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Introduction to Computer Applications by Lameck

Introduction to IT (Tom Mboya University College )

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RATANGA NG-CDF / AJIRA KENYA

LECTURE NOTES

Computer PACKAGES

Introduction & Computer Microsoft Windows Word Processing – (Ms.

Applications Word, Word Perfect)
Spread Sheets(Ms. Graphics (Ms. Databases ( MS Access,
Excel, Lotus, Qpro, VP- PowerPoint, Lotus, dBase, FoxBASE, Oracle)
Planner,) Storyboard)
Desktop Publishing Online Basic Computer
(Publisher) Communication/internet Maintenance

Prepared by:

Adera Lameck © 2021

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Lessons Breakdown

Week Days Topic Duration

Week 1 Day 1  Induction/ computer lab rules 2 hours
 Meaning of the Computer Systems
Introduction  Characteristics of the Computer Systems
Windows  Advantages of the computer Systems
 Disadvantages of the Computer Systems
 Application of the Computer Systems
Day 2 Components of the Computer Systems 2 hours
1. Hardware Environment
a) Input Devices
b) Output Devices
c) Processing Devices
d) Telecommunication Devices
e) Storage Devices
2. Software Environment
 System Software
a) Functions of Operating Systems
b) Examples of Operating Systems
c) Utility Software
Memory of the Computer Systems
 Primary memory: RAM and ROM
 Secondary Memory: Hard Disk, CD-ROM, DVD, Flash
Drive
Day 3 Meaning of a Window 2 hours
Features of Windows
Parts of the window Desktop: Title bar, Menu Bar, Minimize
& Maximize Button, Close Button, Tool Bar, Scroll Bars,
Status Bar etc
Moving a window, changing the size of a window, hiding a
window, closing a window switching between windows,
arranging windows automatically.
Customizing the desktop: Setting the Background, The Screen
Saver
Utilities: Date and Time, Pin the calculator on the Desktop,
My Computer, My Document, Recycle Bin etc
Day 4 Methods of moving Files and Folders 2 hours
 Copy and Paste,
 Cut and Paste,
 Drag and Drop
 Save a file

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 To Create Files and folders, to Copy Files and Folders

Computer networking
Network topologies (Star, ring, bus,hybrid)
Day 5 Assignment and week review/revision 2hours

Week 2 Day 1 Screen elements, Home tabs 2hours

Day 2 Insert, Page layout 2hours
Word Day 3 Typing speed 2hours
Day 4 Mail Merge 2hours
Day 5 Assignment and week review/revision 2hours
Week 3 Day 1 Excel, features/ interface 2hours
Day 2 creating table of student marks 2hours
Excel Day 3 Formulas sum, average/mean, mode 2hours
Day 4 Formulas, graphs, pie chart 2hours
Day 5 Assignment and week review/revision 2hours
Week 4 Day 1 PowerPoint 2hours
Day 2 PowerPoint 2hours
PowerPoint Day 3 Publisher 2hours
Publisher Day 4 Publisher 2hours
Day 5 Assignment and week review/revision 2hours
Week 5 Day 1 Access 2hours
Day 2 Access 2hours
Access Day 3 Internet 2hours
Internet Day 4 Computer maintenance 2hours
Comp Day 5 Assignment and week review/revision 2hours
maintenance
Week 6 Day 1 Revision 2hours
Day 2 Revision 2hours
Day 3 Revision 2hours
Day 4 Revision 2hours
Day 5 MAIN TEST 2hours

Activities to know in each section

Introduction
Definition of computer Computer software Using the mouse Create a folder
system and their uses System A typical window Copy a file to another folder
Application computers Application Opening and closing a or diskette for back up
Computer hardware Switching on and off the program Delete files and restore
Input devices computer Using windows explorer to: deleted files from the
Output devices Starting windows View files and folders recycle bin
Storage devices The desktop
Word
Loading MS-Word Underlining Columns Inserting/deleting

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The WORD screen Changing font size, font Headers/footers columns/rows

Creating a document spell color Page boarder Copying texts
checking Line spacing Inserting pictures Mail merge
Saving a document Alignment Tables Creating the address book
Opening a document Margins Creating tables Creating the form letter
Closing a document Indenting Entering texts Merging
Bolding and italics Document passwords Changing column width Printing of documents
Changing the case of letters
PowerPoint
PowerPoint basics Applying a design template Insert clip art Set slides transitions
Creating a blank Different PowerPoint views Insert a chart Set slide timings
presentation Using the slide master Insert an organization chart Run a slide show
Adding new slides to Insert tables Animation slides Print handouts
presentation
Internet
Definition of internet Search of information by use Create an email acct Insert addresses from the
Requirements of internet of the URL Read, reply and forward an address book
connection Use search engines to locate email Send the file attachments
Web browsers info Compose an email
Parts of a web browser Downloading info to the Add contacts to the address
Website addresses hard disk book
Excel
Loading MS Excel Subtraction Relative referencing Average function
The excel screen Multiplication Absolute referencing Min function
Creating a worksheet Inserting rows Creating a chart Max function
Saving a worksheet Deleting rows Formatting chart area Count function
Text formatting Inserting columns Set a print area If function
Closing a worksheet Deleting columns Copying data from excel to Count if function
Auto sum Adjusting column width word Rank function
Auto fill Renaming sheets
Access
Load access Enter records in a table Change data types Preview and print the report
Create and save a new Sort records in a table Add and delete records from Append queries
database Find records in a table a table Update queries
Create a table using design Filter records for viewing Open a saved query Link databases
view Open and close an existing Create a total query Analyze data using excel
Enter different data types table Create a form using auto
Set a primary key form or wizard
Publisher
Navigate the Interface Format Paragraphs Edit Text in a Publication Save a Publication in
Customize the Publisher Apply Schemes Work with Tables Different Formats
Interface Edit Text in a Publication Insert Symbols and Special Print a Publication
Create a Publication Work with Tables Characters Share a Publication
Add Text to a Publication Insert Symbols and Special Check the Design of a
Format Text Characters Publication

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Computer Lab Rules

Safety precautions in computer laboratory

1. BE RESPECTFUL to fellow classmates and teachers.

2. Always be ready to learn and do not get annoyed when corrected.
3. Avoid smoking or exposing computers to dust.

4. Avoid carrying food and beverage to computers room.

5. Follow the correct procedure for starting an shutting down the computer

6. Report any accident, error immediately

7. Enter the computer lab quietly and work quietly & Avoid unnecessary
movements
8. Surf/browse safely i.e. during free time not class hours e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp,
Tiktok
9. Clean up your work/desk area always
10. Do not change computer settings or backgrounds.
11. Ask permission before you print
12. SAVE all unfinished work for you to continue the next time.
13. Don’t carry anything outside the lab.
14. Do not unplug any cable.
15. Take good care of the laptops/desk tops.
16. Maintain social distance and have mask.
17. When listening to videos of audios, use an earphone or headphone to avoid
distracting others. (To avoid making noise to others)

NB: You will be liable for any careless damage of the computers. Unavoidable accidents
may be considered.

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INTRODUCTION

Definition : A Computer is an electronic device that can perform activities that involve
Mathematical, Logical and graphical manipulations. Generally, the term is used to describe a
collection of devices that function together as a system.
It performs the following three operations in sequence.
1. It receives data & instructions from the input device.
2. Processes the data as per instructions.
3. Provides the result (output) in a desired form.
Data : It is the collection of raw facts, figures & symbols.
Ex : Names of students and their marks in different subjects listed in random order.
Information : It is the data that is processed & presented in an organized manner.
Ex : When the names of students are arranged in alphabetical order, total and average
marks are calculated & presented in a tabular form, it is information.
Program : Set of instructions that enables a computer to perform a given task.
Advantages of computers :

1. High speed : Computers have the ability to perform routine tasks at a greater speed
than human beings. They can perform millions of calculations in seconds.
2. Accuracy : Computers are used to perform tasks in a way that ensures accuracy.
3. Storage : Computers can store large amount of information. Any item of data or any
instruction stored in the memory can be retrieved by the computer at lightning speeds.
4. Automation : Computers can be instructed to perform complex tasks automatically
( which increases the productivity).
5. Diligence : Computers can perform the same task repeatedly & with the same accuracy
without getting tired.
6. Versatility : Computers are flexible to perform both simple and complex tasks.
7. Cost effectiveness : Computers reduce the amount of paper work and human effort,
thereby reducing costs.

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Limitations of computers :
1. Computers need clear & complete instructions to perform a task accurately. If the
instructions are not clear & complete, the computer will not produce the required result.
2. Computers cannot think.
3. Computers cannot learn by experience.

Generations of computers :
Generation Component used
First Generation (1946-1954 ) Vacuum tubes
Second Generation (1955-1965) Transistors
Third Generation (1968-1975 ) Integrated Circuits (IC)
Fourth Generation (1976-1980) Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits (VLSI)

Fifth Generation (1980 – till today ) Ultra Scale Integrated Circuits (ULSI)
Micro Processor (SILICON CHIP)

ANATOMY OF COMPUTERS
The computer system consists of three units:
1. Input device 2. Central Processing Unit (CPU) 3. Output device

Block diagram of a Computer :

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

Memory unit

INPUT DEVICE ALU

OUT PUT DEVICE

Control Unit

The various functions of these units can be summarized as:

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Unit Function
1.Input device : Reads information from input media and enters to the
computer in a coded form
2.CPU

(a) Memory unit : Stores program and data

(b) Arithmetic Logic unit : Performs arithmetic and logical functions

(c) Control Unit : Interprets program instructions and controls the input and
output devices

3. Output device : decodes information and presents it to the user

Central Processing Unit: It is the part of the computer that carries out the instructions of a
computer program. It is the unit that reads and executes program instructions. Hence it is known
as the ―brain‖ of the computer. The CPU consists of storage or memory unit, Arithmetic Logic
Unit (ALU) and control unit.

(a). Memory Unit: It is also known as the primary storage or main memory. It stores data,
program instructions, internal results and final output temporarily before it is sent to an
appropriate output device. It consists of thousands of cells called ―storage locations ‖. These
cells activate with ―off-on‖ or binary digits(0,1) mechanism. Thus a character either a letter
or numerical digit is stored as a string of (0,1) Binary digits ( BITS). These bits are used to
store instructions and data by their combinations.

(b) Arithmetic and Logical Unit(ALU): It is the unit where all Arithmetic operations
(addition, subtraction etc.) and logical functions such as true or false, male or female are
performed. Once data are fed into the main memory from input devices, they are held and
transferred as needed to ALU where processing takes place. No process occurs in primary
storage. Intermediate generated results in ALU are temporarily placed in memory until needed
at later time. Data may move from primary memory to ALU and back again to storage many
times before the process is finalized.

(c).Control Unit : It acts as a central nervous system and ensures that the information is
stored correctly and the program instructions are followed in proper sequence as well as the
data are selected from the memory as necessary. It also coordinates all the input and output
devices of a system .

Input Devices
Devices used to provide data and instructions to the computer are called Input devices.

Some important input devices are: Key board, Mouse, Scanner, MICR, Web camera,
Microphone etc.

1. Keyboard: The Key board is used for typing text into the computer. It is also known as
standard Input device. A computer keyboard is similar to that of a type writer with
additional keys. The most commonly available computer keyboard has 104 keys.

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There are different types of keys on the keyboard. The keys are categorized as :

• Alphanumeric keys , including letters & numbers.

• Punctuation keys, such as colon (:), semicolon (;) Question mark (?), Single & double
quotes (“” ‘’)

• Special keys such as arrow keys, control keys, function keys (F1 to F12), HOME, END
etc.

2.. Mouse: It is a device that controls the movement of the cursor on a monitor. A mouse will
have 2 buttons on its top. The left button is the most frequently used button. There will be
a wheel between the left and right buttons. This wheel enables us to smoothly scroll through
screens of information. As we move the mouse, the pointer on the monitor moves in the same
direction. Optical mouse is another advanced pointing device that uses a light emitting
component instead of the mouse ball. Mouse cannot be used for entering the data. It is only
useful to select the options on the screen.

3. Scanner: : It is an input device that can read text or illustrations printed on paper and
translate into digital form. The main advantage of these scanners is that the data need not be
entered separately resulting in saving lot of time.

Scanners are of two types: i)

optical scanners ii) MICR
i) Optical scanners:
a. Optical character Recognition(OCR): In this, characters are read with the help of a light. This is
used in office atomization, documentation in library etc.
b. Optical mark recognition(OMR): It is a technology where an OMR device senses the presence
or absence of a mark such as a pencil mark. OMR is used in tests such as aptitude tests.
c. Optical barcode recognition(OBCR): Barcode readers are photoelectric scanners that read the
bar codes or vertical zebra striped marks printed on product containers. This is used in super
markets, book shops etc.

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ii. MICR: This is widely used in banks to process the cheques. This allows the computer to
recognize characters printed using magnetic ink.

Output devices

Any device that is capable of representing/displaying information on a computer is called an

Output device.
Output devices receive information from the CPU and present it to the user in the desired
form.

