Welcome to Teach Yourself: Introduction to Microsoft Word

This Teach Yourself tutorial explains the basic features of Microsoft Word 2003, a word
processing program. This is the same tutorial we use in our Introduction to Microsoft
Word class, but it has been adjusted so you can take the course on your own. If you
would like to attend Introduction to Microsoft Word or any other class offered by LFPL,
just go to the LFPL website www.lfp.org and click on ‗Events‘ on the left side of the
screen to find when and where the next class meets.

Introduction
to Microsoft
Word

Class Learning Objectives

By the end of class students should be familiar with the following:

1. Creating and Managing Files

Open Word
Exit Word
Create a New File
Save a File
Open a Saved File
Save a File under a different file name
Delete a File

2. Editing and Rewriting

Move Cursor
Delete Text
Insert Text into document
Copy & Paste Text
Correct spelling

3. Formatting and Printing

Select Text
Format Text
Print Document

© 2009 Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York Street, Louisville, KY 40203 (502) 574-1611
© 2009 Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York Street, Louisville, KY 40203 (502) 574-1611 2
 About Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a collection of different application programs that can be used to
perform various functions used every day in an office.
Microsoft Word is a word processing program that can be used to type
documents, from simple letters to illustrated newsletters.
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that can be used to track of lists,
numbers and statistics, such as might be used in accounting.
Microsoft Access is a database program that can be used to track of diverse but
related information, such as customer orders, customer billing information,
customer shipping information, and product inventories.
Microsoft PowerPoint is presentation software that can be used for making fully
animated computer presentations.
Microsoft Publisher is publication design software that can be used for creating
greeting cards, business cards, calendars and more.

Office 2007 Users: Please note that we are using Office 2003 here at the library. If you
are running Office 2007, please consult the following URL to view and/or download a
Microsoft Excel file detailing how commands in Office 2003 correspond to those in
Office 2007: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/HA102295841033.aspx.

About Word Processing

Word Processing is a type of computer program that is used to create a variety of
documents, from simple letters to fully illustrated newsletters. Word Processing
applications display text on a computer screen, allowing users to easily add text, remove
text, and change the style, size, and placement of the text without having to retype the
entire document. Microsoft Word is one of the most popular word-processing software
applications.
Microsoft Word Basics
Opening Word
To open Word, do one of the following:
1. Double click on the icon for Microsoft Word on the desktop. A blank
document will appear on the screen.
2. Click once on the Start button on the bottom left corner of the screen. Click on
Programs. Move the cursor to the right of the sub-menu and then click on
Microsoft Office 2003. Move the cursor to the right of the sub-menu and click on
Microsoft Word. A blank document will appear on the screen.

Closing Word

To exit Word either:

Click on File on the Menu Bar. Then click on Exit.

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 Or, click on the X in the top right corner of the window.
Navigating around a Microsoft Word Document

To move around in a Word document, do any of the following:

Use the scroll bars to the right of the document window.
Use the wheel between the left and right mouse buttons
Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll up or down quickly
Use the arrow keys and click with the mouse to move the cursor
To edit the document, click before the test you want to edit. The cursor will appear.

Editing Text

You must select text before you can edit it. This is very important.

To Select Text, do any of the following:

Click at the beginning of the text to be selected. While holding the left mouse
button down, drag the mouse over all the text to be selected, and release the
mouse button.
Double-click on a word to highlight the word and triple-click inside a paragraph
to highlight the whole paragraph.
As an alternative to using the mouse to select text, hold down the Shift key and
use the arrow buttons to highlight text. This is a tad slower, but gives you much
more control.

To Select All Text

Click the Edit menu at the top of the screen.
Move the cursor down to highlight Select All and click on this.

To Delete Text do any of the following

Select the desired text and press the Delete key or the Backspace key on the
keyboard.
Click in the document after the text to be removed and press the Backspace key
on the keyboard. Backspace until all the desired text has been removed.
Click in the document before the text to be removed and press the Delete key on
the keyboard until all the desired text has been removed.

To Replace Text
Select the text to be replaced and type the new text.

To Insert Text
Click once at the beginning of the area where the new text is to appear.
Type the desired text.

