3.

How to use MSWORD

Switch on your computer and wait until a whole lot of picture symbols appear with a Start button
on the bottom left of the screen. Use the left button on the mouse to click on the Start button.
Then click on programmes and then double-click on the MSWORD programme. Some computers
have a MSWORD symbol that will come up when your computer is on and you do not have to go
to start – simply double click the left button of the mouse on the symbol.

The Microsoft word programme will appear on the screen.

There will be a blank screen called Document 1. Every thing you type is called a document.
Above the blank screen there are various terms and signs you should know about.

 The first line has a list of titles called commands - File, Edit, View, etc
 The second and third lines are called the toolbar and have different blocks that you can
use to give quicker commands to the computer.
 The fourth line [if there is one] shows your page margins – it is called the ruler.

The File title

Click on this and a box with different sections will appear. This is your file organiser and you use
the first section:

 To start a new document (click on new) You can use the block with a folder on it on the
toolbar to do this more quickly. Use your mouse to click on it.)
 To open an old document (click on open) and then click on the name of the document
you want to open
 To close a document. The computer will ask you if you want to save it before you close it
and then you click on Yes or No.

The next section is to do with saving documents.

If you press save, the document will be saved under its heading in the general folder called My
Documents. You can do this with the block on the toolbar showing stiffy disk. Click on it with your
mouse.

Save As allows you to save a document under a new name in the folder of your choice. When
you click on Save as, a new box will open on screen. First go to the Save In square. It should say
My Documents. In the block below yellow folders will appear if you have made them. (See Step 2
in Using MSWORD as an Office) Click on the folder you want to save the document in. Click on
Open. Then check that you like the name of the document. If you like it press save. If you don’t
like it delete the file name and type a new name. Then click save.

If your document is an update of an old document but you want to save it as a new version click
on Version in the Save box under file. Type in your comments and click Save. (I don’t use this
much as I just give the document a new date and use Save As to save it under a new name.)

The next section is to do with how the document looks (Page Set Up) and Print Preview and to
print documents.
Page set up allows you to change the margins of the page so that you can get more (or less)
typing on a page. If you click on Paper Size it allows you to change the page into Portrait (normal
A4) or Landscape (sideways A4)

Print preview allows you to see what the document will look like on a printed page. You can also
to this by using the block on the toolbar with a page and magnifying glass on it.

Print allows you to print the document if your computer is connected to a printer. You can also
print quickly by using the block with a printer on your toolbar.

The next section allows you to Send your document either to another computer via email or to a
fax machine. Your computer has to be set up for this. You can also email your document by using
the block on the bottom toolbar with an envelope on it. Properties allows you to store information
about your document.

The next section is a list of the last four documents you worked on. Clicking on the right file
name is a quick way of opening the any of these documents.

The last section says Exit. If you click on this the MSWORD programme will shut down and you
can return to Windows. If you have forgotten to save any documents the computer will ask you if
you want to Save. Click on Yes or No. You can also exit or close down MSWORD by clicking on
the X in the last square on the top right hand side of the screen.

The Edit title

This section allows you to change or edit your work.

The most useful tools in the list are Cut, Copy and Paste.

Cut: this allows you to delete a section but not to throw it away completely in case you need it
later. Use your mouse and drag it over the section you want to delete. Then go to Edit. Click Cut.
If you want to use it again you can add it in later or move it to another section. You use
the Paste command to move the section to a new place. Take your cursor to where you want to
place the section. Click on Edit. Click Paste and the cut section will be pasted or put in this new
place. We call this Cutting and Pasting.

You can also Copy a section of your work and use it again. Highlight the section with your
mouse. Click on edit. Click on Copy. Then take your cursor to the new place you want to put it.
Click on Edit. Click Paste and the section will be repeated.

If you want to do it quickly, you can use the scissors symbol on your toolbar to cut, the two pages
next to it to copy and the clipboard next to that, to paste.

WARNING: Your computer will only keep the last section that you cut or copied. As soon as you
cut or copy another section, the first one will be deleted.

The View title

When you type a document the view on screen is in Normal mode – or as it appears on the
screen. You can look at it in Layout (as it would appear) printed or in other ways. A quick way of
looking at your page layout is to use the toolbar and click on the blank page with a magnifying
glass on it.
You can also change your Toolbar using View. Just click next to the tools you want displayed on
the screen. Do not open too many since the part of your screen that you type on will become very
small. It is best to leave this until you know your computer well, as it is not really necessary!

If you have poor eyesight you can change the size of the letters you see on screen. Use
the Zoom command at the bottom of View and set your view to 100% or more – just click next to
100% if that is big enough or go down to the box at the bottom and type in 110%.

The Insert title

This is useful for inserting Page Breaks (that is, beginning a new page), page numbers,
footnotes, pictures and so on.

You can also use this box to insert page numbers. Click on Page Numbers and then click on OK.
If you want to copy documents on both sides of a page, it is best to put your page number in the
middle of the page at the bottom. To do this click on the box called Alignment and then click on
Centered.

Play with this box on a practice document to see what you can do with it.