Some important Output devices are : Monitor, Printer

1 .Terminal/Monitor: It is similar to TV screen- either a monochrome (black & white) or colour

– and it displays the output. It is also referred as Visual Display Unit(VDU). Several types of
monitors are in use. Some of them are Colour Graphic Adapter(CGA), Enhanced Graphics
Adaptor(EGA) , Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) and Super Video Graphics Adapter (SVGA).
The screen sizes differ from system to system. The standard size is 24 lines by 80 characters.
Most systems have provision for scrolling which helps in moving the text vertically or
horizontally on the screen.

2 . Printer: A printer is used to transfer data from a computer onto paper. The paper copy
obtained from a printer is often referred as ―printout ‖. The different printers and their speeds
are as follows:
( CPS: Characters Per Second; PPM: Pages Per Minutes; LPM : Lines Per Minute)

Laser printer

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MEMORY OF THE COMPUTER

Memory or storage capacity is one of the important components of a computer. Any

storage unit of a computer system is classified on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Access time: This is the time required to locate and retrieve stored data from the
storage unit in response to program instructions.

2. Storage capacity: It is the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit.

3. Cost per bit of storage.

Units of memory: The computer stores a character in the storage cells with binary (0,1)
mechanism. Thus the basic unit of memory is a bit (binary digit – 0,1). To store a character, a
computer requires 8 bits or 1 byte. This is called the ― word length ‖ of the storage unit.
Hence the storage capacity of the computer is measured in the number of words it can store and
is expressed in terms of bytes. The different units of measurement are

8 Bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilo Byte (KB)
1024 KB = 1 Mega Byte (MB)
1024 M = 1 Gega Byte (GB)

Conversion

Types of Memory : A computer memory is of two types

1. Primary Memory ( Internal storage) 2. Secondary Memory ( External storage)

Primary Memory : Primary memory is also called internal memory and is an important part
of a computer. It is the main area in a computer where the data is stored. The stored data can be
recalled instantly and correctly whenever desired. This memory can be quickly accessed by the
CPU for reading or storing information. Primary memory is further classified into two types:

Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read- Only Memory (ROM )

RAM:
RAM is also known as read/write memory as information can be read from and written onto it.
RAM is a place in a computer that holds instructions for the computer, its programs and the
data. The CPU can directly access the data from RAM almost immediately. However, the
storage of data and instructions in RAM is temporary, till the time the computer is running. It
disappears from RAM as soon as the power to the computer is switched off. i.e it is volatile
memory.

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ROM:
It is called Read-only memory as information can only be read from and not written or
changed onto ROM. ROM is the ‗built-in‘ memory of a computer. It stores some basic input –
output instructions put by the manufacturer to operate the computer. The storage of data and
instructions in ROM is permanent. It does not depend on the power supply. i.e it is non-volatile
memory.

Secondary memory: The primary memory which is faster (and hence expensive) is generally
not sufficient for large storage of data. As a result, additional memory, called the ―auxiliary‖
or ―secondary memory‖ is used. It is also referred as ―backup storage ‖ as it is used to
store large volume of data on a permanent basis which can be transferred to the primary
memory whenever required for processing. Data are stored in secondary storage in the same
binary codes as in the main (primary memory) storage. Some of the devices of secondary
storages are Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, DVD and Flash drive.

1. Floppy Disk: It is also referred as ―Diskette: and is made of flexible Vinyl material.
It has a small hole on one side called ―Right protect notch ‖, Which protects accidental
writing/deleting the information from the disk. There is a hole in the centre through which the
spindle of drive unit rotates the disk. The disks are available in two sizes of 5.25 and 3.5
inches and these could be either lowdensity or high-density floppies. Storage capacity of
floppies are measured in kilobytes (KB) and megabytes (MB).

2. Hard Disk: The hard disk can hold more information than the floppy disk and the retrieval of
information from hard disk is faster when compared to floppies or tapes. A hard disk is fixed
inside the CPU and its capacity ranges from 20 MB onwards. The hard disk is made up of a
collection of discs (one below the other) known as platters on which the data is recorded. These
platters are coated with magnetic material. It is less sensitive to external environmental
disorders and hence the storage in hard disk is safe. A small hard disk might be as much as 25
times larger than a floppy disk. Storage Capacity of hard disks varies from 20 MB to several
Gega bytes like 80GB, 160GB.

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3. CD-ROM: CD-ROM stands for Compact Disk–Read Only Memory. It is used to store a wide
variety of information. Its main advantage is that it is portable and can hold a large amount of
data.. The storage capacity of most CD-ROMs is approximately 650 MB or 700 MB.

4. DVD: DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc. It is similar to a CD-ROM, except that it can
store larger amounts of data. The storage capacity of a DVD is at least 4.7MB. DVDs that can
store up to 17GBs are also available. Because of their capacity, DVDs are generally used to
store a very large multimedia presentations and movies that combine high quality sound and
graphics.

5. Flash Drive/Disk: It is a small, portable device that can be used to store, access and transfer
data. Due to its small size, it is commonly called Pen drive. It is also called USB drive. We can
read, write, copy, delete, and move data from computer to pen drive or pen drive to computer. It
comes in various storage capacities of 2GB, 4GB, 8GB etc. It is popular because it is easy to
use and small enough to be carried in a pocket. This device is plugged into the USB port of the
computer and the computer automatically detects this device.

HARDWARE and SOFTWARE

Hardware: The physical components of the computer are known as ―Hardware ‖. It refers to
the objects that we can actually touch.

Ex: input and output devices, processors, circuits and the cables.

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Software: Software is a program or set of instructions that causes the Hardware to function in a
desired way. The basic difference between the Hardware and Software is just the same as that
exists between TV and TV studio. Without TV studio (software) from where the programs are
telecast, the TV (Hardware) is a dead machine.

There are five categories of software. They are:

1. Operating System 2. Translators 3. Utility programs 4. Application

programs
5. General purpose programs

1. Operating System (OS) : The software that manages the resources of a computer system
and schedules its operation is called Operating system. The operating system acts as
interface between the hardware and the user programs and facilitates the execution of
programs.

Generally the OS acts as an interface between the user and the Hardware of the
computer.

i.e It is a bridge between the user and the Hardware.

2. Translators : Computers can understand instructions only when they are written in their
own language – the machine language . Therefore, a program written in any other
language should be translated into machine language. The software that ―translates ‖ the
instructions of different languages is known as translators .

Utility Programs: These are pre-written programs supplied by the manufacturer for
maintaining day to day activities of computer system.
Example: COPY, SORT, MAILING, virus scanning software etc.,

3. Application Programs: These are user written programs to do a specific job which can be
changed to meet the individual needs. These programs are written in different languages
such as BASIC or C or by using database packages like dBASE, Oracle.

Example: Payroll, Billing, Railway Reservation etc.

4. General Purpose Packages: These packages are developed to suit the needs of research
workers / scientists in different fields. These packages are categorized as :

i) Data Analysis ii) Word Processing iii) Spread Sheet iv) Graphics and v) Databases

Functions of Operating System :

Today most operating systems perform the following important functions :

1. Processor management : It manages the assignment of processor to different tasks

being performed by the computer system.

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2. Memory management : It manages the allocation of main memory and other storage
areas to the system programmes as well as user programmes and data.

3. Input / Output management : It manages the co-ordination and assignment of different

Input and Output devices while one or more programmes are executed.

4. File management : It allows all files to be easily changed and modified through the use
of text editors or some other file manipulation routines.

5. Establishment and enforcement of a priority system : It determines and maintains the

order in which jobs are to be executed in the computer system.

6. Interpretation of commands and instructions.

7. Facilitates easy communication between the computer system and the computer
operator.

Classification of Computers

Computers are classified according to the storage capacity, speed and the purpose for
which they are developed. These can be classified into three types:

1. Analog Computes 2. Digital Computers 3. Hybrid Computers

1. Analog computers: They operate by ―measuring‖ instead of ―counting‖. The name
(derived from greek word analog) denotes that the computer
functions by establishing similarities between the two quantities. They are
powerful tools for solving differential equations.

2. Digital Computers: These computers operate by ―counting‖. All quantities are

expressed as discrete digits or numbers. These are useful for evaluating arithmetic
expressions and manipulations of data.

3. Hybrid Computers: Computers which combine the features of analog and digital
computers are known as Hybrid computers.
A majority of the computers that are in use are digital. These computers were essentially
developed for computations. Later, the developments in the computers led to the use of
digital computers in variety of applications.

Depending on the use of applications, the digital computers are classified into

1) Special Purpose Computers and 2) General Purpose Computers

1. Special Purpose Computers: These are developed with a specific purpose. Some of the
areas where these computers are being used are – soil testing, drip irrigation, medical
scanning, traffic signals, spacecraft, rocket technology etc.,

2. General Purpose Computers: These are developed to meet the requirements of several
areas such as simulation, solving mathematical equations, payroll and personnel

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database. These computers are available in different sizes and capabilities and are
further classified (based on memory, speed, storage) as follows.

a) Super Computers b) Mainframe Computers c) Mini Computers d) Micro

Computers

a) Super Computers: These have extremely large storage capacities and

computing speeds which are atleast 10 times faster than other computers.
These are used for large scale numerical problems in scientific and engineering
disciplines such as electronics, weather forecasting etc.,. The first super
computer was developed in U.S.A. by CRAY computers. In India the
indigenous super computer was developed under the name Param.
b) Mainframe Computers: They also have large storage and high computing
speed (but relatively lower than the super computers). They are used in
applications like weather forecasting, space applications etc., they support a
large number of terminals for use by a variety of users simultaneously, but are
expensive
c) Mini Computers: It is a medium sized computer with moderate cost, available
indigenously and used for large volume applications. It can serve multi-users
simultaneously

d) Micro Computers: A micro computer is the smallest general purpose

processing system. Micro computers are also referred as ―personal
computers‖(PC). These are self contained units and usually developed for use
by one person at a time but can be linked to very large systems. They are
cheap, easy to use even at homes and can be read for variety of applications
from small to medium range. These are available in three models:

1. PC : Personal Computer

2. PC-XT : PC with Extended Technology

3. PC-AT : PC with Advanced Technology

Booting of the Computer:

Booting imply activating‖ the computer for working. Thus, when the computer is switched on,
the operating system residing in the floppy or in the hard disk is transferred into the primary
memory. After this, the computer is ready to accept the commands at user terminal. If OS is not
existing either in floppy drive or in the hard disk drive, non-system or disk error is flashed on
the screen.

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Booting is essential whenever the system is locked or switched-off. A PC can be booted

through two ways: a) Cold Booting b) Warm Booting.

a) Cold Booting: It is only switching OFF the system and after some time again switching
ON.

b) Warm Booting: It is carried out by pressing the following three keys simultaneously :
Ctrl + Alt + Del. It is preferable to cold booting as it safeguards the system from sudden
power fluctuations resulting out of switching ON and OFF the system.

******

Computer viruses and Vaccines:

Def: A VIRUS is a set of instructions (or program) or software prepared to destroy a

package and data.
A virus kills data and program files. Although the purpose for developing such softwares is
not known, they appear to be basically developed for a check against the ―piracy ‖ of
program packages.
Functioning of viruses: viruses reside in executable files such as .COM or .EXE. Thus
when PC is switched on, the virus enters the RAM through .COM (COMMAND.COM)
file and starts destructive work of killing data and program files. Whenever the PC is
switched off, they again go back to the executable files.
More than 1000 computer viruses have been identified. They are classified as :

i) File Allocation Table (FAT) based viruses ii )Key board viruses

and ii) File based viruses
Some of the well known viruses are:

Joshi, Die_Hard-2, Jerusalem, Generic, Brain, May_5 th, Gumnam, World peace etc.,

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VACCINE/ANTI-VIRUS: It is a software developed for removing the viruses.

These are anti-virus programs for WINDOWS and a memory resident virus-safe
program that guards against the introduction of files that may be affected by virus.
Some of the anti-virus vaccines are: NASHSOFT, UTSCAN, AVG, AVIRA, Meccaf, Smadav
etc.

*****

WINDOWS

Salient features of Windows Operating System:

1. It converts the plain character based user interface provided by DOS into a Graphical
User Interface(GUI) such as pictures, symbols and words on your screen that can be
controlled by the mouse.
2. It provides a multitasking capabilities to the PC.
3. It supports long file name rather than the limited 8 characters with extension of three
letter file name (8:3) as used by DOS. In Windows file name can have name up to 255
characters long.
4. Windows owes its name to the fact that it runs each program or document or application
in its own separate window.
5. Windows have the facility of accessories such as Word pad, Note pad, Calculator and
Paint.
6. User can paste portion of one document into another by utilizing more advanced
document linking features called Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE), Object Linking and
Embedding (OLE).

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7. It provides a big facility of plug and play standard. It allows user to simply plug a new
board such as a video, audio or network card into the computer without having a set of
switches or making other settings.
8. If a program crashes, then it will display fault error message about its crash and you can
eliminate the crashed program from the task list without affecting other running
applications.

