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UGANDA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
(UICT)

ICT Skills Handout4

By

NKURUNUNGI EDISON
Department of ICT
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +256 772955373/+256 702955372

2017

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The only ICT Public Tertially Institution in Uganda
Microsoft Word (By Edison Nkurunungi ) 1
 Introduction to Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft Word is one such word-processing program. With the help of Microsoft Word, you can
quickly and easily create memos, reports, letters, charts, and newsletters. You can also, among other
things, add graphics to documents and use other Microsoft Office 2007 programs to import data into a
Word document. Not only is Word a convenient time-saver, but Word also allows you to check
spelling and edit documents before printing. No longer do reports, letters, and other documents have to
be completely retyped just because of an error or two. Word allows you to edit quickly and leaves you
with a very clean, professional-looking document.
Starting Word
You start Word by clicking the Start button, which is at the left end of the Microsoft Windows
taskbar. After you start Word, the program appears in its own window with a new, blank document
open. A window is an area of the screen that is used to display a program or document. Every window
has common components, including scroll bars and toolbars. A document is a self-contained piece of
work created by using a program.
In other words, the Word window and each open document are displayed in separate windows. You
can use Word to open multiple documents (therefore multiple document windows) at a time, you can
resize a document window, and you can also minimize a document window. When you minimize a
document window, the document window is reduced to a button on the Windows taskbar. The
document is still open but found on the taskbar.
The Word window contains graphical components to help you use the application, including menus,
toolbars, and buttons. Becoming familiar with the components in the Word window will save you time
when you begin creating and editing documents. Title Bar

Menu bar
Formatting tool bar

Microsoft Word (By Edison Nkurunungi ) 2 Status bar

In this exercise, you use the Start button to open MS Word.
1 Click the Start button at the left end (or top) of the Windows taskbar, which is typically located
along the bottom of the screen. (You may also find it at the top or along one of the sides of the
screen.)
The Start menu appears.
2 On the Start menu, point to All Programs.
The All Programs submenu appears.
3 On the All Programs submenu, click Microsoft office then click Microsoft office Word 2007.
Word starts.
Exploring the Word Window
Many components in the Word window are similar to those in other Windows programs. The
following illustration displays the elements in the Word window, and a description of each element
follows the figure.
Title bar: The area of a window or dialog box that displays the name of the current dialog box or
application and the name of the current document. It is located along the top of the window it has
minimize, restore and close buttons.

Menu bar: The area that lists the names of the menus available in Word. A menu is a collection of
related commands from which you can make a selection. The menu bar is located just below the title
bar.
Formatting toolbar: A toolbar that provides quick access to the formatting functions that you use
frequently. The names of buttons are displayed in ScreenTips when you position the mouse pointer
over the buttons i.e. B for bold, I for italic etc .
Insertion point: A blinking vertical line in the document window that indicates where the next
character (any single letter, number, space, tab, page break, paragraph mark, or symbol that can be
entered in a document) typed from the keyboard will appear.

Selection area: The area between the left edge of the window and the left edge of a line of text. You
position the mouse pointer in the selection area to select an entire line of text. The pointer changes to a
right-pointing arrow when it is positioned in the selection area.

Ruler: An on-screen scale marked with inches or other units of measure, which changes the
indentation of paragraphs, resets a page margin (an area of blank space between the edge of the paper
and the text), and adjusts the width of columns. The ruler is located below the toolbars.

Scroll bars: Bars that are used for moving the view of the document. The vertical scroll bar is located
along the right side of the window, and the horizontal scroll bar is located along the lower portion of
the window, just above the status bar.

Navigation buttons: Buttons that are used for moving the view in a long document. These buttons are
located on the vertical scroll bar.

Status bar: A bar that displays explanations of currently selected text at the bottom edge of the
program window.

Minimize button: A button that reduces a program window on to the taskbar.

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Maximize/Restore Down button: A button that switches back and forth, or toggles (alternately turns
an option on or off each time that the option is selected) between displaying a window in its maximum
size and restoring a window to its previous size. It is located in the group of three buttons at the upper-
right corner of the window.

Close button: A button that closes the current window or application. It is located in the group of three
buttons at the upper-right corner of the window.

ScreenTip: A help item that shows the name of a button or screen element when you rest the mouse
pointer on a toolbar button or screen element.

Task pane: Word organizes commands for common tasks in the task pane, a small window next to
your document that opens when you need it. For example, when you start Word, you see the New
Document task pane, which includes commands for opening and creating documents. Use the New
Document task pane to open a saved or blank document, to create a document based on an existing
one, or to create a document from a template (a file containing structure and style settings that help
you create a specific type of document, such as a memo or resume).

