The Basics of the Word Window

Let's briefly review the basic parts of the Word 2003 window before we move onto word
processing.

Shown below is the Microsoft Word default window. When Word is launched, a new
blank document, or default window, opens in Print Layout view. Although window
elements are fully explained in our Windows course, here is a brief explanation of the
Word window.

Title Bar

Displays the document name followed by a program name.

Menu Bar

Contains a list of options to manage and customize documents.

Standard Toolbar

Contains shortcut buttons for the most popular commands.

Formatting Toolbar

Contains buttons used for formatting.

Ruler

Used to set margins, indents, and tabs.

Insertion Point

The location where the next character appears.

End-of-Document Marker

Indicates the end of the document.

Help

Provides quick access to Help topics.

Scroll bars

Used to view parts of the document.

Status Bar

Displays position of the insertion point and working mode buttons.

Task Pane

Provides easy access to commonly used menus, buttons and tools.

View Buttons

Changes the layout view of the document to Normal View, Web Layout View, Reading
Layout View, Print Layout View, or Outline View.

Office Assistant

Links to the Microsoft Office Help feature.

Change in View

In an effort to provide various ways in which to view your work in progress and remain
organized, Word 2003 offers six different views for your document. The six views are
Normal View, Web Layout View, Reading Layout View, Print Layout View, Outline
View, and Full Screen View.

Normal view is best used for typing, editing, formatting and proofreading. It provides a
maximum amount of space without rulers or page numbers cluttering your view.

Web Layout view shows you what your text will look like on a web page.

Reading Layout view is best for documents that you do not need to edit. The goal of this
view is to increase legibility so that the user can read the document easily.

Print Layout view shows you what your document will look like when it is printed.
Under Print Layout view you can see all elements of the page. Print Preview shows you
this as well.

Outline view is used to create and edit outlines. Outline view only shows the headings in
a document. This view is particularly handy when making notes.

Full Screen view displays ONLY the document that you are working on. All the other
pieces of the Word window are removed except for one button that allows you to Close
View Screen.

Changing your Document View:

 Click View on the menu bar.

 Select the view of your choice.
 OR
 Click one of the five buttons at the bottom left of your Word window
(View Full Screen is not available in this location).

Pull-Down Menus

Each Office 2003 program features a menu bar. The menu bar is made up of many
different menus. Each menu contains commands that enable you to work within the
program.

If you have used a previous version of Microsoft Word, you may notice the menu bar in
Word 2003 operates a little differently than before.

Word 2003 uses pull-down menus that initially display commands that users most often
need.

Operating the new Pull-Down Menus

To Open a Menu:

 Click on a menu name on the menu bar.

 View the commands listed under the pull-down menu.
 With the menu open, drag the mouse pointer to a command and click on it to
select the command. (As you drag your mouse pointer over the commands, each
command is highlighted in blue.)
 If there is a small black triangle next to a command, hover the mouse pointer
over the command with the triangle and a cascading menu with additional
options will appear. Point and click to make a selection from the cascading menu.

 Commands that are not used often in 2003 are initially hidden from the viewer. If
you do not see all the commands on a menu, click on the double arrows at the
bottom of the pull-down menu. You can also double-click the menu to expand it.
Using the Task Pane

When opened, the task pane will appear on the right side of the Word window. The task
pane provides easy access to commonly used menus, buttons and tools. By default, the
Task Pane will appear when Word 2003 is first launched.

If you do not see your task pane, you can view it by either selecting certain commands or
by manually opening it.

To Open the Task Pane:

 Click on View in the menu bar.

  Select Task Pane.

Along the top bar of the task pane you should see small backwards and forwards buttons
on the left as well as a down arrow on the right. To view different task panes available to
you, click on the down arrow. Once you have opened different task panes, you can
navigate through them by clicking on the left and right arrow button on the left. To close
your task pane, click the x symbol on the far right of the bar.
     

Saving a New File

When Saving a File for the First Time:

 Click File on the Menu Bar.

  Select Save - Ctrl+S.

Using the Standard Toolbar to Save:

Choose the Save button on the Standard Toolbar.

Save As Dialog Box

After selecting Save from the Menu Bar or the Standard Toolbar, the Save As Dialog
Box appears.
To Specify a File Location:

 Open the Save In: drop down list box.

 Choose 31/2 floppy (A:) if saving to a floppy disk.
 Choose (C:) if saving to your hard disk.
 Name your file in the File name: box.
 Click Save.

If you do not choose a file name, Microsoft Word will assign a file name for you. It
assigns the first line of text in you document, unless you give it a different name when
prompted in the File name box.

If you do not specify a file location, Office uses the My Documents folder as the default
location. So, if you can't find a file, check My Documents.

After Naming and Saving a File Once:

 Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar.

OR

 Go to the File menu and choose Save.

You will not get a Save As dialog box again.
Saving a File Under a New Name

If you wish to create an exact copy of an original document for editing or revising
purposes, you should perform a Save As on the file and save it under a new name. This
will guarantee that you always have a saved, original copy.

Follow these steps to perform a Save As:

 Click File from the menu bar.

 Select Save As. The Save As Dialog Box appears.
 Type a new name for your file in the File name: box.
 Click Save.

Choose Save As to rename a document. Using Undo - Ctrl + Z

Have you made a mistake in your document and needed to go back and make changes,
but you thought it was too late? Good news! Word offers a feature that helps prevent this
from happening.

The Undo command lets you "undo" or delete the last change made to your document.
As you can imagine, this is a very useful feature. If you make a change or mistake that
you do not want or did not mean to do, you can simply "undo" your action.

Word remembers up to 300 actions in a document and allows you to undo any or all of
them as long as you haven't closed the document first.

To Use Undo:

 Click Edit on the menu bar.

 Select Undo - this command will change names depending on the action you just
took. If you accidentally deleted a sentence, it says Undo Clear.
 Press Ctrl + Z on your keyboard for a shortcut to Undo.

OR

 Undo all your recent actions by repeatedly clicking the Undo button located on
the Standard toolbar.

Notice the small list arrow next to the Undo button. When you click on it, you see a list
of all the separate actions you have performed on the document you are working on. You
can select as many actions as you want to undo.

IMPORTANT: If you undo an action in the middle of the list, you will also undo all the
actions above the one you select. For example, if you undo the 15th action in your list,
you will also be undoing the 14 actions that came before the one you select.

Be careful not to overwrite your original file.