A Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office
A Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office
Microsoft Word is a word processing
program that was first made public by Microsoft in the early 1980s. It allows
users to type and manipulate text in a graphic environment that resembles a
page of paper. Extra features, such as tables, images and advanced formatting
give users more options to customize their documents. Over the past three
decades, there have been a number of updates and additions to Microsoft Word.
Today it is one of the most widely used word processors available for Macs and
PCs. It is often taught to students in schools and required as part of the
basic computer requirements for many office jobs. In this guide, new users will
learn the basic functions of Microsoft Word and how to use them.
Alignment – The alignment options dictate whether
the left and right edges of the text in a document adhere to the right side,
left, center or justified. Alignment can be set from the formatting toolbar at
the top of the window or under by choosing Paragraph under the Format menu.
Bullets/Numbering – When creating a list of text items, users can choose
from several bullet or numbering system to add a small graphic icon or series
of numbers before each item. To add bullets or numbering to a series of text,
click on the corresponding buttons in the formatting toolbar or choose Bullets
and Numbering from the Format menu.
Clipboard – The clipboard acts as a type of storage area when a piece of
text is temporarily removed and stored for later use within the same session.
Using the Cut or Copy commands will place the text in the clipboard. Click on Clipboard
under the Edit menu to view any text that may be temporarily stored in it.
Copy – Copying text simply means making a replica of any text that is
currently selecting and saving it to the clipboard. Pressing the Control and C
keys in Windows or Command and C on a Mac will copy the text. Alternatively,
users can also select the text and then click the Copy option under the Edit
menu or in the main toolbar.
Cut – Cutting
text removes the text entirely from the viewable document and stores it in the
clipboard. Control-X or Command-X is the keyboard shortcuts for the Cut
function on Windows and Mac respectively. The Cut function can also be found
under the Edit menu or the toolbar.
Document – Each
document in Microsoft Word is essentially a new file. Each document can be
several pages long. A new document can be created by hitting Control-N or
Command-N, or by choosing the New Blank Document option from the File menu or
the standard toolbar.
Edit – The edit
menu or toolbar in Microsoft Word allows users to perform basic editing
functions in their document such as copying, cutting and pasting. It also
contains options for the Undo and Find/Replace functions.
Font – A font is
a type of design for text and typically incorporates this design into each
letter, number and symbol found on a keyboard. Fonts can range from formal to
whimsical. Microsoft Word comes with a series of provided fonts and additional
ones can also be downloaded if needed. To change the font used in a document,
select the text and either clicks on the main Font menu, the Font drop-down
menu in the formatting toolbar or hit Control-D or Command D.
Footer – The
footer is the text that consistently appears on every page of a document, at
the bottom of each page. Footers normally include details such as the page
number, or a company’s name and contact details in formal documents. Add or
edit footer by choosing Header and Footer under the View menu.
Format – The
Format menu (or toolbar) goes one step further than the Edit menu. Users can
make stylistic changes by changing the look of the text itself, paragraphs,
lists and more.
Header – The
header is similar to footer except that it sits at the very top of every page
in a document. Headers often contain page numbers, the document name or
sub-titles within a document. The header can be edited by clicking on Header
and Footer within the View menu.
Justify, left justified, right
justified – Justification is a type of alignment for text in a
word processor. Justify ensures that both the left and right sides of the text
in every paragraph run in a straight line. Left justify makes only the left
side of the text aligned, while the right side remains ragged. Right justified
does the complete opposite, with only the right side of the text aligned. Users
can apply justification to their text by clicking on the corresponding buttons
in the formatting toolbar or by selecting the text and clicking on Paragraph
under the Format menu.
Open – The Open
command opens an existing document in Microsoft Word. Command or Control plus
O, or choosing Open… from the File menu will provide a pop-up window for users
to select the document they wish to open.
Paste – The paste
command takes any previously copied or cut text and lays it down within the
document where the cursor is pointing. Control or Command plus V, or Paste from
the Edit menu or standard toolbar will run the paste function.
Print – The print command first opens a
window where users can specify parameters of the paper, printer and ink they
wish to print with and it provides a preview of what the physical print will
look like. Control or Command plus P, or clicking on Print in the File menu or
standard toolbar lets users access the print window. it allows users to save
the document as a different version by adding a different file name.
Quick access tool bar – The quick
access toolbar is a small and moveable toolbar at the top of the document
window. It usually contains buttons to save, undo, redo and print. This toolbar
can also be customized to include or remove other commands.
Ribbon – The
Ribbon is a type of toolbar found in versions of Microsoft Office 2007. It
contains graphic buttons for commands and similar commands are shown in groups
for easy access.
Save – The save
command is one of the most important ones. It saves all of the work done to
date within a document. The save command enables users to return to the same
document later and continue writing, editing or printing. Control or Command
plus S, or clicking Save under the File menu or standard toolbar will save the
document. The Save As option is slightly different
Text – Text is
any of the words and paragraphs that a user types within a document.
Standard tool bar
– The standard tool bar is the row of icons at the top of the document. Each of
these buttons is used for basic functions such as saving, opening or printing
documents, among other commands.
Undo – The undo feature keeps track
of each command that a user issues while working on their document. Issuing the
undo command allows the user to go back one step and restore the document as it
was before their latest editing command. Related to the Undo command is Redo,
which lets the user redo the same formatting command again. Control or Command
plus Z, or Undo under the Edit menu is used to undo a command, while Control or
Command plus Y or Redo under Edit is to redo a command