Parts of a window screen:

Desktop: The desktop is the on-screen work area on which Windows, Icons, menus & dialog
boxes appear. The Desktop can have several components. Parts of the desktop
include Icons & the taskbar.
Components of the Desktop:
• Icons
• Taskbar
Icons: Icon is a small image that represents a file, folder or program.
The text below each icon is the name of the Icon. When we rest the mouse pointer
on an icon, a rectangular box appears. This is referred to as Tooltip. It gives a brief
description of the Icon.
By default, there will be 4-5 icons on the desktop.
They are:
• My Computer
• My documents
• Internet Explorer
• Recycle bin
• Network Neighborhood

My Computer: This is the icon which represents all the files & folders which can be used in
the system. It is used to access the drives, folders & files on the computer. i.e Floppy drive(A),
Local C, D, E, Printer, Control panel etc.
My Documents: This is the default storage location for the files created in the windows.
Internet Explorer: This is an application used to browse the internet.
Recycle bin: This is a folder that stores all the files & folders deleted from windows
temporarily, which can be restored again if needed.
Network Neighborhood: This is an application which display all the computers connected in
network with our computer.
Taskbar: The rectangular bar that runs horizontally across the bottom of the screen is called
Taskbar. The Taskbar has the START menu on the left & the Notification area on the right. We
can start an application using the start menu.
Notification area holds system icons that allow for functions such as changing the time &
Volume of the Computer.
All the open applications are available on the Taskbar.

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Anatomy of a Window:
The window on a desktop is the rectangular area displaying content independently of other
areas of the screen.
The different parts of a window are the Title bar, Menu bar, the Toolbar, and the min, max &
close buttons. These tools are used to manage the window & the components within it.

Title bar – This is the title of the window, like your name at the top of a piece of paper.
The Title bar is also the handle for the window. If you click and hold the mouse button
down on the title bar, you can move it around the screen.

 Minimize – To have a window take the minimum amount of desktop space possible,
click the minimize button. This drops the window into the Task bar like a piece of
paper going into a drawer. The Task bar will show the task whether or not the window
is minimized.
 Maximize – To have a window take the maximum desktop space, click the maximize
button.
This stretches the window out like an architect‘s floor plan being rolled out over the
desk.
 Restore – A maximized window will cover over all the other windows and icons on the
desktop.
The Restore button places the window back so that more than one window can display at a
time.
 Close (X) – When done with a window, you can have it taken completely off the
desktop by closing it. Use the X button to do this.

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Menu bar: The Menu bar displays a list of commands that can be used to perform various
tasks. ( this will be below the Title bar). Menu items are commands within the menu bar that
allow choosing of functions & tasks.

Tool bar: contains a set of buttons for frequently used commands.

Scroll Bars: On the bottom and right edges of a window we find scroll bars. They are used to
pan across the information in the window, when we have information which won‘t fit into the
window. The Status Bar :The Status bar appears at the very bottom of the window and
provides such information as the cursor position, current page number, the number of words in
the document etc.
Booting in Windows:
• When the computer is switched on, the BIOS is activated.
• The BIOS present in ROM searches for the operating system and drives.
• If there is no OS, it shows non-system or disk error.
• If OS is present, then it transfers the OS from ROM to RAM.
• Then the desktop is displayed on the monitor.

WINDOWS EXPLORER

Windows Explorer is an application that provides detailed information about your files, folders,
and drives. You can use it to see how your files are organized and to copy, move, and rename
files, as well as perform other tasks pertaining to files, folders, and drives. Explorer uses the
directory windows to graphically display the directory structure of your disk and files.
Windows Explorer displays the contents of the entire system in a hierarchical manner.

To open Windows Explorer, click Start  All programs  Accessories  Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer is divided into 2 panes. The left pane displays the list of drives & folders on
the computer. The right pane displays the contents of the selected drive or folder. By using
these two panes, you can browse through the contents of your computer in a single window.
Folder is a list of files (similar to Directory in MS-DOS)

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Working with Folders:

Creating a Folder:
1. From the tree pane : select the directory under which you want to create a sub directory.
2. Choose FileNewFolder. On the right pane of the screen, a new folder is created.
3. Type in the name of the directory and press ENTER. You can notice the change in the
tree structure immediately.

Creating files:
After creating a folder, we can move files into it or create new files within the folder.
Selecting files & folders:
i) To select all the files in a folder:
Click the folder in the left pane  All the files will be displayed in the
right pane. To select all --CTRL + A ii) To select consecutive files:
Use shift key +
arrow keys iii) To select
non-consecutive files:
• In the right pane of Windows Explorer, click the first item to be selected.
• Hold down CTRL
• Click all other items that need to be selected.
Copying Files & Folders:
Once we select the files to be copied, the next step is to copy the files.
To copy the files & folders:

i) In Windows Explorer, select the file or folder to be copied.

ii) On the edit menu click copy

( the files are copied to the clip board. The clip board is a location where the
information you copy or cut is temporarily stored) iii) Click the destination
folder in the left pane.
iv) In W.Exp, click paste in the Edit menu.

Alternatively, to copy a file or folder, select it and then press ctrl +C. To paste, press ctrl+ V

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To move the files or folders:

i) select the folder to
be moved. ii) On
the edit menu, click cut
iii) Click the destination folder in the
left pane iv) On the edit menu,
click paste.
Alternatively, to cut a file or folder, select and press ctrl +X & then to paste, press ctrl +V.
Renaming files or folders:
i) Select the item to be
renamed ii)
Choose File 
Rename
iii) Current name gets selected, Type in the
new name iv) Press Enter.
Deleting files or folders:
If you do not want certain files or folders, you can delete them. All the files & folders
which are deleted are moved to the recycle bin.
To delete:

i) Select ii) On the file menu,

click delete or press delete.
A warning appears prompting you to confirm the file deletion.
iii) If you want to delete, click yes otherwise No.
Note: To delete a file permanently without moving it to the Recycle bin, select the file & then
press Shift+ Del.

******
WORD PROCESSING

Definition: Word-processing is essentially typing, editing, and manipulation of a document in a

desired form.
Units of the Document:

Since word-processing is concerned with preparation of a document (in a desired form), it is

essential to know the units of the document:
1. Character: It refers to the alphabets, numerical digits, punctuations and other special
symbols which are commonly used in the text.
2. Word: A word is group of characters that are separated from other group of characters by
some delimiters like, comma, full stop and space.
3. Sentence: A sentence is a group of words preceded and followed by appropriate delimiting
characters.

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4. Paragraph: It is a group of one or more sentences, paragraphs are separated by leaving blank
lines between them.
5. Pages: It is the amount of text that can be printed on one page of a paper.

6. Chapters: It is a collection of pages

7. Documents and files: It is a group of chapters. Usually, a complete document may be very
short such as a memo(or letter) or very long such as a book consisting of several chapters.
These documents are referred as Files.
Features of Word-processing:
1. Word-wrap
2. cursor control
3. editing
4. formatting
5. spell-check
6. thesaurus
7. macros
8. printing
9. file management
10. mail merge printing

1. Word-wrap: In word-processing packages, the text can be continuously typed and the
computer automatically starts a fresh line when a line is filled up. As soon as the
length of a sentence exceeds the right margin, the corresponding word is automatically
adjusted in the following line. This is called ―word-wrap ‖. A paragraph is created
only when carriage control is externally given for a sentence.
2. Cursor Control: The four directional keys of the keyboard ( ) helps in locating the

text for editing in much the similar manner as that of a pointer or pencil.
3. Editing: Words or lines can be entered (inserted) or deleted in any part of the text with
proper alignment . Similarly, there is a facility to ‗recover‘ the text which is deleted by
mistake or accidentally. Another important facility is that any ‗word‘ can be replaced
by a new word through out the file, wherever the old word appears. In addition to these,
a block of text(which is frequently used) can be prepared and moved or copied
wherever desired in the file.

4. Formatting : The text formatting refers to the way the text is desired to appear on a
page. This includes following functions
• setting left and right margins
• paragraph settings
• line spacing
• selecting font specifications such as underline, bold, italics, superscripts and
subscripts

• setting foot-notes

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• number of lines per page

• printing page numbers and headings for ‗Header‘ and ‗Footer‘
• table of contents
• indexing the text
5. Spell-check: Word-processing packages provide checking of spellings facility
6. Thesaurus: It provides synonyms (or words with similar meanings)
7. Macros: A macro is a character or word that represents a series of keystrokes. The
ability to define macros allows us to save a lot of time by replacing common
combinations of keystrokes.
8. Printing: It gives a ‗hard‘ copy of the text. The printing can be controlled after printing
a fixed number of pages or can be resumed from any specified page number.
9. File management: This facility allows to create, delete, move & search for files.
10. Mail merge printing: This facility helps in printing same ―original ‖ letter with
different addresses, so that each letter is ―original ‖ and not a carbon copy.
Word-processing Packages: Several word-processing packages are available. Some of these
are listed below:
1. MSWORD (SOFT WORD) 2. WORDSTAR 3. CHIRATOR 4. NORTON EDITOR

*******

MS-WORD

MS- Word is a word processor. The extension name of MS- word is .doc. It is an application
used to create, edit, print and save a document. It allows the user to insert pictures, tables,
charts, drawings & features that will make the text richer & more interactive.
( The term document refers to a file created using word processor)
Starting MS-Word:
Start  All Programs  MS-office MS-
word MS-word icon is w.

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The default Word document includes the following layout tools:

• Title bar: displays the document name and the application.

• Menu bar: Contains the list of menus available inside word, each menu contains a
specific set of commands.
• Standard toolbar: provides shortcuts in the form of buttons for frequently performed
tasks.  Formatting toolbar: Contains a list of formatting options available inside the
format menu.
• Horizontal & Vertical rulers: used for measurement purposes like any normal ruler;
the default unit of measure is in inches.
• White page area: is the space area where you type, edit and format your document.
• Insertion point : is the blinking vertical line that indicates the position on the screen
where text or graphics will be placed.
• Task pane : is a small window within the word window that provides shortcuts to
commonly used tasks.
• Scroll bars : are used to move up and down or left and right in a document.
• Status bar: displays the details such as the page number the user is working on,
section no., page no. out of the total pages found in the document, line number, column
number etc.

Standard Toolbar:
This toolbar contains buttons to allow you to perform the basic operations such as opening and
closing a document, moving and printing data.

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Function of commonly used buttons

• New: Creates a new blank document based on the default template

• Open: Opens or finds an existing file
• Save: Saves the active file with its current file name, location and file format
• Print: Prints the active file - for more print options go to the File menu and select Print
• Print preview : Shows how the document will look when you print it.
• Spelling & Grammer: Spelling, grammar and writing style checker
• Cut : Removes the selection from the document and places it on the clipboard
• Copy : Copies the selected item(s) to the clipboard
• Paste : Places the content of the clipboard at the insertion point
• Format painter : Copies the format from a selected object or text and applies to other
objects
• Undo : Reverses the last command, use pull-down menu to undo several steps
• Redo : Reverses the action of the Undo button, use the pull-down menu to redo several
steps
• Insert table: Insert a table into the document, or make a table of selected text
• Insert Excel worksheet: Inserts an Excel spreadsheet into the Word document
• Columns : Changes the number of columns in a document
• Drawing: Displays or hides the Drawing toolbar
• Zoom (100%): Enlarge or reduce the display of the active document

Formatting Toolbar:
The formatting Tool bar is the easiest way to change many attributes of a text.

• Style menu: Allows you to make your text Bold, Italic, underlined… depending on the
style you choose.
• Font : Allows you to change the font by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the right
of the font name box. You can view a list of fonts available, you can scroll down to
view more fonts and select the font name you wish to use by clicking on its name.
• Font size : Allows you to change the font size by clicking inside the Font size box and
entering a value or by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the right of the box to view
a list of sizes available. Select then a size by clicking on it.
Note : A Font size of 11 or 12 is best for paragraphs of text.

• Bold, Italic, Underline : Each button respectively allows you to make your text appear
as bold, italic or underlined.

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• Alignment : Each button respectively allows you to make your text aligned to the left,
center or right side of the page. You can also justify the text across the page using the
justify button.
• Line spacing : Allows you to set the amount of space that word puts when go to a new
line.
• Text orientation : Allows you to change the typing direction of your text, from left to
right or right to left manner.
• Numbering, Bullets : Allows you to make your text appear as a bullets list or as a
numbering list.
• Increase / Decrease indent : Allows you to increase or decrease the indentation of
your paragraph in relation to the side of the page.
• Outside Border : Allows you to add a border around a text selection.
• Highlight color : Allows you to change the color behind a text selection.
• Font colour : Allows you to change the colour of the text.

Features of FILE MENU ( ALT F):

1. New - Opens new Word file (Blank Document file)

2. Open - Opens the existing files
3. Save - Saves the file with one name
4. Save as -Saves the file with more than one name( with different formats)
5. Save as Web page – This is used to save a document in a Web style. (with HTML extension)
6. Versions - This is used to do the parts of work in small parts. i.e a bulk ( big/ more) work
can be done in small parts.
7. Web Page Preview – This shows the web page in printable form. 8. Page set up - To set the
margin, paper size, Orientation
9. Print - To get the printout.( Specified pages and no. of copies).
10. Properties - This gives the details about the document ( the type of file, the size of file,
the date of creation, date of modification and file location)
11. Send - This is used to send the file document to internet mail to some other person.
12. Exit - To close the Ms-word.

