CCMCS601: ADVANCED COMPUTER SKILLS

LEARNING UNIT 2. APPLY ADVANCED WORD PROCESSING

2.0 Getting Started

Microsoft Word is a word processing software package. You can use it to type letters, reports,
and other documents. Microsoft Word provides powerful tools and options that enable us to
write professional documentation to create professional looking documents.

To start Microsoft Word:

 Click the Start button on the taskbar.

 Point to All Programs.
 Click Microsoft Office.
 Click Microsoft Office Word 2007.

When you start Word, a program window opens, displaying a blank document.

Getting started with Microsoft Word 2007 you will notice that there are many similar features
to previous versions. You will also notice that there are many new features that you’ll be able
to utilize. There are three features that you should remember as you work within Microsoft
Word 2007: the Microsoft Office Button, the Quick Access Toolbar, and the Ribbon. The
function of these features will be more fully explored below.

Screen Layout
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A. The Microsoft Office Button

The Microsoft Office button performs many of the functions that were located in the File
menu of older versions of Word. This button allows you to create a new document, open an
existing document, save or save as, print, send (through email or fax), publish or close.

B. The Ribbon

The Ribbon is the panel at the top portion of the document. It has seven tabs: Home, Insert,
Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review, and View that contain many new and existing
features of Word. Each tab is divided into groups. The groups are logical collections of
features designed to perform functions that you will utilize in developing or editing your
Word document. Commonly used features are displayed on the Ribbon, to view additional
features within each group, click on the arrow at the bottom right of each group.
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Each of the tabs contains a number of logical groups of related tools as listed below:

Home: Clipboard, Fonts, Paragraph, Styles, and Editing.

Insert: Pages, Tables, Illustrations, Links, Header & Footer, Text, and Symbols
Page Layout: Themes, Page Setup, Page Background, Paragraph, Arrange
References: Table of Contents, Footnote, Citation & Bibliography, Captions, Index, and
Table of Authorities

Mailings: Create, Start Mail Merge, Write & Insert Fields, Preview Results, Finish
Review: Proofing, Comments, Tracking, Changes, Compare, Protect
View: Document Views, Show/Hide, Zoom, Window, Macros

C. Quick Access Toolbar

The quick access toolbar is a customizable toolbar that contains commands that you may want
to use. You can place the quick access toolbar above or below the ribbon. To change the
location of the quick access toolbar, click on the arrow at the end of the toolbar and click on
Show below the Ribbon.

You can also add items to the quick access toolbar. Right click on any item in the Office
Button or the Ribbon and click on Add to Quick Access Toolbar and a shortcut will be added
to the Quick Access Toolbar.
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D. The Title Bar

Next to the Quick Access toolbar is the Title bar. The Title bar displays the title of the
document on which you are currently working. Word names the first new document you open
Document1. As you open additional new documents, Word names them sequentially. When
you save your document, you assign the document a new name.

E. The Ruler

The ruler is found below the Ribbon.

You can use the ruler to change the format of your document quickly. If your ruler is not
visible, follow the steps listed here:

1. Click the View tab to choose it.

2. Click the check box next to Ruler in the Show/Hide group. The ruler appears
below the Ribbon.

F. The Text Area

Just below the ruler is a large area called the text area. You type your document in the text
area. The blinking vertical line in the upper-left corner of the text area is the cursor. It marks
the insertion point. As you type, your text displays at the cursor location. The horizontal line
next to the cursor marks the end of the document.
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G. The Vertical and Horizontal and Vertical Scroll Bars

The vertical and horizontal scroll bars enable you to move up, down, and across your window
simply by dragging the icon located on the scroll bar. The vertical scroll bar is located along
the right side of the screen. The horizontal scroll bar is located just above the status bar. To
move up and down your document, click and drag the vertical scroll bar up and down. To
move back and forth across your document, click and drag the horizontal scroll bar back and
forth. You won't see a horizontal scroll bar if the width of your document fits on your screen.

H. The Status Bar

The Status bar appears at the very bottom of your window and provides such information as
the current page and the number of words in your document. You can change what displays
on the Status bar by right-clicking on the Status bar and selecting the options you want from
the Customize Status Bar menu. You click a menu item to select it. You click it again to
deselect it. A check mark next to an item means it is selected.
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1. Understanding Document Views

In Word 2007, you can display your document in one of five views: Draft, Web Layout, Print
Layout, Full Screen Reading, or Online Layout.

1.1. Draft View

Draft view is the most frequently used view. You use Draft view to quickly edit your
document.