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To Copy & Paste Text
Select the text to be copied.
Click on Edit in the main menu area and Copy.
Click once at the beginning of the area where the text is to be pasted.
Click on Edit and Paste.
Copy and Paste are also options on the Standard Toolbar.

Copy Paste
Formatting Text
To add character emphasis, change font sizes and styles, and change the alignment of text
in a word document, the easiest thing to do is select the text you want to adjust and use
the buttons on the formatting tool bar.

Formatting Toolbar
Formatting
The formatting tool bar is normally found towards the top of the screen. Toolbar

If the formatting tool bar is not showing,

Click on View in the top menu area.
Click on Toolbars.
Slide over to the submenu and click on Formatting.
The showing toolbars should have check marks next to their names.

Formatting existing text

Select the text to be formatted
Select the formatting options you want to apply on the formatting toolbar.

Formatting as you Type

Select the formatting options you want to apply.
Begin typing.
Make formatting option adjustments as needed.

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Adding Character Emphasis

To Add Character Emphasis as you Type

Click on an emphasis button on the toolbar at the top of the screen to turn on
emphasis. The button will appear to be pushed in when it is activated.
 B indicates Bold – use to add emphasis to text.
 I indicates Italic – use to add emphasis to words or phrases in body text.
 U indicates Underlining – use sparingly because it can be mistaken for a
hyperlink in an online document.

Type your emphasized text.

Click on the same emphasized button again to turn off emphasis.
Continue typing the rest of your text.

To Add Emphasis as You Edit

Select the text you want to emphasize.
Click on the desired emphasis button(s) on the formatting toolbar.

To Remove the Emphasis

Select the text.
Click any of the pressed emphasis buttons to release them.

Changing Typeface and Font Size

To Change the Typeface as you Type

Click on the dropdown arrow of the Typeface box on the formatting toolbar.
Click on the new typeface from the drop-down list of selections.
Type the text you want in the current typeface.
Change back to the original or different typeface if desired by following steps 1-3.

Typeface Font Size Drop down menu inside tool bar

To Change the Font Size as you Type

Click on the down arrow of the Font Size box on the formatting Toolbar.
Click on the new font size from the drop-down list of selections.
Type desired text in the new size.
Change back to the original or different size if desired by following steps 1-3.

To Change the Font or Font Size of a Finished Document

Select the text you want to change.
Choose a different font from the Font drop-down list.
Choose the desired font size from the Font Size drop-down list.

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Changing Paragraph Alignment

To Change Paragraph Alignment

Select the desired text.
Click an alignment button.

Align Center Align Justify

Right Left

Checking Spelling and Grammar

To Check Spelling and Grammar as You Type

Word displays a red squiggly line under each spelling error and a green squiggly
line for a grammatical error. These squigglies will not show up when you print
your document, so don‘t panic.
Right-click on the word that is misspelled (or on top of the grammatical error).
Word displays a submenu with the suggested change in bold print at the top.
Left-click the suggested change.
Do this for each error.
Click ―Ignore‖ for any suggestion you chose not to accept. Word is not always
correct when it locates mistakes. Remember, it‘s just a program, and can‘t think
or reason on its own.

Incorrect
Grammar
Correction Misspelled
Submenu Word
To Check the Spelling of a Finished Document
Click at the top of your document, so the spell check will start at the top.
Click on Tools on the Main Menu Bar.
Click on Spelling and Grammar. Word will display each spelling error, one at a
time, in the top box. Below this, it will list a suggested correction.
To accept the suggestion correction, click on the suggestion and click Change on
the right side of the window.

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 To deny the suggestion spelling and therefore leave the way you‘ve spelled a
word, click Ignore. Ignore all will prompt Word to accept all instances of the
word as you have spelled it.
To make your own adjustments, edit the sentence in the top box and click on
Change.
Follow these steps for each spelling or grammar noted in the spell check.
Click Ok when Word prompts that the spelling and grammar check is complete.

Ignore
Identified Ignore All
Problem
Change
Suggested
Changes

Word is not always correct when it locates mistakes. Remember, it‘s just a
program, and can‘t think or reason on its own.