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13. To insert a new page, press Ctrl + Enter

Features of EDIT MENU (ALT E):

Undo - Will take the previous command (ctrl +Z)

Redo - Will take the opposite action of undo ( Ctrl + Y)
Cut - Can cut a selected text ( Ctrl + X)
Copy - Can copy a selected text ( Ctrl + C)
Paste - Can paste the selected text ( Ctrl + V)
Del - Removes the selected text
Find - Used to find the part of text word \ character in the file (Ctrl + F)
Find Next – (F3) Finding \ finding next : Used to repeat the finding process.
Replace - Used to replace any part of Text / word / Character with another word/ character.
(Ctrl + H) Paste special – This will paste the copied (or) cut text in a form of an object. It will
paste in box which Cannot be altered.
Go To - Curser goes to the specified page, specified line, specified paragraph.(Ctrl + G)
Features of FORMAT MENU ( ALT + O)

1. Font - used to change the font face, style, size etc.

2. Paragraph - Used to set the space between paragraphs and also between the lines

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3. Bullets - Used to highlight points in number wise / bullet wise.

4. Borders & Shades - Used to apply different borders to the table / to the page.
5. Columns – Used to write the text in column wise.
To have a break in columns, a column break is used ( insert menu  break 
Columns)
Ctrl + Shift + Enter
6. Drop Cap - Used to drop the letter to different lines.
7. Text direction - Used to change the direction of drop cap (Note : To use text
direction, drop cap must be used first)
8. Change case - Used to change the case of the text.
9. Toggle – This converts lower case letters to upper case & vice –versa in a word.
10. Back Ground - This is used to change the back ground colour of the document but
the color can be seen only in the web layout.
11. Theme - This is used to change the document, backgrounds with some existing design
background. This shows the background only in the web layout.
12. Style - This is used to change the writing fashion of the document which are already
existing.
13. Frames - Frames are used to write different documents in one single document.

Some important features of Tools menu:

Spelling &Grammar : Used to check the spelling and correct the words with related
word. ( F7)
Thesaurus : Used to know the synonym (meaning) of the word. (Shift +F7)
Mail merge : used to type the letters with the same matter but different
addresses.
MS WORD – working with files:

Creating a New document:

• Click the New Blank document button on the standard tool bar. (or)
• From the Menu bar, choose File  New, the New document task pane will open, and
select Blank document.
Opening Existing documents:
• Click the open button found on the Standard tool bar. (or)
• From the task pane, select getting started and the select more (or)
• From the Menu bar, select File  Open Saving a document:
• Click the Save button on the Tool bar. (or)
• From the Menu bar, select File  Save (or)
• Follow the key sequence Ctrl + S
Save dialog box appears. Type the name and click Save.

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Printing a document :
• Select File  Print (or)
• Click on the Print button on the Standard Tool bar (or)
• Click Ctrl + P
Print dialog box appears. Select All pages (or) Current page (or) type the page
numbers and also select number of copies according to the requirement and click O.K
Closing a document:
• Select File  close
• Click on the small X found on the right top next to the Menu bar and the Title bar.

MS WORD - Editing Text :

Typing and Inserting Text:

To enter text in your document, position the insertion point i.e a vertical blinking line, where
you want the text to appear and type it in.
Word will automatically wrap text as it reaches the end of a line. Press enter to
start a new paragraph. When you reach the end of a page, word will automatically break text
onto the next page. If you want, you can start a new page at any point by inserting a page
break. To do so, press ctrl + Enter.
Word offers two modes for adding text to your documents: Insert mode and
overwrite mode. In Insert mode, characters typed are inserted into the text to the left of the
insertion point, pushing any characters to the right of the insertion point further to the right. In
overtype mode, the text you type will replace the existing text.
Note: The Insert key is a toggle key. This means that the same key can be used to switch back
and forth between two different modes.
Selecting Text:
In order to change the format of the text you just typed, it must be first highlighted, i.e selected
with the mouse cursor.
To highlight the whole text or part of it, locate the mouse at the start of the text you wish to
highlight and click the left button, then drag the mouse over the desired text while keeping the
left mouse button pressed.
Shortcuts used for selecting a portion of the text:
• Whole word : Double click within the word.
• Whole paragraph: Triple click within the paragraph.
• Sentence : ctrl + click in a sentence
• Entire document : Edit  select all ( ctrl + A)

Deleting text:
• Use the BACKSPACE or the DELETE key to delete text.
• BACKSPACE key will delete text to the left of the cursor and DELETE key will erase
text to the right.
• To delete a large section of text, highlight the text using any of the methods outlined
above and press the DELETE key.

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Moving, copying and pasting text:

Cut text:
Highlight the text you need to move and follow one of the methods listed below:

• From the Menu bar, select Edit  cut (or)

• From the standard tool bar, click on the cut button. (or)
• Follow the key sequence Ctrl + X
Copy text:
• From the Menu bar, select Edit  copy (or)
• From the standard toolbar, click the Copy button (or)
• Follow the key sequence Ctrl + C
Paste Text:
To paste previously cut or copied text, move the cursor to the location you want to move the
text to and follow one of the methods listed below:
• From the menu bar, select Edit  Paste (or)
• From the standard Tool bar, click the Paste button (or)
• Follow the key sequence Ctrl + V

*******

Powepoint
Introduction

Microsoft PowerPoint is widely used for making professional quality presentations in a variety of
formats, including on-screen computer slide shows, black-and-white or colour overheads, and
35mm slides. You can also use it for speaker's notes and audience hand-outs.
In addition, PowerPoint can be used as a drawing package for preparing pictures, forms, posters
and leaflets.

Starting Microsoft PowerPoint

To load Microsoft PowerPoint:

1. Click on the Start button again but this time choose All Programs

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2. From the sub-menu choose Microsoft Office 2013 then PowerPoint 2013 – choose
Blank Presentation
You are presented with the screen below, ready to enter information onto your first (title) slide:

3. If necessary, [Maximize] the window to fill the screen

The main part of the screen is divided into two sections. The main section shows the current
slide, while on the left, slide miniatures appear, allowing you to see the current slide in its
context.
In the top left corner of the screen is the Quick Access Toolbar which contains icons to common
commands, eg save and undo. Below this is the Ribbon, with tabs along the top. Each tab has a
set of icons which are used to give instructions to PowerPoint. Currently the HOME tab is
displayed.
At the very bottom of the window, is the Status Bar. This shows various information, eg which
slide you are currently looking at (here you are on slide 1) and the language you’re working in.
On the right-hand side of the Status Bar are icons to change the view of the slides and to zoom in
or out.

Creating a New Presentation

You are going to create a presentation, consisting initially of 6 slides, about the courses offered
by ICT Training. It's best to follow the notes exactly, step by step, though you can use your own
information, if you prefer.
It's important whenever you create a presentation that you give full consideration to your
audience. In particular, don't try to crowd too much information on each slide and make sure that
the text is big enough to be clearly readable (especially for those with poor eyesight or similar
disabilities). Throughout these notes, mention will be made of good practice so far as
accessibility is concerned.

Entering Text onto the First Slide

The first slide has the layout for a Title Slide (usually you start a presentation with a title slide,
though you don't have to). The layout has two boxes with a dotted frame. These boxes are called
placeholders. Those provided here can contain text. You will be meeting other types of
placeholder later. Instructions on using each type of placeholder appear within its frame.

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1. Click on Click to add title to activate the top main title placeholder and type IT
Training
Note that the default font is Calibri (Headings), the size is large (44 pt), and the title is centre-
aligned in the placeholder. Calibri is a sans-serif font; these are recommended for good
accessibility
2. Click on the lower placeholder, Click to add subtitle, and type your own name
If you find the text on the screen a bit small to read then increase the magnification using the
zoom facility in the bottom right-hand corner of the Status Bar. Use the slider or click on the
[Zoom level] (%) button.

Saving a Presentation
It's a good idea to save your work at regular intervals whilst you are working on it rather than
wait until you have finished the last slide. For example, you could save every 15 minutes or after
completing each slide.
1. Click on the [Save] button on the Quick Access Toolbar (or move to the FILE tab and
choose Save) – better still, use <Ctrl s> from the keyboard
2. Save the file in My Documents (click on it)
The File name: has already been set for you (PowerPoint uses the main title you entered on the
first slide - IT Training) - you can change this here if you want. PowerPoint automatically adds a
.pptx extension.
3. Press <Enter> for [Save]
If you wish to save your presentation in the older 2003 format, change Save as type to
PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (*.ppt). This would make it easier for anyone who has an
older version of PowerPoint to open and edit the presentation. Note, however, that if a document
is saved as an earlier version then any new features available in PowerPoint 2010 or 2013 will
not be saved (you are warned what these are).
It’s also worth noting some of the other Save as type options such as .pps or .ppsx for
PowerPoint slideshows; .pdf for a non-editable copy in PDF format; .png, .gif or .jpg for
graphics format; and .xml for web pages.
Adding New Slides
You are now going to add the next slide:
1. Click on the [New Slide] button on the left of the HOME tab in the Slides group (click
on the icon not on the words New Slide) or simply press <Ctrl m>
A new slide appears in a different slide layout from the first called Title and Content. There are
several different slide layouts available (which you can get to if you click on the words New
Slide rather than the icon).

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2. Click in the Title placeholder (where it says Click to add title) and type Introduction
3. Click in the Content placeholder (where it says Click to add text) to activate it
Tip: You can jump between placeholders by pressing <Ctrl Enter> on the keyboard; if on the
last placeholder it creates a new slide.
4. Type in the following details, pressing <Enter> after each bulleted item:
• Different Ways of Learning
• Training Materials
• Training Sessions
• Training Topics

Changing the Look of Your Text on the Slide

Bullets Font Font Colour Change Case Line Spacing

There are a number of ways that you could change the look of your text on this slide. You could,
for example:
• change the bullet point character
• use a different font
• change the font colour
• change the case (upper, lower) of the text
• increase or decrease the line spacing between the bullet points
IMPORTANT: if you wanted to apply all or some of the above changes to every slide in a
presentation, you would need to make the changes on the Master Slide. It’s best to do this before
you start typing your words onto the slides. You will look at Master Slides later.
To make changes to all your text you need to have the placeholder selected:
1. Press <Esc> (in the top left corner of the keyboard) – the placeholder handles are
displayed

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2. On the HOME tab in the Paragraph group, click on the down arrow next to the
[Bullets] button
3. Choose the bullet character required (eg the tick marks or checkmark bullets)
You can also get to further choices after doing step 2 above by choosing Bullets and
Numbering… at the bottom of the list. Here there are [Customize...] and [Picture...] buttons
that allow you to choose nonstandard characters and pictures as bullets. Take care when choosing
non-standard characters as they may result in poor accessibility - it's best to stick to those offered
here, unless you know what you are doing. Note also that the size of the bullet point can be
changed relative to the text, as can its colour.
To use a different font:
4. Click on the down arrow next to [Font] button on the HOME tab, and choose the font
you want
Remember that sans-serif fonts (eg Arial) are best. Next, to change the font colour:
5. Click on the down arrow next to [Font Colour] button in the Font group
6. Click on the square of the colour that you want (or click on More Colors… and select a
colour from there then press <Enter> for [OK])
To change the case of the text, eg turn all the letters to UPPERCASE or to lowercase:
7. Click on the [Change Case] button in the Font group and choose the case required
Finally, to change the line spacing of the bulleted points:
8. Click on the [Line Spacing] button in the Paragraph group on the HOME tab
9. Choose the line spacing required, eg 1.5 for one and a half line spacing
Note: the last item in the list, Line Spacing Options…, gives you access to further settings, eg
to change the spacing before or after a paragraph.
To change the bullet point symbol, font, font colour or case on a particular bullet point, simply
select that line (drag through it or click three times on the mouse button) then carry out the
instructions as above. Note that you can also use the [Format Painter] (the paint brush icon in
the Clipboard group on the left of the Home tab) to copy the format of one list entry to another
(or to the whole list).
You don’t have to have bulleted points at all, if you don’t want them for a particular line. To turn
them off:
10. Click on the line you don’t want bulleted (here, click on the first line in the list)
11. Next, click on the [Bullets] button (click on the icon itself, not the list arrow)
Your bullet point should now have disappeared.
12. End by redisplaying the bullet – press <Ctrl z> for [Undo]

Changing the Layout to Include a Picture

What if you decide that you would like to add a picture to illustrate this slide? The easiest way to
do this, keeping what you've done already, is to choose a slide layout which includes a picture
placeholder.
1. Click on the [Layout] button in the Slides group on the left of the HOME tab

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You have various options as shown below:

2. In the second row, click on [Two Content] – a new placeholder appears on the right
Tip: The advantage of a content layout is that it will automatically resize a picture to fit within it
if the image is too large, saving you the bother of manually resizing large images.

