Unit 1

The basics of the Word window

Let's briefly review the basic parts of the Word XP window before we
move onto word processing.

Shown below is the Microsoft Word default window. When Word is

launched, a new blank document—or default window—opens in Print
Layout view. Although window elements are fully explained in our
Windows course, here is a brief explanation of the Word window.
Title bar
This displays the document name followed by a program name.

Menu bar
This contains a list of options to manage and customize documents.
Standard toolbar
This contains shortcut buttons for the most popular commands.

Formatting toolbar
This contains buttons used for formatting.

Ruler
This is used to set margins, indents, and tabs.

Insertion point
This is the location where the next character appears.

End-of-document marker
This indicates the end of the document.

Help
This provides quick access to Help topics.

Scroll bars
These are used to view parts of the document.

Status bar
This displays the position of the insertion point and working mode
buttons.

Task pane
This provides easy access to commonly used menus, buttons, and tools.

View buttons
These change the layout view of the document to normal, web layout,
print layout, and outline view.

Office Assistant
This links to the Microsoft Office Help feature.

What is MS Word?

Used to make professional-quality documents, letters, reports, etc., MS Word is a word

processor developed by Microsoft. It has advanced features which allow you to format
and edit your files and documents in the best possible way.
What are the uses of MS Word?

MS Word enables users to do write-ups, create documents, resumes, contracts, etc.

This is one of the most commonly used programs under the Office suite.

How to create an MS Word document?

To create an MS Word doc, follow the steps mentioned above to open Microsoft Word.
Then once the program is open, click on “File” followed by “New”. This opens a new doc
where something new can be created.

Since it is used by people of all age groups, in schools, in colleges and for official
purposes, having proper knowledge of Microsoft Word is a must. The preview of the MS
Doc file once it is opened is given below:

Features of MS Word

Now let us read more about the features and components of an MS Word doc file in
detail.
The image given below shows the different elements and categories which are available
in MS Word doc:

● Home

This has options like font colour, font size, font style, alignment, bullets, line spacing,
etc. All the basic elements which one may need to edit their document is available
under the Home option.

● Insert

Tables, shapes, images, charts, graphs, header, footer, page number, etc. can all be
entered in the document. They are included in the “Insert” category.

● Design

The template or the design in which you want your document to be created can be
selected under the Design tab. Choosing an appropriate tab will enhance the
appearance of your document.

● Page Layout

Under the Page Layout tab comes options like margins, orientation, columns, lines,
indentation, spacing, etc.

● References
This tab is the most useful for those who are creating a thesis or writing books or
lengthy documents. Options like citation, footnote, table of contents, caption,
bibliography, etc. can be found under this tab.

● Review

Spell check, grammar, Thesaurus, word count, language, translation, comments, etc.
can all be tracked under the review tab. This acts as an advantage for those who get
their documents reviewed on MS Word.

Apart from all the above-mentioned features, the page can be set in different views and
layouts, which can be added and optimised using the View tab on the Word document.
Margins and scales are also available for the benefit of the users.

❖Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Frequently used shortcuts

This table shows the most frequently used shortcuts in

Microsoft Word.

To do this Press

Open a document. Ctrl+O

Create a new document. Ctrl+N

Save the document. Ctrl+S

Close the document. Ctrl+W

Cut the selected content to the Clipboard. Ctrl+X

Copy the selected content to the Clipboard. Ctrl+C

Paste the contents of the Clipboard. Ctrl+V

Select all document content. Ctrl+A

Apply bold formatting to text. Ctrl+B

 Apply italic formatting to text. Ctrl+I

Apply underline formatting to text. Ctrl+U

❖Design and edit in Word

Use Styles

Styles templates apply a consistent font, font size, font color, and spacing to headings,
paragraphs, and titling throughout your document.

1. Select the words, paragraph, list or table to edit.

2. On the Home tab, select a style.

If you don't see the style you want, click the More button to expand the
gallery.
Apply Themes

Themes add a professional look to your document.

1. Select Design > Themes.

2. Point to a theme to preview how it will look.
3. Select the theme you want.
Check spelling and grammar

Word marks misspelled words with a red squiggly underline and grammar mistakes with
a blue double underline.

1. Right-click the word.

2. Select a correction, or select Ignore.
Find and replace text

1. Select Home > Replace.

2. For Find what, enter a word or phrase to search. For Replace with, enter
the new text.
3. Select Find next, and then select:
■ Replace to replace the first instance, or
■ Replace all to replace all instances.

❖Control the formatting when you paste text

Set default paste options

By default, Word preserves the original formatting when you paste content into a
document using CTRL+V, the Paste button, or right-click + Paste. To change the default,
follow these steps.

1. Go to File > Options > Advanced.

2. Undercut, copy, and paste, select the down arrow for the setting to
change .
■ Pasting within the same document When you paste
content into the same document from which you copied the
content.
■ Pasting between documents When you paste content
that was copied from another Word document.
■ Pasting between documents when style definitions conflict
When you paste content that was copied from another
Word document, and the style that is assigned to the
copied text is defined differently in the document where the
text is being pasted.
■ Pasting from other programs When you paste content
that was copied from another program, such as a browser.

3.
4. Each setting has options you can set:
Keep Source Formatting
Merge Formatting
 Keep Text Only
For more info on these options, see Get the look you want.
5. Select OK.

Notes:

■ You can also select Set Default Paste from the Paste Options menu.

Change options when pasting content

When you copy content from a formatted source, such as a web page or another Word
document, you can select options at the time you paste it into your document.

1. Click or tap where you want to paste the content.

2. Press CTRL + V and then select Paste Options .

3. Hover over the buttons for a live review.
 4. Select the paste option to use.

❖ Print a document in Word

Preview your document

1. Select File > Print.

2. To preview each page, select the forward and backward arrows at the
bottom of the page.

If the text is too small to read, use the zoom slider at the bottom of the
page to enlarge it.
3. Choose the number of copies, and any other options you want, and
select the Print button.
 Use Word to open or save a document in the
OpenDocument Text (.odt) format

Open an OpenDocument Text file in Word

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Open.
3. Click Browse,
4. To see only the files saved in the OpenDocument format, click the list of
file types next to the File name box, and then click OpenDocument Text.
5. Click the file you want to open, and then click Open.

Save a Word document in OpenDocument Text format

Important: If you want to keep a Word version of your file, you must first save the file as a
Word document, for example, in .docx file format, and then save it again in the
OpenDocument Text (.odt) format.

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Save As.
3. Click Browse, and then select the location where you want to save your file.
4. In the Save as type list, click OpenDocument Text.
5. Give your file a name, and then save it.

Add or remove borders for text boxes,

pictures, and shapes
Add or remove a border for a shape or text
box

1. Select the shape or text box to which you want to add, change, or remove a
border.
2. Click Shape Format, and then click the arrow next to Shape Outline.

3. Do any of the following:

To Do This

Add or change the Either click the color that you want, or mix
color of the your own color by clicking More Outline
border Colors.

Add or change the Point to Weight, and then choose the line
thickness of the weight that you want.
border
 Add or change the Point to Dashes, and then click the line style
style of the that you want.
border

Remove the border Click No Outline.

from the shape
or text box

Add or remove a picture border

1. Select the picture to which you want to add, change, or remove a border.
2. Click Picture Format, and then click the arrow next to Picture Border.