Computer Literacy

(Microsoft)
MLCL173-01
Computer Literacy (Microsoft)
MLCL137-01
Originally compiled for CTI Education Group by Ozone Concepts International

Updated by: Tiyane Maluleke, Mariske Harmse, Cedric Maenetja, Suhayl Asmal
and Deerasha Marriemuthu

Quality assured by: Francois du Toit

Edited by: Lia Marus

Version 1.0

© January 2017 CTI Education Group

Contents
Introduction 1
Study schedule 2
Learning outcomes and assessment criteria 3
Icons used in this study guide 4
Unit 1 - Information Technology Basics 5
1.1 General Concepts 5
1.1.1 What is Information Technology? 5
1.1.2 What is a computer? 5
1.1.3 Tasks that computers can perform 6
1.1.4 Types of computer 6
1.1.5 Revision questions 10
1.2 Hardware 11
1.2.1 Introduction 11
1.2.2 Power supply 11
1.2.3 Motherboard 12
1.2.4 Central Processing Unit (CPU) 17
1.2.5 Memory 18
1.2.6 Measuring memory and storage capacity 19
1.2.7 Secondary storage devices 20
1.2.8 Input devices 23
1.2.9 Output devices 29
1.2.10 Input/output devices 32
1.2.11 Computer case 32
1.2.12 Ergonomics 33
1.2.13 Hardware performance 35
1.2.14 Hardware maintenance 35
1.2.15 Simple troubleshooting 35
1.2.16 Revision questions 36
1.3 Software 39
1.3.1 Introduction 39
1.3.2 What is an operating system? 39
1.3.3 What is an application? 41
1.3.4 What is a GUI (Graphic User Interface)? 42
1.3.5 Virtualisation 44
1.3.6 Types of software distribution 45
1.3.7 Legal issues 46
1.3.8 Revision questions 48
1.4 Information Networks 50
1.4.1 Introduction 50
1.4.2 Modem 52
1.4.3 LAN (Local Area Network) 52
1.4.4 WAN (Wide Area Network) 53
1.4.5 Client-server network 54
1.4.6 Home groups 56
1.4.7 Workgroups 56
1.4.8 Domain-based network 57
1.4.9 Directory-based network 57
1.5 Internet 57
1.5.1 What is a web browser? 59
1.5.2 Search engine 60
1.5.3 Internet security 60
1.5.4 Ways to connect to the Internet 63
1.5.5 Electronic communication 64
1.5.6 Intranet 65
1.5.7 Extranet 65
1.5.8 Wireless 66
1.5.9 Cloud Computing 68
1.5.10 Revision questions 69
1.6 Security 71
1.6.1 Identifying yourself 71
1.6.2 Protecting your data 72
1.6.3 Understanding malware (Malicious software) 74
1.6.4 Protection against malware 74
1.6.5 Revision questions 76
1.7 The Windows 7 Operating System 78
1.7.1 Introduction 78
1.7.2 Logging in 78
1.7.3 The Windows 7 Desktop 79
1.7.4 Setting Taskbar and Start Menu properties 84
1.7.5 Shutting down Windows 7 86
1.7.6 Revision questions 88
1.8 Working with Windows 7 90
1.8.1 Starting an application 90
1.8.2 Parts of the Application Window 93
1.8.3 Moving around in an application 95
1.8.4 Launching Help from within an application 96
1.8.5 Ending a frozen application 97
1.8.6 Exiting an application 98
1.8.7 Changing or removing programs 98
1.8.8 Working with a window 99
1.8.9 Switching between windows 102
1.8.10 Sizing windows 104
1.8.11 Window management 104
1.8.12 Windows Aero Desktop 106
1.8.13 Working with files and folders 111
1.8.14 Understanding libraries 120
1.8.15 Displaying the Preview pane 123
1.8.16 Tools for managing data 123
1.8.17 Navigating folders 125
1.8.18 WordPad basics 127
1.8.19 Doing more with WordPad 133
1.8.20 Revision questions 140
1.9 Managing Data 142
1.9.1 Duplicating files or folders 142
1.9.2 Moving and copying data 143
1.9.3 Renaming a file or folder 147
1.9.4 Deleting files or folders 147
1.9.5 Recovering files and folders 148
1.9.6 Empty the Recycle Bin 149
1.9.7 Working with removable media 150
1.9.8 Managing Internet files 150
1.9.9 Revision questions 154
1.10 Applications and Accessories 156
1.10.1 Windows applications 156
1.10.2 Windows accessories 159
1.10.3 System tools 161
1.10.4 Using the Command Prompt 163
1.10.5 Revision questions 167
1.11 Getting Help in Windows 7 168
1.11.1 The basics of Windows Help 168
1.11.2 Launching Help from the Start Menu 168
1.11.3 Using Help in an accessory or system tool 170
1.11.4 Overview of the Help and Support Window 171
1.11.5 Ask in Windows Help 171
1.11.6 Setting Help options 173
1.11.7 Revision questions 175
1.12 Making Windows 7 Work for You 176
1.12.1 The Control Panel 176
1.12.2 The taskbar 181
1.12.3 Changing the desktop wallpaper 182
1.12.4 Common customisation tasks 185
1.12.5 Advanced customisation 200
1.12.6 Revision questions 203
1.13 Managing Hardware 205
1.13.1 Introduction 205
1.13.2 Viewing system information 205
1.13.3 Checking your system score 206
1.13.4 Opening the Device Manager 208
1.13.5 Viewing hardware and devices 208
1.13.6 Revision questions 212
1.14 Email with Gmail 213
1.14.1 What is Gmail? 213
1.14.2 Starting Gmail 213
1.14.3 Signing in to Gmail accounts 213
1.14.4 Creating a Google account 214
1.14.5 Signing-in to your Gmail account 216
1.14.6 Working in the Gmail interface 217
1.14.7 Using Help in Gmail 220
1.14.8 Composing and sending e-mail messages 221
1.14.9 Viewing messages and message attachments 222
1.14.10 Adding a new contact 223
1.14.11 Revision questions 224
Unit 2 - Microsoft Word 2016 225
2.1 Introduction 225
2.1.1 Launching Word 225
2.1.2 Interface overview 227
2.1.3 Interacting with Word 228
2.1.4 Closing Word 228
2.1.5 Exercise: Meeting Microsoft Office Word 2016 229
2.2 Creating a document 230
2.2.1 Creating a new document 230
2.2.2 Typing text 232
2.2.3 Deleting text 233
2.2.4 The basics of selecting text 233
2.2.5 Selecting text with the keyboard 234
2.2.6 Selecting text and objects with the Home tab 235
2.3 Navigating in your document 236
2.3.1 Navigating using the mouse 236
2.3.2 Navigating using the scroll bars 237
2.3.3 Navigating using the keyboard 238
2.3.4 Using the Go To Dialog 239
2.4 Doing more with your document 240
2.4.1 Using basic formatting 240
2.4.2 Using Advanced Formatting 241
2.4.3 Using Undo and Redo/Repeat 242
2.4.4 Removing formatting 243
2.5 Working with Your Document 246
2.5.1 Saving files 246
2.5.2 16.5.2 Using File Formats 247
2.5.3 16.5.3 Opening files 249
2.5.4 16.5.4 Using the recent list 250
2.5.5 Switching between open files 252
2.5.6 Closing files 253
2.6 The Word Interface 255
2.6.1 Using the FILE (Backstage) Menu 255
2.6.2 Using the Status Bar 258
2.6.3 Using the Mini Toolbar 258
2.6.4 Using Dialog Boxes 259
2.6.5 Using Right-Click Menus 261
2.6.6 Keyboard shortcuts 262
2.7 Working with text 264
2.7.1 Moving text 264
2.7.2 Finding text 268
2.7.3 Replacing text 270
2.7.4 Fonts on the Home tab 275
2.7.5 The Font dialog 283
2.7.6 Applying Advanced Text Effects 289
2.8 Using Tabs 297
2.8.1 Types of Tabs 297
2.8.2 Using Tabs 297
2.8.3 Setting Tabs 298
2.8.4 Moving or removing tabs 299
2.9 Paragraph options 302
2.9.1 Indenting Using the Home tab 302
2.9.2 Changing Paragraph Spacing 302
2.9.3 Adding borders or shading using the Home tab 303
2.9.4 Using the Borders and Shading Dialog 304
2.10 Printing and viewing the document 311
2.10.1 Page Layout 311
2.10.2 Printing a document 317
2.11 Using Formatting Tools 324
2.11.1 Using Bullets and Numbering 324
2.11.2 Using Delineation Tools 334
2.11.3 Working with Pages 342
2.12 Creating headers and footers 356
2.12.1 Creating basic headers and footers 356
2.12.2 Inserting page numbers 359
2.13 Using time-saving tools 367
2.13.1 Using language tools 367
2.13.2 Inserting predefined text 370
2.14 Finishing your document 374
2.14.1 Making your document consistent 374
2.14.2 Using the Mail Merge Wizard 379
2.15 Working with pictures 386
2.15.1 Inserting pictures 386
2.15.2 Editing pictures 388
2.16 Working with shapes, advanced graphics and objects 392
2.16.1 Drawing shapes 392
2.16.2 Inserting textboxes 395
2.16.3 Inserting WordArt 399
2.16.4 Creating SmartArt 401
2.17 Creating tables 408
2.17.1 Inserting tables 408
2.17.2 Editing tables 413
2.17.3 Formatting tables 417
2.17.4 Working with table data 421
Unit 3 - Microsoft Excel 2016 427
3.1 Introduction 427
3.1.1 What is Microsoft Office Excel 2016? 427
3.1.2 Creating a new workbook 428
3.1.3 Opening a Workbook 430
3.1.4 About Excel file types 433
3.1.5 Closing a workbook 434
3.1.6 Exploring your workbook 435
3.1.7 Exercise: Exploring your Workbook 444
3.2 Excel basics 445
3.2.1 Columns, rows, cells and ranges 445
3.2.2 Creating worksheet labels 448
3.2.3 Entering and deleting data 449
3.2.4 Printing your worksheet 453
3.2.5 Basic Excel features 455
3.2.6 Moving your data 464
3.3 Editing your workbook 475
3.3.1 Modifying cells and data 475
3.3.2 Cell formatting 484
3.3.3 Enhancing a worksheet’s appearance 493
3.3.4 Working with charts 506
3.4 Working with functions and formulas 522
3.4.1 Understanding basic mathematical operators 523
3.4.2 Using formulae with multiple cell references 524
3.4.3 Error Checking 526
3.4.4 Fixing formula errors 528
3.4.5 Exploring Excel functions 532
3.5 Managing tables 535
3.5.1 Working with tables and filters 535
3.6 Adding the finishing touches 538
3.6.1 Using themes 538
3.6.2 Adding textboxes 544
Unit 4 - Microsoft Access 2016 548
4.1 Introduction 548
4.1.1 Basic database terminology 548
4.1.2 Opening and closing Access 551
4.1.4 Interface basics 555
4.1.5 Database security 559
4.2 Creating a database 568
4.2.1 First steps 568
4.2.2 About records 587
4.2.3 Creating a table 595
4.2.4 Formatting text 608
4.3 Doing more with your database 620
4.3.1 Creating and using forms 620
4.3.2 Creating and using queries 635
4.3.3 Creating and using reports 645
4.3.4 Sorting and filtering data 655
4.3.5 Viewing data 666
4.3.6 Saving your files 669
4.4 Working with tables 673
4.4.1 Formatting tables 673
4.4.2 Controlling table data entry 679
4.4.3 Validating data to ensure consistency 697
Unit 5 - Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 701
5.1 Introduction 701
5.1.2 Creating a presentation 706
5.1.3 Working with your presentation 715
5.1.4 Editing your presentation 723
5.2 Creating presentations 730
5.2.1 Using templates 730
5.2.2 Working with textboxes 734
5.2.3 Basic editing tools 746
5.2.4 Using themes and backgrounds 753
5.2.5 Applying slide transitions 758
5.2.6 Creating basic animations 765
5.2.7 Creating advanced animations 770
5.3 Adding art to your presentation 780
5.3.1 Drawing shapes 780
5.3.2 Doing more with pictures 781
5.3.3 Formatting images 784
Module Evaluation 797
Introduction

Computer literacy is the ability to effectively use technology to perform work.

This skill is fundamental to successful employment within the knowledge
economy. The purpose of this module is to prepare the student to use
applications essential to the workplace. Moreover, an information systems
student must become familiar with the basic structure of a computer and how
it works. This module will discuss how the Internet and personal portable
computing have shaped the way in which work is performed today.

This module will presents the most common commercial software operating
system- Microsoft Windows and office productivity suite, Microsoft Office. Even
a student with some computing experience can benefit from studying the basic
computing concepts covered in this module.

A student will benefit throughout their academic career and beyond by learning
how to search for information using a web browser effectively. Email has all
but replaced physical letters but requires a knowledge of etiquette and jargon
that may not have been covered in the student's high school English lessons.
Information is a valuable currency that students will be taught how to secure
and protect.

The student will then be guided through some of the different applications
available in the Microsoft Office suite. Word will be used for word processing
and the student will learn how to create a professional document. Excel will
introduce spreadsheets that contain formulas and charts. The concept of a
database will be discussed at length and a basic database will be created and
manipulated in Access. Finally, PowerPoint will be used to create presentations
containing multimedia.

This module is self-paced study. Although your lecturer is available to help you
through difficult concepts, you need to do most of the work yourself. You
should complete all the exercises and review questions in this study guide in
order to gain a thorough understanding of all the material. This is the only way
to ensure that you pass the assessments.

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Study schedule

The study schedule (Table 0.1) illustrated will help you to determine how much
time you should spend on each unit. The schedule is based on the notion that
you study at least eight hours each day during the week.

Table 0.1 – Study schedule

Days Weighting
Unit 1 3
Written Examination 2 34%
Unit 2 2
Unit 3 2
Practical 1 33%
Unit 4 3
Unit 5 1
Practical 1 33%
Total 15 100%

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Learning outcomes and assessment criteria

A pass is awarded for the module on the achievement of at least 60% in the
examination and each of two practicals.

Learning Outcomes Assessment Criteria

1.1 Describe computer hardware and
software.
1. Demonstrate operational 1.2 Explain networking.
knowledge of information and 1.3 Navigate the World Wide Web.
communication technologies. 1.4 Navigate an operating system.
1.5 Manage resources within an
operating system.
2.1 Create formatted documents.
2.2 Create multimedia presentations.
2.3 Compose and send an email.
2.4 Access received email and
2. Process, present and communicate
manage email.
information using appropriate end-
2.5 Create spreadsheets containing
user applications.
formulae and charts.
2.6 Interpret written layout and
editing instructions to produce
accurate output.
3.1 Secure and protect information.
3.2 Create a database
3.3 Create a table
3.4 Create, Read, Update, Delete
3. Manage information. data
3.5 Create relationships between
tables
3.6 Create forms
3.7 Create reports

MLCL173-01 Computer Literacy (Microsoft) Study Guide - V1.0 Jan 2016 Page 3 of 797
Icons used in this study guide

Denotes the start of each unit in the study guide

Denotes the outcomes of the section, i.e. the knowledge and

skills that you should have acquired after each section

Exercises that must be completed. Discuss the answers with

your lecturer.

Revision questions that must be completed. Discuss the

answers with your lecturer.

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 Unit 1 - Information Technology Basics

1.1 General Concepts

At the end of this section you should be able to:

 explain the concept of computer.

 define Information Technology.
 describe different types of computers.

When you are learning about any subject, it is good practice to start with a
solid foundation. Keeping this in mind, this section will introduce you to basic
concepts regarding computers and computer-related technology.

1.1.1 What is Information Technology?

The term IT is not business jargon. Information Technology (IT) refers to
the retrieving, processing, transmission, protection and management of
information using software and hardware.

We live in a knowledge economy where information is a valuable currency.

Information technology makes that information more easily accessible.

Here are just a few of the ways in which information technology affects our
daily lives:

 Online banking is an essential part of banking solutions.

 Businesses are launched and made available worldwide on the Internet.
 Communication has been changed and improved by new mobile technology
constantly being implemented. This has had a considerable impact on how
humans socialise.

Some of the occupations in the IT field include computer networking, network

administration, software development, technology support, Internet services
and web development.

1.1.2 What is a computer?

A computer is an electronic device which accepts input (a set of instructions)
from a user and processes the instructions to produce output (a response) to
the user.

A computer enables a user to write a letter, perform calculations, send emails,

create presentations and play games, depending on the application (program,
or set of instructions) engaged.

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Different models of computers are increasingly made available, in the form of
devices such as cell phones, notebooks, tablets and wearables. They may be
Designed for a single user or multiple users, and vary from personal to
business use.

1.1.3 Tasks that computers can perform

Computers are widely used in the workplace for various reasons.

The advantages of using computers in a workplace include:

 High productivity
 High precision and accuracy
 Simplification of complex tasks
 Ability to store and retrieve great volumes of information
 Can be employed in hazardous environment

The disadvantages of computers in a workplace include:

 There can be a very high initial cost for the system
 Computer-controlled machinery needs to be well maintained
 In manufacturing, a change in the product line may require major
reprogramming of the system
 If a computer-controlled machine (robot) breaks down, an assembly can be
halted
 Some tasks simply require on the spot judgment and knowledge displayed
by a skilled human operator

1.1.4 Types of computer

1.1.4.1 Mainframe
Mainframes are computers Designed to:
 handle large amounts of input and output
 process large amounts of data very quickly (high throughput)
 contain redundant components to ensure reliability
 have a high level of security
 be strictly backward compatible with older software.

It is a multi-user system, because many users can be connected to the

computer at once. Each user interacts with the computer via their own
terminal (an input/output workstation). These computers can be as big as
refrigerators but were even larger in the past. Figure 1.1 illustrates three
modern mainframe models.

Mainframes are primarily used in industries that require centralised, secure

storage and processing of large amounts of data, such as banking, finance,
health care, insurance, utilities and government.

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 Figure 1.1 - A trio of IBM zEnterprise mainframe computers
By Agiorgio (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

1.1.4.2 Desktop
A Desktop computer or personal computer (PC) is a stand-alone unit that
can fit on a desk. The PC was the first type of computer that successfully
catered to the home user. Today the term ‘personal computer’ is less
appropriate as more portable devices such as notebooks and smartphones are
more privately and individually used. A Desktop computer is still the most
versatile of computing devices available for home or office. Small businesses
can run suitable accounting and business specific applications on a PC instead
of investing in a mainframe to manage their data.

Figure 1.2 – Desktop computer

By EroticDesktops (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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1.1.4.3 Notebook
A notebook computer is a portable, battery powered device that enables you to
do what a standard Desktop can do, such as connecting to the Internet, typing
documents and listening to music. When compared to a Desktop, the notebook
has lower power consumption, but is less configurable, upgradeable and
powerful. The pointing device is usually a trackpad rather than a mouse, but a
mouse can be attached should the user prefer. Notebooks used to be called
laptops in the past, but the current generation of devices are much smaller and
lighter than laptops. The name ‘laptop’ is also discouraged because the device
should not be held on your lap as this can cause neck and back pain when
done for extended periods.

Figure 1.3 – A notebook

1.1.4.4 Tablet
A tablet is a portable computer that uses a touch screen interface as its
primary input device. It combines the features of a hand-held device and a
notebook. A digital pen or stylus can also be used to capture handwriting.
Hybrid tablets can be connected to a keyboard to be used like a notebook.

Figure 1.4 – Tablet

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 Figure 1.5 – Hybrid tablet

1.1.4.5 Smartphone
A smartphone is a cell phone with an advanced operating system on superior
hardware. In addition to making calls and sending messages, it can connect to
the internet, send and receive email, edit and create documents and act as a
GPS navigator. Applications or apps are purpose-built programs that allow the
user to perform specific tasks. Like the tablet, the touch screen interface
dominates the form of the device. Smartphones may have one or more
cameras, and multiple internal sensors. Many wearables (technology that is
put on the human body) available today can be linked to a smartphone and
provide further data. For example, a Fitbit is a device in the form of a
wristband that monitors the user's physical activity. The data from the
wearable is sent to the smartphone where an app displays activity statistics.

Figure 1.6 – Smartphones

By Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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 1.1.5 Revision questions

Define Information Technology.

A notebook computer may also be called a __________.
What type of computer do you most often use? What do you do with it?
Write a brief essay on how you would accomplish those tasks if you did not
have a computer.
Is a calculator a computer? Write a short paragraph in defence of your
answer.
Do you have an idea for an app? Sketch a Design of hardware and/or
software that might assist you in completing a common task.

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1.2 Hardware

At the end of this section you should understand:

 PC anatomy
 peripheral and internal components
 ROM and RAM
 input and output devices
 disk drives
 the power supply and cooling
 the motherboard
 hardware ports
 computer performance
 Ergonomics
 data capacity measurement

1.2.1 Introduction
A computer's hardware comprises the physical components that enable
programs to run. The hardware receives instructions from the software to
operate. Software that is integrated into the hardware is called firmware.
Input and output devices that are not integral (or built in) to the computer are
called peripherals.

Hardware components can be classified according to their function.

 Input – Components that give data to the computer.
 Process – Components that interpret the instructions in the computer's
running program.
 Storage – Components where data is kept.
 Output – Components that present data to the user.
 Power – Components that provide the correct electrical power to other
components.

1.2.2 Power supply

Electrical power is needed for a PC to work. The PC and its components require
DC (Direct Current), while the power that is available at a wall outlet is AC
(Alternating Current).

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 Figure 1.7– Power supply with cover removed

The power supply is a box-like component inside your case. The back of your
PC usually shows where your power supply is located by the presence of a
kettle plug socket, a power switch and a fan.

A power supply generates heat from converting AC to the DC that the

hardware requires. A fan is always integrated with the power supply to
circulate the air and disperse the heat. If the power supply overheats, it will
stop working and will have to be replaced. Notice the two heat sinks within
the unit in Figure 1.7. These are aluminium fins that increase the surface area
over which the heat can be dissipated.

1.2.3 Motherboard
The motherboard is also known as the main/primary circuit board or
logic/system board. The motherboard is a printed circuit board (PCB) that
connects together all the components of the computer and enables them to
communicate. A typical motherboard has built-in components to handle
graphics, sound and network connectivity. Power, memory, the CPU and
storage drive must be connected to the motherboard. The board has a number
of different slots and ports to cater for peripherals. The communication
systems used by the motherboard are referred to as buses. Each type of
component has a particular bus associated with it.

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 Figure 1.8 – Motherboard
http://www.asus.com/za/Motherboards/Z97K/

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 Figure 1.9 – Motherboard buses, slots and ports
Moxfyre at English Wikipedia [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

A port is a socket Designed to connect devices to the motherboard. A

connector fits into a port and may be male (has pins) or female (has holes).
Ports from the motherboard are exposed mostly at the back of the case with
some USB and audio ports exposed at the front, for convenience.

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 Table 1.1– External Ports
Port Use Image
Was the port for the keyboard (purple)
PS/2 and mouse (green). Keyboards and mice
now connect via USB.
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) port
provides a simple, standard way to
connect a range of peripheral devices. It
can provide power and data transfer.
USB has evolved from version one to
version three, where each successive
USB version is faster and more powerful.
USB Type C is a 24 pin reversible plug
connector with a smaller form factor
that standardises USB cabling further,
making all USB ports the same size as
the USB miniports found on slimmer
devices.
Also known as RS-232, COM
(communications) or I/O port. This port
is based on a very old, well-established
standard. Information is transferred in
or out of the connection one bit at a
Serial time (this is the definition of ‘serial’). It
is primarily used to connect diagnostic
consoles, scientific instruments, point of
sale systems and other devices that do
not require a high data transfer rate. It
requires very little supporting software.
Links the motherboard's networking
interface to the network. The Ethernet
port looks similar to a telephone jack
and accepts an 8P8C (8 pin 8
conductor) connector, commonly called
Ethernet
an RJ-45. Note that the 8P8C connector
itself is technically not a Registered
Jack. However, further discussion of the
misnomer is not within the scope of this
module.

The Video Graphics Array port is used

to connect a monitor to the motherboard
VGA
or graphics card. It produces an analog
signal and is a legacy port.

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 Digital Visual Interface can also be
DVI used to connect monitors that require a
digital signal. This is also a legacy port.

High Definition Multimedia Interface

transmits digital visual and audio data.
HDMI
It can be used to connect a monitor,
projector or TV.
Has two rows of 25 holes and is coloured
magenta (pink). This port was used to
LPT connect older printers and scanners and
was commonly known as the printer
port.
A small socket that is more square-
looking than USB. This standard,
1394 created by Apple, boasted a much
FireWire higher data transfer rate than USB when
Ports it was first introduced. FireWire could
also be used to network computers
together without the need of a router.
Thunderbolt is a hardware interface
developed by Intel and Apple to replace
FireWire. There are three types of
Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 1 and 2 use
Thunderbolt the same connector as Apple's MDP
(Mini DisplayPort). Thunderbolt 3 uses By Alan736 (Own work)
the USB Type-C connector. You can [GFDLor CC BY-SA 3.0], via
Wikimedia Commons
connect up to six peripherals through
different topologies on this connector.

MLCL173-01 Computer Literacy (Microsoft) Study Guide - V1.0 Jan 2016 Page 16 of 797
 Table 1.2– Internal ports
Port Use Image
Peripheral Component Interconnect
slots on the motherboard enable the
PCI and PCI fitting of expansion cards. Typical
Express expansion cards are: network, sound,
TV tuner or cards that provide extra USB Jonathan Zander [CC-BY-
ports to the system. SA-3.0], via Wikimedia
Commons
Integrated Drive Electronics is a
connector specifically for hard drives.
The name comes from the fact that the
drive's controller circuitry is within the
IDE
drive device and not the motherboard.
By D-Kuru (Own work) [CC
The connector can then just transmit BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia
data rather than tell the drive how to Commons
function.

Serial Advanced Technology

Attachment is an improvement on IDE
SATA
that is the most common way to connect
drives today.
By en:User:Berkut [CC-BY-
SA-3.0], via Wikimedia
Commons

Small Computer System Interface,

pronounced "scuzzy", is another port for
SCSI disk drives, printers and some other
peripherals. It provides a high data By Caroline Ford (Own
transmission rate. work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via
Wikimedia Commons

1.2.4 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a microprocessor chip that performs
arithmetic, logic and control operations according to the sequence of
instructions in programs.

Figure 1.10 - CPU and a CPU cooler

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The instruction set is the language that allows communication between the
CPU hardware and the software of the computer. It allows each to be
developed independently, reducing compatibility concerns. The Reduced
Instruction Set Computing (RISC) Design is a simplified set of instructions
that relies on groups of instructions (subroutines) to perform less common
operations while aiming to use as few processor cycles as possible for each
frequently used instruction. Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC)
Design, however, is the standard used by Intel on its x86 processors. Intel's
primary concern with this decision is backward compatibility.

The CPU works in the following way:

 it first fetches instructions
 then it decodes them into a set of operations
 which it can execute
 then it writes back the actions that have to be executed, which is the
output of the CPU process.

A CPU's speed is calculated as clock speed. The higher the clock speed, the
more instructions can be processed per second. The unit of measurement is
hertz, and is usually in terms of Gigahertz (GHz).

The CPU consists of a few specialised parts:

 The control unit directs the other parts of the system to execute
instructions. It communicates with the ALU and the registers.
 The arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs integer arithmetic and bitwise
logic.
 Registers are memory areas with the CPU that are used for the storage of
data. They supply operands to the ALU.

1.2.5 Memory
Memory, in general, is hardware that stores data temporarily or permanently.

1.2.5.1 Random Access Memory (RAM)

This is often called the main memory of the computer. It is volatile, which
means it needs uninterrupted power to work. Data is lost when the power is
switched off.

Computers consist of virtual and physical memory. Physical memory is made

up of electronic chips inserted into specific memory sockets of the
motherboard. RAM is physical memory that enables data that is in use to be
accessed more quickly than it would from a hard disk drive.

Virtual memory gives the impression that RAM has limitless memory space,
because when RAM reaches capacity, the computer searches the RAM for data
that was not used recently and copies that onto the hard disk drive on an area
that is called a page file.

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Memory stores data as bits. A bit is a binary digit (0 or 1). Semiconductor
memory units are made up of chips that consist of transistors and capacitors;
the capacitor holds the binary digit and the transistor lets the electronic circuits
read or modify the value that has been retrieved.

Figure 1.11 - RAM memory modules

1.2.5.1.1 Cache
Cache is memory space just outside the CPU that stores recently processed
data. Caching makes the system faster because it provides a place to store
the instructions that are frequently sent to the CPU nearby, meaning that
processing can occur more quickly.

1.2.5.2 Read Only Memory (ROM)

Read Only Memory (ROM) is used in computers and other electrical devices
that need memory storage which cannot be changed, or only changed
infrequently. Typically, ROM contains the instruction sets for various devices,
and is referred to as firmware. Data in ROM will not be lost when there is a
power interruption- it is non-volatile.

1.2.6 Measuring memory and storage capacity

Capacity refers to the amount of space provided to hold data. A computer
holds information as ones and zeros. A single one (1) or zero (0) is referred to
as a bit and a sequence of eight bits is a byte. This is the smallest
addressable unit of memory. The memory and storage capacity of devices has
increased exponentially over time. This is known as Moore's Law.

Table 1.3 – Units of measure

Unit Abbreviation Paper Equivalent Decimal
Equivalent
byte B A single character (a 1
letter, digit or symbol)
kilobyte KB An A4 typed paper with 1,000
double spacing
megabyte MB A novel 1,000,000
gigabyte GB One thousand novels 1,000,000,000
terabyte TB Thousands of novels 1,000,000,000,000

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1.2.7 Secondary storage devices
A secondary storage device is a piece of hardware used to store data that have
to be preserved if the computer’s main memory fails or shuts down. This
means that these devices must be able to retain data for some period even if
there is no electrical power to the device. A Desktop computer's internal hard
drive is known as the primary storage device. All other storage devices that
connect externally, often through USB, are known as secondary storage
devices.

1.2.7.1 Common storage device terms

 Formatting is the process of preparing a storage device for use. It creates
an indexing system that allows the data items written on the storage
medium to be organised and accessed in a consistent, efficient manner.
 Reading is the transfer of data from the storage medium to the computer's
main memory.
 Writing is the transfer of data from the main memory to the storage
medium.
 Seeking is the alignment of a medium's read/write heads over the area
where data is to be read or written.
 Access method describes how data is located on the medium. It may be
sequential, where the medium must be read from the beginning to where
the required data is located or direct, where each data location is
addressed (labelled) so that the disk heads move immediately to the
location of the data.

1.2.7.2 Hard disk drive

The traditional PC has at least one internal hard disk drive (HDD) which holds
the operating system. This is a magnetic, non-volatile device. Figure 1.12
shows a HDD with its cover off. It consists of a platter (metal disk) with a
head which reads or writes to the disk. As the platter spins, the head floats on
a cushion of air. All data is addressed, so the head can move directly over the
sector of the disk that contains the data required to be accessed.

Figure 1.12 – Hard disk drive

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1.2.7.3 Floppy disk
The floppy disk or diskette is a flexible magnetic storage medium that is
obsolete (no longer used, in favour of a newer alternative). The floppy disk is
read and written to by an internal or external floppy disk drive that uses
read/write heads similar to that of a hard drive. The last popular size for floppy
disk was the 3.5 inch, referring to the size of the plastic housing. The disk
could only store 1.44 MB and was popular from the early 1990s to the mid-
2000s.

Figure 1.13 - 3½" floppy disk

1.2.7.4 Tape
The tape cartridge is another magnetic data storage medium, but is by no
means obsolete. Improvements in the storage capacity of magnetic tape mean
that today the tape cartridge is an appropriate solution to archive or backup a
system's information.

Figure 1.14 – Tape cartridge

http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n151118.html

A tape drive reads and writes tape cartridges. A cartridge is removed from the
drive when it is full and replaced with a new cartridge, usually within a housing
called a library that automates this replacement. Tape drives are favoured for
their affordability, reliability, portability and low power consumption. The tape
drive may be damaged by liquids and heat but is more durable than most

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media. A drive may store up to 10 TB at a time that is ready to be read, but
enterprise-sized libraries of drives can store petabytes (thousands of
terabytes) of data that can be accessed and loaded robotically.

Figure 1.15 – Tape drive

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg245946.pdf

1.2.7.5 Optical Disc

Compact Disc (CD) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) are optical disc
storage media commonly used to store audio and video.
 CD-ROM and DVD-ROM (Read Only Memory) are discs that are preloaded
with data and can only be read.
 CD-R and DVD-R (Read) are discs that can be written once and then
become read-only.
 CD-RW or DVD-RW (Rewritable) are discs that can be written, formatted
and rewritten repeatedly.

CDs can typically store 700 MB of data. A DVD can store 4 GB per layer and
can have 2 layers.

Today, DVDs have been superseded by Blu-Ray discs. Blu-ray technology

allows a disc to have greater storage capacity of 25 GB per layer. The laser
used to read the disc is blue rather than the red used with CDs and DVDs.

1.2.7.6 Flash memory

Flash memory is a solid state (electronic circuit read/write, no mechanical
parts), non-volatile storage medium. Hard drives and other peripherals may
contain flash chips. One important use of a flash chip is to store the BIOS
(Basic Input Output System), which is software required to start the
computer. The BIOS chip is fixed to the motherboard but may be
reprogrammed. Flash memory is read faster than it is written. Flash memory is
reliable for around 100 000 erase cycles after which it may lose integrity. This
is far less durable than other storage media. The combination of durability,
speed, price and capacity makes flash memory an ideal storage medium.

1.2.7.6.1 USB Flash Drive

Flash drives use the plug and play system- the device works as soon as it is
connected to the computer, without needing drivers installed. The device
consists of flash memory, a USB port and a controller chip that manages the

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read/write of the memory. The efficiency of the controller determines the
speed at which the device can operate.

Figure 1.16 – USB flash drives

Source: usbflashmemory.org

1.2.7.6.2 Memory card

Another form of flash memory is memory cards, which are small in size and so
are commonly used in portable devices such as cameras, laptops, smartphones
and tablets. They may store anywhere from 16 GB to over 2 TB.

1.2.7.6.3 Solid state drive

This implementation of flash storage is gaining ground over traditional spinning
hard disk drives because it is much faster and can store many terabytes.

1.2.8 Input devices

Input devices are hardware used to enter data or instructions into a system.
The device converts the data from a particular form, such as mechanical
motion or sound, into electrical signals that can then be processed by the
computer.

1.2.8.1 Keyboard
The keyboard is used to enter data mechanically as numbers, letters and
symbols. It can also be used for navigation (interacting with different parts of
the graphical user interface).

Different models are available to cater for the user's comfort and the
functionality required. Most keyboards use the 'QWERTY' Design in Figure 1.17.
QWERTY refers to the particular positioning of the alphabetic keys. The
positioning of the letters is based on that used by mechanical typewriters,
which had this layout to limit the speed at which the user could type, so that
the device could keep up without the keys jamming!

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 Figure 1.17 – A standard QWERTY keyboard

Figure 1.18 – General keyboard layout

 Control keys - These are modifier keys, held down in conjunction with
other keys to provide special shortcut commands.
 Function keys - Found at the top of the keyboard, they enable you to
perform different actions according to your operating system, and can also
be used in conjunction with other keys to add functionality.
 Alphanumeric keys - The typing key area that includes the alphabetic
characters, special characters, numbers and punctuation marks that are
commonly used in word processing. Capital letters or the upper character
printed on a key can be typed by holding down Shift while pressing the
required key. Caps Lock will capitalise all alphabetic letters until pressed
again.

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 Navigation keys - These keys make navigation in documents and on the
Internet simpler. Navigating large documents is easier when keys such as
Page Up and Page Down are used.
 Numeric key pad - The numeric keypad is used for calculations and can
also be used to navigate in documents. To switch between the numerical
values and navigation keys, press the Num Lock button.
 Indicator Lights - Indicator lights show if your keyboard has Caps Lock,
Num Lock or Scroll Lock on.

Note From now on, when you see a + between two keys this is notation
for holding down both keys at the same time.

1.2.8.2 Mouse
The mouse is used for navigation. By moving it on a flat surface you see
evidence of this motion as a pointer on the screen. There are different pointers
for different tasks. These pointers can be changed according to a user's
preference.

The standard mouse has two main buttons. The modern mouse has an added
control called a scroll wheel that can be used to navigate documents and web
pages. The standard mouse Design can be modified for different purposes. For
example, a gamer's mouse will have more buttons than a standard mouse.

The primary button is generally the one most used, and is commonly the
button situated on the left. The primary button enables a user to perform
actions like opening a file by clicking on parts of the graphical user
interface.

The secondary button is also known as the right, or alternate button, and
enables a user to display context menus.

Note The right mouse button is the primary button and the left mouse
button is the secondary button when the mouse is set up to be used
with the left hand. Ask you lecturer to assist you to change your
mouse settings if you are left-handed and wish to use the mouse
with your dominant hand.

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 Figure 1.19 – Computer mouse

Mouse actions enable you to perform simple tasks such as accessing and
selecting items. The five most commonly used actions are:
 Point - A pointer icon is used to display where the pointer is situated, and
shows the user what object they are navigating to, or located on.
 Click - A click occurs when you press then release a button. The single click
of the primary button enables a user to select an item, or display the item
menu.
 Double-click - This means that you should press the primary button twice
on an item. The clicks should be done in rapid succession so that they are
not mistaken for two single clicks.
 Right-click - Press and release the secondary key on an item to display a
menu- the menu will be specific to the type of item clicked.
 Drag - Dragging occurs when a user presses the primary button and
simultaneously moves the mouse. This function allows you to select multiple
items or move items to a different location.

Different types of mouse are available on the market. They function differently
but their physical features are similar.
 The mechanical mouse has a metal or rubber ball within it. To enable
navigation on the screen, move the device on a flat surface so that the ball
rolls.
 The optical mouse projects a laser beam under the device. The pointer is
moved by the use of an optical sensor which detects the movement of the
device.
 The optomechanical mouse provides the best of both worlds. This device
has a ball like the mechanical mouse, and the motion is detected by an
optical sensor like the optical mouse. The optomechanical mouse does not

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 have to be used on a flat surface. This device can also be called an optical-
mechanical mouse.

The mouse can also be wireless or cordless. It sends instructions via

Bluetooth or infrared signalling. These mice can be used from distances of
up to 10 m.

Today mice use USB connections, but older mice used PS/2 connections.

1.2.8.3 Microphone
The microphone enables a user to record and save sound on a computer. While
it can be a stand-alone device, it is more commonly attached to a set of
headphones or embedded in the case of notebooks, tablets and smartphones.

Figure 1.20 – Microphone on headphones

Zephyris at the English language Wikipedia [GFDLor CC-BY-SA-3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

A microphone is a device that allows you to input audio data into your
computer by speaking into it.

1.2.8.4 Camera
This device encodes picture or video data so that it may be viewed again.
Smartphones, notebooks and tablets usually include this input device. A
separate peripheral called a webcam may be used with a PC.

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 Figure 1.21 – A webcam atop a CRT monitor

1.2.8.5 Scanner
A scanner is an electronic input device that scans text or graphics by detecting
a pattern on paper using software that translates the data into an electrical
signal, enabling the computer to save this data as a file.

Some scanners are Designed for a specific input such as a fingerprint, barcode
or photograph. Most are multi-functional and able to process text and graphics.

 A photo scanner processes film negatives or photo slides. Its high

resolution and colour sensitivity ensure that the digitised results
(photographs) are of the best quality.

 The flatbed scanner has a flip up cover over a glass pane. A digital copy is
created by placing a document on the glass pane, where the array of optical
sensors move a light beam across the document to capture it.

 A handheld scanner uses a sensor and a light source in a small enclosure.

The user holds the scanner to the item to be scanned (this would usually be
a barcode).

Figure 1.22 – Flatbed and handheld scanners

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1.2.9 Output devices
Output devices are hardware that convert electrical signals to present
information to the user either visually, as sound or as a physical copy.

1.2.9.1 Monitors
The monitor is the most important output device. It enables the user to see
the graphical user interface which is displayed on the screen by the system.
The images you see on the screen are made by thousands of tiny dots called
pixels (picture elements). The quality of the image is dependent on the space
between the pixels. The greater the space between the pixels, the less defined
or blurry the picture. If the pixels are very close together the images will
appear quite clear.

The quality of display is controlled by the screen resolution settings. The

lower your resolution, the bigger the objects will appear on your screen. This
also affects the number of items that can fit on your screen. A higher
resolution will have the opposite effect – making the items appear smaller.
Monitors have improved with time, both in terms of their form and use.
 The CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor is an old type of monitor that is still
used today. CRT monitors are bulky and minimise your desk area. Their
weight makes these monitors very difficult to carry. CRT monitors also
consume a lot of power.
 The LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor is lighter than the CRT, slimmer
and far superior in terms of colour display.
 The LED (Light Emitting Diode) monitor is an LCD monitor with LED
backlighting. This provides a higher contrast image and better viewing
angle.
 The Plasma monitor uses small cells containing electrically charged ionised
gas to produce colour.

Note Refresh rate is the number of times an image is repainted per

second, expressed in Hertz.

Figure 1.23 - CRT vs LCD

1.2.9.2 Speakers, headphones and earphones

These peripherals are used to output information as sound. A sound card is
required to send an electrical signal to the device that produces sound. It may
be integrated into the motherboard or plugged into an expansion slot. The

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peripheral connects to the sound card using one or more 3.5 mm minijack
connectors.
Headphones and earphones are Designed for one person. Earphones are
placed in your ears while headphones are placed over them. Speakers are used
when everyone in a room needs to hear the sound. Speakers require more
power than headphones and may be connected to the computer's power supply
or have their own power connection.

Figure 1.24 – Earphones

Figure 1.25 - Speakers

1.2.9.3 Printers
Printers produce physical (or ‘hard’) copies of text and images. Printing can be
done in colour or in black ink only. Printers vary in speed, cost and print
quality. Print quality is dependent on the print resolution, which is measured
in dots per inch (dpi). The higher the dpi value, the more detailed and
defined the printout. You may assess which printer will best satisfy your needs
based on the following factors:

 How fast the printing needs to be done.

 The number of pages printed per month.
 The quality of print required.
 Is the printer cost-effective while meeting all the criteria above?

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1.2.9.3.1 Dot matrix
Small wire pins strike (or impact) an ink ribbon that presses onto the paper,
thus creating text or graphics. The printer often uses a continuous paper roll
rather than standard sized sheets.

1.2.9.3.2 Inkjet
Ink from a cartridge is sprayed onto paper in lines. For colour printing, the
cartridge passes over the paper up to three times using red, yellow and blue
ink. Black may be printed as a combination of the three colours, or from a
separate black ink head.

Figure 1.26 – A typical inkjet printer

1.2.9.3.3 Laser
A laser beam is used to induce a charge on a drum and powdered toner
adheres to the charged drum in the form of the letters or images being
printed. The toner is then transferred to the paper as it passes over the drum,
and finally the paper and toner are heated to make the toner fuse to the
paper.

1.2.9.3.4 Thermal
Uses heated wire pins that strike heat-sensitive paper. The paper turns black
where heat is applied, producing the image.

Table 1.4 - Printer comparison

Dot matrix Inkjet Laser Thermal
print quality poor good best good
black and up to
multicolour no yes yes one other
colour only
ink smears print is heat
when wet, sensitive, print
disadvantages noisy, slow high cost
replacement may degrade
ink is costly over time
low cost,
can handle low initial cost,
advantages thick paper good cost to fast low cost, fast
and quality ratio
cardboard

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 point of point of sale,
sale, line medical
most home/
feed/ home/office monitoring
commonly office
continuous printing devices
used for printing
paper (cardiogram,
systems sonogram)

1.2.10 Input/output devices

Some devices are Designed to both accept input and provide output. They
contain hardware components for both functions within a single unit. Early
network technology such as modems and network adapter cards are classified
as input/output devices because they both send and receive data. Today the
network interface controller is built into the motherboard.

1.2.10.1 Touchscreen
The touchscreen is an input device layered on top of a visual display. It can be
receptive to touch, or require a stylus or pen for input. Touchscreens enable
the user to interact directly with whatever is displayed, removing the need for
an intermediate input device. This makes interaction more natural and easier
to learn for the novice user. Smartphones, tablets and some notebooks have a
touchscreen.

1.2.11 Computer case

The computer case is known by a variety of other names, including computer
tower, system unit, cabinet box, housing or chassis. As the name suggests, the
case is an enclosure for the internal components of a computer.

A case may be made from metal or plastic and varies widely in appearance. In
the past, cases most commonly took the form of beige-coloured rectangular
boxes. Today some computer case side panels have a window, and this Design
allows a user to view all the components as they are operating.

Cases are available in different sizes: full, midi and mini tower. The full tower
is the largest, and can store many more components, but uses a lot of space.
The mini tower can only house a sufficiently small motherboard and support a
basic system. The midi tower is the most common case for Desktops.

The case usually contains

 Motherboard
 Power supply
 Hard drive
 optical disc drive
 additional cooling components

Note Today's commercially available cases are highly modifiable. In the

past it was more difficult to buy each hardware component
separately as one had to have a high level of technical knowledge in
order to build one's own system (or as gamers would say, "rig").
The consumer has a wealth of options now, and does not have to

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 accept pre-built computers from sellers. As a future IT professional
you may want to try sourcing the best performing components for
your particular needs and building your own rig!

1.2.12 Ergonomics
Ergonomics is a field of study that deals with how people work and interact
with the systems, devices, machines and environment that they use. One
should be careful when using computers for longer periods as this can lead to
physical problems that can decrease productivity and impact on an individual’s
health and well-being.

1.2.12.1 Eyestrain and headaches

Looking at the computer screen for longer periods can cause a great deal of
eyestrain and headaches. The following precautions should be taken to
ensure/reduce these problems:
 Using a good quality screen that produces clearer images
 Adjusting the screen resolution, screen brightness and contrast
 Set up the screen and room lighting

1.2.12.2 Repetitive strain injury (RSI)

Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a condition that occurs when you repeatedly
carry out a task using the same muscles. Using ergonomically Designed
devices may reduce the risk of strain injury.
Tips for avoiding RSI:
 When using the mouse, keep your wrist straight and rest your palm on the
body of the mouse.
 When using the keyboard, move your entire hand so that the desired keys
may be pressed easily.
 Use both hands when typing and when pressing key combinations.
 Avoid working with a bent wrist.
 Do not hunch your shoulders or bend forward.
 Take frequent breaks.
 Have good posture.

1.2.12.3 Back pain

Sitting at a desk with poor posture for a long time can cause back pain. To
prevent lower back pain:
 Chairs should provide support for the back and neck.
 A monitor and workstation should be positioned at the correct height.
 Your wrists should be supported during typing, with your forearms parallel
to your legs.
 Feet should always be on the floor.

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 Figure 1.27 - Practice of good posture

1.2.12.4 Ventilation
Having enough ventilation is important when using computer equipment.
Computers and monitors give off a lot of heat that make the surrounding air
very dry. Dry air can cause your eyes and throat to become dry and
uncomfortable if there is an insufficient supply of fresh air.

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1.2.13 Hardware performance
The responsiveness (speed performance) of a standard desktop computer
system is dependent on factors such as:
 the amount of memory available- the size of the RAM and CPU cache
 the number of applications running
 the speed of bus transfers
 the clock speed of the graphics processor and the cache size and type of
RAM chip on the graphics card
 the type of drive the operating system is stored on- solid state performs
better than HDD
 the temperature of the system- excessive heat will cause the system to
slow down to prevent damage

1.2.14 Hardware maintenance

Maintaining your computer components correctly will allow the system to
continue running reliably.

Key factors to avoid to prevent hardware damage:

 Moisture - spilling liquid or exposing components to rain may cause
malfunction, as with any electrical devices.
 Heat - high temperatures and direct sunlight can cause components to fail.
 Dust - clogs air vents and prevents proper cooling, increasing a tower's
internal temperature, which reduces performance.
 Vibration - dropping peripherals or dragging the tower or monitor across a
surface may cause a build-up of static electricity, which may affect sensitive
electronic components.
 Power surges - components are sensitive to changes in voltage and a power
surge or sudden power cut may corrupt low level programs or damage the
circuitry of your system.

1.2.15 Simple troubleshooting

Perhaps your computer or a peripheral will not switch on. Here are a few things
you could do before calling a qualified technician:
 Check that the power cord is properly connected to the computer.
 Ensure that the power supply has been switched on.
 Check to see if the monitor cable has been correctly connected and the
monitor has power.
 Devices that use the legacy ports are not plug-and-play or hot swappable.
A PS/2 mouse or keyboard must be connected before start up to be
detected. If the device is accidentally removed while the computer is on,
you may need to plug it back in and then restart the machine.

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 1.2.16 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any
question, look for it in the text of this section.

A single one or zero is referred to as a

A. Byte
B. Bit
C. Kilobyte
D. Megabyte

LCD stands for

A. Liquid crystal deification

B. Layer cathode display
C. Liquid crystal display
D. Laser crystal display

Which of the following is not an input device?

A. Mouse
B. Scanner
C. Speaker
D. Touchscreen

Which of the following is not an output device?

A. Monitor
B. Speaker
C. Printer
D. Scanner

Which one of the following components would generally have the largest
storage capacity?

A. Hard disk
B. Flash drive
C. RAM
D. DVD

A mouse is typically made up of two buttons. Identify the names that are
given to these buttons.

A. Primary button and left button

B. Secondary button and right button
C. Primary button and secondary button
D. Primary button and small button

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 Which one of the following is the biggest unit of data?

A. Megabyte
B. Terabyte
C. Gigabyte
D. Kilobyte

What does CPU stand for?

A. Control procedures units

B. Central processing unit
C. Control processing unit
D. Central processing units

Which computer is Designed for use by one person?

A. Network computer
B. Mainframe computer
C. Laptop
D. Personal computer

Which type of electricity is required for a PC tower?

A. AC current
B. BC current
C. A and B
D. None of the above

Input devices are devices that

A. Send information to the computer

B. Present information to the user
C. Retrieve information from the computer
D. Send information to the user

Which of the following PC components execute most of the computer

functions?

A. Hard drive
B. Monitor
C. Motherboard
D. All of the above

RAM stands for

A. Read always memory

B. Random access memory
C. Rapid access memory

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 D. Redundant array of memory

ROM stands for

A. Random operation mode

B. Read operation mode
C. Read Only Memory
D. Random only memory

RSI stands for

A. Repetitive Strain Injury

B. Repetitive System Injury
C. Repetitive Stomach Injury
D. Repetitive Sitting Injury

Proper computer ergonomics can

A. Promote health
B. Increase productivity
C. Reduce employee sick time
D. Lead to all of the above

John is suffering from dry eyes and a sore throat at his workplace, the IT
department. This points to

A. Good practice of ergonomics

B. RSI
C. Back pain
D. Poor ventilation

When you are working for long periods at a computer, you should

A. Maintain the same posture for as long as possible

B. Take frequent breaks from the computer
C. Slouch in your chair for long periods
D. Work with your wrist bent

Ergonomics is

A. The study of how humans interact with various objects and their
environment
B. The study of energy consumption by electrical devices
C. The study of the environmental damage caused by discarded computers
D. The study of how to encrypt data

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1.3 Software

At the end of this section you should ber able to:

 Define software
 Differentiate between system software and application software
 List some types of application software
 Define copyright
 Explain different types of copyright
 Define licensing.

1.3.1 Introduction
Software is all data, programs and information processed by the computer.

Software can be sold as installations packaged on optical discs, though

increasingly software is downloaded from the Internet and activated by a
purchased license key.

System software is run directly on the hardware and includes the operating
system, device drivers and maintenance utilities. Application software
provides task-specific functionality beyond the operation of the computer itself.

1.3.2 What is an operating system?

Operating systems are very large and complex pieces of software composed of
millions of lines of programming code. An operating system has the essential
job of managing the way in which the CPU accesses the instructions in different
programs, when multiple programs are running at the same time.

An operating system provides an environment in which other software

programs can run and also provide functionality for users to interact with the
computer. Examples of operating systems include Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

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 Figure 1.28 – How software is structured

1.3.2.1 Functions of the operating system

Think of the functions of an operating system as services that are provided for
the user and for the computer itself.
System services include:
 CPU scheduling and management- decide what programs have access to the
CPU, in what order and for how long.
 memory management.
 error-handling.
 control over the input and output devices.

User services include:

 access to the underlying computer hardware
 an interface to access stored data
 allows users to run applications
 security services- file permissions management.

1.3.2.2 Popular operating systems

Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows operating systems are currently the most commonly used
operating systems on desktop personal computer systems.

Windows operating systems offer a command line environment for situations in

which the Graphic User Interface (GUI) is inappropriate or undesirable.
UNIX
UNIX is a powerful and flexible operating system, which is often used on
servers and in multi-user/programming environments. With UNIX, the user can
access the underlying system resources through a command line shell.

There are GUIs available for UNIX systems but many UNIX users enjoy the
power and flexibility of the UNIX command line tools.
Linux
Linux is another operating system that is closely related to UNIX. Linux{XE
"Operating System:Linux" } comes in many different versions and, in most
cases, it supports a GUI of some kind.

Arguably, there are not as many desktop software applications available for
UNIX or Linux systems as there are for Windows.
Apple Mac OS and Mac OS X
The Mac OS line of operating systems is Designed for Apple’s Macintosh
computers. Apple Macintosh computers (often called Macs) are personal
computers of which the architecture differs from that of most other PCs.

Apple provides its own user-friendly, GUI-driven operating system – the Mac O
– for its own line of computers.

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1.3.3 What is an application?
An application is software Designed to perform specific tasks or a set of related
tasks. There are, for example, applications that are Designed to manage or
interpret data (spreadsheets and databases), while other applications are
Designed to compose music (such as Fruit Loops), or help users to create and
modify text documents or drawings (such as word processing and Photoshop
programs).

1.3.3.1 Functions of a software application

Software applications require extensive user interactions to accomplish the
goals for which the given application has been Designed.

Figure 1.29 - Application software in relation to system software

1.3.3.2 Common applications

As there is such a variety of tasks that people want to perform on their
computers, there are varieties of applications available to accommodate them.
The following table lists some of the most common types of applications.

Table 1.5 – Types of application software

A word processor provides a user with options for
Word creating, editing and formatting text-based documents.
Processors Widely used word processing applications are Microsoft
Word and Corel WordPerfect.
Spreadsheet applications are numerically oriented
Spreadsheet
software programs that help users store, organise,
Applications
analyse, track and report data. Some well-known

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 spreadsheet programs are Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel,
and Corel Quattro.
CAD stands for computer-aided Design. CAD
applications are frequently used in engineering,
CAD
architectural, construction and surveying/mapping
applications
settings. AutoCAD is an example of a CAD application
that is frequently used in industry.
Photo editing software allows users to modify, enhance,
Photo/image
edit and combine digital images. Popular digital
editing
image/photo editing applications include Adobe
applications
Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro.
Software development applications provide environments
Software that help programmers organise, create, compile and test
development programming code. (IDE stands for integrated
applications development environment). Some well-known IDEs
(IDEs) are Microsoft Visual Studio and the open source program,
Eclipse.
Database applications or DBMS (database management
Database systems) are used to store, organise and retrieve fields
applications and records of data. Some common database
(DBMS) applications in use today are Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL
and Microsoft Access.
Web browsers are applications that provide users with
access to the World Wide Web. The most commonly used
Web browsers
web browsers are Internet Explorer, Google Chrome,
Opera and Mozilla Firefox.
There are many other software application types in use
today, including but not limited to:
 Video editing applications
 Security applications (firewalls and anti-virus
Other programs)
applications  Computer animation programs
 Peer-to-peer (also known as P2P) file-sharing
programs
 Optical disc-authoring (burning) programs
 Audio/music recording and editing software

1.3.4 What is a GUI (Graphic User Interface)?

A GUI (pronounced gooey) is part of the application or operating system
software that provides the user with a visual representation of the system in
order to access to the software’s functions.

A GUI uses graphical symbols, that correspond with system components and
functions, to allow users to interact with the same system components and
functions.

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 Table 1.6 - Common GUI components
Icon An icon is a symbol in the form
of a small graphical image that
corresponds to a device, a
folder, a file, a program or some
other component of the
computer system.
Menu A menu is a panel of options
that appears when a user clicks
on a given menu heading or
symbol.

Menus are often used as a

means of providing access to
the functions and commands in
a software application.
Button A button is a small graphical
item that gives the visual effect
of being pressed when the user
clicks on it (using a mouse or
another pointing device).
Pointer A pointer is a small graphic
(often in the shape of an arrow
head) that is used in GUIs to
show the current location where
mouse commands (clicks or
dragging) will be implemented.
Cursor A cursor is usually a simple
vertical line or underscore –
which sometimes flashes - to
indicate the location on the
screen where any typed data
will be entered.
Window A window is a square or
rectangular bounded area that
encloses GUI components, data,
and/or the working area
associated with a given
application or system
component. Typically, windows
can be minimised, restored, and
resized to accommodate the
user’s preferences for how the
items on the display screen
should be arranged.

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1.3.5 Virtualisation
Virtualisation is the simulation of software and/or hardware that provides the
ability to run multiple operating systems on a single physical computer at the
same time. Each “virtualised” operating system, called a guest operating
system, can be installed and operated in a separate window environment
called a virtual machine (VM).

The application that used to manage virtual machines and their virtual
hardware -such as the processor, memory, hard drive and network adapter - is
called the hypervisor or the virtual machine monitor (VMM).

Another virtualisation term worth mentioning is the host operating system,

which refers to the main operating system on the actual computer on which
the virtualisation software is installed. (See also Figure 1.30.)

Figure 1.30 – VMM(top) and VM(bottom)

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 1.3.6 Types of software distribution
There are several different software programs available to PC
users, which can be downloaded from the Internet, purchased in stores, or
accessed off a USB flash drive. Some software, like an operating system, is
often pre-installed on a computer purchased but it can also be bought
separately.

1.3.6.1 Shareware
Shareware is software that is available for users to try for free. These types of
software are usually downloaded and installed from the Internet. After a
certain period, users are required to pay a fee for the software if they find the
application to their liking and would like to continue using it. Unlike traditional
commercial software, the copyright and distribution of shareware is not always
discouraged.

1.3.6.2 Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is freely available for an unlimited time
period and at no cost. Community-minded programmers, who would like to see
their software widely distributed among other users, develop freeware.

Merely because freeware is free does not mean that the user can do whatever
he or she wants with it. This type of software can still have licence agreements
that discourage unauthorised distribution or modification. There is typically
copyright on freeware so that the creator of the program remains in control of
its future development.

1.3.6.3 Open source software

Open source software can be freely used, changed and shared by anyone. It is
created by many people and distributed under licences that comply with the
Open Source Definition (OSD), which is a global non-profit that supports
and promotes the open source movement.

1.3.6.4 EULA (End User License Agreement)

EULA is a form of user agreement specifying the conditions of the software’s
use. Most EULAs are integrated with the installation process. At the beginning
of the software installation, EULA usually appears in a form of an electronic
document detailing the copy, distribution and usage rights to which the
software producers want the users to adhere. The user must agree to the
terms to install that certain software.

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 Figure 1.31 - Example of an EULA

The image above shows an EULA document window during the initial stage of
software installation.

1.3.7 Legal issues

Software piracy is a major concern in today’s market. Owing to the way that
software is published, distributed and used, it becomes vulnerable to copying.

1.3.7.1 Copyright
Copyright is a set of rights that control the way in which a particular creation is
used or copied. Examples of possible copyright infringements include:
 Making unauthorised copies of the software
 Deliberately using an unauthorised copy of a software application
 Distributing unauthorised copies of the software (e.g. sharing with friends
or co-workers)
 Purchasing a software application that is licensed for a single computer and
then using it on multiple computers

1.3.7.2 Data-protection legislation

Data-protection legislation refers to government legislation that upholds the
rights of citizens to have data privacy. Some of the private information stored
on computers may include:
 Personal information, like names and addresses
 Credit reports

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 Phone numbers
 Credit card numbers
 CVs
 Health records
 Various financial/banking data
 Criminal records
 Tax information

This legislation helps to enforce that:

 Organisations give people notice when they collect data.
 The collected data is only used for the purposes stated.
 The data is disclosed with the given person’s consent.
 People have the option of seeing the data an organisation keeps on them.

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 1.3.8 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any
question, look for it in the text of this section.

What is an EULA?

A. A type of virus
B. A type of software
C. An End User Licence Agreement
D. A receipt for a software application

What does GUI stand for?

A. Graphics User Interaction

B. Good Universal Indicator
C. Graphical User Interface
D. Graphical User Icon

Some of the private information stored on a computer may include

A. New electronic device

B. Hardware information
C. Software information
D. Tax information

Which of the following is a spreadsheet application program?

A. Corel Quattro
B. Microsoft Word
C. MySQL
D. Mozilla Firefox

What software program is always running, as long as your computer is on?

A. Web browser
B. Word processor
C. Operating system
D. Video editing application

Which of the following is not an operating system?

A. Mac OS X
B. Windows
C. Chrome
D. Linux

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 Which of the following is not an application?

A. Photoshop
B. Excel
C. Firefox
D. Mac OS X

Which one of the following items is not an example of GUI components?

A. Menu
B. Icon
C. Cursor
D. File

An operating system provides

A. An environment in which programs run

B. An environment for all PC components
C. An environment in which programs compile
D. All of the above

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1.4 Information Networks

In this section, you will learn about:

 Networks
 LANs and WANs
 Clients and servers
 The use of LANs
 Home groups and workgroups
 The Internet
 The World Wide Web
 Email
 E-commerce
 Intranets and extranets
 Analog vs digital
 Wireless networking
 What is shared over a network?
 Web browsers
 Search engines
 Protected websites
 Encryption
 Digital certificates
 malware
 Firewalls
 Internet connections and services

1.4.1 Introduction
A network is a group of computers and/or devices that are connected. The
field of study that deals with computer communication is called networking.

To form a network it is necessary to have:

 A server computer that provides shared resources and data
 Client computers: ordinary computers that use and work with the resources
and data
 Network cabling and network cards/adapters to give a physical connection
between the computers
 Routers to control where data is sent
 Protocols to carry data around the network

When these machines are connected, communication among them can be

established. For example, if one user needs to send a document to another
user, the sending user’s machine would serve as the sender and the receiving
user’s machine would serve as the receiver.

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Once the message has been sent, it travels over a cable or over the air
(wirelessly) to the receiver and is called transmission medium.

1.4.1.1 Uses of networks

Networks have a number of uses, including assisting the user to:
 Distribute and exchange information
 Share and communicate information
 Share hardware
 Access entertainment
 Conduct research
 Use email

1.4.1.2 Advantages of networks

 Increase productivity - With a network, the ability to share files is
maximised and not limited to copying files onto external media, such as a
flash drive and carrying the drive from computer to computer.
 Improved data security - Physical data security is increased by allowing
users to store data files in a central location that is backed up regularly.
Security is also improved through access control. Most networks allow
administrators to limit or restrict the network use and resource access.
 Job simplification - It is easier to support one or two operating systems
and network applications than dozens of computers that follow no
standards. Network-based management and troubleshooting utilities allow
technicians to correct many system problems without physically visiting the
system.
 Improved data access - By making data available over a network, several
people can access the data with ease. User communication is improved
through network services such as electronic mail. (E-mail is discussed more
in detail at a later point in this section).

1.4.1.3 What can be shared?

When computer networks are discussed, we often refer to the sharing of
different resources. The lists of resources that are routinely shared over a
network are summarised in the following table.

Table 1.7 – Shared resources

Files Computer files can take the form of word processing
documents, spreadsheets, digital images and a host
of other file types. Files are stored in a shared
network folder (typically located on a server), which
can be accessed by anyone on the network with the
proper authorisation.
Hardware resources A hardware resource may be a printer, a storage
area, or even another computer. By sharing
hardware resources through a network, these
resources can be used more efficiently and cost-
effectively.
Applications Applications can sometimes be shared over a
network. Some distributed applications may rely on

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 several, moderately powerful, networked computers
to solve problems that would otherwise require a
computer with immense processing power.

1.4.2 Modem
A modem is a special hardware device that can take digital signals from a
computer and convert them into an analog of signal for transmission over a
carrier medium, such as a telephone line.

The name modem comes from the term modulator de-modulator. A modem
modulates outgoing signals into another type of signal (digital to analog) while,
at the same time, de-modulating incoming signals (analog to digital).

Digital carrier lines are now the norm, however modem functionality is still
available on network cards.

1.4.3 LAN (Local Area Network)

We can distinguish between different types of computer networks. For the
purpose of this study guide, the LAN (Local Area Network) and the WAN
(Wide Area Network) will be discussed.

A LAN is a computer network that covers a small area, e.g. office buildings, a
single university department, or a home network. Most LANs take advantage of
Ethernet technology, which uses special hardware and communication
protocols to enable computers on the LAN to exchange information at high
rates.

NOTE A protocol is a set of rules, procedures or methods used by

computer and networking devices to transmit or process data.

1.4.3.1 Benefits of LANs

Benefits of LANs include:

 Data sharing
 Ability to share peripherals

1.4.3.2 Network topologies

A network topology is a description of the physical (actual) and logical layout
of the connections and computers (nodes) in a network. Computers exchange
information with each other by connecting to a central switch. The switch
serves as a miniature version of the longer bus from the previous topology.