Adding a Picture from the Clip Art Gallery

This new placeholder has content icons (in the centre) as well as the usual bullet points at the
top. These let you add a Table, Chart, SmartArt, Picture, Online Picture or Video respectively. To
insert some Clip Art:
1. Click on [Online Picture] (the second icon in the bottom row) then select Office.com
Clip Art
2. Type computer into the Search for: box at the top of the pane then press <Enter> for
[Go]
3. Double click on the picture you want, to add it to your slide
Your chosen clip art will be inserted, and an extra Picture Tools Format tab is added to the
Ribbon:

The buttons on this tab allow you to change things like the picture's brightness, contrast and
colour (in the Adjust group). The crop tool (in the Size group) lets you cut off unwanted areas by
trimming down the edges of the picture. You can experiment with these options if you like.
Clicking on the slide, away from the clip art, changes back to the Home tab. When you click on
the clip art again, the Picture Tools Format tab reappears.
With the clip selected, you can easily change its size, position or rotate it. To change the size:
4. Point the cursor to one of the white circles or squares (border handles) around the
picture then hold down the mouse button and drag the handle out (to make it bigger) or
in (to make it smaller)
5. To reposition the image, point inside the picture placeholder then hold down the mouse
button and drag it to the required position (or use the <arrow keys> on the keyboard)
6. To rotate the clip, move the pointer over the circle (top centre) then hold down the
mouse button and move the mouse in a circular motion
Tip: To do the above steps more accurately, you can use the [Height] and [Width] buttons in the
Size group and the [Rotate] button in the Arrange group on the Picture Tools Format tab.
It’s easy to change the clip if you decide you prefer another:
7. Click on the clip to select it then press the <Delete> key – the content items reappear 8.
Click on the [Online Picture] icon then choose a new clip as before

Applying a Theme
A theme can make your presentation look more professional. The default theme uses black text
on a white background. This is somewhat boring and simple, but good for accessibility. To see
the different themes:

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1. Move to the DESIGN tab – the ribbon changes to show a number of different themes:

2. Move the mouse pointer over any of the themes – the current slide will display the
chosen theme
3. For more schemes, click on the [More] button at the foot of the scroll bar on the right of
the themes
4. Click on your preferred theme - both slides should now display the new theme
Tip: If you right click on a theme you can choose whether to Apply to All Slides or Apply to
Selected Slides.
Usually, all the slides in a presentation will have the same theme but, if your presentation is split
into different sections, then you could consider using a different theme for each section.
Most of the themes use contrasting text and background colours to maximize accessibility, ie
light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background. This helps to make the text
clearer and easier to read.
Note that some themes contain pictures or patterns that could cause viewing problems for certain
people. You can always apply a different theme later if you decide the current one is unsuitable.
Note also the Variants group to the right of Themes.
5. Move the mouse over the variants to see alternative colour schemes – there’s no need to
choose one 6. Press <Ctrl s>to [Save] your presentation again

Creating Further Slides

Your first two slides should look something like this:

slide 1 slide 2
Create the following slides in the same way (going from left to right, downwards), choosing the
correct layout for each as you proceed:

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slide 3 slide 4

slide 5 slide 6

A few points to note:

• Slide 3 (Different Ways of Learning) is identical to slide 2, apart from the text. You could
duplicate slide 2 and then modify the text on the new slide - right click on the slide
miniature and choose Duplicate Slide
• On slide 4 (Training Topics), a Two Content slide layout is used. In each content box, there
are some subbullet points below the two main ones (ie Microsoft Office and Other
Programs). To create these:
1. Having typed the main list item, press <Enter> to add a new main bullet point
Increase List Level

2. Press <Tab> or click on the [Increase List Level] button to set a sublevel bullet
3. Type in the required text then press <Enter> and type in the next sub-bullet point
• For slide 5 (Training Sessions), a Title and Content layout is used. In the content box, the
[Insert Chart] icon was used to choose a pie chart. The original data in the chart was
changed through the table that appears, and the [Quick Layout] button on the CHART
TOOLS DESIGN tab was used to get percentages

• On slide 6 (Training on Office 2013), a Title and Content layout is used to produce an
organisation chart.

1. In the content box , click on the [Insert SmartArt Graphic] icon

2. Within the Choose a SmartArt Graphic window, click on Hierarchy on the left
3. Select the first Organization Chart layout on the right and click [OK]

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4. Enter the information that you want in the boxes - to add/cut boxes or shapes right click
on them then choose the appropriate option from the shortcut menu (you can also
<Delete> them)
Remember to save the latest version of your presentation - press <Ctrl s>. At this point, it’s also
worth doing a spell check on your presentation – to do this, move to the REVIEW tab and then
click on the [Spelling and Grammar] button on the left.
Guides, Gridlines and Rulers
When creating your slides, the placeholders have largely been left in their default positions.
Often, people move them around slightly, usually to cram extra information onto a slide. This
isn’t good practice – not only do you end up with too much on a slide but the consistency of
layout is lost. If you do need to do this then it’s better to do so on the Master Slide (see later) but
it also helps if you display the Rulers and Guides. To do this:
1. Right click on a slide background and choose Ruler – a ruler appears at the top and left
2. Right click again and this time choose Grid and Guides… - the following dialog box
appears:

3. Turn on Display grid on screen and Display drawing guides on screen – press
<Enter> for [OK]
The guides are the lines which split the slide exactly into quarters, while the default grid is
shown by dotted lines 2cm square. Each dot represents 0.4cm. Objects are lined up with the
grid; to see this:
4. Click on the Title placeholder (Training on Microsoft Office) on slide 6 then press
<Esc>
5. Use the arrow keys to move the placeholder slightly
Note: If you have Snap objects to grid turned on, each key press moves it 0.2cm (a grid setting)
exactly
6. Move the placeholder back to its original position – or use <Ctrl z> to [Undo] the
changes
7. To hide the grid, repeat step 2 then turn off Display grid on screen – press <Enter> for
[OK]
PowerPoint Views

It is possible to view your presentation in a number of different ways. To switch between views:
• Either: Move to the VIEW tab and choose one of the icons in the Presentation Views
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• Or: Use the buttons at the bottom right of the window (just to the left of the Zoom
options) The table below gives a better idea of what the 4 different view buttons give
you:

View On Screen Use To

Shows the slides in miniature and in Edit contents of slides; try out
Normal View full, plus any notes underneath animation effects

Shows a miniature of each slide in Add, delete and move slides;

Slide Sorter the current order rehearse timings

Plays the presentation on screen Practise presentation and have access

Reading View from the current slide to other tasks

Plays the presentation on screen Practise presentation

Slide Show from the current slide
From the View tab on the Ribbon, there is also the following option (instead of Slide Show):
• Notes Page gives a view with more space for speaker's notes under the slide. Here, you
can type up exactly what you plan to say for each slide. The notes can then be printed
out so you have them to consult when giving an actual presentation

Note: The [Reading View] icon here plays the presentation from the very beginning.

Moving through the Slides

There are several ways to move between slides, when preparing a presentation in Normal view:
• Click on the required slide miniature in the left-hand section of the screen
• Use the scroll bar on the right of the main display - drag the indicator up or down (the
current slide details are displayed as you do so)
• Use the double arrow buttons ([Previous Slide] and [Next Slide]) at the foot of the
scroll bar
• Press the <Page Up> or <Page Down> keys
• Use the <up arrow> or <down arrow> keys
Decide which of the above best suits you and then try moving through your current presentation.

Deleting and Hiding Slides

It's easiest to delete slides in Slide Sorter view (though you can also do so in Normal view),
especially if you have a lot of slides to deal with:
1. Click on the [Slide Sorter] button (either on the Status Bar or VIEW tab)
2. Click on the slide to be deleted (eg slide 4, Training Topics) then press the <Delete> key
3. To reinstate the deleted slide (you were just practising), press <Ctrl z> for [Undo]
You might want to temporarily hide a slide – for example, if you are giving the presentation to a
different group of people for whom that slide is not appropriate. You could also have extra
hidden slides which you could add in if you had plenty of time or if someone asked a particular
question during the show. When a slide is hidden it remains within the PowerPoint file, but is
not displayed during the presentation. To hide a slide:

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4. Right click on the slide to be hidden (in Normal View you have to right click on the
slide miniature)
5. From the shortcut menu choose Hide Slide - you’ll find that the number underneath the
slide now has a line through it indicating that it’s hidden
6. To show the slide again, just repeat steps 4 and 5
Tip: To display a hidden slide when running a show, press the <h> key on the keyboard or type
in the slide number and press <Enter>.

Changing the Order of Slides

As with deleting slides, the easiest way to move slides around is within Slide Sorter view:
1. Make sure you are in Slide Sorter view
2. Point to the slide you wish to move then hold down the mouse button and drag the slide
to the new position
3. Release the mouse button when the slide is correctly positioned
Note: In Normal view you can change the order by moving (drag & drop) the slide miniatures up
and down the left panel. In both views, you can also cut/copy and paste slides via the Clipboard.
Creating Notes Pages
In Notes Page view, you can create notes that you can print out and use as a guide during your
presentation. Each printed page contains an image of the corresponding slide and its notes.
1. Select one of your slides then, on the VIEW tab, click on the [Notes Page] icon
2. Click in the notes placeholder below the copy of the slide (where it says Click to
add text) 3. To see what you are typing, click on the [Zoom] icon on the ribbon,
select 100% and click [OK]
4. Type in some notes for the speaker, for example: Remember to say...
5. Close the notes page view by clicking on the [Normal] button (on the Status Bar or
VIEW tab)
6. Press <Ctrl s> to save any changes to your file
Note: You can also add notes in Normal View (where it says Notes on the Status Bar).

Running the Presentation

Once you have made the slides for a presentation, you can run the show. If you use the [Slide
Show] button on the Status Bar then it begins from the currently-selected slide; if you press
<F5> then it starts from the first slide. On the SLIDE SHOW tab you can choose from either
[From Beginning] or [From Current Slide].
Tip: You can also run a presentation from the current slide using the key combination <Shift
F5>.
1. Click on slide 1 to ensure the show starts from the very beginning
2. Click on the [Slide Show] button on the Status Bar (or use <F5>)
3. To move forward one slide, click the left mouse button
Note: <Enter>, <n>, <right arrow>, <down arrow> or the <spacebar> on the keyboard also
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4. To move back one slide, press the <left arrow> key (or <p> or <up arrow>)
You can also click the right mouse button to display a popup menu. This presents you with a
number of useful tools, including:
• Next and Previous to move back/on one slide, respectively
• Last Viewed - useful if you have jumped to another slide (out of sequence)
• See All Slides – you can use this to jump to another slide in the presentation
Note: you can also jump to a particular slide by typing in its number and pressing
<Enter>
• Zoom In – lets you select and magnify part of a slide – use <n> to move directly on to
the next slide
• Screen - gives you control over the display
• Black Screen or White Screen temporarily suspends the presentation (press any key to
show it)
Note: you can also activate these by pressing <b> or <w> on the keyboard while running a
show
• Show Taskbar displays the Windows Task Bar if you want to jump to another
application  Pointer Options - annotation pens for scribbling over your presentation
• Choose Laser Pointer or Pen (which can be used to draw on the slide) or Highlighter to
highlight text. To activate the pen while running a show press <Ctrl p>; <Ctrl a> redisplays the
pointer
• Choose Ink Color to change the colour of the pen
• Use Eraser or Erase All Ink on Slide to remove any pen marks you may have drawn
• Use Arrow Options and Automatic to set your pen back to a pointer; Hidden hides the
pointer Note: pressing <Ctrl a> while running a presentation hides/shows the pointer 
Help gives information about other key combinations you can use during the show 
End Show and Pause- use this if you need to finish early or it's been a disaster!
Note: to leave the slide show at any time, press the <Esc> key
After the last slide, PowerPoint displays a black End of slide show screen. If you have added ink
annotations to your slides you are asked if you want to keep them (the original slides will be
changed if you do); you are then returned to the previous view.

Animating your Presentation

Presentations are greatly improved by adding animation. PowerPoint gives you a wide selection
of built-in animations, both when moving between one slide and the next and within each slide
(as you introduce points in a list, for example).

