WORD PROCESSING

What is it Used For

        Typing up coursework; Reports; Letters; Leaflets containing graphics; Questionnaires; Newsletters; CV’s (Curriculum Vitae); Mail Merge – for personalised letters, etc.



Components of a Word Processing System

CPU (Central Processing Unit) – Work is saved in Memory Monitor or VDU (Visual Display Unit) Floppy Drive Keyboard Printer Word Processing Software (Application Software) Mouse

What is a Word Processing Package

 It is “application software” or a “program” which allows you to:   

Enter Edit

and

Format

text.

Text Formatting  The appearance of a document can be processed or changed easily. This is known as text formatting, e.g.

 Changing font character style;   Changing

font size

; Highlighting text   in bold, italics and underlining, or changing the colour of text .

Demo

Text Editing

 The content of a document can also be changed easily. This is known as text editing .

 Examples are:     Inserting text; Deleting text; Moving text to another position, e.g. block move; Copy and paste so that text appears more than once. Demo

The Big Problem

 Because there are so many different ways to edit and format carried away.

 You your can

be

technology m e s s a g

e so

carried that it is difficult across .

a w a y

with

t o get  

Additional Features

 Text alignment and justification can also improve the appearance of a document.  Microsoft Word uses left aligned text by default and also provides a wordwrap feature.

Demo

Additional Features cont’d

 If you want a better word to describe something and can’t think of one, the

Thesaurus

can provide a list of similar words.  e.g The sea was very quiet. The sea was very calm.  Find & Replace can help you search for a specific word that you might want to change - useful in very long documents. Demo

Additional Features cont’d



Spellchecker

- Spelling and grammar are checked automatically as you type.  However, mistyped words will not be flagged by the spellchecker as wrong.

 e.g. “

our

" instead of “

or

" "

their

" instead of "

there

”.

 To catch these types of grammar mistakes you must proof read the Demo

What have you learnt

 You should know what a word processing package enables you to do.

 The advantages of using a word processing package.

 Be able to list the main components of a word processing system.