A LAN may be configured as a bus typology or a star typology.

 Bus topology - In the bus topology, the computers exchange information

over a long interconnecting Ethernet bus. Each computer is connected to
the bus with a wire that runs to the bus from the computer’s Ethernet port.

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 Figure 1.32 - Bus topology

 Star topology - A star network is a LAN in which all nodes are directly
connected to a common central computer. Every workstation is indirectly
connected to every other computer through the central computer. In some
star networks, the central computer can also operate as a workstation.

Note
A node is an end point device that is connected to the network.

Figure 1.33 - A star topology

1.4.4 WAN (Wide Area Network)

WAN uses more networking hardware than a LAN. This type of network makes
use of the public communications (telephone system) infrastructure to span
municipal or regional boundaries.

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WANs can be used to connect multiple LANs that are dispersed over a wide
area. In this sense, a WAN can be thought of as a network consisting of
smaller networks. Internet service providers (ISPs) use WANs to distribute
Internet service to their clients.

Table 1.8 - Main differences between LAN and WAN

LAN WAN
Does not use public communications Often uses public communications
infrastructure (telephone company) infrastructure
Connects multiple computers over a Connects multiple LANS over a wide
relatively small geographical area geographical area
Enables computers on the LAN to Can provide LANS (or other single
exchange information machines) with Internet access
Is a single network Can be described as a network of
smaller networks

Other types of networks include:

 WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
 MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
 SAN (Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area Network or
Small Area Network)
 CAN (Campus Area Network, Control Area Network or Cluster Area Network)
 PAN (Personal Area Network)
 DAN (Desk Area Network)

1.4.5 Client-server network

. A computer that shares access to software programs and data with other
computers is known as a server. This type of network is called a client-
server network. In an enterprise client-server network, security is centrally
controlled through network servers. A server is a high-powered computer
running a network operating system. Network administrators, who are
responsible for user access and network resources, manage security. In a
client-server network, each server is managed separately.

1.4.5.1 What is a client?

A client is a machine that contacts another machine and requests an
information exchange of some kind. For example, in a typical client-server
model, a computer that requests a web page from a web server is deemed the
client.

The term client can also apply to a particular application running on a

computer. For example, when a user views a web page with a browser, the
web browser application on the user’s computer is a client.

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 Figure 1.34 - An example of clients sending requests to the server

1.4.5.2 What is a server?

A server can be described as a computer or application running on a computer,
which responds to a client and provides an environment allowing clients to
connect and exchange information.

Almost any web page on the Internet is hosted on a server of some kind. The
servers that provide access to web pages are called web servers.

There are many other types of servers available as well, including FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) servers, mail servers, application servers, proxy servers,
DNS (Domain Name Service) servers, etc.

Similar to clients, it is possible to think of a server as a software application or

as hardware (a computer). A single computer can run multiple server
applications, like a web server, an FTP server, or a DNS server.

In terms of the client/server model, the important thing to remember is that

the client initiates the process of information exchange and the server
responds to the client’s initial request. See also Figure 24.

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 Figure 1.35 - Example of a client and server exchanging data

1.4.6 Home groups

Home groups allow you to share all kinds of information – such as pictures,
music, videos, documents and printers – with other people on your home
network. Other people can only change the files you share if they are granted
permission.

When you set up computers with the same version of Windows, a home group
is created automatically, if one does not already exist on the home network. If
a home group exists, you can join it. After creating or joining a home group,
you can select the files that you want to share. Specific files or folders can be
prevented from being shared. It is possible to share additional files later on.
Protect the home group with a password, which can be changed at any time.

1.4.7 Workgroups
A workgroup is also known as a peer-to-peer network. All computers are
considered equal (peers). No centralised computer is responsible for security
functions, such as user authentication.

Each computer acts as both a client that can access other shared resources on
the network, and a server that can provide shared resources to the network.
Each individual user decides what will be shared and with who it will be shared.

Workgroups are generally small (typically no more than 12 computers) and are
easy to implement. They are also less expensive than larger network
configurations because fewer components need to be purchased.

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1.4.8 Domain-based network
In a domain-based network, logical divisions exist which are known as domains
group user workstations and servers. The primary difference between a
domain-based network and a client/server network is that the domain servers
are managed as a group. Users log on and access the domain as a whole,
whereas a client/server network requires users to connect to each server
separately.

All versions of the Windows Server Operating System support domain-based

network configurations. Windows Server systems can also be used as peers in
a workgroup and as clients in a client/server network.

1.4.9 Directory-based network

Directory-based networks use a more advanced management model than
domain-based networks. Users, computers, servers and other network
components are treated as a logical group.

Directory-based networks have more flexibility and control built into them than
domain-based networks. An advantage of a directory-based network is that no
one server is the primary controlling server on the network. The responsibility
can be shared equally among network servers. Windows Server supports
directory-based networking.

1.5 Internet
The Internet is a giant network of interconnected networks. The Internet is
publicly accessible using a PC, mobile phones and other devices.

A website is a collection of web pages accessible and viewed in a web browser.

These web pages can contain multiple links to other web pages or websites.
The World Wide Web is an enormous collection of websites and web pages
that may be connected to other web pages and sites via hyperlinks.

Table 1.9 - Difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet
Internet World Wide Web
The Internet is a huge network of The World Wide Web is a vast
networks built from the collection of web pages and websites
communications infrastructure and that are often hyperlinked and hosted
other hardware and software on thousands of web servers around
elements that make up these the world.
networks.

Table 1.10 - Basic terms of the Internet and World Wide Web
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol is set of rules that applications
like web browsers use to help manage the communication of
website and web page data over networks.

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 HTML Hypertext Mark-up Language specifies the contents of a web
page and indicates the way in which the contents should be
rendered in a browser.
Hyperlink Using HTML, web Designers can specify hyperlinks in a web
page. Many hyperlinks are underlined and may have a blue font
colour, for example: http://somewhere.com.

Hyperlinks can also appear in the browser as images, buttons, or

specific regions on the web page.
URL/URI Uniform Resource Locator/Uniform Resource Identifier is
also referred to as a web address, the URL specifies the
protocol, location and file path that a given application should
use to retrieve the resource that the URL/URI identifies.

When you visit a web page, you will typically see the URL for the
particular page in the address bar of your browser, for example:

http://server.somewhere.com/folder1/data.html

FTP File Transfer Protocol is used to communicate data over

networks.
FTP is used to help manage the transport and manipulation of
files (often very large files) between remote locations.
ISP Internet Service Provider is a company or organisation that
provides Internet access to other organisations or to end users.

RSS Really Simple Syndication (Rich site summary) is a format

for delivering frequently and consistently changing content like
news, updates and web logs (blogs).
Blog A website on which content pertaining to a specific subject (like
a person) is updated regularly. The content of a typical blog
often includes text updates and images, which are categorised
by date and are typically accessible in order from most recent to
least recent.

Cookie A small amount of text information that can be automatically

downloaded from a server and stored on a user’s computer.
When a user visits a website that uses cookies, the cookie is
automatically downloaded from the website server and stored on
the user’s computer. The text in the cookie can contain
information about the user’s interactions with the website.
Cache A storage area on your computer hard disk where elements from
web pages (like images and graphics) can be stored.

It can take a while to download all of the information required to

display a web page in your browser. To save time, your browser
will store certain elements of web pages in a special cache folder

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 on your hard drive. When you visit a web page, your browser
retrieves the elements in the local cache that correspond to that
page.

1.5.1 What is a web browser?

A web browser is a software application that is built to view and interact with
web pages. When users surf the web, they use a web browser to do so.

A web browser uses the HTTP protocols to retrieve the HTML instructions and
associated files that correspond to the resource specified in the browser’s
address bar. Essentially, by entering a web address into the browser’s address
bar, the user is pointing the web browser at that location.

Figure 1.36 - Internet Explorer showing a web page

Figure 1.36 shows the Internet Explorer web browser that is displaying a web
page. At the top of the browser is the address bar displaying the URL (web
address) of the page that is currently being used (i.e.
http://www.velsoft.com).

If you look carefully, you will also notice back and forward buttons ( ).
These can be used to navigate backwards and forwards through the web
pages visited. Typically, there is also a panel of other buttons (as shown in
Figure 1.37) that provide access to other navigation features and functionality.

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 Figure 1.37 - Other buttons found in Internet Explorer

Although the buttons and navigation controls may look different from browser
to browser, much of the functionality provided by the buttons is standard in
almost any current generation browser.

Three commonly used web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google
Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

1.5.2 Search engine

A search engine is a program that searches and identifies items in a database
that match keywords or characters specified by the user. When a user enters a
keyword into the search engine, lists of hyperlinked web pages that match the
user keyword are returned. This list can vary from no results to hundreds of
pages.

Some common search engines are Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Figure 1.38 - Google

1.5.3 Internet security

Every time that a computer is connected to the Internet, it is exposed to

possible problems.

1.5.3.1 Protected websites

There are occasions when it may be necessary to allow access to restricted
information or resources over the Internet so that authorised users can reach
the material.

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With a protected website, a user has to enter authorisation credentials
(usually in the form of a username and password). The username and
password are encrypted when they are submitted to the website. Encrypting
the username and password prevents anyone who might be snooping on the
network transmission to read the data.

1.5.3.2 Encryption
Encryption is used to transmit data that is unreadable by anyone who
intercepts it. The essential thing is that encryption allows the user to send
encrypted message over the Internet in such a way that it cannot be read by
unauthorised individuals or groups. An encrypted message is scrambled in
such a way that only the recipient of the message can unscramble it.

1.5.3.3 Digital certificates

A digital certificate binds a special encryption key (which can be thought of
as a password) together with a person’s identity. In this way, if a message has
been encrypted by someone who uses a digital certificate, it can only be
decrypted (unscrambled) with the special key that is bound to that person’s
identity.

Digital certificates are issued by certification authorities, which are trusted

third party organisations that verify a particular special key is indeed bound to
a specific identity. This binding is in the form of a digital certificate.

To ensure both the authenticity and the privacy of a message, digital

signatures can be used in combination with privacy encryption for the same
message.

1.5.3.4 Virus issues

Another security threat to which computers on the Internet may be exposed
comes in the form of computer viruses. Computer viruses can come in many
varieties but all share the ability to infect a computer by copying themselves
into the system without permission of the user.

1.5.3.5 Protecting personal information

Phishing (pronounced fishing) is a technique used to obtain personal and
sensitive information from computer users through fraudulent means. Once a
person’s private information is obtained, others can use that data to pose as
that person (identity theft), or to fraudulently obtain money from the victim.

Any legitimate business encrypts personal data sent so that it is secure. If one
is sending personal information to a website, look for a little security icon of
some kind (such as a padlock) that appears in the web browser. Secure
transactions do not use standard HTTP. Instead, these use another protocol
such as HTTPS (HTTP Secure).

Figure 1.39- An example of a secure website

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If you are not convinced that your transaction will be secure, do not send your
personal information.

There is phishing-detecting software available that looks for the tell-tale

signs of fraudulent websites. (This software is built into some web browsers.)
Some of these phishing signs include long, difficult URLs and the use of IP
addresses (dotted decimal numbers) instead of host names, as in
http://149.235.31.8/info.

1.5.3.6 Firewall
Computer firewalls work to protect your computer system from Internet
threats by monitoring and controlling all communications with the Internet. A
firewall puts up a wall between the user’s system and the Internet. All
communications into or out of the system have to pass through that wall.
Typically, the user or administrator of the system sets up the firewall to allow
or disallow various Internet communications, as they see fit.

Some of the potential security advantages of using a firewall are:

 Knowing which programs are sending messages over the Internet and the
ability to control these communications
 Control over the type of incoming communications that the system is
allowed to accept
 Extra protection against the exploitation of security weaknesses in the
system
 In a business or organisational setting, a firewall can be used to specify how
the company’s users can access the Internet

Figure 32 shows how a firewall may be employed.

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 Figure 1.40 - A Firewall

Note Although firewalls are effective for controlling communications to

and from the network, and blocking certain types of security
exploitations, they do not stop all threats.

1.5.4 Ways to connect to the Internet

1.5.4.1 Dial-up
Dial-up Internet access is an old type of Internet connectivity that operates
through a standard telephone line. By running the telephone line to a modem
device in the PC and configuring the computer to dial a specific phone number,
the computer is granted Internet access.

1.5.4.2 ISDN (Integrated services digital network)

ISDN is a set of communication standards enabling traditional telephone lines
to carry voice, digital network services, and video. While ISDN is inexpensive
and about twice as fast as a dial-up service, it has been largely replaced by the
affordable ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line).

1.5.4.3 DSL (Digital subscriber line)

DSL is a technology that uses a standard copper two-wire pair (or line) to
transmit high-speed (high-frequency) Internet connectivity to areas that will
support the service.

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DSL – also referred to as Dedicated Service Line – uses a standard
telephone line for fast Internet access. DSL differs from dial-up in that it uses a
digital frequency.

1.5.4.4 Satellite broadband

Satellite broadband is Internet connectivity provided by satellite. Satellite
broadband is linked to a dish network subscriber service and provides speeds
similar to other broadband technologies.

The Internet feed is beamed from satellite to a dish installed at the

subscriber’s home. Satellite broadband can deliver speeds in megabits per
second (mbps) downstream and mbps upstream.

1.5.4.5 3G and 4G networks

3G (G stands for generation) is the third generation of telecommunications
hardware standards and general technology for mobile networking. 3G
networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more
advanced services, while achieving greater network capacity through improved
spectral efficiency.

4G, which is the successor to 3G, is the fourth generation of mobile phone
communications standards. A 4G network provides ultra-broadband mobile
Internet access, for example, to laptops with USB wireless modems,
Smartphones and other mobile devices. 4G provides support for mobile web
access, gaming services, mobile TV, video conferencing and cloud computing,
among other features.

1.5.4.6 HSDPA (High-speed downlink packet access)

HSDPA is a new protocol for mobile telephone data transmission, known as a
3.5G technology. Essentially, the standard provides download speeds on a
mobile phone equivalent to an ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) line in
a home, removing any limitations placed on the use of your phone by a slow
connection.

1.5.4.7 LTE (Long Term Evolution)

LTE, which is marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of
high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It based on the
GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and
speed using a different radio interface together with core network
improvements.

1.5.5 Electronic communication

IT has greatly impacted the way people communicate. The Internet has given
rise to many ways to access information.

1.5.5.1 Email
Emails are messages sent over the Internet to a recipient specified by an email
address. A basic email is a message typed in plain text. Information that is
more complex or files (word processing document, digital images and media

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clips) can be sent along with an email in the form of an attachment (as long as
the attachment file is not of a very large size).

When you send an email, it is directed to the recipient by specifying an email

address. In practice, email addresses have a form like:

[email protected]

The username generally identifies the particular person to who the email is
being sent and ‘[email protected]’ (i.e. the part following the @
symbol) specifies the location of the organisation’s or network’s mail server.

1.5.5.2 Instant messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is like email but short messages are sent and received
as they are typed. The recipient will receive the message immediately once a
message has been sent. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts,
BBM and WeChat are popular instant messaging platforms.

1.5.5.3 E-commerce
E-commerce describes the purchase, sale, distribution and advertising of
products over the Internet. It also includes business-related electronic
transactions that are facilitated by telecommunications infrastructure such as
money transfers, online banking, and automated supply and inventory
systems.

1.5.6 Intranet
An intranet is a private computer network – similar to the larger Internet –
that involves clients, servers and various computer networking protocol. Unlike
the Internet, intranets are not publicly accessible.

Intranets are Designed to provide only authorised users with access to

personal or otherwise sensitive information. For example, an organisation may
provide an intranet to allow its employees to access private company files,
schedules and workspaces within the organisation securely.

1.5.7 Extranet
An extranet uses servers, clients and Internet protocols to provide access to
information. Like an intranet, an extranet is generally a private network. The
main difference is that an extranet provides access to some authorised users
who are outside of the organisation using the public Internet infrastructure.

A company’s extranet may allow other organisation or individuals that the

company must deal with (like suppliers, clients, or other companies) to access
or exchange company information.

In an extranet, security is maintained by using encryption, digital certificates,

firewalls, and other network security technologies.

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1.5.8 Wireless
Data can be transmitted over radio waves, which means wireless
communication takes place using different hardware and communication
protocols from wired communication. All data networks involve a combination
of hardware and communication protocols to exchange data.

There are three main forms of wireless networks that can be used to transmit
computer data. These are:

 Bluetooth network
 Wi-Fi networks
 Mobile (cellular) phone networks

Each one of these wireless networking strategies uses different hardware and
communication protocols and, as such, each type has different capabilities.

1.5.8.1 Bluetooth
The Bluetooth wireless protocols are used to create wireless personal area
networks (PANs). These networks allow Bluetooth-compatible devices to
communicate wirelessly in a small area. Among different Bluetooth
specifications, the following are the three most popular types:

 Type 3: Range of up to 1 metres

Range of up to 10 metres, which is commonly used for
 Type 2:
mobile devices
Range of up to 100 metres, which is commonly used for
 Type 1:
industrial purposes

Bluetooth devices require little power and they connect with one another
easily.

1.5.8.2 Wi-Fi
Wireless Fidelity is a family of network strategies for building wireless LANs. In
a wireless LAN, multiple computers can exchange information with wireless
network interface cards (WNICs).

Wi-Fi networks offer good data-transfer rates with sound reliability over a
relatively small geographical area.

Computers that use Wi-Fi-compatible interface cards can also access the
Internet by connecting to a wireless access point. The access point can send
and receive wireless signals while maintaining a wire/cable connection to the
Internet. (See also Figure 27.)

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 Figure 1.41 - Devices connecting via Wi-Fi

1.5.8.3 Mobile phone/cellular

Mobile phone networks extend the wired telephone system infrastructure to
offer wireless services.

A cell phone browser allows the user of the mobile phone to surf the sites on
the World Wide Web. These sites are Designed with wireless application
protocols (WAP) and are built so that these can be rendered correctly in a
mobile phones or a PDA’s WAP-compatible browser.

Table 1.11 – Wireless protocol usage

Network type Devices

Bluetooth Wireless mouse, wireless keyboards, Bluetooth-enabled

computers, some PDAs, mobile phones, and many other
devices
Wi-Fi PCs and laptops with wireless network interface cards
(Wireless LAN
standards)
Wireless routers/access points
802.11a
802.11b
802.11g
Mobile phone Cell phones

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1.5.9 Cloud Computing
Although it has many definitions, cloud computing provides users with on-
demand access to a shared pool of any sort of information technology
infrastructure over a computer network or the Internet. Examples of this
infrastructure include networks, servers, storage and applications.

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 1.5.10 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look
for it in the text of this section.

A LAN is a

A. Personal area network

B. Local area network
C. Wide area network
D. Communication protocol

A PAN is a

A. Personal area network

B. Type of Internet connection
C. Wide area network
D. Communication protocol

A WAN is a

A. Wide area network

B. Type of virus
C. Communication protocol
D. Wireless antenna network

Satellite broadband is Internet connectivity provided by

A. Satellite
B. Light signals
C. Sound waves
D. Digital signals through cables

The mobile phone network

A. Uses Wi-Fi protocols

B. Extends the PSTN service with wireless capabilities
C. Provides users with very high-speed Internet access
D. Uses the 802.11 standards

A Bluetooth network is used to

A. Connect devices over a large geographical area

B. Connect devices over a moderately sized geographical area
C. Interconnect dental equipment
D. Provide connections in a room-sized setting

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 Which one of the following is not an advantage of using a firewall?

A. Extra protection against the exploitation of security weakness in your

system
B. Control over your entire network and control of all users on the network
C. In a business or organisational setting, a firewall can be used to specify
how the company’s users can access the Internet
D. Knowing which programs are sending messages over the Internet, and
the ability to control these communications

HTTP stands for

A. Hyper Transfer Protocol

B. Hyper Transmit Protocol
C. Hypertext Transfer Protocol
D. None of the above

An encryption is used to ensure

A. Message privacy
B. Message authenticity
C. Message details
D. A and B

FTP stands for

A. File Transfer Protocol

B. File Transfer Proxy
C. File Transfer Prototype
D. None of the above

What is e-mail?

A. A type of messaging service that provides real-time communications

B. A type of message that is similar to traditional mail, but that is sent
electronically over computer networks
C. A type of virus
D. A type of hard copy, paper-based mail system

E-commerce is

A. Working with spreadsheets over the Internet

B. Marketing and financial transactions performed over the Internet
C. A type of email
D. A transport route for sending information or power between computer
components

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1.6 Security

In this section, you will learn about:

 User IDs
 Passwords
 Access rights
 Data backup and backup methods
 Computer viruses
 Spyware and adware
 Protecting against malware

1.6.1 Identifying yourself

One of the most frequently exploited weaknesses in computer systems is
identification/password security. There are a number of ways for intruders to
get password/identification information, including phishing, guessing, snooping
(packet sniffing), and brute force attacks.

1.6.1.1 User IDs

A user ID (often called a username) is a string of characters that is used to
distinguish one user from another on a particular computer system.

1.6.1.2 Password
To access a password-protected system, a user has to enter a correct
password. The password has to match with the corresponding username,
meaning that a correct username and password combination is required to
access the system. The password and username are used for security purposes
and to block unauthorised use of the system. (See Figure 1.42.)

Figure 1.42 - Warning message for username and password

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To create a good password:

 Use between 7 and 14 characters and a mixture of upper and lower case,
numbers and symbols, such as $, *, #
 Change passwords periodically (every 30 – 60 days)
 Do not write the password down and avoid sharing passwords
 Avoid using the same password for different services (work password,
online banking services, cell phone password, etc.)
 Avoid using people’s names
 Avoid using everyday and dictionary words
 Avoid using common keyboard patterns like qwerty or 123456

1.6.2 Protecting your data

As computers can be used to store sensitive information belonging to an

organisation or a business, it is very important that this information is stored
in such a way that it is not easily lost because of system failure or a security
breach.

1.6.2.1 Access rights

Access rights are the privileges that are granted to a particular user for a
particular computer system. With access rights, users can be constrained
within a computer system - to the duties that they are supposed to be
performing there.

When system administrators speak of access rights, they use the terms read,
write, and execute in the following contexts:
 Read means that a user is able to open and view the contents of a file.
 Write means that a user can add data to a file or in some cases edit or
modify the file’s existing contents.
 Execute means that a user can run a file on the computer. (Execute
permissions typically refers to executable software files).

1.6.2.2 Why backup data?

Backing up certain system files and utilities may make it easier to recover from
system failures. For these reasons, it is important to back up crucial data that
an individual, a company or organisation, or your clients depend on.

Table 1.12 - Some possible causes of data loss

The physical medium on which the data is
stored fails in some way, e.g. owing to
Storage medium failure
damaged hard disks or scratched CDs and
DVDs.
A sudden power failure can cause data loss in
any project the user is working in but has not
Power failure
recently saved. It can also corrupt any open
files.

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 It is possible for a computer virus to corrupt
Viruses other files on a hard disk, resulting in the loss
of data.
It is quite possible for a user to delete
important data unintentionally by issuing the
Accidental deletion
wrong command, or by mistaking an important
file for an unimportant one.
An intruder, who can access the system, may
Intentional deletion
be able to delete important data.
In the unlikely circumstance that an
organisation’s offices suffer structural damage,
Building or structural
the computer equipment used in that location
damage
may be damaged or destroyed, resulting in the
loss of data.

1.6.2.3 Backup methods

 CDs or DVDs
It can be inconvenient to back up manually, particularly if there are large
amounts of data that must be backed up frequently or on a regular schedule.
The data that is stored on optical discs may not last as long as the data that is
stored on magnetic tape.

 Tape drives
Tape drives offer large, relatively inexpensive storage capacities and can last a
long time without losing data in archival situations. However, data has to be
accessed sequentially from a tape drive.

 Network servers
Network servers provide a highly efficient and automated form of data storage.
The data that needs to be backed up travels over a network and is stored on
another hard disk located in a remote server.

Using a network server for backup has the advantage that a network server
can survive and preserve its data – even when the main system suffers
physical damage – because a network server does not have to be in the same
location as the main computer system.

Network servers may, however, be too costly for a small organisation to

implement.

 RAID (Redundant Array of independent Disks)

RAID is a group of two or more disks that behave logically as one. This means
that if, there is a disk failure in the computer, the data can still be recovered
from the remaining disks that also store the data. Data recovery depends on
which RAID level is used. Backup systems using RAID can be easily automated
and are very fast.

For a single user or small business, RAID may be expensive to implement.

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A potential problem with RAID is that major damage to the computer system
or theft of the particular computer that contains the multiple disks will result in
the loss of your data.

1.6.3 Understanding malware (Malicious software)

Malware is software Designed to penetrate, snoop, damage, or consume
system resources without the knowledge or consent of the computer system’s
owner/administrator.

1.6.3.1 Computer viruses

A computer virus is a program that infects (and often damages) a computer
system without the knowledge of the computer’s owner.

The following are several types of virus and virus-like software:

 Boot sector virus – This type of virus infects sectors containing code for
bootable programs, especially operating systems.
 Executable/macro – This type of virus infects program files or files capable
of launching software code. When the file is opened, the virus is triggered
and tries to infect other programs.
 Worm – This type of virus does not infect but rather replicates over
computer networks.
 Trojan – These programs do something other than what they claim to do.

1.6.3.2 Adware and spyware

Adware is a type of software that is Designed for a specific, legitimate purpose,
but that also automatically displays advertisements to the user while the
software is running. Although true adware is not necessarily Designed with
malicious intent, it can be quite annoying. Usually, users get adware by
downloading and installing a software program that has adware functionality
bundled with it.

Spyware is a type of software that silently collects information from a

computer system without the computer user’s knowledge or consent. Often,
spyware will be running on a computer system and the user will not even know
it exists.

1.6.4 Protection against malware

1.6.4.1 Antivirus and anti-spyware software
Anti-virus and anti-spyware programs are used to react to situations in which
malicious programs have infected a computer more so than preventing the
infections.

An antivirus program cannot guarantee that a given virus will be prevented

from infecting the system. New viruses are constantly being invented that may
be too new to be recognised by antivirus software.

Antivirus software works by scanning the files in a computer system and

comparing the contents of the files to a dictionary of known viruses. If the
content of a file contains code that matches one of the virus definitions in the

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dictionary, the file will typically be quarantined and the user will be alerted to
perform an action.

1.6.4.2 Keeping software up to date

Many viruses (and other malware programs) exploit software vulnerabilities in
operating systems and application software as a means of infecting computers
and/or spreading to other systems. For these reasons, it is important to keep
your entire computer’s software up to date.

If software patches or updates have been released for your application

programs, particularly the operating system, download and install these
patches from the software manufacturer’s site to plug any vulnerabilities and
security holes. These patches and updates are often available free of charge
and, in some cases, are downloaded and installed automatically at the user’s
discretion.

Keeping antispyware and antivirus programs up to date is also important. If

virus definitions are not current, antivirus scans could miss a virus that has
infected the system. For this reason, users should schedule regular updates to
their antivirus software’s dictionary. Many antivirus programs download and
install the latest virus definitions automatically if the user wishes.

1.6.4.3 Safety tips

The following safety tips can be considered to protect computers against
malicious software. These tips do not constitute a security policy that will
prevent malware from infecting a computer or network. In the world of
Internet and computer security, there are no guarantees.
 Think carefully about what programs you download and install from the
Internet.
 Make sure that you download and install updates and patches.
 Keep your antivirus software up to date.
 Scan your files.
 Be careful of what you click on.
 Be careful with email.
 Be aware.

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 1.6.5 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any
question, look for it in the text of this section.

A user ID is a string of
A. Characters
B. Names
C. Words
D. None of the above

Privacy of computer data is usually obtained through

A. Authentication
B. Encryption
C. Data backup
D. A RAID server

A user ID is often called

A. Password
B. Email address
C. Username
D. Digital signature

To access a remote system, an authorised user should enter

A. A username and password
B. An email address and password
C. A username and computer name
D. A web address

Which one of the following is a strong password?

A. qwerty
B. qwerty123
C. 1234qwert
D. Trdiayw$7

Which of the following is not malware?

A. A Trojan horse
B. A worm
C. A patch
D. A virus

RAID stands for

A. Redundant Array Of Independent Disks
B. Redundant Array Of Intel Disks
C. Random Access Intent Disks
D. Random Ability Independent Disks

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 ________ means that a user is able to open and view the content of a file.
A. Read
B. Write
C. Execute
D. None of the above

You can get rid of a computer virus by

A. Enabling the computer’s firewall
B. Scanning your hard drive with updated antivirus software
C. Replacing your hard drive
D. Performing all of the above tasks

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1.7 The Windows 7 Operating System

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Log in
 Use the Windows 7 desktop
 Shut down Windows 7

1.7.1 Introduction
This study guide is based on Windows 7 Ultimate, the fully equipped version of
the operating system that contains all features offered by Microsoft.

The following are the four basic functions provided by Windows operating
system to ensure that a user is able to carry out a given task using installed
applications and data on a personal computer:
 Provide a method of communication for the application to connect with the
hardware of the PC
 Provide a user interface so that a user can access, manage and use the
hardware components of the PC
 Enable the user to determine the available installed programmes and to
run, use and shut down the programme of their choice
 Enable the user to add, modify, move and delete the installed programmes
and data on the PC

1.7.2 Logging in
When a computer is powered on, there will be a login screen that contains a
small picture with either your username or the account named administrator.

In the bottom left-hand corner of the login screen, there is a blue button for
the Ease of Access Centre, a place where you can set accessibility options.
(See Figure 1.43)

Figure 1.43 - Ease of Access Center button

On the bottom right-hand side, there is a red power button symbol. Click the
(^) button for options to shut down or restart the computer:

Figure 1.44 - Power button

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Move the mouse and point it to the username. Click the left mouse button
somewhere inside the white text area under the picture.

Enter your password on the keyboard and press the <Enter> key or left-click
the blue arrow button:

Figure 1.45 - Log-in screen

If there is no password on the account, clicking on the picture will

automatically log you in.

1.7.3 The Windows 7 Desktop

A few moments after logging in, you will see the desktop

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 Desktop
Recycle Bin

Active Applications
Media Player
Internet Explorer Task bar

Windows Explorer
Start button Notification Area
Figure 1.46 - Windows Desktop

We will now explore the screen presented to you.

Item Description
Desktop This is the main screen area that you see when you turn on the
computer. It is your work surface for completing all your
computer-based tasks. It can be used for both actively working in
applications and for storing items that you require at a moment’s
notice.
Recycle bin This is a temporary storage place for files and folders that have
been deleted. Files/folders that have been recently deleted may
be restored to their original location if they were still in the
recycle bin.
Task bar This bar is always visible (unless the default setting has been
changed) and hosts the Start button, the middle sections
displays active applications and files, and the Notification area.
Start button This button provides access to the Start Menu, which provides
access to all your Windows applications and accessories that have
been installed. There are five different sections in the Start menu,
namely:
 Program Listing
 Search Bar
 Quick Links

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  Computer Control
 Power Options
Active This area displays icons for all active applications and files that
applications are currently open on your computer. It allows you to switch
between these items by clicking the relevant icon.
Internet An Internet web browsing tool that comes standard with the
Explorer Windows Operating System.
Windows The file and folder management tools that facilitate moving,
Explorer copying and deleting files and folders.
Media Player Plays many different formats of both music and video files stored
on your computer.
Notification This includes a clock and other icons that display the status of
area your computer settings. This is sometimes called the System
Tray (Sys Tray). When you place your mouse pointer on the
icon, it will display its name and it may show the status of the
item’s setting. To see any hidden items, click the (^) icon on the
left side before any other icon on the notification area.

Windows provides icons on the desktop as a quick way to access files and
programs. These icons fall into one of three categories:
 Windows special icons
 Shortcuts, which provide a link to any object (file, folder or application)
 Icons representing objects (file, folder or application)

Note An icon is a small picture that represents a file, folder, program or

other objects or function.

Some of the special desktop icons that can be chosen for display are shown in
the following table.

Icon Description
Temporary receptacle for deleted files.
Your personal folder specific to your account, which carries the
same name as your logon name.
The Computer Folder provides access to locations such as hard
disks, CD or DVD drives and removable media. You can also
access other devices that might be connected to your computer,
such as external hard drives and USB flash drives.
The Network Folder provides access to the computers and
devices on your network. From there, you can see the content
of network computers and find shared files and folders. You can
also view and install network devices, such as printers.
The Control Panel is used to change settings for Windows.
These settings control nearly everything about how Windows
looks and works. You may set up Windows so that it operates in
the best possible way for you.

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 Table 1.13The most common icon types.
Folder Text File Bitmap image Compressed folder

1.7.3.1 Add or remove common desktop icons

To add or remove the special Windows desktop icon, follow these steps:

 Right click anywhere on the desktop and choose Personalize, or click the
Start Button  Control Panel  Appearance and Personalization 
Personalization.

 Click Change desktop icons.

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 Click in the empty  checkbox next to each item that you would like to add to
the desktop. Click in the checked  check box to remove a desktop icon.

 Click OK.

1.7.3.2 Create shortcuts

Shortcuts can be distinguished from other icons by the arrow that appears
on the icon.

There are two ways to create a shortcut on a desktop:

 Open the location containing the item to which you want to create a
shortcut.
 Right-click the item and then click Create shortcut. The new shortcut
appears in the same location as the original item.
 Drag the new shortcut to the desired location.

Shortcut arrow
OR

 Open the location containing the item to which you want to create a
shortcut.
 Right-click the item and then click Send to. Point to the cascading arrow and
choose Desktop (Create a shortcut).

1.7.3.3 Create an item on the desktop or folder

 Right click anywhere inside the desktop (or in the folder) and choose New.

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 Choose either from a Folder, Shortcut or from the list of installed
applications.
 Type the name of the document and press <Enter>. The icon will represent
the type of object chosen and will display the name typed.

1.7.4 Setting Taskbar and Start Menu properties

Taskbar and Start menu properties allow the user to change the appearance of
the Taskbar and Start menu. To display the Properties dialog box, right-click
on the Taskbar or Start button and choose Properties from the context menu.
The Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box will appear. On top of the
box are three tabs: Taskbar, Start Menu and Toolbars that allow the user to
configure options for that area of the operating system respectively.

Clicking on the Taskbar tab displays Taskbar properties. From this tab, the
user can:
 Lock the Taskbar
 Auto-hide the taskbar (only display the taskbar when the mouse pointer is
moved over the bottom border of the screen)
 Change the size of the icons on the taskbar
 Set the location of the taskbar on the screen
 Change the way the buttons on the taskbar behave, e.g. combine multiple
documents from a single application into a single button, hiding the labels
for each button, or never combine multiple documents into a single button
or only do so when the taskbar is full
 Customise the notification area which brings up the Notification area icons
window, where the user can select which icons and notifications appear on
the Taskbar

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 Temporarily show the desktop when moving the mouse over the Show
Desktop button located at the far right-hand side of the Taskbar. (See
Figure 1.47)

Figure 1.47 - Taskbar tab of Taskbar and Start Menu Properties

Clicking on the Start Menu tab allows you to:

 Customise how links, icons and menus look and behave in the Start menu
 Set the action of the power button
 Choose whether you want to store and display recently opened programs or
items in the Start menu and taskbar (See Figure 1.48)

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 Figure 1.48 - Start menu tab

The Toolbars tab allows you to choose which toolbars to add to the taskbar.

1.7.5 Shutting down Windows 7

There are several different shutdown options available in the Start menu.

Figure 1.49 - Shutdown options

Table 1.14 – Shutdown options

Sleep The Sleep function makes the computer store all the contents in
the computer’s memory, logs you off and then puts the
computer in a low-power state.

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 When you press the power button on your computer, move the
mouse, or press a key on the keyboard after the computer has
gone to sleep, Windows will automatically log you back in, re-
open the programs you had open, and restore the memory.
Shut Shut down requires you to save any work you may be doing,
down after which it closes all programs, logs you off the computer and
then turns off the power.
Log off Logging off allows another user to operate the computer under
his or her own account. You will be asked to save any open
documents before Windows shuts down all programs and logs
you off the computer. The next person can click his/her user
account and enter his/her password to log into his/her own
environment.
Lock This option allows you to lock your screen so that the computer
only displays the login screen. By using this option, others
cannot access your computer without entering your password.
This is very useful when you need to be away from your
computer and do not want other people to use it or access your
documents.
Switch The Switch User option works similarly to Log off; however, you
user do not have to close or save your work. It is simply a way to get
up and let someone else use the computer under their own
account. When they finish and log off, you will notice a small
“Logged In” label under your profile name.
Restart Restarting the computer is similar to shutting it down, except
that the computer never actually powers off. All cooling fans and
hard drives are still operating. The computer starts to load
Windows again, with clean memory. Restarting ensures that any
files used during installation are removed and that the program
listing inside the core of Windows is properly updated.

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 1.7.6 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look
for it in the text of this section.

Any files that are going to be erased from your computer are stored in

A. Windows Explorer
B. The Recycle Bin
C. The Documents folder
D. WordPad

Where will you find the date and time by default?

A. In the Start menu

B. In the Notification area
C. In the lower left-hand corner of the desktop
D. In the Recycle Bin

The Toolbars option shows a list of

A. Files found in Windows Explorer

B. Icons used on the desktop
C. Menus that are found on the taskbar
D. All toolbars that can be shown on the desktop and taskbar

Which shutdown option stores all the content in memory and puts the
computer in a low-powered state?

A. Switch User
B. Log Off
C. Sleep
D. Restart

The Start button is found where by default?

A. In the lower left-hand corner of the desktop

B. In the top left-hand corner of the desktop
C. In the lower right-hand corner of the desktop
D. In the top right-hand corner of the desktop

The Control Panel allows you to

A. Customise your desktop

B. Log off the computer
C. Restart the computer
D. Shut down the computer

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 Which one of the following is not an icon category?

A. Windows special
B. Icon
C. Pearl
D. Shortcuts

Which shutdown option allows you to lock your screen so that the computer
only displays the login screen?

A. Switch user
B. Log off
C. Lock
D. Both Switch user and Log off

The Task Manager allows you to monitor

A. The number of clicks that are made a day

B. All programs and processes that are currently running
C. Your desktop
D. Your computer usage progress

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1.8 Working with Windows 7

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Run a program
 Recognise the different parts of a program’s interface
 Move around in a program
 Launch Help from within a program
 End a frozen program
 Exit or close a program
 Change or remove a program
 Use Minimize, Maximize and Restore
 Scroll through a window
 Move a window
 Switch between windows
 Resize windows
 Manage windows
 Use different Aero desktop features
 Use file types
 Use files, folders and libraries
 Navigate through the computer
 Use menus and the ribbon interface
 Use shortcut keys and shortcut/context menus

1.8.1 Starting an application

There are three different ways (methods) to start a program in Windows 7:
 Using the Start menu
 Clicking on the icon for the program in the task bar
 Double-clicking a shortcut to the program on the desktop

1.8.1.1 Method 1: The Start menu

Applications are accessible in the left-hand pane of the Start menu. The
applications listed in the menu above are those that have been recently used.
The higher on the list, the more often the application has been used.

All other programs are available by clicking All Programs (just above the
Search bar) and then selecting a program, or clicking a folder to open it and
then selecting a program. (See Figure 1.50.)

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 Figure 1.50 - Start menu

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 Figure 1.51 - Selecting a program found in a folder

1.8.1.2 Method 2: The program icon in the taskbar

The second way to launch a program is to click its icon in the taskbar (if it is
pinned to the taskbar), such as Windows Media Player:

Figure 1.52 - Clicking an icon in the taskbar

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1.8.1.3 Method 3: A shortcut on the desktop
The final way to launch a program (if applicable) is to double-click a shortcut
on the desktop, such as this shortcut to Internet Explorer:

Figure 1.53 - Internet Explorer shortcut

Note A small arrow on on the botton left of the icon denote that it is a
shortcuts.

1.8.2 Parts of the Application Window

Though every program is different in its own way, most program user
interfaces have similar features. In fact, just about every program has these
items.

Refer to the Notepad example below (Figure 1.54). To launch Notepad, click:
Start  All Programs  Accessories  Notepad.

Figure 1.54 - Notepad window

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1. Title bar Every window has a title bar that consists of the
document name/application name, as well as the
Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons.
2. Menu bar Menus provide a tree structure that allows you to use
different features of a program.
3. Working area This is the largest section of the program in which you
create, view, and modify data such as files, text, and
images using the program.

NOTE Every application launches in its own window on the desktop.

Familiarise yourself with other important interface components. The following

example uses Internet Explorer to demonstrate these components (Figure 47).

Figure 1.55 - Top of Internet Explorer

An address bar allows you to type in a web address, like www.ozonesa.co.za.

To the right of the address, the Search bar appears which is a place in which to
type a search term (word or words) and use a search engine on the Internet to
track down relevant information.

Under the address bar appears a series of buttons that allows you to flag
certain websites such as:
 Favourites (i.e. sites that you like and want to visit again)
 Return to your home page (i.e. the page that loads when you first start
Internet Explorer is first started)
 Send email
 Print

This area is referred to as the command area – a place where you interact
with program functions.

At the bottom of Internet Explorer (and many other programs), there is a

status bar (Figure 1.56).

Figure 1.56 - Status bar

As the name implies, this area gives at-a-glance details about the program
itself. We can see that we are browsing the general Internet (as opposed to an
internal network location), Protected Mode is on and the page is currently
being viewed at 100% zoom.

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Most programs use icons, i.e. small pictures to denote a particular command or
action.

1.8.3 Moving around in an application

Most programs have three or four menus in common, such as the menus for
Internet Explorer. (Do not be concerned if you have not seen these before as
the menu bar is hidden by default because the majority of program commands
are already visible in the command area.)

Figure 1.57 - Menus found in Internet Explorer

 The File menu lets you manage different aspects of a file. You can open,
close, or save a file with the File menu. Most File menus include a Print
command as well.
 The Edit menu deals with operations that can be performed on the data in
a file. Common commands include Cut, Copy, Paste, as well as Find &
Replace.
 The View menu is not as common as the previous two, but it is used in
most programs to display the data on your screen in different ways.
 Finally, almost every program has a Help menu which contains a Help file
for the particular program, as well as licensing information specific to the
program or document.
 Many programs also have some sort of Help icon, which usually looks like

this: .

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Interacting with a menu is easy: click a menu heading and then click a
command from the sub-menu:

Figure 1.58 - Sub-menu

Quite often, a menu has a sub-menu. Hover your mouse pointer over the (>)
symbol (like the one next to the Scale command) to show a sub-menu with
commands specific to a topic:

Figure 1.59 - Specific topics to a command

1.8.4 Launching Help from within an application

Click Help  View Help or Help  Topics to see the Help file. Some
programs also have a small question mark icon that launches the Help file for
that application. (See Figure 54.)

Figure 1.60 - Help button

Most programs employ some form of keyboard shortcut as well. Pressing F1

launches the Help file in most applications.

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1.8.5 Ending a frozen application
One of the primary jobs of an operating system is to make sure all the
programs get the resources they need to perform their operations and keep
everything moving along. Unfortunately, a program can suffer an error or
conflict with another program, causing a program to become inoperable or
unresponsive (AKA “frozen” or “crashed”).

If this happens, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and click Start Task Manager or
right-click the taskbar and click Start Task Manager or press Ctrl +Shift + Esc.
The Task Manager is a special program that keeps watch over all other
programs in the operating system.

The Applications tab shows which programs are currently running. As seen in
Figure 53, there are four programs open and all of them are operating
normally. A frozen program will have a status of “Not responding”. Select the
program in the list that is frozen and then click End Task to close the program.

Figure 1.61 - Windows Task Manager

If the program still refuses to end, try to save whatever other work you may
have been doing and attempt to shut down or restart the computer.

In some situations, the computer may become completely unresponsive. There

may be no choice but to power down the computer by holding in the power
button for a few seconds. You can avoid this by making sure you are aware of

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what programs are installed on the computer and saving your work often to
minimise data loss.

1.8.6 Exiting an application

Exiting a program is easy. Click the Close button in the upper right-hand
corner of the window.

Figure 1.62 – Close button

The Close button can usually be found in the File menu too. Pressing Alt + F4
on the keyboard also closes a window.

1.8.7 Changing or removing programs

The Programs and Features tool helps the user manage applications and
Windows features on the system. With this tool, it is possible to turn Windows
features on or off, uninstall existing applications that are no longer used or
needed, change an application’s configuration by adding or removing certain
options, and install a program from the network. Uninstalling an application
should only be accomplished with the Uninstall or change a program option.

Simply deleting a program icon or folder will not remove all of the components
that were added when the program was initially installed. When installing an
application, files are often placed in several different locations on the
computer.

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To uninstall, change or repair a program, simply right-click on the program and
choose the relevant option from the context menu.

1.8.8 Working with a window

1.8.8.1 Minimize, maximize and restore
These buttons are located in the upper right-hand corner of nearly every
window.

Figure 1.63 - Minimize, Maximize and Restore buttons

From left to right, these buttons are Minimize, Maximize/Restore, and Close.
The red X button closes a window or a program.

The Minimize button (left-most) is used to reduce the window to a single item
on the taskbar.

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 Figure 1.64 -Icon of an open application

The middle button is a dual-use button. The most common form it takes is
Maximize:

Click this to make the window fill the entire screen.

Maximise a window by double-clicking the title bar. Notice that the Maximize

button has changed to this: . This button symbolises that, if clicked, it

will restore the window back to the size it was before it was maximised.

1.8.8.2 Scrolling in a window

Some files, such as word processing documents or spreadsheets, are usually
quite large in size. Even maximising a window may not provide an entire view
of the data in the file. Therefore, these types of programs have the ability to
scroll up and down and/or side to side through the data.

Look at the following WordPad document that is filled with text (Figure 58).

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 Figure 1.65 - An example of WordPad filled with text

On the right and bottom of the window, there are two scroll bars which allow
you to scroll up and down or side to side through the data. Click the arrow
buttons that border the scroll bars to move through the data.

You can also click and drag the scroll bar indicator to move quickly through the
data. (See Figure 59.)

Figure 59 – Arrow pointing at the scroll bar

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1.8.8.3 Moving a window
Move a non-maximised window by clicking and dragging the title bar of the
window wherever desired on the desktop.

Figure 1.66 - Example of the directions you can use to move a window

1.8.9 Switching between windows

If there are two or more open windows on the screen, switch between the two
by clicking on some portion of the window.

In the following picture (Figure 61), there are two open windows. The WordPad
window has a slightly paler border than that of the Recycle Bin. This is because
Recycle Bin is on top of WordPad, which means that the Recycle Bin is the
active window.

Figure 1.67 - Two open windows

If there are several windows open at once, clicking between (and moving)
windows becomes impractical. That is why every window that is open on the
desktop is also displayed in the taskbar. The active window has a button that
looks brighter compared with the others.

Figure 1.68 - WordPad icon on the taskbar

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If you want to view your desktop easily, click the Show desktop button in
the bottom right-hand side of the screen. This will minimise all windows to the
taskbar.

Figure 1.69 - Show desktop button

Finally, press and hold the <Alt> key and then press <Tab> (<Alt + Tab>)
to cycle through open windows. As you press <Tab> to move to the next
window, the highlighted window appears. Keep cycling through the windows as
long as you hold down Alt. Release <Alt> to make the last selection the active
window. You can even cycle to the desktop (making all windows minimised).

You can also use Aero Flip 3D to browse through open windows as if you were
flipping through a pile of paper. Press and hold the Windows key.

Figure 1.70 - Windows key

Press <Tab> to cycle through open windows. Release the Windows key when
you have flipped to the window you want:

Figure 1.71 - A screenshot of what cycling through open windows will

look like

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1.8.10 Sizing windows
Any window that is not minimised or maximised can be manually resized.

Move your mouse pointer to the outside edge of an open window.

When the mouse pointer changes to , , , or click and drag the border
of the window as large or small as required.

1.8.11 Window management

Manually resizing windows is easy with two or three windows but it becomes
impractical when dealing with many. Nonetheless, it is easy to arrange
windows by using the taskbar. Most of these options are available by right-
clicking an empty area of the taskbar. (See Figure 66.)

Figure 1.72 - Windows management options

Windows 7 provides four options for arranging the windows currently open on
the desktop.

 Cascade windows
All windows are arranged horizontally like a waterfall:

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 Show windows stacked
All windows are stacked together like a pile of boxes:

 Show windows side by side

All windows are arranged into vertical columns:

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 Show the desktop
All windows are minimised, showing the desktop.

1.8.12 Windows Aero Desktop

Windows 7 features some window-manipulation tools that are new to the
Windows family.

To maximise a window, click and drag the title bar of any window to the top of
the screen. Windows will automatically create the outline of a window around
the entire screen. Release the mouse button to maximise the window.

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 Figure 1.73 - An example of an outlined window

If you commonly use two windows at the same time, it takes a little effort to
resize the two windows manually to see both of them at once. Click and drag
the title bar of one window to either the left-hand side or right-hand side of the
screen. Windows draws a border around half of the screen. Release the mouse
button to apply this change.

Figure 1.74 - An example of the desktop appearance when resizing a

window

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Click and drag the title bar of another window to the other side of the screen
and Windows automatically fills that side with the other window.

If there are several windows open at once and you want to hide all but one of
them, click and hold the left mouse button on the title bar and shake the
mouse back and forth. This is called Aero Shake. All of the other windows will
minimise.
For example, if we want to view only the Internet Explorer window (on the
right at the bottom of the pile):

Figure 1.75 - Multiple open windows

Click and shake its title bar. All other windows will minimise.

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 Figure 1.76 - An example of all minimised windows

After using Aero Shake, it is not necessary to click each icon to bring all the
windows back. Shake the title bar of the program you used for Aero Shake in
the first place and all other windows will come back.

If there are several windows of the same type or program open at once, the
icon in the taskbar for that program appears to be layered. Imagine having
four Paint windows open (Paint is a basic drawing application). Hover the
mouse over this “stacked” icon to see a thumbnail view of each window:

Figure 1.77 - Thumbnail view of several windows open of the same

program

If you then hover your mouse over a particular window, all other windows will
become transparent using Aero Peek. If we wanted to look at the green
window, simply point to it:

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 Figure 1.78 – An example of Aero Peek

At this point, click the window to bring it to the front, or close it using the
thumbnail’s red X button.

The last of Windows 7’s features are jump lists, which enhance the
functionality of the taskbar. A jump list, which is different for each program or
group of programs, appears when one right-clicks a particular icon on the
taskbar. You can also see a jump list if you click an icon and try to drag it up
off the taskbar. For example, if we were still using the four Paint windows, this
is the corresponding jump list:

Figure 1.79 - An example of a jump list

This list lets you open a new Paint window, pin the program to the taskbar, or
close all of the open Paint windows.

“Pinning” the program to the taskbar means that Paint will become a semi-
permanent fixture on the taskbar, just like Internet Explorer and Windows
Explorer. See also the example in Figure 74, which displays the jump list for
Internet Explorer after some browsing has been conducted.

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 Figure 1.80 - Another example of a jump list

(Note the command to unpin Internet Explorer from the taskbar).

1.8.13 Working with files and folders

1.8.13.1 Understanding files
Think of a computer by comparing it to a filing cabinet. At the lowest level, the
smallest entity to go into the cabinet is a single sheet of paper with some
information on it. This piece of paper is similar to a single file on a computer.
Very large files may be several pieces of paper stapled together but they would
still be considered a single item.

Figure 1.81 - Files

1.8.13.2 File types
Any data entered into a program, that is to be kept, needs to be saved as a
file. Each application can edit one or more different types of files. Windows

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identifies file types through a 3-character file extension (which is normally
hidden to the user). Each file type is displayed using a suitable icon (to
represent the program used to edit it). Some of the more common icons and
extensions associated with file types are listed below. Be aware that these
icons might vary, depending on the software installed on the computer:

 Word processing (.DOC, .DOCX or .RTF) – A document with formatted text

and sometimes pictures created in a word processor application.
 Spreadsheet (.XLS or .XLSX) – A document divided into columns and rows
using formulae to calculate and store data.
 Database (.MDB or .ACCDB) – A file for storing, manipulating and viewing
data.
 Presentation (.PPT or .PPTX) – A set of slides containing formatted text,
graphics, videos and animations for display on a projector or computer.
 Web page (.HTM or .HTML) – A HTML file that can be published on a
website.
 Text (.TXT) – A plain text file, such as those created using Notepad.
 Images – A file storing an image or drawing. There are a number of
different image file types, such as .GIF, Joint Photographic Experts Group
(JPEG with extension .JPG), Bitmap (.BMP) or Portable Network Graphics
(.PNG).
 Audio/Multimedia – Files storing sound or video data. There are a number of
different formats.
 Compressed (.ZIP) – A compressed file, which is an archive for storing other
files
The compression software packs the data in the file to save disk space and
make the file(s) easier to store and distribute.
 Temporary (.TMP) – A file created by Windows while running an application.

1.8.13.3 Understanding folders

Continuing with the filing cabinet analogy, a folder in Windows is exactly like a
folder that holds pieces of paper. Many files can fit inside a folder. A folder,
which can be named almost anything, can contain other folders.

Figure 1.82 - Folder

1.8.13.4 Folder options
Although all the content – both subfolders and files – will be visible when
viewing a folder, the data may not be visible in the format required. Windows 7
provides a number of options for customising the data that is visible and the
way that data is arranged.

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To change the folder options for the current folder or for all folders, you can
open the folder options in a number of ways. Below are just two of these
methods.

Method 1

 Open the folder.

 Click on the Organize button and choose Folder and search options.

Figure 1.83 - Organize button for folder options

Method 2

 Click the Start button.

 Start typing the words ”Folder Options” in the Start Menu Search box.
 Folder Options will appear as an option on the Start menu.
 Click Folder Options, (See Figure 78.)

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 Figure 1.84 - Folder Options from the Start menu

 The following screen with three tabs – General, View and Search –
appears (Figure 79):

Figure 1.85 - Folder options: General tab

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Folder options – General:

Option Description
Select whether each folder should open in a
separate window or whether the content of the
Browse folders
current window updates to show the current
folder selection.
Select whether folders should require a single
Click items as follows click (similar in action to a hyperlink) or the
default double click to open.
Select whether all folders should show in the
Navigation pane navigation pane and whether subfolders should
be expanded.

Figure 1.86 – Folder options: View tab

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 Folder options – View
Option Description
The Apply to Folders option is only available if Folder
options has been accessed from within a folder. If the
Folder view options are set from outside the folders, the settings will
apply to all folders. The Reset Folders button will
reverse the process.
Advanced There are a large number of settings available. The
settings following are the more commonly changed options:
 Always show icons, never thumbnails
Thumbnails display a preview of the file and may be very
slow to load particularly when viewing a large picture
folder.
 Always show menus
Menus are hidden by default but they can be made
temporarily visible by pressing the Alt key.
 Hidden files and folders
By switching on this feature, files and folders that are
hidden (to protect them) will be visible.
 Hide extensions for known file types
By removing this check mark, the file extension allocated
to a file (e.g. docx for a Microsoft Word document) will
become visible.
 Show drive letters
Choose whether drive letters such as C: for the hard drive
and possibly D: for the DVD / CD drive are visible.
 Hide protected operating system files
(Recommended)
There are hidden files which can be displayed using the
setting above related to hidden files and folders. This
setting specifically refers to a group of operating system
files that are hidden. If they are made visible, they are
still protected in that Windows simply replaces them if
they are modified or deleted.
 Use Sharing Wizard
This very simple wizard is useful when setting up shared
folders.

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 Figure 1.87 - Folder options: Search tab

Folder Options – Search

Option Description
Indexed locations such as those folders in the
Documents library are searched faster than
other locations. Choose whether only the
What to search
content of files in indexed locations is searched,
or whether the content of all files is searched
which would be much slower.
Select whether:
 Only the selected folder is searched, or if
subfolders are searched as well
How to search  Text that partially matches the search
should be included in the search
 Use natural language (non-computer
speak), such as Johannesburg or
Sandton, in the search
By default, operating system and application
When searching non- folders are not indexed. Searching these
indexed locations locations as well as compressed files slows
down the search considerably.

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1.8.13.5 Changing folder views
There are also settings that can change the way in which the folder are
presented to the user. This is done by changing the view and sort options.

Back and Forward Address bar Search

Toolbar

Column headings
View Preview pane

Navigation pane

Contents Details pane

Library pane

Figure 1.88 - Folder and sort options

Window part Description

The navigation pane provides access to libraries,
folders, saved searches and even entire hard disks.
Use the Favourites section to open the most
Navigation pane
commonly used folders and searches. The Libraries
section is used to access libraries. Expand Computer
to browse folders and subfolders.
Use the Back button and the Forward button to
Back and Forward navigate to other folders or libraries - that have
buttons previously been opened - without closing the current
window.
The toolbar provides access to common tasks, such
as changing the appearance of files and folders,
Toolbar
burning files to a CD, or starting a digital picture slide
show. The toolbar's buttons are context sensitive.
The address bar is used to navigate to a different
Address bar
folder or library, or to go back to a previous one.
The Library pane appears only when you are in a
Library pane
library (such as the Documents library).

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 Use the column headings to change the way in which
Column headings the files in the file list are organised. Column
headings are available in Details view only.
This is where the content of the current folder or
library is displayed. If a query (to find a file) is typed
Contents
in to the search box, then only the files that match
the current view (including files in subfolders) appear.
Type a word or phrase in the search box to look for
Search box an item in the current folder or library. The search
feature uses word-wheeling or “as-you-type”
search, which is instantaneous.
The Details pane displays the most common
properties associated with the selected file. File
Details pane properties are information about a file, such as the
author, the date on which the file was last changed
and any descriptive tags have been added to the file.
The Preview pane displays the content of most files.
If an email, text file, or picture, for example, are
selected you can view its content without actually
Preview pane
opening it in a program. If you do not see the
preview pane, click the Preview pane button in
the toolbar to turn it on.
The view button provides for the following views:
 extra-large icons
 large icons
 medium icons
View button  small icons
 list
 details
 tiles
 content

1.8.13.6 Changing the view in a folder

 Open the folder as shown previously.
 Click on the View button. Choose from the list.

The options available in the list are outlined in the following table.

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 Icon views Icon views
Extra-large icons Large icons

Medium icons Small icons

List Details

Tiles Content

1.8.14 Understanding libraries

Windows 7 creates four pre-defined libraries on your computer. These are
Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music.

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 Library Description
Documents This library can be used for organising and arranging word
processing documents, presentations, spreadsheets and
other text-related files.

Pictures This library can be used to arrange and organise digital

pictures from a camera or scanner, or for pictures that were
emailed to you.

Videos This library is used to organise video clips from a digital

camera camcorder or downloaded Internet video clips.

Music Digital music can be organised in this library. This may

include songs that have been ripped from an audio CD,
downloaded from the Internet, or your own digital music
creations.

1.8.14.1 Adding a folder to a library

 In the taskbar, click the Windows Explorer button.
 In the navigation pane (the left pane), navigate to the folder you want to
include and click the folder name.
 In the toolbar (above the file list), click Include in library and then click a
library (for example, Documents).

Figure 1.89 - Adding a folder to library

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1.8.14.2 Creating a library

 Click the Start button.

 Click your username (which opens your personal folder).
 In the left pane, click Libraries.
 In Libraries, on the toolbar, click New library. (See Figure 84.)

Figure 1.90 - New library

 Type a name for the library and press <Enter>.

 Right click on the new library and choose Properties.
 In the Optimize this library for: section click on the list arrow for General
Items.
 Choose the type of data that will be stored in the folders allocated to this
library.
 Click OK. (See also Figure 1.91.)

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 Figure 1.91 - Library properties

1.8.15 Displaying the Preview pane

 Open the folder as shown previously.
 Click on the Preview pane button.

Figure 1.92 - Folder Preview pane

1.8.16 Tools for managing data

Windows provides the following tools that help to view, manage and navigate
across the different storage devices and facilities:
 Windows Explorer

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 Computer

The main difference between the Windows Explorer tool and the Computer tool
is the default view in which they open. Once open, you can navigate to any
folder or drive letter in either of the tools and perform any data management
action required.

 Windows Explorer opens to display the Library view.

 Clicking on the Computer opens to display the disk drives available on the
computer. (See Figure 1.93 and Figure 1.94.)

Figure 1.93 - Windows Explorer default view

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 Figure 1.94 - Computer default view

1.8.17 Navigating folders

Once you are familiar with viewing data using Windows Explorer, you may
need to select other folders or subfolders to manage your data. You can
navigate the folder structure in Windows Explorer in two basic ways:
 the address bar
 the navigation pane

1.8.17.1 Navigating using the Address bar

The folder names in the Address bar are sometimes referred to as “bread
crumbs” as they indicate the trail (path) followed to get to the current folder.

Back to previous folder Forward to next folder

Recent folders viewed

View more folder Current subfolder

names
Figure 1.95 - Address bar

 Click the << arrows if you cannot see the full path relating to the current
folder view. If the folder path is obscured to the right, you will see >>. Click
this button to view the folder names to the right.
 To select the folder to which you intend to navigate, click the folder name in
the address bar, e.g. My Documents.
 Click on the Back and Forward buttons to navigate to previously viewed
folders.
 Click on the More button to view more names of folders viewed in this
session.
 From the list, choose the folder that you would like to view.

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 Figure 1.96 - Folder structure

1.8.17.2 Navigating using the Navigation pane

The navigation pane on the left side of the Windows Explorer shows three main
sections: Favourites, Libraries and Computer.

Figure 1.97 - Navigation Pane

 Click the black triangle next to a folder or library name to expand the view
to show subfolders.
 Click the white triangle next to a folder or library name to collapse the
view to hide the subfolders.
 Click on the folder in the navigation pane to open the folder or double click
the folder in the content pane to open the folder.

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1.8.18 WordPad basics
1.8.18.1 Launching WordPad
Launch WordPad by clicking
Start  All Programs  Accessories  WordPad

Figure 1.98 - WordPad

Alternatively, when first clicking the Start button, you can use the Search bar
to launch the program. Since the program is part of Windows itself, searching
does not take long. (In fact, many programs can be found and run in this
manner.)

 Click Start. At the bottom of the Start menu is the Search bar, with a
flashing cursor already in place.

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 Figure 1.99 - Search box found in the Start

 Type wordpad into the Search bar:

Figure 1.100 - Search result of the WordPad search

The program WordPad has listed itself at the top of the Start menu, along with
any files with names that match the search criteria. Launch WordPad by
double-clicking the program name in the Start menu or pressing Enter.

1.8.18.2 Interface overview

The interface elements were briefly introduced earlier and, therefore, only the
major elements will be recapped at this point.

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 Figure 1.101 - The WordPad window

The blue tab is similar to the File menu used by hundreds of other programs.
This menu is called the Backstage menu because it provides the options of
creating a new file, saving an existing file, printing, or exiting the program.

Figure 1.102 - Backstage menu

Note the list of recent documents created in WordPad. Click any of the
names in that list to open the file provided it has not been moved since it was
last saved.

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This list of recent documents is also available right inside the Start menu.
Simply hover the mouse over the (>) button next to the program name. Click
the file that you want to open, provided it has not been moved or deselected

Figure 1.103 - Recent documents

There are two tabs, Home and View, each with their own commands.

Figure 1.104 - Home tab

Figure 1.105 - View tab

The commands in the ribbon are separated into groups and some groups
contain an arrow button in the lower right-hand corner.

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Click this button for other commands specific to this group (Figure 1.106)

Figure 1.106 - Paragraph options

Make your changes here and then click OK to apply them, or Cancel to close
this dialog box.

The last part of the interface is called the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). The
Office suite of programs has always used toolbars but what sets this one apart
is that it is always on and is completely customisable.

WordPad contains three default commands on the QAT. From left to right, they
are: Save, Undo and Redo.

Figure 1.107 - Quick Access toolbar

 The Save command either saves the changes to an existing file, or asks the
user for a name if saving a file for the first time.
 The Undo command reverts to the last command, e.g. a font face change,
some font effects, inserting a picture, etc. If you have not meant to do
something, undo it.
 Redo is the command to “undo the Undo.” If you have undone something
that you have not actually meant to, click Redo to apply the last formatting
change that has been reverted.

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There is a pull-down arrow beside the Redo command. If this is clicked,
there is the option to add other common commands to the QAT.

Figure 1.108 - Quick Access Toolbar menu

There are already checkmarks beside the Save, Undo and Redo commands.
The checkmarks mean that those particular commands are already on the QAT.
If you clicked the pull-down arrow and clicked New, that command would be
added to the right of Redo.

Figure 1.109 - A customised QAT

It is possible to add nearly any command the QAT. Simply right-click a

command and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

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1.8.18.3 Entering text
Click somewhere inside the white area of WordPad and type. WordPad
automatically moves to the next line as one types.

WordPad can display copied text from other locations, such as this text that
was copied from Microsoft’s home page and pasted into WordPad (Figure 104):

Figure 1.110 - Text copied into WordPad from the Internet

1.8.19 Doing more with WordPad

WordPad has a few more features that assist you in creating documents with a
clean and professional look. These features are outlined in the following
sections.

1.8.19.1 Editing text

If you have discovered a misspelled word or a sentence that does not make
sense, you can use the backspace key to erase the mistake and fix it. Use the
mouse cursor and click inside the document where the mistake appears. This
will place the text cursor in the correct position so the mistake can be fixed.