The Format title

This is useful for layout or making your document look attractive. There are various headings.

Font: This is the type of print or shape of print you are using. Your MSWORD programme comes
with a few options like Arial, New Times Roman, Century Gothic and so on. You can set the font
type and the size of letters for a document before you start working. The format also appears in
the second white block on the toolbar below the titles, with an arrow next to it and followed by a
block with a number in it and another arrow. You use these to quickly change the font and the
size of the font. So you can write big or small and in different styles. For normal typing is best to
use a font size of 11 or 12. For headings you can use a bigger size or make the headings in bold.
Just highlight the heading and then click on the B at the top of your screen. Fonts are fun to play
with.

Paragraph: The paragraph section allows you to change the margins of a paragraph. It also
allows you to change your line spacing to single, or bigger. You can also make the gaps between
paragraphs a bit bigger – just click on Paragraph and then on Spacing Before – change the 0 to
0.6.

Bullets and Numbers: Bullets allow you to mark points in different ways, using dots, or arrows or
blocks and so on. Highlight the section you want to bullet and then click on Format, then on
Bullets and Numbering and then on the type of bullets you like. A new bullet will appear wherever
you pressed enter to make a new paragraph. Numbers allow you to number your sentences or
paragraphs in different styles (a, b, c, 1, 2, 3 and so on.)

The quick way to do this is by clicking on the little blocks with numbers or the little block with dots
(bullets) on your toolbar.

Borders and shading: allows you to put a border around your whole document or to put a box or
border around a paragraph. Highlight the piece you want to border. Go to Format. Go to Borders
and click on the kind of border you want. You can also put in a background shade. Play with this
until you find the style you like best.
The quick way to place a border around a section is to highlight it and then to click on the square
on the top toolbar near the right end.

Columns: allow you to arrange your whole document into columns. Normally it is in one column,
but you may want to make it look like a newspaper and have different columns. I think it is easiest
to do this before you begin typing, but you can do it afterwards. Decide on how many columns
you want. Go to Format. Click on Columns. Click on the style you like and then type.

Change case: Sometimes one types in capitals by mistake. Rather than retyping the whole
section you can highlight it. Go to Format. Go to Change case. Click on Sentence case and it will
correct it for you.

The Tools title

This has a helpful button to check the spelling in your whole document.

Miss-spelt words are underlined in red as you make the error. It is quicker to correct all the errors
at the end, rather than do them one by one. You do this by going to Tools. Click on Spelling. The
spell-check will give you options – click on the correct spelling and the click on Change. If the
word is correctly spelt, but not in their dictionary click on Ignore or Add.

You can also highlight a word you are not sure of and the click on the ABC symbol on your
toolbar.

The Table title

Often we want to arrange information in tables. Decide whether you need a table. Decide how
many columns you want. Then go to Table before you type the information you want in the table.

Insert Table allows you to make a new table. Click on the number of lines and columns you
need. You can change the numbers by clicking on the little black arrows next to the number. Then
click on OK. The computer will put in a table for you. You can change the size of the columns by
using your mouse to drag the downward lines closer or further apart. Then type in your

information in the columns you want. If you want lines and borders to appear on the table when it
is printed click on the borders box on the toolbar. A new toolbar will open. Go to the border box
on that toolbar and click on the arrow next to it and then on the box with gridlines on it.

The Window title

I never use this but it allows you to work on two documents at once.

The Help title.

Play with this. It will tell you how to do things. The contents are arranged alphabetically and you
find out more about what you want your MSWORD to do.

The toolbar

Look at your toolbar. On the top left it will show the font and size in white boxes. You can change
your font and its size by clicking on the arrows next to each and selecting what you want.
These are a quick way for you to make some words or headings Bold (B), to type some words
in italics (I) or to underline them (U).

Then there are 4 blocks with lines in them. These can align your typing in different ways. Get to
know them by typing a paragraph and highlighting it. Then try what each looks by clicking each of
the 4 blocks. The first one is the normal way your text will be aligned. The second one centres
your typing in the middle of the page. It is most useful to make headings if you want them in the
centre of the page. The third one is not used often since it aligns the right side of page and the
left side is uneven. The fourth one is used to align both sides – this makes your document look
nice, but it sometimes stretches out the spaces between words and can make a line look strange

Then there are the numbers and bullets tools. Highlight the section you want numbered or
bulleted and click on the right tool. If you do not like the type of bullets or numbers you will have
to go to format and change the bullet type and then click on Reset [if you want to use this type for
bullets in your whole document] and OK.

The next two tools have stripes and an arrow. The are useful for indenting a paragraph. Highlight
the paragraph and the click on the first one to move it to the left and the second one to move it to
the right.

A square box is the next tool. This can help you arrange your borders quickly. Click the mouse
button on the arrow next to it and it will give you the options. Choose the one you like and click on
it.

If you go to any other tool on the third line with your mouse, it will light up and tell you what it is
for. We covered most of them already. A very useful tool is the curved blue arrow. This is called
the undo button and it reverses an action you have taken that you don’t like. So if you deleted
something and want to put it back – click undo immediately.