Procedure
a. Place the cursor where the symbols is to be inserted
b. Click insert
c. Move to symbol and click
d. Choose symbol required and click
e. Click insert
f. Click close
Changing the text to superscript or subscript
Superscript and subscript refer to numbers that are positioned slightly higher or slightly lower
than the text on the line.
Procedure
a. Select the text
b. Click format
c. Click font
d. Click either superscript or subscript button
e. Click ok
Adding page numbers to the document
Procedure

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 a. Click insert
b. Click page numbers
c. Specify the position of the page number
d. Specify the alignment of the page number
e. Specify whether to have a page number at the first page of the document
f. In the format box select page number format
g. Click ok
Inserting headers and footers
A header is any text or graphic that appears at the top of a document while footer appears at the
bottom.
Procedure
a. Click view
b. Click header or footer
c. Type the header at the selected area
d. Type the footer at the selected area
Insert Word Art
Word art are different styles that are applied into a text e.g. letterhead
Procedure
a. Select the position to insert Word Art
b. Click insert
c. Move to picture and click
d. Select Word Art
e. Select the Word Art style
f. Type the text and format it
g. Click ok
Printing
a. Type the text
b. Click file
c. Click print
d. Click ok
Tables
A table consists of rows and columns of cells that you can fill.

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 a. Click table
b. Click insert table
c. Type the number of columns required
d. Type the number of rows required
e. Click ok
Table editing
i. Increasing and decreasing the number of rows and columns
a. Select the row(s) or column(s)
b. Open the table menu
c. Select delete rows or insert rows
If it is for columns, select delete columns or insert columns
ii. Adding borders and shading
a. Select the portion to be added
b. Open the format menu
c. Select borders and shading
d. Select the desired borders and shading
e. Click ok
iii. Joining cells
This allows you to join cells in the same rows
a. Select the cells to join
b. Open the table menu
c. Select split cells
d. Specify the number of columns
e. Click ok.
iv. Dividing cells
This allows you to split ccells in the same row
a. Select the cells to split
b. Open the table menu
c. Select split cells
d. Specify the number of columns
e. Click ok
v. Formula

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 Used to perform calculations in tables with numbers
a. Open the table menu
b. Select formula
c. Specify calculation to be performed
d. Click ok
vi. Sorting
Arranging the data in table in order
a. Open the table
b. Select sort
c. Specify the column to be used
d. Select either ascending or descending
e. Click ok
Setting up multiple columns
Newsletters and flyers often feature multicolumn layouts like those magazines and newspapers.
These layouts give us more flexibility when it comes to the placement of elements on the page,
and they are visually more interesting than single column layouts.
Procedure 1
a. Click format
b. Click columns
c. Select the required number of columns
d. Click ok
Procedure 2
a. Select the text
b. Click on the columns button on the standard menu
c. Drag the mouse pointer to choose the number of columns required.
Mail merge
It allows you to generate many letters while you have typed only one letter. There are three steps
to follow
The main document contains the body of the letter and the filenames
- The data source: contains the addresses for the people you are sending the letter
to.
- Merge: for combining the data source and the main document.

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Procedure
i. Click tools
ii. Click mail merge
iii. Select form letters
iv. Select whether to use active windows or new main document.
NB: if the file with data already exists
a. Select open data source
b. Select the filename of the data source
c. Click ok
If the file with data already exists:
a. Select create data source
b. Select the fields from the list shown
c. If the field does not exist, type the field name
d. Select the field name to remove
e. Click remove field name
f. Click ok when through
v. Type the name of the data source file name at the filename box provided. You can change
the drive or directory.
vi. Click ok/save.
vii. Select edit data source to add new records (addresses) to the data source.
Type the information in the data form while pressing Tab to go to the nest field. Select Add
New when through with the first record.
Continue until all the records are put
Click ok
v. From the mail merge toolbar that appears
a. Select the position where the field should be
b. Click the insert merge field from the toolbar
c. Select the file name to insert
d. Press enter to go to the next line
e. Continue with the steps (ii) to (iv) until all the field have been inserted
f. From the toolbar, select whether to merge to a new document or merge to printer to finish
the merging of the file.

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Example
Main document
Speedtech Computer College,
P.O Box 15,
Chuka,
1/01/2010,
“Full name”
“Job title”
“Address”
“Town”
Dear first name
As a preferred customer, we wish to invite you to a free computer exhibition, which will be at
our offices on 1st Jan 2010, starting at 10.00 am. Transport and free samples of new packages
will be provided.
Looking forward to seeing you.
Yours truly,
The Manager,
S.C.C.

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