1.

LESSON 1

Getting Started
with Word
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:
 Start Word.
 Explore the Word window.
 Enter text in a document.
 Save a document.
 Close a document and quit Word.

Just a few years ago, correspondence was created with paper and pencils, pens,
or typewriters. Gone are the days, however, of correction fluid, crossed-out
words, and wads of crumpled papers scattered around your garbage can. Today
most personal and professional correspondence is created using computers.
And, in most cases, those computers are running a word-processing program to
make the creation of documents easier and more accurate.
Microsoft Word is one such word-processing program. With the help of
Microsoft Word, you can quickly and easily create memos, faxes, reports,
letters, charts, and newsletters. You can also, among other things, add graphics
to documents and use other Microsoft Office XP 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 (and saves you from emptying your
garbage can so often).
In this lesson, you will learn how to start and quit Word and how to identify the
A toolbar is a group of
buttons used to carry out
various components in the Word window, such as the menu bar and toolbar.
commands. For example, the You’ll explore the task pane, you’ll practice entering text into a document, and
Drawing toolbar contains then you’ll save a document. To complete the procedures in this lesson, you
buttons that you can use to will create your own practice files.
draw and format pictures.

Starting Word
The taskbar is the strip along
You start Word by clicking the Start button, which is at the left end (or top) of
the bottom or side of the the Microsoft Windows taskbar. After you start Word, the program appears in
screen. You use the mouse its own window with a new, blank document open. A window is an area of the
pointer to open applications
screen that is used to display a program or document. Every window has
on the taskbar.
common components, including scroll bars and toolbars. You’ll learn more
about the components of the Word window later in this lesson. A document is a
self-contained piece of work created by using a program.
 1.2 Word Processing Fundamentals

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; you just can’t see it.
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.

Notice in this illustration that

the Standard and Formatting
toolbars are on separate lines
to allow you to view them
clearly.

In this exercise, you use the Start button to open 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 Word.
Word starts.
 Lesson 1 Getting Started with Word 1.3

A desktop shortcut is
represented by an icon with a tip
curved arrow in the left
corner. You can create a Rather than clicking the Start button, pointing to All Programs, and clicking
shortcut by right-clicking the
the program that you want to use, you can save time by creating a desktop
desired button-icon and
clicking Create Shortcut. The shortcut. You simply double-click a shortcut icon to start its associated
shortcut icon can be moved program. To create a desktop shortcut to Word, click the Start button, point
to the desktop by dragging to All Programs, point to Microsoft Word, and hold down the Ctrl key while
the icon to the desktop.
you drag the Microsoft Word icon to the desktop. Double-click the Word
shortcut icon to open Word.

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.
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.
 1.4 Word Processing Fundamentals

By default, Word 2002 places

Standard toolbar A toolbar that provides quick access to the editing functions
the Standard and Formatting you use frequently. For example, on the Standard toolbar, the button that you
toolbars on the same row use to save a document contains an icon of a floppy disk. The Standard toolbar
below the menu bar to save
is located just below the menu bar.
window space. When the
Standard and Formatting Formatting toolbar A toolbar that provides quick access to the formatting
toolbars share one row, you
can’t see all the buttons, but functions that you use frequently. The names of buttons are displayed in
you can access other buttons ScreenTips when you position the mouse pointer over the buttons.
by clicking the More Buttons
down arrow at the end of the Insertion point A blinking vertical line in the document window that indicates
toolbar. 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.
You can position the
Standard and Formatting Selection area The area between the left edge of the window and the left edge
toolbars on two separate
rows. Position the mouse
of a line of text. You position the mouse pointer in the selection area to select
pointer over the move handle an entire line of text. The pointer changes to a right-pointing arrow when it is
at the left end of the positioned in the selection area.
Formatting toolbar until it
turns into the move pointer (a Ruler An on-screen scale marked with inches or other units of measure, which
four-headed arrow), and drag changes the indentation of paragraphs, resets a page margin (an area of blank
the toolbar down a bit until it
appears on its own row. (The space between the edge of the paper and the text), and adjusts the width of
vertical drag handle is a light columns. The ruler is located below the toolbars.
gray vertical line that appears
at the left side of each Scroll bars Bars that are used for moving the view of the document. The
toolbar.) 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 window to a button on the Windows
taskbar. It appears as a button with a horizontal line and is located in the group
of three buttons at the upper-right corner of the window.
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.
Lesson 1 Getting Started with Word 1.5

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). You can also show or hide any task
pane when you like. If you want to use a task pane and the one that you want
does not appear, you can manually show the task pane and then select the
specific task pane that you want from the Other Task Panes menu on the task
pane. If you no longer need the task pane, you can hide it to free up valuable
screen space in the program window. On the View menu, click Task Pane;
clicking the command hides the task pane if it is currently displayed or shows it
if it is currently hidden.

tip
The task pane opens each time you start Word and closes when you open
a document. If you don’t want the task pane to appear each time you start
Word, clear the Show at Startup check box in the task pane.