Saving Your Work

To Save Your Work for the First Time /or under a New Name
Click on File in the Main Menu area.
Click on Save As.
Click on the Save in drop down menu and click on 3 ½ Floppy (A:).
Name the document
Click on the Save button on the right

Save in
drop down menu

Select
3 ½ Floppy (A:)

Save

File name

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Saving your Work after the First Time
Click on File in the Main Menu Bar. Then click on Save to save the most recent
changes to your document.
OR, press the CTRL + S keys on your keyboard to save.
OR, click on the picture of the disk on the standard Toolbar.

Save Standard Toolbar

Save frequently and if possible to multiple places.

Opening Saved Documents

Open Word.
Click on File in the Main Menu area and click on Open.
OR, Click on the opening folder button on the standard toolbar.

Open
A dialog box will appear. Click on the Look in drop down menu and click on the
location of the document. Select 3 ½ Floppy (A:) if the document is saved to a
disk.
Click on the name of the document you want to open.
Click on Open.

Look in:
drop down
menu

Document to
be opened

Open
Deleting Documents
Click on File in the Main Menu area and click on Open.
OR, Click on the opening folder button on the standard toolbar.
A dialog box will appear. Click on the Look in drop down menu and click on the
location of the document, 3 ½ Floppy (A:) if it is save to a disk.
Click on the name of the document you want to delete and press the Delete key on
your keyboard.

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Printing
Click on File on the Main Menu Bar.
Click on Print.
Select the number of copies desired under Copies.
Select the desired pages to print under Page Range.
You can also print only selected text by clicking the Selection button
Click OK in the bottom right corner of the print window.

Page Range

Number of
Copies

OK

OR
Click once on the printer icon on the Standard Toolbar
This method prints the entire document.

Print

The Help Menu

If you have a question about Excel that you need answered right away, you might want to
consult the Help menu. The help menu has two interfaces: the Office Assistant and the
standard Help menu. Let‘s examine the Office Assistant first. You‘ve probably seen it
before—it‘s a little dog, cat, paperclip, etc that you can click on to get help. If you don‘t
see it, click Help on the main menu bar. Then click Show the Office Assistant, and the
Office Assistant will appear. Once it appears, or if it was already visible, click on it to
begin interacting with it.

Click Show the Office

Assistant, and the Office
Assistant will appear if it‘s
not already visible.

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Clicking on the Office Assistant opens up a search bar into which you can type your help
topic. Type ―create a chart‖ (without the quotes) into the search bar, and click Search.
You will see a task pane appear on the right side of the screen listing (usually) 30 results.
You should see your help topic at or near the top of the list. Click on it to open another
task pane with the solution to your problem. Close the two task panes when done.

Customizing the Office Assistant

Click on the Office Assistant again and click Options. Here you can change the look and
behavior of the Office Assistant. You will see two tabs: Gallery and Options. Click on
the Gallery tab. Here you can change the look of the Assistant. Click the Back and
Next buttons to move back and forth between the selections. If one of these two buttons
becomes grayed out, you must go in the opposite direction by pressing the other button.

Click Gallery to choose another

character.

Click Back and Next to cycle

between them.
Once you‘ve examined the different characters, click the Options tab. Options presents
several checkboxes with which you can customize the Assistant. Scan these over, and
then uncheck the one at the top left that says Use the Office Assistant, and then click
OK. The Office Assistant will disappear.

Click the Options tab to customize the Assistant‘s

behavior.

Uncheck Use the Office Assistant to turn it off.

Now let‘s take a look at the standard Help menu. Click Help on the Main Menu Bar.
Next, click Microsoft Office Excel Help. This will open a task pane on the right side of
the screen. Type ―create a chart‖ into the search bar provided, and then click the white
arrow. You will see another task pane with the same 30 results you saw earlier. In other
words, you get the same level of help whether or not you use the Office Assistant.

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 Click Help and then
Microsoft Excel
Help.

For Further Reading and Learning

Now that you have completed Introduction to Microsoft Word, the next
recommended class in the core computer class series is Getting the Most Out of the
Library Website. You may also want to explore Microsoft Word further in
Intermediate Microsoft Word. In Intermediate Microsoft Word, you will learn how to
insert clip art, create numbered and bulleted lists, set margins and more.

To find a book on Microsoft Word, search the library‘s catalog for ―Microsoft Word‖
as a subject.

Learn more about upcoming classes on the library's website www.lfpl.org or in the
Computer Learning Center brochure.

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