Slide Transitions
Instead of simply moving abruptly from one slide to another during a presentation, slide
transitions allow slides to dissolve into each other, using a variety of different special effects.
These can make your on-screen presentation look even better and more professional, but don't
get too carried away! 1. Check you are in Normal view and that the first slide is selected 2.
Move to the TRANSITIONS tab to see the following ribbon:

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Dominating the ribbon is the Transition to This Slide group. As you click on an icon, you’ll see
the transition effect on the slide (there is also a More arrow that will show you all the different
transition effects in one window). The [Effect Options] button lets you change the direction of
the effect. Timing (the group to the right) lets you change the speed of the transition effects.
3. Choose one of the transition effects for the first slide (the [More] button shows all the
effects)
Note that a small star symbol appears to the left of the first slide miniature - this indicates that a
transition has been setup on this slide. Next, explore the options available:
4. Click on [Effect Options] and change the direction of the effect
5. Increase the Duration: of the transition to slow it down and see the effect more clearly.
You can also set up a Sound: but note that the speakers have been disabled on the ITS Lab PCs.
Another useful feature moves on a slide automatically (without you having to click the mouse
button):
6. Under Advance Slide, set the next slide to appear After: a set number of seconds
7. Move to the next slide and repeat steps 3 to 6, choosing different effects
8. Finally save your presentation (press <Ctrl s>) then run it (<F5>) to see the effects -
press <Esc> when you've seen enough
Having different transition effects between slides may add interest but it isn’t good practice. It
distracts from the talk and isn’t good for accessibility. It’s best to stick to one transition
throughout (and only use a different one for effect, if you need to). To standardise the transition:
9. Remove the current effects by choosing [None] (the first in the list) then click on
[Apply to All]
10. Next, choose your preferred transition (repeat steps 3 to 6) then click on [Apply to All]
11. Finally, press <F5> to see the effects

Animation Schemes
PowerPoint allows information on your slides to appear one item at a time. This stops your
audience from reading ahead of you, making them concentrate on each point individually. Try
the following to animate a set of bullet points:

1. Move to the ANIMATIONS tab then click on a slide with a bulleted list on it (eg slide
2)
2. Click on the bullet points then move the mouse over the Animations icons and watch the
effects
3. Click on the [More] button at the foot of the Animations scroll bar to see more
animations:

Try setting up various animations for your slides:

4. From the list of animations choose one of them, eg Fade

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5. Click on [Effect Options] (if active) and see what is available

6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for another slide with bullet points, choosing a different animation
Tip: As with slide transition, it isn't a good idea to use too many different animations as they can
distract the viewer. Always bear accessibility in mind and avoid some of the more 'exciting'
animations.
To see what you can do with advanced animation:
7. Click on the slide title on one of the slides that you’ve already animated
8. Next, click on the [Animation Pane] button in the Advanced Animation group to
display the task pane

Currently, the title (and picture) isn’t animated. To add animation:

9. Click on the [Add Animation] button and choose an Entrance animation
10. Click the <▲> button (or on [Move Earlier] in the Timing group) to animate it before
the list
11. Select the title again and this time [Add Animation] choosing an Emphasis animation
12. Repeat step 10 to move it to second in the list
13. Click the [Play From] or [Preview] button to view your changes
14. Next, try animating the picture, displaying it after the title animations
15. Finally, save your presentation (press <Ctrl s>) then run it from the first slide (press
<F5>)
Tip: You can also set up Exit effects and Motion Paths - for example, when the slide is finished,
you can get the picture to exit along a particular motion path. This is all done via the [Add
Animation] button (as above).
16. End by closing the Animation Pane (click on the button or on the [x] at its top right)
For further information about animating text or objects, look at the following advanced
documents:

More Advanced Features

Adding a Header/Footer, Date or Slide Number

You can add the following further information to the top/bottom of each slide:
• the header/footer is often used to show your name, the presentation title or
copyright information
• the date can show either the date the presentation was last saved or the current
date  the slide number
To add information at the top/bottom of your slides:
1. Move to the INSERT tab on the Ribbon then, in the Text group, click on [Header &
Footer]

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2. Turn on the Date and time option - Update automatically will refresh the date to
show today’s date whenever you open the presentation and also allows you to choose
from a range of display formats
3. To add slide numbers, turn on Slide number
4. To add footer text, turn on Footer and type your text (eg IT Training)
5. You probably won’t want any of this to appear on your Title Slide so turn on Don't
show on title slide
6. To add this information to all of the slides, click on [Apply to All]
You should find that all of your slides, apart from the first Title Slide, now have some
information at the top or bottom. If you want to remove this information from certain slides:
7. Select these slides (use <Ctrl click> to select more than 1 slide)
8. Move to the INSERT tab then click on [Header & Footer] in the Text group
9. Clear the check boxes for information you don't want shown then click on [Apply]
If you want to change the look of your information at the top/bottom of all the slides, eg font or
colour, or you want to move it to a different position on the slide, then you have to make the
changes on the Slide Master.
Master Slides
Master slides are very important as they control the layout of your whole presentation. They
allow you to create your own slide template which is applied to every slide. This is useful if you
want to put your own logo, picture or even just your name in the same place on each slide.
1. Move to the VIEW tab then click on the [Slide Master] icon in the Master Views group –
a window similar to that below appears:

A Slide Master tab is displayed on the Ribbon indicating that you are in the Slide Master view.
2. Click on the first (top) slide miniature on the left
This is the Slide Master which is used by all the slides – any changes you make here are applied
to the whole presentation. The slide miniatures below are all the usual slide layouts that are
available, some of which are being used by certain slides. To make changes just to a specific
layout, you make them on that custom layout.
To change the look of all the information at the top/bottom of each slide:

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3. Select the footer placeholders using the mouse to draw a selection rectangle over the
placeholders – hold down the mouse button and drag over them (the rectangle must
enclose the placeholders)
4. Move to the HOME tab and use buttons in the Font group to change the format, eg font
size
5. To change any placeholder's position, click on the edge (or, more easily, click on it then
press <Esc>) and use the <arrow_keys> to move it to its new position
6. To see the changes to all the slides, move to the SLIDE MASTER tab and [Close
Master View]
7. Save your presentation - press <Ctrl s>
Other things which you may wish to set up on the master slide (or a custom layout) include:
• Adding a picture or image - to change the background colour see Changing the Theme
below
• The default font and font sizes for the text and title styles
• The bullet point characters for the five bulleted list levels
Tip: University staff can download the latest Reading Document Templates, which include those
for
Changing the Theme
Themes, like slide masters, play an important role in PowerPoint and should
always be used when developing more advanced presentations. Within a theme,
you can change the colours, fonts and effects that are used.
Each colour theme is a palette of 8 colours which are used for particular
elements in your presentation - eg the background, text and hyperlinks. Rather
than change a colour for particular elements on each slide or on the Master
Slides, you should reset it in the colour theme - it is then applied to all your
slides and Masters automatically.
PowerPoint has several pre-defined colour themes, which are specifically
designed to give a palette of colours which work together to give clear and
interesting presentations. You will find that different themes have different pre-
defined colour themes:
1. Move to the DESIGN tab – the ribbon changes to show a number of
different themes
2. To the right of the themes is the Variants group – move the mouse over
the various colour themes to see a preview of them
3. To create your own colour theme, click on the [More] button on the
right of the Variants group then on Colors followed by Customize
Colors...– the Create New Theme Colors window appears:

This details the different elements and the colour used for each, as shown in the Sample on the
right. There are two pairs of text/background colours – for example, Dark 1 text appears on a
Light 2 background.
4. Click on the arrow next to the Dark 2 Text/Background to modify it – note the change
to the Sample
Take care when changing the colours not to reduce accessibility. Normally, you would reset all
the colours in the theme as required then give your theme a Name: so you can use it on other
presentations. Here:

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5. Click on [Reset] to reverse the change to the dark background

6. Finally, click on [Cancel] to return to your presentation with your original colour theme
In the Background group on the right of the DESIGN tab is a [Format Background] button –
this can be used to choose a different slide background and one can fine tune the background or
set it to a picture
Rehearsing Timings
It's a good idea to rehearse your presentation before actually giving it in public to an audience.
PowerPoint even lets you set up specific timings for each slide or section of a slide (eg for each
bullet point) so that the presentation runs automatically. This is especially useful if you want the
show to run unattended (eg at an Open Day). To see how this works:
1. Move to the SLIDE SHOW tab and click on [Rehearse Timings] in the Set Up group
The first slide appears as normal but a Rehearsal toolbar is displayed in the top left-hand corner
of the screen. A clock is already running! In fact there are two clocks - the one on the left shows
the time for the slide, the other the total time for all the slides.
2. When you are ready, move onto the next slide as usual - if the timing is wrong and you
want to start the clock for that slide again, click on [Repeat] (the button between the
two clocks)
3. Repeat step 2 for each slide
4. At the end of the presentation you are asked if you want to save the timings - click on
[Yes]
5. Click on the [Slide Sorter] button - the timings for each slide are shown beneath them.
6. Press <F5> to run the presentation again (to see how it looks with timings - you don’t
do anything) Note that you can always override the timings by clicking the mouse
button or pressing <Enter> as usual.
If you decide that you don’t want to use the timings then you can easily disable them:
7. Untick the box to the left of [Use Timings] in the Set Up group on the SLIDE SHOW
tab.
Note: To remove timings from a particular slide (eg Slide 1), make sure the slide is selected then
move to the TRANSITIONS tab and untick [After] on the right of the Ribbon in the Timing
group.
Further options connected with setting up a slide show are available from the [Set Up Slide
Show] icon on the SLIDE SHOW tab. These include setting up a presentation to loop
continuously and options for multiple monitors if you have more than one monitor/screen
available.

Closing the Presentation

You have now finished your introduction to PowerPoint.

1. Save the latest version of your PowerPoint presentation by pressing <Ctrl s>
2. To close PowerPoint, click on the red [Close] button
Tip: A quick way to close any Office application is to press <Alt F4>; <Ctrl F4> can be used to
close a file.

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MS -EXCEL

Spreadsheet is a software that helps to substitute the paper worksheets in the offices.
Spreadsheet displays data in the form of rows and columns. An intersection of row and column
is known as a cell.
MS-Excel is a window based spreadsheet developed by Microsoft corporation. It includes all
features of a spreadsheet package like recalculation, graphs & functions. It also provides many
Mathematical, Financial & Statistical functions. Thus it is used in many scientific and
engineering environments for analyzing data. Excel can even hold graphic objects like pictures
& images.
Some important features of MS-Excel:
1. Window based application: Excel like all other applications has Toolbars, Shortcut
Menus, Auto correct, Online help and Wizards.
2. Workbooks: Workbooks are the files in which worksheets related to a project are held.
3. OLE support: Object linking and Embedding is a feature through which Excel can
contain any object like a document, a picture etc.
4. Maintaining high volume of data: Excel can contain large volume of data. A
worksheet can contain 65536 rows and 256 columns. A single cell can contain a
maximum of 255 characters.
One workbook can contain a maximum of 256 worksheets.
5. Availability of functions: Several Mathematical, financial & statistical functions are
available in an Excel package.
6. Availability of Charts & Graphs: MS-Excel allows users to view data entered as
tables in a graphical form as charts, which helps the user to easily understand, analyze
data & compare data.
7. Data Analysis Tools: MS-Excel provides a set of data analysis tools called Analysis
Tool pack.
8. Sorting capability: Excel has the capability of sorting any data in Ascending or
Descending order.
9. Auto fill feature: Excel has the feature which allows to fill cells with repetitive data
such as chronological dates or numbers and repeated text.

Getting started with Excel:

An Excel document is called a workbook. By default, Excel workbook contains 3
worksheets designated as sheet 1, sheet 2, sheet 3. The extension name of excel
workbook is .xls We can start excel in many ways:
1. Start  Programs  Microsoft office  Microsoft Excel  hit enter.
2. Start  Run  Type Excel  hit enter
3. Double click on the Microsoft application Icon.

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Components of the Excel window:

An Excel window has several unique elements identified in the figure below:

• Rows, columns & cell: In a worksheet rows are numbered from top to bottom. The
columns are labeled with letters from left to right. Rows are numbered from 1 to 65,536
and columns labeled from A to IV (256 columns).
• Title bar: The title bar contains the name of the program Microsoft Excel and the
default name of the workbook Book1 that would change as soon as you save your file
and give another name.
• Menu bar : The Menu bar contains menus that include all the commands you need to
use to work your way through Excel such as File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools,
Data, Window and Help.
• Tool Bar: Tool Bars are usually shortcuts for menu items. Standard and formatting
toolbars are displayed by default.
• Active cell: The cell in which you are currently working.
• Formula bar: displays the contents of the active cell.
• Name box: displays the cell address of the active cell. Column letter followed by the
row number. Ex: B6
• Worksheet area: The middle portion of screen which occupies a major area is called
worksheet area. In this area, information or data (i.e.) either textual or numerical can
be entered and the results can be displayed. A worksheet is a large work area of 65,536
rows and 256 columns.
• Status bar: located at the very bottom of the screen displays brief information about
activating features within the worksheet area.
• Sheet tabs: appear above the status bar displaying the names of the worksheets.

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Standard Toolbar

The Standard toolbar, located beneath the menu bar, has buttons for commonly performed tasks
like adding a column of numbers, printing, sorting, and other operations. Excel let's you
customize the toolbar or even display multiple toolbars at the same time. The Standard Excel
XP toolbar appears in the figure below.

Formatting toolbar

The Formatting toolbar, located beneath the Standard toolbar bar, has buttons for various
formatting operations like changing text size or style, formatting numbers and placing borders
around cells.

Formula bar & Name box

The formula bar is located beneath the toolbar at the top of the Excel worksheet. Use the
formula bar to enter and edit worksheet data. The contents of the active cell always appear in
the formula bar. When you click the mouse in the formula bar, an X and a check mark appear.
You can click the check icon to confirm and completes editing, or the X to abandon editing.

Name box
The Name box displays the reference of the selected cells in the form of column label followed
by row number.
Creating a New Workbook:
The steps to create a new workbook are,
1. On the File menu, click New.
The new workbook task pane appears at the right side of the screen. Click blank
workbook. A new workbook with 3 worksheets appears. By default, the workbook is
named as Book 1, and sheet 1 is the active worksheet & A1 is the active cell.
Entering data:

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You can enter text, numbers and dates in an Excel worksheet.

To enter data of any type,
1. Select the cell by clicking on it.
2. Type in the information.
3. Press the Enter key.
When you begin typing, your data also appears in the formula bar.
Editing text:
The easiest way to edit the contents of a cell is to select the cell and then retype the entry.
The new entry replaces the old contents.
Alternatively, to edit the data in a cell, press F2.
Ex: Suppose you find that in the cell A6, you have entered the marks as 78 instead of 87,
then click on A6 and type 87 enter

You can also edit part of the data in a cell:

1. Double click the cell you want to edit. The insertion point appears within the cell.
2. Delete the part of the data that you do not wish to keep.
3. Retype the data & press enter.
Formatting a worksheet:
Changing the style or appearance of data in a worksheet is called formatting. You can
format the data in a worksheet by:
• Changing the position of data in a cell
• Changing the font, size, style & colour.
Aligning data:
By default, any text you enter in Excel is aligned to the left and any value or number is
aligned to the Right. To change the default alignment, you can use the alignment buttons
on the formatting tool bar.