Ask A Question box A text box in which you can type a word, phrase, or
question. This text is then used to search Word’s Help topics for information.
In this exercise, you display ScreenTips for a few buttons and screen elements
to become more familiar with Word.
1 Position the mouse pointer over the New Blank Document button
for a few seconds, but don’t click.
A small yellow ScreenTip appears, displaying the words New Blank
Document.

2 Position the mouse pointer over the Save button on the Standard
toolbar.
A small yellow ScreenTip appears, displaying the word Save.
 1.6 Word Processing Fundamentals

3 Position the mouse pointer on the lower portion of the vertical scroll
bar, over the Previous Page button.
A ScreenTip appears when you position the pointer over the
Previous Page button.

4 Position the mouse pointer on the lower portion of the vertical scroll
bar, over the Next Page button.
A ScreenTip appears when you position the pointer over the button.

In Overtype mode, existing 5 On the status bar, position the mouse pointer over the Overtype
text is deleted and replaced button.
by the text you type. You can A small yellow ScreenTip is shown, displaying the word Overtype.
learn more about the Over-
type button in Lesson 2,
“Editing a Document.”

Entering Text
You begin creating a document by simply typing text. When you enter text into
a document, you don’t have to press Enter at the end of each line. Word’s word
wrap automatically wraps text from one line to the next each time the insertion
point reaches the right margin. Word wrap breaks lines of text so that they stay
within margin boundaries; you don’t have to enter hard returns. You press
Enter only when you want to begin a new paragraph or insert a blank line.
Word uses left and right page margins of 1.25 inches and top and bottom
margins of 1 inch by default; however, you can reset the page margins. You’ll
learn more about resetting margins in Lesson 5, “Changing the Layout of a
Document.”
 Lesson 1 Getting Started with Word 1.7

Notice in the first illustration

that the first letter of the word
public is on the first line. In
the second illustration, when
the rest of the word has been
typed, Word wraps the word
to the second line.

To place the insertion point at

the end of an existing line of
text, click after the text that
has been entered.

As you type text, the insertion point moves, indicating the location for the next
character. If you make a mistake, press Backspace to delete characters to the
left of the insertion point or press Delete to delete characters to the right of the
insertion point.
In this exercise, you enter text in a document to see how Word’s word wrap
feature works.
1 Type Founded in 1990 into the blank document currently displayed
in the window. (The blank document was displayed when you
started Word.)
2 Type a comma, and press the Spacebar.

Did you notice a red or green 3 Continue typing the following:

wavy line under your text? Contoso, Ltd. provides a forum for professional public
Don’t worry. Word is just relations consultants throughout the state to meet, to
helping you proofread your
document. Spelling and
exchange views about general business issues, and to further
grammar checking are individual skills development.
covered in Lesson 6, “Using The text is displayed in the document window as you type,
Editing and Proofing Tools.”
wrapping to the next line when the insertion point reaches the right
margin.
Keep this file open for the next exercise.

Saving a Document
The text that you enter is stored in the computer’s memory, which is temporary.
To keep the file for future use, you must store the document on your hard disk.
A file is a collection of related data or information that is assigned a specific
name and stored on a disk. To permanently store a document, you must save it
to your hard disk. Otherwise, when you quit Word, your document is deleted.
You save a document by clicking the Save button on the Standard toolbar.
When you save the document, you give the document a unique file name so
that you can retrieve the document for future use.
The first time you save a document, the Save As dialog box appears so that you
can name the document and put it in a folder. A folder is a container in which
to store and organize documents, programs, graphics, and files, and is
 1.8 Word Processing Fundamentals

represented by the icon of a file folder. If you make any changes to a document
and need to save it, click the Save button and the newest version of the
document is saved, but the Save As dialog box does not appear.
A file name can contain as many as 255 characters. Word uses the first words
of the document, up to the first punctuation mark or line break, as the file name
when you save the file for the first time. You can also delete Word’s default file
name to assign a file name yourself. Because you have up to 255 characters to
work with, you should strive to make your file names as descriptive as possible.
An example of a vague and cryptic file name would be Questions. You might
not remember what the questions are, or what they are for. A better file name
would be Questions for Lesson 3 Test Bank. When you save a file, you cannot
include any of the following characters in the file name: * \ / < > ? : ; “

The Places Bar in the Save

In this exercise, you save your new document to your hard disk and save the
As dialog box provides document again after you make changes.
convenient access to
commonly used locations for 1 On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button to display the Save
saving and storing files. The As dialog box.
Places Bar also provides
access to your list of Internet
favorites and a list of recently
opened documents (in the
History folder).

Notice that the text Founded

in 1990 is selected in the File
name box. The selected text
is deleted as you begin typing
new text.

You can also click the Save

In box to display a list of
resources (such as your hard
disk, a floppy disk, or a
network drive) and available
folders.
2 In the File name box, type Brochure 01.
3 Click the Save In down arrow, and click the icon for your hard disk.

