An easy guide to Microsoft Word

Word (as well as Excel) is part of the Windows system. This means that you will use the mouse to perform many functions. This is advantageous because you do not have to memorize any commands, but only point to the function you wish to perform, and "click" the mouse.

Using the menu

When you use Word you will notice a menu across the top of the screen. This is referred to as the main menu. Under each command in the main menu is a sub-menu, which contains a list of functions.

To perform a function, move the mouse so that the pointer points to a command on the main menu, "click" the mouse , and "drag" the mouse to the function you want.

For example, if you want to open a new file, you would move the mouse to File and then select Open. (See page for a sample of the menu.)

In this tutorial we may refer to the main menu command followed by the sub-menu command. Select File/Open would then describe the above process. In some cases, after selecting a function, a menu of options may appear, and you choose the option you want by clicking and dragging the mouse.

Using the icons

After you familiarize yourself with the menu you may want to try using the icons (small pictures underneath the menu). The icons are just another way to perform many of the same functions found on the menu. To use one, just point the mouse to the icon and "double-click" the mouse. Once you are familiar with Word, using the icons may speed up your work a bit, although it is not necessary to use them.

Here are some of the most commonly used icons in Word:

	New file (CTR+N)
	Open file (CTR+O)
	Save file (not "Save as) - (CTR+S)
	Print (CTR+P)
	Print preview
	Spell check (F7)
	Cut (CTR+X)
	Copy (CTR+C)
	Paste (CTR+V)
	Undo (CTR+Z)
	Redo (CTR+Y)
	Insert table
	Show/Hide invisibles (paragraph marks)

Opening a file ()

When you start Word, you are automatically given a new file. You can begin typing a new document.

1. To open an existing file, select File/Open. A sub-menu will appear giving a list of the files you have in your account.
2. Select the file you want in the File Name directory, and click the mouse on OK. In addition, when you click the mouse on the File option, you will notice a list a files at the bottom of the sub menu. These are the last four documents you were working on. To open them, you can simply select the one you want using the mouse.

1. If you wish to start another new file, go to the File command and select New (Click the mouse at File and drag it to New).
2. You will most likely want to use the NORMAL settings, so select OK, which will open a new file.
3. You can now begin typing your document.

You may want to be careful about having several documents open at the same time when you open a new file without closing an old one. It will work, but it may cause some confusion when you are saving your documents.

Saving files ()

1. To save a file, click the mouse on the File command, and drag the mouse to the Save option.
2. The first time you save a file, you will be asked to give your document a name. Type in a name (8 characters or less with no spaces) and select OK. Any time you save the file after this, selecting File/Save, will automatically save it to that name.

   If you wish to make many copies under different names, use the Save-As option, and rename the file.

It is highly recommended that you save your document often, so that you will not accidentally lose all of your work. Going through this process saves your file to your account within the network.

It is also a good idea to save your file to a floppy disk. To do this, choose File/Save-As, and select the drive option, then choose A: (always the floppy drive).

Printing a file (, )

1. Move the arrow to the File command, and drag the mouse to Print. A sub menu will appear.
2. Select the options you want, and select OK. The file will print on the printer in whichever computer room you are using.

If you want to see what the file will look like before printing it, select File/Print Preview to see the outlay of a page. A new menu will appear at the top of the page from which you can print the document or close the preview section and return to the file.

Closing a file

When you have finished working with a file, but do not want to exit Word, use the File/Close option.

If you have not saved the file since making any changes, you will be asked if you want to save the document. Selecting Yes is generally a good idea.

Exiting Word

When you finish working in Word, select File/Exit. Again, you will be asked if you want to save your file. Once you exit Word, you will be back at the Windows set-up.

Editing a document

Moving around in a document is quite simple using the mouse. To move to a point in the document, move the mouse so that the marker is where you want it and click the left button.

Changing a section

To select a word, sentence or paragraph, move the cursor as explained above. Then click and drag the mouse to highlight the area you want (a black shading will appear around the text). Let go of the button when the correct area is highlighted. Be careful! If you type anything while a section is highlighted, the section will be replaced by whatever you type.

If you make a mistake, you can undo your last edit change by selecting Edit/Undo from the main menu.

Moving a section of a document (, )

1. Highlight the text you wish to move.
2. Select Edit from the main menu, and drag the mouse to the Cut command.
3. Go back to the document and move the cursor to the place you wish to put the text.
4. Select Edit again, and drag the mouse to Paste.

Copying a section within a document (, )

If you wish to copy text from one part of the document to another without deleting the original text, follow the same steps as above, but select Edit/Copy instead of Edit/Cut.

Copying a section from one document to another

If you wish to copy text from one document to another document, the procedure is very similar.

1. Highlight the text you want to copy, and select Edit/ Copy as before.
2. Now select File/Open to open the document to which you want to move the text (or select File/New if you want to move the text to a new document).
3. Place the cursor where you wish to put the text, and select Edit/ Paste. Be aware that you now have two files open. To get back to the original one, you must close the one you are in.

Make sure you save the changes you have made.

Adding page numbers

1. Move the cursor to the top of your document, and select Insert/Page Numbers from the main menu.
2. You will be given options on where you want the numbers.
3. Choose the options you want, and select OK.

Changing the spacing

1. Highlight the area you wish to change. If you are changing the spacing for the entire document, select Edit/Select All.
2. Select Format/Paragraph from the main menu.
3. Choose line spacing from the sub menu, and select the option you want. The main options are single-spacing, 1.5 spacing, and double spacing.

Setting indentations

For indenting, you may want to use the default settings (settings which the program will use automatically if you do not change them). If so, at the start of a line, just press the Tab key.

To change a tab (indentation):

1. Move the arrow to the small markers below the ruler at the top of the screen.
2. Select the one you want to move, click the mouse on it, and drag the mouse to the new location.
3. Now, pressing the tab key will move the cursor to this location.

Using the Spell Check ()

When you are finished with a document, you can check your spelling by selecting Tools/Spelling from the main menu. It is easiest if you first move the cursor to the top of the document. Word will then guide you through the spell check.

Changing the text appearance

Under the row of icons in the main menu are the options for changing the text appearance.

1) The first window is template type This controls the basic appearance of the document. For typing text you will use NORMAL. You may wish to experiment with the heading formats.

2) The second window is the font type. Two commonly used fonts are Courier and Times New Roman. If you wish to change the font, move the mouse to the arrow, click and select the option you want. Note that the font will change only from the point where the cursor is in the document. If you wish to change the font for the entire document, first choose Edit/Select All from the main menu.

3)The third window is font size. The number inside the window corresponds to the size of the letter. Change the font size using the same method used in changing the font type.

4) The next group of icons allows you to use bold text, italics, underlining, and any combination of the three. You can select an area of the text by highlighting it and then click the mouse on the icon or icons you choose.

5) The next group allows you to justify the text to the left, right, or at both margins, or to center the text. Again, to change the entire document, first use the File/Select All command.

Additional help

Note that these instructions are only a guide. For additional help, you may want to try the Learning Word module found under the Help command on the main menu bar.

You might also want to consult the links to other online tutorials presented in the MS Word course page.