Getting Started
When you begin to explore MS Word 2007, you will notice a significant change in the menu structure
if you are familiar with previous versions of Word. The menus in Word 2003 display only the
commands you have recently used. To view all options in each menu, you must click the double
arrows at the bottom of the menu. The images below show the Format menu for MS word 2003:

Shortcut Menus
These features allow you to access various Word commands faster than using the options on the menu
bar. View shortcut menus by right-clicking with the mouse the text you wish to edit. The options on
this menu will vary depending on the element that was right-clicked. For example, the shortcut menu
below is produced by right-clicking on the selected text.

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Actions such as "Decrease Indent" and "Increase Indent" are applicable to text, lists etc. The shortcut
menus are helpful because they only display the options that can be applied to the item that was right-
clicked and, therefore, prevent searching through the many menu options.
Menu bar
Menu bar displays buttons that are available for editing and formatting a document quicker and easily.
Click Home button from the menu bar to select the tools to use for editing and formatting a document.

Click Insert button on the menu bar to be able to insert a table, shapes, headers and footers, page
numbers, page break, text box, drop cap wordArt among others.
Click View button on the menu bar to insert a ruler.

Creating and Opening Documents

There are several ways to create new documents, open existing documents, and click new.
Create a New Document
 Click the Office Button located at the left corner of the application window.
 Choose New from the context menu.

 Press CTRL+N (depress the CTRL key while pressing "N") on the keyboard.

Open an Existing Document

 Click the Office Button located at the left corner of the application window.
 Choose the Open button from the context menu.
 Press CTRL+O on the keyboard.

Each method will show the Open dialog box. Choose the file and click the Open button.

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Save a Document
 Click the Office Button located at the left corner of the application window.
 Click the Save As or Save button on the context menu.
 Press CTRL+S (depress the CTRL key while pressing "S") on the keyboard.

Printing a document
 Click the Office Button located at the left corner of the application window.
 Click Print button on the context menu.

Press CTRL+P (depress the CTRL key while pressing "P") on the keyboard.

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Working with Files
Working on Multiple Documents
Several documents can be opened simultaneously if you are typing or editing multiple documents at
once. All open documents are listed under the View button on the menu bar. The current document
has a checkmark beside the file name. Select another name to view another open document or click the
button on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

Close a Document
Close the current document by selecting Office Button|Close or click the Close icon if it's visible on
the title bar.

Working With Text

Typing and Inserting Text
To enter text, just start typing! The text will appear where the blinking cursor is located. Move the cursor by
using the arrow buttons on the keyboard or positioning the mouse and clicking the left button. The keyboard
shortcuts listed below are also helpful when moving through the text of a document:
Move Action Keystroke
Beginning of the line HOME
End of the line END
Top of the document CTRL+HOME
End of the document CTRL+END
Selecting Text
To change any attributes of text it must be highlighted first. Select the text by dragging the mouse
over the desired text while keeping the left mouse button depressed, or hold down the SHIFT key on
the keyboard while using the arrow buttons to highlight the text. The following table contains shortcuts for
selecting a portion of the text:
Selection Technique
Whole word double-click within the word
Whole paragraph triple-click within the paragraph
Several words or drag the mouse over the words, or hold down SHIFT while using the
lines arrow keys
Entire document choose Edit|Select All from the menu bar in word 2003, or press
CTRL+A on the keyboard

Deselect the text by clicking anywhere outside of the selection on the page or press an arrow key on
the keyboard.

Deleting Text
Use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys on the keyboard to delete text. Backspace will delete text
to the left of the cursor and Delete will erase text to the right. To delete a large selection of text,
highlight it using any of the methods outlined above and press the DELETE key.

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Formatting Text
The formatting toolbar is the easiest way to change many attributes of text. In MS office 2003, if the
toolbar as shown below isn't displayed on the screen, select View|Toolbars and choose Formatting.

 Font Size - Click on the white part of the font size box to enter a value for the font size or click
the arrowhead to the right of the box to view a list of font sizes available. Select a size by
clicking on it once. A font size of 10 or 12 is best for paragraphs of text.
 Font Style - Use these buttons to bold, italicize, and underline text.
 Alignment - Text can be aligned to the left, center, or right side of the page or it can be
justified across the page.
 Numbered and Bulleted Lists - Lists are explained in detail later in this tutorial.
 Increase/Decrease Indent - Change the indentation of a paragraph in relation to the side of the
page.
 Outside Border - Add a border around a text selection.
 Highlight Color - Use this option to change the color behind a text selection. The color shown
on the button is the last color used. To select a different color, click the arrowhead next to the
image on the button.
 Text Color - This option changes the color of the text. The color shown on the button is the last
color chosen. Click the arrowhead next to the button image to select another color.