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1.8.19.2 Formatting text
Format text by making the text bold, italicised, underlined, a different colour,
 a
 bulleted
 list
or any combination of the above. There are two ways to add different
formatting elements to a document. If you know you want to apply formatting,
set up WordPad first and then type your text.

Figure 1.111 - An example of text in WordPad

The other option would be to type the sentence, highlight it, then change
effects, such as adding bold, and colour to the font.

Figure 1.112 - Text in WordPad with different colour fonts

WordPad allows the user to align text in three different ways: left, right and
centre alignment. Use the commands in the Paragraph group of the Home
tab:

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 Figure 1.113 - Different text alignment

Click the alignment button first, type the text or highlight the block of text, and
then choose your alignment.

1.8.19.3 Saving a file

If you open WordPad and start typing a new document, you will likely want to
save the file for safekeeping or to use later on.

Click the Backstage menu and then click Save or Save As. They perform the
same action if the file is being saved for the first time.

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 Figure 1.114 - Saving a file

When saving a file for the first time, the file must be given a name.

If you do more work on the document, you can save your changes by either
clicking Backstage  Save, or clicking the Save icon in the QAT.

If you are working on a file and click Backstage  Save As, you havethere is
the option to save the current file under a new name.

The Save As dialog box will appear.

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 Figure 1.115 - Save As dialog box

The Save As dialog box contains a number of different components.

At the top, in the address bar, Windows 7 uses the Documents library as the
default save location. We recommend you save your file here as there is a
direct link to these files from various places on the computer (such as the Start
menu). However, this is not required. You can choose to save a file wherever
you wish.

To save to a different location, use the list of links on the left and select a
location.

At the top of the window is a command for a New folder. Create a new folder
anywhere on your computer with this command.

Give the file a name in the File name box and then click Save (Figure 110).

Figure 1.116 - Save button

As a side note, the Save/Save As dialog box may look like this (Figure 111).

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 Figure 1.117 - Save As dialog box

The list of links on the left is not visible. Click Browse Folders in the lower
left-hand corner to show this list again.

1.8.19.4 Opening a file

To open the file from inside WordPad, the process works just like saving a file.
We will explain the process, by using the “text formatting” file that we have
just saved.

Open WordPad and click Backstage  Open. The Open dialog box will
appear. Navigate to the file that you want to use. Click it to select it and then
click Open.

Figure 1.118 - How to open a file

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Recently used documents made in WordPad can be opened by using the Start
menu.

Figure 1.119 - Using recently used documents to open a file

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 1.8.20 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this section. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look
for it in the text of this section.

Which type of file is identified by .doc?

A. Word document
B. Web page
C. Text file
D. Zip file

Which one of the following is not an option to arrange the windows that are
currently open?

A. Show windows one-by-one

B. Show windows side-by-side
C. Show windows stacked
D. Cascade windows

Most program interfaces have three components, namely

A. Title bar, Menu bar, Task Manager

B. Title bar, Menu bar, Control panel
C. Title bar, Menu bar, Tool bar
D. Title bar, Menu bar, Working area

_________ will revert to the last command

A. Save
B. Redo
C. Undo
D. Save All

Which key will bring out the Help dialog box?

A. F2
B. F7
C. F3
D. F1

To start Task Manager, you can …

A. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del -> Click on Start Task Manager

B. Press Ctrl + Shift + Del
C. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc

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 D. A and C

Which one of the following libraries can be used to organise video clips from
a digital camera camcorder or downloaded Internet video clips?

A. Documents
B. Music
C. Pictures
D. Videos

To cycle through open windows, press …

A. Alt + Shift
B. Alt + Ctrl
C. Alt + Tab
D. Alt + Del

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1.9 Managing Data

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Move and copy data

 Move files to subfolders
 Move and copy by dragging
 Move or copy using two open folders
 Use Copy/Cut and paste
 Make a copy in the same folder
 Undo a Move or Copy
 Rename a file or folder
 Duplicate files or folders
 Delete files or folders
 Recover files and folders
 Empty the Recycle Bin
 Work with removable media
 Manage Internet files
 Download a video or sound clip

The data that is created on a computer can be managed in a number of ways.

It can be:
 moved
 copied
 deleted
 restored (recovered)

It is not wise to tamper with application (program) files or operating system

files as this could render a computer unusable.

1.9.1 Duplicating files or folders

Folders or files cannot have the same name in the same location. Files that
have the same file name, but different extensions such as My Budget.docx
and My Budget.xlsx, are not duplicate files. If you try to move or copy a file
or a folder to a location where an object with the identical name already exists,
you will get the following or similar message:

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 Figure 1.120 - Duplicate file

Read the messages carefully and take particular notice of the dates of the files
and the file sizes. This may help you in deciding which option to choose.

Message Description
Copy and replace The source file will replace the destination file.
Do not copy The process will be cancelled leaving the file in
the destination location unchanged.
Copy, but keep both files Both files will reside in the destination
location. The file from the source location now
contains a (2) at the end of the file name.

 Click the option that best suits the situation.

 To back out of the operation, click the Cancel button.

1.9.2 Moving and copying data

Files or folders may be moved or copied to:
 Organise them into folders
 Copy them onto a portable medium to work on them in another environment
 Backup data for security reasons
 Add them to a new work situation such as a new computer

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Moving and copying involve very different actions and we need to be sure that
we use them in the correct context:
 Move means to change the location of the file but there is still only one
copy of the file. In computer terminology, this is referred to as cut.
 Copy means to duplicate the file so that an exact replica exists in two
different locations (places).

Both of these processes involve a Source location where the file was
originally positioned, as well as the Destination or Target where the file (or a
copy of the file) will now reside. Both these locations can be folders on the
same drive, or on different drives or media (hard drive, floppy disk, USB flash
drive, CD or DVD, or memory card).

Single files or multiple files can be moved or copied. Before issuing the move
or copy command, use the following techniques to select more than one file if
required:

 To select multiple files in a contiguous list

o Click on the first file name.
o Press and hold the Shift key and click the last file name.

 To Select multiple files in a non-contiguous list

o Click on the first file name.
o Press and hold the Ctrl key.
o Click on each successive file until all files are selected.

Contiguous list Non-contiguous list

Click
Click
Ctrl Click
Shift Click
Ctrl Click

1.9.2.1 Moving files to a subfolder

The most common reason for moving a file into a subfolder is to improve the
current filing system when a new folder has been created.
 Select the items to move.
 Drag and drop them on to the subfolder icon.

1.9.2.2 Moving and copying by dragging

Files or folders can be dragged to their destination if the destination folder in
the navigation pane is visible. When dragging files to move or copy them, the
following default actions apply:
 Files dragged from one folder to another within the same drive will be
moved.
 Files dragged from one drive to another drive will be copied.

To change the default actions use the following keystrokes:

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 Keys to press while dragging a Description
file
Ctrl Files will be copied to the destination
Shift Files will be moved to the destination
Alt A shortcut will be created in the
destination

 Select the file/s in the source folder and drag them to the destination drive
or folder.
 When the tip of the mouse pointer (arrow) is on the destination, release the
mouse button to drop the files.

1.9.2.3 Moving or copying by using two open folders

When moving or copying data to folders that may not be easy to view in the
same window, or if placing the mouse pointer on the exact destination folder is
not possible, then the following technique is the recommended option:

 Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the source folder or drive.

 Open a second instance of Windows Explorer or the Computer by
following one of the following methods:
 Right click on the Windows Explorer button on the task bar and choose
Windows Explorer.
 Click the Start button and click your username or click Computer.
 In the new window that has just opened, navigate to the destination folder
or drive.
 Right click on the Taskbar and choose: Show windows side by side.

Figure 1.121 - Windows side by side

 Drag the file or folder from the source window and drop it in the destination
window.

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1.9.2.4 Using Copy/Cut and Paste
Use the cut/copy and paste method either from the shortcut menu, shortcut
keys or from the Organize menu:

 Navigate to the folder that contains the Source file.

 Either right click on the file and choose Cut or Copy, or click to select the
file and click the Organize button.
 Choose Cut or Copy, or press <Ctrl + C> (Copy), or <Ctrl + X> (Cut).
 Navigate to the destination location.
 Either right click in a blank space and choose Paste, or click the Organize
button.
 Choose Paste or press <Ctrl + V> to paste.

1.9.2.5 Making a copy in the same folder

Although caution should always be exercised when creating multiple copies of
a file, owing to inconsistent updates, there are valid reasons for making
duplicate copies of files. One reason may be that you want to experiment with
a technique on particular data, but want a copy of the original in case the
experiment does not work:

 Select the file icon you want to copy.

 Press <Ctrl + C> or right click and choose Copy.
 Press <Ctrl + V> or right click and choose Paste.
 Rename the copy to anything you want.

The duplicate file will have the same name, followed by – Copy.

Figure 1.122 - Duplicating a file

1.9.2.6 Undoing a move or copy

If you realise that you have made an error in moving or copying a file, you can
undo this providing that you have not performed any further actions:

 Press <Ctrl + Z> or right click on an empty space in the folder.

 Choose Undo Move or Undo Copy.
 Click on the Organize button in the folder view and click on Undo.

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 Figure 1.123 - Undo, Move or Copy

1.9.3 Renaming a file or folder

If a file or a folder name is no longer appropriate, you can rename the item or,
if you want to move or copy an item into the current folder and another item
with the same name exists, you may want to rename the item prior to moving
or copying it. If file name extensions are visible, make sure that you retain
the file extension otherwise the following message will be displayed (Figure
117):

Figure 1.124 - Rename File message

 Right click on the icon and choose Rename from the shortcut menu.
 Alternatively, select the file and press F2 to rename the file.
 Type the new name and press <Enter>.

1.9.4 Deleting files or folders

Files and folders can be removed from the computer when they are no longer
required. It is recommended that you clean up your data from time to time
and remove items that are no longer required. Remember that files which are
deleted may not be recoverable. Therefore, make sure you do not need them
before deleting them. When deleting a folder, all files and subfolders and their
content are also removed. When deleting files and folders, they will be
temporarily moved to the Recycle Bin, providing they are not from a network
drive:

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 Select the files or folders that you want to remove from the computer by
doing the following:
o Press Delete on the keyboard.
o Alternatively right click on the selection and choose Delete.
 Choose Organize and Delete.
 The following message will be displayed. Read it carefully!

Figure 119 – Multiple files deletion message

 Click Yes if you are sure that you actually want to delete these files or
folders.
 Drag files or folders into the Recycle Bin.

1.9.5 Recovering files and folders

If you have deleted files or folders accidentally or if you discover that you
actually still need deleted files or folders, you may be able to recover them if
they are still in the Recycle Bin. This is not a fail-safe method as files are not
stored permanently in the Recycle Bin. As the bin fills, the files that have been
there the longest are replaced by newer files. During some disk maintenance
such as Disk Cleanup the Recycle Bin may be emptied.

Open the Recycle Bin by:

 Double clicking the icon on the desktop.
 Clicking the Recycle Bin in the Navigation pane.
 Clicking the Start button and typing Recycle Bin in the Search box.
 Selecting Recycle Bin from the Start menu.

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 Figure 1.125 - Recycle Bin

Select the item(s) that you wish to recover, by performing the following
actions:
 Click Organize and choose Restore.
 Alternatively, right click and choose Restore.

The files or folders are restored to their original location.

1.9.6 Empty the Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin can take up a great deal of space on your computer hard
drive. If you are aware that there is a large number of deleted files that are
temporarily being stored in the Recycle Bin and you are confident that you will
not need those files again, you can empty the Recycle Bin, by means of the
following actions:

 Right click on the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop.

 Choose Empty Recycle bin.
 Choose Yes if you will not need the files again and they will be removed
(permanently) from the Recycle Bin.

Figure 1.126 - Recycle Bin warning message

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1.9.7 Working with removable media
Removable media refers to storage devices that can be inserted in and
removed from one’s computer with ease. Examples of removable media are
floppy disks, USB flash drives, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Removable media Description

Floppy disk Floppy disk drives used to be an essential part of

every personal computer. However, their storage
size is very limited (1.44 Mb): one floppy disk
could store about 500 pages of typed text (not
including any graphics or multimedia). Most
notebooks do not have a floppy disk drive any
more.
USB flash drive A flash drive, also referred to as a thumb drive,
is actually a solid-state storage device and comes
in many forms, often disguised as pens or various
trinkets. They do not need to be plugged into a
drive: they are simply plugged into a USB port.
Their data storage also varies greatly from 128 Mb
to in excess of 32 Gb.

CD/DVD These storage media are still very popular: music

albums are stored on CDs and movies are stored
on DVDs. Software is still distributed on both CDs
and DVDs. CDs and DVDs look similar and most
optical drives on computers can read both media.

CDs can store between 650–700 Mb and DVDs 4.7

Gb, but may store up to 17 GB. A CD can typically
store about 74 minutes of music or an entire set of
encyclopaedias. A DVD can typically store about
120 minutes of high quality video or about 28 000
x 100-page text documents. A Blu-ray DVD can
hold up to 50 Gb.
Flash card Memory cards come in many shapes and sizes as
well as capacities varying from 128 Mb to in
excess of 16 Gb. These cards are usually found in
digital cameras and cell phones and are generally
used to store digital pictures and music. Many
notebooks today come with a memory card slot
that enables you to copy files to and from the
card.

1.9.8 Managing Internet files

Although the Internet is a wonderful source of information and entertainment,

the information content on websites is often copyrighted, which means that the

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owner legally owns the intellectual property of that information. Using that
information without their permission is illegal. If you use a quotation from such
an Internet source, you must acknowledge the source by means of
referencing.

The most common types of copyright infringement are downloading computer

software, video games, photographs, web pages, music and movies, without
paying the rightful owner or paying a nominal fee to an illegal third party
agent. If you download data, make sure that you are not infringing any
copyright laws.

1.9.8.1 Saving a picture

Save a picture on your computer, by performing the following actions:
 Right click on the picture that you wish to save.
 Choose Save picture as …

Figure 1.127 - Save Picture options

 Navigate to the folder in which you wish to store the picture. Windows 7 will
automatically choose the Pictures library, which is the folder My Pictures,
a subfolder of your user name.
 Type the name of the picture you are saving.
 Click the Save button.

1.9.8.2 Downloading videos or sound clips

Numerous websites that provide different methods for downloading music and
videos. Some sites require you to join a club and supply your email address, a
username and a password. Depending on the website, this may involve paying
a membership fee. Other sites allow you to purchase clips without becoming a

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member. Some sites have music and video clips that are in the public domain
and are not subject to copyright. Many artists also put free clips on their
websites as a marketing tool.

 Navigate to the movie or sound clip. If there is a download button on the

website, click on the download button, or right click on the link and choose
Save As. Make sure that you are saving the clip and not an html document.
At the bottom of Internet Explorer, there is the following download bar:

Figure 1.128 - Download Bar options

 Click the Save button. The clip will be downloaded to the Downloads
folder, which is a subfolder of your username.
 Once the clip has completely downloaded, you will see the following bar at
the bottom of the Internet Explorer window.

Figure 1.129 - Download Complete options

 Click either Open, Open folder or View downloads.

Download option Description

Open This option opens the clip in Windows

Media Player, unless you have
installed another multimedia
application.

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 Open folder  The Downloads folder opens, listing all
downloaded files that have been
saved into this folder. Double click the
file to play it.

View downloads  This list displays the latest list of files

that have been downloaded with
Internet Explorer. Select the clip and
click Open.

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 1.9.9 Revision questions

Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the content of this
unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look for it in the text of
this unit.

Which shortcut keys are used to paste a block of text?

A. Ctrl + V
B. Ctrl + C
C. Ctrl + P
D. Ctrl + S

Which one of the following is not a download complete option?

A. Open
B. Save
C. Open folder
D. View downloads

Which one of the following duplicate file options will replace the destination
file with the source file?

A. Copy and Replace

B. Do not copy
C. Copy, but keep both files
D. None of the above

Which shortcut keys are used to cut a block of text?

A. Ctrl + X
B. Ctrl + V
C. Ctrl + P
D. Ctrl + C

_________ will revert to the last command

A. Save
B. Redo
C. Undo
D. Save All

Which one of the following actions cannot be performed on a file created on

a computer?

A. Moved
B. Selected

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 C. Copied
D. Configured

Which shortcut keys are used to copy a block of text?

A. Ctrl + C
B. Ctrl + V
C. Ctrl + P
D. Ctrl + X

What tasks can you perform in the Backstage menu?

A. Create a new file

B. Save your existing file
C. Print your file
D. All of the above

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1.10 Applications and Accessories

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Work with Windows Applications

 Work with Windows Accessories
 Understand System Tools
 Use the command prompt

1.10.1 Windows applications

Applications generally refer to programs that are installed in addition to the
accessories and gadgets that come standard with a particular edition of
Windows. These would include software programs such as Microsoft Word,
QuickBooks and Photoshop, to name a few.

As Windows 7 is available in a number of editions, certain accessories

discussed below may not be available in all the editions. For this module, we
will only use those applications that are available across all editions.

1.10.1.1 Common Windows applications

Once an application such as Microsoft Office - which commonly includes
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook -
has been installed on your computer, you can run the application to create and
store information using these applications.

Microsoft Office QuickBooks Adobe Photoshop

1.10.1.2 Run an installed application

To run an application such as one of the Microsoft Office group of
applications follow these steps:

 Click the Start button.

 Point to All Programs and click Microsoft Office.
 The Microsoft Office folder opens in a nested folder view.

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 Click on the required application such as Microsoft Word 2016 or
Microsoft Excel 2016.
 The application will open in a window on the desktop.

1.10.1.3 Close an application

Many applications can be closed by closing the application window. To do this:

 Click the Close (X) button in the top right hand corner of the window.

Figure 1.130 - Microsoft Office Word Application

Applications such as the Microsoft Office family of applications also have a

File tab that can be used to close the current document as well as an exit
option to close the application. To close a Microsoft Office file, follow these
steps:

 Click the File tab.

 Click Close.

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 Figure 1.131 - Backstage or File tab

 If you have not saved the data in the application, you will be warned to first
save the data if you want to be able to access it at a later stage.

Figure 1.132 - Unsaved data warning Microsoft Office

 Click the Save button to save the document.

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1.10.2 Windows accessories

The table below lists most of the common accessories found in most Windows
7 editions.

Accessory Description
Calculator This useful tool includes Standard, Scientific, Programmer and
Statistical interfaces for performing calculations with ease. It
provides calculation templates to perform fuel economy
calculations as an example and is also touchscreen
compatible.
Paint This drawing and picture editing tool uses the fluent user
style ribbon interface. It provides digital “brushes” that can
draw and colour using different effects such as crayons,
watercolours and calligraphy. It can also be used with a touch
screen PC.
Snipping Tool This tool captures a screenshot of anything on the desktop,
like a picture or a section of a webpage. You can snip a whole
window, a rectangular section of the screen, or draw a
freehand outline with your mouse or tablet pen (or your
finger, if you're using a PC with a touchscreen).
Windows Fax If the PC is connected to a fax modem or fax server, it can
and Scan send and receive documents just as a regular fax machine.
When connected to a scanner, you can scan documents and
images and save them as digital items.
Wordpad This basic word processing application uses the fluent user
style ribbon interface. It provides text-formatting, bullets,
and can include graphical images in a document.
Windows The file and folder management tools that facilitates moving,
Explorer copying and deleting files and folders.

1.10.2.1 Starting a Windows accessory

To launch any one of the Windows accessories, follow these steps:

 Click the Start button.

 Point to All Programs and click the Accessories folder. The folder opens in
a nested folder view.

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 Figure 1.133 - Start a Windows Accessory

 Click on the application you wish to run, e.g. Paint, WordPad. The
application will open in a window on your desktop.

1.10.2.2 Closing an accessory

 Click the Close button in the top right-hand corner of the window.

Accessories such as the Paint or WordPad also have an Application tab that
can be used to close the current document as well as an exit option to close
the application. To close an Accessory follow these steps:

Application Tab

Figure 1.134 - The Application tab

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 Click the Application tab.

Figure 1.135 - Application options

 If you have not saved the data in the application, you will be warned to first
save the data if you want to be able to access this data at a later stage.

Figure 1.136 – Unsaved data warning Microsoft Office

 Click the Save button to save the document.

The application will be exited.

1.10.3 System tools

These tools are a subset of Accessories. They are largely maintenance and
administrative tools but some of them, such as a character map, are also
useful when creating documents.

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The table below lists the most common Windows system tools:

System tool Description

The web browser that comes with Windows 7 provides
access to view, download and bookmark information from
Internet the World Wide Web. By accessing the browser from the
Explorer 8 accessory section add-ons such as Flash player etc. are not
(No Add-ons) available. Version 9 can be downloaded from the Microsoft
website free of charge. Use the browser button on the task
bar for Internet Explorer with all the add-ons installed.
This tool displays all the characters available in a specific
font. The keyboard does not have all the characters you may
need to type in a document such as foreign language
Character Map
characters, i.e. é and ç and mathematical symbols i.e.½
and µ. The character map will provide access to these
special characters.
It removes temporary files, empties the Recycle Bin, and
Disk Cleanup removes a variety of system files and other items no longer
needed.
Disk This tool performs important disk maintenance, which
Defragmenter improves data retrieval.
This tool is used by various applications to schedule regular
Task Scheduler updates. You can also create tasks to be run at specific
times using this tool.

1.10.3.1 Starting a system tool

 Click the Start button.

 Point to All Programs and click the Accessories folder.
 Click the System Tools folder. The folder opens in a nested folder view.

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 Figure 1.137 - Start a Windows System Tool

 Click on the tool you wish to use e.g. Character Map, Disk Cleanup.
 When using a tool like Character Map, many programs allow you to drag
special characters into documents. To do this, click the character you want
to copy. When the character appears enlarged, drag it into the open
document.

1.10.3.2 Closing a system tool

Click the Close button in the top right-hand corner of the window.
Some tools may have an button, on which you can click to close the
window.

1.10.4 Using the Command Prompt

In the days before Windows, Microsoft developed a text-based operating

system called MS-DOS (Microsoft Disc Operating System). This program
performed the same functions that Windows 7 (or any other operating system)
does today: it allowed users to run programs in an environment in which
processing power and computer resources are distributed for use. Instead of
using a mouse and clicking icons to perform a task, users typed commands
using the keyboard.

The Command Prompt is like that early operating system environment. Tpday
the low-level interface used for managing files, running scripts, and other
technical operations. You may never need to use the Command Prompt
because you have almost complete control of your computer using the
graphical user interface. Nonetheless, it is important to note that many of
the things that happen in the background of a computer happen in a Command
Prompt-like environment.

To use the Command Prompt:

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 Click Start  All Programs  Accessories  Command Prompt

Figure 1.138 - Command Prompt

 You can also click Start, type “cmd”, and then press <Enter>.

It may not look like much (See Figure 1.139), but the Command Prompt allows
you to do quite a bit with your computer.

Figure 1.139 - Command Prompt window

We will now outline some of the common commands.

1.10.4.1 Directory Commands (dir, cd, md)

Notice that the first folder that you are in is your profile folder. To view the
contents of a folder, type dir and press Enter:

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You can see when all of the directories were created, as well as their names.
To change to another directory, use the change directory command. Type
cd <directory name> (e.g. cd documents) and press <Enter>. The
directory name will change in the prompt:

To move back to a previous directory, type cd .. and press <Enter>:

To make a directory, type md <new name> and press <Enter>:

The directory is empty and it has been created with the current date.

1.10.4.2 Delete (del)

The delete command will erase a file or folder. To erase a particular file, type
del <full file name> and press Enter.

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 Note Be careful when using this command because Command Prompt
does not ask to confirm your choice when deleting a file and the file
does not go to the Recycle Bin.

To delete a folder, type del <folder name> and press Enter. You will be
prompted to confirm your choice.

1.10.4.3 Exit
To quit the Command Prompt, type Exit and press Enter.

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 1.10.5 Revision questions

Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the

content of this unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look for it
in the text of this unit.

1. Which one of the following is not a common application in Window 7?

A. Microsoft Office
B. Adobe Photoshop
C. QuickBooks
D. Fruit loops

2. Which command is used to quit a command prompt?

A. Exit
B. Quit
C. Close
D. Kill

3. Which system tool performs important disk maintenance, which improves

data retrieval?

A. Disk Defragmenter
B. Disk Cleanup
C. Task Scheduler
D. Character Map

4. Which one of the following is not a Windows Gadget?

A. Weather
B. Currency
C. Clock
D. Picture

5. Which one of the following commands erases a file in command prompt?

A. Del
B. Delete
C. Delete + Del
D. All of the above

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1.11 Getting Help in Windows 7

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Launch Help in different ways

 Recognise the different parts of Help and Support
 Search for a Help topic
 Ask for Help
 Set Help options

1.11.1 The basics of Windows Help

Windows 7 was Designed to be intuitive and visually driven. In this way, even
someone who has never used a computer before can find his/her way around –
once he/she understands how to interact with the keyboard and mouse.

1.11.2 Launching Help from the Start Menu

 Click the Start button.

 Click Help and Support.
 The following window opens (Figure 1.140).

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 Support options

Back Forward Print Help options

Help and Support Home Browse Help

Online/Offline Help

Figure 1.140 - Help Screen

The table below lists the Windows Help features.

Help feature Description

Back Returning to the previous help topic
Forward Moving forward to the next help topic
Help and Support Takes you to the screen displayed in Figure 136
Home
Print Print the help topic to an available printer
Browse Help Display of the Help table of contents
Support options The options of connecting to Windows Remote
Assistance Help and/or online Help communities,
such as the Microsoft Answers website, or online
technical support, based on the computer
manufacturer or Microsoft Support
Help options Utilities for changing help settings

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 Online /Offline Help The options of using the help tool files installed on
the computer, or connecting to Microsoft’s more
extensive online help facility

 Click on one of the Hyperlinks to view the list of help topics available or
click in the Search Help textbox and type
a keyword/s relating to the topic on which you require help.
 Click the Search button to initiate the search.

1.11.3 Using Help in an accessory or system tool

Accessories such as WordPad and Paint have built-in help features. Access Help
while working in these applications and find out how to use their different
features:

 Click on the Help button in the top right corner of the window or use the
F1 function on the keyboard. The following screen is an example of the
help screen in Paint.

Figure 1.141 - Help screen in Paint

 Either click on the topic on the right hand side, or type the search string in
the Search Help textbox.
 Click on the Search button.
 Click on the Close button to close the Help screen.

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1.11.4 Overview of the Help and Support Window

The top of the window features the standard Back and Forward navigation
buttons, as well as some other commands and a Search textbox.

The commands on the right-hand side of the screen provide quick links to
different features of Help:

Returns you to the main welcome screen of

Home
Windows Help and Support

Print Sends the current Help topic to your printer

Allows you to view the contents of the entire

Browse Help
Windows Help file
The Ask link allows you to request assistance
with a problem, which enables you to:

Ask  Allow another user to use your computer

from a remote location
 Post or ask a question online
 Contact Microsoft’s technical support
Options include:
 Changing the size of the text on your
Options screen
 Finding a certain word or phrase on the
current page
 Using some customer feedback programs

1.11.5 Ask in Windows Help

The Ask section of Windows Help and Support gives three main options:
 Windows Remote Assistance
 Microsoft Answers
 Computer Manufacturer/Microsoft Customer Support

1.11.5.1 Windows Remote Assistance

Windows Remote Assistance allows another Windows 7 user to connect to, and
control, your computer through the Internet. He/she has full access and can
control any aspect of your computer.

Click the Windows Remote Assistance link and select whether you are
requesting help or are offering to help:

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If you require help, send an invitation email to another user. If you are offering
to help, you can browse your computer for the invitation file that the other
user has given you in order to connect. You can also connect to a computer via
the computer name or IP address (i.e. the electronic address of the physical
computer).

1.11.5.2 Microsoft Answers

Clicking this link launches Internet Explorer and opens the Microsoft Answers
web page. This page is a special forum where people can ask and answer
different questions related to Windows.
Use the search bar at the top of the web page to search for relevant results to
your question, or use the find list on the left to browse through the available
topics:

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You can also sign into Windows Live using this page.

1.11.5.3 Computer Manufacturer/Microsoft Customer Support

This link provides contact information for a wide variety of computer
manufacturers, as well as information on how to get in touch with Microsoft.

1.11.6 Setting Help options

In the upper right-hand corner of Windows Help and Support there is one final
menu: the Options menu. This menu offers choices to make using Windows
Help and Support easier. (See Figure 1.142)

Figure 1.142 - Options button found in Help

 Print…
Prints the currently displayed topic
 Browse Help
A link to the table of contents for Windows 7
 Text size
If you are having trouble reading the help file because the text is too small (or
too big), use the sub-menu to adjust the text size:

 Find (on this page) …

If you have used the Search bar to look for a particular keyword, use the Find
option to pinpoint the place in the help topic where the keyword has been
found. Every instance will be highlighted:

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 Settings…
You can choose to browse the online help file as well as the local Windows 7
help file for answers. You can also choose the Help Experience Improvement
program, which is Designed to send information anonymously about your
search topics to Microsoft. Microsoft uses this data to suit the help file to the
types of questions people are asking:

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 1.11.7 Revision questions

Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the content of this
unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look for it in the text of
this section.

In which colour are the definitions, that are used to describe more technical
aspects of a computer in Windows Help and Support?

A. Blue
B. Red
C. Green
D. Yellow

What are your options, if you have selected any of the options available
under the Ask section of Windows Help and Support?

A. Allow another Windows 7 user to connect to and control your computer

through the Internet
B. Launch Internet Explorer and open the Microsoft Answers web page,
where you can ask different questions related to Windows
C. Access contact information for a wide variety of computer manufacturers,
as well as information on how to get in touch with Microsoft
D. All of the above

Windows Help and Support can be used in two ways namely, …

A. Using Web slicers and hyperlinks

B. Online and offline
C. Using hardware and software
D. Using your cell phone and your computer

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1.12 Making Windows 7 Work for You

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Open and navigate through the Control Panel

 Change your view in the Control Panel
 Personalise your computer
 Change the resolution of your monitor
 Use multiple monitors
 Use different sound schemes
 Change the date and time
 Modify sound properties
 Modify mouse properties
 View system information
 Move, lock, unlock and resize the taskbar
 Change your wallpaper
 Move, sort and delete icons
 Set view options

1.12.1 The Control Panel

The Control Panel is opened by clicking Start  Control Panel

Figure 1.143 - Control Panel

1.12.1.1 Control Panel overview

The Control Panel contains an address bar and a search box like many other
folders. The different commands are categorised into the following eight
groups when viewed by category.

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 Figure 1.144 - Control Panel window

The following table outlines the different sections.

System and Security This section deals with the overall operation and
stability/security of Windows 7. In this section,
you can:
 Open the Action Center
 Check system settings
 Manage Windows Update settings
 Manage power consumption option
 Access other administrative tools
Network and Internet Use this option to modify the way in which the
computer will interact with others if you are on
a network. You can also:
 Manage network settings
 Set up and use the home group network to
interact with other Windows 7 computers
 Modify Internet Explorer settings
Hardware and Sound This option allows you to modify settings for all
hardware connected to the computer, which
may include printers and scanners, mouses,
keyboards, speakers, digital cameras and audio
devices, game controllers and modems. You can
also modify AutoPlay options for removable
media, adjust sound and power usage options,
and change display settings.

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 Programs This option allows you to:
 Install or uninstall third party programs
 Set which programs will be associated with
which file type
 Manage gadgets
User Accounts This section enables you to manage users on a
computer, which is particularly useful if the
computer is to be used (shared) by a number of
people. Use Windows CardSpace and the
Credentials Manager to manage personal data.
Appearance and Adjust the look and feel of the computer with
Personalization this option, including:
 Manage the appearance of the Start menu
 Adjust a number of visual elements
 Customise the way in which a folder displays
its contents
 View fonts that are installed on the computer
Clock, Language, Use this option to change:
Region  The date and time
 The language pack installed on the computer
 Other regional options, such as currency and
number formats
Ease of Access Windows 7 includes a number of different
options for users who are differently abled.
Enhanced contrast, text-to-speech options and
user input options allow almost anyone to have
full access to Windows
Additional Options If you have hardware or software on your
computer that can directly influence its day-to-
day operations, you may see additional options
in the Control Panel.

1.12.1.2 Navigation basics

When you open the Control Panel, all the primary categories of options are
listed in green, with the most commonly used category options in blue.

When you click a category, a Navigation Pane will appear on the left side of
the window, which indicates your position in relation to the other categories.
Notice that the address bar now shows the category name as well.

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 Figure 1.145 - Hardware and Sound link

Clicking the actual Hardware and Sound link on the left opens all category
options, as shown in the diagram below (Figure 151). If you click the blue Add
a device link, you are taken directly to the sub-option in the box.

Figure 1.146 - Add a device sub-option

Sometimes, when you have clicked a link to view the details of a category or a
sub-option, a number of related Control Panel options will appear, as
indicated in Figure 152.

Figure 1.147 - Control Panel options

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Beside the address bar at the top of the window, the Back and Forward
navigation buttons appear. Return to the Home screen of the Control Panel
by clicking Control Panel Home (Figure 153).

Figure 1.148 – Control Panel Home link

Some Control Panel sub-options have a small Windows Shield icon beside
them. (See Figure 154.) These options can only be modified by computer
administrators and may be password protected.

Figure 1.149 - Device Manager with a Windows Shield icon

1.12.1.3 Changing the view

For a complete listing of all sub-commands in the Control Panel, click the View
by combo box and select either Large or Small icons.

Figure 1.150 - View by sub-commands

This lists all commands that perform specific functions with your computer.
(You may see more or fewer icons on your computer.) (See also Figure 153.)

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 Figure 1.151 - List of different commands

This view simply removes categorisation and alphabetically lists all commands.
To revert to the standard Control Panel layout, change the View by combo
box back to Category.

1.12.2 The taskbar

1.12.2.1 Locking and unlocking the taskbar
The taskbar:
 Holds the Start button
 Displays icons for open programs
 Tells the time
 Displays other information about the computer

Figure 1.152 - The taskbar

By default, the taskbar is locked, which means that it cannot be modified to

look or function differently. To unlock the taskbar, right click in an empty area
of the taskbar and click Lock the taskbar to uncheck this field:

Figure 1.153 - Locking the taskbar

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Windows 7 does not give any visual indication that the taskbar has been locked
or unlocked. You will have to right-click an empty area of the taskbar again to
be sure.

1.12.2.2 Moving the taskbar

The taskbar is by default positioned at the bottom of the screen. However, it
can be moved to the left, right, or top of the screen, depending on where you
want to place it.

Moving the taskbar is easy to do. Make sure the taskbar is unlocked and then
click and drag an empty part of the taskbar to the side of the screen of your
choice, e.g. the left side.

If satisfied with the location of the taskbar, it is a good practice to lock the
taskbar to prevent accidentally clicking and dragging it somewhere else.

1.12.2.3 Resizing the taskbar

If you use several programs at once or use a smaller screen resolution, your
taskbar may appear cluttered, which makes switching between different
windows more difficult. To remedy this, with the taskbar unlocked move the
mouse to the top edge until your cursor changes into a double-headed arrow.
Click and drag to raise or lower the height of the taskbar to your liking:

Figure 1.154 - Resizing a taskbar

You can take up to half of the screen with the taskbar.

1.12.3 Changing the desktop wallpaper

The wallpaper is the image that is displayed as the background picture on
your desktop. Your wallpaper picture can be anything you like and nearly any
image file format can be used as wallpaper.
To change the wallpaper, right-click on any blank area of the desktop and click
Personalize:

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 Figure 1.155 - Personalize option

The Personalization folder appears, which offers several commands to adjust

the visuals of your computer. To adjust the wallpaper, click the Desktop
Background button at the bottom (Figure 1.156).

Figure 1.156 - Desktop Background button

This will show a window with various background options. At the top of the
window, use the combo box to choose the source for your wallpaper. You can
also click Browse to select another folder that contains images.

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 Figure 1.157 - Combo box to choose the source for your wallpaper

Next, select one or more images to use as your wallpaper. To select multiple
images, hover your mouse over a picture and then click the checkbox. Repeat
this until you have selected all the images that you want.

Figure 1.158 - Selecting images

Now you can adjust the way in which the image will be displayed on your
screen. These options force the image to conform in different ways relative to
your screen resolution.

Figure 1.159 - Options of image displays on your screen

Finally, if you have selected more than one image to use as a background, you
can control how often (i.e. at which intervals) Windows switches between
images.

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 Figure 1.160 - Options of the intervals of Windows switching between
images

1.12.4 Common customisation tasks

1.12.4.1 Personalising your computer

Modern graphics cards and graphics chipsets have the ability to display millions
of colours and vibrant visual effects. Windows 7 takes advantage of this
technological capability and allows you to create a bright and colourful
interface to suit your liking.

Perform the following to view how you can customise Windows 7:

 Start  Control Panel  Appearance and Personalization 
Personalization
 You can also access these options by right-clicking the desktop and clicking
Personalize.

See Figure 1.161, which displays the Personalization window.

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 Figure 1.161 - Personalization window

This window allows you to change all desktop settings at once. You can scroll
through the pre-installed themes with Windows 7 and click on any theme to
apply it. If you would rather choose your settings, use the four commands at
the bottom of the window.

1.12.4.2 Modifying the screen resolution

Depending on the size of your monitor, you can adjust the amount of
information that can fit on the screen by changing the number of pixels
(individual dots of colour that make up your screen) that are displayed at once.
Changing the number of pixels is called changing the resolution.

Screen resolution is measured in horizontal x vertical pixels. The default

Windows 7 resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels. Larger monitors like 19” or 21” and
above can support larger resolutions. Very large resolutions, such as 1600 x
1200 pixels and above, are useful when you need to do fine graphics work, or
if you are a video game enthusiast. Larger resolutions require more processing
and graphical power. Depending on the age of your computer, a large
resolution will result in your computer becoming slower and, therefore, you
may need to find a compromise when dealing with larger resolutions.

From the Control Panel, click Appearance and Personalization and then
click Adjust screen resolution under the Display heading. (See Figure
1.162.)

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 Figure 1.162 - Adjust screen resolution link

At this point, you can choose the resolution and orientation of your monitor.

Figure 1.163 - Screen Resolution window

Every monitor has a native resolution, which means that the monitor has a
certain number of physical pixels, like 1280 x 1024 or 1440 x 900. Monitors
are capable of displaying resolutions smaller than their native resolutions but
smaller resolutions make things appear slightly blurry. If you try to display a
resolution that is larger than the native resolution, the picture may appear
garbled or may not display anything at all.

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Windows 7 can detect the native resolution of most monitors. For the clearest
picture and the least amount of strain on your eyes, it is recommended that
you should leave the resolution at whatever Windows decides is best.

To change your resolution, click the Resolution combo box and select a size
(Figure 1.164).

Figure 1.164 - Resolution combo box

1.12.4.3 Working with multiple monitors

Windows 7 is capable of using more than one monitor at once. This means that
you can have one large virtual desktop that is split across multiple monitors,
two independent displays, or have the same image mirrored across all
monitors.

To use more than one monitor at a time, you need to have multiple display
adapters installed. If you have a laptop computer, you probably have a
second VGA monitor port on the side or the back (Figure 1.165).

Figure 1.165 - VGA monitor port

A laptop should be capable of using both the screen installed inside the laptop
and an external display at the same time.

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If you have a desktop computer purchased as a package from a store, you
may only have one video output port. If you have a custom-built computer or
a computer that was Designed more for games or graphics work, you will likely
have a separate video card. These cards are attached to the motherboard and
the video output port will be accessible from the back of the computer.

VGA Nearly every monitor has a VGA port, including most

(Video Graphics flat screen televisions. VGA ports are usually blue but
Array) may also be black.
S-Video Often incorrectly called Super Video, this format is
(Separate Video) now rarely used because it cannot support high
resolutions. Many flat screen televisions have an S-
video port.
DVI DVI is a more common format, slowly replacing VGA.
(Digital Video DVI is capable of transferring audio and video over the
Interface) same cable. DVI ports are usually white but may also
be black.
HDMI HDMI is the norm with modern high definition. Like
(High Definition DVI, HDMI can carry visual and audio information on
Multimedia the same cable. It is possible to purchase adapters to
Interface) convert HDMI to and from DVI.

High-definition digital cable and satellite feeds use this

format, as do Blu-ray disc players and modern gaming
consoles. At the time of publication, the HDMI 2.0
format was under production which is a format that
can support 3D video on capable monitors and
televisions. 3D displays literally display two
overlapped pictures at once, which are filtered by a
pair of polarised glasses worn by the user.

Figure 1.166 - S-video and DVI ports

Many modern graphics cards have dropped the S-video format and use a
combination of DVI and HDMI ports.

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 Figure 1.167 - HDMI port

If you have more than one monitor attached to your computer, the Screen
Resolution window will look something like this (Figure 1.168).

Figure 1.168 - Screen Resolution window

Here you can see all of your monitors at once. You may need to click the
Identify button in the upper right-hand side of the window to see which
monitor is which, depending on how the computer decides which video output
port should be labelled #1.

If it turns out that the monitors are not in the right order, you can either
physically move the monitors or click and drag the monitor number to the
location you want (Figure 1.169).

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 Figure 1.169 - Clicking and dragging monitors to a different location

Click Apply to accept these new locations.

Once the monitors are in their correct locations, you can change individual
monitor options by selecting a monitor at the top of the window and then use
the combo boxes to modify settings (Figure 166).

Figure 1.170 - Changing individual monitor options

The options are listed in the table below.

Display Select between the different displays attached to the

computer. This command does the same thing as clicking
an individual display.
Resolution Change the resolution of the selected screen.
Orientation Choose between Landscape (wider) and Portrait
(taller). Some LCD displays have the ability to rotate 90
degrees. Having this taller screen makes Portrait
orientation ideal for desktop publishing, such as
newspapers and brochures.

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 Multiple The multiple display option is only available if you have
Displays multiple monitors attached to your computer. Choose
between the following options:

Duplicate these displays:

Each display shows the

same thing.

Extend these displays: Your desktop flows

from one screen to the
next.

Click and drag

windows from one
screen to another.

Show desktop only on X: Will show everything

on Monitor X and
disable all other
monitors.

Click OK to make any changes. Your screens will probably flicker a few times,
while Windows configures the video output. After you have made certain
changes, you will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click OK to accept the
changes or Cancel to revert to your initial settings.

1.12.4.4 Changing your sound scheme

Windows uses .wav (wave or Waveform Audio) files as the sound format
for system sounds. The start-up noise, crumpled paper noise when emptying
the Recycle Bin and the various other sounds that you hear when using
Windows, are all .wav files.

Windows 7 includes a few sound schemes. This is a collection of themed

sounds that will play when you perform certain actions with your computer. To
hear the available sound schemes from the Control Panel, click Hardware and

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Sound and then click Change system sounds, found under the Sound
heading (Figure 167).

Figure 1.171 - Change system sounds link

This option displays the Sounds tab of the Sound dialog box.

Figure 1.172 - Sound dialog box

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Select a theme from the Sound Scheme combo box (Figure 169).

Figure 1.173 - Theme in the Sound Scheme combo box

Selecting a new theme replaces all the critical Windows sounds with sounds in
a related theme. Select an action from the Program Events list and click Test
to hear the sound.

If you want to change a sound to another clip, use the Sounds combo box to
select a different sound. (See also Figure 1.174.)

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 Figure 1.174 - Sound combo box with different sound options

If you have another sound file that you want to use, click the Browse button
and navigate to the folder that contains the sound file. If you want to save the
modified scheme, click the Save As button and give the scheme a name.

Finally, click OK to confirm any changes.

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1.12.4.5 Changing the date and time
If you are moving to a different region of the world, or have suffered a power
loss which can throw the clock off time, you can change the date and time in
the Control Panel.

Click Clock, Language and Region and then click Set the time and date
under the Date and Time heading (Figure 1.175).

Figure 1.175 - Set the time and date link

Now click the Change date and time… button.

Figure 1.176 - Change date and time button

Use the < and > buttons on either side of the month to change the month
and then click a day to change the date. Click the hour, minute, or second time
and type in the proper time.

When you are satisfied with all adjustments, click OK.

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 Figure 1.177 - Date and time settings

You can also click the clock in the taskbar and then click Change date and
time settings…

Figure 1.178 - Change date and time settings

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1.12.4.6 Setting volume and sound properties
Your computer has probably come with a set of speakers to use for sound.
Nearly every computer also has the ability to use a microphone, speakers and
other sound recording/playback equipment. Windows allows you to change the
volume settings for all playback devices in one spot. The easiest way to adjust
the volume is to click the speaker icon in the taskbar and then click and drag
the slider up or down. (See Figure 1.179.)

Figure 1.179 – Speaker icon

If your keyboard has an integrated volume control, it can also be used to

adjust the volume up or down. Mute the audio by clicking the speaker icon
under the volume slider. If you click the Mixer link, you will be able to control
the output for all devices and certain programs.

Figure 1.180 – Volume Mixer dialog box

To modify other sound properties from the Control Panel, click Hardware and
Sound and then click Manage audio devices.

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 Figure 1.181 - Manage audio devices link

To modify an audio device, select the device and click Properties. If you have
a surround system with more than two speakers, use the Configure button to
change the sound hardware setup.

Figure 1.182 - Properties button

Click OK to save any changes that you have made.

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1.12.5 Advanced customisation
In the Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound and then click Mouse under
the Devices and Printers heading. This will open the Mouse Properties
dialog box.

Figure 1.183 - Mouse link

Figure 1.184 - Mouse Properties dialog box

Under the Button configuration heading on the Buttons tab, reverse the
operation of the left and right mouse buttons to accommodate left-handed or
right-handed people. To adjust the double-click speed, click and drag the slider
and test it by double-clicking the folder icon. Click Lock allows you to click
and drag to select something without having to hold the left mouse button
down all the time.

The other tabs in the Mouse Properties dialog box are as follows.
 Pointers
Change the type of mouse pointer scheme that you want to use. You also have
the ability to download new pointer schemes to have a more customised look:

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 Pointer options
Pointer options include:
o Controlling the behaviour of the mouse pointer
o Controlling the sensitivity of the mouse pointer when the mouse is
moved
o Choosing if the pointer will automatically snap to a command or
button when you move your mouse close to a command
o Choosing to show a pointer trail
o Deciding if you want the mouse pointer to disappear when you type
something
o Indicating the location of the pointer with an animation

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 Wheel
Nearly every mouse is equipped with a scroll wheel, which allows you to
scroll up or down through information on your screen. Many new mouses also
feature the ability to scroll sideways through data that is too wide for the
screen. Adjust these properties to control the way in which the mouse wheel
will behave.

 Hardware
The Hardware tab displays technical information about your mouse.

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 1.12.6 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any
question, look for it in the text of this unit.

The Control Panel provides commands to modify and customise almost

everything

A. the Start button does

B. Mac Books do
C. Microsoft Office does
D. Windows does

To personalise your computer, you can

A. Left-click on your desktop

B. Right-click on your desktop
C. Left-click on your taskbar
D. Right-click on your taskbar

Changing the number of pixels is known as

A. Changing the monitor

B. Changing the picture element
C. Changing the resolution
D. Changing the Control Panel

What is the default Windows 7 resolution?

A. 1024 × 768
B. 1280 × 1024
C. 800 × 600
D. 1600 × 1200

What does DVI stand for?

A. Digital Vision Interface

B. Digital Virtual Interface
C. Digital Video Interface
D. Digital Violent Interface

By default, the taskbar is

A. Unlocked
B. Locked
C. Hidden
D. Disabled

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 What is the quickest way of personalising your computer with the options
given?

A. Left click on any blank area on the desktop and click Personalize
B. Click on Start and click Personalize
C. Click on the Personalize icon
D. Right-click on any blank area on the desktop and click Personalize

By default, what is the size of icons found in Windows?

A. Medium
B. Small
C. Large
D. Extra large

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1.13 Managing Hardware

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Manage hardware
 View system information
 Check your system’s score
 Open the Device Manager
 View hardware and devices attached to your computer

1.13.1 Introduction
Every operating system serves two basic purposes:
 to distribute the computer’s resources so that a user can run programs
 to allow the software to interact with hardware.

Every piece of hardware has a special program called a driver that allows for
interaction between the computer and the hardware.

1.13.2 Viewing system information

For an overall report on your computer and its capabilities, click:
Start  Control Panel  System and Security  System
This will open the System dialog box.

View system information by opening the Start menu, right clicking the
Computer button and then clicking Properties (Figure 181):

Figure 1.185 - Properties in the Computer menu

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The System dialog box appears and shows the version of Windows that is
currently installed, processor speed, memory and system type, as well as
network information.

The links in the Navigation Pane provide access to other areas of your
computer, where you can modify hardware and software settings.

Figure 1.186 - System Properties

1.13.3 Checking your system score

Windows 7 incorporates a number of impressive but computer-taxing visual
effects. To take advantage of all the graphical enhancements that Windows has
to offer, your computer must meet certain hardware requirements, including:
 1 GHz 32- or 64-bit processor
 1 gigabyte of RAM (32-bit) or 2 gigabytes of RAM (64-bit)
 DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
 DVD-ROM drive for installation

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Fortunately, these requirements are standard on most computers available for
sale, and easily attainable for enthusiastic computer users.

Windows 7 ranks hardware capabilities on a scale of 1.0 to 7.9, and records

the score as the Windows Experience Index. Click the link in the System
window to see details about your score (Figure 1.187).

Figure 1.187 - Checking your system score

Each component of your computer is given a rating and the overall score (like
the performance of your computer) is determined by the weakest-performing
component. In the case of our test machine, the processor is the slowest
overall component with a score of 5.0 /7.9 (Figure 1.188).

Figure 1.188 - Rate and improve your computer’s performance

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The system score is determined when Windows is first installed on the
computer. If you change a hardware component, or if you download a new and
better-performing driver for a hardware component, you can run the tests
again to see if your score has improved. Low scores may prohibit certain
programs from installing in the future.

Windows 7 and all of its graphical features place heavy demands on your
hardware. In the next lesson, we will explore how to modify or disable
Windows features and help improve the performance of your computer,
without having to purchase new hardware. The everyday computer is capable
of quite a lot, if it is not choked by too much at once.

1.13.4 Opening the Device Manager

To view all hardware components and modify their properties, use the Device
Manager. This is accessible in the Control Panel by clicking Hardware and
Sound and then clicking Device Manager under the Devices and Printers
heading.

Figure 1.189 - Device Manager link

Remember that only administrators can view and modify hardware details. All
pieces of hardware fit into certain categories. Any devices not recognised by
the computer or that do not have a driver assigned to them are listed in other
devices.

Click the white arrow beside any entry to view/expand all pieces of hardware
associated with that category of hardware. For example, the category named
Display adapters contains all devices responsible for creating visual output.

Figure 1.190 - Display adapter’s category

1.13.5 Viewing hardware and devices

Double-click the component in the category to view details about the hardware
(Figure 1.191).

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 Figure 1.191 – Hardware details

The Properties window for each piece of hardware on your computer contains
four tabs, which detail all aspects of the device.

 General
The General window gives an overview of the device, which details what it is,
what category it is under and what overall resource it occupies. Any device
issues are listed here as well:

 Driver
Windows 7 includes a large generic driver database that is used to get most of
your vital hardware working right from installation. This means that you are
likely to get a video driver and all drive controllers working right away.
This tab allows you to:
o View driver details, including specific files
o Update the driver by browsing for the driver or from an Internet
download

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 o Roll back the driver to the previous version if the new driver causes
trouble
o
o Disable the device for the time being, or uninstall the device.

 Details
Use this tab to explore the properties and details of a device. Use the combo
box and choose a category.

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 Resources
All pieces of hardware built into or connected to your computer are given
memory resources to use by the operating system. Though memory conflicts
are rare, any conflicts will be listed in this section. You can also view the
memory resources that are assigned to this device.

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 1.13.6 Revision questions
Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any
question, look for it in the text of this unit.

To view all hardware components and modify their properties, one can use
the

A. Control Panel
B. Device Manager
C. Start menu
D. Windows key

Which one of the following will not appear in the System dialog box?

A. Processor speed
B. Memory
C. Network information
D. Firewall information

To obtain an overall report on your computer and its capabilities, you have
to open the

A. Control Panel
B. Device Manager
C. System dialog box
D. Start menu

Which one of the following options involves a purpose of an operating

system?

A. Allows computers in a network to view other networks’ data

B. Distributes the computer’s resources so a user can run programs
C. Allows users to send emails
D. Distributes files and folders over the network

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1.14 Email with Gmail

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Create a Google account

 Sign-in to Gmail account
 Work in the Gmail interface
 Compose and send messages
 View messages and message attachments
 Reply to messages
 Add a new contact

1.14.1 What is Gmail?

Gmail (pronounced Gee-mail) is a free Web-based e-mail service provided by
Google. It provides users with 1GB of storage for messages and the ability to
search for specific messages.

The creation of Gmail was inspired by complaints from users (with existing
Web email services) about issues such as storage limitation, being unable to
delete messages to free up storage, and the lack of other useful features.

Gmail is a Web-based e-mail service. This means you need to be connected to

the Internet.

You can use Gmail to:

 Send, receive, read, respond to, organise, delete, move, label, mark, filter,
mute, and archive email messages
 Send attachments, such as documents and media files that are stored
locally or on Google Drive (Google cloud storage)
 Schedule events, meetings, and appointments
 View upcoming appointments and tasks and receive reminders for them
 Share schedule related information with other people, inside and outside
your organisation
 Filter out unwanted and annoying junk messages
 Organise messages into categories

1.14.2 Starting Gmail

To start Gmail, open your browser (preferably Google Chrome). As both
Google Chrome and Gmail are services offered by Google, they work well
together. Gmail is integrated into Google Chrome for easy access.

1.14.3 Signing in to Gmail accounts

To sign-in to your Gmail account, you must be a registered Google client i.e.
you must have a Google account. If you do not have a Google account, follow
the steps in section 1.14.4 to create one. If you do have a Google account
proceed to section 1.14.5.

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1.14.4 Creating a Google account
While Google Chrome browser is open:

 Click the Sign in button located on the top right of the screen.

Figure 1.192 - Sign in

 On the page that follows, click on Create account link.

Figure 1.193 - Create account

 Fill in all the required information in the specified fields.

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 Figure 1.194 - Signup form

 Review Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, click the checkbox to
agree to the terms.
 Click Next step when finished.
 Create your profile in the next page. Click Add a photo if you want to add a
photo to your Google+ profile. If you don’t want to click Next step.

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 Figure 1.195 - Create your profile

 Your account will be created. Click Continue to Gmail to access your Gmail
account.

Figure 1.196 – Welcome page

1.14.5 Signing-in to your Gmail account

While Google Chrome browser is open:

 Click the Sign in button located on the top right of the screen.

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 Figure 1.197 - Sign in

 On the page that follows, enter your email address. Click Next.
 Enter your password and click Next.
 You are now signed-in to your Gmail account.

Figure 1.198 - Gmail inbox

You can add more than one Gmail accounts by clicking on profile icon and click
Add account button.

1.14.6 Working in the Gmail interface

At this point, we should look at the different components of the Gmail
interface, where we are viewing the Inbox folder – i.e. the first folder that
appears when you open Gmail.

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 Figure 1.199 - Gmail Interface

 Folders
These folders are used to categorise the messages, e.g. messages that have
been starred will be under the starred folder, messages marked as important
will be under the important folder, messages that are sent will be found under
Sent Mail, and messages that were not sent but saved will be under Draft.

 Circles
refer to your friends on Google+ categorised as Friends, Family,
Acquaintances, Following, and Colleagues. Click the left arrow on Circles to
expand these different categories.

 Chats
Gmail also has an instant messaging client integrated in it. The messaging
client is called Hangouts and the chats are found under the Chats folder.

 The All Mail folder is a place to find all the messages from the different
categories in one place.

 Spam messages are found in the Spam folder. All messages that have been
moved to Trash are found in the Trash folder.

 Categories (referred to as labels) organises messages into different labels.

There are four default labels created by Gmail: Social, Promotions, Updates,
and Forums. You can add as many labels as you want. Gmail automatically
organises incoming messages into the different labels.

 Messages

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Display messages.

 Top Bar
The top bar or toolbar provides facilities to search, format, and navigate
through messages.

 Compose
This button is used to create new messages.

 Mail
Click the drop-down arrow to toggle between your contacts, Tasks, and Mail.
Gmail allows you to add contacts to your account.

 The contacts on your Gmail account synchronise with your Android device if
you have added the same Gmail account onto that device.

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1.14.7 Using Help in Gmail
Whenever you have questions about things or trying to find more information
on how to perform certain tasks, your first resource is the Gmail Help option.
The Gmail Help option provides articles that guide you on how to perform
certain tasks in Gmail. To access the Help option, click the down arrow next to
the settings icon and select Help.

Figure 1.200 - Gmail Help

Type the search keywords and select the appropriate help article from those
that appear.

Figure 1.201 - Gmail Help

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1.14.8 Composing and sending e-mail messages
When composing an e-mail, the following should be provided:

 To: An email address of the primary recipient(s) of the e-

 Cc (carbon copy) mail.
An e-mail address of the person (or people) you wish
 Bcc (blind carbon to copy on the message.
copy) An email address of the person (or people) you wish
to copy on the message. Unlike Cc, the email
addresses provided here will not be visible to the
primary recipient(s).
 Subject: A brief description of the nature and/or purpose of the
message.
 Message body: Your actual message to the recipient(s).

Note A carbon copy is an exact replica of the original document, made by

placing carbon paper between the original and the copy while the
document is created. The pressure exerted on the original by
writing or typing transfers the carbon dust from the carbon paper to
the copy. The name of the CC field comes from this practice.

The following example shows how to compose, format and send an e-mail
message:

 Click the Compose button.

 In the To box, enter the recipient’s e-mail address.
 In the Subject box, enter the description or purpose of the e-mail message.
 In the message body, type in the message.

Figure 1.202 - New email

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 You can use these tools to format the message change the font-type, font
size, font style, alignments, indentation, etc.

Figure 1.203 - Formatting tools

You can also attach document files( ), media files( ), and links( ) to the
e-mail. There are two options to add attachments from a local storage on the
machine or from cloud storage such as Google Drive ( ).

Figure 1.204 - Attachment tools

 Click Send when you are satisfied with the editing. You can view all sent
messages from the Sent Mail folder.

Figure 1.205 - Sent Mail

1.14.9 Viewing messages and message attachments

Opening a message and attachments involves the following steps:
 Click the message you want to open. If the message has attachments, scroll
to the end of the e-mail. The attachments are placed here under the
Attachments section.

Figure 1.206 - Opening a message

 To reply to the e-mail, click on Reply.

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 Figure 1.207 - Replying a message

 To forward the e-mail, click Forward.

1.14.10 Adding a new contact

 Click the drop-down arrow on Mail and select Contacts.

Figure 1.208 - Contacts

 Click Add to “My Contacts” button.

Figure 1.209 - Add to “My Contacts”

 Enter the name or e-mail address into the text area. As you begin typing,
certain contacts suggestions will pop up. The contacts suggestion depends
on two things: if the person you are adding has a Google account or you
have sent them an e-mail.

Figure 1.210 - Adding contacts

 When done, click Add. The newly added contact will be displayed in the list.

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 Figure 207 – New contact

1.14.11 Revision questions

Answer the questions that follow to help you to reinforce the
content of this unit. If you are unsure of the answer to any question, look for it
in the text of this unit.

What is Gmail?

A. A Web-based e-mail service

B. A Web-based service
C. An e-mail client service
D. All of the above

Which browser is the best to use with Gmail?

A. Safari
B. Opera
C. Internet Explorer
D. Google Chrome

When you send an e-mail message, where does it go?

A. Inside the Inbox folder

B. Inside the Trash folder
C. Inside the Drafts folder
D. Inside the Sent folder

If you need to change your account settings, what set of commands would
you use?

A. Select Account Settings

B. Hold <Ctrl> key while opening Gmail
C. Press the <F5> shortcut key
D. On the Send/Receive tab, click Account Settings

When you delete an e-mail message, where does it go?

A. Inside Inbox folder

B. Inside Trash folder
C. Inside Drafts folder
D. Inside Sent folder

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 Unit 2 - Microsoft Word 2016

In this section you will learn how to:

 Launch Word
 Close Word
 Interact with Word
 Create a new document
 Type, delete and select text
 Navigate through a document using the keyboard, mouse and scroll bars
 Use the Go To dialog
 Use basic and advanced text formatting
 Remove formatting
 Use Undo and Redo
 Save and open files
 Use different file formats
 Use the Recent Documents list
 Switch between open files
 Close documents
 Open Help
 Use the Help screen, including the search tool and the table of contents
 Get help in a dialog box

2.1 Introduction

Microsoft Office Word 2016 is a powerful word processing program. By using

Word, you can create professional-looking documents of nearly any type. You
can also add tables, charts, art, shapes, photos and much more.

2.1.1 Launching Word

To open Microsoft Office Word 2016, click the Start menu and place your
mouse over All Programs. You should see a Microsoft Office 2016 folder inside
the Start menu. Click it with your mouse to show a sub-menu and then click
Word 2016.

If you cannot see the Microsoft Office Word 2016 folder, type in ‘Word’ in the
search box, then select Word 2016 from the list.

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 Figure 2.1Figure 2.2 - Word 2016

Note that this list of programs might look different than yours, depending on
the Office 2016 components you have installed.

If you have a Word icon on your desktop, double-click it to open Word.

Figure 2.3 - Word 2016 shortcut

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2.1.2 Interface overview
Let us take a look at the different parts of the window.

Figure 2.4 - Microsoft Word Interface

1: Title bar The name of the document, as well as the program

name, will appear here.
2: Tabs Click on a tab to view commands specific to the tab
name. The command area under the tabs is known as
the ribbon.
3: Search box Type here to get help with anything on Word.
4: Window From left to right, these are Minimise,
Controls Maximise/Restore and Close.
5: Group The commands on each tab are separated into groups.
commands Sometimes, in the bottom right-hand corner of a group,
you will see an option button. Click this button to see
additional commands related to the group.
6: Ruler Shows a ruler next to your document.
7: Working This is where you will type the contents of the
Area document.
8: Quick Access This specialised toolbar provides quick access to the
Toolbar commands you often use.

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2.1.3 Interacting with Word
The following table is based on the different types of commands and how we
can interact with Word.

Icons Word icons are small buttons with pictures that

represent actions. When you click the button, that
action will happen.
Drop-down You can use these menus to pick from a number of
menus (AKA choices. With some menus, you can type in your
combo box) choice.
Expanding Some commands have a small arrow beside them. It
items means that there is a sub-menu of commands
related to it. Click the item to see all variations on
that item or other related commands.
Checked items Some items in the ribbon may have a checkmark
next to them, e.g. the navigation pane item below.

Checked items are turned on or enabled. If an item

has a checkmark, you can turn the command off by
clicking it. This will uncheck it.

2.1.4 Closing Word

When Word is open, there are a few ways to close it. You can click the Close
(x) button in the upper right-hand corner of the window.

Figure 2.5 - Close button

You can also close by pressing <Alt + F4> on your keyboard (meaning press
and hold Alt, and then press F4).

No matter which method you choose, you may see the following warning if you
have not yet saved any changes to the document.

Figure 2.6 - “Do you want to save changes” warning message

Click Save to save changes, Don’t Save to retain a draft copy temporarily and
then close Word, or Cancel to stop closing Word.

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 2.1.5 Exercise: Meeting Microsoft Office Word 2016

In this exercise, you will open Microsoft Word 2016, explore some of
the commands and then close Word:

 Click the Start button on the taskbar.

 When the Start menu appears, click All Programs.
 Click the Microsoft Office item.
 Click the Word 2016 item to open the program.

The Word interface will appear on your screen. Take a moment to hover your
mouse over some items on the screen. You may see a small box appear and
describe the command. This is called a ScreenTip.

Note that depending on how large your screen/window is, you may see more
or fewer icons on the screen.

 Click the Design tab at the top of the window:

 Click the Page Color command. A sub-menu will appear giving you
many colour choices.

 Move your mouse over the different colours to see how it will affect the
document.

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  Select a colour you like and click the colour to apply it. Then click the
FILE tab.

 When the FILE (Backstage) menu opens, click Close.

 If you are prompted to save your file, click Don’t Save.

2.2 Creating a document

2.2.1 Creating a new document

When you open Word, it creates a new document and if it is the first document
to be created, it names it Document 1 (visible in the title bar). The number
increments each time a new document is created.

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 Figure 2.7 - Document title in the title bar

If you want to create another new document, click FILE  New. From here,
you can search for any template if you would like to use one. The suggested
searches lists the most commonly used templates.

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 Figure 2.8 - Blank document template

To open create a blank document, click the Blank document shown. A new
document will be created with an incremented number. For example, if the
previous document was Document 1 the new document will be Document 2 in
the tile bar.

2.2.2 Typing text

The blank document should have an insertion point called a cursor. If you do
not see the cursor, click in the working area to place the cursor where you
want it to be. Now type to see letters appear.

Figure 214 – An example of text

You can click your mouse pointer inside the text you have written to add more
information.

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 Figure 2.9 - An example of text

To move to a new line, press the <Enter> key on your keyboard. You can now
type more information.

That is all there is to it: click, type and press Enter to move to the next line.

2.2.3 Deleting text

There are several ways that you can delete a text. The most common way is to
use the <Backspace> key to remove items to the left of your cursor, or use
the <Delete> key to remove items to the right of your cursor.