1.2. Web Layout

Web Layout view enables you to see your document as it would appear in a browser
such as Internet Explorer.

1.3. Print Layout

The Print Layout view shows the document as it will look when it is printed.

1.4. Reading Layout

Reading Layout view formats your screen to make reading your document more
comfortable.

1.5. Outline View

Outline view displays the document in outline form. You can display headings without the text.
If you move a heading, the accompanying text moves with it.
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2.1 Create and format the document

Create a New Document

There are several ways to create a new document, open existing documents, and save
documents in Word:

 Click the Microsoft Office Button and Click New or

 Press CTRL+N (Depress the CTRL key while pressing the “N”) on the keyboard

You will notice that when you click on the Microsoft Office Button and Click New, you have
many choices about the types of documents you can create. If you wish to start from a blank
document, click Blank. If you wish to start from a template you can browse through your
choices on the left, see the choices on center screen, and preview the selection on the right
screen.

Opening an Existing Document

 Click the Microsoft Office Button and Click Open, or

 Press CTRL+O (Depress the CTRL key while pressing the “O”) on the keyboard, or
 If you have recently used the document you can click the Microsoft Office Button
and click the name of the document in the Recent Documents section of the window
Insert picture of recent docs.

Saving a Document

 Click the Microsoft Office Button and Click Save or Save As (remember, if you’re
sending the document to someone who does not have Office 2007, you will need to
click the Office Button, click Save As, and Click Word 97-2003 Document), or
 Press CTRL+S (Depress the CTRL key while pressing the “S”) on the keyboard, or
 Click the Save icon on the Quick Access Toolbar

Closing a Document

You can close a document by using the close button (from the top-right corner) or by using
Office Button ->Close. Typically, you save your work before exiting. Otherwise you will be
prompted “Do you want to save changes to Document1?" To save your changes, click Yes.
Otherwise, click No. If you click Yes, the Save As dialog box appears.

2.1.1 Text Formatting

Styles

A style is a format enhancing tool that includes font typefaces, font size, effects (bold,
italics, underline, etc.), colors and more. You will notice that on the Home Tab of the
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Ribbon, that you have several areas that will control the style of your document: Font,
Paragraph, and Styles.

Change Font Typeface and Size

a. To change the font typeface:

 Click the arrow next to the font name and choose a font.

 Remember that you can preview how the new font will look by highlighting the text,
and hovering over the new font typeface.

b. To change the font size:

 Click the arrow next to the font size and choose the appropriate size, or
 Click the increase or decrease font size buttons.

Font Styles and Effects

Font styles are predefined formatting options that are used to emphasize text. They
include: Bold, Italic, and Underline. To add these to text:
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 Select the text and click the Font Styles included on the Font Group of the Ribbon, or
 Select the text and right click
to display the font tools

a. Change Text Color

To change the text color:
 Select the text and click the Colors button included on the Font Group of the Ribbon,
or
 Highlight the text and right click and choose the colors tool.
 Select the color by clicking the down arrow next to the font color button.

b. Highlight Text

Highlighting text allows you to use emphasize text as you would if you had a marker. To
highlight text:

 Select the text

 Click the Highlight Button on the Font Group of the Ribbon, or
 Select the text and right click and select the highlight tool
 To change the color of the highlighter click on down arrow next to the highlight
button.

c. Copy Formatting

If you have already formatted text the way you want it and would like another portion of
the document to have the same formatting, you can copy the formatting. To copy the
formatting, do the following:

 Select the text with the formatting you want to copy.

 Copy the format of the text selected by clicking the Format Painter button on the
Clipboard Group of the Home Tab
 Apply the copied format by selecting the text and clicking on it.
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d. Clear Formatting

To clear text formatting:

 Select the text you wish to clear the formatting

 Click the Styles dialogue box on the Styles Group on the Home Tab
 Click Clear All

Modify Page Margins and Orientations

The page margins can be modified through the following steps:

 Click the Page Layout Tab on the Ribbon

 On the Page Setup Group, Click Margins
 Click a Default Margin, or
 Click Custom Margins and complete the dialog box.

Page orientation

To change the Orientation, Size of the Page, or Columns:

 Click the Page Layout Tab on the Ribbon

 On the Page Setup Group, Click the Orientation, Size, or Columns drop down menus
 Click the appropriate choice
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Apply a Page Border and Color

To apply a page border or color:

 Click the Page Layout Tab on the Ribbon

 On the Page Background Group, click the Page Colors or Page Borders drop down
menus

2.1.2. Formatting Paragraphs

Formatting paragraphs allows you to change the look of the overall document. You can
access many of the tools of paragraph formatting by clicking the Page Layout Tab of the
Ribbon or the Paragraph Group on the Home Tab of the Ribbon.