Formatting Numbers:
Formatting data in a worksheet includes changing the number of decimal places, displaying
dates, times & fractions and adding currency symbols.
To format the number in a cell, the steps are: Format/Cell/N/umber/Decimal places/2

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Formatting Text: Text can be formatted using the buttons on the formatting toolbar. Font of a
cell, font size can be changed. The font style can also be changed to bold, Italic etc.
Inserting Rows & Columns:
In Excel, rows & columns can be inserted or deleted without affecting the surrounding rows,
columns & cells.
To insert a row,
1. Rest the mouse pointer over the row above which you want to insert the new row.
2. On the Insert menu, click rows.
A row is inserted and the existing row moves down after the new row.
Similarly, to insert a column,
1. Rest the mouse pointer over the column before which you want to insert the new
Column.
2. On the Insert menu, click columns.
Changing Row height & Column width:
By default, every row is 12.75 points high and every column is 8.43 characters wide. As you
fill it with data, however you have to change the size of rows & columns so that it is fitted to
the length of the data.
To Resize a column:
1. Rest the mouse pointer on the column boundary on the right side.
2. The shape of the mouse pointer changes to
3. Drag the boundary until the required width is obtained.
(OR)
1. The column which is to be adjusted is made active by clicking on column letter.
2. The column option is selected from the Format menu.
3. Click on the width option. A dialogue box is displayed.
4. Type in the required size of the column in the text box column width.
Similarly, Row height can also be adjusted by selecting the rows.
Sorting: Highlight the cells that should be sorted and click the sort Ascending (A-Z) button or
Sort Descending (Z-A) button found on the Standard toolbar.
Printing: To print the worksheet, select File  Print from the Menu bar (or) click on the
Print button from the Standard Toolbar (or) follow the key sequence Ctrl + p
Inserting Page breaks: To set the page breaks within the worksheet, select the row you want to
appear just below the page break by clicking the row‘s label. Then choose Insert  page
break from the Menu bar.
When you attempt to print a worksheet Excel automatically inserts page breaks view.

File menu  page break preview

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The page breaks are shown in dasher lines. If the automatic allocation of page breaks does
not satisfy with your requirements, you can add the page breaks in the required space.
Step 1: select a cell above which the page break is needed. After that, select the full row until
the data in the sheet exists.
Step 2: select insert  page break
Saving a workbook:
To save a workbook,
• File  Save (or)
• Ctrl +S (or)
• click on the save button on the Tool bar.
Save dialogue box appears. Type the name and click Save.

Formulas:
In Excel. One of the powerful features is formulas. A formula is an equation that is used to
perform calculations on data in a worksheet. We can use formula to perform Mathematical,
Statistical & date/time operations on a single value or a set of values by using operators.
The cells in which formulas are stored, display the result of the calculation and not the
formula. In Excel, a formula starts with an equal (=) sign and should be followed by the
operation to be performed. We can use any number of operators in a single formula. MS-
Excel evaluates the formula according to the order of precedence of the operators.

Operator Operation Order of precedence

( ) Bracket 1
^ Exponentiation 2
*, / Multiplication , Division 3
+ / - Addition, Subtraction 4
& Concatenation 5
= / > /< Comparisons 6
Functions :
A function is a built-in, readymade and frequently used formula that accepts data, perform
calculations & returns results.
To enter a function in a cell,

i) Click the cell in which you want the

result of the function to be displayed.
ii) Type ―=‖ sign. iii) Type the
function name. iv) Type the cell range &
other arguments within brackets.
v) Press Enter.
Note : To specify a range of cells, a colon (:) is used between the first & last cell addresses.

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Example: =Average(B1: B10)

Calculates the average of the values in the cells B1 to B10
Mathematical functions with syntax and purpose:
i) Sum( number1, number2,…) – gives the sum of the values in a
specified range ii) Abs( number) - gives the absolute
value of the number iii) Fact( number) - gives the
factorial of the number iv) Sqrt(number) - gives the
square root of the number
v) Log(number) - gives the logarithm of the number
Statistical functions with syntax and purpose:
i) Average( range of cells) - calculates the average of the values in a
specified range ii) Stdev(range of cells) - calculates the standard
deviation of the given data iii) Mean( range of cells) - calculates the
mean of the given data
iv) Max( range of cells) - gives the maximum value within the range specified
v) count( ) - counts how many numbers are there in the list of
arguments Function Wizard :
The Function Wizard is a tool in Excel through which a user can enter formulas in the correct
format without any errors. It contains all the functions according to the type such as
Mathematical, Statistical, Date/time, Financial etc.

Steps to use the function Wizard:

1. The cell in which the function is to be inserted, is selected.
2. Select the function option from the Insert menu. The Function Wizard screen is
displayed. It lists all the functions available.
3. The function needed is selected. Click O.K
4. A dialogue box is displayed in which arguments are accepted.
5. Enter the arguments. The selected cell on the worksheet will automatically contain the
formula.

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6. Click O.K. The result is shown in the selected cell.

Creating Charts :
Charts in Excel are used to represent data pictorially. We can use different types of charts to
represent data.
Types of charts which are available in Excel:
1. Column charts
2. Bar charts
3. Line
4. pie
5. XY (scatter)
6. Area
7. Doughnut
8. Radar
9. Surface
10. Bubble
11. Stock
12. Cylinder, Cone & Pyramid Creating a Chart :
Step i) Enter the data in a table.
ii) Open the Insert Menu and
select Chart
iii) In the Chart Wizard – Step 1 of 4, select the type of chart you want to make and
click Next iv) In the step 2 of 4, enter chart source data and click Next vi) In the
step 3 of 4, enter the chart options like label of the chart and click Next
vii) In the step 4 of 4, give the chart location where you want the chart to be located
and press Finish.

Column Chart: Column charts are one of the most common types of graphs used to display
data.
A column chart represents data in the form of a series of vertical bars. Each bar represents a
value.
For example, to draw a column chart for the production of different crops in a region:

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S.No. A B
crop Production(tons)

1 Paddy 53
2 Wheat 24
3 Maize 18
4 Groundnut 82

To construct a bar chart for the above data:

Step i) Enter the data in a table.
ii) Open the Insert Menu and
select Chart
iii) In the Chart Wizard – Step 1 of 4, select Column chart and
click Next iv) In the step 2 of 4, enter chart source data
v) In the step 3 of 4, enter the chart options like label of the chart
vi) In the step 4 of 4, give the chart location where you want the chart to be located and
press
Finish.

production of crops

90
production(tonns

80
70
60
50
Series1
40
30
)

20
10
0
paddy wheat maize groundnut
type of crop

Pie Chart:

A Pie chart is used to represent the distribution of a categorical data. In this chart, a circle
is divided into sectors, whose area are proportional to the frequencies or percentages of cases
under various categories.
Data on each variable is entered in the Excel worksheet in a row or column with suitable
headings. Then we select the data of the first series and choose pie chart and proceed as per the
options given in the dialogue box. A separate chart pie chart should be drawn for each data set.

For example, to draw a pie chart for the production of different crops in a region:

S.No. A B
crop Production(tons)

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1 Paddy 53
2 Wheat 24
3 Maize 18
4 Groundnut 82

production of crops

30 %
paddy
46 % w heat
maize
groundnut
14 %
10 %

*******

Introduction to publisher

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Class learning objectives

By the end of class students should be able to perform the following tasks:

1. Publisher Basics
• Useful Definitions
• Open Publisher • Create New Publications
2. Projects:
• Create a Calendar
3. Save Your Publication
4. Print Your Publication
5. Create Other Publications (if time allows)
• Create a Business Card
• Create a Greeting Card
6. Use Publisher’s Help
7. Further Reading and Learning

Publisher Basics

Microsoft Publisher 2007 is a desktop publishing program that can be used to create a
variety of publications. Using Publisher, you can easily create business cards, greeting
cards, calendars, newsletters and much, much more.
Unlike the other programs in Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Publisher 2007 uses the
Microsoft Office Toolbar and a Menu system in place of the Microsoft Office Ribbon.
Some Useful Definitions:

Frame – Most publications are divided into several different areas called frames.
A frame can contain a variety of objects such as graphics, tables, or text boxes.
Frames can be resized, moved and manipulated to suit your needs.

Handles – When you click on a frame, small circles appear around the edge of the
frame. These are called handles. You can click and drag on the handles to resize
your frame.

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Picture Frame

Text Frame
Handles

Template ‐ A Template is a tool used in Publisher to help you easily create basic
publications. The template has a set of pre‐chosen design styles that you can use
as it is or customize as you see fit.

Opening Publisher
To Open Publisher either:
Double click on the Microsoft Publisher Icon on your desktop, OR
‐OR
Click on Start in the lower left hand corner of your desktop, move up to
Programs, and then click on Microsoft Publisher

Creating New Publications with Publisher 2007 design templates.

When you first open Publisher, Publisher offers you a number of different publication
types to start with.

Click on one of the publication types in the main window or in the list on the left side of
the main window to view a list of templates that will walk you through the process of
making basic design choices for your publication. These choices include color schemes,
font styles, and more.

Creating a Calendar
To Create a Calendar:
1. Open Microsoft Publisher by double clicking the icon on the desktop or finding it
under the start menu.
2. Click on Calendars from the main window or the list on the left. A selection of
predesigned templates appears for you to choose from.
3. Click on one of the pre‐designed templates that you like. It will appear at the top of
the area on the right side of the page.

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4. You can either stick with the default design choices that are part of the template, or
you can customize them by clicking the downward pointing arrow to the right of a
design section and choosing any of the options provided by clicking on it.
5. Click on the Set Calendar Dates button and choose the period of time that you would
like your calendar to cover.
6. Click on Create at the bottom to create your calendar.

Now that you have made your basic calendar selections, it is time to further customize the
publication.

Customizing a Publication

Working with Frames

Each publication is composed of different frames, such as text frames, picture frames,
table frames, and shape/object frames. Click on different areas of the calendar to identify
the different frames. Handles, little circles on the corners and sides of the frame will
appear. The handles help show which frame you have selected. They are also used in
resizing frames.

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Moving Frames To move a picture frame,

1. Click on the picture.
2. When your cursor turns into a four directional arrow, click and drag the picture
frame to the desired location.

Resizing Frames
To resize a picture frame,
1. Click on the picture.
2. Rest your cursor on a corner handle. When your cursor turns into a diagonal line with arrows on
the ends, click and drag inwards at a diagonal to make it smaller or outwards at a diagonal to make
it larger. Using corner handles to resize pictures allows you to keep the picture’s proportions.
Deleting Frames
To move a text frame,
1. Click on the text frame.
2. Rest your cursor near the border of the text frame. When your cursor turns into a four directional
arrow, click and drag the text frame to the desired location.

To resize a text frame,

1. Click on the text frame.
2. Rest your cursor on one of the handles. When your cursor turns into a line with arrows on the ends,
click and drag inwards or outwards to resize the text area.

Resizing Arrows
1. Right click on the frame that you would like to delete.
2. Select Delete Object from the list of choices. Formatting Text
1. Click in a text frame.
2. Begin typing.
3. Click and drag over the text you typed to select it for formatting changes.
4. Use the Formatting Toolbar or click on Format  Font to make changes to the

Bold Italic Underlined Line Color

Align
Font Type Font Size Left | Center | Right | Justified Fill Color Font Color text’s appearance.

Undoing Changes
Creating a publication often involves trial and error. Unlike many of Microsoft Office’s other
applications, in Publisher you cannot preview what a change is going to look like until you apply it.
To undo actions, click on the undo button on the standard toolbar or click on Undo in the

Edit Menu.

Inserting Additional Text Frames

1. Click on Text box from the Insert Menu
2. Click and drag over an area of the publication.
3. Type the text you want to appear.

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Inserting Clip Art

If you want to change the picture in an existing picture frame,
1. Right click on the picture and select Delete Object.
2. Click on Insert  Picture  Clip Art.
3. A Clip Art search interface will open in the task pane.
4. Enter a search term and press Go.
5. You can choose to limit the search to a particular collection or a particular media type.
6. Once you discover the desired clip art, click on it to insert it.
Notice that the clip art has a drop down arrow next to it. If you click on the drop down arrow
other options present themselves. You can click on Find Similar Style for clip art of similar
design. You can click on Preview/Properties to view the original size of the clip art and what
keywords were used to classify the picture. Search Box

Search Limiter

Drop down
menu options

Saving Your Publication

There are two basic ways to save your publication
Point and click on the save icon on your toolbar, or

‐OR
1. Click on the File Menu and Save As.
2. When the Save As Dialogue Box appears Click Browse and find the location on your
computer where you would like the file saved.
3. Type the name of your publication in the File Name field.
4. Click on the Save button

Printing Your Publication

There are two basic ways to print your publication:
Click on the print icon on your toolbar . This will print one copy of your publication with

the default print options.