Figure 2.10 - An example of a text

You can also use the cut and select tools to remove a text but that will be
covered later.

2.2.4 The basics of selecting text

Selecting text means you are highlighting or identifying text. Using your mouse
is the most common way of selecting text. First, place your mouse on one end
of the part of text you want to select. Then, hold down your left mouse button.
Drag your mouse over the text you want to select.

When you have completed these steps, the text will appear highlighted in blue,
like this:

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 Figure 2.11 - An example of text being selected

You can see how the cursor changes to the shape of an I-beam, indicating that
you can interact with the text.

Once the text has been selected, any changes you make will be applied to the
entire selected portion. For example, if you press the <Delete> key on your
keyboard, the selected portion will be removed.

You can select a whole word, a phrase, a paragraph, a page, or even a whole
document. You can also select any part of these levels.

2.2.5 Selecting text with the keyboard

Depending on the application, selecting text with the keyboard is usually faster
than using the mouse. Most of these commands involve using the keys in the
middle of your keyboard (Home, End and the arrow keys).

Here is a list of how to select different items.

Select the letter to the left of your cursor Shift + Left Arrow

Select the letter to the right of your cursor Shift + Right Arrow

Select text from your cursor to the beginning of a Ctrl + Shift + Left
word Arrow

Select text from your cursor to the end of a word Ctrl + Shift + Right
Arrow

Select from your cursor to one line above Shift + Up Arrow

Select text from the position of your cursor to one Shift + Down Arrow
line below

Select text from your cursor to one page above Shift + Page Up

Select text from your cursor to one page below Shift + Page Down

Select text from your cursor to the beginning of the Shift + Home
line

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 Select text from your cursor to the end of the line Shift + End

Select text from your cursor to the beginning of the Ctrl + Shift + Up
paragraph Arrow

Select text from your cursor to the end of the Ctrl + Shift + Down
paragraph Arrow

Select an entire document Ctrl + A

2.2.6 Selecting text and objects with the Home tab

You can use the Editing group on the Home tab to select text and objects. Click
the Select button and then click what you want to select.

Figure 218 – Select button

You can choose to select all the text in the document or select text with similar
formatting. Use Select Objects to select images, charts, etc.

Exercise: Creating a document

Now that you know familiar with Microsoft Word, you will start to write a
document:

 Click Start  All Programs  Type Word and select Word 2016 to open
the program.
 The Word interface will appear and your cursor will be ready for use in a new
document.

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 Type the following:

o This is the first document I have typed using Microsoft Office Word 2016.
Microsoft Word is a really cool word processing program that I plan to
use regularly in future.
 Place your mouse cursor to the left of the word “really”. Click and hold the
left mouse button and then drag the mouse over the words “really cool”.
This will select the text:

 Press the <Delete> key on your keyboard to remove the selected text.

 Type the word “versatile” and then add a space. Your sentence should now
look like this.

 Click the Close button in the upper right-hand corner of the window. When
prompted to save your file, click Don’t Save.

2.3 Navigating in your document

2.3.1 Navigating using the mouse

To navigate using your mouse, simply click where you want to place your
focus. For example, you can place the cursor in the middle of a paragraph.

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 Figure 2.12 - An example of text

This works if text is already in the location that you are clicking.

You may come across red and green squiggles in your document. Red indicates
words that Word does not recognise or which seem incorrectly spelled. Green
indicates grammatical errors related to typing such as no spaces between
punctuation. You may also see blue squiggles which indicate a contextual
spelling error.

2.3.2 Navigating using the scroll bars

Navigating with the mouse is allowed if all your text is on one screen.
However, documents are rarely a single page. You can also navigate using the
scroll bar on the right hand side of the screen.

Place your mouse over the small rectangle in the scroll bar. This indicates your
current position in the document. Click it and drag it up or down to where you
want it to go.

Figure 2.13 - Scroll bar

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You can also click the up and down arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll
bar to move one line at a time. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, roll the wheel
up or down to scroll through the document.

2.3.3 Navigating using the keyboard

Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate a document. In the area of the keyboard
which separates all the letters from the number pad, you should see a section
with <Insert>, <Home>, <Page Up>, <Delete>, <End> and <Page
Down> keys. Four of these keys have special functions.

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 Page Up Goes up one page

Page Down Goes down one page

Home Goes to the beginning of a line

End Goes to the end of the line

All of these movements depend on where your cursor is when you press the
button. You can also use the<Ctrl> key with the <Home> or <End> keys to
go to the very beginning or the very end of the document respectively.

2.3.4 Using the Go To Dialog

A more precise way of navigating is using the Go To dialog. There are two
ways to open this dialog.

The first way is by clicking the arrow next to the Find button, at the far right of
the Home tab and clicking Go To.

Figure 2.14 - The Go To button

You can also use the <Ctrl + G> shortcut.

Both of these actions will open the Go To tab of the Find and Replace dialog
box. By default, Page is selected from the list on the left. Type the page
number in the text box and click Go To:

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 Figure 2.15 - Find and Replace dialog box

2.4 Doing more with your document

2.4.1 Using basic formatting

The next part of working with text is applying formatting. The basic formatting
types are:

Here is how you can apply each of these formats. First, select your text. Then,
follow the steps for the type of formatting you want to apply:

o Bold: Click the bold button ( ) on the Home tab or press Ctrl + B.

o Italics: Click the italics button ( ) on the Home tab or press Ctrl + I.
o Underline: Click the underline button ( ) on the Home tab or press Ctrl
+ U.

You can also click the format command to turn it on before you type the text.
In the following image, note how the underline button is shaded, indicating
that it is active:

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 Figure 2.16 - Font commands

Once you have selected the text style, type your text.

Click the format command again to turn it off. You can also combine results
by turning on multiple effects:

Figure 2.17 - Text with different font

2.4.2 Using Advanced Formatting

You will find three other effects on the Font section of the Home tab. From left
to right, these are strikethrough, subscript and superscript.

Figure 224 – More effect in the font command

Here is what they do:

Figure 2.18 - An example of text with different effects

The use of Advanced Formatting is the same as Basic Formatting: select text
and choose your formatting by turning on that specific command. Type text
and turn the command off.

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2.4.3 Using Undo and Redo/Repeat
You will find the Undo and Redo/Repeat commands on the Quick Access
Toolbar:

Figure 2.19 - Undo and Redo/repeat commands in the Quick Access

Toolbar

These commands allow you to undo or redo your previous actions. Take a look
at this text:

Figure 2.20 - An example of text

 If we click the Undo button ( ), the text will be removed.

 If we then click the Redo button (which in this case is the Redo arrow:
) the text will be replaced. The Redo arrow will turn into the Repeat
arrow
( ) and the operation can be duplicated:

You can also click the down arrow beside the Undo button to undo several
actions. Take a look at this text.

This is the corresponding drop-down menu by the Undo button:

Figure 2.21 - Undo drop-down options

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You can see a list of the recent actions – from most recent to oldest.

Select the actions that you want to undo. In this example, we are going to
undo all the formatting that we performed on the text. When we click the last
action we want to undo, we will see the results:

Figure 2.22 - Selected actions in the Undo drop-down list

Note that the Undo and Redo/Repeat commands are not always available. For
example, you cannot undo saving a file. You also cannot redo some actions,
such as deleting text.

2.4.4 Removing formatting

Undo can be used to clear all the formatting from text. However, you can only
undo sequential actions. This means that if you typed text or performed some
other action after formatting the text, that action will have to be undone first in
order to remove the formatting.

There are better ways to remove formatting. One way is to select the
formatted text and click the various enabled formatting commands to disable
them. However, this can be a cumbersome process.

Figure 2.23 - Clear Formatting button

The other way is to select text and click the Clear Formatting button ( ) in
the Font section of the Home tab.

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 Exercise: Doing more with your Document

In this exercise we will create a basic document and format the

text:

 Open Word 2016 and select the Blank document template. You
should have a new document ready to use.

 Type the following in the document:

o Bold is a brash and brilliant tool.

o Italics are an interesting effect.
o Underlined text makes me uneasy.

 Select the first line of text with your mouse and press Ctrl + B:

 Now select the second line. Use either the Ctrl + I shortcut or
click the Italics command in the Home tab to apply the effect.

 Select the third line of text and then click the Underline command
in the Font group of the Home tab.

 Place the cursor at the end of the third line and press Enter twice.
Is the Underline command still active?

 Until you deactivate one of the text effects, any new text will still
have the same text effect applied.

 Click the Underline command again to turn off this effect.

 Type the following text:

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 o Strikethrough text strikes me as simply stunning.
o Super and sub scripted text is superb!

 Select the word “Strikethrough”. Click the Strikethrough

command on the Home tab:

1.  Now select the word “Super” and apply the superscript effect.
Then select “sub” and apply the subscript effect:

 Close Word 2016. Do not save your document.

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2.5 Working with Your Document

2.5.1 Saving files

To save a file for the first time, you can click the Save icon ( ) on the
Quick Access Toolbar, press Ctrl + S, click FILE  Save, or click FILE  Save
As. Any of these options will open the Save As panel under File, as shown
below. To open the Save As dialog, click Browse.

Figure 2.24 – Save As panel

At the top of the window, choose a location to save your file. You can also use
the shortcuts on the left-hand side of the window. At the bottom of the
window, enter a file name. (You can also choose a file type, but for now we will
work with the default Word document type.) Click Save.

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 Figure 2.25 – Save As dialog

After saving a file in this way, use the commands mentioned above (Save icon
on the Quick Access Toolbar, Ctrl + S keys, or FILE Save). As you are
updating an existing file, you will no longer need to enter the file name,
location or type.

If you want to save the file with a different name, location or type, click FILE
 Save As  Browse. This will re-open the Save As dialog which will allow
you to change the file information.

2.5.2 16.5.2 Using File Formats

To save your document in a different format, click FILE  Save As 
Browse.
You can choose a format from the pull-down menu at the bottom of the dialog.

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 Figure 2.26 - Save As types

Some file formats have different save options that you can modify before
saving. Watch the dialog closely.

Below is a list of formats that are available for saving.

File format Description

Word Document (.docx) This is the default format for Word 2016 and
Word 2007. With the Save dialog, you can add
new authors or tag the file.
Word Macro-Enabled These are Word documents with macros. Macros
Document (.docm) are short, specific pieces of code that allow the
document to perform some functionality such as,
to access data from a database file.
Word 97-2003 This is the default format for Word documents
Document (.doc) from versions 97 to 2003.
Word Template (.dotx) This is the format for Word templates.
PDF (.pdf) PDF stands for Portable Document Format. This
file format creates a non-editable version of the
file that is useful for distribution to others.
XPS Document (.xps) XPS stand for XML Paper Specification. This
format is Microsoft’s version of a PDF file.
Web Page (.htm) This format saves a file as Hyper Text Mark-up
Language – a format used by Web browsers.
Word also makes a folder with the same name as
the file to store any media files and other
supporting information.
Plain Text Plain text format can be opened by almost any
word processing program on nearly every
computing platform.

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 Rich Text Format (.rtf) This is a proprietary Microsoft format which
supports basic elements. This format is similar to
.doc but with fewer features.
Word XML Document This type of file contains XML information about
(.xml) the Word document.

OpenDocument Text This is a file format used by the OpenOffice.org

(.odt) productivity suite, an open-source software
productivity suite with many of the same
features as Microsoft Office.

2.5.3 16.5.3 Opening files

There are few ways to open Word documents. The first is to find the file and
double-click it.

Figure 2.27 - An example of a file

From within Word, you can click FILE  Open or use the Ctrl + O shortcut.
This will launch the Open panel under File with Recent Documents selected.
Click Browse to bring up the Open dialog:

Figure 2.28 - Getting to the Open dialog

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 Figure 2.29 - Open dialog box

This dialog works much the same way as the Save As dialog. Select a location
from the top or the pane on the left. Click a document to select it and then
click Open. The file will open. If you have opened a file and edited it, you can
use any of the basic save commands discussed in the last lesson to update the
original file.

2.5.4 16.5.4 Using the recent list

Another way to open files is with the Recent item in the File menu. If you click
FILE  Open, by default Recent is selected and to the right of the action you

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will see a list of recently opened documents and the locations where those
documents can be found.

Figure 2.30 - Recent items

This list will grow until the right side of the screen is filled with opened files.
You can click any document to open it or click Computer  Browse to use
the Open dialog box. You can also click the pushpin icon to keep a document or
location “pinned” to the top of the list. This is useful if you often use a
particular document/location and want to make sure it is always accessible.

Figure 2.31 - Pin this item to the list option

The document now appears under Pinned section.

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 Figure 2.32 - Pinned item

To unpin the document or location, click the pushpin button again. If you use
Windows 7, right-click the Word 2016 icon on the Taskbar to view recent items
in the Jump list:

Figure 2.33 - Word 2016 jump list

2.5.5 Switching between open files

If you have several Word documents that are open at the same time, there are
a few ways to switch between them. From within Word, you can click the VIEW
tab and click the Switch Windows command. Then, click the file that you want
to work with. (The checked file is the one currently active.)

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 Figure 2.34 - Switch windows button

In Windows 7, point your mouse to the Word icon and then click the thumbnail
of the file you want to view:

Figure 2.35 - Thumbnail view of windows

2.5.6 Closing files

To close a document without closing Word, click FILE  Close.

Figure 2.36 - Close option in the FILE menu

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You can right-click the taskbar icon and click Close or use the Alt + F4
shortcut. Remember that if you close a document without saving it, you will be
prompted to do so.

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2.6 The Word Interface

In this section you will learn how to:

 Use the File (Backstage) menu

 Use the status bar and mini toolbar
 Use dialog boxes
 Use the right-click menu
 Use different keyboard shortcuts

2.6.1 Using the FILE (Backstage) Menu

In the last section, we used the Backstage menu to open, close and save files.

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 Figure 2.37 - Backstage view

The Backstage menu is split into two sections. On the left, commands to
perform basic tasks like creating, saving, opening, printing and sharing are
found. Using these commands is easy: click FILE, point to the command you
want to use, and click it. (Note this also works for Account and Options at the
bottom.)

The commands that are available are like the tabs found in the ribbon which
groups the commands. For example, whenever you click the FILE menu and
the Info tab is highlighted. This shows you all the information about the actual
document.

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 Figure 2.38 - Backstage view

Here is a quick overview of the six items in the Backstage menu.

Info It shows information about the actual document as an entity

(called metadata). Click the commands to show lists of sub-
commands, or modify file properties without having to close
the document first.

New It creates a new document from local templates or from

online templates via Office.com.

Open It shows a list of previously opened documents. Any pinned

documents will always remain at the top.

Save/Save Choose the location (online/offline) that you which to save

As the file in, including the required file format.

Print To preview and browse your document as it would look like if

it were printed (called print preview) select which pages to
print and change page formatting such as paper size,
margins, etc.

Share To send a document to others via email, present online or

post to a blog.

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To close the Backstage menu, click on the circled arrow that is located at the
top left of the screen.

2.6.2 Using the Status Bar

The status bar provides at-a-glance information about the document. It is
found at the bottom of the Word window.

Figure 2.39 - Status bar

Page count It shows which page of the document is currently visible.

Click this area to open the Navigation Pane dialog.

Word count It displays the number of words that are in the current
document. Click this area to open the Word Count dialog – a
detailed count of items in your document.

Proofing This book icon indicates whether or not there are spelling
errors in your document. Click the icon to check spelling.

Current view Use these buttons to change views.

Zoom level Use this slider to zoom in or out of your document.

2.6.3 Using the Mini Toolbar

In the last section, we learned how to type and select text. You may have
noticed the mini toolbar pop up if you moved your mouse near the selected
text:

Figure 2.40 - Mini Toolbar

This toolbar contains the most popular formatting commands from the Font
group. Some should be familiar to you:

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 Change the font type and size

Use these buttons to nudge size up or down the font

Bullets and Numbering

Bold text

Italicise text

Underline text

Allows quick setting of different heading styles and

paragraph formatting

Highlight text; click the pull-down arrow for highlight

colours

Change font colour; click the pull-down arrow for font

colours

Click to toggle the Format Painter. This allows you to

copy the text formatting from the selected text and
“paint” it onto other text.

Applying formatting from the mini toolbar is the same as applying it from the
Home tab: select text, move your mouse above the selected text and the mini
toolbar will appear. The mini toolbar also appears if you right click selected
text.

2.6.4 Using Dialog Boxes

Many of Word’s more advanced features are accessed through dialog boxes.
Dialog boxes can be opened by clicking the option button in a group on the
ribbon. Let us take a look at a common dialog box (Fonts):

Figure 2.41 - Option to open the Font dialog

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This dialog offers much finer control than the commands in the Font group:

Figure 2.42 - Font dialog box

Let us look at the different elements you will find in different dialog boxes.

Tabs Dialog boxes can contain options for different items.

Click the tabs – usually at the top of the screen - to
change the options that you see.

Drop-down Just like tab drop-down menus, you can type in the box
menus or click the down arrow to choose from a list of values.

Check boxes If an item is checked, it means it is enabled. If the item

is unchecked, it is disabled. Click the checkbox to
change this status.

In this case, Word displays the action of this checkbox

in a Preview area.

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 Radio buttons Use these buttons to choose from a group of options.
For example, check boxes, click to change the item that
is in use. Usually, only one item from the group can be
selected at a time.

Text boxes These boxes must be filled by typing in them. Click

inside the text box and type.

Buttons Some buttons perform a single action, while buttons

with “…” after the text usually open another dialog and
allow you to specify advanced settings.

OK and Cancel In many dialog boxes, you can click OK to save your
Buttons changes and close the dialog or click Cancel to discard
your changes. Some dialog boxes also have an Apply
button so you can apply changes to the document
before making more changes or without having to close
the window.

2.6.5 Using Right-Click Menus

Another way of performing actions is by right clicking. When you right click
something, you will see the right-click menu. These menus are contextual
which means they change, depending on what object(s) you have right clicked.

Let us take a look at the right-click menu that appears if you right-click on
some highlighted text:

Figure 2.43 - Right-click menu (context menu)

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We have many commands for text, including changing the font, paragraph and
style. Notice that the mini toolbar also appears.

If you right-click a selected table, a different set of options will appear:

Figure 2.44 – Context menu that appears when using tables

As you can see, some of the basic options (cut, copy and paste) are still the
same but there are some additional formatting options (such as Text Direction)
that would not apply to regular text.

2.6.6 Keyboard shortcuts

Another way to implement commands is by using shortcut keys. Shortcut keys
are used when you press a combination of two, three or four keys at once to
perform an action, instead of clicking an icon or finding the command in the
ribbon. Here is a list of the most common ones:

To Hold together
Open a new document Ctrl + N
Save a file Ctrl + S
Open a file Ctrl + O
Print a document Ctrl + P
Close Word Alt + F4
Select All Ctrl + A
Copy text Ctrl + C
Cut text Ctrl + X
Paste text Ctrl + V
Find text Ctrl + F
Align text to centre Ctrl + E
Align text to left Ctrl + L
Align text to right Ctrl + R

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 Justify text Ctrl + J
Increase font size Ctrl + Shift + .
Decrease font size Ctrl + Shift + ,
Undo last action Ctrl + Z
Redo last action Ctrl + Y
Check spelling or grammar F7
Get Help F1

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2.7 Working with text

In this section you will learn how to:

 Cut, copy and paste text

 Use Office clipboard
 Move text by dragging and dropping
 Use the navigation pane
 Find and replace text
 Use the Format Painter
 Add drop caps to text
 Apply a Quick Style to text
 Align and justify text
 Change the font type, size, colour and case
 Apply highlighting and special underlines to text
 Open and use the Font dialog
 Set your default font
 Embed fonts into your document
 Use, set, move and remove tabs
 Indent text using the ruler and the Home tab
 Change paragraph spacing
 Add borders and shading to text


2.7.1 Moving text

2.7.1.1 Cutting, copying and pasting text

Cut, copy and paste are basic skills.

You should cut text when you want to move it from one location to another, or
when you want to remove text that you may need later. To cut text, first select
the text. Then, click the Cut button ( ) on the Home tab.

Use the Copy command when you want to copy text from one location to
another. First, select the text you want to copy. Then, click the Copy button
( ) on the Home tab. It will look like nothing has happened but your text has
been copied to the clipboard.

When you have cut or copied your text, you can paste it anywhere you want.
Click the spot you want the text to appear and then click the Paste button on
the Home tab. Do not forget that paste will only insert the last item that was
cut or copied.

Paste has different options. Look at the diagram below and at the table
explaining the options.

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 Figure 2.45 - Paste options

Here is an overview of each choice:

Keep Source
Keeps the formatting from the original text
Formatting

Changes the pasted text’s formatting to

Merge Formatting
match that of the document

Changes the formatting of the pasted text

Keep Text Only back to the default font and size with no
formatting

Opens the Options dialog so that you can

Set Default Paste… control how future paste operations will
work

You can cut, copy and paste between Word documents and other programs.
Remember that pasting text from Word into other programs can change or
remove formatting.

2.7.1.2 Using the Office Clipboard

The clipboard is a location where cut and copied text/objects are stored until
these are pasted. You can store only one object at a time on the clipboard.
However, if you open the Office Clipboard you can save up to 24 items at a
time and paste these as needed.
To begin, click the option button in the Clipboard group on the Home tab. You
will then see the Clipboard pane appear on one side of your screen:

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 Figure 2.46 – Clipboard

Every time you cut or copy an item, it will automatically appear in the
clipboard. You will also see a notification appear in your taskbar, accompanied
by the Office Clipboard icon. Right click this icon for options.

Figure 2.47 – Office Clipboard icon

To paste an item from the clipboard, place your cursor somewhere in the
document and then click the item you want to paste.

Figure 2.48 - Pasting an icon from the Clipboard

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Right click items or click the pull-down arrow in the clipboard to view a paste
menu. You can also delete the item from the clipboard using this menu. There
are also Paste All and Clear All buttons at the top of the clipboard. To close the
clipboard, click the X in the task pane.

Figure 2.49 – Options in the clipboard

The Options button at the bottom of the pane controls how the clipboard
operates.

Figure 2.50 – Options button

2.7.1.3 Dragging and dropping text

Word allows you to drag text in your document. Select the text first. Then click
and hold on the text. Drag the text where you want it to be.

Figure 2.51 – An example of text being dragged to another position

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When you have reached your location, release the mouse button. The text will
look just like it has been cut and pasted (you will even have paste options).
However, in some instances the operation is quicker.

2.7.1.4 Moving text with the navigation pane

The navigation pane is a new feature to Word 2016, replacing the document
map. The navigation pane highlights text that is defined by certain title styles.

Figure 2.52 – Navigation pane

The hierarchy of content is defined by the titles. Section titles are highest,
followed by lesson titles and then topic titles. Clicking a title will jump the
cursor to that section. The navigation pane enhances the ability to drag and
drop text.

2.7.2 Finding text

If you want to search through a long document, Word allows you to track down
all instances of a word or phrase easily. To find text, click the Find button on
the Home tab. (You can also use the Ctrl + F shortcut.)

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 Figure 2.53 - Find button

This will highlight the Search bar in the navigation pane. If the navigation pane
is not visible, the pane will be visible after clicking this command.

Figure 2.54 – Search bar in the Navigation pane

Type a word or phrase into this box. As you type, any matching words or
phrases will be highlighted in yellow in the document and the navigation pane.

Figure 2.55 – Found text is highlighted

You can search for anything at any time while the navigation pane is open.

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2.7.3 Replacing text
One useful feature in Word is the ability to replace one word or phrase with
another. This is particularly useful if you have misspelled a proper name. To
use the replace function, make the navigation pane visible and then click the
pull-down arrow beside the search bar. Click Replace…

Figure 2.56 – Replace command

You can also click the Replace command on the Home tab or use the Ctrl + H
shortcut.

This will open the Find and Replace dialog and display the Replace tab.

Figure 2.57 – Find and Replace dialog box

Enter the word or phrase in the “Find what” text box and then enter the word
or phrase for replacement in the “Replace with” box. Thereafter, use one of the
buttons at the bottom.

More Opens advanced options which we will later cover.

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 Replace Finds the next instance of the word or phrase. Then, you must
click Replace again to confirm each replacement.

Replace All Click Replace All to replace every instance of this word or
phrase.

Find Next Finds the next instance of the word or phrase.

Cancel Closes the dialog box without making any changes.

Note that the Find and Go To functionality are also available in this dialog.

Exercise: Moving Text

In this exercise you will learn how to use the Find and Replace
function and also how to copy, cut and paste data into your
document.

Open two Word windows and open these two files from your Exercise
Files folder:

Look at the first item in the list of changes and then switch to Lesson
3.1:

 Click the Replace command in the Home tab and enter the
information highlighted below, paying attention to the formatting.
Click Replace All to continue:

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  Click OK and then close the dialog.

 The next two instructions in the list of changes also involve

replacements. Use the Office Clipboard.

 Click the Option button in the Clipboard group on the Home tab
to continue. You will need to do this in both Word windows:

 Select the name “Sam Sybaril” from the list of changes. Right
click the name and click Copy:

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  Now select “The Carrot, the Whip and the Plant” without the
quotation marks. Copy it:

 Note that the two pieces of copied text are visible in the Clipboard
pane:

 Switch to Lesson 3.1. Select Bjorn Rettig’s name in Wednesday’s

agenda and delete it:

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 Now click the pull-down arrow beside Sam Sybaril’s name in the Clipboard
pane and click Paste:

 Delete the words “Employee Motivation” and paste in “The Carrot, the
Whip and the Plant:”

 The next change, unfortunately, states that we will no longer have fun
on Wednesday. Select the following text and press Ctrl + X to cut it (in
case we change our mind):

 Finally, select Kenneth’s name and presentation found in Tuesday’s

agenda. Click and drag it to be shown after Linda’s lunchtime address:

 Put the cursor in front of Kenneth’s name and press Enter to put the text
on a new line.

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  That completes the list of necessary changes. Save the agenda as Lesson
3.1 Completed. Close both Word windows.

2.7.4 Fonts on the Home tab

A font is a complete set of characters (with typeface and style) that is used to
create text in your document. Some fonts consist of letters while other fonts
consist of symbols. Fonts are very customisable: you can change their size,
type, colour, spacing and effects. The fonts that are available in Word depend
on what other applications are installed and if there are extra font packages
installed. Word and Windows come with a number of fonts. There are many to
choose from.

Remember that font settings (types, sizes, effects, spacing, etc.) are like other
formatting: you can either turn them on to have the next text you type, use
that font type and size, or you can select the text you have already typed and
apply that formatting to it.

Figure 2.58 - An example of text with different font settings

2.7.4.1 Choosing a font face

To choose a font type, first select a font and then type, or select text you have
typed and then apply a font.

To choose a font, click the Font drop-down menu and select the font that you
want to apply. As you scroll over the font, you will see a preview being applied
to your text.

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 Figure 2.59 – Choosing a font

Note that your theme fonts are listed at the top of the font list. Choosing these
fonts will help keep your document consistent. Word also stores your recently
used fonts near the top of the list.

If you know the font you want, you can type it into the drop-down list. Word
will automatically complete the font name for you. Press <Enter> to accept its
selection. The font command is also available on the mini toolbar.

2.7.4.2 Changing the font size

You can change the font size the same way.

Select a size from the menu or type a size in the box. If you choose to use the
menu while text is selected, you will see a preview as you scroll through the
sizes.

Figure 2.60 – Changing the font size

You can also use the up and down arrows to nudge the font size up or down.

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 Figure 2.61 – Font commands

The font size commands are also available on the mini toolbar.

Figure 2.62 – Mini toolbar

2.7.4.3 Applying a font colour

To change your font colour, select the text that you want to change. Then, pick
a colour from the list. Once again, you will see a preview of the colour applied
to your text. When you see a colour that you like, click it to apply it.

Figure 2.63 – Changing the font colour

Note that the theme colours take up the top portion of the colour picker. This
can help you to keep your document looking consistent and professional. You
can also choose a standard colour or click More Colors to pick a custom
colour.

The gradient command allows you to apply a shading colour to the selected
text.

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 Figure 2.64 – Gradient option

The Font Color command is also available on the mini toolbar.

Figure 2.65 – Font color command

2.7.4.4 Applying highlighting

In addition to the main font colour, you can also apply highlighting to text.
Simply select the text you want to highlight and click a colour from the Font
group of the Home tab.

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 Figure 2.66 – Font colours in the Font group

You can apply highlighting without selecting text. First click the highlight
command, then use your cursor to click and drag portions of text.

Figure 2.67 – Using format painter for applying different font colour

Click the highlight command again to turn off this feature. You can later
remove highlighting by selecting the text and clicking No Color on the
highlight menu.

The Highlight Text command can also be found next to the colour menu on the
mini toolbar.

Figure 2.68 – Highlight text

2.7.4.5 Applying Advanced Underlining

If you click the drop-down arrow next to the Underline command, you will see
a menu of underline styles.

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 Figure 2.69 – Underlining styles

Click a style to apply. You can also click More Underlines to open the Font
dialog, or choose a colour for the underlining with the Underline Colour menu.

2.7.4.6 Changing case

Have you ever typed a long title only to realise it should be all in caps? Or
typed a paragraph and then realised that your <Caps Lock> was on? SO
YOUR WHOLE PARAGRAPH LOOKS LIKE THIS. There is a quick and easy way to
change your font case. First, select the text that you want to change. Then,
click the Font Case button on the Home tab. Choose the case that you want.

Figure 2.70 – Font Case button

You can also use the Shift + F3 shortcut to cycle through the various cases.

2.7.4.7 Applying Text Effects

There are a number of pre-formatted effects to choose from in the Font group:
Text Effects.

Highlight some text, click the Text Effects and Typography command to
select one of the options:

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 Figure 2.71 – Text Effects and Typography command

Use this menu to change the various aspects of the text effect including outline
colour and shadow, reflection and glow effects. You can also apply the
command at the bottom of the menu to clear text effects from the selected
text.

Exercise: Fonts on the Home tab

In this exercise, you will format a document with some of the

tools you learned.

 Open Lesson 4.1 from your Exercise Files.

 Select the title. Click the Change Case command in the Font section of
the Home tab and click UPPERCASE.

 With the title still selected, click the pull-down by the Font command
and select Engravers MT. If you do not see this font, choose another
stylised font.

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  Right-click the selected title and choose a font size of 16 from the mini
toolbar.

 Select the word Red. Click the pull-down arrow beside the Font Color
command and choose a shade of red.

 Select the word Pink. Click the pull-down arrow beside the Highlighting
command and select the colour Pink.

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  Select the word Orange. Click the pull-down arrow beside the Underline
command, click Underline Colour and then click Orange.

 The other colours in the document have already been applied. Save the
document as Lesson 4.1 Completed. Close Word.

2.7.5 The Font dialog

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2.7.5.1 Opening the Font dialog
To open the Font dialog, click the option button in the bottom right corner of
the Font group in the Home tab.

Figure 2.72 – Font dialog

You can also use the following shortcuts:

Open the main Font dialog Ctrl + D

Open the Font dialog to the font list Ctrl + Shift + F

Open the Font dialog to the size list Ctrl + Shift + P

2.7.5.2 Using the Font Tab

When you initially open the Font dialog, the Font tab is displayed:

Figure 2.73 – Font dialog box, font tab

Here, you can use the various menus to set font face, style, size, colour and
effects. You can also choose an underline style and colour, and apply text
effects. At the bottom, you will see a preview of your effects applied to the
sample text.

Once you are ready to apply the changes, click OK. If you decide not to make
any changes, click the Cancel button.

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2.7.5.3 Using the Advanced tab
The other tab in the Font dialog is the Advanced tab.

Figure 2.74 - Font dialog under the Advanced tab

Let us explore the options under the Character Spacing heading. The first
option in this section is Scale. You can use a regular size font but select a
percentage so the font is scaled down.

The next option is Spacing. You can set spacing to Normal, Condensed or
Expanded, and then choose a point (the same as font point sizes). You can
also modify the position options to normal, raised, or lowered and specify a
point size for this position.

The last check box enables Kerning, which adjusts the spacing between letters
so that it looks consistent. If you enable Kerning, you can also specify what
sizes you want Word to kern – from a certain point on.

Any options you set will be reflected in the preview pane.

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 Figure 2.75 - Character spacing found in the Font dialog under the
Advanced tab

Under the OpenType Features heading, there are more commands that allow
you to fine-tune the look of your font. You might not use these commands until
you gain more experience with Word since these commands are used for
advanced publishing purposes.

2.7.5.4 Setting your Default Font

If you are always adjusting the font to a particular type, style, size, and/or
colour, you can choose to make your settings the default by clicking the Set As
Default command in the bottom left-hand corner of the Font dialog. You have
the option of making these font changes the default for the current document
or all future documents that use the Normal template.

If you click the Set As Default command, you will be warned of the change that
you are about to make.

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 Figure 2.76 - Setting font as default confirmation message

To proceed, click OK or click Cancel to return to the Font dialog.

2.7.5.5 Embedding Fonts

If you are sending documents to people using older versions of Word, they
may not have the same fonts installed on their computer. To be safe, make
sure that the fonts are saved with the document. This is called embedding
fonts.

To embed fonts into your document, click FILE  Options  Save and then
check the checkbox to embed fonts.

Figure 2.77 - Embedding fonts

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Exercise: The Font Dialog

In this lesson, you will use the Font dialog to format a document.


Open Lesson 4.2 from your Exercise Files.

Select the title of the document and then press <Ctrl + D> to open the Font
dialog.

Change the Font to “Baskerville Old Face”, Font style to “Bold”, Font size to 14,
Font Effects to “all caps”. Click OK.


Select the rest of the document – from the heading “Red” to the end - and
click the option button in the Font group of the Home tab.

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
When the Font dialog appears, click the Advanced tab. Match the following
settings and click OK. Use the small up arrow to increase the value in the By
field.


Click FILE  Options  Save and then check “Embed fonts in this file.” Click
OK to continue.


Save the document as Lesson 4.2 Completed. Close Word to complete this
lesson.

2.7.6 Applying Advanced Text Effects

2.7.6.1 Using the Format Painter
You know that Word can copy and paste text, with or without effects. However,
Word can also copy just the text formatting within or between documents.
First, select the text that has the formatting that you want to duplicate
elsewhere.

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 Figure 2.78 – An example of text

Next, click the Format Painter icon on the Home tab.

Figure 2.79 – Format Painter icon

Now select the text you want to format. The new text will take the format of
the old text:

Figure 2.80 – An example of text

The Format Painter command will then become deselected. To apply the same
formatting to multiple items, double click the Format Painter and then click
and drag over as many items as you want. When you have finished formatting,
click the Format Painter icon again to turn it off.

Remember that formats are not stored on the clipboard and you can only copy
formatting for one set of text at a time.

The Format Painter captures all kinds of formats, including:

 paragraph formatting (spacing, alignment, indents)

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 font formatting (effects, spacing, font type, size, colour, animation and
highlighting)
 borders, fills, shading and patterns
 bullets and numbering
 columns

2.7.6.2 Adding drop caps

A drop cap is a capital letter at the beginning of a paragraph that is larger than
the other letters and is ‘dropped down’ into the paragraph. Drop caps can be a
good way to highlight portions of your document or just to make the document
visually appealing.

To apply a drop cap, first place your cursor anywhere in the paragraph that
you want the drop cap to appear. Then, click the Insert tab. Next, click the
Drop Cap button and choose Dropped (which places it in the paragraph) or
Margin (which places it beside the text).

Figure 2.81 – Drop Cap commands

Figure 2.82 – An example of text with the first word dropped using the
In Margin option

You can also choose Drop Cap Options to specify advanced settings.

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 Figure 2.83 – Drop Cap dialog box

To remove a drop cap, place your cursor in the paragraph, click the Insert tab,
choose Drop Cap, and click None.

2.7.6.3 Applying a Style

Let us move our examination of Word onto styles. A style can include fonts,
formatting, colours, borders and shading.

There are two parts to the styles in Word. The first part is the Quick Style
Gallery. This consists of the styles that you can see on the Styles group of the
Home tab. Word places the most frequently used styles here for quick access.

Figure 2.84 – Styles

If you click the drop-down arrow in the right-hand corner of the list, you will
see more styles.

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 Figure 2.85 – List of more styles

To apply any of these styles, select the text that you want to format and click a
style.

There are many more styles available than the ones you see here. To see
additional options, click the Design tab.

Figure 2.86 – Design Tab

The first option, Themes, allows you to choose a Theme from a predefined list.
The second option allows you to set a specific style set. The third and fourth
options allow you to choose alternative colours and another font scheme
respectively. (Note that fonts and colours will not work with all style sets.)

For instance, you can pick the Dividend theme set but you do not really like its
colours. You can choose a different colour scheme from the Colours list to
customise the style. We will take a closer look at customising styles in the
practice exercise.

2.7.6.4 Aligning and justifying text

The last text effect we are going to look at is alignment and justification. You
will find these buttons on the Paragraph group of the Home tab.

Figure 2.87 – Text alignment options

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Each type of alignment indicates which margin the text lines up with. From left
to right, you can apply left alignment, centre alignment, right alignment, or
justification (where the text is spread to occupy the whole line). Select the text
that you want to apply the alignment to and then click the appropriate button.
Note that one type of alignment must be selected at all times.

Take a look at these paragraphs and the different alignments.

Figure 2.88 – An example of the different text alignments being

applied to text

Note how the justified paragraph looks very similar to the left-aligned
paragraph. Look closer, however, at the second line. The word ‘brown’
stretches all the way to the right margin in the justified example, giving a
cleaner look.

Exercise: Applying advanced text effects

In this exercise you will learn how to use the format painter, Quick
Styles, Drop Caps and to modify text alignment.

 Open Lesson 3.2 from your Exercise Files.

 This document was created with an older version of Word. Since this hand-
out will be given out at a conference, let us spice it up a bit.

 Press <Ctrl + A> to select the entire document. Click the Justified
command to space the text evenly.
 With the entire document still selected, right click any text  Styles 
Strong.

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 Select the Learning Styles title at the top of the document. In the Styles
group, click Heading 1. You may need to click the highlighted pull-down
arrow to see the styles.

 Click somewhere inside the subtitle “If you are the Divergent Learning
Style…” Now click Select  Select Text with Similar Formatting:

 (If this option is grey, click FILE  Options  Advanced and then check
“Keep track of formatting.”)
 Click the pull-down arrow in the Styles Gallery. Select Intense Reference:

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  Press <Ctrl + Home> to go to the beginning of the document. Select
the text “If you are the Divergent Learning Style”. Click the Format
Painter command. The command will stay active.

 Scroll to the top of the second page and highlight “Try to develop these
skills.” The formatting of the previous title will be ‘painted’ onto the
selected text. The Format Painter becomes inactive.

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  Place the cursor anywhere in the first paragraph. Click Insert  Drop
Cap  Dropped.

 Save the document as Lesson 3.2 Completed. Close Word.

2.8 Using Tabs

2.8.1 Types of Tabs

Tabs are predefined places within the document. They can help you to place
text quickly and consistently. There are five main types of tabs.

Left Tabs If you use this type of tab, your text will start at this point and
flow to the right.
Right Tabs Text will start at this point and flow to the left when you use
this type of tab.
Centre Tabs If you use this type of tab, your text is centred on this point.
Decimal Use this tab to align numbers around a decimal point.
Tabs
Bar Tabs These tabs are the only type that does not affect text. It just
places a vertical bar at the point of the tab.

2.8.2 Using Tabs

To use tabs, press the <Tab> key on your keyboard. Your cursor will jump to
the next tab marker. This is easier to see if you turn on the Ruler. Do this by
clicking View  Ruler.

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 Figure 2.89 - Cursor in line with a tab marker

By default, Word sets default tabs at every half inch. Every time you press
Tab, your cursor will move another half inch.

2.8.3 Setting Tabs

To set tabs, click the tab marker next to the ruler to select the type of tab you
want.

Figure 2.90 - Tab marker

Clicking this button will cycle through the different tab types:

Left tab

Centre tab

Right tab

Decimal tab

Bar tab

Hanging tab

First line indent tab

Once you have selected your tab type, click anywhere in the horizontal ruler to
place it.

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 Figure 2.91 - Tab placed in the horizontal ruler

It can now be used in the same way as a regular tab: press the <Tab> key to
advance to it.

You can see the icon for each type of tab on the ruler. Take a look at the
sample below.

Figure 2.92 - An example of text with different placements

Remember that tabs are set per document so you can set as many tabs as you
want for each document. This can come in handy if you create many kinds of
documents that each requires specific alignment.

Note that if you create a tab in a line that already has text, it will only be
available for that paragraph.

2.8.4 Moving or removing tabs

You can move a tab by dragging it to a different location, like this:

Figure 2.93 - Moving of a tab

The dotted line will appear when you move a tab. It can help you to place it in
the proper spot. To delete a tab, drag it off the ruler.

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 Exercise: Using tabs

In this exercise you will experiment with different tabs.


Open Lesson 4.3 from your Exercise Files folder.

This is a blank document ready for use. We will set up three kinds of tabs.
First, make sure the ruler is enabled by clicking VIEW  Ruler.


Click the Tab button once to show a Centre tab.

If you cycle past the tab, keep clicking this command until you see the Center
tab reappearing.

Move your mouse to the 2.5cm marker and click to place a tab:

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Click the Tab button twice to cycle to the Decimal tab ( ). Place this tab at
the 7.6cm mark:

Click the Tab button again to create a Bar tab ( ). Place this tab at
10.16cm:

Notice that a bar appears on the page at the 10.16cm mark.


The tabs are visible. If necessary, click to place your cursor in the editing
window. Press <Tab> on your keyboard to advance to the Centre Tab. Type
“Centre Tab”. As you type, the text will flow evenly around the 2.5cm mark.


Press <Enter> and then press <Tab> twice. Type “135.2468”. You will notice
that the text will disperse itself from the decimal point. Also notice that the bar
on the page has grown.

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
Place your cursor back in the first line of the document (the line with “Centre
Tab”). Click and drag the Centre tab on the ruler. What happens to your text?


Save the document as Lesson 4.3 Completed. Close Word.

2.9 Paragraph options

2.9.1 Indenting Using the Home tab

If you want to indent the entire paragraph, use the indent buttons on the
Paragraph group of the Home tab.

Figure 2.94 - Indent buttons

Use the right-facing button to increase the indent. Use the left-facing button to
decrease the current indent.

Figure 2.95 - Increase indent

2.9.2 Changing Paragraph Spacing

To change paragraph spacing, first place your cursor in the paragraph that you
want to change. Then click the Spacing command on the Home tab and
choose your spacing.

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 Figure 2.96 - Line spacing options

You can also choose to add or remove spaces around paragraphs. This means,
for example, that if you press <Enter> when finishing a paragraph, a space
will be added to the end of the previous paragraph. If you click Line Spacing
Options, the Paragraph dialog will open.

2.9.3 Adding borders or shading using the Home tab

Figure 2.97 - Outside Borders option

Make your paragraphs more colourful by adding effects like borders or shading.
First select the paragraphs that you want to format. If you are formatting one
paragraph, place your cursor in it. To apply borders, click the Border button
on the Home tab and choose the kind of border you want to apply.

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To apply shading, select the paragraph that you want to format. Click the small
paint bucket icon to apply the default shading, or click the drop-down arrow to
choose other colours.

Figure 2.98 - Paint bucket icon to apply shading

Note that you can see a preview of each colour as you point to it.

2.9.4 Using the Borders and Shading Dialog

Although the Borders and Shading commands on the Home tab are great for
quick formatting, their options are limited. To view more options, click the
Borders and Shading command in the Borders menu.

Figure 2.99 - Borders and Shading button

You will see this dialog.

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 Figure 2.100 - Borders and Shading dialog under the borders tab

Choose a basic setting from the list on the left or use the menus in the middle
to choose a style, colour and width for the border. You will be able to see a
preview of your choices on the right. You can also use the buttons here to
toggle parts of your border on or off. For example, to remove the bottom line
click the button.

Note that there is also a Shading tab in this dialog. You can use this tab to
choose a fill colour, style type and pattern colour.

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 Figure 2.101 - Borders and Shading dialog under the Shading tab

Once you have made your choices, click OK to apply these. You can go back
into the Borders and Shading dialog at any time to adjust your settings.

Exercise: Paragraph options

In this exercise you will practise using different indent, spacing,

border and shading options to various paragraphs.

 Open Lesson 4.4 from your Exercise Files. Make sure that the ruler is
enabled.

 Place your cursor in the first paragraph. Click the Tab button on the
ruler until you see the Hanging Indent tab.

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  Click the ruler at 2cm to place the tab.

 Click inside the second paragraph. Click the Increase Indent button
twice.

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  That is too much indent. Click the Decrease Indent button to reduce
the indentation by 1.27cm.

 Click the pull-down arrow beside the Fill command and select a light
olive colour.

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  Now place the cursor in the third paragraph. Click Borders  Borders
and Shading.

 Match the following settings (colour Orange) and then click OK.

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 Your paragraph should look like this:

 Save the document as Lesson 4.4 Completed. Close Word. This

completes the exercise.

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2.10 Printing and viewing the document

In this section you will learn how to:

 Set up your page

 Set margins
 Change page orientation
 Set paper size
 Use page setup dialog
 Use print commands and print preview
 Use basic and advanced print options
 Modify printer properties

2.10.1 Page Layout

2.10.1.1 Setting up your page

Before you print something, make sure that the page is laid out the way you
want. Click the Layout tab and look at the first three commands in the Page
Setup group.

Figure 2.102 - Layout tab

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 Margins Click this button to see a
menu of pre-set margins.
You can also click Custom
Margins to open the Page
Setup dialog.

Orientation Choose the portrait

or landscape
orientation.

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 Size Click this button to
see a menu of pre-
set paper sizes. You
can also click More
Paper Sizes to
open the Page
Setup dialog.

Let us look at the specifics of these commands.

2.10.1.2 Setting Margins

Margins are the white spaces on the page’s edges. To change the margins,
click the Margins button on the Page Setup group and pick a pre-set size.

Note that this change will affect your entire document. If you do not like the
options that you see, click the Custom Margins button to open the Page
Setup dialog.

2.10.1.3 Changing page orientation

Page orientation refers to how the text is laid out on the page.

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 Figure 2.103 - Page orientation options

As you can see, with portrait orientation the paper will be printed with the long
side vertically. With landscape orientation, the paper will be printed with the
long side horizontally.

To change your document’s orientation, click the Orientation button on the

Page Setup group and choose either portrait or landscape.

2.10.1.4 Setting paper size

Typically, you will be using Word’s default paper size: 21cm by 29.7cm, called
letter size. If you want to change this, you can do so by using the Size
command. Click the Size button on the Page Setup group and click the size
that you want.

If your desired paper size is not there, click More Paper Sizes to open the
Page Setup dialog, which we will look at in a moment.

2.10.1.5 Using the Page Setup Dialog

All along, we have been referring to the Page Setup dialog. It can be opened
from the Size or Margin menus. You can also open it by clicking the option
button in the bottom right-hand corner of the group.

Figure 2.104 - Page Setup

Here is what the Page Setup dialog looks like:

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 Figure 2.105 - Page Setup dialog box

Margins Control margin size, page orientation and the type of pages in the
document.

Paper Set the paper size and source.

Layout Set advanced options including section options, header and footer
configuration and page alignment. This tab also contains
commands for line numbers and page borders.

Each tab also has a preview area where you can see the effects of your
changes before you apply them and a Default button so that every new
document has the current page settings.

Exercise: Preparing your document

In this exercise you will prepare a document for printing.


Open Lesson 5.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Click Layout  Margins  Wide.

Click the Size button. Click More Paper Sizes.

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
When the Page Setup dialog appears, make sure that the Paper tab is visible.
Use the small up and down arrows to adjust the width to 20.32cm and the
height to 25.4cm. Click OK.


Change the page orientation to landscape.


Scroll through the document to see how the changes have affected the
document.

Click the Option button in the Page Setup group to reopen the Page Setup
dialog.

Manually change the Top and Bottom margins to “1”. Click OK.


Save the document as Lesson 5.1 Completed. Close Word.

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2.10.2 Printing a document

2.10.2.1 Print commands

There are a few ways to print your document. First, you can add the Quick
Print icon to the Quick Access toolbar. The Quick Print icon will send the
document directly to the default printer.

Figure 2.106 - Quick Print found in the QAT

You can also use the <Ctrl + P> shortcut to open the Print dialog.

The more conventional method is to use the Print section of the Backstage
menu which we will look at next.

2.10.2.2 Print preview

When you open the Print options, by clicking File  Print, you will see a
preview of what your document will look like on the right-hand side of the
screen.

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 Figure 2.107 - Print tab in the File menu

This view provides a scaled-down version of what your document will look like
if printed as is. You can flip through the pages or zoom in and out by using the
tools at the bottom of the screen.

Click the icon in the far right-hand corner to fit the entire page into the space
provided in the Word window:

Figure 2.108 - Status bar

2.10.2.3 Using basic print options

Open the Print options by clicking File  Print.

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 Figure 2.109 - Print tab in the File menu

If you have a printer installed, turned on and the paper ready to go, click the
Print button.

To select a different printer, click the pull-down arrow under the Printer
heading and make a selection.

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 Figure 2.110 - Printer options

Adjust the printer settings by clicking the link under the Printer command. The
commands that appear will depend on the capabilities of your printer.

Figure 2.111 - Print Properties link

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Under the Settings heading, there are a few more basic commands. If you click
Print All Pages, you will have a choice over which pages in the document will
be printed.

Figure 2.112 - Printer settings

Look at the top four options:

Print All Pages It prints the entire Word document, including blank
pages.

Print Selection If you selected a certain part of your document (text,

images, tables, etc.) click this command to print only
the selection.

Print Current Page Word will print whatever page your cursor is on.

Print Custom You can define a range of pages to print. This option
Range is also available below the Print All Pages command.

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2.10.2.4 Other print options
The commands listed below are not the proper setting names. These are the
default options when you first click File  Print. Many of the commands are
the same as those in the Page Setup group of the Page Layout tab.

Figure 2.113 - Print settings, different page options

Print One Sided Print on one side of the page or receive instructions to
print on both sides of the page (duplex printing).

Collated If you have a three-page document and want to print

two copies, the pages would come out 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.
If you printed uncollated, the pages would print 1, 1,
2, 2, 3, 3.

Portrait Orientation Change the page orientation from portrait to

landscape.

Letter Change the paper size.

Normal Margins Change the page margins.

1 Page Per Sheet You can print thumbnail images of your document.
You can print 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or 16 pages per sheet of
paper.

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2.10.2.5 Setting Printer Properties
To set options specific to your printer, click the Printer Properties command
under the Printer heading.

Figure 2.114 - Printer Properties link

A properties window for your specific printer will appear.

Figure 2.115 - Printer Properties dialog box

Typically, you will have options for colour settings, page size and paper type,
although every printer is different. Make any changes you like and click OK to
apply them.

Note that a printer does not always necessarily have to be a physical thing
sitting on your desk or in a room down the hall. Computers can use “soft
printers”, or software that can print a file into a different file format. Word is
also capable of “printing” to other Office 2013 programs, such as OneNote, a
program used as a big notebook to record information for at-a-glance use.

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2.11 Using Formatting Tools

In this section you will learn how to:

 Create standard and custom bulleted, numbered and multilevel lists

 Use columns
 Insert page breaks, section breaks and line breaks
 Change page and line break options
 Create a cover page or a blank page
 Change the page colour
 Add a watermark
 Add a page border

2.11.1 Using Bullets and Numbering

Lists are a common part of most documents and are an easy way to make
complex information easy to read. Word makes it easy to organise text with
bullets and numbers.

2.11.1.1 Types of lists

There are three types of lists you can create in Word: bulleted, numbered and
multilevel:

Bulleted Here are some actions you can take to deal with anger:

 Take a deep breath and relax.

 Stay calm. No sarcasm, no attacks.
 Take a time-out. Cool off, then come back and deal with
it.
 Break it down. Anger often comes from lumping things
together.
Numbered Here are some actions you can take to deal with anger:

1. Take a deep breath and relax.

2. Stay calm. No sarcasm, no attacks.
3. Take a time-out. Cool off, then come back and deal with
it.
4. Break it down. Anger often comes from lumping things
together.
Multilevel 1) Point 1
a) Sub-point A
b) Sub-point B
2) Point 2
a) Sub-point A
i) Sub-sub-point i
ii) Sub-sub point ii
b) Sub-point B
3) Point 3

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 4) Point 4
a) Sub-point A

2.11.1.2 Creating a basic list

You can apply basic bulleted or numbered formatting in one of two ways: apply
it to existing text or create a list while you type. We recommend that you
display the ruler when working with lists because it is easier to see where
your cursor is in relation to the margins of the page. Display the ruler by
clicking View and putting a check beside the Ruler.

Figure 2.116 - Show commands in the View tab

To convert existing text to a simple bulleted or numbered list, select the text.

Figure 2.117 - An example of text

Click either the bullet or the number icon on the Paragraph group of the Home
tab to apply that type of list.

Figure 2.118 - An example of bulleted text

You can also click the drop-down arrow next to either icon to choose a different
format. Note the Recently Used and Document sections in each menu. Use
these sections to pick a Recently Used item quickly or a type of list already
used in the document in order to maintain consistency.

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 Figure 2.119 – Bulleted and Numbering options

To create a list while you type, click the Bullets or Numbering command. Type
the information for the first bullet or number and then press <Enter> to move
to the next level.

Figure 2.120 - An example of text

When you have completed entering the items in your list, press <Enter>. A
new bullet/number will be created.

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 Figure 2.121 - An example of text

Now you can either press <Enter> or the <Backspace> key three times to
signify the end of the list. Pressing <Enter> will remove the extra empty
bullet/number and move the cursor to the next line.

Figure 2.122 - An example of text

Pressing <Backspace> three times will result in the following actions:

 Deleting the bullet/number – the cursor stays under the text

 Moving the cursor under the bullets/numbers
 Moving the cursor back to the page margin

Note that when creating a list, any paragraph that the cursor happens
to be inside will be the first item in your bulleted/numbered list. If this
is not what you wanted to do, click Undo in the Quick Access Toolbar or press
<Ctrl + Z>. Move your cursor to a new line.

2.11.1.3 Creating a multilevel list

A multilevel list is one that contains points within points. As with a bulleted or
numbered list, multilevel lists can be applied to existing text or can be created
as you type.

To start, select the text or move to a new line. Click the Multilevel List
command and select a style of list. Hover over an option for more detail. As
you can see, Word comes equipped with a number of different list styles.

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 Figure 2.123 - Multilevel list

You can begin to define the elements in your list.

To indent an item, click the Increase Indent command in the Paragraph

group of the Home tab or press <Tab>.

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 Figure 2.124 - Increase indent command

To decrease the indent level of an item, click the Decrease Indent command
or press <Shift + Tab>.

Figure 2.125 - Decrease indent command

If you have a complex multilevel list, change the level of an item or group of
items by using the Multilevel List command. Click the level you want to
change, or select the levels you want to promote or demote through the ranks
of your list. Then click Multilevel List  Change List Level and select the
level.

2.11.1.4 Creating custom bullets or numbers

To customise your bullets or numbers further, click the Define command at
the bottom of any of the three drop-down menus. From left to right, these are

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the Define commands in the Bulleted List, Numbered List and Multilevel List
commands.

Figure 2.126 - Option to customise your list

options
When using bullets, you can choose from the following options:

Figure 2.127 - Define New Bullet dialog box

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There are three buttons available:

Symbol Select from different punctuation, Greek characters, and special

characters including copyright (©) and monetary symbols.

Picture Choose from a wide variety of coloured bullets or import your

own small picture.

Font This button provides full font customisation to use a single

character as a bullet.

You can use the menu below the buttons to choose the alignment of the bullet
in relation to its content.

When using numbers, choose a number style, font, format and alignment.

Figure 2.128 - Define New Number Format dialog box

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21.1.5 When using multilevel lists, adjust the alignment, indent and
appearance of each level. This includes formatting the way the identifiers are
labelled and the position of the indent.

Figure 2.129 - Define New Multilevel list dialog box

Exercise: Using bullets and numbering

In this exercise you will learn how to use bullets and numbering.


Open Lesson 6.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Select all the bullets in the second paragraph (first set of bullets). Click on the
Numbered list.

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
Select all the bullets in the third paragraph (second set of bullets) and click on
the Bullets option arrow.

Select the “Define New Bullet” option. Click on Symbol.

Once the different symbols appear, select the Alpha () sign and click OK.

The “Define New Bullet” dialog will appear again with the Alpha sign as the
new bullet. Click OK to accept this change.

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
Select all the bullets in the fourth paragraph (third set of bullets) and click on
the Bullets option arrow.

Select the “Define New Bullet” option. Then click on Symbol.

Once the different symbols appear, select the “” and click OK.

The “Define New Bullet” dialog will appear again with the new symbol as the
new bullet. Click OK to accept this change.

Save the document as Lesson 6.1 Completed. Close Word.

2.11.2 Using Delineation Tools

2.11.2.1 Using columns

Microsoft Word has the ability to divide your text into columns. One column
can also be linked to another.

To create columns, select the text that you want to format. Click Layout 
Columns and choose the number of columns you want to add.

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 Figure 2.130 - Columns options

The selected text will then be split equally across the number of columns you
have chosen.

Figure 2.131 - An example of text split into three columns

If you do not like the pre-set choices, you can click More Columns at the
bottom of the Columns command. The Columns dialog box will appear.

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 Figure 2.132 - Columns dialog box

As you can see, there are many options available:

 Choose from one, two, or three columns, or choose the left/right aligned
column option.
 Columns can have a vertical line between each one to help with document
readability.
 You can define the number of columns and properties of each column.
 Finally, you can specify to apply these column settings to the selected text,
selected section or the whole document.

After inserting columns, Word will automatically break the text across the
columns. However, you can also use the Breaks command on the Layout tab to
manually control where text is placed in the columns.

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 Figure 2.133 - Column break command

2.11.2.2 Inserting a page break

A page break is a physical end to the text on a page. Text can be edited before
the break thus moving the break further down the page. However, no text may
be added to the page after a page break.

There are two ways to add page breaks. The first is by pressing <Ctrl +
Enter>. Subsequently, the cursor and anything after the cursor will be moved
to the next page in the document.

You can also click to place your cursor where you want to place the break and
then click Layout  Breaks  Page.

Figure 2.134 - Page break command

The best way to view whether there is a page break or not is by using the

Show/Hide function ( ) found in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

Once selected, a page break will look like this:

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 Figure 2.135 -The Show/Hide function showing the page break

If later you want to remove a page break, place your cursor at the beginning of
the page after the page break and press <Backspace>. This will move the
rest of the document up and fill the gap left by the page break.

2.11.2.3 Inserting a section break

If you often create long, complicated documents, section breaks will come in
handy. Section breaks allow you to divide your document into independent
sections and the application of different headers, footers and formatting per
section.

To insert a section break, click to place your cursor where you want the break
to appear. Click the Break command and choose the kind of section break you
want to create:

Figure 2.136 - Page Breaks options

Next Page This command places a combination page break and section
break and then moves to the next page.
Continuous This section break can be placed anywhere within a page.
Even Page If you use page numbers in your document, you can use
Even/Odd Page breaks to split your document. This
command adds a section break and moves ahead to the
next even-numbered page in the document.
Odd Page It adds a section break and then moves ahead to the next
odd-numbered page in the document.

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If you later decide to change the type of break, open the Page Setup dialog
with the option button in the Page Setup group of the Layout tab. When the
dialog opens, click the Layout tab. By using the “Section start” combo box,
you can choose to change the type of break and the part of the document to
which the break applies.

Figure 2.137 - Page Setup dialog box

There are many useful applications for section breaks. You may have seen
other documents that contain one or more pages oriented in a different way
than the rest of the document. For example, a workbook created in Word
might have a few pages oriented in landscape to accommodate wide charts
that would not otherwise fit on a page with portrait orientation.

This can be accomplished in Word by using section breaks.

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2.11.2.4 Setting page and line break options
There are some options that you can set for page and line breaks. To access
these options, open the Paragraph dialog by clicking the option button in the
Paragraph group of the Home tab. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab.

Figure 2.138 - Paragraph dialog box

The first set of options deals with pagination. Let us look at each checkbox
individually.

Widow/Orphan This will keep your paragraphs together so that a

control single line is not stranded at the top or bottom of a
page. This is turned on by default.
Keep with next This keeps paragraphs of the same style on the same
page.
Keep lines This keeps all lines in a paragraph on the same page.
together
Page break before Inserts a page break before paragraphs with this
style.

The next two options deal with more specific paragraph formatting. Suppress
line numbers will skip line numbers for this section. Do not hyphenate tells
Word not to hyphenate paragraphs or words in this section. (These commands

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will only be effective if line numbering or automatic hyphenation have been
turned on.)

You can see a preview of all settings for the paragraph in the bottom portion of
the window. You can also click the Tabs button to open the Tabs dialog box:
click Default to apply these settings to future documents, click OK to save
your changes, or click Cancel to exit without saving your changes.

In this exercise, you will format a document with some of the

tools you learned about.

 Open Lesson 6.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

 The best way to complete this exercise and keep track of your changes
is by selecting the Show/Hide function.

 Place your cursor under the Table of Contents and then click on the
Layout tab.

 Click on the Breaks command and under the Section Breaks options,
select Next Page.

 Once you have done so, this should appear under the Table of Content:

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  Under the Learning Objectives, format the text in the following way:

o At the end of the sentence “At the completion of this workshop,

you will be expected to know and understand:” insert a Section
Break.

o Click on the Breaks command and under the Section Breaks

option select the Next Page Continuous.

 Select the entire outcomes list in the bulleted list. Click on the Columns
command and select the “Two” option.

 Once you are done insert a page break after the last Learning Outcome.

 Save the document as Lesson 6.2 Completed and then close Word.

2.11.3 Working with Pages

2.11.3.1 Adding a cover page
Cover pages are an easy way to spruce up your existing documents. To add a
cover page, click Insert  Cover Page and choose a style. The page will be
added at the beginning of your document. All you have to do is add the
information in the fields. You can add any other elements you like, such as
graphics.

If you have taken the time to create your own cover page or customise an
existing page, you can save your work in the Cover Page Gallery for future

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use. To do this, select the entire cover page you have created and click Cover
Page  Save Selection to Cover Page Gallery.

A cover page is an example of a Building Block. Building Blocks are just what
their name implies: pieces of information or objects that you can use to
construct a document.

2.11.3.2 Changing the page colour

Word allows you to change the page colour for all pages within a document.
Click Design  Page Color. You will notice as you hover over each colour that
a preview will appear on the page. Note that this change will apply to the
entire document, not just to the current page or section.

Figure 2.139 - Page Color

You can choose from Theme Colors, Standard Colors, or No Color. You can also
click the More Colors option to pick from More Colors or create a Custom Color:

Figure 2.140 - Figure 113 – Colors dialog box

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If you click Page Color  Fill Effects, you can add something more
interesting than a plain colour. Choose between a gradient (fading between
colours).

Figure 2.141 - Fill Effects dialog box

A texture is an effect - such as canvas or a fibre weave - repeated over and

over:

Figure 2.142 - Fill Effects dialog box under Texture tab

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A pattern is something like:

Figure 2.143 - Fill Effects dialog box under Pattern tab

The following is an example of a picture:

Figure 2.144 - Fill Effects under Picture tab

2.11.3.3 Adding a watermark

Watermarks often appear on cheques or other legal documents. These are
visible when you hold the document to a light and might display something like
“ORIGINAL DOCUMENT” or outline a pattern.

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Word’s watermarks can be text or pictures. The watermark appears as a
washed-out item in the background of the page. Click Design  Watermark
to view the watermark gallery.

Figure 2.145 - Watermark command

Select a watermark from the gallery to apply it to the entire document (except
the title page), regardless of page orientation or section break.

There are some additional watermark options at the bottom of the Watermark
command:

Figure 2.146 - Watermark command

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If you want to add a mark that is visible in front of everything on the page,
you can create WordArt and then layer that WordArt throughout your
document. To create this type of marking, perform these steps:

 Insert WordArt

Click Insert  WordArt and choose any style.

Figure 2.147 – WordArt command

 Type text

The WordArt will appear at the top left-hand corner of the page. Click inside
the WordArt and type your desired text.

Figure 2.148 - Text being typed in

 Move the watermark in front of the text

Click Drawing Tools – Format  Wrap Text  In Front of Text:

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 Figure 2.149 - Wrap Text command

 Position text

You will need to:

o Use the Font group or mini toolbar to size the text.

o Click and drag the outside border of the WordArt to position the text.
o Click and drag the small green handle (shown by the red arrow below) to
rotate the text.

The example below has been enlarged, moved and rotated:

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 Figure 2.150 - WordArt added an example of text

 Copy and paste throughout

Copy and paste the WordArt to each page of the document.

Since this operation can be too much work, we do not recommend doing it for
long documents. If you want to make sure a document remains original before
sending it to someone else, you might consider saving the document as a PDF
to discourage editing.

2.11.3.4 Adding a page border

The last page-manipulation option we are going to look at is Page Border. This
option is available on the Design tab.

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 Figure 2.151 - Page Borders command

You will see the Page Border tab of the Borders and Shading dialog.

Figure 2.152 - Borders and Shading dialog box

First, start by selecting a setting from the menu on the left-hand side. Next,
use the options in the middle to choose a style, colour, width, and/or art.
Finally, use the options on the right to choose the edges that will have a
border. For example, if you selected the Box setting, you will remove the

bottom line by clicking the button. The Apply to box allows you to apply
these changes to the whole document, a section or a portion of a section.