Change Paragraph Alignment

The paragraph alignment allows you to set how you want text to appear. To change the
alignment:

 Click the Home Tab

 Choose the appropriate button for alignment on the Paragraph Group.
 Align Left: the text is aligned with your left margin
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 Center: The text is centered within your margins

 Align Right: Aligns text with the right margin
 Justify: Aligns text to both the left and right margins.

Indent Paragraphs

Indenting paragraphs allows you set text within a paragraph at different margins. There are
several options for indenting:

 First Line: Controls the left boundary for the first line of a paragraph
 Hanging: Controls the left boundary of every line in a paragraph except the first one
 Left: Controls the left boundary for every line in a paragraph
 Right: Controls the right boundary for every line in a paragraph

To indent paragraphs, you can do the following:

 Click the Indent buttons to control the indent.

 Click the Indent button repeated times to increase the size of the indent.

 Click the dialog box of the Paragraph Group

 Click the Indents and Spacing Tab
 Select your indents
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Change Spacing Between Paragraphs and Lines

You can change the space between lines and paragraphs by doing the following:

 Select the paragraph or paragraphs you wish to change.

 On the Home Tab, Click the Paragraph Dialog Box
 Click the Indents and Spacing Tab
 In the Spacing section, adjust your spacing accordingly
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2.1.3. Lists

Lists allow you to format and organize text with numbers, bullets, or in an outline.

Bulleted and Numbered Lists

Bulleted lists have bullet points, numbered lists have numbers, and outline lists combine
numbers and letters depending on the organization of the list.

a. To add a list to existing text:

 Select the text you wish to make a list

 From the Paragraph Group on the Home Tab, Click the Bulleted or Numbered Lists
button

b. To create a new list:

 Place your cursor where you want the list in the document
 Click the Bulleted or Numbered Lists button
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 Begin typing

Nested Lists

A nested list is list with several levels of indented text. To create a nested list:

 Create your list following the directions above

 Click the Increase or Decrease Indent button

Formatting Lists

The bullet image and numbering format can be changed by using the Bullets or Numbering
dialog box.

 Select the entire list to change all the bullets or numbers, or

Place the cursor on one line within the list to change a single bullet
 Right click
 Click the arrow next to the bulleted or numbered list and choose a bullet or numbering
style.

2.2. Explore Insert options

Insert Common Header and Footer Information

To insert Header and Footer information such as page numbers, date, or title, first, decide if
you want the information in the header (at the top of the page) or in the Footer (at the bottom
of the page), then:

 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon

 Click Header or Footer
 Choose a style

 The Header/Footer Design Tab will display on the Ribbon

 Choose the information that you would like to have in the header or footer (date, time,
page numbers, etc.) or type in the information you would like to have in the header or
footer
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Create a Page Break

To insert a page break:

 Click the Page Layout Tab on the Ribbon

 On the Page Setup Group, click the Breaks Drop Down Menu
 Click Page Break

Insert a Cover Page

To insert a cover page:

 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon

 Click the Cover Page Button on the Pages Group
 Choose a style for the cover page
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Insert a Blank Page

To insert a blank page:

 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon

 Click the Blank Page Button on the Page Group

Adding Tables

Tables are used to display data in a table format.

Create a Table

To create a table:

 Place the cursor on the page where you want the new table
 Click the Insert Tab of the Ribbon
 Click the Tables Button on the Tables Group. You can create a table one of four
ways:
 Highlight the number of row and columns
 Click Insert Table and enter the number of rows and columns
 Click the Draw Table, create your table by clicking and entering the rows and
columns
 Click Quick Tables and choose a table
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Enter Data in a Table

Place the cursor in the cell where you wish to enter the information. Begin typing.

Modify the Table Structure and Format a Table

To modify the structure of a table:

 Click the table and notice that you have two new tabs on the Ribbon: Design and
Layout. These pertain to the table design and layout.

On the Design Tab, you can choose:

 Table Style Options

 Table Styles
 Draw Borders

To format a table, click the table and then click the Layout Tab on the Ribbon. This Layout
tab allows you to:

 View Gridlines and Properties (from the Table Group)

 Insert Rows and Columns (from the Rows & Columns Group)
 Delete the Table, Rows and/or Columns (from the Rows & Columns Group)
 Merge or Split Cells (from the Merge Group)
 Increase and Decrease cell size (Cell Size Group)
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 Align text within the cells and change text directions (Alignment Group)

Graphics

Word 2007 allows you to insert special characters, symbols, pictures, illustrations, and
watermarks.

