SS 1 First Term

Learning Objectives

• State the uses of a word processor.
• Identify the parts of a word processing window.
• Create, save and close a document.
• Type, select and correct text in a document.

Uses of a Word Processor

A word processor is a program used to create, edit, format and print documents made mainly of text. It is used for letters, reports, assignments, minutes of meetings, brochures and examination files. Its advantage over a typewriter is that a change can be made after the text has been written, and the change appears in every copy that follows.

Other office tasks share the same programs. A spreadsheet calculates on numbers, a presentation program produces slides, and a database program stores linked records. A single office suite supplies several of these under one licence, which reduces the cost for a school.

Parts of the Window

The title bar shows the name of the open document. The quick access toolbar holds the commands used most often, such as save, undo and print. The ribbon holds the remaining commands under tabs named Home, Insert, Layout and Review.

The document area is the white page on which the text is typed. The ruler shows the margins and the indents. The status bar shows the page number, the word count and the zoom level. The scroll bar moves through a long document.

Word count can be applied to a selection, so counting only part of a document is possible and is often what is wanted.

Creating and Saving a Document

A new document is opened from the new command, or from a template when a particular style of document is required. Before typing, the margins, the orientation and the paper size are set from the layout tab, and the font, the size and the spacing are chosen.

Saving is done with the save command, which keeps the same name, and save as, which asks for a new name and a new folder. The document format uses the extension.docx. A document that must keep exactly the same layout on any computer is exported as a PDF.

Documents should be saved often and a backup kept in a second place. A document closed without saving loses everything typed since the last save.

A document saved only in memory is lost when the computer is switched off. Saving is what creates the file.

Typing, Selecting and Correcting

Text is typed at the insertion point, a blinking line that shows where the next character will appear. The enter key starts a new paragraph and the tab key indents. The space bar inserts a space, and the shift key combined with a letter gives a capital letter.

Selecting is done by dragging across the text, by clicking in the left margin beside a line, or with the keyboard. Shift and an arrow key extends a selection one character at a time, and control and A selects the whole document. A selection can then be cut, copied, replaced or formatted.

The spelling and grammar checkers underline doubtful words. Right clicking a suggestion accepts it, and ignoring a suggestion leaves it as it is. The thesaurus suggests another word with a similar meaning, and word count reports the length of the selection.

The enter key starts a new paragraph. The tab key indents the line, and it does not start a new paragraph.

Replacing text by typing over it destroys the original unless the selection was cut or copied first.

Practical Work

1. Create a new document, type a heading and three paragraphs, and save it as AssignmentOne.docx in your folder.
2. Use the ruler to set the left and right margins to 2.5 centimetres and record the result.
3. Select one paragraph, change the font, the size and the alignment, and record what you changed.
4. Use the thesaurus to replace two words with alternatives of a similar meaning.
5. Check the spelling of a paragraph and correct the flagged words.
6. Export the document as a PDF and confirm that the layout has not changed.

Scenario-Based Questions

1. A student typed four pages of work and closed the computer without saving. Explain what happened and how it could have been prevented.
2. Explain the difference between the enter key and the tab key when typing a document.
3. A document needs to be printed exactly as it appears on the screen on a computer in another school. Explain which format should be used.
4. Explain how to copy a paragraph from one place in a document to another without deleting the original.
5. Your friend says the spell checker proves a document is correct. Explain why this is not true.
6. Explain what a template saves a student who has to produce twenty reports of the same style.
7. Describe how to find the number of words in a selected paragraph only.