If you click the Options button, you can specify how far from the margin or
edge of the page you want to apply the page border.

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 Figure 2.153 - Borders and Shading Options dialog box

Click OK to apply any changes to your document.

As an example, look at this dialog. Note the options we chose to obtain the
desired effect.

Figure 2.154 - Borders and Shading dialog box

Here is what the border looks like. A dark green postage-stamp border has
been applied to the top and bottom portions of each page in the document:

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 Figure 2.155 - An example of text with a border

Exercise: Working with pages

In this exercise you will learn how to modify documents.

 Open Lesson 6.3 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Once you have opened the document, click on the Insert tab.

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  Click on the Cover Page command. Select the Ion (Dark) option.

 Enter the following details:

o In the YEAR control box enter the year that you have completed
the task.
o In the Document title control box enter your qualification
(example: ISNE, ISE).

 In the [DOCUMENT SUBTITLE] content control box, type in your student

number.

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  Click on the Design tab and click on Page Colour.

 As soon as Page colours appear, select “Blue, Accent 1, lighter 60%”.

The colour name shows as you hover your mouse over the colour.

 Click on the Design tab  Watermark  Custom Watermark.

 Click on the Text Watermark radio button to use text watermark.

 In the Text dropdown list, select “DRAFT”. When you have done that,
click on OK to save your changes.

 Save the document as Lesson 6.3 Completed. Close Word.

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2.12 Creating headers and footers

In this section you will learn how to:

 Use a pre-set header or footer

 Edit and remove a header or footer
 Insert, change, format and remove page numbers

2.12.1 Creating basic headers and footers

Headers and footers are groups of information set apart from the body of your
document. Headers are located at the top of a page and footers are set at the
bottom. These additions make your document user-friendly, polished and
professional.

Headers and footers are easy to create and edit. There are many options that
you can customise. We are going to spend this entire section on headers and
footers.

2.12.1.1 Using a Pre-set header or footer

Headers are a type of building block. Word contains a number of preformatted
headers available for use. This means that you can create a professional-
looking header or footer with a few clicks.

To start, click Insert  Header or Footer. Click the type of header or footer
that you want to add and it will automatically be inserted into the document.

Figure 2.156 - An example of a header that can be inserted into a

document

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When you click a header or a footer you like, that header or footer will be
inserted and replicated in every page unless specialised section breaks have
been used. All you need to do is add text where indicated.
You can also format header or footer text just like you would any other text
contained in your document.

Figure 2.157 - Entering text into a Header

When you have finished creating your header and/or footer, click the Close
button on the Header & Footer Tools – Design tab:

Figure 2.158 - Close Header and Footer button

When this tab is closed, text and objects in the header and footer will appear
faded: they are not editable at this time. If you print or export the document,
all headers and footers will be displayed normally.

Figure 2.159 - A faded Header in a document

2.12.1.2 Editing a header or a footer

To edit a header or a footer, double-click inside the header or footer area. This
will re-open the Header & Footer Tools – Design tab. As soon as you have
made your changes, close this contextual tab or double-click anywhere in the
main portion of the document to return to normal editing view.

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 Figure 2.160 - Close Header and Footer button

2.12.1.3 Removing a header or footer

To remove a header or footer, you can do one of two things. If the header or
footer is just text, double-click in the header or footer region and delete the
text. If there are more complex elements, it is easier to use the specialised
command.

First, double-click the header or footer that you want to remove to place your
cursor in that field. Click Header (or Footer)  Remove Header (or
Remove Footer).

Figure 2.161 - Remove Header option

Exercise: Creating basic headers and footers

In this exercise you will learn how to create and modify Headers and
Footers.

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 
Open Lesson 7.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

When you have opened the document. Click on the Insert tab.


Click on Header and select the “Retrospect” option.

Type in “Baby Boomer Generation vs. Generation X” in the [DOCUMENT TITLE]
content control. Type the date in the [DATE] content control.

Click on the Insert tab and then on the Footer.

Select the “Integral” option.

Type in your name, surname and student number in the [AUTHOR] content
control.

When you have finished, save your work as Lesson 7.1 Completed.

2.12.2 Inserting page numbers

Before we start, let us go over a few basic points:

 Page numbers are treated as headers and footers as they typically go at

the top or bottom of the page.
 You can format page numbers as you would other text.
 If you plan to number your pages, you should always use Word’s
automatic page-numbering feature rather than trying to number the
pages yourself.

2.12.2.1 Inserting page numbers

You can add page numbers from the Insert tab or the Header & Footer Tools –
Design tab. On either tab, when you click the Page Numbers command, you
will see this menu:

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 Figure 2.162 - Page Number command

Specify where you want the page numbers to go by hovering over one of the
options. Page numbers can be inserted at the top of the page, the bottom of
the page, in the page margins, or at the current cursor position.

Each option in the Page Numbers menu will give you options similar to the
following:

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 Figure 2.163 - Different Page Number options

Page numbers are like any other building block. Click an item to insert it.

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2.12.2.2 Changing page numbers
As with cover pages, headers, and footers, you can choose another page
number style from the Page Numbers menu at any time:

Figure 2.164 - Page Numbers style

2.12.2.3 Formatting page numbers

You can format page numbers as you would any other text. Simply select the
number and format it using the Home tab or the mini toolbar.

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 Figure 2.165 - Home tab with Font commands

If you want to change the style of the numbers, click the Page Numbers
command. Here, you will see a command to format the page numbers.

Figure 2.166 - Format Page Number option

When you click this command, you will see this dialog:

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 Figure 2.167 - Page Number Format dialog box

You can choose a number format. Choose the way you want to number the
pages and how you want to include a chapter number. These settings can be
modified at any time.

If you create a custom page number style that you would like to use later,
save the selected page number in the gallery. Click Save Selection as Page
Number using either the Top of Page or the Bottom of Page commands.

Figure 2.168 - Save Selection to header Gallery command

You will be prompted to save the page number as a building block, as we did
with other page components.

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2.12.2.4 Removing page numbers
To remove page numbers, click to place your cursor in the set of page
numbers that you want to remove. Click the Page Number command on
either the Insert tab or the Header & Footer Tools – Design tab. Click Remove
Page Numbers.

Figure 2.169 - Remove Footer command

Exercise: Inserting page numbers

In this exercise you will learn how to insert and format page numbers.


Open Lesson 7.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

Once you have opened the document, click on the Insert tab.


Click on Page Number and on Bottom of Page. Select the “Oval” option.

Double click on the page number when it has been inserted. Click on the
Format contextual tab.

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Click on the Shape Fill command and select the Light Blue colour, RGB: Red:
0, Green: 176, Blue: 240, to change the colour of your oval.

Select the number in the oval and change the font size to 12pts. Then change
the font style to Tempus Sans ITC.

When you have finished, save your work as Lesson 7.2 Completed.

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2.13 Using time-saving tools

In this section you will learn how to:

 Use the spelling and grammar contextual menu

 Check your spelling and grammar
 Perform a word count
 Insert a symbol or special character

2.13.1 Using language tools

2.13.1.1 Running a spelling and grammar check

The right-click menu is great for quick fixes but if you are going to check the
whole document, it is much easier to run a full spelling and grammar check.
You can perform this command from the spelling or grammar contextual
menus, or from the Proofing group on the Review tab. You can also use the F7
shortcut key.

Figure 2.170 - Spelling and grammar command

Word will look for the first incorrect word or sentence.

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 Figure 2.171 - Spelling pane

Let us go over the options in this dialog.

Ignore Ignore this particular word.

Once
Ignore All Ignore this word every time it appears in this document.
Add Add this word to the dictionary so that it is never identified as
incorrect again.
Change Change this word to the word selected in the Suggestions box
or to what you have typed in the top window.
Change All Change all instances of this word to the word selected in the
Suggestions box.

When you have clicked one of these options, Word will continue checking your
document for errors. You will have to go through this process for each word
that is identified as incorrect.

After addressing all spelling and grammar errors, Word will let you know that
the check is done.

2.13.1.2 Performing a word count

We have all written papers or reports that had to be a certain number of words
or pages. Word offers you a tool that will count words and pages.

You can view a quick count in the status bar.

Figure 2.172 - Word count found on the Status bar

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You can click the Words item in the status bar or click the Word Count
command in the Proofing group of the Review tab to perform a word count.

Figure 2.173 - Word Count command

The Word Count dialog will provide statistics for the entire document.

Exercise: Using language tools

In this exercise you will learn how to use language tools.


Open Lesson 8.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Press the <F7> button.

Make the following changes throughout the document:

o Change the word “naturalast” to “naturalist”

o Change the word “squated” to “squatted”
o Change the word “readding” to “reading”

Click on the Review tab and select Word Count.

Click on the Start button and select the Snipping Tool application.

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Take a snip of the Word Count dialog and then paste the image under the last
sentence.


Ensure that the image is centre aligned.

Save your document as Lesson 8.1 Completed.

2.13.2 Inserting predefined text

2.13.2.1 Inserting a symbol

You will find a command to insert symbols on the Insert tab. Click the Symbol
button and then click a symbol from the recently used list.

Figure 2.174 - Symbol button

If the symbol you are looking for is not there, click More Symbols to show the
Symbol dialog box.

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 Figure 2.175 - Symbol dialog box

Follow these steps to insert a symbol:

 Pick the font to use. By default, Word will display symbols in the current
font. Choosing a font can be important as some fonts (such as Wingdings)
are all symbols and contain symbols not seen in other fonts.
 Click a symbol to select it for insertion, or use the scroll bar to scroll
through the symbols.
 Click the Insert button to add the selected symbol to your document.
Once you click the Insert button, the Cancel button will become a Close
button.

You can also use the AutoCorrect button or the Shortcut Key button to make
inserting this symbol easier in future.

If you want to format or delete the symbol, you may do so as you would with
any other text.

Figure 2.176 - Examples of symbols

Exercise: Inserting predefined text

In this exercise you will learn how to insert predefined text.

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 
Open Lesson 8.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

Place your cursor in front of the word “When” and press <Enter>.


Press the <Up arrow> once and then click on the Insert tab.

Click on the Date and Time command.



Select the second option and the click OK.

Press <Enter>.

Click on Symbol and on More Symbols.

Select the downwards arrow, click Insert and then click Close.

Highlight the entire paragraph and change the text alignment to Right Align.

Place your cursor at the end of the paragraph and press <Enter>.

Click on Symbols and then click on More Symbols.

In the Symbol dialog, select the following symbols and click on Insert to add
the following symbols to the document:

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 Left Parenthesis (
Equals Sign =
Circumflex Accent ^
Latin Letter Ain ᴥ
Circumflex Accent ^
Equal Sign =
Right Parenthesis )
Select the different symbols in order and click Insert without closing the
symbol dialog. Once you have selected the last symbol, click Close.

Highlight the symbols that were created and increase the font size to 90pts.

You should have an image of a cat.


Save your document as Lesson 8.2 Completed.

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2.14 Finishing your document

In this section you will learn how to:

 Use themes, colour, font and effect schemes

 Perform a mail merge
 Use all steps of the Mail Merge wizard
 Preview and complete a merge

2.14.1 Making your document consistent

2.14.1.1 Using Themes

Themes are a combination of pre-set colours, fonts and effects.

To apply a theme, click Design  Themes. As you mouse over each theme,
you will see a preview applied to your document – if you have theme elements
such as page backgrounds, headers, styles, or diagrams. Simply click the new
theme and apply it.

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 Figure 2.177 - Themes

Note that the Themes menu also contains commands to reset the current
theme, browse for theme files and save the current theme.

2.14.1.2 Using theme colours

We know that themes are pre-formatted effects that you can apply to a
structured document. However the theme Designs are not cast in stone: you
can customise the colours, fonts and text effects.

To modify theme colours, click the Colours button on the Design tab. As you
move the mouse over each set of theme colours, you will see a preview applied
to your document. Note, however, that the font does not change.

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 Figure 2.178 - Theme Colors

You can also click Customise Colors to create your own colour schemes.

2.14.1.3 Using theme fonts

As with colours, you can change the font scheme independently of other items.
Each font scheme contains a major font for headings and a minor font for the
body.

To see the font schemes, click the Fonts button on the Design tab.

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 Figure 2.179 - Theme fonts

Once again, you can move your mouse over each option to see a preview
applied to your document. You can also click Create New Theme Fonts to
create your own personalised theme.

2.14.1.4 Using theme effects

Each theme also comes with its own way of displaying effects. These effects
are applied to objects like SmartArt and textboxes. To change the current
effects scheme, click the Effects button on the Design tab and click an effect.

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 Figure 2.180 - Theme effects

If any objects are visible in your document, you will see a preview applied to
these.

Exercise: Making your document consistent

In this exercise you will learn how to make your document consistent
using themes.


Open Lesson 9.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Click on Design and click on Themes.


Select the ‘Retrospect’ theme and then look at how your document has
changed.

Click on Colours and select the ‘Blue II’ built-in colour scheme.


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 Click on Fonts and select the ‘Candara’ font scheme.

To create and see any effects made in this document. Scroll to the end of the
document.

Click on effects and select the ‘Milk Glass’ effect.

Save your document as Lesson 9.1 Completed.

2.14.2 Using the Mail Merge Wizard

2.14.2.1 Mail Merge basics

A mail merge is a combination of a document (such as an email message, a
letter, or a label) and a data source (such as a list of addresses). The finished
result is customised to each entry in the data source.

For example, you want to send a quarterly newsletter summing up the events
of the year to shareholders in your company. You would like to have it
personalised for everyone but you have 50 people on your mailing list. You can
use mail merge to create the letter and then merge it with your address list so
that each letter is addressed to the recipient.

Here is a list of terms you will hear in relation to a mail merge.

 Merge These are the places where Word will insert your data. For
fields example, the <<Address Block>> merge field marks where
each person’s address will go.
 Data This is the file that contains the personalised information, such
Source as a list of addresses. Data sources can be existing files (such
as a Microsoft Access database), pulled from an application
(such as your Microsoft Outlook contacts), or created during
the mail merge.
 Record A record is one set of data in your data source. For example, a
record from your Microsoft Outlook contacts could contain the
person’s first and last name, mailing address and e-mail
address.

The easiest way to perform a mail merge is by using the Mail Merge wizard.
So, we are going to devote this section to the various options in the wizard.

2.14.2.2 Starting the Wizard and choosing a document

To start the Mail Merge Wizard, click the Mailings tab. Click Start Mail Merge
and click the Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard command.

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 Figure 2.181 - Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard option

You will then see a task pane on the right-hand side of your screen, prompting
you to choose a document type.

Figure 2.182 - Task Pane showing the first step of Mail Merge

For this example, we will focus on letters. The remaining steps may differ
slightly depending on the document you are creating. However, the basic
concept remains the same.

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2.14.2.3 Selecting a starting document
When you click Next, you will be able to choose the document you want to use
for the mail merge.

Figure 2.183 - Task Pane showing the second step of Mail Merge

In this case, we have already created a letter. So, we will choose the current
document. Note that you can also use a template or an existing document –
meaning a document that you have created but is not open. When you have
chosen the document, click Next.

2.14.2.4 Selecting recipients

Step 3 of the Mail Merge Wizard prompts you to choose where the mailings will
be sent to. Depending on the option you select, your choices will be different.

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 Figure 2.184- Different options for selecting recipients

If you are using an existing list, click the Browse button and navigate to the
folder that contains the source file. Word is capable of accepting and reading
data from numerous sources.

Figure 2.185 - List of data sources

When you pick a source and choose the specific list (or type a new list), you
will be prompted to choose the recipients. In this example, we are working
from a Microsoft Access database.

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 Figure 2.186 - Mail Merge Recipients dialog box

Simply check a contact to include or uncheck a contact to remove. Click OK,

and click Next in the task pane to proceed to the next step.

2.14.2.5 Creating your document

If you have not written your letter yet, do so now. The content written here
will be the same across each letter.

Figure 2.187 - Task pane showing the third step in a mail merge

To add the various fields from your data source to the document, click inside
the document and then click one of the items in the Mail Merge pane.

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For example, if you wanted to add the address at the top of the page, place
the cursor at the top and then click Address Block. You will be prompted to
format the address block as you see fit, based on the information available in
your data source.

Figure 2.188 – Insert Address Block dialog box

The Address Block field will appear in your document with angle brackets
around its position. This field will be customised for each recipient when you
perform the merge.

Figure 2.189 - Address block

When your fields are in place, click Next.

2.14.2.6 Previewing your document

Step 5 will show you a preview of your document. You can use the arrow
buttons in the task pane to scroll through the recipients.

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 Figure 2.190 - Task pane showing the fifth step in Mail Merge

If you need to make any changes to the recipients, click Edit Recipient List in
the task pane. You can also click the Previous link in the task pane to go back
to any step and make changes. When you are satisfied with the result, click
Next to proceed to Step 6.

2.14.2.7 Completing the Merge

In Step 6, the Merge will actually be performed. The Options under the Merge
heading will vary depending on the document type that you are creating. In
this case, we can edit the individual letters or we can choose to print them.
The merge will always be performed in a new document so that you can still
make changes to the original letter and remerge them.

Figure 2.191 - The sixth and final step of Mail Merge

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2.15 Working with pictures

In this section you will learn how to:

 Add a picture from a file

 Add Clip Art
 Resize, move, arrange, group, and ungroup pictures
 Wrap text around pictures in different ways
 Change the picture’s position on the page
 Crop pictures in different ways

2.15.1 Inserting pictures

2.15.1.1 Inserting a picture from a file

To insert a picture from a file on your computer, click the Insert tab and click
Picture.

You will then be prompted to locate and choose the file. Click a single file or
hold <Ctrl> and click multiple files. Click Insert when you are ready.

The picture will then be added to your document and resized (if necessary) to
fit the page. The Picture Tools – Format tab will also become available.

Figure 2.192 -An example of a document with a picture of tulips

2.15.1.2 Working with images

Here are some additional tips for working with photos:

 Pictures can be cut, copied and pasted like regular text.

 Pictures can also be dragged and dropped like regular text.
 Click a picture to select it. Hold the <Ctrl> key and click multiple pictures
to select them as a group.

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 Use the Select Objects command on the Home tab to make selecting
images easier.
 You can use the Format Painter to copy formatting from one image to
another.
 Deleting a photo is the same as deleting text: click it to select it and press
the <Backspace> key.

Exercise: Inserting pictures

In this exercise you will learn how to insert images.


Open Lesson 10.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Place your cursor after the exclamation mark found after the word
“celebrations”.

Click on the Insert tab and select Picture.

Open the Sample Pictures folder and select the Lighthouse picture.

When the picture has been inserted, click on the far right side of the picture to
place your cursor at the bottom right of the picture.

Click Layout and select Page at the Breaks command to insert a page break.

Place your cursor at the end of the bulleted list and press <Enter>. To remove
the bullet, press the <Backspace> button.

Increase the size of the image by clicking the arrows next to the height and
width found in the Format tab. Increase the height to 5cm and leave the width
as the default size.

If there is no FORMAT tab, click on the image to pop up the Picture Tools
contextual tab.

Centre align the picture.

Save your document as Lesson 10.1 Completed.

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2.15.2 Editing pictures

2.15.2.1 Resizing pictures

To resize a picture, first click on it to select it. Click and drag any of the
handles to resize the photo in that direction.

Figure 2.193 - Handles for changing picture size

As you drag the handles, you will see the photo becoming larger or smaller,
depending on the direction that you drag in.

Figure 2.194 - Image becoming bigger

Square handles resize the shape in one direction while round handles resize
the shape in two directions.

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You can also enter exact dimensions in the Size group of the Picture Tools –
Format tab.

Figure 2.195 - Size group

2.15.2.2 Moving pictures

To change a picture’s location on the page, Right click  Wrap Text →
Select the “Tight” option. Then, drag and drop it to its new place.

2.15.2.3 Changing text wrapping

The way a picture interacts with the text around it is controlled by text-
wrapping options. To change text wrapping, select the picture and click
Picture Tools –> Format – Wrap Text.

Figure 2.196 - Text-wrap options

Exercise: Editing Pictures

In this exercise you will learn how to edit pictures.

 Create a new document and name it Lesson 10.2.

 Click on the Insert tab and click on Picture.

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  Insert three pictures from the Sample Pictures folder. A picture of
penguins, jellyfish and the koala.
 Change the Page Orientation to Landscape by clicking on Page Layout.
Then click on Orientation and select Landscape.
 Change all the pictures to 7cm and leave the width as is.
 Right click on the picture of the Penguins, click on Wrap Text and select
the option “Through”.
 Right click on the other two pictures and select the “In front of text”
option.
 Stack the pictures together to resemble the image below.

 Insert the Tulips picture. Notice how the pictures rearrange themselves
after inserting a new picture?
 Change the height to 7cm and select the “Behind Text” wrap text.
 Place the picture in the same way as the other pictures under the Koala.
Notice the difference in the placement of the pictures?
 The document with the pictures together should closely resemble the
image below.

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  Save your document.

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2.16 Working with shapes, advanced graphics and objects

In this section you will learn how to:

 Draw, resize, move, edit and delete shapes

 Use the Drawing Tools – Format tab
 Format shapes with styles and by hand
 Insert pre-defined text boxes
 Insert, edit and format WordArt
 Add SmartArt
 Add text and pictures to SmartArt
 Resize, move and delete a diagram

2.16.1 Drawing shapes

2.16.1.1 Adding and deleting shapes

To begin, click the Insert tab and click Shapes. Then, click the shape that
you want to draw.

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 Figure 2.197 - Shapes button

Click and drag in the document to create the shape. You can also single click to
create a shape of default size.

When you release your cursor, the shape will be selected and the Drawing
Tools – Format tab will be accessible.

To delete the shape, ensure that it is selected. Press the <Backspace> key on
your keyboard.

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2.16.1.2 Formatting shapes with styles
To apply a style to a shape, ensure that it is selected. Click a thumbnail in the
Shape Styles gallery. You will see a preview as you move your mouse over
each thumbnail. Remember, you can use the up or down arrows to navigate
through the gallery and you can also use the More arrow to expand the gallery
and to view all styles.

The styles available will depend on the theme that is currently selected.
Likewise, the appearance of the shape will change if it is formatted with a style
and if you change the theme.

Figure 2.198 - Shape Styles

Exercise: Drawing shapes

In this exercise you will learn how to draw shapes and change
the shape styles.

 Create a new document and name it Lesson 11.1.

 Click on the Insert tab. Click on Shapes.
 Select the shape of the lightning bolt.

 Click once in the document to insert the shape in its default size.
 Click on the shape to view the picture handles. Increase the size to
10cm in height and 10cm in width.
 Click on Shape Styles and select the Colored Outline, Blue, Accent 1.
 Click on Shape Outline and select the Long Dash option from the
Dashes command.
 Change the dashed line to Orange (RGB: Red: 255 Green: 192 Blue: 0).
 Click on Shapes. Select the Cloud.
 Click once in the document to insert the shape in its default size.
 Click on the shape to view the shape handles. Increase the size to 10cm
in height and 15cm in width.

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  Move around the lightning bolt and cloud so that the bolt appears under
the cloud.

Keep in mind that any shape created after another will be saved using
the “In Front of text” wrap text. Change the Wrap Text to create your
desired shapes.
 Click on Shape Styles found under the Format tab and select the
Colored Outline, Gray -50%, Accent 3.
 Click on the Shape Outline and select the Square Dot option from the
Dashes command.
 When you have finished, save the document.

2.16.2 Inserting textboxes

Textboxes are a great tool for laying out documents. They are much like
shapes in that they can be formatted and customised. There are many other
tools available to help you manage large amounts of text.

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2.16.2.1 Inserting a predefined textbox
Microsoft Word includes a number of predefined textboxes. To add one of these
to your document, click the Insert tab, click Text Box, and choose the type of
box that you want.

Figure 2.199 - Text Box

Note that you can scroll up or down to view the entire list. The options shown
will depend on the theme that is currently selected.

Once you have found a box that you like, click it. This will insert the textbox
into your document.

Now you can click inside the box and type your text.

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 Exercise: Inserting textboxes

In this exercise you will learn how to insert textboxes.

 Open Lesson 11.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Click on the Insert tab and click on Text Box.
 Select the tiles “Austin Sidebar”.
 Type your Student Number in the [Sidebar Title].
 Cut the first paragraph (On the insert tab…) and paste it into the Sidebar
below your student number.
 Click on the Insert tab, click on Text Box and select “Facet Quote”.
 Cut the second paragraph (Most controls offer…) and paste it in the text
box.
 In the [Cite your source here.] field of the Text Box, enter your name and
surname.
 Your document should closely resemble the image below.

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  Save your document as Lesson 11.2 Completed.

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2.16.3 Inserting WordArt
2.16.3.1 Inserting WordArt
If you want to insert specialised text without the shape, click Insert, then
WordArt. Choose a style.

Figure 2.200 - Word Art

You will be prompted to type your text. You will also see the Drawing Tools –
Format tab.

Figure 2.201 - Prompt to type your text

2.16.3.2 Common WordArt editing tasks

WordArt is like other Word shapes in that there are many things that you can
do with them. Let us look at a few of the most common tasks.

 To move WordArt, click in it to select it. Drag it to place it wherever you

want to.

 To resize WordArt, select it, place your cursor over any of the blue
handles, click and drag.

Remember, square handles will resize the box in one dimension while round
handles will resize the box in two dimensions.

You can also use the Size group on the Drawing Tools – Format tab to enter
exact dimensions.

 To rotate WordArt, click it to select it. Drag the rotation handle at the top
of the object.

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  To edit the text, click inside the box and type.

 To delete WordArt, click it to select it. Press <Backspace> on your

keyboard.

Exercise: Inserting WordArt

In this exercise you will learn how to insert WordArt.

 Open Lesson 11.3 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Double click anywhere under the two textboxes in the document to
move the cursor to the bottom of the document.
 Click on the Insert tab. Click on WordArt.
 Select the Fill – White, Outline – Accent 2, Hard Shadow – Accent 2.
 In the “Your text here”, type in Thank You for reading.
 Change the Shape Fill to – Olive Green, Accent 3, Lighter 40%.
 Change the Text Fill, found in WordArt Styles, to Light Blue (RGB: Red:
0 Green: 176 Blue 240).

 Change the Text Outline to Round Dot.

1. Save your document as Lesson 11.3 Completed.

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2.16.4 Creating SmartArt
2.16.4.1 Adding SmartArt
To add SmartArt to a document, click Insert – SmartArt.

Figure 2.202 - Smart Art

Choose the category of diagram that you want to insert. Click the thumbnail
for the specific diagram that you want to add.

Figure 2.203 - Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box

When you click OK, the diagram will appear in your document.

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 Figure 2.204 - An example of a diagram

2.16.4.2 Adding text

To add text to the diagram, click where it says [Text] and type.

Figure 2.205 - An example of a diagram showing where text can be

entered

Word will adjust the size of the text as you add more information.

If you prefer, you can also add text with the Text Pane. To toggle it on (or off),
click the arrows on the side of the diagram or use the Text Pane command on
the SmartArt Tools – Design tab.

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Figure 2.206 - Arrows that will allow you to toggle the text pane on or
off

You can enter text in a simple bullet format.

Figure 2.207 - An example of the text pane

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In the Text Pane, you can press <Tab> to move text down a level or <Shift +
Tab> to move text up a level. You can also use the commands in the Create
Graphic group of the SmartArt Tools – Design tab to add shapes, add bullets to
the information in shapes and move text and shapes.

Figure 2.208 - Create Graphic group

Note that different diagrams support different numbers of shapes and sub-
shapes. Word will let you know if you exceed the supported amount.

2.16.4.3 Adding photos

Some graphics, like the example we are using below, offer the option to
include pictures. Click the picture icon to add a photo.

Figure 2.209 - Picture Icon

Next, browse to the picture, select it and click Insert. Word will insert the
picture in the proper size and format.

You can then format the image using the tools that we learned about earlier.

2.16.4.4 Moving, resizing and deleting SmartArt

You can edit the diagram like other objects. To move it, click and drag the
outer border.

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 Figure 2.210 - Moving a diagram

To resize it, click and drag one of the dotted handles.

Figure 2.211 - Resizing a diagram

To delete it, click the outer border to select the entire diagram and press
<Backspace> on your keyboard.

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 Exercise: Creating SmartArt

In this exercise you will learn how to create SmartArt.

 Open Lesson 11.4 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Double click under the textbox to move the cursor at the bottom of the
document.
 Click on the Insert tab and Click on SmartArt.
 Click on Process found on the left.

 Select “Basic Bending Process”.

 Press the <Enter> button to create space for the diagram. Click and
drag the diagram to move it under the textbox.

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  Click on the side arrow to show the text pane. When you are there, press
<Enter> twice to create two more bullets.

 Type the following using the text pane:

o Submit an idea for approval

o Editor approves the idea
o Write an article
o Submit article by the 20th of the month
o Editor reviews the article
o Layout artist puts the newsletter together
o The newsletter is published

 Your diagram should resemble the image below.

 Save your document as Lesson 11.4 Completed.

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2.17 Creating tables

In this section you will learn how to:

 Identify the parts of a table

 Insert a table or manually draw a table
 Select and resize cells, columns, or rows
 Move, split, and resize tables
 Insert and delete rows and columns
 Merge and split cells
 Format tables with styles and by hand
 Change cell margins and spacing
 Change cell and table alignment
 Sort table data
 Use the Borders and Shading and Table Properties dialogs

2.17.1 Inserting tables

2.17.1.1 Anatomy of a table
A table has rows (which go horizontally), columns (which go vertically), and
cells (each small box). Here is an example:

 Week 1  Week 2  Week 3

North R156.76 R132.90 R148.66

South R469.73 R420.99 R389.09

Central R250.00 R122.23 R320.96

TOTALS R876.49 R676.12 R858.71

This table summarises sales data. The top row shows us the time ranges. The
first column contains the sales areas. The actual sales data is in the majority of
the cells.

2.17.1.2 Inserting tables

To add a table to your document, click Insert  Table. Drag out the
dimensions of the table on the grid and click:

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 Figure 2.212 - Insert a table

The table will appear in the document, ready to add text.

Figure 2.213 - An example of a table

If your table is larger than the grid shown in the menu (or if you are having
trouble clicking and dragging), click the Insert table command.

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 Figure 2.214 - Insert table command

You will see the Insert table dialog where you can enter the number of
columns and rows that you want in your table and set the desired AutoFit
behaviour. Click OK when you are ready.

Figure 2.215 - Insert table dialog

The table will appear as before.

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2.17.1.3 Drawing tables
Another way to create a table is to click the Draw Table command in the
Table menu.

Figure 2.216 - Draw Table command

Your cursor will turn into a pencil. You can then click and drag to create the
table outline.

Figure 2.217 - Outline of a table being drawn

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 Exercise: Inserting tables

In this exercise you will learn how to insert a table.


Create a new document and name it Lesson 12.1.

Click on the Insert tab. Click on Table.

Click on Insert table.

In the Table size, change the number of columns to 3 and the number of rows
to 7. Click OK.

Type the information below in the first column. Each title or name should be in
its own cell:

o Student name
o Luther Vandross
o Etta James
o Barry White
o Billie Holiday
o Ray Charles
o Johnny Otis


Type the information below in the second column. Each title or mark should be
in its own cell:

o Mathematics
o 75
o 45
o 58
o 61
o 53
o 55

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  Type the information below in the third column. Each title or mark should
be in its own cell.

o English
o 88
o 56
o 43
o 66
o 61
o 85

Place your cursor anywhere in the table. When this icon appears ,
click on it.
 Click on the Design contextual tab found under the Table Tools.
 Click on the small arrow found in the Draw Borders group.
 In the Style list, select the Dots style. This should be the second option.
 Change the colour to Purple. RGB: Red: 112, Green: 48, Blue: 160.
 Change the width to 3pt. Click OK.
 Highlight the first row, bold and centre align the text.
 Save your document.

2.17.2 Editing tables

2.17.2.1 Selecting table data
To select a table, place your mouse over any part of the table. Click the four-
headed arrow icon above the top left corner of the table.

You can simply click and drag over the table or any of its parts.

Last but not least, you can use the Select menu on the Table Tools – Layout
tab to select a table or its parts.

Figure 2.218 - Select command

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As with regular text, selecting parts of a table will tell Word what you want to
modify.

2.17.2.2 Moving tables

To move a table, select it. Click and drag it to its new location.

Figure 2.219 - An example of a table

You can cut a table and paste it into a new location.

2.17.2.3 Adding and deleting rows and columns

You will find commands to insert and delete rows and columns on the table
right-click menu.

In the Rows & Columns group of the Table Tools – Layout tab:

Figure 2.220 - Rows and Columns group

You can select entire rows or columns and press <Backspace> on your
keyboard to delete them. To delete the entire table, select it using the
methods described previously and press <Backspace> on your keyboard.

2.17.2.4 Resizing rows, columns and tables

To adjust the size of rows or columns manually, click and drag the row or
column separator.

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 Figure 2.221 - An example of a table being resized

You can double-click the line if you want Word to fit the row or column to its
text.
You can also set the height for rows and the width of columns in the Cell Size
group.

Figure 2.222 - Cell Size group

This can apply to all rows and columns or only to those that you have selected.
The Distribute Rows command makes all selected rows the same height,
while Distribute Columns makes all selected columns the same width.

You can use the AutoFit commands to have Word automatically size your table.

Figure 2.223 - AutoFit command

2.17.2.5 Merging and splitting cells

There may be times when you want to merge a group of cells into one, for
example to create a table title. To do this, select the cells to merge and click
Merge Cells on the Table Tools – Layout tab.

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Note that this command is also found on the right-click menu.

To split a merged cell, select the cell and click the Split Cells command on the
right-click menu or the Table Tools – Layout tab.

Word will prompt you for the configuration of the split.

Figure 2.224 - Split cells dialog

When you click OK, the split will be performed.

2.17.2.6 Splitting a table

Word provides a tool to split a table into two parts. Place your cursor in the
row that you want to be first in the new table. Click the Split Table command
on the Table Tools – Layout tab.

You will have two tables. To re-join them, delete the space between them.

Exercise: Editing tables

In this exercise you will learn how to edit tables.


Open Lesson 12.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

Insert two rows above the first row. You can do this by right-clicking in the
first row and selecting the Insert option. Another menu will appear. Select
Insert Rows Above. Repeat this step to add another row.

In the first row and first column, type in the following: “New Volunteer
Summary”.

Merge the first two rows with the four columns by clicking on the Merge Cells
command found beneath Table Tools - Layout.

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Your table should look like the image below.


Save your document as Lesson 12.2 Completed.

2.17.3 Formatting tables

2.17.3.1 Applying table styles
Table styles are the easiest way to format a table. Like other styles we have
looked at, they are based on your current theme to help you create a polished
look.

To apply a style, first place your cursor inside your table. Click one of the
thumbnails in the Table Styles gallery on the Table Tools – Design tab. You will
see a preview as you hover the mouse over each thumbnail.

Like other style galleries we have looked at, you can click the up and down
arrows to navigate the available styles, or click the More arrow to see all
styles.

The Clear command will clear the current style from the table.

2.17.3.2 Changing formatting options

To change the way formatting is applied to the table, use the Table Style
Options group in the Table Tools – Design tab.

Figure 2.225 - Table Style Options group

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Here, you can toggle on or off various types of formatting. (Banded rows and
columns will apply alternate shading to those elements.)

2.17.3.3 Formatting the table manually

You can also format the table by hand. To change the background colour of
one or more cells, for example, select the cell(s) that you want to change.
Click the Shading menu on the Table Tools – Design tab and choose a colour.

Figure 2.226 - Shading menu

This menu is also available on the mini toolbar.

Figure 2.227 - Shading menu on the toolbar

To change border formatting, set the desired style, weight and colour using the
menus on the Draw Borders group of the Table Tools – Design tab.

Select the cell(s) to format and use the Borders menu in the Table Styles
group to choose the part of the border you want to format.

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 Figure 2.228 - Borders menu

(This menu is also available on the mini toolbar.)

You can click the Draw Table command and manually paint the borders that
you want to change. Click the Draw Table command again to toggle painting
off. The Eraser command will remove the border.

2.17.3.4 Formatting table text

As a final note, you can use the commands on the Font and Paragraph groups
of the Home tab and the mini toolbar to format table text.

If you want to change the direction of the text, you can use the Text Direction
command on the Table Tools – Layout tab.

Figure 2.229 - Text Direction command

This command acts as a toggle, with the image on the button reflecting the
current direction of the text.

2.17.3.5 Changing cell margins and spacing

To change the white space between a cell’s contents and its borders (the
margin), or to add space between cells, select the cells to change and click the
Cell Margins command on the Table Tools – Layout tab.

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 Figure 2.230 - Cell Margins command

Now, you can adjust the cell margins and spacing.

Figure 2.231 - Table Options dialog box

Click OK when you have finished entering the desired dimensions.

2.17.3.6 Aligning a table and its cells

To align a table, select it using one of the methods described previously.

Use one of the alignment commands on the Home tab. You can also adjust the
horizontal alignment of cells using these commands.

To change both horizontal and vertical alignment, use the commands in the
Alignment group of the Table Tools – Layout tab.

Figure 2.232 - Alignment group

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All these commands can be used on one or multiple cells.

2.17.3.7 Exercise: Formatting tables

In this exercise you will learn how to format your table.


Open Lesson 12.3 found in your exercise folder.

Change the shading of the first row to Yellow. RGB: Red: 255 Green: 255 Blue:
0.

Click on the Borders and Shading option found in the Borders command.

Select the grid option and change the colour to Orange. RGB: Red: 247 Green:
150 Blue: 70. Click OK.

In the Layout tab, change the cell margin to Top: 0.5cm and Bottom to:
0.5cm.

Highlight the first column and change the text direction by clicking on text
direction twice.

Increase the first column to a width of 2cm and a height of 3cm.

Ensure that other columns have a width of 4cm. The height should be 3cm as
changed in the previous step.

Save your document as Lesson 12.3 Completed.

2.17.4 Working with table data

2.17.4.1 Sorting table data
The Sort command on the Table Tools – Layout tab is an excellent tool for
arranging data in any way. As an example, take a look at this table:

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

North R156.76 R132.90 R148.66
South R469.73 R420.99 R389.09
East R250.00 R122.23 R320.96
West R309.88 R320.90 R346.99
TOTALS

Currently, the areas appear in the order that they were entered.

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If we wanted to sort the areas alphabetically, we could place our cursor in that
column (or select the appropriate data) and click the Sort command on the
Table Tools – Layout tab. Now, we can choose how to sort the data.

Figure 2.233 - Sort dialog

These settings are the default. They will sort Column 1 by its text in ascending
order (A–Z).

Here is the result:

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

East R250.00 R122.23 R320.96
North R156.76 R132.90 R148.66
South R469.73 R420.99 R389.09
TOTALS
West R309.88 R320.90 R346.99

Note that Word did not distinguish the total row. This is why it is important to
select only the required data.

2.17.4.2 Using the Borders and Shading Dialog

For advanced border and shading options, click Borders and Shading from
the Borders menu. (Remember that you should select the cells that you want
to change first.)

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 Figure 2.234 - Borders and Shading option

You will see this dialog.

Figure 2.235 - Borders and Shading dialog box

We have numbered the picture so we can walk through the different methods
of applying a paragraph border.

1 Choose a setting from None, Box, All, Grid and Custom. Click on the
graphic next to each setting to select it. Each graphic represents what

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 that setting will look like. The preview box marked with a 7 will also
show you a sample of the current settings.
2 Select the border’s style. There are many styles to choose from,
including wavy lines, solid lines, dotted lines and patterned lines. The
style list will change as you choose different colours and widths.
3 Click the drop-down arrow to select the border’s color.
4 Select the border’s width. The actual point sizes will vary depending on
the setting you have chosen. Normally you can choose from ¼-point line
(very thin) to a 6-point line (very thick). (Lines are measured in font
point sizes.)
5 Use these buttons to apply the border to different parts of your table.
6 Use this drop-down menu to apply the border to the entire table or
part thereof.
7 This box will show you a preview of the current settings.
8 Click this button to choose a type of horizontal line to insert.

Let us take a look at the Shading tab. Once again, we have numbered all the
settings so that we can walk through the available options.

Figure 2.236 - Borders and Shading dialog, Shading tab

1 First, choose the fill color from this palette.

2 Choose a style. (You can choose a shaded style or a pattern.)
3 Next, choose a color for your pattern. The same as when using a
fill, you can select a standard colour or you create your own.
4 Use this drop-down menu to apply the border to the entire table
or part thereof.

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 5 Click this button to choose a type of horizontal line to insert.
6 This box will show you a preview of the current settings.

When you have finished, click OK to apply your settings.

2.17.4.3 Using the Table Properties Dialog

The last item that we are going to look at is the Table Properties Dialog. This is
a one-stop shop for most table settings.

Select the portion of the table that you want to format. To open the dialog,
right-click the table and then click Table Properties. Alternatively click the
Table Properties command on the Table Tools – Layout tab.

With either command, you will see this dialog:

Figure 2.237 - Table Properties dialog box

Let us look at what each tab does.

Table It sets the preferred width, alignment and text wrapping for the
table. You can also set an indent. This tab also contains
commands for the Borders and Shading dialog and the Table
Options dialog (used to set cell margins and spacing).
Row It specifies the row height and may be allowed to break across
pages.
Column It specifies preferred column width.

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 Cell It specifies preferred width and alignment. It also contains an
Options button which opens a dialog where you can set cell
margins and wrap options.

When you have entered your settings, click OK to apply them.

Exercise: Working with table data

In this exercise you will learn how to sort data and how to use the Borders and
Shading dialog box as well as the Table Properties dialog box.


Open Lesson 12.4 found in your exercise folder.

Select all the data in the table and sort it. Ensure that the data is being sorted
by Ascending Order.

Click on the Borders arrow. Click on Borders and Shading to open the
Borders and Shading dialog box.

Change the Style to a double line and change the size to 1½pts. Select the
Grid option and click OK.

Right-click on the table and select Table Properties.

Under the Table tab, change the alignment to centre align and click OK.

Save your document as Lesson 12.4 Completed.

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 Unit 3 - Microsoft Excel 2016

In this section you will learn how to:

 Open and interact with Excel

 Close Excel
 Create new workbooks
 Open and close existing workbooks
 Save workbooks
 Recognise the different Excel file types
 Recognise and work with the active cell
 Select multiple cells
 Explore worksheets and workbooks
 Zoom in and out of a worksheet
 Open and use the Help interface
 Recognise the difference between online and offline Help
 Get help while in a dialog box

3.1 Introduction

Microsoft Office Excel is a powerful and easy-to-use spreadsheet application.

Nearly everyone who works with numbers has likely used Excel or some other
spreadsheet application (such as Lotus 1-2-3) in one way or another.

If you are new to Excel and spreadsheets in general, the vast array of features
and controls can seem daunting. However, as we cover the workings of a
spreadsheet and how to deal with the basics, you will be well on your way to
becoming an expert in Excel.

3.1.1 What is Microsoft Office Excel 2016?

Microsoft Office Excel 2016 is the 14th version of Microsoft’s spreadsheet
program. A spreadsheet is essentially a large flexible grid that is usually used
to hold numerical information.

The spreadsheet is made up of rows and columns. The intersection of a row

and column is called a cell.

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 Figure 3.1 - The difference between a row, a column and a cell

Using Excel, you can analyse large amounts of data, move sets of data to get a
different picture of your figures and generate a number of different charts and
diagrams to help summarise the data. The workbook can contain one or more
worksheets or a large grid of cells that contains data. Many people use the
word “spreadsheet” to describe either a worksheet or a workbook but we will
stick with the proper names to differentiate between the two.

3.1.2 Creating a new workbook

If you open Excel using the methods described earlier (shortcut, Start Menu,
etc.), you can choose a template or a new blank workbook. For the purpose of
this tutorial, select Blank workbook as shown below:

Figure 3.2 - A workbook

As you can see, this new file is given the default name of “Book1” and there is
one worksheet highlighted at the bottom.

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 Figure 3.3 - Blank workbook

You can also create a new workbook while Excel is already open. Click FILE 
New. Select the “Blank workbook” template:

Figure 3.4 - Template options

This will create new files named Book 2, Book 3, etc. A new icon will be added
to the Windows taskbar.

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 Figure 3.5 - Two icons found in the Windows taskbar

You can also press and hold <Ctrl> and then press <N> to create a new
workbook. This keyboard shortcut is denoted as <Ctrl + N>.

3.1.3 Opening a Workbook

To open an existing workbook when Excel is not open, just double click the file
name.

Figure 3.6 – An Excel file

To open an existing workbook while Excel is open, click File  Open.

Figure 3.7 - Open command

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You will be required to browse your computer to find the document. Select it
and click Open.

Figure 3.8 - Open button

The file will be opened.

As you work with more files, Excel remembers the names and locations of
those files. If you click File  Open, you will see a list of recently used files
and recent locations. Click any file to open it.

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 Figure 3.9 - Recent items

As you work with even more files, only the most recently used items will
remain in this list. If you want certain files to always stay in the list, you can
“pin” them by clicking the pushpin icon. Click the pushpin icon to “pin” the
item. Click it again to “unpin” the item.

When working with files in Excel, there will be two save scenarios. You will
either save a new file that was made from scratch or save changes to an
existing file. There are two different save commands in Excel: Save and Save
As. Consider the following chart which outlines the actions of each command
on either a new file or an existing file.

Save Save As

New File You will be prompted to give You will be prompted to give
the file a name and choose a the file a name and choose a
save location. You can also save location. You can also
specify a file type. specify a file type.

Existing File Any changes you made will You have the option to give
be applied to the existing file the file a new name and/or a
in its current location. new save location. You can
also specify a new file type. If
you do change something,
the original existing file will
not be changed.

Both save commands are found in the File menu.

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3.1.4 About Excel file types
Excel 2013 uses a file format known as Microsoft Excel XML format. XML
(extensible mark-up language) is a very flexible type of computer language.
XML was incorporated into the Office 2007 file formatting system to facilitate
communication of data between Microsoft Office programs and other
applications.

Despite this file format change, Excel is capable of using files created from
older versions of the application. It is also capable of using other file types
such as plain text, OpenOffice documents, LibreOffice documents and data
output files.

Figure 3.10 - Excel file types

In most computer systems, a file is normally identified by a file name and a

three- or four-letter file type extension. “Term paper.docx,” for example, is a
Microsoft Word 2016 document named term paper. The four-letter “.docx”
extension signifies that this file is a Microsoft Word document.

The following table summarises the file types that can be saved with Excel
2016:

Excel It is a default format for Excel. You can also save a

Workbook thumbnail which will let you look at the beginning
(.xlsx) of the document if you use the Extra Large or
Large icon view in Windows Explorer.

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 Excel Macro- Excel workbooks with macros.
Enabled
Workbook
(.xlsm)

XML Data It saves the file in raw XML form. To use this
(.xml) format, the workbook must contain XML mappings.

Web Page It saves the workbook as an HTML file, along with

(.htm) a folder that contains any supporting files
associated with the workbook, e.g., pictures or
graphs.

PDF Saves your workbook in PDF form.

(.pdf)

XPS Document Stands for XML Paper Specification. XPS

(.xps) documents are Microsoft’s answer to PDF
documents.

OpenDocument Excel is capable of creating spreadsheet files that

Spreadsheet are compatible with the LibreOffice spreadsheet
(.ods) application.

Whatever you decide to use for a file format, remember to give your file a
meaningful name. Be careful where you save the file. If you choose to
save a file as a template, Excel will automatically save the template to a
default Microsoft folder on your computer, unless you indicate to Excel to save
it in specific location.

3.1.5 Closing a workbook

There are two close buttons at the top of the Excel window. The top-most is
used to close Excel completely.

Figure 3.11 - Close buttons

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If you want to close a workbook but leave Excel open – particularly if you are
working on many workbooks at once - click the bottom X. Unless you have
already done so, you will be asked to save any changes made since you
opened the file.

Figure 3.12 - Warning message

3.1.6 Exploring your workbook

3.1.6.1 Using worksheets
A workbook is a collection of one or more worksheets. By default, new files
created in Excel have one worksheet tab.

Figure 3.13 - An example of a worksheet

You can easily switch between worksheets by clicking the worksheet tab
you want to view. The name of the worksheet that you are presently working
with will be in bold type. In the image shown above, Sheet1 is the worksheet
that is currently being used.

You can use the worksheet navigation buttons on the left of the worksheet tabs
to switch between worksheets. These commands are useful if you have more
worksheets than space on your screen.

Figure 3.14 - Navigation buttons

From left to right, these buttons will go to the first worksheet, to the
previous worksheet tab, to the next worksheet tab and to the last
worksheet.

Right click any of the two commands to jump to a specific worksheet.

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 Figure 3.15 - List of worksheets

To add more worksheets to your workbook, click the new tab command.

Figure 3.16 - Insert Worksheet command

A new worksheet will be added to the list of tabs.

If you right click on any worksheet tab, you will see a menu with several
worksheet management options.

Figure 3.17 - Worksheet management options

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Let us go over these options.

Insert It inserts a new worksheet – the same way as clicking

Insert Worksheet does.

Delete It deletes the current worksheet. You will be asked to

confirm your choice.

Rename It renames the current worksheet.

Move or Copy This command allows you to move the current worksheet
to an open workbook or to a new workbook. You can also
copy the worksheet and paste it somewhere within the
same workbook.

View Code If any macros are assigned to this worksheet, click this
command to view and edit the code in Microsoft Visual
Basic for Applications. Macro code is beyond the scope of
this manual.

Protect Sheet If a workbook is to be distributed to other users, you

might want to lock certain portions of the data to prevent
accidental/intentional disruption of your work. You can
also assign a password to allow others to edit your work:

Tab Color You can colour tabs in your workbook to help differentiate
between the data that might be contained within.

Hide/Unhide Right click a tab and click Hide to remove it from view.
The data is still available, just hidden from view. To show
hidden worksheets, right click any tab and click Show.

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 Select All This will select all sheets and will allow you to perform
Sheets actions on all sheets at once.

Using these options, you can clearly label each worksheet.

Figure 3.18 - Labelled tabs

3.1.6.2 The active cell
The active cell is a name given to whichever cell you are currently working
with. When you click a cell in a worksheet, it gets a thick border. As you can
see in Figure 3.19 below, the row and column headers are shaded blue and the
cell reference is shown in the Name Box. In this image, cell B2 (the one with
the thick border) is the active cell:

Figure 3.19 - Active cell

If you type a cell reference into the Name Box and press <Enter> that cell will
become highlighted as the active cell. For example, try typing “AA29” into the
Name Box and then press <Enter> (capital letters for the column headings
are not required):

Figure 3.20 - Using cell reference to activate a cell

As you can see, the column heading AA (the 27th column) comes after Z.

Enter text or a number directly into the active cell. Click anywhere and type:

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 Figure 3.21 - Text found in an active cell

The text appears to be written over cells D4 and E4. However, those cells are
still technically empty.

If you use some of the text formatting commands on the Home tab (such as
bold, italics, or underline), the formatting will be applied to the active cell. If
there is already data in the active cell, the formatting option you choose will be
applied to the data. Here, we have applied bold and italic text effects to cells
B2 and B3 respectively and are about to apply Underline formatting to B4:

Figure 3.22 - Font formatting

Enter text or numerical data into the active cell by clicking inside the Formula
Bar and typing. Notice again how all that we typed seems to be flowing behind
cell A2, when in fact all the text is contained within B2.

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 Figure 3.23 - Text entered in the Formula Bar

 Be careful when typing information into the active cell because if you click
a cell that already contains information and start to type, you will erase all
the data that was in that cell. Whatever you type will overwrite the old
information.

 To edit or append data in a cell that already contains information, click the
cell to make it active and then make your changes in the Formula Bar.

3.1.6.3 Selecting cells

Selecting a single cell is easy. Just click it. That cell will become the active
cell. You can also select groups of cells or multiple individual cells using the
<Shift> and <Ctrl> keys, as well as the column/row headers.

To select a group of cells, place your mouse pointer over a cell. Click and
hold the left mouse button. Drag the mouse in any direction to select rows,
columns, or a combination of each. Notice that as you drag your mouse, the
Name Box will show you how many rows/columns you are selecting.

Figure 3.24 - Name box showing selected cells

Here, the cells from one row and five columns are selected. When you release
the mouse button, all the cells will be selected but only the first cell in the
click-and-drag operation will be marked as the active cell.

Figure 3.25 - Active cell shown in the name box

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Then 10 rows and 5 columns of cells are selected.

Figure 3.26 - 10 rows and 5 columns selected

If you click a cell, press and hold <Shift>. Click some other cell and the cells
in between will become selected based on where you clicked. For example, if
you clicked A1 to make it the active cell, held <Shift> and then clicked C6,
the following cells would be selected:

Figure 3.27 - Selected cells

To select multiple individual cells, select the first cell, press and hold
<Ctrl>, and then click other cells. You can also click and drag to select
multiple cells while <Ctrl> is being held down.

Figure 3.28 - Multiple individual cells

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To select an entire row/column of cells, move your mouse over a row/column
header. The mouse pointer will turn into an arrow. Then click the header to
select that row/column.

Figure 3.29 - Selected row

Click and drag multiple row or column headings to select multiple

rows/columns.

Figure 3.30 - Multiple selected rows and columns

3.1.6.4 Exploring a worksheet

We are now familiar with the concept of worksheets, the active cell and
selecting multiple cells. We will now learn some alternative ways of moving
around a worksheet that involves more than the mouse and scroll bars.

 Arrow keys Press <Up>, <Down>, <Left>, or <Right> to move the

active cell selection box in that direction.

 Page Up and Press <Page Up> to move up the active cell one screen’s
Page Down worth of cells. Press <Page Down> to move down the
active cell one screen’s worth of cells.

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 Ctrl + Arrow Press <Ctrl> + <Up>, <Down>, <Left>, or <Right>
Key to move to the respective outside edge of the worksheet.
(Be warned, Excel worksheets are very large!)

 Shift + Arrow Press and hold <Shift> while pressing <Up>,

Key <Down>, <Left>, or <Right> to select multiple
adjacent cells in that direction.

 Ctrl + <Home> <Ctrl + Home> will take you to cell A1, while <Ctrl +
or <End> End> will take you to the bottom right-most cell that
contains any data (i.e. the end of whatever data is in the
worksheet).

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 3.1.7 Exercise: Exploring your Workbook

In the exercise you will learn how to insert, delete, rename and
change the colour of tabs found in a workbook.

 Open Lesson 1.3 from the Exercise Files folder.

 In cell A3 type Monday.
In cell A4 type Tuesday.
In cell A5 type Wednesday.
In cell A6 type Thursday.
In cell A7 type Friday.
 To change the font in column A, click on the A. The whole column will be
highlighted. Change the font to Arial and the size to 10pt.
 Select all the numbers ranging from number 5 000 – 5 999 by pressing
<Ctrl> while clicking on the numbers within the range stated. Bold all
these numbers.
 Select all the numbers ranging from 8 000 – 8 999 by pressing the
<Ctrl> key while clicking on the numbers within the range stated.
Underline all these numbers.
 Select the days of the week and set the font to italics. Your worksheet
should resemble the image below.

 To change the different worksheet tabs, right click on Sheet1 and click
on Rename. Rename Sheet1 to Days of the week.
 To change the colour of the tab, right-click Days of the week and select
Tab color. Change it to red.

 To delete a tab, right click on the tab and select the Delete option.
Delete Sheet2.
 Save your document as Lesson 1.3 Completed.

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3.2 Excel basics

In this section you will learn how to:

 Work with columns, rows, cells and ranges

 Create worksheet labels
 Enter and delete data
 Print a worksheet
 Use AutoFill, AutoSum and AutoComplete
 Work with basic formulae
 Drag and drop cells
 Cut, copy and paste cells
 Use the Clipboard and Paste Special
 Insert and delete cells, rows and columns
 Use undo, redo and repeat
 Use Custom Actions
 Use the error option button
 Use the AutoFill option button
 Use the Paste Option button
 Use AutoCorrect
 Use spellcheck
 Use Find and Replace
 Document a worksheet with comments

Excel is used to organise and analyse data. To work effectively with Excel, you
need to understand the building blocks that make up a worksheet. In this unit
we will review the basic elements of a worksheet: columns, rows, cells and
ranges.

3.2.1 Columns, rows, cells and ranges

Columns, rows and cells make up the fundamental components of a worksheet.
A column is a vertical series of adjacent cells from top to bottom. A row is a
horizontal series of cells from left to right. A cell describes the intersection of a
row and column.

Figure 3.31 - Difference between a cell, row and column.

Each column has an index letter. Since there are only 26 letters and far
more than 26 columns on a spreadsheet, the next columns after column Z are

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indexed by the letters AA, AB, AC, and so on until the last column (XFD, over
16 000).

Each row has an index number. The rows are numbered from 1 to 1 048
576. The top left cell in the worksheet is indexed by the letter-number
combination A1.

The active cell is a name given to the cell that is currently selected. The active
cell is referenced in the Name Box.

Figure 3.32 - Active cell shown in the Name Box

Excel is Designed to have data organised down the sheet, under column
headings more so than across the sheet in rows. This is why there are over a
million rows down and only about 16 000 columns across.

A cell range, or simply “range”, is defined as a series or block of adjacent

cells. A range can be a very useful tool because it allows you to make changes
at once (such as applying formatting) to multiple cells. You can select cell
ranges in one of three ways, namely, with the mouse, the Name Box and the
keyboard.

To select a range with your mouse, move your pointer over the centre of a
cell. Your mouse pointer will turn into a thick cross. Hold the left mouse button
down and drag your pointer to select a range. (A selected range will be
highlighted in blue.)

Figure 3.33 - An example of a range

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To select a range with the Name Box, type the range directly into the
Name Box using the format “StartCell:EndCell”. For example, if you enter the
range A1:A7 and press <Enter>, these cells would be selected:

Figure 3.34 - A range from A1:A7

To select a range with the keyboard, you have two options. If you have a
block of data in a worksheet, click on any data cell in the block and press
<Ctrl + Shift + 8>. This will select the block of data as a range. Excel will use
the empty cells adjacent to the data as boundaries to the range.

Figure 3.35 - A range of data

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Finally, you can select a range by clicking in the first cell of a block you want to
select, press and hold <Shift> and then click on the last cell in the block or
use the arrow keys to select one row/column at a time.

When you select a group of cells, you should notice some numbers appear on
the status bar. These numbers tell you the average, count (how many
numbers) and the sum of the data in the selected cells.

Figure 3.36 - Numbers appearing in the status bar

3.2.2 Creating worksheet labels

Each row and column has a header and the combination of a column and row
header identifies each cell. To make your worksheet more readable, it is a
good idea to label your data. Anyone who reads the worksheet will be able to
make sense of the information. It would be difficult to read multiple rows and
columns of unidentified numbers.

A worksheet label is a simple text description of the data it represents. For

example, if your worksheet contains information about the age, height and
weight of a group of people, label the data as such.

Figure 3.37 - Worksheet label

As you can see, the statistics for each person and each person’s name have
been entered as labels. This does not only make the data easy to read but also
makes it easy to create charts and graphs based on the data.

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3.2.3 Entering and deleting data
Now that you are familiar with the basics of columns, rows, ranges and labels,
we can start working with data. First, you need to enter the data. There are a
number of ways to do this.

The direct way is to click the cell you want to use (making it the active cell)
and type in it. When you type something in the active cell, it will be displayed
in the Formula Bar.

Figure 3.38 - Text appearing in the Formula Bar

On the left of the Formula Bar are two commands: an X and a check mark.
Click the X to remove the data in the active cell. Click the check mark to
commit the data to this cell and move to the next row.

Figure 3.39 - Cross and check mark commands

If you are typing data in a spreadsheet, you can press <Tab> or <Enter> to
move the active cell. Press <Tab> to advance one column (e.g. D2 to E2).
Press <Enter> to advance one row (e.g. D2 to D3).

Figure 3.40 - Advancing to different cells using <Enter> and <Tab>

To delete data from a cell, right click on the cell to display the drop-down
menu. Clicking the Clear Contents option will remove the data but not the
formatting.

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 Figure 3.41 - Clear Contents option

When you right click a cell, you will see a mini toolbar. This will allow you to
apply a number of formatting commands available in the Font and Alignment
groups of the Home tab. This toolbar helps when you have a tab other than the
Home tab in view but you need to format some cells.

Figure 3.42 - Mini toolbar

If you click the <Delete> option in the right-click menu, a Delete dialog box
will be displayed. With the Delete option, you will physically remove
rows/columns from the worksheet. Select your option and click OK.

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 Figure 3.43 - Delete dialog box

If you select the Shift cells left option, all data from the cell to the immediate
right will be shifted left into the now vacant cell. If the Shift Cells Up option is
selected, the data in the cell immediately below will be shifted up into the
vacant cell.

You can also delete rows and columns by clicking the Delete command in the
Home tab.

Figure 3.44 - Delete command

To delete rows, first select a row or rows. Click the Delete arrow to display
the delete menu, and then click the Delete Sheet Rows option. This will
delete the row and shift the cells below up by the number of deleted rows.

To delete columns, select the column or columns you want removed and
then choose the Delete Sheet Columns option. The columns to the right of
the deleted data will be shifted left by the number of columns deleted.

To delete a worksheet, switch to the worksheet you want to remove and

click Delete Sheet.

Remember that clearing contents only removes the data, while deleting
removes data and formatting.

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It is important to keep in mind that Excel treats text and numbers differently.
A number is seen as a value in Excel – something that can be used in
mathematical operations. Text is often used as labels or identifiers.

Consider the following table of data:

Figure 3.45 - An example of data

Cells B1:D1 have numbers for worksheet labels. Notice how these cells, like
the table data (B2:D4), are right aligned. The text in A2:A4 is left aligned.

If you want to enter a number as text (use a number as a label), put an

apostrophe (‘) in front of the number. Do this by clicking the cell you want to
change, adding an apostrophe in front of the number in the Formula Bar, and
pressing <Enter>. The number will now be “formatted” as text:

Figure 3.46 - Labelled number

Numbers that are formatted as text are denoted with a small green marker:

Figure 3.47 - An example of labelled numbers

If you click one of these cells, you will see a small error notice appear. If you
hover your mouse pointer over this notice, you will see a description of the
notice:

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 Figure 3.48 - Description of the notice

There is a pull-down arrow beside the notice. Click it for more options:

Figure 3.49 - Pull-down arrow showing more options

3.2.4 Printing your worksheet

Excel allows you to perform all printing activities from a single location in the
File (Backstage) menu. To open this view, click File  Print:

Figure 3.50 - Print preview

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This view is split into two sections. On the left, there are commands to
modify the printer and page properties. In fact, you might recognise some of
the commands here from the PAGE Layout tab. On the right, you will see
what the data will look like when printed, based on the settings in this view.
You can use the arrow buttons on the bottom to browse through the pages if
your data will not fit on one page.

When you have made your changes, click Print.

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3.2.5 Basic Excel features

When working with spreadsheets, you might often repeat data in many cells.
Excel helps you to do this efficiently by automating some basic and repetitive
tasks for you.

3.2.5.1 AutoFill
If you use Excel to log information over a period of time, such as recording
daily sales, you might be dreading having to type the days of the week over
and over again. Those of you who have more experience with computers might
think of using Copy and Paste, but there is another way to enter repeating text
or numerical sequences. The AutoFill feature can help you to enter repeated
or incremental text and numbers quickly.

For example, imagine that you have to enter all of the years from 1990 – 2010
in a worksheet. Rather than typing each year manually, you can take
advantage of the AutoFill feature to enter the data quickly and easily.

To use AutoFill, you need to establish a pattern. In this example, type 1990 in
one cell and 1991 immediately below. Then select both cells, like this:

Figure 3.51 - An example of data

Next, click and drag the small square down the worksheet until the desired
value is reached. Once “2010” appears beside the mouse pointer, release the
mouse button and Excel will automatically fill in the numbers:

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 Figure 3.52 - The years are automatically filled

The worksheet will now contain the years 1990 – 2013.

This feature does not work only on single increments. You can have Excel jump
2, 10, or 10 000 numbers at a time, forward or backward, depending on the
two initial values that you have entered.

Note that for numerical data, you must select two adjacent data items. They
must change incrementally for AutoFill to recognise and enter the correct
consecutive values. If you selected only 1990, and dragged down the column,
AutoFill would enter 1990 into every cell.

Depending on what you want to do, this might work to your advantage.

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 Figure 3.53 - Using AutoFill

Excel comes pre-programmed with some other common AutoFill sequences,

including days of the week and months of the year. Unlike numerical
sequences, you do not have to enter two initial values:

Figure 3.54 - AutoFill used for days of the week and months of the year

3.2.5.2 AutoSum
Most worksheets are used to calculate numerical or financial data. So, Excel
includes an AutoSum feature. This command will find the sum of a row or
column of data.

To use this command, click the cell immediately below (if summing a column of
data) or to the immediate right (if summing a row of data) of the data you
want to sum. Next, click Formulas  AutoSum:

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 Figure 3.55 - AutoSum

Excel will scan the data in the column/row. The column or row of data to be
summed will be highlighted by an animated border:

Figure 3.56 - Data that will be summed with an animated border

Press <Enter> to complete the AutoSum command:

Figure 3.57 - An example of data that has been summed

3.2.5.3 AutoComplete
AutoComplete will help you enter data by automatically filling information as
you type, based on similar data in adjacent cells, in the same column. This

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feature is enabled by default and is very useful if you need to create a list of
names or if you commonly enter the same type of data.

