What is Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word, or Word as it is commonly known, is a software

application that allows you (the user) to perform word processing.
You may use Word to create documents such as letters,
invitations, term papers, flyers, resumes, novels, and much more!
So, for all of you out there itching to start your first novel, let’s
begin to learn Word!

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 Beginning Word

To begin using Word, you will need to first open the application.
Generally, there are two ways in which to open Word.

1. Move your mouse to the Start button at the lower left

hand corner of your screen. Click on Start, then move
your mouse to Programs, then click on Microsoft Word.

OR

2. You will see an icon on your desktop that looks similar to

this . In this case, you would double click on this icon

in order to open Word.

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 Page Layout

Once you have opened Word, you will see a screen similar to this:

Now we’ll go through the individual parts of the screen.

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 Page Layout Continued

The Title Bar

The Title Bar displays the name of the program and the name of
the document that is currently open on your screen. In the above
example, the program being used is Microsoft Word and the
document that is open is Document 1. “Document 1” is a generic
term that Word assigns to an un-named document. Once you
begin naming and saving your documents, the new document name
will be displayed.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar displays all of the options and functions of the
Word application. In order to open one of the menu options, you
need to point your mouse to the item of your choice and click
using the left mouse button.

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 Page Layout Continued

The Tool Bars

The Standard Toolbar

The Formatting Toolbar

Tool Bars offer short-cuts to the menu commands. Using the

Standard Toolbar, you may open a new Word document, open a
new file, save your current document to a disk, print your current
document, and much more. The Formatting Toolbar offers
options such as text size, font, and text alignment.

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 Page Layout Concluded

Where does the text go?

You may begin typing text in the “text area” once you have moved
your cursor into the blank, white box. Try doing this now and
type in your first name.

Scroll Bars

Scroll Bars are the gray columns to the right and to the bottom
of your screen. The scroll bars are used to move the screen up
and down or right and left.

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 Fonts and Spacing
*Note: If at anytime you make a mistake while typing, you can use either your
Backspace key or your Delete key. The Backspace key erases one character at a time
starting to the left of the cursor while the Delete key erases one character at a time
starting to the right of the cursor. Experiment with both.

Font refers to the style of text you are using. You can make your
font Bold, Italic, or Underlined by simply clicking on the B, I, or U
on the Formatting Toolbar (clicking on the letter a second time
brings the text back to normal). Try typing this sentence exactly
as it appears below:

The Allen County Public Library is a great place to find a cool

read.

You may also change the type of font you are using by clicking on
the Format option on the Menu Bar. Click on Format, then click
on Font. You will see many different text style options in this
menu. Experiment with the different styles and find one that you
like (note that the different styles are displayed in the text box
at the bottom of the Font window). Now type the following
sentence using Coronet:

This font style is very pretty but a little hard to read.

The size of your text can also be changed by using the drop-down
menu next to the number 12 on the Formatting Toolbar. Try
experimenting with text size now by typing the following:

Small (8) big (14) bigger (26)

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 Fonts and Spacing Continued

Alignment

Alignment refers to the way in which the text is justified on the

page. Below are some examples.

Example -- Left-Justified

Sample Paragraph

This is a sample paragraph. It is used to illustrate alignment. Left-justified

text is aligned on the left. Right-justified text is aligned on the right.
Centered text is centered between the left and right margins. You can use
Center to center your titles. Justified text is flush on both sides.

Example -- Right-Justified

Sample Paragraph

This is a sample paragraph. It is used to illustrate alignment.

Left-justified text is aligned on the left. Right-justified text
is aligned on the right. Centered text is centered between the
left and right margins. You can use Center to center your
titles.

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 Fonts and Spacing Concluded

Example -- Centered

Sample Paragraph

This is a sample paragraph. It is used to illustrate alignment.

Left-justified text is aligned on the left. Right-justified text
is aligned on the right. Centered text is centered between the
left and right margins. You can use Center to center your
titles.

Example -- Justified

This is a sample paragraph. It is used to illustrate alignment. Right-

justified text is aligned on the right. Centered text is centered between
the left and right margins. Justified text is flush on both sides.

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 Bullets and Numbering

Bullets are useful for itemizing or enumerating points and lists.

Several bulleting and numbering styles are available in Microsoft
Word. Simply click on Format on the Menu Bar and then click on
Bullets and Numbering to see some examples. You may select the
type of bullets or numbering you would like before you begin to
type or you may select it after you have already typed your text.
Try these examples.

First, type this list:

Apple
Orange
Grape
Banana

Next, highlight the list you just typed. Now go to Format, select
Bullets and Numbering and chose a bullet or numbering system of
your choice. You will see that Word automatically applies it to
your text.

For the next example select your desired bullets before typing
your list. You will see the bullets appear as you type.

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 Saving Your Work to a Disk

Now that you have created a document, you will want to save your
work so you can retrieve it later. Actually, you will probably want
to save your work while you are creating it to avoid losing it in the
event of a computer mishap (ooops!).

To save your work you will need to insert an IBM formatted

floppy disk into the disk drive. Once you have inserted your
device, follow these steps.

1. Click on File on the Menu Bar.

2. Select Save As…
3. *Select drive you want to save in.
4. Name your file.
5. Click Save.
*A: drive for floppy disk ; E: drive for flash drive; C: for CD

CD-ROM Drive

A compact disc (CD) is similar to the floppy disk

because it stores and retrieves data

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USB Flash Drives

Types of USB flash drives

There are several types of these drives, and many more will likely
crop up over time.
Whether they are called
Thumb Drives, Jump
Drives, or Pen Drives, they
all work the same way.

You use them just like you would a floppy disk – to save and
transfer files.

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 This is only a test......
Type the following document exactly as is
appears below.
(Hint: The font style is Comic Sans MS)

Indiana is called the Hoosier State and its people are known as Hoosiers.

The Allen County Public Library has over two million books!

Now center your text.

Next, bullet the following list.

Chocolate
Vanilla
Strawberry
Rocky Road

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