Features of a word Processor

insert text: Allows you to insert text anywhere in the document.

delete text: Allows you to erase characters, words, lines, or pages as easily as you can
cross them out on paper.

cut and paste : Allows you to remove (cut) a section of text from one place in a document
and insert (paste) it somewhere else.

copy : Allows you to duplicate a section of text.

page size and margins : Allows you to define various page sizes and margins, and the
word processor will automatically readjust the text so that it fits.

search and replace : Allows you to direct the word processor to search for a particular
word or phrase. You can also direct the word processor to replace one group of characters
with another everywhere that the first group appears.

word wrap : The word processor automatically moves to the next line when you have
filled one line with text, and it will readjust text if you change the margins.

print: Allows you to send a document to a printer to get hardcopy.

file management : Many word processors contain file management capabilities that allow
you to create, delete, move, and search for files.

font specifications: Allows you to change fonts within a document. For example, you can
specify bold, italics, and underlining. Most word processors also let you change the font
size and even the typeface.

footnotes and cross-references: Automates the numbering and placement of footnotes and
enables you to easily cross-reference other sections of the document.

graphics graphics: Allows you to embed illustrations and graphs into a document. Some
word processors let you create the illustrations within the word processor; others let you
insert an illustration produced by a different program.

headers , footers , and page numbering: Allows you to specify customized headers and
footers that the word processor will put at the top and bottom of every page. The word
processor automatically keeps track of page numbers so that the correct number appears
on each page.
layout : Allows you to specify different margins within a single document and to specify
various methods for indenting paragraphs.

macros : A macro is a character or word that represents a series of keystrokes. The

keystrokes can represent text or commands. The ability to define macros allows you to
save yourself a lot of time by replacing common combinations of keystrokes.

merges: Allows you to merge text from one file into another file. This is particularly
useful for generating many files that have the same format but different data. Generating
mailing labels is the classic example of using merges.

spell checker : A utility that allows you to check the spelling of words. It will highlight
any words that it does not recognize.

tables of contents and indexes: Allows you to automatically create a table of contents and
index based on special codes that you insert in the document.

thesaurus: A built-in thesaurus that allows you to search for synonyms without leaving
the word processor.

windows : Allows you to edit two or more documents at the same time. Each document
appears in a separate window. This is particularly valuable when working on a large
project that consists of several different files.

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get): With WYSIWYG, a document appears on
the display screen exactly as it will look when printed

Important editing functions

As you can see in the image above, WORD can be customised with a number of
editing functions that appear as icons on th etool bar.
Some of the most frequent editing tools are CUT, COPY, PASTE and COPY
FORMAT.
To copy words, protions of text, images, or just about whatever you have in your
document, you can click on the COPY icon or hit Ctrl+C; this will memorise what
you have copied in the clipboard and you can paste it any place you want by
clicking on the PASTE icon or hitting the keys Ctrl+V. However, if you wish to
delete something in order to copy it somewhere else, use the CUT command (the
scissors icon) or hit Ctrl+X. Finally, clicking on COPY FORMAT (the brush icon)
you can format text as you wish: to do so, position your pointer on the word
whose format you want to copy; click on COPY FORMAT icon; move pointer to
word or text you want to modifyand highlight it with your mouse, and finally
release the mouse button. The text will show the new format (font, character size
and colour).

 The following icons are for NEW DOCUMENT, OPEN DOCUMENT, SAVE, E-
MAIL, PRINT AND PREVIEW.

Just click on the appropriate icon to carry out the task you need. 
For printing, however, it is better to follow a longer procedure: select "Print" from
the Menu file (or hit Ctrl+Caps+F12), a dialogue box will pop up where you can
define your settings for the printer (colour or balck&white, number of pages,
number of copies and so on). If you click on the PRINT icon directly, the printing
process will start right away with its default settings, or the latest settings you
have used, and often this is not what you want.

Once you have almost finished your document, you can use the PREVIEW
function. This enables some other modifications to the document and shows the
page as it will really look like when printed out.
An added feature in Word2000 is the possibility to send your document via e-mail
directly from the program, a very useful shortcut now that the Internet has
become widely popular with the general public.

To modify the type of printed character, called font, you can select the font name
(for example, Arial, Times New Roman, Courier, etc.) by clicking on the font
name: a pull-down menu will show you a list of fancy characters. Also, you can
define the font sizeby using the pull-down menu that is next to it.
Letters and words can can also be formatted in various other ways: for example
they can appear in bold, italics or underlined and clearly they can also be printed
in different colours.

It is worth mentioning here that the zoom function that is on the standard tool bar
of WORD can be used to zoom in and out the text, this way even if you decide
for a very small font size you don't have to kill your eyes to read what you are
writing. Simply select a higher value on the pull down menu or directly type in a
value in the box.

Another important feature is the SPELLING CHECKER and vocabulary, whereas

the GRAMMAR CHECKER is highly unreliable yet and therefore not so useful.
Normally most modern WORD versions for Italy feature both an Italian and
English in-built vocabulary that may be an invaluable helping tool for synonyms
and antonyms, especially when using a foreign language. To activate these
functions, position the pointer on the word you want to chack and hit Caps+F7, or
alternatively right-click on your mouse and work through the pop-up menu.

Starting out with Microsoft Word

When WORD is opened you will be presented with a blank page. All what you
have to do is start writing. Of course you don’t have to worry about overflowing
the text line because the program will take care of breaking it up appropriately.
After writing your first document you have to save it; if you don’t and turn off the
computer what you have written will be cancelled and nothing will remain.
However the program asks you what you want to do of the document the
moment you shut off WORD without having saved it first. If you intend to keep
the document you will be prompted to tell the computer where you want to save
it. By default it will be saved as a file in a folder called My Documents (but if you
use the Italian version of Windows and WORD this is called Miei Documenti).
Give a name to the document and choose the file’s destination: it will be saved
with a .DOC extension, this is to tell Windows that this document is a WORD file.
From now on the document you have written will be available for you to do
whatever you like: you can open it again and modify it, or print it, or send it via e-
mail or fax.