For example, if you typed “Alice” into a cell, pressed <Enter>, and then typed
“a,” Excel would automatically fill in the remaining letters of “Alice”:

Figure 3.58 - AutoComplete being used

Press <Enter> to accept the completion.

If you then typed the name “Arnold” into the same column, Excel would be set
up to AutoComplete either “Alice” or “Arnold.” However, you would need to
type the second letter for Excel to determine which name you are entering:

Figure 3.59 - AutoComplete being used

AutoComplete has the potential to save you time when you type information,
but sometimes it can get in the way. If you want to turn the AutoComplete
feature off, click File  Options  Advanced (tab on the left)  and uncheck
“Enable AutoComplete for cell values”

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 Figure 3.60 - Excel Options

Click OK to accept the change. Excel will no longer use AutoComplete.

3.2.5.4 Working with basic formulas

Formulas are mathematical expressions that operate on cell contents. When
cells contain numerical data, you can perform multiple mathematical
operations on the cell content as your worksheet requires. The results of these
operations will be shown in the cell that contains the formula. Formulas can be
simple, like adding two cell values, or quite complex involving multiple
mathematical operations.

Formulas always start with an equals sign (=). Formulas can contain cell
references (like A1), numbers (like 23), or even other functions (like
SUM(B2:B9)). Enter a formula by typing directly into a cell, or use the Formula
Bar.

Figure 3.61 - Formula in the formula bar or cell

=A1+23, = d2-c2, and =B10+b11/C6 are all valid formulae. Cell references
are not case-sensitive.

If you include a cell reference in a formula (like =B3*6), and that cell
reference itself contains a second formula (like =B1+B2, stored in B3), the
second formula (=B1+B2) will be evaluated first, and the result will be used in
=B3*6.

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Consider the following worksheet. To calculate Sales, we must multiply
Quantity by Price:

Figure 3.62 - An example of data

The formula =A2*B2 will be entered into C2. Note the colours that outline the
cell references:

Figure 3.63 - An example of the data that has an outline to the cell
reference

After the formula has been entered, press <Enter> to calculate the value.

Figure 3.64 - An example showing the calculated amount of Quantity

multiplied by the Price

You can tell if a cell contains a formula by making it active. If there is a

formula in the active cell, it will be shown in the Formula Bar:

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 Figure 3.65 - Active cell with a formula

Excel can use AutoFill to fill in a single value over a sequential value. AutoFill
also works with a formula. Select the cell that contains the formula you want
to use. Click and drag the black square.

Figure 3.66 - Using AutoFill with a formula

Excel will change the column/row references as necessary.

Figure 3.67 - Cell reference changed according to the necessary cells

Formulae can contain multiple cell references from a single worksheet, or even
references from different worksheets or workbooks. However, you can create a
circular reference in Excel by referencing a cell that is dependent on the very
cell that references it for a result.

For example, if A1 contains the formula =10+B2, and B2 contains the formula
=A1–25, you have created a circular reference. Cell A1 cannot be resolved
until Cell B2 is resolved and vice-versa. You will be warned if Excel finds any
such references.

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 Figure 3.68 - Circular Reference Warning

Exercise: Basic Excel features

In the exercise you will learn how to use AutoFill and some basic formulae.


Open Lesson 2.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

In cell A2, type the year 2008.

Press <Enter> and type 2009.

Use the AutoFill function to complete the year column. The column should end
at the year 2012.


In cell B2 type 27.5 and press <Enter>.
In cell B3 type 100 and press <Enter>.
In cell B4 type 84 and press <Enter>.
In cell B5 type 0.254 and press <Enter>.
In cell B6 type 21 and press <Enter>.

In cell C2 type 21 and press <Enter>.

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In cell C3 type -100 and press <Enter>.
In cell C 4 type 55 and press <Enter>.
In cell C5 type -0.3658 and press <Enter>.
In cell C6 type 0 and press <Enter>.

To calculate the Average temperature for each year, type the following into cell
D2:

=(B2+C2)/2


Press <Enter>. Once the calculation has been made, use the AutoFill function
to calculate the rest of the other year’s average temperature.

Your worksheet should have the following:


Save your document as Lesson 2.2 Completed.

3.2.6 Moving your data

The ability to manipulate your data is crucial when building worksheets and
workbooks. To work efficiently with your data, you should know how to
manipulate the data in a worksheet.

3.2.6.1 Dragging and dropping cells

Dragging and dropping cells is easy. First, select a cell by clicking on it,
thereby making it the active cell.

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 Figure 3.69 – An example of data

Move your mouse pointer over one edge of the active cell border. The mouse
pointer will turn into a four-headed arrow:

Figure 3.70 - Four-headed arrow

Click and drag the cell contents to a new location. Release the mouse button to
drop the cell into its new location.

Figure 3.71 - An example of data with a new location of a cell being

moved

You can click and drag multiple cells in the same way. Select a block of cells
and then click and drag them around your worksheet by dragging the border.

Drag and drop cells anywhere in the worksheet. If you drag a cell with a
formula, the formula will move to the place you drop it. If you drag a cell that
is referenced in a formula (a single cell, or a selection of cells), all formulas
that reference the cell will be adjusted to reference the new location.

Be careful when dragging and dropping cells in a worksheet. It is easy to drag

and drop cells by mistake when trying to perform other operations. Use the
Undo command to move things back.

3.2.6.2 How to cut, copy and paste cells

To be able to move your data effectively, you must know how to cut, copy and
paste cells. The Cut, Copy and Paste commands are almost universal
throughout the computing world and are usually some of the first commands
novice computer users will use on a regular basis. As these three operations
are so common, we end up with several ways of doing the same thing.

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Our advice is to learn the keyboard shortcuts as soon as you can because
these are used in nearly every computer application:

 Usually, cut items can be pasted only once and copied items can be pasted
multiple times.
 To cut a cell, right click the cell and select Cut from the drop-down menu
or press <Ctrl + X>. To copy a cell, right click the cell and select Copy or
press <Ctrl + C>.


Figure 3.72 - Cut and Copy commands

Either method will surround the cell with a flashing border. You can then paste
cut/copied data in one of two ways: by using the right-click menu, or
choosing a destination cell and pressing <Ctrl + V>.

3.2.6.3 Multiple cells

Cutting, copying and pasting work the same way can be done over single or
multiple cells. The most important difference is with multiple cells you must
select a range of cells first. When you have made your selection, use the
keyboard shortcuts or right-click menu to Cut/Copy the cells. The cut/copied
data will be surrounded by a flashing border.

Figure 3.73 - Flashing border around a range of cells

Next, select a destination cell and press <Ctrl + V> or right-click  Paste.
This will be the top left-most cell for the pasted data:

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 Figure 3.74 - Data pasted into a new location

Notice the small notification that appears beside the pasted data. This outlines
various paste options which we will explore next.

3.2.6.4 Using the Clipboard

We know that Cut/Copied information is saved in the computer until it is
pasted. The area of memory used to store these items is called the Clipboard.
Normally, only one item at a time is remembered. However, Office 2016 allows
you to view and store up to 24 different items on the clipboard.

3.2.6.5 Using Paste Special

Paste Special is a useful Excel feature. You can use this command to perform
many operations that might be tedious to perform using other Excel tools.
Paste Special does indeed paste data but it also allows you to perform
operations on the destination cells using the pasted data.

Consider the following worksheet. It lists quantities in column A, prices in

column B and sales (A*B) in column C:

Figure 3.75 - An example of data

Suppose that all prices are to be raised by 20%. You can manually enter the
new prices, use a formula in a new column to calculate the prices, or you can
use Paste Special.

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To use Paste Special in this situation, enter the value 1.2 (the numerical
equivalent of 120%) in cell D1, then right-click D1 and choose Copy.

Figure 3.76 - Copying a value

Next, select the prices in column B. Right click on the selected area and choose
Paste Special. Ignore the Paste Options sub-menu that appears.

Figure 3.77 - Paste Special option

This will display the Paste Special dialog box.

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 Figure 3.78 - Paste Special dialog box

There are a number of options in the Paste Special dialog box that you can
choose from. To increase the prices in the selected range by 20%, we want to
multiply each price in the selected range by 1.2.

Select the Values and Multiply radio buttons and then click OK:

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 Figure 3.79 - Paste Special dialog box with the Multiply radio button
selected

The prices have now been increased by 20% and Sales have increased as well,
taking the new prices into account. The currency formatting applied to column
B also remains:

Figure 3.80 - An example of data

The Paste Special dialog box defaults to paste all source information (1.2 in
this example). If the All radio button (in the Paste Special dialog box) is left
selected, the same operation would have occurred and the currency formatting
applied to column B would have been stripped away.

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The end result is still mathematically correct but you would have to reapply the
currency formatting.

As with the regular copy and paste operation, you can use single or multiple
items with Paste Special. You can Copy and Paste Special a single item to a
single cell, a single item to multiple cells, and multiple items to multiple cells.
With Paste Special, you can choose to add the copied value, subtract it,
multiply it or divide by selecting the appropriate radio button. You can also
choose to paste only values. So, a formula will not be copied but its result will.

Depending on what you want to do using Paste Special, you might have to
experiment with some of the various settings in the Paste Special dialog box. If
you make a mistake, you can use the Undo command to revert to before the
changes and try something else.

3.2.6.6 Inserting and deleting cells, rows and columns

If you are building a worksheet and realise that you forgot to include a row or
column of important data, or that a row or column of data is unnecessary and
should be removed, it is easy to add or remove rows and columns from a
worksheet.

To insert a column in a worksheet, right click a column header and click

Insert. This will add a new column in this location and push all existing
information (including the column you right clicked) one column to the right.

We are going to add a new column between columns B and C.

Figure 3.81 - Insert option

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 Figure 3.82 - An example of data with an inserted column

You now have a new empty column to work with.

This procedure is the same for inserting rows. To insert a row, right click a
row header and click Insert. All of the data in the row you selected as your
insertion point - and the data in the rows beneath it - will be shifted down one
row. This will leave an empty row where you can enter new data.

Deleting rows and columns works in the same way. To delete a column,
right-click the column header you want to remove and click Delete. All of the
data to the right of the column will be shifted one row to the left and the old
information will be replaced with the data that was in the column to the
immediate right.

To delete a row, right click the row header and click Delete. All of the data
below the column will be shifted up one row and the old information will be
replaced with the data that was in the row directly beneath it.

To insert a cell, right click a cell and click Insert. The Insert dialog box will
appear:

Figure 3.83 - Insert dialog box

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When you insert a cell, the existing data must be relocated. Selecting Shift
Cells Right will move the item in the active cell and all the items to the right
of it, which causes one cell to move further to the right, thus leaving a blank
cell at the original location. Selecting Shift Cells Down will perform a similar
operation, but in a downward direction. For example, if you inserted a cell at
location B1, the data in B1 would shift to B2, B2 would shift to B3, and so on,
leaving B1 empty.

The Entire Row or Entire Column options allows you to insert a row or a
column in the same manner.

3.2.6.7 Using undo, redo and repeat

Anyone can make mistakes, especially when creating a complex worksheet. As
in Word, Excel provides a way of backtracking to the unintended actions.

 To undo an action, click the Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar or
press Ctrl + Z.

 To redo an action (or “undo the Undo”), you can click the Redo button
on the Quick Access Toolbar or press <Ctrl + Y>.

Exercise: Moving your data

In the exercise you will learn how to use Paste Special and
more formulae.

 Open Lesson 2.3 from the Exercise Files folder.

 In cell A2 type in 1.1, then copy the cell.
 Choose cells C1 -> C8 and then right click.
 Select on Paste Special option.
 Once the Paste Special dialog appears, check the Multiply radio button.
 Notice how the decimal value changes. Highlight the column and click on
the small arrow found in the number group.

 When you are at the Format Cells dialog box, click on Number found in
the left pane. In the Decimal Places, ensure that 2 has been selected.
Click OK.

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  In cell E2 type in =C2*D2 and press <Enter>.
 Use the AutoFill function to make use of the same formula from cells E3
to E8.
 In cell F9 type in =SUM(E2:E8) and press <Enter>.
 Save your document as Lesson 2.3 Completed.

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3.3 Editing your workbook

In this section you will learn how to:

 Change the size of rows or columns

 Adjust cell alignment and rotate text
 Create custom numbers and date formats
 Use conditional formatting
 Use the Format Painter
 Merge adjacent cells
 Use AutoFit
 Find and replace formatting
 Add patterns, colours and borders to a worksheet
 Work with styles and themes
 Create and format charts
 Enhance charts with drawing tools
 Change the chart type
 Change the source data for a chart
 Work with chart axes and data series
 Save a chart style/layout as a template
 Identify absolute and relative cell references

3.3.1 Modifying cells and data

To get the most out of your worksheets, understand the many ways of
modifying cells and data in Excel.

3.3.1.1 Changing the size of rows or columns

Sometimes it will be necessary to change the size of a row or column to
display all the data contained in the cell. You might want to change the size of
a row or column for a change in appearance. In either case, changing the size
of a row or column is easy.

To change the size of a column, place your mouse pointer on the line that
divides the column headers. For example, if you wanted to change the size of
column B, you would place your mouse pointer on the line separating B and C.
Your mouse pointer will turn into a vertical line with a small arrow on either
side:

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 Figure 3.84 - Small vertical line with arrows on either side

When you see this pointer, click and hold the left mouse button to drag the
column edge to the left or right. As you drag, you will see the size (default
width is 64px).

Figure 3.85 - Dragging your vertical line with arrows on either side

Now the size of column B has been changed.

To change the size of a row, place your pointer on the line separating the
row headers and then click and drag up or down to make the row larger or
smaller (default height is 20px).

Figure 3.86 - Horizontal line with small arrows on either side

There are more cell formatting commands available by clicking Home 

Format. Here you can have Excel automatically adjust to the necessary
dimensions or define a specific dimension.

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 Figure 3.87 - Format command

3.3.1.2 Adjusting cell alignment

To align data within a worksheet, select the cell or cells you want to adjust and
then use the commands in the Alignment group of the Home tab.

Figure 3.88 - Alignment group

Let us go over the different groups of commands.

Vertical Alignment If there is extra space above or

below the data in a cell, use these
commands to align the data
vertically.

Horizontal Use these commands to left-, centre-

Alignment , or right-align items in a cell.

Orientation Use this command to change the

way text is written in the cell:

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 Increase/Decrease Increase or decrease the distance
Indent between cell data and the cell
margins.

Wrap Text If you need to enter more data into a

cell, stretching the column width to
accommodate everything on one line
may be impractical. Use this
command to wrap the text to the
next line inside the cell.

Merge & Center Select two or more adjacent cells

and click this command. The
adjacent cells will merge into a
single cell and the data contained
inside will be centre-aligned:

3.3.1.3 Rotating text

Rotated text can make your worksheets look better, improve organisation as
well as readability. Rotating text can also make viewing or printing a large
worksheet easier because the column widths do not have to accommodate the
length of your text descriptions.

To rotate text, first select the cell or range of cells you want to rotate.

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 Figure 3.89 - An example of data

When you have selected a cell or range, click the Orientation button in the
Alignment group on the Home tab. Select the alignment of your choice.

Figure 3.90 - Orientation button showing different alignment options

You can also right-click on any cell in the selected range and click on Format
Cells in the drop-down menu.

Right-clicking a cell  Format Cells or clicking Home  Orientation 

Format Cell Alignment will open the Format Cells dialog box to the
Alignment tab. Here, you have finer control over the rotation of your text.

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 Figure 3.91 - Format Cells dialog box under Alignment tab

You can control the way data in the cells will be aligned. Choose if you want to
wrap the text or shrink the data to fit in the cell, control the text direction or
manually select a rotation angle.

To rotate the text in the selected cells, put your mouse pointer on the red
diamond in the orientation field. Hold down your left mouse button and drag
the diamond to the degree that you need.

For example, if you want the text to be 45 degrees from the horizontal
position, drag the red diamond until you see 45 in the Degrees text box. You
can also type a value or use the small up/down arrows to adjust the value.
When you have made your selections, click OK.

This is how the text will look like:

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 Figure 3.92 - An example of text with text alignment changed

3.3.1.4 Creating Custom number and date formats

Excel provides a variety of number and date formats for you to work with but
you might require something different. You can create your own custom
number and date formats to present your data exactly as you wish. Excel’s
default number formats are visible in the Number group of the Home tab:

Figure 3.93 - Number formats

To create a custom number format, select the cell or cells that contain the
numbers that you want to format and open the Format Cells dialog box. Right
click the cell and click Format Cell. Alternatively, click the option button in the

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Font, Alignment or Number groups on the Home tab. When the dialog appears,
click the Number tab.

Figure 3.94 - Format Cells dialog box under the Number tab

You can see the number that you are formatting in the Sample area of the box.

To create a custom format, select Custom from the bottom of the Category list.
You will see a text window containing a list of symbolic formatting codes in the
Type list. If you click on a symbolic formatting code, you will see how your
number will look with this formatting. This will be the starting point for your
custom format.

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 Figure 3.95 - Custom option found under the Category pane in the
Format Cells dialog box

Exercise: Modifying cells and data

In the exercise you will learn how to adjust row and column size, merge and
cell orientation.


Open Lesson 3.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Select all the data in column 1. Bold the font.

Select the data range from B3:F7 and change all the numbers to italics.

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 
Increase row 1 to 70 pt. Select column 1 and right click on it. Select the Row
height option.


Merge cells C1:E1 by clicking on the Merge & Center button.


Click in the newly merged cells. Click on the Orientation button and select the
Format Cell Alignment option.

In the Orientation pane found in the Format Cells dialog box, change the
degrees to 30 and click OK.

Bold and underline the text in the merged cells.

Save your document as Lesson 3.1 Completed.

3.3.2 Cell formatting

When it comes to the quality and clarity of a workbook, layout and appearance
play a major role. Excel has a number of formatting features at your disposal,
which will allow you to create practical worksheets with a professional look and
feel.

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3.3.2.1 Conditional Formatting
Excel allows you to format data based on the values that the data assumes at
any given time. This is called Conditional Formatting and makes certain
types of worksheets easier to read. It is useful for worksheets that show
financial figures (black = positive, red = negative), test results (results change
colour based on their value), or any time you want to highlight the data that
falls within a certain value.

To use conditional formatting, select a range of data that you want to format
with conditional formatting.

Figure 3.96 - An example of data

Now click Home  Conditional Formatting.

Figure 3.97 - Conditional Formatting command

Here, we have added some data bars. These bars colour the background of the
cell, based on the value of one cell compared to the others in the range.

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 Figure 3.98 - Data with bars

As you can see, the largest number is 3 500 and the smallest is 1. Each
number between those values will be shaded accordingly. The amount of
shading is maintained at a constant ratio no matter how the cells are modified.

Figure 3.99 - Conditioning Formatting used in data

There are several options available via the Conditional Formatting command.
Let us go over the basics of each option.

Figure 3.100 - Conditional Formatting options

Conditional Formatting works by using logical rules. Notice the commands at

the bottom of this menu where you can define your own rules for conditional
formatting. Clear the rules currently in use and manage existing rules
(edit/delete).

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3.3.2.2 The Format Painter
The Format Painter is a very useful feature that helps you to save time with
formatting. With the Format Painter, you can copy only the formatting from
one cell and apply it to others in your worksheet. This is useful if you did not
create the worksheet and do not have the time to duplicate the formatting.

To use the Format Painter, select a cell and then click Home  Format
Painter.

Figure 3.101 - Format Painter command

The cell that you selected will be enhanced with a flashing dark and light
border and your mouse pointer will turn into a thick cross with a paint brush
beside it. When this happens, any cell or range you select with the cross and
paint brush pointer will assume the formatting of the cell that you have
selected. In other words, you “paint” your selection with the formatting from
the original cell.

For instance, if you formatted the Month cell in a certain way, and want to
copy that format to the Sales cell.

Figure 3.102 - Using Format Painter

Click Format Painter once to apply the copied formatting once. Double click
Format Painter to apply the copied formatting multiple times. When you have
finished formatting multiple times, click Format Painter once more to
deactivate the command.

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3.3.2.3 Cell Merging and AutoFit
Cell Merging is a feature that helps you to change the physical layout of a
worksheet. Occasionally, you may need a long cell for a heading, or you may
need to resize your columns or rows so that long items can be displayed. If
you need to put some text or a value into a cell but do not have the available
space to resize the row or column, you can use the merge command. This
allows you to select a group of cells, either across a row or down a column and
combine them to form one big cell.

To do this, select a group of adjacent cells and click the Merge & Center
command in the Home tab.

Figure 3.103 - Merger & Center command

Here, the title is entered into A1 but spills over into B1 and C1. If you select
A1:D1 and click the Merge & Center command, you can turn this:

Figure 3.104 - An example of data

into this:

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Figure 3.105 - An example of data using the Merger & Center command

A1:D1 has been merged into one cell and is referenced as A1. Cells B1:D1 do
technically still exist (you can reference them in a formula), but you cannot
easily access the data because they are behind A1. To avoid confusion, we
recommend you assume that cells behind a merged cell are inaccessible.

If numerical data in a cell is too large for the available space, you might see a
string of number signs (########). This means that the data is still there
and usable, but is too wide to be displayed properly. If you have room to
expand the row or column size, use AutoFit.

AutoFit is the easiest way to change row or column dimensions in order to fit
the contents. Double-click the divider between adjacent columns or rows. Excel
will automatically size the columns to fit the widest thing in a column or the
highest thing in a row. Here, the text in B1 is too wide to be seen at once.
Double-click the line between B and C column headers. Excel will automatically
widen column B to fit the contents.

Figure 3.106 - Double clicking in the divider between adjacent columns

to AutoFit data

3.3.2.4 Find and Replace Formatting

You can use the Find and Replace command to search your workbook for a
specific term and replace it with something else. Find and Replace also allows
you to search and replace certain types of formatting. This feature is ideal for
replacing a formatting style that is scattered throughout a spreadsheet. To use
Find and Replace with formatting, click Home  Find & Select  Replace.
When the Find and Replace dialog box appears, click the Replace tab.

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 Figure 3.107 - Find and Replace dialog box

Click the Options button to display the options for formatting. Then, click the
Format button and click Format.

Figure 3.108 - Format button

Here you can select a Number format from the category list and then specify
the details of the format using other tabs across the top of the dialog. Click OK
to proceed.

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 Figure 3.109 - Find Format dialog box

You can also choose a format from a cell by clicking the Choose Format From
Cell button.

If you click this button, you will see a thick cross mouse pointer with an eye
dropper beside it. Click a cell with formatting that contains formatting you
want to find. The Find and Replace dialog box will be displayed again. Next,
make sure that the Replace tab on the dialog box is selected to show the
options for choosing a replacement format. You can choose a replacement
format in the same way that you choose a format to find.

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 Figure 3.110 - Format button and Format option

In the second half of the dialog, there are options in the list boxes to search
worksheets, workbooks and formulas. Once your options are set, click Replace
to replace the unwanted format, one cell at a time, or click Replace All to
perform all of the replacements at once.

Exercise: Cell formatting

In the exercise you will learn how to use Conditional formatting,

Format Painter, Cell Merge, AutoFit and the Find and Replace
formatting.

 Open Lesson 3.2 from the Exercise Files folder.

 In cell A2, bold the student number and change the cell colour by
clicking on the Fill colour command. Select Aqua, Accent 5, Lighter 40%
(RGB: Red: 146, Green: 205 Blue: 220) colour.
 Click on cell A2 and then click on the Format Painter icon.

 Click and drag from cell A3 up to cell A21. All the student numbers
should have the same format as cell A2.
 Select the data range [B2:K21] and click on the Conditional
Formatting command. Select Highest Cells Rules.
 Click on the Between option. The Between dialog box should appear.

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  In the first number box type in 0 and the second type in 54. Click OK.
Notice how the data ranging from 0 – 54 has been highlighted in red?
 Select the data range [B2:K21] and click on the Conditional
Formatting command. Select Highest Cells Rules.
 Click on the Between option. The Between dialog box should appear.
 The data range from 80 – 100 should be highlighted in green.
 Save your document as Lesson 3.2. Completed.

3.3.3 Enhancing a worksheet’s appearance

3.3.3.1 Adding patterns and colours

A few colours here and there will enhance the look and feel of your worksheet.
For example, adding a few bright colours to headings or subtotals/totals will
make the worksheet easier to read and draw the reader’s eye to what is
important.

To add colours to a worksheet, select the range of cells where you want to add
colour. Here is a worksheet that had some text formatting. It is not too difficult
to read since the headings and totals have been made bold. Let us add some
colour to the totals at the bottom of the sheet:

Figure 3.111 - An example of data

Click Home  Fill Colour arrow and move your mouse over the different
colours. You can choose shades of colours from the theme you are currently
using or you can choose from a selection of standard colours. Click a colour to
apply it to your selection.

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Figure 3.112 - An example of data with a colour being applied to some
cells

You can add patterns as well as colours to a selection of cells. To do this, select
a range of cells then right click  Format Cells.

Figure 3.113 - Format Cells option

When the Format Cells dialog box appears, click the Fill tab, select a colour
and choose a pattern from the Pattern Style combo box. You can see what the
pattern will look like in the sample bar at the bottom of the dialog.

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 Figure 3.114 - Format Cells dialog box

As you can see, one colour and a pattern are enough to tell you exactly what
the worksheet is about (Budget) and which numbers are important (the totals
at the bottom).

Figure 3.115 - An example of data with some colour

3.3.3.2 Adding borders

Borders can help to distinguish selected data within a worksheet or give a
worksheet a more polished overall appearance. Although the gridlines dividing
rows and columns are turned on so that you can see them in your worksheet,
they are not printed.

To add a border to your worksheet, select a range of data and click the pull-
down arrow next to Home  Borders. Select the type of border you wish to
apply to the range (including no border). Borders will be added.

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 Figure 3.116 - Borders options

Whichever option you choose will be available by clicking the Border

command again. For example, by default, the Border command is set to
display bottom borders:

If you clicked the pull-down arrow and selected All Borders, the All Borders
option would replace the bottom border on the command itself:

If you click More Borders at the bottom of the drop-down menu, this will
display the Format Cells dialog box – Border tab. Here you can customise a
border by choosing line thickness and the line position in and around the cell.
When you have finished building a custom border, click OK to implement it on
the selected cells.

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 Figure 3.117 - Format Cells dialog box under the Border tab

3.3.3.3 Working with styles

A style is a set of formatting options that can be given a name, saved and
applied to a cell or a range of cells. You can create a style or modify an
existing style to build the formatting options you need for your worksheets.
Excel provides a large menu of pre-set styles that you can choose to apply to
your cells.

To use a pre-set style, select a cell or range of cells and choose a style by
clicking Home  Styles group.

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 Figure 3.118 - Cell Styles command

Click a style to apply the formatting.

Figure 3.119 – An example of a different formatting being applied

To remove applied styles from a cell range, select the styles cells and click
Cell Styles  Normal. This will remove the formatting by reapplying basic
black and white formatting.

Figure 3.120 - Cell styles: Normal

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To create your own style, enter data in a cell and apply the various effects
that you need (such as font colour, fill colour, font size, bold, italic). Here, we
have entered the word “Hello”, and selected bold, font size 14, a white font
colour, and a shade of purple for the cell colour.

Figure 3.121 - A newly created style

Next, select the cell and click Cell Styles  New Cell Style.

Figure 3.122 - New Cell Style option

This will open the Style dialog box. If you give the style a name and then click
OK, the formatting you added to the selected cell will be saved as a style. If
you click the Format button, you will display the Format Cells dialog box. This
will allow you to add any kind of formatting you want to the new style. You can
also select or deselect elements to include in your style with the various
checkboxes. When you have confirmed the style elements to use, give the
style a name. Click OK.

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 Figure 3.123 - Style dialog box

The new custom style will be listed at the top of the Cell Styles command.

Figure 3.124 - New style listed in the cell Styles command

Styles are saved with the workbook they are created in. If you want to use a
style from another workbook, the Merge Styles command will allow you to
import the styles you need. To do this, have two workbooks open: one that
contains styles you want to use (source) and one where you want to use the
styles (destination). Switch to the destination workbook and Cell Styles 
Merge Styles.

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 Figure 3.125 - Merge Styles option

The Merge Styles dialog will open. Select the workbook with the style you
want. Click OK.

Figure 3.126 - Merge Styles dialog box

Excel will copy all the styles from the source workbook into the destination
workbook. If there are styles in both workbooks that have matching names,
you will be asked if you want to merge styles.

3.3.3.4 Working with themes

Excel offers a wide range of customisation options to change the look and feel
of your worksheet. All of the effects we have dealt with in this unit can be
collected into a single theme. Themes allow you to apply coordinating font,
colours, effects, styles and other types of formatting at once.

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To use of themes effectively, first apply styles to your data. Consider the
following chart of information.

Figure 3.127 - An example of data

All information has been correctly labelled and the totals are in place.

Using a number of styles from the Cell Styles command, we have formatted
the worksheet to look like this.

Figure 3.128 - An example of data that has been formatted according

to a style

These styles were applied using the standard Office theme used by all new
workbooks. You can view the current theme by clicking Page Layout 
Themes.

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 Figure 3.129 - Themes command

If you move your mouse over the different themes, you will see the current
styles in your worksheet change depending on the theme. For example, in this
worksheet the Berlin theme is used.

Figure 3.130 - An example of data formatted according to a theme

Themes are pre-packaged with Excel but as with everything else, they are fully
customisable. You can change the colour scheme, fonts and effects by clicking
and browsing through other commands in the Themes group. You can pick a
colour scheme from one of the other themes as well as the fonts.

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 Figure 3.131 - Different colour schemes and fonts for themes

If you click the Effects command, you can change the way objects such as
WordArt, SmartArt and diagrams look, based on another theme.

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 Figure 3.132 - Effects command

Keep in mind that changes to themes are applied to all worksheets in a

workbook. You cannot apply individual themes to each worksheet.

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Exercise: Enhancing a worksheet’s appearance

In the exercise you will learn how to add patterns, use different borders and
apply different themes and styles.


Open Lesson 3.3 from the Exercise Files folder.

Select cells B1:G1 and right click. Select the Format Cells option.

In the Font tab, change the font to Lucida Sans Unicode. Ensure that the font
size is 11pt.

Select cells B2: G31. Create borders for the cell range by choosing the All
Borders option.

Select the numbers under the Rank heading. Change the cell colours to
Turquoise, Accent 1, Darker 25 (RGB: Red: 34 Green: 121 Blue 142).

Select the numbers under the Price heading. Change the cell colours to Gray –
80%, Text 2, Lighter 60% (RGB: Red 181 Green 181 Blue 181).

Click OK.

Save your document as Lesson 3.3. Completed.

3.3.4 Working with charts

If you look at a large table of figures, it can be difficult to understand the data.
Conditional Formatting will help but sometimes a picture is really worth a
thousand words. Excel features powerful charting tools to help you create a
more meaningful representation of your data.

3.3.4.1 Creating a chart

Instead of going through a chart wizard (a series of dialogs that allows you to
choose options), a professional-looking chart can be created in a few clicks.
The main charting tools are found on the Insert tab.

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 Figure 3.133 - Charts group

Before you create a chart, consider the type of chart that you require. Pie and
bar charts are good for displaying comparisons. Line graphs can be useful for
showing trends and plotting relationships between variables. Excel can produce
three-dimensional charts which may not be best for an internal report but
would be great for a website or promotional literature.

To create a chart, select the data that you want to use in it. The data should
include identifiers such as the row headings to identify the data.

Figure 3.134 - An example of data

Now click Insert  Pie to view a list of possible pie charts. For this example,
we will choose the 3D pie chart.

Figure 3.135 - Pie charts

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This action creates a 3D chart in the spreadsheet, showing comparative slices
for the sales per region. Note that the data that was used to create the chart is
highlighted in the worksheet.

Figure 3.136 - An example of data with a pie chart

3.3.4.2 Styling charts with the Design tab

When a chart has been created, it is not cast in stone. You can modify
everything related to the chart including size, colour, layout, visual effects, 3D
effects, chart type and even the data that was used to make the chart in the
first place. In order to work with a chart, click the border surrounding the
chart. Doing so will open a feature of Excel we have not explored in detail yet
called contextual tabs.

Figure 3.137 - Chart Tools contextual tab

Contextual tabs appear when you are working with certain objects (that is, in
context to the object). There are two Chart Tools tabs: Design and Format.
These two tabs are only available when you are working with a chart. If you
were to click elsewhere in the worksheet (deselect the chart), these tabs would
disappear. Click again anywhere in the chart to bring them back.

Each element of the chart can be formatted using the contextual tabs or the
right-click menu.

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3.3.4.3 Modifying charts with the Layout tab
We know that when a chart is created in Excel, two contextual tabs will appear.
The Design tab is used for quickly changing the look of the chart. It allows you
to control the items that are included in the chart including labels, axes and
backgrounds.

The most important section of the Design tab, in terms of charts, is the Chart
Layouts group.

To see how these tools work, look at the following Excel chart:

Figure 3.138 - An example of data with a chart

Add items to the sample chart, starting with a title.

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 Figure 3.139 - Chart title

The title will appear above the data. Click in the title and give the chart a
meaningful name.

Figure 3.140 - An example of data with a title

Add a shape to highlight the record sales in the South.

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 Figure 3.141 - Shapes command found in the Illustration group

Once the shape is selected, click and drag in the chart to place the shape.

Figure 3.142 - An example of text with a shape

The new shape opens another contextual tab, Drawing Tools  Format. This
tab appears whenever you have inserted a shape or drawing. Click the Text
Box command, click and drag an area inside the shape, and type “Record!” to
celebrate the sales.

Click on a chart item again to bring back the Chart Tools contextual tabs.

3.3.4.4 Manipulating a chart

The chart is surrounded by a border. If you move to the edge of a chart
border, your cursor will turn into a four-headed arrow. Click and drag an edge
to move the chart around the worksheet. Click and drag a corner to make the
chart larger or smaller.

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 Figure 3.143 - Changing the size of a chart

You can also click on individual elements within the chart, such as the
individual elements of the chart itself or the legend. For example, you can click
and drag individual elements of an exploded pie chart and drag them towards
or away from the collective centre of the chart.

Figure 3.144 - Changing the size of the chart’s elements

If you want to make a chart an object in another worksheet or move the chart
to a sheet of its own, click Chart Tools – Design  Move Chart. You can
also right click the chart  Move Chart:

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 Figure 3.145 - Move Chart option

This will display the Move Chart dialog box.

Figure 3.146 - Move Chart dialog box

If you click New sheet, give the chart another name. Click OK. This will move
the chart to a sheet all by itself, identified by the worksheet tabs.

Figure 3.147 - A chart sheet

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If you click Object in, select a worksheet and click OK. A copy of the chart will
be embedded into the worksheet as an object.

Finally, to remove a chart from your worksheet, click in the chart area and
press the <Backspace> or <Delete> key on your keyboard.

3.3.4.5 Changing the type of chart

To change the chart type, click the chart and then click Chart Tools – Design
 Change Chart Type.

Figure 3.148 - Change Chart Type command

This will display the Change Chart Type dialog box and highlight the current
chart type.

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 Figure 3.149 - Change chart type

With this box, you can select a new chart type from the list on the left and
then choose a chart style. Click OK to continue.

Additional commands in this dialog include the ability to manage chart

templates and choosing to make a particular chart type the default.

Note that not all chart types will do justice to your data. Some chart
types will not make sense. You may need to experiment with some different
chart formats. Remember that changing the chart type does not affect the
source data. So feel free to switch chart types until you find the right one.

3.3.4.6 Working with the Chart Axes and Data Series

In a typical chart, the axes are the horizontal and vertical scales. Basically,
data is charted with respect to its numerical position along the X or Y axis. A
series is a group of data (a selection of cells) that is to be charted against an
axis. You can have more than one series represented in a chart to show how
the different series (selections of data) compare to each other.

To add more than one series to a chart, right click on the chart and click
Select Data from the menu that appears. When the Select Data Source dialog
box appears, you will see buttons for adding and removing a series of data.

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 Figure 3.150 - Select Data Source dialog box

To add a new series to the chart, click the Add button. This will display an Edit
Series box where you can enter a name for the series in the name field that is
provided. You can also edit an existing series, for example, by selecting more
or less data using the Edit button.

Figure 3.151 - Edit Series dialog box

If you click the button, you will switch back the worksheet where you can
select a range by clicking and dragging your mouse pointer. You can also enter
a data series by typing a range directly into the textfields. Selecting with the
mouse is usually simpler.

In the following stacked line chart, the Sales data and Profit data are
represented against a Y axis consisting of monetary amounts.

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 Figure 3.152 - An example of a chart

To control the chart axes, right click on one of the dollar amounts on the Y axis
and click Format Axis.

Figure 3.153 - Format Axis option

This will display a Format Axis sidebar with the Axis Options heading
highlighted.

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 Figure 3.154 - Format Axis sidebar

The formatting categories should look familiar by now. Here, you have controls
to specify the units and adjust the scale, tick mark and position of the axis
labels. Use any of the other headings on the left to modify the look and feel of
the axis components.

Usually, the more information Excel has to create, the better. If all of your
source data is appropriately labelled and you select the data labels before
creating a chart, it will be correctly labelled. However, if you want to change
the labels on an axis, do the following:

 First, type the new labels somewhere in your worksheet in the same
order as the original labels (you will need them in a moment). This
means that if the current headings (North, South, East, West) were written
horizontally across four columns, type the new headings (A, B, C, D)
horizontally across four columns somewhere else in the worksheet.

 Next open the Select Data Source dialog box and click the Edit button
under the Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels heading.

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 Figure 3.155 - Select Data Source

The Axis Labels dialog box will appear and allow you select the labels you
want from the worksheet. Click and drag your mouse to select the
appropriate cells, or manually type the cell range into the provided box:

Figure 3.156 - Axis Labels dialog box

3.3.4.7 Absolute and Relative Cell References

Earlier in this unit, we saw a cell range that contained dollar signs. Throughout
this manual, we have written the references without dollar signs. These
indicate relative cell references. The dollar signs indicate absolute cell
references. Absolute cell references are a way of making sure that your
charts and formulae are always referencing the right thing. Relative cell
references can move around based on what is happening in the worksheet.

Let us take a moment to discuss how the dollar signs work by looking at an
example. Consider the following worksheet. It contains two values and a
simple equation in C1:

Figure 3.157 - An example of data

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If we add a column between A and B, watch what happens to the formula:

Figure 3.158 - The formula being changed according to a newly

inserted column

As you can see, Excel changed the formula from =A1+B1 to =A1+C1. It was
able to change the relative cell references to make the equation work. Let us
remove the new column and add dollar signs in front of the column/row
identifiers, making the cell references absolute:

Figure 3.159 - Formula bar with absolute cell referencing

If we were to add a column between A and B, the formula will still adjust to its
surroundings. The formula will become =$A$1+$C$1. This means that if you
had to add more data to your current worksheet, you could insert
rows/columns easily.

If we delete column A, watch what happens:

Figure 3.160 - Cell reference error

As you can see, there is now a cell reference error because what was column A
has disappeared, and column C is now column B, erasing the cell reference.

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 Exercise: Working with charts: Part 1

In the exercise you will learn how to create and manipulate

charts.

 Open Lesson 3.4 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Select the cell range A2:D6.
 Click on the Insert tab and select Column from the Charts group.
 Choose the 3D Clustered Column.
 Open Sheet2 by clicking on it.
 Click on the Insert tab and select the Line command from the charts
group. Select the Line with Markers option.
 In the Chart Tools tabs, in the Design contextual tab, click on Select
Data command.

 Type in =Sheet1!$A$2:$D$6 in the By Chart Data Range text box. Click

OK.
 Once the Line chart has been inserted, change the chart layout and
select Layout 5.
 Click in the Chart Title text box and type in Fictional Company Ltd.
 Save your document as Lesson 3.4. Completed.

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3.4 Working with functions and formulas

In this section you will learn to:

 Understand the difference between relative and absolute cell references

 Use basic mathematical operators
 Use formulas with multiple cell references
 Use the formula auditing commands
 Fix formula errors and recognise common errors
 Change error-checking options
 Display and print formulas
 Recognise a function
 Search for functions included with Excel
 Add functions to your worksheet
 Use some useful and simple functions
 Use the IF function
 Work with nested functions
 Break up complex or long functions to make them easier to read
 Use functions and AutoFill together
 Recognise range names
 Define and use range names
 Use commands associated with range names
 Select non-adjacent ranges in the same worksheet
 Use Auto Calculate
 Recognise array formulas
 Define basic array formulas
 Use functions with array formulas
 Use the IF function in an array formula

Excel is a great tool to record, store and sort information, especially numerical
facts and figures. The real versatility of this program can be found by using
formulas to calculate data. Excel can do a massive number crunching, even on
older computers.

To make the most of formulae, you need to understand the bits and pieces
that are used to create them.

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3.4.1 Understanding basic mathematical operators
Excel uses eight basic mathematical operators:

Name Symbol Example

Exponent ^ 10^2 = 100

Multiplication * 10*2 = 20

Division / 10/2 = 5

Addition + 10+2 = 12

Subtraction - 10-2 = 8

Equivalence = 10 = 10

Greater > 10>2

Than

Less Than < 2<10

These operators are listed from top to bottom in order of precedence. This
means that Excel does not simply calculate expressions from left to right:
certain operations are performed before others. Items in boxes have the same
level of precedence. It means that multiplication and division, addition and
subtraction, and the greater than/less than operations each have equal
precedence. Let us look at some examples.

When calculated from left to right, 3*2+4 = 10. 3*2 is evaluated first,
and then 4 is added because multiplication takes precedence over addition.
However, 3+2*4 = 11. (2*4 is 8, 8 + 3 = 11.)

3^2*4 = 36. 3^2 is evaluated first and the result is then multiplied by 4
(exponentiation takes precedence over multiplication). However, 3*2^4 =
48.

You can impose your own order of operations by enclosing expressions in

parentheses (). The operations inside the parentheses will be evaluated before
the operations outside.

If you have parentheses within parentheses, such as ((2+3)*4), the

expression in the inner parentheses, (2+3) =5, will be evaluated first and the
result will be used to evaluate the expression in the outer parentheses, (5*4)
=20.

One easy way to remember precedence order is to remember the word

“BEDMAS, which stands for Brackets (aka Parentheses), Exponents, Division,
Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction:

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 Division and multiplication have equal precedence, calculated from left to right.
 Addition and subtraction have equal precedence, calculated from left to right.

Try the following formulae in Excel:

 (3+2)*2=10
 3+2*2=7
 (10+20)/2=15
 10+20/2=20
 ((4+6)*2)^2=400
 4+6*2^2=28

Remember to put the equals sign (=) at the beginning so that Excel knows
how to calculate a result.

Figure 3.161 - An example of an answer to a formula

3.4.2 Using formulae with multiple cell references

Excel is capable of performing complex calculations relatively quickly. Most of
the time, your calculations in Excel will involve using multiple pieces of data for
each calculation. In order to do this, you will need to be able to reference
multiple cells at the same time.

Consider the following table of data:

Figure 3.162 - An example of data

To calculate profit per item, sales must be calculated and thereafter the cost of
the items must be subtracted from the sales.

To do this, first calculate the sales. Enter =B2*C2 in cell D2:

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 Figure 3.163 - An example of an answer to a formula

This calculation is easy to type because it only deals with two cells. However, if
you need to create a formula based on many different fields, it can be very
tedious to track down the correct cell reference.

If we enter the same formula as above (units sold X price), but click the cells
instead of typing their names, the process goes faster. Click the cell that will
contain the formula and press <equals> (=) to begin the formula. Click the
first cell that is to be added to the formula:

Figure 3.164 - Reference to another cell using the formula bar

Type the mathematical operator and then click the second cell. Notice that
Excel has colour-coded the selected cells so it is easy to review the formula.
Here, B3 is blue and C3 is green. (You can just see the green behind the
flashing black and white border.)

When all the sales values are calculated, we can calculate the profit. Profit is
calculated by subtracting the expenses from the sales. Using what we know
about Excel’s operations and order of precedence, our formula will be:

Sales – (Units Sold * Cost Per Item + Overhead) = Profit

In our example, this translates into the following formula. Note the colour
coding for each cell:

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 Figure 3.165 - An example of data with colour coding

When the correct formula has been entered in the cells, in the Profit column,
the worksheet is complete:

Figure 3.166 - An example of a complete worksheet

3.4.3 Error Checking

This function works like the spell-checking command in a word processing
program. Excel actively checks errors as you are entering formulae. However,
there are some issues that Excel’s automatic checking cannot account for.

For example, here we have mistyped a cell reference in the formula in cell D2.
This affects the formula in this cell as well as the dependent cell in the Profit
column:

Figure 3.167 - Cell reference

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Click the Error Checking command to make Excel scour your worksheet for
errors. If any are found, they will be listed one at a time in the Error Checking
dialog box:

3.168 - Error Checking drop down

In this case, D2 contains a naming error: the cell reference “B” is incomplete.
Use the options in the drop-down to:

 Open Help on this error for specific information about this error
 Show Calculation Steps that were followed to reach this point
 Ignore Error for the time being
 Edit in Formula Bar to fix the error by hand

Click Error Checking Options to open the Options dialog to the Formulas
category. Here, you can enable or disable the background-checking option,
choose the colour used to highlight errors and reset errors that were previously
marked to be ignored.

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 Figure 3.169 - Excel options

Exercise 3.1: Using formulae in Excel, Part 1

In the exercise you will use basic mathematical formulas and get a better
understanding of error checking.

 Open Lesson 4.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

 Increase all column widths to 20pts.
Click on G3. The cell Error should be #DIV/0. To remove the error, in cell F3
type in =B3*C3*D3 and press <Enter>.
 Notice that the error has been removed. This is because the value in cell
G3 has changed to a value that can be divided.

In cell F6 add a = sign before the text B6. Notice how the Error has changed.
This is because B6*C6*D6 is not a formula. G6 uses cell E6 and F6 for
reference.

Save your document as Lesson 4.1 Completed.

3.4.4 Fixing formula errors

If you do not have much experience using formulae and multiple cell
references, do not worry. In some ways, it is difficult to make mistakes in

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Excel. Errors in Excel are best described with an example, so let us keep it
simple. Consider the following data:

Figure 3.170 - An example of data

Let us go over a few of the more common errors and warnings:

Start every If you do not start with a formula with an equals sign, the
formula with formula will simply be text in a cell:
equals (=)

Match all open If you add too many or not enough parentheses, and try
and closed to compute the result, Excel will warn you. Excel can also
parentheses attempt to provide a solution:

Click Yes to accept the correction No to try to fix it

yourself.
Division by By default, Excel treats all empty cells as 0. Since division
zero by 0 is not defined, this results in an error:

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 Notice that a warning message appears and is preceded
by a number sign #, (hash mark). The warning icon
shown beside the active cell offers a menu for help with
this error and some possible solutions.
Value is too If you have a very large number in a small cell or have
large for cell entered a negative number in a cell formatted to hold
width a date or time, the cell will be filled with number signs:

Widen the column or correct the input error to get rid

of the number signs.
Incorrect cell This error occurs if the source data for a formula has
reference been moved or deleted. For example, if we were to
sum A1 and A2 in a formula but then delete column A,
you would see the #REF! error for each cell reference
that no longer exists:

To correct this error, use the Undo command or

replace the missing data if you can.
Null errors The #NULL error appears if two or more cell references
are not separated correctly in a formula, such as if you
forgot to include a mathematical operator:

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This is not an exhaustive list of errors but these are the ones you will run into
most often when working with mathematical operators.

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3.4.5 Exploring Excel functions
The purpose of a function is to provide you with an easy way to perform a
complex calculation so you can focus on results instead of trying to remember
your high school maths equations.

3.4.5.1 What are functions?

Functions are pre-made operations that use input to produce output.
Excel features a number of functions relating to basic math, financial
applications, logic, date & time, and more. Most functions accept input but
some functions do not. Here are two examples:

 The MAX function returns the highest value of a set of values:

o =MAX(5, 10, 9.9)  10
o =MAX(-5, -10, -9.9)  -5
 The PI function takes no input but returns the value of pi to several
decimal places:
o =PI()  3.141592654

For example, if you want to add a column of ten numbers, you could type
=A1+A2+A3+…+A10, but that would quickly become tedious and would also
make the spreadsheet harder to work with. A much more efficient way of
performing this calculation is to use the SUM function.

Figure 3.171 - An example of the SUM function

In this example, we typed “=sum(“ and then clicked and dragged from A1 to
A10, which filled in the values of that cell range. We added a closing
parenthesis and press <Enter>, and the answer was calculated. That is much
easier than typing =A1+A2+A3+…+A10 and allows for much more flexibility if
additional rows are added between the defined range.

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3.4.5.2 Finding the right functions
Functions have been a very important part of Excel right from the beginning
because they make data computation and analysis very easy. In fact, Excel
features over 300 built-in functions to calculate or provide information
regarding:

 Databases
 Date and time
 Engineering
 Finance
 Worksheet metadata
 Logic
 Lookup and reference
 Math and trigonometry
 Statistical analysis
 Text strings
 External (miscellaneous)

You can browse the nine categories available in the Formulas tab:

Figure 3.172 - Formulae tab

You will likely use many of the functions available under AutoSum, Financial,
and Math & Trig. Remember to check the Recently Used menu to look at
functions you have used in the past.

3.4.5.3 Some useful and simple functions

If you are going to be spending time using Excel, there are a number of
functions you might end up using on a regular basis. In no particular order,
here are some of the most commonly used functions:

Function name Example Description

Sum =SUM(B4, C8:D18, 100) Returns the sum of numeric
and/or numerical cell
references.
Average =AVERAGE(C8:D18) Returns the average of
multiple values and/or cell
references.
Count Numbers =COUNT(C8:D18) Returns the number of cells
that contain a non-zero value.

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 Maximum =MAX(B4, C8:D18, 100) Returns the largest value of all
arguments.
Minimum =MIN(B4, C8:D18, 100) Returns the smallest value of
all arguments.

Exercise: Exploring Excel functions

In the exercise you will learn how to use more Excel functions.


Open Lesson 4.3 from the Exercise Files folder.


o
o
o
Calculate the average income, average expenses and average profit by typing
the following:

In cell D29 type =Average(D4:D27)

In cell E31 type =Average(E4:E27)
In cell F33 type =Average(F4:F27)

Press <Enter> when you finished calculating all the values.


Under the cell written Profits Under Bob (I4) type =SUM(F4:F8,F26:F27).
Notice the , in between the formula! This is used to calculate values that
appear in the same column but in different areas.

Under the cell written Profits Under Jill (I7) type in =SUM(F9:F13,F22:F23).

Under the cell written Profits Under Brad (I10) type in
=SUM(F14:F21,F24:F25).

Save your document as Lesson 4.3 Completed.

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3.5 Managing tables

3.5.1 Working with tables and filters

3.5.1.1 Sorting data in a workbook

To sort data in a sheet, select the data that you want to sort. Click on the Sort
command. Choose the order in which you want your data to be sorted. These
commands are also available on the Data tab.

Figure 3.173 - Sort command

For more advanced sorting options, click anywhere in the sheet. Next, click
Data  Sort. This will open the Sort dialog box which allows you to specify
different logical conditions to sort the information within the sheet. For
example, the dialog in the image below is set up to sort the Customer Name
values in ascending order.

Figure 3.174 - Sort dialog box

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 Column Select the column that will be sorted.

Sort On Select the input that will be used to sort the information. Choose
between values, cell colour, font colour, or cell icon. (The last three
items can be used in conjunction with conditional formatting, and
each of these items will introduce additional criteria specific to the
Sort On command.)

Order Select the sort order. This will either be in ascending or descending
order, or sorted based on a customised list. (These custom lists can
consist of any values but have a specified order. For example, the
days of the week – Sunday Monday, Tuesday, etc. – are not in
alphabetical order but do have an associated order.)

Click the Options command in the Sort dialog for additional options.

Figure 3.175 - Sort Options dialog box

You can use the Add Level, Delete Level and Copy Level commands to specify
or edit additional sorting criteria. These criteria will be acted on from top to
bottom, performing subsequent sort operations based on the outcome of the
previous sort. For example, in the image below the list will be sorted by
Customer Name, then by Invoice # and finally by Date:

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 Figure 3.176 - Sort dialog box

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3.6 Adding the finishing touches

In this section you will learn to:

 Use themes to make your work consistent

 Customise theme colours, fonts and effects
 Save and manage custom theme files
 Add a textbox to your worksheet
 Use commands in the Drawing Tools tab
 Edit textbox contents
 Add and edit WordArt
 Add a picture to your worksheet from your computer
 Search for and add Clip Art
 Insert a screenshot
 Recognise commands in the Picture Tools tab
 Use the mini toolbar for pictures
 Resize images
 Move images around your worksheet
 Crop images
 Rotate and flip images
 Describe functionality in the Format Picture dialog

3.6.1 Using themes

For most people, Excel is not visually exciting. Although you can make some
great-looking and informative charts, the data used to generate that chart is
usually nothing but black and white. Most of the time, that is fine. However, if
you are working on an important project or plan to present your data, Excel
makes it easy to turn a sheet of numbers into something a bit more interesting
to look at.

3.6.1.1 Changing the theme

A theme is a collection of colours, fonts and object effects that can be applied
simultaneously to an entire workbook. It allows you to change the look and
feel of a complete workbook with just one click. When used properly, themes
can save time.

Consider the following worksheet. It contains data, a chart and a SmartArt

diagram:

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 Figure 3.177 - An example of data

By default, Excel uses the Office theme. This theme uses the Calibri font and is
coloured with an arrangement of blues, greens, reds, oranges and purples.

To view the other themes, click Page Layout  Themes. Then, select a
theme to use. As you can see, the Office theme is already selected:

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 Figure 3.178 Themes command found in the Themes group

As you move your mouse pointer over the different themes, Excel will
automatically apply theme elements to the current worksheet so that you can
see what each one looks like.

These themes are duplicated in other Office programs like Word and
PowerPoint. If you are working on a project that includes a report, a
presentation and spreadsheet data, you can make each element of your
project look the same using themes.

3.6.1.2 Customising theme colours

Although themes are presented as a collection of colours, fonts and effects,
each of these attributes can be adjusted independently. To change the current
theme colour, for example, click Page Layout  Colors and click a new
colour.

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 Figure 3.179 - Colours found in the Themes group

Point to a colour set to see how the new colours work and then click that set to
apply it to the worksheet. Each themed colour set includes a collection of dark,
light and complementary colours. Theme colours only affect titles and charts,
not cell data. If you want to change the colour of your data, it must be done
manually.

At the bottom of the Colours command, click Create New Theme Colors to
define the dark, light and complementary colours you want to use. Give the
theme a name and then click Save so that you can use your custom theme
later.

Figure 3.180 - Create New Theme Color dialog box

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Custom colour schemes will appear in the Colors menu for easy access later
on.

3.6.1.3 Customising theme fonts

The theme fonts can be changed as easily as the theme colours. Click Page
Layout  Fonts and select a font group.

Figure 3.181 - Fonts found in the Themes group

Each group has a heading and body font, and each font name demonstrates
how the font looks. Move your mouse over a set to see how it looks. If you like
it, click it to apply it to your worksheet.

At the bottom of the Fonts command you can click Create New Theme Fonts
to define the heading and body fonts. Give the theme a name. Click Save so
that you can use this theme in future.

Figure 3.182 - Create New Theme Fonts

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Like custom colours, custom font schemes will also be shown on the Fonts
menu for easy access.

3.6.1.4 Customising theme effects

Theme effects allow you to customise the look of shapes, diagrams and some
charts. To change the effect scheme, click Page Layout  Effects and pick an
effect style from the list.

Figure 3.183 - Effects commands found in the Effects group

Effects schemes cannot be customised.

Exercise: Using themes

In the exercise you will learn how to enhance the look of your workbook by
using themes.


Open Lesson 6.1 from the Exercise Files folder.

Click on the Page Layout tab.

Click on the Themes command and select the Berlin theme.

Click on the Colors command and select the Marquee colour scheme.

Click on the Effects command and select the Inset effect.


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Save your document as Lesson 6.1 Completed.

3.6.2 Adding textboxes

One of the greatest things about a spreadsheet is that you can click a cell and
type. This allows you to add extra instructions or information wherever you
need it. However, there is not very much room in a cell and expanding the row
or column size may distort other elements in the worksheet. This can make it
difficult for you to add titles or supplemental information during spreadsheet
construction.

To correct this, Excel allows you to add free-floating text boxes and WordArt.

3.6.2.1 Drawing a textbox

A textbox is like a virtual sticky note that you can add anywhere on your
spreadsheet. It can be moved anywhere on the spreadsheet without affecting
the underlying data. To insert a textbox, click Insert  Text Box:

Figure 3.184 - Text Box command

Your mouse pointer will change shape to become an upside-down cross.

Figure 3.185 - Upside-down cross

The lower-right quadrant formed by the cross will be the top-right corner of
the text box. Click and drag an area on the spreadsheet to insert a textbox of
that size:

Figure 3.186 - Dragging on an area to create the textbox

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Release the mouse pointer and the textbox is ready for use. Now type your
text.

Figure 3.187 - Text typed in the textbox

The round and square handles around the outside are used to move, size and
rotate the text-box.

3.6.2.2 Inserting WordArt

WordArt is a special type of text that is Designed to enhance titles and
headings within your worksheet. Each piece of WordArt also behaves much like
a textbox in that it can be physically resized using your mouse.

To add WordArt to your worksheet, click Insert  WordArt:

Figure 3.188 - WordArt command

After clicking this command, choose from a number of different WordArt styles.

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 Figure 3.189 - WordArt

The WordArt will appear in the worksheet. Type your text.

Figure 3.190 - An example of WordArt

3.6.2.3 Exercise: Adding textboxes

In the exercise you will learn how to add textboxes and use WordArt.


Create a new Excel spreadsheet.

Click on Insert and click on Text Box. In the textbox type “Adding a text box
is easy”.

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  Under Drawing Tools – Format select Shape Style group and click on the
arrow that will show the different visual effects. Select the “Intense
Effect – Orange, Accent 2” option.
 Increase the textbox to a height of 6cm and a width of 8cm.
 Click on Insert and on WordArt.
 Select the “Fill – Orange, Accent 2, Outline – Accent 2” and place it next
to the text box.
 Type in “Adding WordArt is even easier”.
 Save your document as Lesson 6.2 Completed.

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Unit 4 - Microsoft Access 2016

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Identify and understand basic database terminology

 Open and close Access
 Use Backstage View (File menu)
 Identify different interface features
 Use the tabs and their commands
 Recognise different database warning messages
 Enable content when appropriate
 Assign a password to a database

4.1 Introduction

Microsoft Access 2016 is a database-management program. Data or

information can be in the form of text or numbers and is stored in a table.
Information in one table may relate to information in zero, one or many other
tables. One or more tables of information, when grouped together in a logical
way, are collectively referred to as a database.

Access is Designed to enter, edit and analyse data in a database. Queries are
used to extract information from the tables based on search criteria. You can
use a form as a user-friendly method of viewing, entering or modifying data.
Access can also generate reports (such as quarterly sales by each employee)
based on the data contained in the database.

4.1.1 Basic database terminology

All databases, no matter how big or small, are composed of the same basic
elements. Let us take a look at the terminology used with databases. Consider
the following figure.

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 Figure 4.1 - Terminology used with databases

The table below explains Figure 4.1.

A field is the smallest component of a database. It is one

specific piece of information like a number, a word, a date, or a
reference for some other piece of data. Each column in the
diagram would all be the same data type; that is, one column
Field of data would all be numbers. Each field in a table must have a
unique name.

 Table 1 has three field headings.

 People has two (Name and Age).

A record is a collection of one or more fields together in a row.

Record
 Table 1 has X records, where X is any value >= 0.
 People has three records.

A table consists of zero or more records. (A table with no

information is rare, but still allowed under the “rules” of a
database.) Each table within a database must have a unique
Table name.

 Table 1 is an individual table.

 People is an individual table.

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 A database consists of one or more tables. Each database in a
particular location is also given a unique name just as every
file in a folder must have a unique identifier.
Database
The database in Figure 4.1 contains two tables: Table 1 and
People.

A form is used to work with data in a table easily and

accurately. Forms in Access are usually used in one of two
ways:
Form
 A form can present one record of a database at a time to a
user to view or edit the data.
 A form allows a user to enter new data into the database
one record at a time.

A query is a question asked of a database. There are two types

of queries:

 A select query will extract and display data based on

Query specific search criteria.
 An action query will locate data based on search criteria
and perform some sort of operation on the data. A query
can also be used to add (populate) or delete data, and can
be used on one or more tables in a database.

A report is a formal way of presenting data, usually the results

of a query. Reports can also include summaries, calculations,
Report charts and more based on the data returned by a query.
Formal reports are often used as professional documents that
are suitable for printing, exporting or e-mailing.

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4.1.2 Opening and closing Access
Open Access by clicking Start  All Programs  Microsoft Office 2016 
Access 2016. Alternatively, click Start  in the search box, type Access.
Select Access 2016 from the list.

Figure 4.2 – Microsoft Access 2016

You may also have an icon for Access on your desktop. Double click this icon to
open the program.

Figure 4.3 – Microsoft Access shortcut

Once you have finished working in Access, close the program by clicking the X
Close button in the upper far right-hand corner of the window.

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 Figure 4.4 – Close button

You can also close Access by clicking the File tab and then clicking Close.

Figure 4.5 – Close command

Exercise: Getting started

In this exercise, you will open Access and explore some of the
elements of a new database.

 Click Start  in the search box type ‘Access 2016’. Select Access 2016
to open it.

 When the Access 2016 opening window appears, click Open.

 The following screen will appear:

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  From here you can select an existing document or create a new
database. For the purpose of this exercise you will open an existing
document called Cars.accdb. This database has three tables, one query
and one form.

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 Note Some databases, such as the one used in this module, may contain
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros that can run
code on your computer. This code is used to run database-related
tasks, but databases received from an unknown source may also
contain malicious code that could damage or destroy the information
on your computer. The security warning will appear below the ribbon
if this is the case.

Figure 4.6 - Security Warning

While the warning is displayed, the macros are disabled. Macros can be
enabled in the following three ways:

 Click the Enable Content button.

 By adding the database Publisher to a list of Trusted Publishers, Access
will automatically enable macro content in any database that is signed by
that publisher.
 Place the database file in a Trusted Location. Access will automatically
enable macro content in any database saved in that location. The Trusted
Locations specified with Access are not also trusted by other Office
products.

Documents that contain active content (data connections, macros, and so

on) can be set to Trusted Document. If you know that the active content
is secure (for example, the macro is signed by a trusted publisher), then
you can enable the file’s active content. This makes it a trusted document.
When you reopen the file, the Message Bar does not appear.

 Click Close at the top right of the screen to complete this lesson.

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4.1.4 Interface basics

4.1.4.1 Understanding Backstage View (File menu)

When you first open Access, you will see the opening screen. On this screen
you can click on Open Other Files to access the File menu which will show the
Backstage view. Here, you can choose a recently opened database to work
with, browse for an older database or create a new database. All these options
are listed on the left-hand side of the (opened) screen.

Figure 4.7 - Backstage view

4.1.4.2 Interface overview

When an Access database is opened or created, it opens in a Database
Window. Below is an example of the database window when an existing
Access database is opened.

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 Figure 4.8 - Database window

The elements in the database window are explained below.

Component Description
Commands to save, open, close and print
appear on the File Tab.
Office Backstage view
Contains the Save, Undo and Redo buttons.
Quick Access toolbar This toolbar is completely customisable so that
any commands you add to it will be available
regardless of which tab you have selected.
Title Bar This displays the name of the active database
(when the database window is maximised),
and the Windows minimise, maximise or
restore and close buttons appear on the right
hand side of the title bar.
Ribbon This replaces the traditional menus and
toolbars. The ribbon is organised into task-
specific Tabs which are further divided into
feature-specific Groups.
Navigation pane This displays the database objects.
Click this button to view the relevant dialog
box.
Dialog Launcher
Click to display the gallery of styles available.
More button
Each object that is opened displays as a tab in
the document window.

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 Document tabs
Click on this button to close the current object
in the document pane.
Close tab

4.1.4.3 Using the standard tabs

We know that Access 2016 uses tabs instead of traditional menus and sub-
menus. Access features five standard tabs, visible when you open Access. They
are File, Home, Create, External Data and Database Tools.

Figure 4.9 – Standard tabs in Access

Consider this view of the Home tab, which contains the most commonly used
commands:

Figure 4.10 - Commonly used commands

Each tab has commands that are organised into groups. In Figure 4.10 above,
you can see three groups: Views, Clipboard and Sort & Filter. Each group has
one or more commands. Some of the commands are greyed out, meaning
they are currently disabled. They will be enabled when you work with an object
that can use those commands.

In certain instances, you will see a short description of a command if you hover
your mouse pointer over the command. This is called a screen tip. For
example, if you point to the Table command in the Tables group of the Create
tab, you will see the following screen tip:

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 Figure 4.11 – Create tab

Some groups, such as the Clipboard group on the Home tab, have an option
button in the lower right-hand corner.