The Font dialog box allows you to choose from a larger selection of formatting options. Select

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 Font from the menu bar to access the box.

Undo

Feel free to experiment with various text styles. You can always undo your last action by clicking the
Undo button. Click the Redo button to erase the undo action.

Formatting Paragraphs
Paragraph Attributes
Format a paragraph by placing the cursor within the paragraph and selecting Home button from the
menu bar, select the tool to use from Paragraph section.

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Moving (Cutting) Text

Highlight the text that will be moved and select Cut from the formatting toolbar, or press CTRL+X at
once on the keyboard. This will move the text to a clipboard.

To move a small amount of text a short distance, the drag-and-drop method may be quicker. Highlight
the text you want to move, click the selection with the mouse, drag the selection to the new location,
and release the mouse button.
Copying Text
To copy text, choose Copy, click the Copy button on the formatting toolbar, or press CTRL+C to
copy the text to the clipboard.
Paste Text

To paste cut or copied text, move the cursor to the location you want to move the text to and select
Paste from the formatting toolbar or right click the mouse, click Paste, or press CTRL+V.

The Clipboard
The last 2 elements that were cut or copied are placed onto Word's clipboard.

Columns

To quickly place text in a column format, click the Columns button on the page layout found on the
menu bar, select the number of columns by dragging the mouse over the columns.

For more column options, select more Columns from the context menu. The Columns dialog box
allows you to choose the properties of the columns. Select the number and width of the columns from
the dialog box.

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Drop Caps
A drop cap is a large letter that begins a paragraph and drops through several lines of text as shown
below.

Add a drop cap to a paragraph by following these steps:

1. Place the cursor within the paragraph whose first letter will be dropped.
2. Click Insert button from the menu bar, select Drop Cap from the context menu.
3. The Drop Cap dialog box allows you to select the position of the drop cap, the font, the
number of lines to drop, and the distance from the body text.
4. Click OK when all selections have been made.
5. To modify a drop cap, select Drop Cap again to change the attributes, or click on the letter and
use the handles to move and resize the letter.
Styles
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To create a bulleted or numbered list, use the list features provided by Word.
Bulleted and Numbered Lists
 Click the Bulleted List button or Numbered List button on the formatting toolbar.
 Type the first entry and press ENTER. This will create a new bullet or number on the next
line. If you want to start a new line without adding another bullet or number, hold down the
SHIFT key while pressing ENTER.
 Continue to typing entries and press ENTER twice when you are finished typing to end the list.

Use the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons on the formatting toolbar to create lists
of multiple levels.

NOTE: You can also type the text first, highlight the section, and press the Bulleted List or
Numbered List buttons to add the bullets or numbers.
Nested Lists
To create a nested list, such as a numbered list inside of a bulleted list, follow these steps:
 Type the list and increase the indentation of the items that will make up the nested list by
clicking the Increase Indent button for each item.

 Highlight the items and click the Numbered List button on the formatting toolbar.
Formatting Lists
The bullet image and numbering format can be changed by using the Bullets and Numbering dialog
box.
 Highlight the entire list to change all the bullets or numbers, or Place the cursor on one line
within the list to change a single bullet.
 Access the dialog box by clicking Home button on the menu bar, selecting Bullets or
Numbering from the paragraph section or by right-clicking within the list and selecting Bullets
or Numbering from the shortcut menu.

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 Select the list style from one of the seven choices given, or click the Picture... button to choose
a different icon. Click the Numbered tab to choose a numbered list style.
 Click OK when finished.

Mail Merge
Mail merge is used to send same document to a number of recipients. Mail merge in Ms Office 2000 is
slightly different from Ms Office 2003 and MS office 2007 but they perform the same activity
- In Ms Office 2007 go to Mailings in menu bar, click start mail merge select step by step mail merge
wizard then follow steps 3 to 6
In Ms Office 2003 go to Tools, letters and mailings, mail merge then follow steps 1 to 6
- In Ms Office 2000 go to Tools, mail merge, main document, etc
NB one needs to have two documents (the main document and the document containing list of
recipients).
Background (watermark)
How to insert a background i.e. UICT by water marking
- Page Layout on the menu bar, click on watermark, select custom, then text watermark or image
watermark.

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