‐OR
1. Click on the File Menu and click Print.
2. When the print window appears, select the desired number of copies and choose any
other printing options you want.
3. Click OK.
1

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Creating a Business Card

1. Open Microsoft Publisher by double clicking the icon on the desktop or finding it under the
start menu.
2. Click on Publications for Print then Business Cards, and finally Accent Box Business Card.
3. In the personal information form that opens, enter your own
contact information and click on OK. (If you accidentally close your
personal information and you want to edit it further, click on the Edit
Menu and Personal Information to retrieve the form.)
4. In the task pane on the left side of the window, you are given
different options you can adjust. As you click on the different
steps at the top of the task pane, the options change on the lower part
of the task pane.
5. Click on Business Card Options.
a. Choose to Include a logo.
b. Choose the traditional Landscape
orientation
c. Choose to have Multiple copies per sheet
6. Click on Publication Designs.
a. Leave the selected Accent Box.
b. Click on Color Schemes and select the desired color scheme.
7. Click on Font Schemes and select the desired font scheme.

Now that you have completed the Business Card Wizard, you can customize the business card.
Change the format or insert additional clip art, if you wish.

To adjust the logo,

• Double click on the picture portion and use the clip art gallery to find a different picture.
• Click in the text portion and type your organization’s name.

Creating a Personalized Greeting Card

1. Open Publisher by double clicking the icon on the desktop or finding it under the start
menu.
2. Click on Publications for Print  Greeting Cards  Birthday  Birthday Card 72
3. Click on Greeting Card Options
a. Select Greetings Bar.
b. Select Full Verse
c. Click on Select a suggested verse. A
dialog box will open click on a verse on the
left side and on the right side it will show
you the front message and the inside
message. Select the verse you would like to
use and click on OK.
i. 4. Click
on Page Options
a. Choose the Quarter page side fold
option.
6. Click on Card Gallery
a. Leave Birthday 72 selected.
2

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7. Click on Color Schemes

a. Select the desired color scheme.
8. Click on Font Schemes
a. Select the desired font scheme.

Now that you have completed the Greeting Card Wizard, you can customize the greeting card.

At the bottom of the screen are sheets with numbers on them (1, 2, 3, 4). Click on 1 to see the front
of the card. Click on 2 or 3 to see the inside of the card. Click on 4 to see the back of the card.

The Help Menu

Accessing Microsoft Word’s Help Feature

If you have a question about Word that you need answered right away, you might want to consult
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007’s built in help feature. You can access this feature in PowerPoint by
pressing the F1 key on your computer keyboard. From there you can click on a help topic or search
for one using PowerPoint’s help search box located near the top of the PowerPoint Help window.

Help Help
Search Topics
Box

MS-ACCESS

The Database is an organized collection of data related to a particular topic or purpose. The database
serves as a base from which a desired information can be retrieved, many meaningful conclusions can be drawn.
A database stored electronically has distinct advantages over a manually organized system. A database can be
maintained in a computer by using a database management system(DBMS).
DBMS is an application that enables to maintain data in a database. Maintaining data involves storing,
organizing and retrieving data.

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MS-Access is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that is used to store and manipulate
large amount of information. The extension name of Ms-Access file is .mdb.
To start MS-Access:
1. Start Programs MS office  Ms-Access  Enter
2. Start  Run Ms-Access Enter
An Access Database consists of 7 different Database objects.
1. Tables : Store database data in Rows (records) and columns (fields). Every row represents a Record.
Each piece of information in a record is called a Field.
Ex: A table can contain personal information about all the students in a college.
Every row containing information about a student represents a record. The records in the student table
can include fields such as Admission number, Student name, Address, Phone number etc.
2. Queries : used to retrieve information from a database based on specific conditions.
Ex: A Query can be used to extract details about students studying in a particular class.
3. Forms : used as interfaces for users to enter, view and modify data in a Table.
4. Reports : used to present data from tables or Queries in a format of our choice. i.e the printable form of
the table or query or form. We cannot make changes to the data in a report. We can format the data in a
report.
5. Pages : display shortcuts to data access pages in the database. A data access page displays data stored in a
database over the internet.
6. Macros : used to automate frequently performed tasks.
Ex: we can create a macro to print a report automatically.
7. Modules : used to perform advanced database operations, such as validating data against complex
conditions.
Creating a Database :
A Database can be created by using the database Wizard or by using the Blank Database
command.
• The database Wizard is used to create tables, forms, queries and reports by following a series of steps
provided by the wizard.
• The Blank Database command is used to create a blank database. All database objects should be created
manually.
Click on File menu  New  Enter
A window appears  give a name to the database

Creating a Table :
1. Open the database in which the table is to be created.

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The database window appears.

2. under objects, click Tables and then click New on the database window toolbar.
The New Table dialog box appears.
Commands in the New Table dialog box
Command Purpose
Create table by Used to create a table by entering values directly in a row and column format
entering data

Design view Used to assign fields for the new table and modify field properties
Table wizard Used to create a table through a guided sequence of steps
I. Create Table by entering data:
• Click on Table (object) in the main switch board.
• Click on create table on Datasheet view  now a window appears  here we find fields ( field1,
field2,……)
• Give the field names ( Name, roll no., marks etc)
• Click on close button of the table and save the table with some name
• To enter details into the table, click on table in the main switch board and double click on the
table name.
• Enter the details

Working with Database Fields :

Microsoft Access database fields are created by entering a field name and a field data type in each row of the field
entry area of the database table window.

Data types in MS-Access :

The following list summarizes all the field data types available in MS- Access, their uses and their storage sizes.
• Text : used for text or combinations of text and numbers, such as addresses or for numbers that
do not require calculations, such as phone numbers, or postal codes.
Stores up to 255 characters.

• Memo : Used for lengthy text and numbers, such as notes or descriptions. Stores upto 64,000
characters.
• Number : used for data to be included in Mathematical calculations, except calculations
involving money. Stores 1,2,4 or 8 bytes.
• Date / Time : used for dates and times. Stores 8 bytes.
• Currency : used for currency values and to prevent rounding off during calculations. Stores 8
bytes.
• Auto Number : used for unique sequential or random numbers that are automatically inserted
when a record is added.
• Yes /No : used for data that can be only one of two possible values, such as yes/ No, True/False,
On/Off.
• OLE object : used for OLE objects like pictures, graphs and other binary data. Stores up to 1
GB.
II. Create a table in Design view:
1. click on table (object) in the main switch board.
2. Here click on ― create table in design view‖ Now a window appears  here type the field names and
their data types respectively.
Ex:
Field name Data types
Roll No Auto Number
Name Text
Marks Number
3. click on the close button of the table and save it with some name
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4. To enter data into the table, double click on the table created.
5. Now enter the details.
Primary & Foreign keys:
Data should be checked for redundancy before it is stored in a database. Keys are used to maintain the
integrity of data. Keys contain unique values that help to filter redundant information from the input data.
Keys are of two types: primary & foreign.
Primary key: The field in a table that uniquely identifies each record is called the primary key.
Usually this field is sequentially numbered.
Ex : Admission number field
Foreign key : When a primary key of one table appears as a field in another table, the field is called the
foreign key in the second table.

Queries :
• By using queries we can view, change and analyze data in different ways. You can also use them as
the source of records for forms and reports.
• You can bring together data from multiple tables and sort it in a particular order.
• You can perform calculations on groups of records.
Forms :
• In a table, number of records are displayed at a time. But, if the table has many fields, then it may not
be possible for a user to view all of them. The screen may be too small to fit it. The user may have to
scroll horizontally or vertically to view the rest of the fields/ records.
• In forms, the data can be displayed as per the users requirement. The records are generally displayed
one at a time. The fields can be arranged as the user wants it. Pictures can be added to a form. The
display and contents of the form is controlled fully by the user.
• In forms there are 3 views,
i. Design ii. Datasheet & iii. Form view

• The datasheet view shows many records whereas form view displays single record. You can toggle
between these three views using the View Tool.
Report:
The data shown in a table, Query and forms are meant for displaying it on screen, but when you take the
printout or the Hard copy, it is known as Report. In the database window, the open button is replaced by
the preview button, when you click the report tab. Reports can be viewed either in print preview mode or
design mode. Data cannot be edited in the reports. The report preview shows how the data will appear on
taking out the printouts.

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Networking and Internet

A network is an arrangement that enables two or more computers to communicate (talk) to each other.
Types of Networks
Networks can range from a small group of computers linked together in a class room to thousands of computers
linked together across the globe. Depending on the geographical location, networks can be classified as
a) LAN ( Local Area Network)
b) MAN ( Metropolitan Area Network)
c) WAN (Wide Area Network)

Local Area Network: If a network is confined to a single location, typically a building, it is called a LAN.
Ex : Set of interconnected computers within an office.
Metropolitan Area Network: A metropolitan area network is a network that is larger than a LAN, it connects the
computers distributed across multiple buildings.
Ex: the computers in all branches of an office within a city.
Wide Area Network: When a network is located over wide areas such as cities, states, countries or even
continents, it is called a WAN.
Ex : i. Computers in different branches of a Globalised company. ii.
Internet
INTERNET

The internet is a global connection of computers. These computers are connected via a huge network of
telecommunication links. The internet allows you to access to a whole resource of data and information stored at
different sites (called hosts) and locations around the world. The communication links which inter connect each
host computer use a common method of transmission known as TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control
Protocol / Internet Protocol.
Internet connection helps us to:
1. Read information on a wide range of topics
2. Send or receive E-mail
3. Down load useful programs such as virus detectors, file compression, decompression utility etc.,
4. Share your opinions and your knowledge on a variety of topics through various new groups.
5. Chat with other people any where in the world
6. View interesting video‘s listen to music or wander through a 3-D world.
Requirements for connecting to the Internet:
a) Modem: A modem is a peripheral device that allows a computer to connect and communicate
with other computers. Modem stands for Modulator Demodulator.
b) Web Browser: A browser is a software program that is necessary in order to view web pages on
the web. Ex: Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft outlook express
etc.
c) Telephone line: A telephone line is required to transfer data from one computer to another. The
computer is connected to a modem, which, in turn, connected to a telephone line.
d) Subscription with Internet service provider (ISP): ISP‘s are companies that provide access to
the internet. We need subscription with any ISP to get an Internet connection.
Some of the ISPs in India are VSNL, MTNL, Sify, Specrta Net etc.

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World Wide Web (WWW):

It refers to the collection of information accessible on the internet. The web is similar to a library. It consists of
millions & millions of pages of text, pictures, sounds and animation on various topics. These pages, called web
pages are stored on different computers that are connected to the internet. The web pages have links between
them i.e when we click a certain word or picture in a page, it will take us to another page. These words or pictures
that help to move from one page to another are called hyperlinks. A collection of related web pages is known as a
web site. A web site can be accessed by means of a unique name assigned to it.
Internet was initially designed for the transmission of text basing on the protocols mentioned. In order
to transmit a graphically designed web page complete with pictures, embedded sound and animation a special
language was designed which is referred to as Hyper Text Mark up Language (HTML). HTML uses special
text codes to define the various elements of a web page.
The WWW support a protocol called Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). All internet servers cannot
support HTTP and so the web can be regarded as a subset of the larger internet.
HTTP provides a method of transmitting a professionally laid out page over the text based internet. Uniform
Resource Locator: (URL): Each web site has a unique address commonly referred to as a URL. A URL specifies
the exact location of the web page on the internet.
A typical web address or URL looks as http:// www.microsoft.com/catalog/navigation.asp
Explanation of the example URL:
URL Element Explanation
http Identifies protocol necessary to retrieve the file.
WWW Indicates that the site is on the world wide web
Microsoft Indicates the name of the web site
.com Indicates the domain type of the web site
/catalog/navigation.asp Specifies the path of the file stored on the web server‘s hard disk

E-Mail
E-mail or electronic mail is a service for sending or receiving messages electronically through a computer
network. The electronic mail uses various technologies that support electronic transmission of text, data and
graphics.

Some of the features of E-mail are

1. it is much faster than the normal mail. Messages can be sent within a matter of seconds to any part in the
world.
2. it can be sent to many people at the same time
3. E-mail is cheaper than a phone call and an ordinary mail
4. it can access information and file libraries on request
5. E-mail user can have a mail box which is accessed through a computer terminal
6. an E-mail message consists of two parts
a) a header specifying the address of the sender and the address of the receiver b) the text
of the message
7. The mailing system allows selecting messages for reading, displaying, saving, deleting, forwarding and
replying.
8. Mailing list can be created to send the same message to a group of people

E-Mail Address: An E-Mail address consists of three parts

1. The person‘s Login name
2. @ sign
3. Domain name
A domain represents organization, network, and country name
Ex: [email protected] in this Statistics is the user name and his account is in the domain hotmail.com.
Both the names are separated by the @symbol.

Search Engines :
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Search engines are utilities used to search for information on the web. A user interface is provided where you can
enter the word or phrase you are searching for. The search engine looks for the keywords we have entered and
returns the results of the search, providing links to relevant Web sites for us to choose from. Some commonly
used search engines are MSN, Alta Vista, Google, Yahoo! search and Infoseek etc.
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