You can save a copy of the 4 Double-click the Word Processing Practice folder.
active document with a The Save in box displays the text Word Processing Practice, and
different name or in a
the dialog box displays the contents of the Word Processing
different location. You might
want to do this if you are Practice folder.
using one document as a
starting point to create
5 Double-click the Lesson01 folder.
another document or if you The Lesson01 folder opens.
want to have a copy of the
original document before you 6 Click the Save button.
make changes to it. The file is saved to your hard disk with the new name, which is now
displayed in the Microsoft Word title bar.
Lesson 1 Getting Started with Word 1.9

7 Click at the end of the first paragraph to position the insertion point
there.
8 Press the Spacebar, and type the following sentence:
Meetings are held monthly where an expert guest speaker
presents timely and pertinent information.
9 On the Standard toolbar, click the Save button.
Word saves the document.
Keep this file open for the next exercise.

tip
Word saves documents for recovery in case the program stops responding
or you lose power. The Document Recovery task pane lists all recovered
documents and allows you to open the documents, view the repairs, and
compare the recovered versions. Word saves the changes in a recovery file
based on the amount of time indicated in the AutoRecover option. To turn
on the AutoRecover option and specify a time interval in which to save, on
the Tools menu, click Options, click the Save tab, select the Save
AutoRecover info every check box, specify the period of time, and then click
OK.

Closing a Document
and Quitting Word
After a file is stored on your hard disk, you can clear it from the screen by
closing the document window or quitting Word. If the document has not been
saved, Word prompts you to save the file before closing the window.
To clear a document from the document window, on the File menu, click Close,
or in the upper-right corner of the screen, click the Close button. Closing the
current document window leaves Word still running. When you click Exit on
the File menu, the Word program quits.
When you have one document open in Word, two Close buttons are displayed
in the upper-right corner of the Word window. These buttons each have an X
on them, and one is just above the other one. The lower Close button is used to
close the current document, and the top Close button is used close the
document and exit Word.
When you start Word, a blank document is displayed in the Word window.
After you save and close this new document, Word remains open, but does not
automatically display a new blank document in the window like it did when
you started Word. You must click the New Blank Document button on the
Standard toolbar to create a new document.
1.10 Word Processing Fundamentals

In this exercise, you close the current document, exit Word, and then start
Word again.
1 On the File menu, click Close.
The document closes, leaving Word open but no documents open.
2 On the File menu, click Exit.
Word closes.
3 To restart Word, Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar,
point to All Programs, and click Microsoft Word. (You could also
choose Microsoft Word from the first column of the Start menu.)
Word starts.
4 Click the Close button on the New Document task pane.
Keep the new Word document open for the next exercise.

Lesson Wrap-Up
In this lesson, you learned how to start and quit Word, how to use toolbars, how
to enter text and save a document, and how to close and open a document.
If you are continuing to the next lesson:
■ On the File menu, click Close to close the file. If you are prompted to
save changes, click No.
Word closes the file without saving the changes.
If you are not continuing to other lessons:
1 On the File menu, click Close to close the file. If you are prompted
to save changes, click No.
Word closes the file without saving the changes.
2 In the upper-right corner of the Word window, click the Close
button.
The Word program closes.

Quick Quiz
1 How do you save a copy of the current document without changing
the original version?
2 What are two ways that you can close a document?
3 What happens when you click the button labeled with an X in the
upper-right corner of the Word window?
4 How do you separate the Standard and Formatting toolbars?
5 What is the Start menu used for?
Lesson 1 Getting Started with Word 1.11

Putting It All Together

Exercise 1: If necessary, start Word. Open Word by using the Start menu. In
a blank document, use the Click And Type feature to insert the following
heading, centered about one-quarter of the way down the page (in Print Layout
view, double-click in the spot where you want to type):
Expense Report Reminders
Use Click And Type again to position a left-aligned paragraph below the title.
Type the following information:
When filing your expense reports, be sure to attach your
original receipts, record beginning and ending mileage figures,
and record the itemized expenses on your hotel bill separately.
These are the most common reasons for expense
reimbursement delays.
Save the document in the Lesson01 folder located in the Word Processing
Practice folder on your hard disk with the name Expense Reminders 01, and
then close the document.
Exercise 2: Use the Ask A Question box to find information on how to type
over existing text.
Exercise 3: Use the Office Assistant to find information on the various ways
to view a document. Explore using these options.
Exercise 4: Use Word’s Click And Type feature to create a cover sheet for an
expense report. Type the words Expense Report at the top center of the page.
Type the words Annual Report 2004 in the middle of the page. Then type your
name at the bottom center of the page. Save your document as Annual
Expense Report 2004 in the Lesson01 folder located in the Word Processing
Practice folder.
Exercise 5: Open a new blank document in Word and practice using different
options on the menus in order to personalize the menus to the features you are
using. Personalize several menus, and then close the document without saving
any changes you have made.