Welcome to Intro to Microsoft Word. Creating, Saving, and Closing a Document To create a Word Document, open Microsoft word.

If there is an icon on the desktop, double click that icon with the left mouse button. If you are opening it from the start button, locate the Microsoft Word Link and click once with the left mouse button. If you do not see a white image that looks like a sheet of paper click on the first Icon under File. Or press Ctrl and N at the same time. You want to save your document often in case of a problem with the computer or if you are interrupted while you are typing the document. There are three ways of doing this. The first way is to go to the top of the page left click on File then drag your mouse down to Save. The first time you save a new document, Microsoft Word will direct you to name the document. Name the document something that will indicate what is in the document, such as Resume or Newsletter or Letter to the editor. After you type in the name of your document (or save it as the title Microsoft Word gives the document), take the mouse button over to Save and left click once. Your document is now saved. You can now continue editing the document or close the program. The second way to save a document is to click on the icon that looks like a floppy disk (3rd icon from the left under the word File). The third way to save a document is to use the Ctrl and S buttons at the same time. To Close a document when you are finished with it, you can go to File and then Close or Click the X on the top right hand corner of your screen. Editing Text To Select Text you can double click on a single word to highlight it. To Select the text of a whole sentence hold the Ctrl key and click anywhere on the sentence to highlight the entire sentence. To Select the text of an entire paragraph, triple click anywhere within the paragraph to highlight it. Reasons you may want to select text would be to delete a word, a sentence or paragraph. You could also want to bold italicize or underline text after you have typed it. If you make an error in what you did or typed, you can go to Edit then Undo or press the counter clock wise facing arrow. If you change your mind again and want to redo the thing you just undid, Click on Edit then Redo or press the clock wise facing arrow.

If you want to repeat the same action several times you can use the repeat function by hitting Ctrl and Y at the same time. Cut, Copy and Paste There are 3 ways of cutting, copying and pasting text in Word. To Cut Text go to the top of the page and select Edit then Cut. You can also click the Icon on the second toolbar that looks like Scissors. The third option is to press Ctrl and X at the same time. To Copy Text go to the top of the page and select Edit and Copy You can Also Click the Icon that looks like two pieces of paper. The third option is to press Ctrl and C at the same time. To Paste Text go to the top of the page and Select Edit and Paste. You can also click the Icon that looks like a Clipboard. The third option is to press Ctrl and V at the same time. Formatting Text Font: The word Font is used to describe the typeface and appearance of characters on the screen and print. Font Size: This refers to the height of the character. Remember as characters get taller they also grow proportionally wider. Character Formatting: Refers to special stylized variations that are added to regular characters to make them stand out from regular text. This includes bold italics and underlining. To change the format of the text you can use the Formatting Toolbar. You can also go to the top of the page and select Format and then Font. The third option is to use the shortcuts To Bold text press Ctrl and B at the same time. To Italics text press Ctrl and I at the same time. To Underline text press Ctrl and U at the same time. This document was created using Times New Roman 12 pt font. Aligning Text You can adjust the alignment of the paragraphs in your document. To do this, you can use the 4 position options listed on the Formatting toolbar. The four options are Align Left, Center, Align Right and Justify.

You can also go to the top of the page and click on Format then Paragraph and then clicking on the down arrow for the Alignment field. The default left tab settings are set at half an inch increments. This is the standard for indenting a paragraph. You can also adjust these tabs. I have the instructions to do this, but dont want to spend time on it because it can be time consuming and most beginner users dont need to adjust tabs. If you think you need these instructions, please see me after the class and Ill copy the instructions, or you can find the directions using the Help tool on Microsoft Word. Adding Bullets and Numbering If you want to list information and have the points stand out you can use Bullets 1. or Numbering To change the type of Bullet you can go to Format at the top of the page and then select Bullets and Numbering. Select your choice from the screen that pops up. If you are creating an Outline like for a school report, Word offers an Outline numbering feature. This is also on the pop up screen under Bullets and Numbering. Proofing Your Document My favorite feature of Microsoft Word is the Spelling and Grammar check. You can turn this option on by going to the top of the page and clicking Tools then Spelling and Grammar. You can also click on the ABC Check Mark Icon on the Standard toolbar The third option is by pressing F7. There is also a Thesaurus built into Microsoft Word. It can be found under Tools, Languages and then Thesaurus or by pressing Ctrl and F7 at the same time. Finding Items in Your Document If you are searching for a specific Number, word or phrase in your document you can have the software scan the document for you. To activate the FIND feature, go to the top of the page and click Edit and then Find. You can also press Ctrl and F at the same time. Type in the information you are searching for and press Enter. The search will find the first time the information you are looking for and highlight it. If you want to continue searching the document, press Find Next. Replacing Items in Your Document If you realize you need to replace a word in your entire document, Word can do that automatically.

To activate the REPLACE feature, go to the top of the page and click on Edit and then Replace. You can also press Ctrl and H at the same time. Changing Line Spacing in Your Document The line spacing default in Word is single spacing. You can change this spacing to make a document appear longer or easier to read. To change the spacing, go to the top of the page to Format Then Paragraph Then Look for Line Spacing in the pop up screen. You can also click on the Line Spacing Icon in the Formatting Toolbar. This icon has up and down arrows beside lines. This document is created in single spacing. Printing Your Document It is always a good idea to do a Print Preview before you print a document. This will show you what your document looks like on a full sheet of paper. Check for spacing and the general look of the document before you print. You can find Print Preview by going to the top of the page to File Then Print Preview. You can also click on the Print Preview icon on the Standard Toolbar. Its the Icon that has a Magnifying Glass in front of a full sheet of paper. After you have examined your document, you can print the document. Go to the top of the page and Click on File then Print or by pressing Ctrl and P at the same time. After you have printed the document, you should resave it and then close the document and program. Compatibility of the different Versions of Word There have been numerous versions of Microsoft Word since Windows 3.1 was created. Depending on how old your computer and software is there could be compatibility issues. Word 97 can be opened by newer versions but if you create a document using a newer version here and have Word 97 at home, you will not be able to open the document. Need more help? Additional help is available from Library Staff or volunteers. There are sign up sheets near the circulation desk with specific times when specific technology help is available as well. If you are at home and need additional information, Microsoft Word has a help feature built in. Go to the top of the page and click on Help then click on Microsoft Word Help or Show the Office Assistant.

If you need specific help with resumes, the library has books available. I have several of them here for you to look through. They can be checked out for two weeks. Microsoft Word also has templates available. These can be found by going to the top of the page and clicking on Tools then Letters and Mailings and then Letter Wizard. To create professional looking envelopes, go to Tools then Letters and Mailings and then Envelops and Labels. I hope this document has helped you get the basics of Word. Take this home and keep it near your computer so you have the instructions at your fingertips. Thank you for taking time out to attend Intro to Microsoft Word.