Figure 4.12 – Option button

Click this option button to open a dialog box or window component that offers
more functionality than is provided in the ribbon. This particular option button
will open the Clipboard task pane, which allows you to work with objects that
have been cut and copied.

4.1.4.4 Using contextual tabs

Occasionally, you will notice some tabs appear and disappear when working
with different objects in Access. These tabs are called contextual tabs
because they appear only when working with certain objects.

For example, if you open a blank database, a new table will appear in the
Navigation Pane and the working area. This table is shown in Datasheet View,
a view that lets you directly modify the data in a table. You will also see two
contextual tabs appear that deal specifically with tables and their contents.

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 Figure 4.13 – Contextual tabs

If you were to create some other object such as a form or report, the Table
Tools contextual tabs would disappear (since you would have stopped working
with a table) and other contextual tabs might appear.

4.1.5 Database security

The security of all computer programs, databases included, is one of the most
pertinent topics today. Stories relating to Internet threats, identity theft,
computer security breakdowns and fraud have made headline news all too
often and are a common fodder in Hollywood blockbusters.

While many security issues often do not affect the individual user, it is still
important to understand how to protect your information.

4.1.5.1 Warnings you may see when opening a database

If you open a database from an unrecognised location or open a database that
somehow uses macros or other custom procedures, it is likely that a warning
of some sort will appear in the Message Bar. For example, the following
warning appears when you open the cars example database:

Figure 4.14 – Security warning

You might also receive other warning messages stating that Access cannot
perform a certain action because a non-standard operation was encountered or
some part of the database file seems to be missing. It is possible that this
warning might appear not because a problem was detected but because a
certain section of the database might not be fully constructed.

 Don’t panic! These warnings are Designed to protect you, not scare you.
Should you receive warning messages, think about why they may have
occurred. If you received the file from someone else, tell them you
encountered a problem before opening the file.

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 If you are unsure about the file, contact your organisation’s IT department for
help. They may be able to diagnose your problem and provide a solution.
 It may even be that your security settings are too high for this application
(which is not always a bad thing).

4.1.5.2 Enabling content

If you are sure the database file you are opening is safe or you trust the
person who sent you the file, click the Enable Content button in the Message
Bar. Depending on the nature of the content, clicking this button will do
different things:

 Clicking Enable Content will tell Access that you trust this file and the
various scripts and macros will be enabled for use.
 In addition to opening the file, Access will mark this particular file as a
Trusted Document. This means that the file itself is considered “safe”
because you chose to open it and enable its content, even if it is not in a
trusted location.

4.1.5.3 Assigning a password to your database

One of the simplest ways you can protect a database is to use a password. To
set a password, a file must first be opened for exclusive use. This means that
you must open the file so that only you have access to it at the time, and no
one else can open it or make changes to it remotely. To do so, close any open
databases by clicking File  Close.

Figure 4.15 – Close Database option

This will close the database file but will not close Access. Click on the File
menu so you can create a new file. With Backstage View visible, click Open.

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 Figure 4.16 – Open option

Once you have clicked on Open, select the ‘This PC’ option, browse on the
right-hand side to the location of the database you wish to open. Alternatively,
click the Browse button and browse to the location of the database you wish
to open.

Figure 4.17 – Computer option to Browse

When the Open dialog appears, browse to the database file you wish to open.
Click the small pull-down arrow beside the Open button and click Open
Exclusive.

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 Figure 4.18 – Open Exclusive option

The database file will open. Click File  Info  Encrypt with Password.

Figure 4.19 – Encrypt with Password option

When the Set Database Password dialog box appears, type the password you
want to use in the Password field, and then type it again in the Verify field.

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 Figure 4.20 – Set Database Password dialog box

Now, if you close the database and attempt to open it again, you must enter
the password before Access will open it.

Figure 4.21 – Password Required dialog box

Should you need to remove the password, open the file exclusively again and
click File  Info  Decrypt Database:

Figure 4.22 – Decrypt Database option

Enter the password a final time to confirm the removal of the password.

Figure 4.23 – Unset Database Password dialog box

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 Exercise: Database security

In this exercise, you will practise how to define a new trusted

location.

 Open Cars from the Section 1 folder of your Exercise Files.

 The Message Bar will appear near the top of the Access window. Click
the hyperlink text inside the bar:

 This will direct you to the Info section of the File (Backstage) menu.
The security warning information is visible here:

Click Trust Center Settings to continue.

 The Trust Center dialog box will appear and display options for the
Message Bar. Click the Trusted Locations link on the left to continue:

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  When the Trusted Locations dialog box appears, click Add new
location:

 A new dialog box will appear and let you define a new trusted location.
Click the Browse button:

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  Browse to the Unit 3 folder of your Access files (FilesAccess) and then
click OK.

 Check Subfolders of this location are also trusted. Then, click OK

to verify this new location.

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  Finally, click OK to close the Trust Center and commit this change.

 With the File menu still open, click Exit to complete this lesson.

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4.2 Creating a database

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Plan a basic database

 Create a new, blank database
 Open and view different database objects
 Set up the Navigation Pane
 Navigate between objects in a database
 Add, edit and delete records
 Print records
 Create a new, blank table
 Use different views within Access
 Add and edit the components of a table
 Add data to a table
 Format table fields
 Zoom in on and out of different database objects
 Select different database components
 Cut, copy and paste information
 Use the Format Painter
 Use the Undo and Redo functions
 Check your spelling

4.2.1 First steps

Creating a database might seem like a fairly big job but taking the time to
Design one properly from the beginning will save a lot of time later on.

Let us start with a few key concepts. The easiest method of identifying yourself
in everyday life is a simple handshake and saying “Hello, my name is…”
However you cannot really shake hands with a computer. Using your name,
even your full name, is not a very good option either because there may be
hundreds of people with exactly the same name as you. Therefore, you must
be assigned some unique identifier, the most recognisable being your Identity
Number (ID). No one else in your country will have the same identifying
number as you.

This practice holds true for databases, too. Every record in a table should have
at least one field that is unique from every other record. That field is usually a
number, and the unique field is referred to as the primary key. It is not
imperative to have a primary key but it makes the Design of the database
much easier and eliminates the possibility of duplicate data (which does
nothing but confuse the issue!). It also allows a database program to (in most

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cases) search faster and more efficiently. Therefore, we recommend you use a
primary key for every table you make.

For the remainder of this unit, let us pretend that you are Bugs Rabbit,
CEO of an upstart animation company, Warner Cousins. You want to
use Access to monitor the expenses incurred by you and your
employees. Many of the exercises and examples used throughout the
rest of this study guide will reference this scenario.

4.2.1.1 Planning a database

Before you start using Access to create a database, take the time to answer
these questions properly. We’ll answer them from the point of view of Buggs
Rabbit:

 Why do you need a database? I want to keep track of the expenses

incurred by everyone in the company, including myself.
 Who will be using the database? Any employee of Warner Cousins will
have access to this database.
 What kind of data will be extracted from the database? Total
expenses of the company, total expenses by each employee, expenses by
each category.

Once you have answered these questions, it is time to decide how to Design
the tables for your database:

 What fields of data do you need? That is, what data will the database
actually store?
 What data types will the fields need to be? Data types are usually
either text or numbers.
 Which fields will go in which table and do the placements make
sense? You should avoid adding more data than is necessary.

Next comes the planning of relationships between the data. A big list of
numbers does not mean much by itself, but when constructed based on other
data, it becomes meaningful. Finally, make sure that you talk to everyone who
will use the database so that they will be able to get the data they need.

Keep this in mind: in database Design your most powerful tool is not
necessarily a computer, but rather a piece of paper and a pencil (and a big
eraser).Take the time to make sure your database Design is correct and
complete. Not only can you easily change the information you might need but
you can also visualise the information.

Let’s continue with our example. In order to keep track of the expenses
incurred by the employees of Warner Cousins, you will need a table that
contains at least the following:

 Who made the purchase?

 When was the purchase made?

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 What was purchased?
 How much was it?

The payroll department already has a list of all the people who work for the
company. This list includes the following information:

 Employee’s computer registration number(or company ID #)

 Employee’s name
 Employee’s address
 Employee’s phone number
 Employee’s position within the company

Using this list, we now have enough information to Design a simple, functional
database. It will contain two tables: an Expenses table and an Employee
table.
In order for the database to be functional, there needs to be some sort of link
(relationship) between the two tables. You could use the name of each person,
but that may become confusing, especially if your company grows into the
hundreds. There is another option, however. You could use the ID number of
each employee to tie their purchase to their personal information but if that
information ever got into the wrong hands it could be a disaster. Therefore,
each employee should be given a company ID if one has not already been
assigned.

Consider the following diagram, based on the paragraph above:

Figure 4.24 - An example of database planning

It might not look like much, but Figure 427 shows a complete, relational
database. It contains fields, records, a primary key for each record in each
table, and a relationship between the data, defined by the field “Employee ID”.
The relationship between Employees and Expenses is one-to-many, meaning
that one employee can incur many expenses (database relationships are either
one-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-many).

We can see that Employee 2 made two purchases, while Employee 1 made
one. This might seem silly for an example of this size. Why not just say Elmer
Funn instead of Employee 2? As mentioned before, using names can become
impractical if your organisation grows. Imagine that one day your company has
grown to employ thousands of people with hundreds of expenses per day –
that becomes a big pile of data in a hurry! You might have employed three or
four Elmer Funns by now so using a unique number to identify each employee
becomes much more practical.

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4.2.1.2 Creating a blank database
In Access it is easy to create a database from scratch. Open Access or click
File  New. Select the Blank desktop database template:

Figure 4.25 – New option

Give the database a name by typing it in the File Name textbox. You can
choose a save location by clicking the folder icon and then browsing for a
folder on your computer. When you are ready, click Create.

Figure 4.26 – Create button

A new, blank database will appear and is ready for you to start entering your
database Design.

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 Figure 4.27 – Blank database

4.2.1.3 Using database objects

A database object is an individual piece of a database that can be used on its
own. We have touched briefly on the major objects: tables, queries, forms,
reports and macros.

The Navigation Pane is used to control and use the objects in an Access
database. To start, expand the Navigation Pane.

Figure 4.28 – Hidden Navigation Pane

Click the pull-down arrow beside the database name and select Object Type
to display all objects currently in the database.

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 Figure 4.29 – Expanded Navigation Pane

All objects currently in the database are categorised by type.

Figure 4.30 – Categories by type

To see the different objects in each category, click to expand that group.
Each object is listed in alphabetical order.

Figure 4.31–Objects listed in alphabetical order

To open an object, simply double click it. It will open in the main part of the
Access window and will have its own identifying tab.

Some objects, such as reports, can include a time and date stamp on the
object.

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 Figure 4.32 – A table showing all information about certain cars

Access lets you rename or delete objects in your database. However, to do so,
the object must first be closed. To close an object, click the X button to the
right of the object tabs.

Figure 4.33 – X to the right of an object tab

If you need to delete or rename an object, you can do so by right clicking on

the object. A pop-up menu will appear, giving you quick access to certain
commands.

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 Figure 4.34 – Pop-up menu

If you click Rename, simply type a new name for the object and then press
<Enter>.

Figure 4.35 – Renaming an object

If you need to delete an object, Access warns you that the delete operation
cannot be undone.

Figure 4.36 – Warning message

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You can also hide objects to make browsing the Navigation Pane a bit easier.

Figure 4.37 – Hide option

4.2.1.4 Setting navigation options

Access allows you to customise the Navigation Pane. To set the navigation
options, right click the top of the Navigation Pane and click Navigation
Options.

Figure 4.38 – Navigation Options

The Navigation Options dialog box will appear.

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The following dialog box is taken from the Cars sample database:

Figure 4.39 – Navigation Options dialog box

This dialog box contains three main parts: a categories list, a groups list and a
few other options.

The first two options in the Categories list are fixed (Tables and Related Views,
Object Type). However, you can create as many custom categories as you like.
If you highlight a custom category, you have the ability to move it up and
down through any custom categories you may have created.

Figure 4.40 – Customise categories

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Use the Delete Item and Rename Item buttons at the bottom of the categories
list to perform the associated action on the selected category. If you delete a
category, the objects that were in the category will not be deleted.

On the right-hand side of the Navigation Options dialog box is a list of groups
that are included in a category. For example, the groups contained in the
Object Type category outline all database objects in Access.

Figure 4.41 – Object Type category outline

Note that there is one group that is always present in a custom category:
Unassigned Objects.

The settings at the bottom of the Navigation Options dialog box give you a bit
more flexibility when it comes to displaying objects.

If you find your database growing to a level that is

hard to manage, you have the ability to hide certain
objects. This means that they will not be shown in
Show Hidden Objects the Navigation Pane. This will make it easier to find
the main objects in the database. Checking this
checkbox will override any Hide command that you
gave to an object.

There are some background objects and tables that

Show System
Access uses when you are using a database. Check
Objects
this box to display them.

If you end up with a very large and complex

database, and would rather not hide any objects,
you can use a small, simple search bar. This bar
appears at the top of the Navigation Pane:
Show Search Bar

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 Enter the name of the object you are searching for.
As you type, Access will automatically filter the
different objects based on the keyword you are
inputting.

The search bar filters the relevant names for each

group as you type. For example, if you know the
object you are looking for includes the word “order”,
begin typing it into the search bar. Expand the
section where you want to look for matching results:

Lastly, you have the option to open an object from the Navigation Pane using
either a single click (like a Web page hyperlink) or double click (default).

Exercise: First steps

In this exercise, you will create a new database file for Warner
Cousins. You will then experiment with the different ways of
manipulating objects using the Navigation Pane.

 Open Access and make sure the Blank desktop database template is
selected.

On the right-hand side of the screen, click the small folder icon to
choose a save location. Browse to the Section 2 folder of your Exercise
Files and name this new database “Warner Cousins Expenses”. Click OK
when you are done.

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  Click Create to continue.

 A new database with one empty table will appear. Click inside the Click
to Add field and type “1”.

Close this table by clicking on the X found on the right-hand side of the
Table1 tab.

 Click Yes to save the changes, and then name the table “Employees”.

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  Click Create  Table.

 When this new table appears, click in the Click to Add field, enter the
number “2” and then close the table. Save this table as “Expenses”.

 Click File  Save Database As and save this database as “Lesson 2.1
A Completed”.

 The database will be saved under this new name. Click File  Close
Database to continue.

 Open the Northwind database provided in the Section 2 folder. Rename

it to “Lesson 2.1 B”.

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  Expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content in the Message
Bar. Log in as Andrew Cencini.

 Close the Home form.

 Change the Navigation Pane to view All Access Objects. Then, expand
the Forms category.

 Right click the Home form and rename it “Starting Page”.

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 Press <Enter>. The newly renamed form will be sorted alphabetically
with the rest of the forms.

 Expand the Tables group and right click the Orders Status table. Click
Delete.

You will be prompted to confirm your choice. Click on Yes.

You will then be warned that deleting this table will sever some
relationships in this database. Click Yes to continue.

 Right click the Navigation Pane title bar and click Navigation Options.

 The Navigation Options dialog box will appear. Click the Add Item
button, type “My Category” and press <Enter>.

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  Now add three groups to this new category by clicking the Add Group
button.

 Uncheck the Show Search Bar checkbox and then click OK to continue.

 Back in the Navigation Pane, you will now be able to choose this new
category from the list of options in the navigation menu. Do this now.

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  Here, you will see the three custom groups and then a list of
unassigned objects (in this case, all database objects).

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 Click and drag some of the unassigned objects into the three custom
groups. Add a few objects to each group so you end up with something
like this.

Save the database as Lesson 2.1 B Completed and then close Access.

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4.2.2 About records

4.2.2.1 What is a record?

A record is defined as one or more fields of data that create a single entry in a
table. As we have learned, each record should have a primary key; that is,
some unique identifier that sets it apart from every other record in a table.

4.2.2.2 Navigation tips

Imagine you are working on this simple table in Datasheet View:

Figure 4.42 – An example of a table

Before discussing how to navigate between the fields in a table, let us take a
quick look at the features Access has automatically added. The “ID” field was
inserted for use as the primary key. Every table should have a primary key of
some sort.

“Field1” and “Field2” are column headers that identify columns of data. The
last field, “Click to Add”, was automatically added by Access. This is not a
column of data like the others but can easily become one should you need it.

The field in the upper left-hand corner is currently highlighted in orange. To

move the cursor to a different field, use the mouse and click inside any other
field. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the selection
to a different field.

Using the mouse and keyboard is fine for tables of data that can fit on your
screen; however, the majority of tables in databases are quite large. It
becomes impractical to scroll up and down or press and hold the arrow keys to
reach your destination. To help with navigation, there is a small toolbar at the
bottom of Datasheet View.

Figure 4.43 – Datasheet View

To browse through the various records, use the small arrow icons.

First Moves to the first record in the table.

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 Previous Moves to the previous record.

Next Moves to the next record.

Last Moves to the last record in the table.

Creates a new record at the end of the

New
table.

Access lets you search for a particular entry with the Search textbox. Simply
type in the keyword or number you are looking for and press <Enter>.

At the very bottom of the Access window, in the status bar on the right-hand
side of the screen, you will see a two small icons. These icons denote which
view you are currently using to work with the current object.

4.2.2.3 Adding records

There are a few different ways to create a new record. Try using all of them.
Depending on your level of experience with using a computer, you will likely
find one that is easy for you to use.

Let us start with working directly with a table. Scroll to the bottom of the table.
Click inside the row with (New) and press <Enter>. The highlighted field will
automatically move to Field1 in your table, and you can now enter your data.

Figure 4.44 – Highlighted field where you can type in new data

Pressing <Enter> or <Tab> will advance you to the next field in the row. If
you have reached the end of the record and press <Tab> again, Access saves
the current record and then moves the highlighted field to the next row where
you can create a new record.

The second method involves using the Home tab. The Records group contains
a New record command ( ). (Alternatively <Ctrl> and <+> to access
this command.) Click this to make a new record at the end of the table.

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The last method is by using the navigation bar located at the bottom of
Datasheet View. Click the new record command to add a new record to the end
of the table:

Figure 4.45 – Adding a New (blank) record

4.2.2.4 Editing records

If you made an error or need to change information in a record manually, open
the table containing the data, scroll to or search for the data field you need to
change, click inside the field, and enter the new information. As you are
entering data into a table, a small pencil icon will appear to the left of the
record you are editing.

Figure 4.46 – Small pencil icon

It is important to note that Access saves data automatically after every change
to a data field. It is not necessary to save the database manually after every
change.

The only field you cannot modify in this way is the primary key. If there is
some reason to modify the primary key, it is best to delete the record
(described below) and make a new one with a new primary key.

4.2.2.5 Deleting records

Consider the following table.

Figure 4.47 – An example of a table

If you want to delete a single record, click any of the grey boxes to the left of
the records. This will select the entire row of data.

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 Figure 4.48 – Selected row highlighted

Click the small pull-down arrow beside the Delete command on the Home tab
and click Delete Record.

Figure 4.49 – Delete Record option

Access warns you that you are about to delete a record:

Figure 4.50 – Warning message

Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Another way to do this is to right-click the box to the left of the record and
select Delete Record from the pop-up menu.

Figure 4.51 – Pop-up menu with the Delete Record option

Deleting records in this manner is fine for a few items but impractical if you
need to remove a lot of data from a table. Therefore, Access allows you to
delete multiple records at once. However, as a safety feature, you can only
delete groups of adjacent records. In other words, you cannot select only those
records you want to delete and delete them all at once.

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To select a group of records, click the box to the left of the first record you
want to delete. This will highlight that row.

Figure 4.52 – Highlighted row

Now press and hold the <Shift> key and click the box beside the last record
you want to delete. This will highlight a block of records.

Figure 4.53 – Highlighted block of records

Now click the Delete command on the Home tab and click Delete Record.
You will be warned that this operation cannot be undone. Click Yes to confirm
the deletion. The right-click shortcut also applies here: keep the <Shift> key
held down and right-click any of the records. You can then delete that group of
records.

4.2.2.6 Printing records

Access allows you to print a selection of records. First, highlight the record(s)
you would like to print.

Figure 4.54 – Highlight records you want to print

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Next, click File  Print  Print.

Figure 4.55 – Print command in Backstage View

When the Print dialog box appears, click the Selected Record(s) radio button
and the number of copies. Click OK to print.

Figure 4.56 – Print dialog box

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Exercise: About records

We have come a long way in our exploration of Access. By now you should be
comfortable with the basics of navigating the interface and using the
Navigation Pane. In this exercise, you will learn about what lies at the core of
all databases – the records that store data. You will practise record
management and navigation.


Open the Lesson 2.2 database from the Section 2 folder of your Exercise Files.
If necessary, expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content in the
Message Bar.

Double-click the Employees table to view the contents in Datasheet View.


Click inside the next empty SIN field and enter the following:

 “987654111” in the SIN field. (Press <Tab> to switch to the next field.)
 “Daffy” in the First Name field.
 “Goose” in the Last Name field.
 “VP Marketing” in the Title field.
 “123-456-1234” in the Phone field.

Press <Enter> to accept these changes.

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 
Right-click the box beside Foglight Leghorn’s record and click Delete Record.

When prompted, click Yes to delete this record.


Select the last two records in this table (Elmer Funn and Daffy Goose).


Click File  Print  Print.

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
When the Print dialog box appears, select the Microsoft XPS Document Writer
as the printer, click the Selected Records radio button, and click OK.


You will be prompted to give the XPS file a name. Browse to the Section 2
folder of your Exercise Files and save the file as “Lesson 2.2 Completed”. Click
Save to continue.

Close Access to complete this lesson.

4.2.3 Creating a table

Tables are the heart of a database. Without tables, there is no data. Not
having any data does not make much of a database!

4.2.3.1 About tables

You should be very familiar with the components of tables by now. We know a
table is made up of several records each containing fields with data. Access
also makes it easy to build and modify any component of a table using Design
View.

When Designing a database, it is critical that you take the time to Design your
database carefully. Although it is not a difficult job to make some adjustments
to a field, adding or removing fields in a large established database can be a
real headache. It is important to communicate with everyone who will be using
the database to make sure that the necessary information for everyone
involved will be available.

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4.2.3.2 Creating a table
There are several different ways of creating a table in Access: opening an
empty table and inputting values, using a template or using Design View to
construct your table manually.

Use the Templates and Tables groups of the Create tab to create a table.

Figure 4.57 – Templates and Tables groups

Click the Application Parts command to view some

available table templates. Table templates can be found
under the Quick Start heading:

Application
Parts

Click a template from the list. It will open a new, empty

table in the main part of the Access window. Note that
some of the templates under the Quick Start heading open
more than just a new table. Some also open supporting
queries, forms and reports.

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 Click the Table command to open a new, empty table. A
new tab will open, containing an empty table in Datasheet
View:

Table

Click inside the Click to Add column and start entering

data. Press <Enter> to keep adding fields to the record,
and then press <Tab> or click the command to
move to the next record.

Click the Table Design command to open a new blank

table. A new table will appear in Design View, and the
Table Design Table Tools – Design contextual tab will appear, giving you
access to a number of common table commands. With
Design View, you can start to build your table.

SharePoint is an online portal used to share information

within an organisation. Data can be stored within
SharePoint, just as you would use Access to record lists of
information. Therefore, you can create tables in Access
that are usable in a SharePoint portal:

SharePoint
Lists

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4.2.3.3 Using Design View
When constructing a table in Design View, you will see the following:

Figure 4.58 – Access interface

Let us go over the different parts of this view.

This contextual tab gives you access to common

1.
commands available when creating a table. You can
Table Tools –
define a primary key, insert or delete fields, view and
Design
modify properties, define relationships, and more.

Give each field a meaningful name. Field names can be

64 characters long so make sure the names are
descriptive. This will make your database much easier to
2.
work with if other people need to use it.
Field Name
Generally, the first field of a table is used as the primary
key though this is not a firm rule.

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 Access supports a large number of data types so you will
no doubt be able to find exactly what you need. Here is a
quick summary of the various data types:

 Short Text: Used to hold a small amount of general

alphanumeric characters, e.g. names, product
codes, etc.
 Long Text: Like the text data type long text is only
Designed to hold more text. Rich text, including
text formatting and styles, can be applied within a
memo.
 Number: Used to hold numeric information. There
are a number of subdata types to hold different
categories of numbers (integers only, decimal
numbers, very large numbers, etc.).
 Date/Time: Choose from a variety of date and time
formats.
 Currency: Used to hold numeric information only in
a variety of formats (such as dollars, Euros,
percentage, etc.).
 AutoNumber: Default type used with primary keys.
The AutoNumber data type is always >= 1 and will
3.
automatically increment, never repeating
Data Type
previously used or skipped values.
 Yes/No: Also called a Boolean value, this data type
has only two values: True/False, Yes/No, On/Off.
 OLE object: OLE objects are linked to other values,
usually in another database.
 Hyperlink: Provides links to Web pages, e-
mail addresses, or other pieces of information
stored elsewhere. (Useful if browsing employee
contact info with a form and you want to send
someone an e-mail.)
 Attachment: This data type allows you to include a
file with a database record, just as you would
attach a file to an e-mail message.
 Calculated: With the calculated data type, you can
define a formula that calculates a value using
values from other fields (Field1 + Field2/Field3).
 Lookup Wizard: Use this wizard to create a lookup
field where you can choose from a number of
defined values. (For example, you could choose
between in stock, out of stock, pending shipment,
back-ordered, etc.)

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 Include some extra detail on what the field is used for,
what the idea behind the field was, etc. If you have a
4.
large table with many fields and complex field names,
Description
help yourself and others determine the purpose of the
field by giving it a meaningful description.

When working in Design View, this box will give at-a-

glance information about the item you are currently
working with. For example, if you click in the Field Name
column to add a new field, the Information Box states, “A
5.
field name can be 64 characters long, including spaces.
Information Box
Press F1 for help of field names”.

The Information Box is very useful when defining

properties for a field (6).

At the bottom of Design View is the Field Properties

section. Here you can modify all of the properties of a
particular field. Each data type has its own specific set of
properties.

For example, here are the default properties for the

Number data type:

6.
Field Properties

4.2.3.4 Entering data into a table

Access provides you with a few ways to enter data. You can enter in the data
manually, use a form or the Import commands in the External Data tab.

To enter data manually, open a table in Datasheet View by double-clicking

its name in the Navigation Pane. If you make an error while entering data, like
accidentally entering a word into a number field, Access will prompt you with
an error message stating so.

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For example, consider the following Employees table for Warner Cousins. The
ID is a Number data type. If you try to enter non-numeric characters into this
field, you will see the following warning:

Figure 4.59 – Warning message

There may be an instance where it is necessary to have both letters and

numbers in the same data field (such as the Telephone field). Luckily, the Text
data type allows you to type in any characters you like.

The next method of entering data is by using a form. We defined a form

earlier as a way of entering data into a table one record at a time. In the figure
below, Access constructed a simple form based on the Employees table when
the Form command was clicked in the Create tab.

Figure 4.60 – An example of a form

You may recognise the navigation buttons at the bottom of the form. You can
use these buttons to move back and forth through the records in a table as
well as create a new record, just as you could with table data.

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4.2.3.5 Formatting a table
The Microsoft Office suite of programs has always provided a great amount of
flexibility when it comes to modifying the look and feel of your work. Access
2016 is no different, letting you modify just about everything.

If you look at a table in Datasheet View, the table is by default

clean and simple, with alternating colours for each row to make
the records easier to read:

You can modify the background colour by clicking the Text

Enterin Formatting option button on the Home tab:
g Text

This will open the Datasheet Formatting dialog box and let you
change the alternating background colours as well as the gridline
colour. Each option uses the same colour palette.

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 Adjust the colours as you see fit. You can see the result of
changing colours under the Sample heading in the dialog
below. Click OK when you have made your changes.

The other commands in the Text Formatting group on the

Home tab let you modify the font, font size, text style,
Font Options orientation, gridlines, background colour, and more, for
the entire table. Any modifications you perform will be
applied to the entire table.

Occasionally you may have very large amounts of data to

put into a single field. For example, the Long Text data
type that can hold a total of 65 535 characters – that is
Row about 40 pages of text! You can expand the dimensions of
Height/Field rows and columns to be able to view the contents of a
(Column) table.
Width
To do this, click the More command in the Records group
on the Home tab. In the pop-up menu you will see entries
for Row Height and Field Width:

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 With Row Height, you can specify a unit of measurement
or leave it at Standard height.

With Column Width, you can specify a unit of

measurement for width or choose Best Fit, which will
automatically adjust the column to the width of the widest
field’s entry.

You can also adjust the row height and column width
manually. Place your mouse pointer on the lines dividing
the rows and columns from each other. Your mouse
pointer will turn into a double-headed arrow ( for rows,
for columns). Click and drag in the dimension displayed
by the arrow to drag the height or width.

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Exercise: Creating a table

In this exercise, you will create a new table in the Warner Cousins database
and format it.

 Open Lesson 2.3 from your Exercise folder. If necessary, expand the
Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.

 Click Create  Table. When the new table appears, click Home  View 
Design View or Table Tools  Fields  View  Design View.

 In order to edit the table in Design View, save the table. Access will prompt
you to do this. Name the table “Expenses” and click OK.

 When the Design View appears, type the name “Expense ID” into the first
Field Name cell (highlighted in orange):

 Press <Tab>. This will advance the cursor to the Data Type combo box.
Leave the AutoNumber as the default data type. Press <Tab> once more to
advance to the Description Field. Enter “Unique ID for each expense claimed
to the company”.

 Enter the following information into the table and press <Tab> to move
between fields.

 Click Save on the Quick Access Toolbar and then switch to Datasheet View.

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 Click inside the Employee ID field and enter “1”. Press <Tab> to advance to
the Expense Date field. Click the small calendar icon that appears beside the
field.

 A small calendar will appear. Click the arrows on either side of the month
heading until you see October 2013. Click October 25th.

 Press <Tab> to advance to the Amount field. Enter “38.67” and press
<Tab>. Access will automatically fill in the currency sign/symbol.

 Type “Erasers” for the description.

 Enter two more records, like this:

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(The full description of the second item is “Flight from Albuquerque” and the
third item, “Acme Explosives”.)

 As you can see from the field headings, not all the data or the heading
names fit into the default field width. In order to make the table more
readable, adjust the width of these fields.

 Click any of the field headings to select that column. Click Home  More 
Field Width.

 When the Column Width dialog box appears, click Best Fit.

 This will adjust the width of the field to the widest element, be it bigger or
smaller than the current size. You can also easily adjust the field width by
double clicking the divider between each field heading. Do this now for each
field.

 Select any field and click the Bold command on the Home tab. Your table
should now look like this (with the headings and data bolded).

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Save the database as Lesson 2.3 Completed and then close Access.

4.2.4 Formatting text

Although the data within a database is just a collection of letters and numbers,
many people prefer to have the data presented in a nice way that is easily
readable or in a colour scheme that matches their particular company.

4.2.4.1 Using the Zoom box

The Zoom box is a unique feature of the Print Preview command. It is used to
quickly zoom in and out to check the look of your document before you print it.
For example, if you create a report based on the Employees table of the
Warner Cousins database, the report will be shown in Layout View. To switch
to Print Preview, click the icon located in the bottom right-hand corner of the
window.

Figure 4.61 – Print Preview

The Print Preview mode features its own tab. The Zoom box is located in the
bottom right-hand corner of the Access window.

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 Figure 4.62 – Zoom box

Click the + or – buttons to increase or decrease the level of zoom. You can
also click and drag the small slider control in the Zoom box for a custom level
of zoom. Use the Zoom box in conjunction with the commands on the Print
Preview tab to see as many as 12 pages of the report at once. At any time,
you can click the zoom percentage beside the minus button to jump between
100% zoom and a level of zoom that shows one complete page at a time.

4.2.4.2 Selecting data

You can select any or all adjacent fields or records in a table at once. To select
all the data within a table, open the table in Datasheet View and press <Ctrl +
A>. You can also click the Table Selector button (located in the upper left-
hand corner of Datasheet View) to perform the same action.

Figure 4.63 – Table Selector

To select two or more adjacent records, click the grey box to the immediate
left of a record to highlight it. Press and hold the <Shift> key on your
keyboard and click the box beside another record in the table. All records in
between will be selected, including the record you clicked.

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 Figure 4.64–Highlighted records

To select two or more adjacent columns, move your mouse pointer over a
column header. It will become a small down arrow. Click and hold the left
mouse button and drag left or right to highlight as many columns as you want.

Figure 4.65 – Highlighting certain columns

Finally, you can also select any range of adjacent cells inside a column of data.
For example, imagine you want to highlight these fields from the Northwind
sample database.

Figure 4.66 – An example of a table

First, click inside the ID field where the value is 6. Click and drag your mouse
down to the field for Northwind Traders Beer.

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 Figure 4.67 – Selected fields

Once you have selected any combination of rows, cells or columns, use the
Cut, Copy and Paste commands.

4.2.4.3 Cutting, copying and pasting

Once you have selected the data you want, you can easily copy and paste it
elsewhere. To copy highlighted data from a table, right click the data you have
selected and click Copy, click Home  Copy, or press <Ctrl + C>.

Figure 4.68–Copy command

This saves a copy of the highlighted data on the clipboard of your PC. Once
data has been copied, it can be used in a word processor, a spreadsheet or any
other program that uses text and numerical data. To paste the data on the
clipboard to another program, click Edit  Paste, right-click somewhere in the
program and click Paste, or press <Ctrl + V>. Keep in mind that when
pasting your data, the previously copied data will be the data that will be
pasted.

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Pasting data into a table is a bit more complicated. You will need to make sure
that the source data (what you copied) does not have the same primary key as
any record currently in your table. If you do, Access will prompt you with an
error message saying that a duplicate primary key has been detected in the
table. You must first assign a new primary key to the pasted record(s) in order
to continue.

To perform the Paste operation, copy the data from the source program and
paste it into the Datasheet View of a table by right clicking inside the upper-
leftmost cell where you want to place the data and click Paste.

Cutting data in Access requires care if the table you are cutting the data from
is related to many other tables in the database. Cutting data from a table has
the same effect as deleting data so that it no longer exists in the source table.

Therefore, if there are other tables in the database that rely on the information
you are potentially removing, remove the relationship between the two tables
first. Cutting data has the same sort of effect as copying data: it is stored on
the clipboard of your PC until you paste it into another program.

4.2.4.4 Using the Format Painter

The Format Painter is used to copy the formatting style of one object and
“paint” other things with the same formatting. This tool is very useful if you
are updating the look and feel of a database or if you need to apply a lot of
changes quickly. The use of the Format Painter is best shown by example.
Here is the Employee Details form from the Northwind Traders database:

Figure 4.69 – An example of a form

Open the form in Design View by right clicking the form in the Navigation Pane
and clicking Design View. Here, you can adjust the formatting, position and
function of the items in the form. Select one of the field labels, such as First
Name.

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 Figure 4.70 – An example of a selected field

The current formatting for the label appears in the Form Design Tools – Format
tab in the Font group:

Figure 4.71 – Form Design Tools – Format tab, in the Font group

The small paintbrush icon ( ) is the Format Painter. To see exactly how it is
used, change the formatting of the label and make sure it is still selected.

Use the Format Painter in one of two ways: click it once to “paint” the
formatting somewhere else one time, or double click it to “paint” formatting
multiple times. If you double click the Format Painter and then click all the
other field names, these will all use this new formatting.

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 Figure 4.72 – Format Painter

To stop using the Format Painter, click the Format Painter icon once more to
turn it off.

4.2.4.5 Using Undo and Redo

Undo and Redo are used as a way to recover or reinstate changes you have
made to an object. Like Cut, Copy and Paste, you can perform the Undo and
Redo command in many different situations using Access (and many other
programs). Like Cut, Copy and Paste, Undo and Redo have their own keyboard
shortcuts: <Ctrl + Z> and <Ctrl + Y> respectively.

The Undo and Redo commands are standard in the Quick Access Toolbar. If
you accidentally change the font used in a control, use the Undo command to
erase the changes and use the old font again.

Access also gives you the option to step backwards through the last several
operations you performed. To see the operations that were performed
previously, click the small pull-down arrow beside the Undo command in the
Quick Access Toolbar.

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 Figure 4.73 – Undo command in the Quick Access Toolbar

Pick the option in the list you want to Undo. Access will revert the actions in
the reverse order in which they were performed.

The Redo command will “undo the Undo” and revert any Undo commands back
to their original state. Click the pull-down arrow beside Redo to view a list of
undone changes.

The only exception to the Undo and Redo command is the deletion of
data. If you are not 100% sure that a certain piece of data can safely be
removed, you should back up the database before doing anything. If records
are deleted because of an Undo or Redo command, their deletion cannot be
reversed.

4.2.4.6 Checking your spelling

Depending on the data, your database may be filled with words that a spell
checker might consider incorrect, including words in abbreviated form, words
containing numbers and symbols (like product codes), and proper nouns.
Nonetheless, Access still provides automated spell checking to check objects
for misspelled words. For example, let us say you misspelled the word Street.

Figure 4.74 – An example of a spelling mistake

Access’ Spelling command can find and report errors like the one above if you
activate the command in the Records section of the Home tab.

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 Figure 4.75 – Spelling dialog box

The Spelling dialog box will appear and display the unrecognised word in the
Not In Dictionary field. The dialog box has several features to make spell
checking easy, e.g. it offers possible spelling matches in the Suggestions list.
You can also specify which language you would like the spell checker to use in
the Dictionary Language combo box.

The buttons on the right-hand side of the dialog box give you the following
options:

Ignore *** If the field containing the error is full of unrecognised words,
Field you can tell Access not to check the field anymore.

Ignore Skip over this instance of the word.

Ignore All Skip over all instances of this word.

Change this word to the highlighted suggestion in the

Change
Suggestions box.

Change all instances of this word to the highlighted

Change All
suggestion in the Suggestions box.

Add this misspelled word to the spell checker’s dictionary so

Add
any further instances will be considered correct.

AutoCorrect is a special function of Microsoft Office that is

Designed to change a misspelled word always to the first
suggestion. For example, if you had to type a certain word
AutoCorrect
many times but always seem to misspell it, AutoCorrect can
change certain misspelled items to their correct
counterparts.

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Exercise: Formatting text

In this exercise, you will use the Copy and Paste functions as well as some
different formatting options.


Open Lesson 2.4 from the Section 2 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.

Double click the Employees table in the Navigation Pane. Click Create 
Report to make a new report based on the current Employees table. The new
report will open in Layout View, a view that lets you arrange and format report
elements while viewing the data at the same time:


Click Report Layout Tools – Design  View  Design View.

In Design View, you can arrange and modify every aspect of a report to display
the information you need:

The light grey bars that intersect the report, indicate the various sections. For
example, Report Header appears only on the very first page of the report,
while the Page Header labels will identify each column of data for every page
of the report.

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  Click any of the objects under the Page Header bar to select it. Use the
Text Formatting section of the Home tab to modify how the label will
look.

Here, we have chosen a new font, changed the text and fill colour, and
applied italic text effects:

 Now double click the Format Painter command in the Clipboard group
of the Home tab. Click each of the labels in the Page Header area.
These will now all be formatted in the same way. Notice that your
mouse cursor has a small paintbrush icon beside it:

Click the Format Painter command again to turn off this command.

 Close the Employees report and save the changes you have made.
Name the report “Employees”.

You should now be looking at the Employees table in Datasheet View.

Click in the cell containing the ID for Mariya Sergienko. Move your
mouse pointer to the top right side of the orange border until it
becomes a thick cross. Click and drag across the Last Name, First
Name, E-mail Address and Job Title columns of data:

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  Press <Ctrl + C> on your keyboard to copy the data. Click inside the
ID field for Robert Zare and select the same fields (Last Name, First
Name, E-mail Address and Job Title). Press <Ctrl + V> to paste the
copied data>.

 Click Home  Spelling.

If there are any spelling errors, click on Ignore All for every instance
of spelling errors. When you are done, click OK to complete the check.

 Save the database as “Lesson 2.4 Completed” and then close Access.

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4.3 Doing more with your database

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Recognise the difference between bound and unbound form controls

 Create a basic form
 Create a form using the wizard
 Modify a form in Design View
 Use forms to view and/or enter data
 Create a query with the wizard
 Modify a query using Design View
 Create a report with the wizard
 Modify the layout of a report using Design View
 Use Find and Replace to find information
 Sort the data in a table or query results
 Use filters to narrow large numbers of query results quickly
 Use the different object views
 Switch between multiple database objects
 Close individual database objects
 Use the Save As dialog and save in different formats

4.3.1 Creating and using forms

4.3.1.1 What is a form?

A form is an easy way to input data into a database or view data one record at
a time. It contains fields that let you type/view the information for each field,
or be customised to perform a certain task such as run a query or macro.

We have seen a few examples of forms along the way, such as those featured
in the Northwind Traders sample database.

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 Figure 4.76 – An example of a form

Forms can also include functionality not directly related to a table. For
example, the Login window that appears when you open the Northwind Traders
sample database is actually a form as well.

4.3.1.2 Bound vs. Unbound Controls

We can define a control (in the context of a form) as some object contained in
the form. For example, consider the Login window for the Northwind Traders
database.

Figure 4.77 – Login Dialog

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This form contains two controls: a combo box which allows you to select a
name from a list of employees, and a Login button that will confirm the
employee selection and open the Home page of the Northwind database (which
is actually another form). All controls in Access, no matter how these are used,
fall into two categories: bound and unbound.

A bound control is one that is directly related to some aspect of a database

object. Consider the following Product Details form:

Figure 4.78 – An example of a form

There are controls at the top to jump to a different product, save changes to
the existing product and make a new one, or close the form. Every field listed
here contains a textbox where you can enter or modify data. The fields here
are directly linked to the Products table in the database and are all considered
bound.

An unbound control is one that is not directly related to a database object

but still serves some useful purpose. For example, the Login button in the
Login window is a control that performs an action but does nothing to the data
in the database.

Another example might be a print button. It may call a query and construct a
report based on the query results but does not modify the existing data in any
way.

4.3.1.3 Creating a basic form

Creating a basic form from an existing table is very easy. Open a table in
Datasheet View and then click Create  Form.

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 Figure 4.79 – Create Form command

A new generic form - based on all fields in that table - will appear and is ready
for use.

Figure 4.80–An example of the form created

4.3.1.4 Creating a form using the Wizard

Access features a wizard that allows you to specify how you would like a form
to look and what table it should be based on. Access then does the hard work
for you and creates a usable form in only a few clicks.

To create a form using the Wizard, click Create  Form Wizard.

Figure 4.81 – Form Wizard command

First, select which table (or query) Access should base the form upon. We are
using the Warner Cousins Employees table as the base for this form.

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 Figure 4.82 – Form Wizard dialog box

Next, specify which field(s) you want to use in the form. Highlight a field in the
Available Fields list and then click the > button. This will move the field to the
Selected Fields list.

Figure 4.83 – The ˃ button

You can also click >> to move all fields from one list to the other, or click < or
<< to move Selected Fields items back to Available Fields. The order in which
you add fields is not that important but it may save you time if you add them
in the order you want to begin with. In this example, we will add all Available
Fields in their default order. When you are ready to proceed, click Next.

The next step of the wizard lets you choose the layout for your form. Select
one of the layouts by clicking the appropriate radio button. If the preview is to
your liking, click Next.

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 Figure 4.84 – Layout option found in the Form Wizard dialog box

We will continue by using the Columnar layout.

The final page of the Wizard lets you name the form. Give the form a
meaningful name.

Figure 4.85 – Naming the form in the Form Wizard dialog box

By default, when you click Finish, the form will open so you can start using it
right away. The second radio button option allows you to open the form in
Design View where you can modify every aspect of a form.

If you leave the first radio button selected, clicking Finish will open your new
form and let you use it right away.

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 Figure 4.86 – An example of a form after using the Form Wizard

4.3.1.5 Using Design View to modify your form

Design View gives you complete control over how a form should look. To enter
Design View immediately after using the form wizard, make sure you choose
the “Modify the form’s Design” radio button in the final step.

Figure 4.87 – “Modify the form’s Design” radio button

If you want to modify the Design of an existing form, double click the form
object in the Navigation Pane and then switch to Design View using the View
command.

Figure 4.88 – View command

Let us take a look at what’s going on in Design View:

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 Figure 4.89 – An example of a form in Design View

At the top of the window, you will see three new contextual tabs appear: Form
Design Tools – Design, Arrange and Format. The Navigation Pane is on the left
and the current working space (called the canvas) is in the middle.

There are two more panes you can open to get the most out of Design View.
To see each of them, click Form Design Tools  Design  Add Existing
Fields and Property Sheet.

Figure 4.90 – Add Existing Fields and Property Sheet commands in the
Tools group

Add Existing Fields lets you add fields from the table(s) used to create the
form. Double click any field in the pane to add it to the existing form.

Figure 4.91 – Different fields in a form

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The Property Sheet gives you access to a wide variety of editable properties for
the form itself as well as all elements within it.

Figure 4.92 – Property Sheet

Switch between the properties of each element using the combo box at the top
of the Property Sheet. Here, you can switch between all of the fields linked to
the database values and the label for each field.

Figure 4.93 – Property Sheet

4.3.1.6 Using forms

To make use of a form, open it by double clicking its name in the Navigation
Pane.

If the form will be used to enter data in the database, click Home  New
or click the New Record command in the status bar. Enter data into the fields
and then click the New command again. Any AutoNumber fields (usually the
primary key) will advance to the next value.

If the form will be used to view data, you should recognise the navigation
buttons at the bottom of the form window.

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 Figure 4.94 - Commands used to browse records

Use the commands shown in Figure 4.94 to browse the records, or use the
Search box to find a specific value in the fields.

Exercise: Creating and using forms

In this exercise, you will create and modify a form.


Open Lesson 3.1 from the Section 3 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content. Then log in as Andrew
Cencini to continue.

Click Create  Form Wizard.


When the Form Wizard dialog box appears, select Table: Employees from the
Tables/Queries combo box. Click the >> button to copy all fields from this
table to the Selected Fields list. Click Next to continue.

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
Leave the Columnar layout selected and click Next.


Name the form “Employees Custom Form”. Click the Modify the form’s
Design radio button and then click Finish.

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The new form will open in Design View.


Click Design  Themes Retrospect.

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Notice that when you move your cursor over the different themes, the form
will change in the background to give you an idea of what the form would look
like should you select a particular theme.

Click View  Form View.

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
Look carefully at the data presented in this form and browse through the
records. Notice that most of the fields on the right-hand side are blank.


Switch back to Design View by clicking the Design View icon in the lower
right-hand corner of the screen.

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
Press and hold the <Ctrl> key on your keyboard and then click each label and
field on the right-hand side of the form. This will allow you to select multiple
items, indicated by the orange borders.

Once all items on the right-hand side of the form are selected, press
<Delete> on your keyboard. All of the selected items will be deleted.

Your form should now look like this:


Save the database as “Lesson 3.1 Completed” and then close Access.

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4.3.2 Creating and using queries

4.3.2.1 What is a query?

A query is a question asked of a database-control program about the data it
contains. The query specifies what particular fields you are looking for, where
to find them, and any conditions for searching.

Queries are primarily built from tables but Access gives you the ability to
construct a query based on the results of another query. These nested queries
may require more computer memory and resources to execute but if they are
constructed carefully they can save a lot of time, especially when dealing with
very large databases.

One of the great things about queries is that they are only questions asked
about data already in place. If you get query results that are completely off the
mark, no problem! The data is untouched so provided there is no Design flaw
in your database only the query needs to be adjusted.

Access uses Structured Query Language (SQL, which is pronounced as

“sequel” or “Ess Que Ell”). SQL includes a fully defined set of language rules,
including punctuation and grammar, used to create a query to ask a database
a question. Though much of SQL is beyond the scope of this manual, basic
expressions are relatively easy to understand. They are even written like an
ordinary sentence in English. Let’s look at a simple SQL query.

SELECT DISTINCT Customer.Country FROM Customers WHERE

Customer.TotalSales
Figure>= 10000;
4.95 – An example of a SQL query

The keywords are in capital letters. “TableName.FieldName” describes a

particular field so “Customers.Country” means the Country field from the
Customers table. The logical operator >= means greater than or equal to.
Therefore, the above query reads “Show all the distinct country names from
the customers that have bought more than R10, 000 worth of our product.”

Simple SQL statements essentially boil down to “select this from that table
where this condition is met”.

Queries can be Designed to retrieve several pieces of data instead of just one
(like Customer.Country, Customer.Name, Customer.Whatever) and wildcard
characters like the asterisk (*) can be used to represent anything in a query.
For example, the following query will retrieve all information from the
Customers table:

SELECT * FROM
Customer;
Figure 4.96 – An example of a SQL query

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4.3.2.2 Creating a query using the Wizard
Until you become more comfortable creating queries on your own, the easiest
way to get started is by using the Query Wizard. To create a query using the
Wizard, click the Query Wizard command in the Create tab.

Figure 4.97 – Query Wizard command

When the Wizard launches, you are given the option to choose between a
number of different query types.

Figure 4.98 – New Query dialog box

Let’s stick with the simply query option. We will create a query that will
retrieve the ID, name and price of every product in the Northwind Traders
sample database. This type of query is defined as a select query, namely one
that is used to retrieve information.

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The next step of the Wizard lets you select which fields you want to use in your
query. This step should look familiar: it’s just like selecting fields to use in a
form. In the Tables/Queries combo box, select Table: Products.

Figure 4.99 – Simple Query Wizard showing the Tables/Queries combo

box

Highlight ID and click > to move the field to the Selected Fields list. Repeat for
Product Name and List Price.

Figure 4.100 – Simple Query Wizard showing the Tables/Queries

combo box

Click Next to continue.

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The next page of the Wizard gives you the option of applying a few summary
calculations to the field like the maximum value, minimum value and the
average. However, we want to see all products so leave the Detail radio button
selected and click Next.

Figure 4.101 – Detail or Summary radio buttons found in the Simple

Query Wizard

The final page of the Wizard lets you name the query. Be sure to give the
query a meaningful name. As with the creation of a form, you have the option
of opening the query right away or modifying the Design in Design View.

Figure 4.102– Naming the query in the Query Wizard dialog box

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With “Open the query to view information” selected, click Finish to view the
results of the query.

Figure 4.103 – An example of a query

As you can see from the above figure, the query results are shown in what is
essentially Datasheet View. Query results are shown as a table, complete with
its own rows, and can actually be used to construct a table.

4.3.2.3 Using Design View to modify a query

As you become more proficient in Access, you will reach a point where using
just the Query Wizard will not be sufficient to get the results you are looking
for. Therefore, you can use query Design View to modify any attribute of a
query you like.

To access Design View after using the Wizard, select the “Modify the query
Design” radio button.

Figure 4.104 – “Modify the query Design” radio button

If you wish to modify a query that already exists, right click it and select
Design View.

Figure 4.105 – Design View option

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Either way, you will be shown the following view:

Figure 4.106–A query in Design View

The table (or tables) used in the query appears in the top half of the window,
with the fields for each one shown in each small window. Note that the primary
key (ID) is shown in the table as a small key icon. The various fields that were
specified during the Design of the query are listed at the bottom, one per
column.

You will also see six different row listings at the bottom of the window:

 The Field row lets you see all of the fields that are available for use in the
query (in this case, certain fields in the Products table).
 The Table row lets you specify which table contains the fields you want to
use.
 The Sort row lets you sort the results of the query in ascending (A–Z) or
descending (Z–A) order (or no order at all, but rather the order in which the
query happened to find data first).
 The Show checkbox lets you hide or display a field in the query results. If
an item is present in a query but the Show checkbox is not marked, it will
still be considered in the query but the data returned by the query will not
be shown.
 The Criteria row lets you enter a logical operator and a condition that must
be satisfied before results from the query are returned. We have seen the
results of finding all products in the Products table. If we want to show only
the items that cost more than R50.00, we can enter the criteria “> 50”. This
expression contains a logical operator (greater than). Other operators
include less than (<), equal to (=) and not (!).
 The or row is used if you have any other criteria.

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4.3.2.4 Using queries
While query Design can be a very laborious process, running a query is easy.
To execute a query double click the query name in the Navigation Pane. The
results will be displayed in a new tab in Datasheet View.

Figure 4.107–Query in Datasheet View

You can delete a query without fear of deleting any data in your tables.
However, be careful if you do delete a query because there might be another
query, form or report that uses the query to retrieve data. If you eliminate the
source query, the dependent object will not function properly.

Exercise: Creating and using queries

In this exercise, you will construct a query with the Wizard and then modify it
in Design View.


Open Lesson 3.2 from the Section 3 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.
Then log in as Andrew Cencini.

Click Create  Query Wizard:

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When the New Query dialog box appears, leave Simple Query Wizard selected
and then click OK.


When the Simple Query Wizard opens, select the Orders table in the
Tables/Queries combo box and add the following fields:

o Order ID
o Order Date
o Ship City
o Shipping Fee

Click Next to continue.


Leave the Detail radio button selected and then click Next:

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
Name the query “Simple Orders Query” and then select the “Modify the query
Design” radio button. Click Finish to continue:


When query Design View appears, click the Sort cell under the Order Date field
and then click Descending:


Click in the Criteria cell under the Shipping Fee field and enter “>50”:

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
Click Query Tools – Design  Run to execute the query:

All the results that meet the criteria specified in the query are displayed:


Save the query and then save the database as Lesson 3.2 Completed.

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4.3.3 Creating and using reports

4.3.3.1 What is a report?

A report is a formal way of displaying data in your database. Source data for a
report can come from a table or from data that was retrieved by a query.
Reports, like forms, are completely customisable and easy to create using a
Wizard. If the Wizard is not specific enough for your requirements, there is a
full Design View that lets you change the colour, layout, style and more.

If the data in your database has changed, you probably will not need to make
Design changes to your report. Simply re-run the report and view the results.

4.3.3.2 Creating a report using the Wizard

Reports are based on queries and/or tables that have already been built.
Therefore, creating simple reports using the Wizard is fairly straightforward. A
report based on a simple query is essentially a more formal and printable way
of displaying the results of that query.

The Report Wizard command can be found in the Create tab.

Figure 4.108 – Report Wizard command

The first page of the Report Wizard should look familiar. Select the table or
query that contains the information you want to display and move the fields to
the Selected Fields table. Remember that you can use fields from multiple
tables and/or queries.

In this example, we will create a report based on all the results from the
Customers Extended query in the Northwind Traders sample database.

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Select the Customers Extended query, click >> to select all fields and then
click Next.

Figure 4.109 – Report Wizard dialog box

The next screen of the Report Wizard allows you to apply levels of grouping to
the report.

Grouping levels are useful in reports to help categorise the data returned from
a query. For example, if you ran a query to list all the different times that a
product was ordered, you could group based on the product. Each date the
product was sold would then be categorised under each product name. For the
purpose of this example, no grouping will be used, so click Next to continue.

Figure 4.110 – “Do you want to add any grouping levels?” page in the
Report Wizard

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The next page of the Wizard lets you organise fields in the report in ascending
or descending order. Select a field from the combo box. If you want to sort in
descending order, click the Ascending button to change the nature of the sort
order.

We will sort based on Last Name in ascending order, so click Next.

Figure 4.111 – “What sort order do you want for your records?” page
in the Report Wizard

The Wizard then asks how you want to organise the items in your report. Click
the different Layout radio buttons to see a preview of how each field will look
in the report. The checkbox at the bottom of the window will ensure that all of
the data fits on the same page. (This may not always be the best course of
action if some fields contain large entries. If the Wizard does not produce the
results you want, you can always delete the report and start again, or use
Design View to modify the layout.)

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Click Next to continue.

Figure 4.112 – “How would you like to lay out your report?” page in
the Report Wizard

Finally, the last screen allows you to give the report a meaningful name and
either view it right away or modify its properties in Design View.

Figure 4.113 – “What title do you want for your report?” page in the
Report Wizard

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With “Preview the report” selected, click Finish to view the report.

Figure 4.114 – A report

4.3.3.3 Using Design View to modify a report

Like forms and queries, you can enter report Design View either by clicking the
Modify the report’s Design radio button before closing the Wizard or using
the View menu after opening a report. Report Design View for the newly
created Customers Extended report will look something like this:

Figure 4.115 – A report in Design View

At the top of the window, you will see four new contextual tabs appear: Report
Design Tools – Design, Arrange, Format and Page Setup. There are two more
panes you can open to get the most out of Design View. To see each of them,
click Report Design Tools – Design  Add Existing Fields and Property
Sheet:

Figure 4.116 – Add Existing Fields and Property Sheet commands in

the Tools group

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Add Existing Fields lets you add fields from the table(s) or query/queries used
to create the report. Double click any field in the pane to add it to the existing
report:

Figure 4.117 – A field to add in the pane

The Property Sheet gives you access to a wide variety of editable properties for
the report as well as all elements within it.

Figure 4.118 – Property Sheet

Switch between the properties of each element using the combo box at the top
of the Property Sheet. Here, you can switch between all of the fields linked to
the database values and the label for each field.

Figure 4.119 – Property Sheet

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4.3.3.4 Using reports
To view a report, simply double click its object name in the Navigation Pane.
The report will open in the main part of the Access window.

Figure 4.120 – A report

This Report View will let you scroll through all the details of the report and
print it.

Exercise: Creating and using reports

In this exercise, you will create and modify a report.


Open Lesson 3.3 from the Section 3 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.
Then log in as Andrew Cencini.

Click Create  Report Wizard:

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
Add all fields from the Product Sales by Category query and click Next:


Access applies preliminary grouping to the report by Order Date. Click Next to
continue:


The next step allows you to apply additional grouping to the report if you wish.
Sometimes this will help to categorise data better but in our case, the report
will be concise enough. Click Next to continue:

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The next step in the Wizard allows you to add different summary options to the
report. Click the combo box beside the first field and select Product Name.
Click the Ascending button. The button will change to Descending:

Click Next.

The next page of the Wizard lets you adjust the layout of your prepared report.
The Stepped layout will be the best style for this report. To ensure that there is
enough room for everything in the report, click the Landscape radio button.
Uncheck the checkbox at the bottom of the window and click Next.

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
Finally, name the report “Simple Orders Report”. Click the Modify the
report’s Design radio button and then click Finish:


Choose a new theme for this report with the Report Design Tools – Design tab.
We have chosen to use the Ion theme:


As you can see in the report header, the font used in this particular theme is
too large for the title. Click on the title to select it and then click and drag the
right border to expand the title:

Check the rest of the titles in the report. If any others are too small, adjust
them now.

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
Switch to Report View to see if the changes have helped:

Your report should look something like this:


Save the report and then save the database as “Lesson 3.3 Completed.

4.3.4 Sorting and filtering data

The databases we have been dealing with so far haven’t been very large. We
could scroll through most of the information available in a few minutes.
However, if you had access to a library or government database, you might
spend your entire day looking through just one table and still not view all the
information.

Filters are like small, specialised queries that are performed on a single table
(or just one field) of information. Access has the ability to sort and filter data i
to narrow down the results you need.

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4.3.4.1 Using Find and Replace
If you are familiar with different programs on your computer, you are probably
familiar with Find and Replace commands. Internet browsers also feature a
Find command. These commands are Designed to search a document of any
size quickly to find instances of a certain keyword or value and, if applicable,
modify it. Word processors and spreadsheet programs also have Find and
Replace commands.

You can use the Find and Replace commands on every database object except
reports (which are really just documents to be printed), macros (a collection of
commands; no actual data) and modules (another sequence of commands
without actual data). Both commands are available in the Find group of the
Home tab.

Figure 4.121 – Find group

The Find command will search through an object and locate all instances of a
keyword. The Find command allows you to search specific columns of data and
provides flexibility in how it searches. If you only know part of a word or
phrase, you can search based on what you know.

Figure 4.122 – Find tab in the Find and Replace dialog box

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Let us look at the options in the Find and Replace dialog box.

The Find What field lets you type in a certain word, part of a
word or a number. The keywords of any previous searches
Find What
you have performed will appear if you click the pull-down
arrow.

The Look In field lets you search just the primary key of the
Look In
table or the entire current database object.

If you are not 100% sure what you are looking for, you can
Match
use different options in the Match field.

The Search field lets you conduct your search up, down, or all
over the current object. For example, if you are looking for a
Search particular name that starts with “T”, you can save a lot of
search time by searching at the fields that start with T
instead of the whole alphabet.

If you are looking for a certain organisation name or

something that is in all uppercase letters, you can have
Match Case
Access ignore all lowercase entries in its search, which can
increase the search speed.

Imagine you want to search for a record containing a

particular date, and you type “April 25, 2004”. If this box is
Search Fields checked, Access will search for all formats of this date, like
as Formatted 04/25/2004, 04/25/04, 25/04/04, 2004/25/04, and so on.
Searching with this box checked will slow down certain
searches but is more likely to find the data you need.

The Replace command is an extension of the Find command. It includes all the
functionality of Find but lets you modify all matches to something else.

Figure 4.123 – Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box

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Enter the new word or phrase you want in the Replace With field of the dialog
box. The Replace button on the right-hand side of the dialog box will find the
next instance that matches the search criteria and replace it with the new word
or phrase. The Replace All command automatically scans the entire object
listed in the Look In combo box and replaces every match with the new word
or phrase.

Be careful! When using the Replace All command, you cannot undo the
operation. You will have to perform another Find and Replace operation to
change the fields back.

4.3.4.2 Sorting in Ascending or Descending order

When viewing a table or query results in Datasheet View, you might want to
sort through the records manually if you know what you are looking for. In
Access, there is a very quick way to sort through data listed in columns.
Consider the Employees table from the Northwind Traders database.

The Sort Ascending and Descending commands are found in the Sort & Filter
group of the Home tab. To sort in this way, click the column header(s) of the
column(s) you wish to sort and then click either the Sort Ascending or
Descending buttons.

Figure 4.1244 – Sort Ascending and Descending buttons

The records in the table will be sorted accordingly:

Figure 4.125 – Fields being sorted

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4.3.4.3 Toggling filter
To apply different filters, click the column header of any column in Datasheet
View or click the Filter command in the Sort & Filter section of the Home tab.
Either command will open the following menu:

Figure 4.126 – Pop-up menu after clicking on the Filter command

As you can see in the above figure, the Sort Ascending and Descending
commands are visible in this menu. Access also allows you to sort and show
records based on the values in a column of data.

For example, if you wanted to show only the sales representatives, you could
uncheck all of the values listed in the pop-up menu except for Sales
Representative and click OK.

Figure 4.127 – Checking the item you want to show

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Now, only the sales representatives will be shown in the table. Also notice that
the Job Title field has a small filter icon in the header.

Figure 4.128 – Small filter icon

4.3.4.4 Using Selection Sort

Access makes it easy to sort a table of data quickly based on one criterion. For
example, consider the Standard Cost column in the Products table of the
Northwind sample database.

Figure 4.129 – An example of a Standard Cost column in the Products

table

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Click the first price in the list to highlight that particular field and then click the
Selection command in the Sort & Filter group of the Home tab. A small menu
will appear.

Figure 4.130 – Selection command in the Sort and Filter group

Click any of the options to sort the table of data based upon the criteria in the
menu. For example, if you click Less Than or Equal To R13.50, the table will
sort and show the less expensive products.

Figure 4.131 – Less expensive products being shown

The Between option in the Selection command displays the Between Numbers
dialog box. Enter the criteria for your search (between 5 and 10, for example)
and click OK.

Figure 4.132 – Between Numbers dialog box

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Here are the results:

Figure 4.133 – Results showing Between 5 and 10

4.3.4.5 Using Advanced Sort

Access offers a few other advanced filtering options that are accessible by
clicking the Advanced command on the Home tab.

Figure 4.134 – Advanced option

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 This command will remove any filters currently applied to a
Clear All Filters
particular object.

The Filter By Form command works like a small query. You

can specify criteria that will be used to filter the data like a
query, but its use is more limited. Using Filter By Form is
fast and easy if you have only a single value that you are
looking for.

For example, if you have a product ID but not a product

name, Filter By Form can help. Open the Products table in
Datasheet View and select Filter By Form. Datasheet View
will change to the following view:

Each cell you click will show a combo box. Select one of the
values in the combo box to add it to the Filter By Form
operation:

Filter By Form

When you have chosen the criteria you wish to filter, click
the Toggle Filter command in the tab.

Any corresponding record or records will be displayed:

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 Apply This command will perform the filter or sort operation, just
Filter/Sort as if you clicked Toggle Filter.

Access uses filters like small queries. Click the Advanced

Filter/Sort command to open a view just like query
Design View:

Advanced
Filter/Sort

Click and drag fields from the Products list to the lower half
of the window. You can apply sort criteria (Ascending,
Descending) and enter search criteria such as a direct
expression like the diagram above. You can also add any
sort of criteria you like, including logical expressions like
greater than (>) and less than (<). Once you have entered
the criteria, click Home  Toggle Filter to show the
results.

Load from This command lets you load a filter from a query already
Query stored in your database.

This command lets you save certain types of filters, you

Save as Query
perform as a query, to use later on.

As you develop more filters for a particular table, you can

use each one individually, like with an advanced sort. Use
Delete Tab
the Delete Tab command to remove the filters you no
longer use.

If you are performing a Filter By Form operation, use the

Clear Grid Clear Grid command to reset all of the data columns back
to their original empty state. If a particular Filter By Form

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 operation is not giving you the results you wanted or
expected, use this command to reset the form.

Use this command to close any of the advanced sort

Close
actions we have covered.

Exercise: Sorting and filtering data

In this exercise, you will perform sort and filter operations using the Northwind
Traders database.


Open Lesson 3.4 from the Section 3 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.
Then log in as Andrew Cencini.

Open the Products table in Datasheet View.

Click the Reorder Level field header to select that column and then click the
Replace command on the Home tab.

When the Find and Replace command appears, type “10” into the Find What
field and “15” in the Replace With field. Click Replace All.


Access warns you that you won’t be able to undo the replace operation. Click
Yes to continue:

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The reorder levels that were once 10 are now replaced with 15. Click Cancel
to close the Find and Replace dialog box.

Click the Product Name field header and then click the Sort Ascending
command on the Home tab. This will put all the product names in alphabetical
order.

Click the Supplier IDs column and then click the pull-down arrow beside the
field name. Uncheck all suppliers except for A, C, E, G and I. Click OK:


Click the Standard Cost field for Northwind Traders Brownie Mix. Click the
Selection command on the Home tab and click Greater than Or Equal to
R9.00.

Save the database as “Lesson 3.4 Completed.

4.3.5 Viewing data

4.3.5.1 Using the View menu

The View menu is located in a few different tabs throughout Access but is
always available on the Home tab. The View menu is also different for each
object you open.

Table

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 Figure 4.135 – Different Table views

 Datasheet View displays all data in a table in Columnar view.

 Design View lets you modify the properties of a table to make it contain
and display the data you need.
Form

Figure 4.136 – Different Form views

 Form View lets you view the form in such a way that you can enter data
one record at a time into a table.
 Datasheet View is a way of showing you the table that the form
references.
 Layout View is an intermediate step between Form View and Design
View. It lets you adjust the location of objects in a form while still being
able to see the data it contains.
 Design View lets you modify the look and feel of a form as well as add
different controls to perform actions.

Report

Figure 4.137 – Different Report views

 Report View displays the contents of the report in a manner suitable for
printing or presenting.
 Print Preview will show you what the report will look like if it was printed
on paper using the current paper settings.

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 Layout View is an intermediate step between Report View and Design
View. It lets you adjust the location of objects in a report while still being
able to see the data it contains.
 Design View lets you modify the look and feel of a report as well as add
different controls to display data or perform actions.

Query

Figure 4.138 – Different Query views

 Datasheet View displays the results of a query in a view similar to a

table.
 SQL View is a way of viewing and modifying the SQL code used to
make a query. SQL editing is beyond the scope of this study guide.
 Design View lets you add and remove fields from the search as well
as add criteria to retrieve more specific results.
4.3.5.2 Using the View icons
Commands to switch the view for an object are located in the bottom right-
hand corner of the Access window. For example, viewing a table in Datasheet
View will show the following commands:

Figure 4.139 - Commands in the bottom right-hand corner of a table in

Datasheet View

The icons in Figure 4.139 above are exactly the same as the corresponding
items in the View command. The view that is in use is a darker maroon and
looks indented. Move your mouse over any other icon to see its description,
and click the icon to switch to that view.

Figure 4.140 – Design View command

4.3.5.3 Using the object tabs

Access uses a tabbed navigation system which allows you to browse multiple
objects at once. Each database object you open also opens a new tab.

Figure 4.141 – Tabs showing open objects

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Simply click a tab to view the corresponding object. If you happen to have
many objects open at once, arrows will appear on either side of the list of tabs
allowing you to scroll back and forth through the opened objects.

Figure 4.142 – Arrows on the sides of tabs

4.3.5.4 Closing individual object tabs

To close a database object, highlight its name in the list of objects and then
click the Close button on the right.

Figure 4.143 – Close button that will close a tab

4.3.6 Saving your files

4.3.6.1 Using the Save As dialog

We know that some things in Access are saved automatically, such as changes
to table data. However, you can also save a particular database object
manually. For example, consider the Employees table of the Northwind sample
database:

Figure 4.144 – An example of a table

Click File Save Object As.

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 Figure 4.145 – Save Object As option in the File menu

The following Save As dialog box will appear (note that this dialog has nothing
to do with the Save As dialog you would have seen using Windows Explorer):

Figure 4.146 – Save As dialog box

In this example, you have the ability to save the Employees table as another
table (which will make a copy). You can also save this table as a query, form
or report; just give the new object a name and then click the pull-down arrow
beside the As combo box to see the choices.

Remember that you can always save a copy of an object as the same type of
object (table as a table, form as a form, etc.). Here is an overview of what else
you can save objects as:

Tables Tables can be saved as tables, queries, forms or reports.

Queries Queries can be saved as queries, forms or reports.

Forms Forms can be saved as forms or reports.

Reports Reports can only be saved as reports.

The new object will be accessible in the Navigation Pane.

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 Figure 4.147–New object in the Navigation Pane

4.3.6.2 An overview of additional database formats

The Save As item in Backstage View lets you save your database in different
formats. By default, when you click File  Save As, you will see the following:

Figure 4.148 – Default page when wanting to save your database

There are two headings on the left that you can use to save your database, or
objects in your database, in different formats.

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4.3.6.2.1 Save Database As

Save the database in one of the following formats:

 Access Database (.accdb) is the default format for Access 2007, Access
2013, and Access 2016.
 Access 2002-2003 Database (.mdb) saves a copy of the database that is
compatible with Access 2002-2003.
 Access 2000 Database saves a copy of the database that is compatible
with Access 2000.
 Template (.accdt) allows you to save the current file as a template that can
be used in future files.
 Package and Sign will collect all database objects into an executable
package and then apply a digital signature. This is useful when sending a
database to a client or remote site.
 Make ACCDE will save the database as a single executable file. This means
that when the file is opened, the database will be “installed” on the target
computer.
 Back Up Database will create a dated copy of the current database.
 SharePoint allows you to publish the entire database to a SharePoint
content management system (CMS).
 The Save As button performs the same function as clicking Access
Database.

4.3.6.2.2 Save Object As

Here, you can save the current object as another type of object, as a PDF or
XPS file, or as a client object (used in distributed database scenarios).

Figure 4.149 – Save Object As command

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4.4 Working with tables

In this section, you will learn how to:

 View field properties

 Add a primary key to a table
 Create multiple primary keys
 Insert, delete and move fields in a table
 Format number and textfields
 Add field descriptors
 Change a field’s data type
 Add captions to fields
 Set default field values
 Require user input in a field
 Create and use formatting input masks
 Create and remove table relationships
 Validate data to ensure consistency

4.4.1 Formatting tables

4.4.1.1 Setting a primary key

When working with a relational database such as Microsoft Access, you will
often need to link two or more tables to bring related information together. To
do this, each table needs to include a field that uniquely identifies each record
in the table. This means that the data in that field may not be duplicated in
any of the other table records. This unique identifier field is called a primary
key.

A primary key is typically a number such as an order number, customer

number, invoice number or identity number. The most important consideration
when adding a primary key to a table is that it must be unique. Some
additional rules to keep in mind when setting a primary key field are that:

 The primary key field can never be blank (or null).

 The primary key field can never be duplicated.
 The primary key field should be as short as possible.
 The primary key should describe the entity.

Another purpose of the primary key is that it indexes the information in the
record. Indexing helps Access find information quickly, especially when you
have a large amount of data.

Designating an AutoNumber as the primary key for a table is often the

easiest way to create a unique identifier. If you neglect to set a primary key,
Microsoft Access will ask if you want it to create a primary key for you. If you
answer yes, Access will create an AutoNumber primary key. As we saw in a

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previous section, Access automatically creates an ID field with a primary key
for all new tables.

4.4.1.2 Adding a primary key field to a table

Click in the Name box of the field you wish to set as a primary key field then
click the Primary Key icon on the ribbon.

Or

Click the right mouse button and then select Primary Key from the pop-up
menu.

Figure 4.150 – Primary Key icon and Primary Key option in the pop-up
menu

4.4.1.3 Creating multiple primary keys

You have already learned that a primary key field prevents the entry of
duplicate data in a field. For instance, if the customer number is set as a
primary key field, you can only enter each customer number once in that field.

However, there may be instances where you wish to add more than one
primary key field. Multiple primary keys prevent the entry of duplicate
records of all primary key fields together.

Suppose we have a Student Classes table and we set the Student ID field and
the Class ID field as primary key fields. In this case, you could enter duplicate
Student ID records and duplicate Class ID records, but not a duplicate of the
same Student ID and Class ID together. For example, Smith and Jones can
each take more than one class and each class can be taken by more than one
student, but neither Smith nor Jones can take the same class more than once.

4.4.1.4 Setting multiple primary keys

Select the table for which you want to set multiple primary keys → Switch to
Design View → Select the rows that you want to set as primary key fields (to
select non-adjacent rows. Hold down the <Ctrl> key and then select the rows)
→ Click the Primary Key button on the Tools group on the ribbon.

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 Figure 4.151 – An example of multiple primary keys

4.4.1.5 Formatting number fields

There are three types of number fields in Access: AutoNumber, Number and
Currency. To apply this new format, first open a table in Design View to
adjust field properties.

AutoNumber
The AutoNumber data type is used by Access to count up by
one automatically or assign a random number each time a
new record is added to a table.

AutoNumbers are usually used as primary keys to ensure

data uniqueness. For example, if the values 1, 2 and 3 were
used as an AutoNumber type, and you deleted record 2, the
number 2 would not be reused as an AutoNumber.

Number

The Number data type is a more general number type that

can be used and formatted in many ways.

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 Field Size indicates what data type the number will be:
either Integer for whole numbers, or Double for decimal
values or very large positive/negative values and/or decimal
values.

You can also assign an input mask, a default value and

validation rules to a number. The only limitation on a
number field is that the values inputted must be numbers. If
you try to enter any letters of the alphabet or a symbol,
Access will warn you that you are attempting to enter an
invalid data type into the field.

Currency

The Currency data type is very similar to the Number data

type. The only difference is that a currency is permanently
defined as a Double data type.

4.4.1.6 Formatting textfields

There are two types of textfields in Access: Text and Memo. Open a table in
Design View to modify its field properties.

Short Text

The Short Text data type is probably the most commonly used
data type in a database. Its properties are similar in nature to

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 the Number data type, meaning it can have an input mask,
validation rules and a default value.

Textfields can contain any letter, character or number. These

can also be set for a certain number of characters; 255
characters is the maximum size.

Textfields also allow you to align text inside a field. This

property is found at the very bottom of the list.

Long Text

The Long Text data type is very similar to the Short Text data
type. The only real difference between the two is that a Long
Text field can be much larger, up to 65,536 characters.

Long Text fields in Access 2016 give you the option to append
data to a Long Text field. That means you can specify if new
information will only be added to the end of the current
information or overwrite the current information. (The Append
Only property is at the very bottom of the list.)

4.4.1.7 Adding field descriptions

The Description fields are located on the right side of Table Design View.
Although these fields are optional, they are useful when several people are
involved in constructing a database. They will also help you to remember what
the table was Designed to do in the first place. Anything written in the
Description fields is also displayed in the status bar of a form.

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 Figure 4.152 – An example of field descriptions

You can type whatever you like in a field description, up to 255 characters.

4.4.1.8 Adding captions

The Caption property is available in every data type. A caption becomes the
label for a field when the field is used in a form or report. If you do not fill in a
caption, the field name is used instead.

Figure 4.153–Caption

So far in this unit, our field names have been very descriptive and easy to read
(“First Name”, “Manufacture Date”, etc.). However, tables might use
abbreviated names or codes like “numHistCache” or “PO456Val”. Use the
Caption property to label the field in plain English.

Exercise: Formatting tables

In this exercise, you will use the Copy and Paste functions as well as some
different formatting options.


Open Lesson 4.1 from the Section 4 folder of your Exercise Files. If necessary,
expand the Navigation Pane and click Enable Content on the Message Bar.
Then log in as Andrew Cencini.

Once you have opened the database, close the Home object tab.

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
Open the Employees table.

Once the Employees table has been opened, change the view to Design View.

Change the Business Phone data type to Number. This is done by clicking on
the arrow that will appear once you have clicked on the data type next to the
field name.


Change the Home Phone, Mobile Phone and Fax Number data types to
Number.

Set the field description of the City field to “Any City in South Africa”.

Save the database as” Lesson 4.1 Completed” and then close Access. If you
receive error messages, click Yes for all and then close Access.

4.4.2 Controlling table data entry

One of the biggest challenges when Designing any computer-related system is

dealing with the unexpected. Engineers need to make sure that the end user
uses the program in the right way and the program avoids crashing.
Unfortunately for the engineers, this means thinking of every possible
scenario where the incorrect data (accidental or intentional) might harm the
system.

When done correctly, this makes the system safe and reliable for both the data
it processes and its users. However, if this is not done thoroughly it can lead to

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very expensive and very public problems. Software bugs often make the news:
airline booking database failures, telecommunication system crashes and even
the Hubble telescope looking in entirely the wrong direction!

While problems of this nature can seem very intimidating, there are some
obvious ways to prevent them from happening in the first place. One of the
most basic and important steps (at least concerning databases) is to make
sure that table data uses the correct data type. This prevents simple (yet
serious) errors like people entering text in a numerical field.

4.4.2.1 Setting a default value

A default value is something that is always present in a particular field
whenever a new record is made. For example, if you own a company with its
base of operations in Rustenburg, you can assign a default value of
“Rustenburg” in all of the address fields. Every time you go to enter a new
employee’s information or customer invoice, the city field will automatically be
“Rustenburg” until you change it to something else.

Adding a default value is easy. Simply open a table in Design View, click the
field you want to give a default value, and type a new default value in its
corresponding field property. In our example, we have opened the Employees
table and will make the default text of Country/Region “USA”.

Figure 4.154 – Default value

4.4.2.2 Setting a required value

A required value is a value that must be entered into a record for the database
to be considered complete. Many forms on the Internet include required fields

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for data such as phone number or date of birth. These required fields are
usually marked with an asterisk (*) to signal that the process needs to be
completed.

Figure 4.155 – Required fields marked with asterisks

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Making a field a required value is as simple as selecting Yes or No in the
Required combo box:

Figure 4.156 – The Yes or No Required combo box

4.4.2.3 Creating and using input masks

An input mask applies formatting to data within a field. For example, the
phone number 4827482234 is more difficult to read than (482) 748-2234.
Access can set up input masks to help make sure data is entered correctly and
to make the data easier to read.

The Employees table in the Northwind sample database uses such an input
mask.

Figure 4.157 – An example of an input mask being used

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Different data types have different input masks. To set up or modify an input
mask, open a table in Design View. Select a field that will use an input mask
and then click the (…) button in the property field.

Figure 4.158–Input Mask property button

This will open the Input Mask Wizard.

Figure 4.159 – Input Mask Wizard

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Here you can select from various input masks that are used in everyday
databases. The first option highlighted here is the phone number mask. Give it
a try by clicking in the Try It: text box and typing.

Figure 4.160 – Try It text box in the Input Mask Wizard

Click Next to customise how the input mask works.

Here, you can change the placeholder character to some symbol other than the
underscore character. We have chosen to use asterisks. Click Next to
continue.

Figure 4.161 – Placeholder character drop-down text box found in the

Input Mask Wizard

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You can choose how you would like to store the data in the table, either with or
without the input mask symbols (the default). If you choose to keep the
symbols in the data, make sure the data type is Text because non-numerical
characters are not allowed in a Number field. Click Next and then Finish to
complete the Wizard.

Figure 4.162–Input Mask Wizard

Save the changes to the table and then switch to Datasheet View. Click in the
next available empty row to see the input mask.

Figure 4.163–Next empty row showing the Input Mask

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4.4.2.4 Creating and removing table relationships
When Designing a database, this is the most challenging step and often the
place where most of the confusion with databases arises. However, as with
most things in life, proper planning can make a world of difference!

When Designing a database, forget for a minute about the actual data you
need to store or how much data you could potentially have. Focus instead on
what types of data you have and how data will relate to each other.

Consider the following simple database:

Figure 4.164–An example of a database

This database has a table of Employees and a table of Expenses. As time goes
by, the Expenses table could grow to become quite large.

Imagine that you want to find out the phone number of every employee that
submitted an expense. It is impractical to place the employee phone number in
the same table as the actual expenses because it will create a lot of
unnecessary, duplicate data. This is particularly true if there is another table
containing employee data elsewhere.

Therefore, a relationship between the two tables can be created between the
two common fields: EmployeeID. In particular, the Employees table and the
Expenses table are in a one-to-many relationship, meaning that one entry in
the Employees table can relate to many entries in the Expenses table. In other
words, one employee can log many expenses.

Knowing this, let’s create a small database that uses a Vehicles table. In
particular, we will create two new tables that tie into information in the
Vehicles table using relationships.

Here is the current Vehicles table, including the data type for each field:

Figure 4.1654.166–An example of a table

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We will add two new tables to the database.

Figure 4.167–Two newly added tables in the database

Manufacturer ID will now replace Make, and Country ID will replace Country of
Origin. This might seem like an odd choice but it actually helps to ensure more
consistent data. For example, if a large manufacturer were to change its name,
you only need to change the name in one place rather than in changing the
same name in hundreds of records. It also helps prevent misspellings because
it eliminates the need for someone to type a name.

First, we will make the changes to the data types in the Vehicles table. Make
and Country of Origin will become numbers. (The reason for this will become
obvious in a moment.)

Next, we need to establish the relationships. Click Database Tools 

Relationships.

Figure 4.168 – Relationship command

You will be prompted to choose which table(s) will be used to create

relationships. In this case, we will use all of them:

Figure 4.169 –An example of tables you can choose from to create
relationships

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To establish a relationship between the Vehicles and Manufacturers tables,
click and drag the Manufacturer ID field from Manufacturers to the Make field
in the Vehicles table.

Figure 4.170 – A relationship that can be made between two tables

When you release the mouse button, you will see the Edit Relationships dialog
box.

Figure 4.171 – Edit Relationships dialog box

As you can see, both related fields are listed. (If you dragged one field on top
of another that was the wrong field, just use the combo box beside the field
name to pick the right field.) Before clicking the Create button, click the
Enforce Referential Integrity checkbox.

Referential integrity is a set of rules and conditions that make data entry
into databases safer. Try to enforce referential integrity whenever possible. It
ensures that all related fields are valid when considered together in a database
and prevents you from accidentally deleting related data.

To make referential integrity work, the following three conditions must be

satisfied:

 The matching field from one table is a primary key or has a unique
index. (True: Manufacturer ID is the primary key of the Manufacturers
table.)

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 The fields in the relationship have the same data type. (True: Both
fields are numerical. If we left the Make field as Text, the relationship
cannot be established.)
 Both tables are stored in the same database. (True: Both tables are
in the same database file; that is, there are no linked tables.)

Since all of the necessary conditions have been satisfied, click Enforce
Referential Integrity and click Create to establish the relationship.

Figure 4.172 – An example of a one-to-many relationship

As you can see, a one-to-many relationship has been established: one

Manufacturer ID in Manufacturers may correspond with many Makes in
Vehicles.

Now we can establish a relationship between Country ID and Country of Origin

in the same manner. Click and drag, confirm the correct fields, check Enforce
Referential Integrity. Here are the results:

Figure 4.173 – An example of two tables with a one-to-many

relationship with one table

When Designing your database, if you know that there will be relationships
between IDs (like in this example), we recommend you name both fields the
same way. One advantage of this is that query Design will be easier because
you know that Manufacturers.ManufacturerID is the same as
Vehicles.ManufacturerID.

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Now let’s examine the relationships in the Northwind sample database. As you
can see in the figure below, there is a lot happening in this database.

Figure 4.174 – Relationships found in the Northwind Traders database

Each table in the database can be moved around in the Relationships window.
Click and drag the title of the table. You can also resize the table to see more
or less information by clicking and dragging the table borders.

For example, consider the Purchase Orders table. This table lists the main
details about each purchase order made by Northwind Traders. This table has
five relationships with other tables:

 Inventory Transactions keeps track of what stock moves through the

company. A purchase order ID links each transaction to a purchase order.
 Suppliers keep track of who Northwind Traders purchases product from
(who has received the purchase orders). So when Northwind makes a
purchase, the supplier is listed.

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 Purchase Order Details outlines what was sold per purchase order.
Every quantity of product moved has a related purchase order ID.
 Employees list details about Northwind Traders’ employees. Each
purchase order therefore has an associated sales rep.
 Finally, Purchase Order Status is a simple table that outlines what each
purchase order status code means, just like our Manufacturers table
outlines the full name of each vehicle manufacturer.

Creating the relationships is very easy if the fields in your tables have been
well planned. Simply drag and drop fields. When deleting a relationship,
remember that doing so can have a big impact on how the database works. Be
certain that it is absolutely necessary to do before deleting a relationship.

Deleting a relationship in the Relationships window is easy. Right- click on the

relationship you want to remove and click Delete.

Figure 4.175 – Deleting a relationship

Access will confirm that you want to delete the relationship. Click Yes to
complete the action.

Exercise: Controlling table data entry

In this exercise, you will learn how to use data-controlling tools.

 Create a new database and name it Nyeleti Skin Care. Click Create.

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  When the database opens, click on the View command and select
Design View. A Save As dialog box will pop up. Save the table as
Products and click OK.

 Add the following fields:

o Product ID
o Product Name
o Type of Product
o Product used for male or female
o Manufacture Date

 Change the Manufacture Date data type to Date/Time.

 Change the Product used for male or female field properties to

Required.

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  Click on the View command and select Datasheet View.

 When prompted to save your table, click on Yes.

 Add three records to your table.

 Save your table and close it. Do not close the entire database, just the
table.

 Click on the Create tab in the ribbon and click on Table.

 Change the view by clicking on View and selecting Design View.

 A Save As dialog box will pop up. Save the table as Customers and click
OK.

 Add the following fields:

o Customer ID
o Customer Name
o Customer Address
o Telephone Number
o Delivery

 Change the Telephone Number data type to Number.

Change the Delivery data type to Yes/No.

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  Change the Telephone Number field’s input mask by clicking on the
Input Mask field and typing in 000-000-0000.

 Click on View and select the Datasheet View. When prompted to save
your table, click on Yes.

 Add three records to the Customers table.

 Save your table. Close the table and not the database.

 Click on the Create tab in the ribbon and click on Table.

 Change the View by clicking on View and selecting Design View.

 A Save As dialog box will pop up. Save the table as Orders and click
OK.

 Add the following fields:

o Product ID
o Customer ID
o Products taken
o Date of purchase

 Change the Product ID data type to Number.

Change the Customer ID data type to Number.
Change the Products taken data type to Number.
Change the Date of purchase data type to Date/Time.

None of the fields should be set as the Primary Key. To remove a

primary key, click on the field that has been assigned Primary Key and
click on the Primary Key icon or right click and click on Primary Key.

 Save your table. Close the table and not the database.

 Click on the Database Tools tab and the Relationships command.

 When the Show Table dialog box pops up, click on Add to add the
Customers table.

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 Click on Orders and click Add to add the Orders table.
Click on Products and click Add to add the Products table.

Click Close when you are done.

 Your table should be side by side as in the image.

 Click on Edit Relationships on the Design tab.

 When the Edit Relationships dialog box appears, click on Create New
…

 In the left Table Name, select the Customers table.

In the right Table Name, select the Orders table.
In the left Column Name, select the Customer ID.
In the right Column Name, select the Customer ID.

Click OK.

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 Check the Enforce Referential Integrity check button. Click Create.

 Click on Edit Relationships.

 When the Edit Relationships dialog box appears, click on Create New
…


In the left Table Name, select the Products table.
In the right Table Name, select the Orders table.
In the left Column Name, select the Product ID.
In the right Column Name select the Product ID.

Click OK.

Check the Enforce Referential Integrity check button. Click Create.


Your relationships should look like the image below.

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
Save the database as Nyeleti Skin Care and then close Access.

4.4.3 Validating data to ensure consistency

In addition to adding protection like required values and input masks, you can
also add validation rules to your database to ensure that data entered makes
sense.

For example, consider the Vehicles table. The Number of Cylinders field has a
default value of 6 and the Field Size is defined as Integer, which prevents
decimal numbers from being entered. The field description states that if a
vehicle is equipped with a rotary engine (one that has no cylinders), this field
should be 0. Therefore, data in this field is valid if it is a whole number greater
than or equal to zero.

However, no measures are in place to prevent someone from entering a

negative number of cylinders, a data entry that does not make sense. To
prevent this, we will open the table in Design View and then click in the
Validation Rule box to enter a simple expression: >=0.

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 Figure 4.176 – An example of data validation

This will prevent someone from entering a negative number of cylinders.

Figure 4.177 – Error message when a negative number has been

entered
Back in Design View, you can also click the button in the Validation Rule
field to launch the Expression Builder.

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 Figure 4.178 – Expression Builder dialog box

The Expression Builder lets you create customised validation rules,

expressions, logical functions and much more.

Exercise: Validating data to ensure consistency

In this exercise, you will learn how to validate data to ensure consistency.


Each teacher has their own class and the teacher specialises in a specific
subject. All teachers should have no more than 32 students and no less than
10 students.

With the scenario given, help the office administration department of the
Boitshepo Primary with creating a database.

Create a new database and name it Boitshepo Primary School. Click Create.

When the database opens, click on the View command and select Design
View. A Save As dialog box will pop up. Save the table as Teachers and click
OK.

Add the following fields:

o Teacher ID
o Subject Speciality

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o Number of Students
o Number of female students
o Number of male students

Change the data types accordingly, e.g. Number of Students must be set to
Number.


Click on the Number of Students field. In the Field Properties, change the
Default Value to 32 by typing in 32.

To ensure that the number of students is entered correctly, set the Validation
Rule to >=10 and <=32.

This will not allow any number below 10 and any number above 32 to be
entered.

Save your table. Click on View and select the Datasheet View.

Add a number of records to your table with different values for the “Number of
Students” field. Add a number below 10 and a number above 32.

Notice that an error message willpop up in both cases.


Save the database as Lesson 4.3 and then close Access.

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Unit 5 - Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

In this section, you will also learn how to:

 Open and close PowerPoint 2016

 Interact with PowerPoint
 Use the Slides pane
 Create a presentation
 Add, edit, rearrange, duplicate and delete slides
 Use placeholders to add content to slides
 Navigate through a presentation
 Choose a layout for a slide
 Reset the layout of a slide
 Create, rename, use, move and delete sections
 Open, save and close files

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1.1 What is Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016?

PowerPoint 2016 can be used to create anything from a basic slide show to a
self-running, narrated presentation with embedded videos and sound.

5.1.1.2 Opening PowerPoint

To open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016, click the Start menu and in the
search box type “PowerPoint”. Select PowerPoint 2016 from the list.
Alternatively click Start  All programs  Microsoft Office 2016 
PowerPoint 2016.

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 Figure 5.1– Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

Note that this list of programs might look different from yours, depending on
the Office 2016 components you have installed.

If you have a PowerPoint icon on your desktop, double click it to open

PowerPoint:

Figure 5.2 – Microsoft PowerPoint shortcut

5.1.1.3 Interface overview

When PowerPoint opens, you will see the window shown in Figure 5.3.

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 Figure 5.3 - Microsoft PowerPoint interface

We have added the numbers to correspond with the table below:

Click the File button to see Backstage View. You can

1: File Menu
save, print or share a presentation; modify PowerPoint
(Backstage View)
options; and exit the program.

2: Quick Access This specialised toolbar provides quick access to the

Toolbar commands you use most often.

The name of the presentation and of the program will

3: Title Bar
appear here.

4: Window From left to right, these are the Minimize,

Controls Maximize/Restore and Close commands.

Click the small up arrow on the right-hand side of the

window to hide the ribbon.
5: Minimize the
Ribbon and Help
Next to the Minimize command, you will find the Help
Icons
command. Click the blue question mark icon to open
the Help dialog.

Click a tab name to view commands specific to that

6: Tabs name. For example, the Design tab lets you change the
setup and appearance of the current presentation.

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 The commands on each tab are separated into groups.

7: Groups Sometimes, in the bottom right-hand corner of a group,

you will see an option button. Click this button to see
additional commands related to the group.

8: Slides/Outline Shows either thumbnails or a text outline of your slides.

Pane (You can click Slides and Outline to toggle the view.)

Use the horizontal and vertical rulers to help you line

9: Rulers
up objects.

10: Working Area This is where you will create your presentation.

11: Notes Area You can add notes to each slide in this area.

The status bar provides information about the

presentation. It shows which slide is visible, which
2: Status Bar theme is in use and which proofing language is being
used. On the right-hand side, you will find controls to
change the view and zoom level.

Exercise: Getting to know PowerPoint 2016

In this exercise, we will open PowerPoint, look at the interface and close
PowerPoint.


Click the Start button on the taskbar.

When the Start menu appears, click the All Programs command.

Click the Microsoft Office 2016 item.

Click the PowerPoint2016 item to open the program.

The PowerPoint interface will appear on the screen. When you hover your
mouse pointer over certain commands on the Home tab (which should be open
by default), you will be able to read the screen tips:

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
Click the Design tab.


Hover your mouse pointer over a few of the pictures in the Themes gallery and
watch how the slide in the working area changes. Click a theme when you find
one you like:


Click the File tab.


Click Close.


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When prompted, click Don’t Save:

5.1.2 Creating a presentation

5.1.2.1 Understanding presentations

There are two different aspects to PowerPoint 2016. To start, you will create a
presentation, made up of individual slides.

Figure 5.4 – A presentation showing different slides

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Then, when you’re ready to deliver your presentation, you can switch to
slideshow mode and show your presentation in full screen.

Figure 5.5 – A slide shown in full-screen

This mode has special tools and features for delivering your presentation. For
now, we are going to focus on creating slides.

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5.1.2.2 Creating a new presentation
To create another new presentation, use the File – New command.

Figure 5.6 – New command

When the presentation options appear, select Blank Presentation.

Figure 5.7 – Blank Presentation button

This will create another new, blank presentation named Presentation2.

You can also use the <Ctrl + N> shortcut to skip the menu commands and
the dialog, and only create the presentation.

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5.1.2.3 Adding new slides
There are several ways that you can add a new slide to the presentation. The
easiest way is to click the arrow next to the New Slide command on the Home
tab and choose the Design you want.

Figure 5.8 – New Slide command

The New Slide button will insert the most recently used slide type. You can also
use the <Ctrl + M> shortcut. Alternatively, right click in the Slides pane and
click New Slide.

Figure 5.9 – New Slide command

5.1.2.4 Adding content to slides

To add text to a slide, simply click where indicated and type.

Figure 5.10 – Text-editing tools

PowerPoint’s text-editing tools work just like a word processor, allowing you to
type, delete and move text. You may see PowerPoint reduce the size of your
text to keep it within the allotted space.

Some slide layouts may have the text already formatted with bullets and you
may see icons on the slide.

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 Figure 5.11 – An example of a slide layout

You can click each type of icon to insert a particular type of content. Here is an
explanation of each icon.

Icon Content type

Table

Chart

SmartArt (diagrams)

Picture from your computer

ClipArt (pictures that come with Office)

Audio or video clips

5.1.2.5 Deleting slides

To delete a slide, right click it in the Slides pane and click Delete Slide.

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 Figure 5.12 – Delete Slide option

You can also click it in the Slides pane to select it and then press
<Backspace> or <Delete> on your keyboard.

Exercise: Creating a presentation

In this exercise, you will begin creating a new presentation.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Click File – New.

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1.
In the options that appear, select Blank Presentation.


On the first slide, click in the top textbox. Type “Annual Report”.


Click in the second textbox and type “Acme Widgets Company”.


Click the arrow next to the New Slide command on the Home tab. Click Two
Content.

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
Click the New Slide button. What happens?

Press <Ctrl + M>. What happens?

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
You should now have four slides in the Slides pane – the title slide that we
created and three Two Content slides. Right click the last slide and click
Delete Slide:


The third slide should now be selected and displayed. Click the table icon in
one of the textboxes.

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You will be prompted to choose the size of the table. Click OK to accept the
default settings.


Close PowerPoint to complete the exercise. Do not save your changes.

5.1.3 Working with your presentation

5.1.3.1 Saving files

To save a file, click the Save icon on the Quick Access Toolbar. Click File –
Save, or use the <Ctrl + S> shortcut.

Quick Access Toolbar

File Menu

Figure 5.13 – Quick Access Toolbar and File Menu

You will then be prompted to choose a location for your file using the address
bar, links panel or folder list, and to choose a name.

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 Figure 5.14 – Save As dialog box

Once you are ready, click Save.

To update your saved file, use one of the same commands: click the Save icon
on the Quick Access Toolbar, click File – Save, or use the <Ctrl + S>
shortcut.

To create a new file, click File – Save As or use the F12 shortcut.

Figure 5.15 – Save As option

You will then be prompted to choose a new name and/or location.

5.1.3.2 Opening files

To re-open a saved file, click File – Open or use the <Ctrl + O> shortcut.

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 Figure 5.16 – Open option

You will then see a dialog similar to the Save As dialog.

This time, however, you will be prompted to use the controls in the dialog to
find the file. Once you see the file, click it to select it and click Open.

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 Figure 5.17 – Open dialog box

You will then see the presentation in the working window. The title bar will
remind you what file you are working with.

Figure 5.18– Title

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5.1.3.3 Closing files
To close only a single presentation, and not PowerPoint, click File – Close.

Figure 5.19 – Close option

You will be prompted to save your presentation if you have made any changes,
just as if you were closing the program.

Exercise: Working with your presentation

You are going to create a presentation about an upcoming family fun day at
your company. A co-worker has sent you some templates to have a look at.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Click File – Open.

Browse to your exercise files. Open the Section 1 folder. Click Lesson 1.3A.
Hold the <Ctrl> key and click Lesson 1.3B and Lesson 1.3C. This will select
all three files. Click Open.

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
Lesson 1.3C should be the first presentation open. Click the arrow on the New
Slide button and look at the available layouts:


This Design is not really suitable for our presentation. Click outside the New
Slide menu to close it. Then, click File – Close to close the file. (Do not save
changes if prompted.)

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
Lesson 1.3B should now be visible. It's not a bad template but let’s see what
the other one looks like. Click View – Switch Windows – Lesson 1.3A:


This one is perfect! Let’s save it so we can modify it later. Click File – Save
As:


When prompted, save the file to your desktop as Fun Day Template.

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Now, let’s have a look at the Recent List. Click File – Recent.


Click the Pin icon next to Fun Day Template so that we can easily access it
later.


The File menu should still be open. Click Exit to complete the exercise. Close
all files.

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5.1.4 Editing your presentation

5.1.4.1 Using the Slides Pane

So far, we have used the Slides pane. This gives you a thumbnail view of each
slide. To work with a different slide, click its thumbnail or right-click a slide to
see more editing options.

Figure 5.20–A thumbnail and slide on the right-hand side

You can also see that each slide is numbered. If the slide features animations

or transitions, you will see an icon.

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5.1.4.2 Navigating through your slides
There are a few different ways that you can navigate through your slides. The
easiest way is to use the Slides pane: click the slide that you want to edit. You
can use the scroll bar to move through the list of slides.

Figure 5.21 – Scroll bar used to navigate between slides

Alternatively, click a slide and use the up and down arrows on your keyboard
to navigate through the slides. The <Home> key will also take you to the first
slide; <End> will take you to the last slide.

5.1.4.3 Editing slides

To edit a slide, click it in the Slides pane to select it. Then, make your changes
in the editing window.

Figure 5.22 – Editing slides

You can change text, add images, remove elements and more – everything
you would do with a new slide.

5.1.4.4 Changing slide layout

To choose a new layout for a slide, first select the slide in the Slides pane.
Then click the Layout button and choose a new layout.

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 Figure 5.23– Layout

You can do this whenever you wish – it makes creating great-looking slides
easy.

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5.1.4.5 Resetting slides
As you become more experienced with PowerPoint, you will be able to modify
the default layouts and create your own.

If you make too many changes, however, and you want your slide to return to
the default layout, simply click the Reset button on the Home tab.

Figure 5.24–Reset

Exercise: Editing your presentation

In this exercise, you will edit an existing presentation.


To begin, open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016 and open Lesson 1.4.

If the presentation has been opened in Protected View, click on Enable

Editing to be able to work on the presentation.

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
Look at the thumbnails in the Slides pane.


Move your mouse pointer to the icon for Slide 8. Click it.

You should now see Slide 8 in the working area. Click Slides to return to
thumbnail view.

Press <Home> on your keyboard to return to the beginning of the slide show.
Then, click Slide 3 to have it shown in the working area.

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
Click the title “Author Your Presentation”. Then, click the edge of the text box
and drag it to the top of the slide.


Let us try one of PowerPoint’s layouts. On the Home tab, click Layout and click
Title Only.

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
Save your presentation as “Lesson 1.4 Completed”.

Close PowerPoint to complete the lesson.

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5.2 Creating presentations

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Create a blank presentation

 Create a presentation from local or online templates, themes and existing
files
 Draw textboxes
 Add and edit text in textboxes
 Resize, move, delete, rotate and format textboxes
 Use selection tools
 Change and customise the theme
 Change a background style and use the format dialog box
 Apply a transition from the gallery
 Set effect options
 Customise transition timing
 Apply an animation from the gallery
 Set effect options for animations
 Customise animation timing
 Reorder and preview animations
 Chose an effect, motion path and trigger for animations
 Use the animation pane

5.2.1 Using templates

PowerPoint includes hundreds of templates – pre-built presentation

frameworks that you can use to make creating your own presentations easier
and faster.

5.2.1.1 Creating a blank presentation

PowerPoint automatically creates a new, blank presentation for you when you
open it. To create another blank presentation, click File – New.

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 Figure 5.25 – New option

Then, click Blank Presentation.

Figure 5.26 – Blank Presentation button

A new presentation will now be available. PowerPoint names new presentations

sequentially (Presentation1, Presentation2, etc.).

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 Figure 5.27 – Two open windows

You can also use the <Ctrl + N> shortcut.

Exercise: Using templates

You have two major projects coming up that each require a presentation. In
this exercise, we will find a template for each.

Note The first part of this exercise relies on having access to the
Office.com website to download a template.


To begin, open PowerPoint 2016.

Type Schedules into the search bar at the top of the opened page:


The first presentation you need to create is a timeline. Select the Timeline
Project Planning example.

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
Click the Timeline project planning template. This will download the template
for you.


Save the presentation as Lesson 2.1 – Timeline.

Click File – New.

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
The next presentation you will be working on is an interactive quiz. Here you
will have to search again. Enter Quiz Show into the search bar.

One of the first templates will be Quiz Show.


Select it, and click create. Save the file as “Lesson 2.1 – Quiz”. Close
PowerPoint to complete the exercise.

5.2.2 Working with textboxes

5.2.2.1 Drawing a text box

Many slides created from default PowerPoint layouts already contain textboxes.
This slide, for example, contains two textboxes where you can click and type:

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 Figure 5.28 – Two textboxes

To add your own textbox, click Insert – Text Box.

Figure 5.29 – Text Box command

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Then, click and drag to draw the textbox.

Figure 5.30 – Text box being drawn

Your cursor will now be in a new textbox.

Figure 5.31 – Cursor in new textbox

Type your text and click outside the textbox (or press <Escape>) when you
are finished.

5.2.2.2 Editing text

To edit text inside a textbox, click the text.

Figure 5.32 – Editing text inside the textbox

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This will place your cursor inside the textbox so that you can make the
necessary changes.

Figure 5.33 – Cursor inside text box

Click outside the textbox or press <Escape> when you are finished.

5.2.2.3 Resizing, moving or deleting a textbox

If you want to change a textbox, first click the text to make the borders of the
textbox visible. Then click and drag any of the white handles to resize the box.

Figure 5.34–White handles used to resize the text Box

To move the textbox, place your cursor over one of the edges of the box.
(Although it is easier to do this when the box is selected, you can do it even
with an unselected textbox.) A four-headed arrow will become attached to your
cursor.

Figure 5.35–Four-headed arrow

Now, click and drag to move the textbox. Release the cursor when your
textbox is in the desired location.

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 Figure 5.36–Moving your textbox

To delete a text box, select the text box and then press the Backspace key on
your keyboard.

5.2.2.4 Rotating a textbox

To rotate a textbox, click and drag the green handle.

Figure 5.37 – Rotating a textbox

Release the cursor when your textbox is in the desired position.

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You can also rotate or flip a textbox with the Rotate menu on the Drawing
Tools – Format tab.

Figure 5.38 – Rotate options

The More Rotation Options command opens the Size tab of the Format Shape
panel.

Figure 5.39 – Format Shape

Here you can set the rotation angle as well as other size options.

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5.2.2.5 Formatting a textbox
When the textbox is selected, use the Drawing Tools – Format tab to modify it.
PowerPoint comes with a number of pre-formatted styles. You can click one of
the thumbnails in the Shape Styles group or click the More arrow and choose
from the gallery.

Figure 5.40 – Shape Styles

You can also use the Fill, Outline and Effects menus to change those individual
aspects of the textbox.

Figure 5.41 – Fill, Outline and Effects commands

To apply special effects to the text in the textbox, use the pre-formatted styles
or the individual menus in the WordArt Styles group of the Drawing Tools –
Format tab.

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5.2.2.6 Advanced textbox formatting
For more advanced options, click any of the option buttons in the Drawing
Tools – Format tab. This will open the appropriate area of the Format Shape
panel.

Figure 5.42 – Format Shape Panel

This panel allows you to control virtually every aspect of the text box.

Exercise: Working with textboxes

In this exercise, we will create and edit a textbox.


To begin, create a new blank database, change the layout to blank.

Click Insert – Text Box.

Click and drag to create a text box near the top of the slide. It should be about
one-inch high and almost as long as the side, with about 1.3cm of a margin on
each side.

Hint

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Use the rulers to help you.

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
Your cursor should now be in the textbox. Note that the size has adjusted to fit
the default font. Type “2013 Training Schedule” and press <Esc>.

Click the green rotate handle and rotate the textbox so that the text runs
vertically and faces the left edge of the slide:


Move the textbox near the left edge of the slide:


Resize the bottom edge of the textbox so that it is close to the end of the text:

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
Now format the textbox. Click the Drawing Tools – Format tab:


Click the More arrow in the Shape Styles group:


Choose any style:

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
Click the More arrow in the WordArt Styles group:

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
Choose a style to complement the colours in the textbox:


Save your presentation as Lesson 2.2 Completed and close PowerPoint to
complete the exercise.

5.2.3 Basic editing tools

5.2.3.1 Using selection tools

The most fundamental editing skill is being able to select text and objects. As
you already know, you can click an object (such as a textbox, shape or picture)
to select it and then modify it.

Figure 5.43 – An example of text

You can also hold <Ctrl> and click multiple objects to select them

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 Figure 5.44 – Selecting multiple objects

To select text in a textbox, click and drag over the text.

Figure 5.45 – Selecting text in a Text Box

You can also use the Select menu on the Home tab.

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 Figure 5.46 – Select options

The default option, “Select Objects”, is what we have been using so far. “Select
All” will select all objects on the slide.

The Selection Pane command will show the Selection and Visibility task pane.

Figure 5.47 – Selection Pane on the right

This shows all objects on the slide. Selected objects will appear shaded.

Figure 5.48 – Selected options shaded

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Here is a list of other tasks that you can perform with the Selection and
Visibility Pane:

 Click an item to select it

 Click the eye to show or hide the object
 Show or Hide All objects
 Use the arrows at the bottom of the pane to change the order of the objects

Exercise: Basic editing tools

In this exercise, you will get some experience in PowerPoint’s editing tools.


To begin, open Lesson 2.3.

If the presentation has been opened in Protected View, click on Enable

Editing to be able to work on the presentation.


This is a simple presentation with one slide: a workshop agenda. However,
there are some last-minute changes to be made. To start, update the
terminology used. Click Replace on the Home tab.

In the Find what field, type “Advertising”. In the Replace with field, type
“Marketing”. Click Replace All.


Click OK when the replacement is complete.

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Then, close the Replace dialog.


Select the “Icebreaker” line. Drag and drop it above the “Introductions” line.


Click the Option button in the Clipboard group of the Home tab.


Select the word “Energizer” and click Cut on the Home tab.

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
Next, select “Fads and Trends” and press <Ctrl + X>.

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
Click to place your cursor at the beginning of the line “Marketing Plans and
Budgets”. Then, click the Fads and Trends item in the Clipboard.


Right click the Energizer item and click Delete. Then, close the clipboard.


Save your presentation as Lesson 2.3 Completed. Close PowerPoint to
complete the exercise.

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5.2.4 Using themes and backgrounds

PowerPoint’s themes provide an easy way to give your presentation a clean,

professional look. Even better, if you don’t like the themes that are provided,
you can customise them or download other themes off the Web.

5.2.4.1 Changing the theme

By default, blank presentations use the Office theme. To change the theme,
simply click a thumbnail from the gallery in the Themes group of the Design
tab.

Figure 5.49 – An example of a template

The current theme will be the farthest to the left in the gallery and will be
shown in the Slides pane. If you hover your mouse pointer over the other
themes, you will see a preview in the editing window.

If you do not like the first row of themes that appears, use the single arrows to
navigate through the rows. Use the arrow icon with a line (called the More
arrow) to show the full gallery.

Figure 5.50 – More arrow

You can also right click a thumbnail to customise how the theme will be
applied.

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 Figure 5.51 – Option of how the theme will be applied

5.2.4.2 Customising theme colours

In this example, we have chosen the Verve theme. If you do not like the
colours that come with this particular theme, click the Colors command next
to the Themes gallery and choose a new colour scheme.

You will see the current settings in the Slides pane and the new colours in the
editing area as you hover your mouse pointer over the various choices, making
it easy to decide what colours you want to apply.

Like themes, you can right click colour options to customise their application.

If you click “Create New Theme Colors” at the bottom of the menu, you will
see a dialog allowing you to customise each aspect of the current colour
scheme.

5.2.4.3 Choosing a Background Style

The Design tab also offers slide background options based on your current
theme. Click the Arrow of Variants to get the Background Style command
and see your choices.

Figure 5.52 – Background Styles

Click a background thumbnail to apply it, or right click it for more options.

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 Figure 5.53 – More options after right-clicking the background
thumbnail

Note the option at the bottom of the panel to reset the background if you have
made changes to it. In this group, you can also choose to hide background
graphics for the theme that is being used.

Figure 5.54 – Hide Background Graphics option

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5.2.4.4 Using the Format Background dialog
To further customise slide backgrounds, click the Format Background
command in the Customize Group.

Figure 5.55 –Format Background

Either command will open the Format Background panel.

Figure 5.56 – Format Background panel

Exercise: Using themes and backgrounds

In this exercise, you will get some experience in using themes and
backgrounds.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Click on File – New.

Click on Sample Templates, select the Contemporary Photo Album and click
Create.


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On the second slide, change the font colour so that all the text becomes black.

Click on the Design tab and Background Styles.


Click on Format Background and select the Picture or texture fill radio
button.


Click on File… and open the Sample Pictures folder.

Select Tulips and click on Insert. Then click on Close.

Close PowerPoint to complete the exercise. Do not save your changes.

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5.2.5 Applying slide transitions

PowerPoint has a feature that allows you to customise how slides transition
(change) into each other. This is known as slide transition.

The options for customising slide transitions are almost endless: you can
choose and customise different effects, set the duration of a transition and
even add sounds.

5.2.5.1 Applying a transition from the gallery

To apply a transition from the gallery, first select the slide(s) you want to
modify from the Slides pane. Then, click the Transitions tab and choose a
transition from the gallery.

Figure 5.57 – Transitions tab

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Once you have chosen a transition, you will see a quick preview in the editing
window.

Figure 5.58 – Quick preview of the transition

For more options, click the up or down arrow to show different thumbnails in
the gallery. You can also use the bottom arrow (called the More arrow) to
expand the entire gallery.

Figure 5.59 – Entire gallery of different transitions

To remove a transition from a slide, choose the None option from the gallery.
To apply a particular transition to all slides, set your options and then click the
Apply To All command on the Transitions tab.

Figure 5.60 – Apply To All command

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If you look at the Slides pane, you can tell which slides have a transition or
animation by the star icon.

Figure 5.61 – Star icon

5.2.5.2 Setting Effect Options

After applying most transitions, the Effect Options button will be enabled. This
button expands into a menu that shows different customisation options
depending on the transition selected. Simply click the Effect Options
command and choose your customisation.

The following transitions cannot be customised in this way:

 Flash
 Dissolve
 Honeycomb

5.2.5.3 Customising transition timing

PowerPoint even allows you to customise the timing of transitions. You can
enter how long you want the transition to be in seconds in the Duration field on
the Transitions tab.

Figure 5.62 – Duration field

You can also use the Advance Slide options to choose when to move to the
next slide. The default choice is “On Mouse Click” (or the related shortcuts).
However, you can choose “After” and enter a time in minutes, seconds or parts
of seconds (down to hundredths of a second).

Figure 5.63 – Advance Slide

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5.2.5.4 Adding a sound
The final option we will look at is adding a sound to your transition. Click the
Sound menu and choose an option.

The choices are:

 No Sound
 Stop Previous Sound (from previous transition)
 Various built-in sounds
 Other Sound (where you can browse to your own sound file)
 Loop Until Next Sound

Exercise: Applying slide transitions

In this exercise, you will get some experience in applying slide transitions.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Click on the Design tab and select the Organic theme.


In the Title text box, type in your name and surname. In the Subtitle text box,
type in your student number.

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
Click on the Home tab and click on New Slide. Select the Two Content layout.

In the Title textbox, type in “Learning to apply transitions to my presentation”.

Click on the Smart Art icon in the left “Click to Add” textbox.


When the Choose a SmartArt Graphic box appears, click on Process and select
the Equation SmartArt. Click OK.

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Type “1” in the first textbox, “1” in the second text box and “2” in the last
textbox.

Your SmartArt should now look like this:


Click on the Change Colors command found under the Design tab –SmartArt
Tools.

Select Colorful – Accent Colors.

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
In the second textbox, click on the Clip Art icon.

In the Search for box, type in “Smile” and click on Go.


Insert any Clip Art of your choice by clicking on it once.

Click on the first slide and then click on the Transitions tab.

Select the Glitter transition. Change the duration to 1 minute and also change
the Advance Slide to after one minute. Click the Apply To All command.

Note that the On Mouse Click box is checked by default. Click on the After
checkbox to set the timing to after one minute.


Change the Effect Options to Diamonds from Top.

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
Click on the Slide Show tab and click on the From Beginning command.


Save your presentation as Lesson 2.5 Completed in your exercise folder.

5.2.6 Creating basic animations

5.2.6.1 Applying an animation from the gallery

To apply a basic animation, first select the object(s) that you want to animate.
(Remember to hold <Ctrl> while you click to select multiple objects.) Then,
click the Animations tab and choose an animation thumbnail from the gallery.

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 Figure 5.64 – Animation tab

Like the Transitions tab, you can click the up or down arrow to show different
thumbnails in the gallery. You can also use the More arrow to expand the
entire gallery.

Figure 5.65 – More arrow

Notice that animations are separated into four categories:

 Entrance effects bring the object onto the slide in an animated way.
 Exit effects take the object off of the slide in an animated way.
 Emphasis effects keep the object on the slide but draw the viewer’s eye to
it by putting it in motion.
 Motion Paths move the object around on the slide.

To remove an animation, select the object and choose the None option from
the gallery. To add more animations, use the Add Animation menu in the
Advanced Animation group, shown on the next page.

5.2.6.2 Setting effect options

After applying an animation, the Effect Options button will be enabled. This
button expands into a menu that will show different customisation options
depending on the animation selected.

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5.2.6.3 Customising animation timing
The Timing group on the Animations tab offers several options for controlling
when your animations appear.

Figure 5.66 – Timing group

The first option allows you to choose when the animation appears: when you
click, at the same time as the previous animation, or after the previous
animation. The second option allows you to choose how long the animation will
last. Finally, you can delay the animation by any number of seconds.

5.2.6.4 Reordering animations

When you click the Animations tab, small numbers will appear next to each
item that has an animation applied. These indicate the order that animations
will appear in.

Figure 5.67 – Numbers indicating the order that the animations will
appear in

In this case, the speech balloon will appear first, followed by the koala, and
finally the textbox. (You can click these numbers to see that animation’s
settings in the Animations tab.)

To change this order, click an object to select it and then choose Move Earlier
or Move Later on the Animations tab.

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 Figure 5.68 – Move Earlier or Move Later options

Now our koala appears first.

Figure 5.69 – Koala will now appear first

5.2.6.5 Previewing animations

The Preview command on the Animations tab allows you to preview the
animation(s) on a slide. However, it also expands into a menu allowing you to
toggle AutoPreview (where your animation choices are shown as you select
them) on or off.

Figure 5.70 – Preview command

Of course, you can also run a slideshow to see your animations.

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Exercise 2.6: Creating basic animations

In this exercise, you will get some experience in creating basic animations.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Change the slide layout to Title and Content.


In the Title textbox, type in “Beautiful Tulips”.

Click on the Picture icon and then select the Tulips image found in the Sample
Pictures folder.

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
Click in the Beautiful Tulips textbox and click on the Animations tab.

Select the Arcs animation. Once you have selected this, you will see a preview
of how it works on your slide.

Click on the Tulips picture and select the Zoom animation.

Your slideshow should resemble the picture below:


Click on the Slide Show tab and click on the From Beginning command. To
see your presentation in motion, you will need to click on your mouse button
to start the animation and to proceed to subsequent slides until the end.

Save your presentation as Lesson 2.6 Completed in your exercise file.

Close Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

5.2.7 Creating advanced animations

5.2.7.1 Choosing an effect

You can also click the up or down arrow to show different thumbnails in the
gallery, or use the More arrow to expand the entire gallery.

Underneath the gallery, you will find commands to open a dialog with a
complete list of each type of animation.

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 Figure 5.71 – Type of animation options

For example, here is the Change Entrance Effect dialog.

Figure 5.72 – Change Entrance Effect dialog box

You can see some of the gallery effects here, as well as many other effects
that are not shown as a thumbnail. To apply an effect, click it and click OK. To
exit the dialog without applying any changes, click Cancel.

5.2.7.2 Designing a motion path

PowerPoint lets you control the path of an animation. You can find many
shapes in the gallery and in the Change Motion Path dialog.

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 Figure 5.73 – Change Motion Path dialog box

Like other animations, simply choose a path and click OK to apply it.

If you want to draw your own motion path, expand the gallery and click
Custom Path.

Your cursor will turn into a crosshair. Click and drag to draw the path. Your cursor
will now be a pencil.

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 Figure 5.74 – Pencil drawing

Once you release the cursor, you will see a preview of the animation. The path
will look like a drawing object, with handles to modify, resize or rotate it.

Figure 5.75 – Drawing object with handles

To remove the custom animation completely, simply click the path to select it
and press <Delete> on your keyboard, or choose the None option from the
Animation gallery. Note that you may see path handles appear when you apply
some types of pre-set animations.

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 Figure 5.76 – Handles appearing for a pre-set animation

You can use these handles to modify the path just as you would a drawing
object.

5.2.7.3 Choosing a trigger

You can customise when an animation starts by using the Trigger menu in the
Advanced Animation group. The first option is “On Click of”. This is followed by
a prompt to choose an object.

Figure 5.77 – Trigger command

Notice that you can also have the animation played when you play an audio or
video file and reach a bookmark.

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5.2.7.4 Using the Animation Painter
If you have used the Format Painter before, the Animation Painter is similar: it
lets you copy animations from one object to another. This can be really useful
if you have created a custom animation and want to apply it to other objects.

First, click an object that has one or more animations applied. Then, click the
Animation Painter command on the Animations tab.

Figure 5.78 – Animation Painter command

Next, click the object that you want to animate.

Figure 5.79 – An example of an object that will be animated

Like the Format Painter, you can double click the Animation Painter and click
multiple objects to paint them. Then, press <Esc> or click the Animation
Painter command again to turn it off.

5.2.7.5 Using the Animation Pane

You will find the Animation Pane command in the Advanced Animation group of
the Animations tab.

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 Figure 5.80 – Animation Pane command

This will open a pane on the right-hand side of your screen with a list of the
various animations on the current slide.

Figure 5.81 – Animation pane on the right-hand side

At the very top of the pane, the Play command will play the current animation.

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The yellow bars next to each animation represent the length of time that the
animation will last. You can right-click any animation to customise it.

Figure 5.82 – Blue/Green bar representing the time an animation will

last

At the bottom of the pane, you can zoom in or out of the timeline with the
Seconds menu, which will change the appearance of the blue/green time bars.
You can also use the arrows to scroll through the timeline:

Figure 5.83 – Arrows to scroll through the timeline

Finally, you’ll find the same Re-Order commands that we saw on the
Animations tab.

Figure 5.84 – Re-Order commands

Exercise: Creating advanced animations

In this exercise, you will get some experience in creating advanced animations.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Change the slide layout to Title and Content.

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
Change the title to “The Real Happy Feet”.

Click on the Picture icon and select the Penguins picture found in the Sample
Pictures folder.

Click on the Title textbox and click on Animations tab. Click on Animations
styles and then click on More Entrance Effects.

When the Change Entrance Effect dialog box appears, select the Pinwheel
option. Click OK.

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
Click on the picture and click on Animation Styles and select the More
Emphasis Effects. When the Change Entrance Effect dialog box appears,
select the Pulse option. Click OK.

Click on Preview.


Click on File – Close.

When prompted, do not save your presentation.

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5.3 Adding art to your presentation

In this section, you will learn how to:

 Add and delete shapes

 Move, resize, delete, crop, rotate and flip images
 Colour correct and re-colour images
 Apply artistic effects and styles to images
 Modify image backgrounds

5.3.1 Drawing shapes

5.3.1.1 Adding and deleting shapes

To begin, click the Insert tab and click Shapes. Then, click the shape that you
want to draw.

Figure 5.85 – Shapes option

Then, click and drag in the slide to create the shape.

Figure 5.86 – An example of a shape being created

You can also single click to create a shape of default size.

When you release the cursor (the + sign cursor), the shape will be selected
and the Drawing Tools – Format tab will be accessible.

To remove the shape, ensure it is selected and press the <Backspace> key
on your keyboard.

Exercise: Drawing shapes

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In this exercise, you will get some experience in drawing shapes.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Change the slide layout to Blank.

Click on Shapes on the Insert tab and select the Smiley Face shape. Double
click on an empty space on the slide to draw the smiley face in its default size.

Click on Shapes and select the Cloud Callout shape. Draw the shape above the
smiley face.

Draw a textbox inside the Cloud Callout and type in “Almost Done with
Computer Literacy”.


Click on File – Close.

When prompted, do not save your presentation.

5.3.2 Doing more with pictures

5.3.2.1 Cropping images

To crop an image, start by selecting the image. Then, click the Crop command
on the Picture Tools – Format tab on the mini toolbar. Crop handles will appear
around the image.

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 Figure 5.87 – Crop handles

Click and drag these handles to remove part of the image, like this:

Figure 5.88 – Handles to remove part of the image

5.3.2.2 Rotating and flipping images

To rotate an image, click and drag the green handle.

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 Figure 5.89 – Rotating an image

Alternatively select an image and use the Rotate options on the Picture Tools –
Format tab or the mini toolbar.

Figure 5.90 – Rotate options

You can also see options here to flip the picture around vertically or
horizontally.

The More Rotation Options command will open the Format Picture panel to the
Size tab. Enter a specific degree of rotation in the highlighted field and click
Close to apply it.

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Exercise: Doing more with pictures

In this exercise, you will get some experience in cropping and rotating images.


Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

Change the slide layout to Title and Content.

Click on the Picture icon and select the Lighthouse picture found in the
Sample Pictures folder.

Click on the Crop command on the Format tab and select crop to shape.

Select the Snip Same Side Corner Rectangle option.


Click on the picture to show the handles. Click on Rotate and select the Flip
Horizontal option.

Click File – Close.

When prompted, do not save your presentation.

5.3.3 Formatting images

5.3.3.1 Correcting images

First, we will explore the Corrections menu in the Adjust group of the Picture
Tools – Format tab.

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 Figure 5.91 – Corrections menu

Here, you can choose from a variety of pre-sets to sharpen or soften the
picture, and to adjust the brightness and contrast. The current pre-sets will be
highlighted as shown above.

To set options for each of these categories manually, click the Picture
Corrections Options command at the bottom of the menu. This will open the
Picture Corrections tab of the Format Picture panel.

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 Figure 5.92 – Format Picture dialog box

Notice that you can choose a pre-set for each category or use the slider to set
each option. There is also a Reset command that will become available after
you make changes.

5.3.3.2 Re-colouring images

Let us look at the Color menu, also found in the Adjust group of the Picture
Tools – Format tab.

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 Figure 5.93 – Color menu

Once again, we have several categories of pre-sets: Color Saturation, Color

Tone and Recolor. You can click any of the pre-sets to apply them. The current
pre-sets are highlighted in orange.

To re-colour the picture with a colour not shown here, click More Variations
and choose a colour.

Figure 5.94 – More Variations

The next option, Set Transparent Color, will allow you to mark a colour to be
made transparent for the whole image. Here, we have clicked the Set

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Transparent Color command and are selecting a shade of black to be made
transparent.

Figure 5.95 – An example of a picture with the Set Transparent Color

selection

Here are the results:

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 Figure 5.96 – The result of the Set Transparent Color with the colour
black being selected

Finally, you can click the Picture Color Options command at the bottom of
the menu to open that area of the Format Picture panel.

Figure 5.97 – Format Picture panel

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This dialog provides much finer control over saturation, tone and colour
options. You will also find a Reset command to reverse any changes that you
have made to the current pre-set(s).

5.3.3.3 Applying artistic effects

Finally, the Artistic Effects menu will show you some pre-sets for adding an
artistic flair to your picture.

Figure 5.98 – Artistic Effects

Just click a pre-set to apply it or click the Artistic Effects Options command
at the bottom of the menu to open that area of the Format Picture panel.

Figure 5.99 – Format Picture dialog box

Here, you will be able to set different options for each effect or reset the effect
to its default appearance.

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5.3.3.4 Applying picture styles
Next, we are going to look at how to stylise your pictures. The easiest way is
to use the pre-set styles on the Picture Tools – Format tab. Just select a
picture and click a thumbnail to apply a style.

Figure 5.100 – Pre-set styles on pictures options

You can also use the up and down arrows to navigate through the gallery, or
click the More arrow to view all styles.

To apply a custom border, click the Picture Border command to apply the
border shown, or click the drop-down arrow for more options.

Figure 5.101 – Picture Border options

From top to bottom, your choices are:

 A grid of theme colours

 A row of standard colours
 No Outline
 More Outline Colors, which will open a colour palette allowing you to choose
any colour
 Eyedropper, which will let you click on any colour on the screen and use
that colour
 Weight, which will allow you to choose how thick or thin the line is
 Dashes, which will allow you to customise the appearance of the line

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You can also click Picture Effects to choose a pre-set effect or various types
of effects, including shadows, reflections, glows, soft edges, bevels and 3-D
rotations. (Some types of effects will cancel other effects.)

Figure 5.102 – Picture Effects

The Picture Layout command allows you to format your picture as SmartArt.

Figure 5.103 – Picture Layout

5.3.3.5 Editing a picture’s background

PowerPoint features some powerful background removal tools.

To start, select a picture, click the Picture Tools – Format tab and click
Remove Background.

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 Figure 5.104 – Remove Background command

This will highlight the area to be removed in pink and open the Background
Removal tab.

Figure 5.105 – Background Removal tab

You can accept PowerPoint’s default assessment of what to remove, or you can
click Mark Areas to Keep/Mark Areas to Remove and paint the picture.

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 Figure 5.106 – Mark Areas to Keep/Mark Areas to Remove commands

(Note the Delete Mark command. This acts like an eraser so that you can
remove marks that you have placed.)

Once you have finished, click the Keep Changes command. (Of course, if you
have changed your mind, you can Discard All Changes too.)

Figure 5.107 – Discard All Changes or Keep Changes commands

Here is the final result:

Figure 5.108 – Picture with its background removed

Exercise: Formatting images

In this exercise, you will get some experience in formatting

images.

 Open Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016.

 Change the slide layout to Blank.

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  Click on the Insert tab and select the Picture command. Select the
Chrysanthemum picture and click on Insert.

 Click on Corrections on the Format tab. Select the Brightness: -20%

Contrast: +20% option.

 Click on New Slide on the Home tab and select the Blank layout option.

 Click on the Insert Tab and select the Picture command. Select the
Desert picture and click on Insert.

 Click on Color on the Format tab and select the Olive Green, Accent
color 3 Light option.

 Click on New Slide on the Home tab and select the Blank layout option.

 Click on the Insert tab and select the Picture command and select the
Hydrangeas picture and click on Insert.

 Click on Artistic Effects on the Format tab and select the Glow Edges
option.

 Click on New Slide on the Format tab and select the Blank layout
option.

 Click on the Insert tab and select the Picture command. Select the
Jellyfish picture and click on Insert.

 Click on Picture Styles on the Format tab and select the Rotated,
White option.

 Click on New Slide on the Format tab and select the Blank layout
option.

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  Click on the Insert tab and select the Picture command. Select the
Koala picture and click on Insert.

 Click on the Remove Background command.

 When the handles of the Remove Background command appear,

increase these so that they cover the entire picture.

 Click on Keep Changes.

 Explore other picture commands by adding more slides and inserting

different pictures.

 Click File – Close. When prompted, do not save your presentation.

MLCL173-01 Computer Literacy (Microsoft) Study Guide - V1.0 Jan 2016 Page 796 of 797
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