Symbols and Special Characters

Special characters are punctuation, spacing, or typographical characters that are not generally
available on the standard keyboard. To insert symbols and special characters:

 Place your cursor in the document where you want the symbol
 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
 Click the Symbol button on the Symbols Group
 Choose the appropriate symbol.

Equations

Word 2007 also allows you to insert mathematical equations. To access the mathematical
equations tool:

 Place your cursor in the document where you want the symbol
 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
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 Click the Equation Button on the Symbols Group

 Choose the appropriate equation and structure or click Insert New Equation

 To edit the equation click the equation and the Design Tab will be available in the
Ribbon

Illustrations, Pictures, and SmartArt

Word 2007 allows you to insert illustrations and pictures into a document. To insert
illustrations:

 Place your cursor in the document where you want the illustration/picture
 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
 Click the Clip Art Button
 The dialog box will open on the screen and you can search for clip art.
 Choose the illustration you wish to include
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To insert a picture:

 Place your cursor in the document where you want the illustration/picture
 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
 Click the Picture Button
 Browse to the picture you wish to include
 Click the Picture
 Click Insert

Smart Art is a collection of graphics you can utilize to organize information within your
document. It includes timelines, processes, or workflow. To insert SmartArt

 Place your cursor in the document where you want the illustration/picture
 Click the Insert Tab on the Ribbon
 Click the SmartArt button
 Click the SmartArt you wish to include in your document
 Click the arrow on the left side of the graphic to insert text or type the text in the
graphic.
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Resize Graphics

All graphics can be resized by clicking the image and clicking one corner of the image and
dragging the cursor to the size you want the picture.

Add Borders and Shading

You can add borders and shading to paragraphs and entire pages. To create a border around a
paragraph or paragraphs:

 Select the area of text where you want the border or shading.
 Click the Borders Button on the Paragraph Group on the Home Tab
 Choose the Border and Shading
 Choose the appropriate options
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Apply Styles

Styles are a present collection of formatting that you can apply to text. To utilize Quick
Styles:

 Select the text you wish to format.

 Click the dialog box next to the Styles Group on the Home Tab.
 Click the style you wish to apply.

2.3. Create Links within the document

Creating links in a word document allows you to put in a URL that readers can click on to
visit a web page. To insert a link:

 Click the Hyperlink Button on the Links Group of the Insert Tab.
 Type in the text in the “Text to Display” box and the web address in the “Address”
box.
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Watermarks

A watermark is a translucent image that appears behind the primary text in a document. To
insert a watermark:

 Click the Page Layout Tab in the Ribbon

 Click the Watermark Button in the Page Background Group
 Click the Watermark you want for the document or click Custom Watermark and
create your own watermark
 To remove a watermark, follow the steps above, but click Remove Watermark

Check Word Count

To check the word count in Word 2007 look at the bottom left corner of the screen. It will
give you a total word count or if you have text highlighted it will tell you how many words are
highlighted out of the total.
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2.4. Using Mail Merge

Mail Merge is a feature of Microsoft Word. Mail Merge allows you to prepare a document
(such as a letter, envelope, and e-mail) and fill some document fields from a database of
information. Mail Merge generates several document versions automatically, based on the
information in the database.
There are a few steps that need to be accomplished before you actually perform a merge:
The Main Document will need to be created. This is the form letter you will ultimately be
sending out in the end.
The Data Source needs to be created. This is the information that will merged into the form
letter you are sending out.

a. Creating your Main Document in Microsoft Word

Create your main document just as if you were sending this letter to
one person with this one exception: Leave space for the data that
will be merged.
b. Creating your Data Source in another word document
 Open another word document.
 Create a table with necessary field names and data. For
example

Save the file, close it and go to the main document and do the
following.

Names Post Address District Country

DUSABE Abele 115 BUTARE HUYE Rwanda
MUGENI Ann 221 KIGALI Kicukiro Rwanda
… … … …

Save the file, close it and go to the main document and do the following.
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Mail Merge for Letters

Word has a Mail Merge wizard that guides you through the steps needed to create a mail-
merged document.
1) Keep the cursor in the place that is where you want to insert the merge fields.
2) From the Mailings tab, select Start Mail Merge button > Step by Step Mail Merge
Wizard

3) The Mail Merge task pane opens.

4) On the Mail Merge task pane, under Select document type,

choose Letters from the list and then click on Next: Starting
document.
6) Under Select starting document, choose whether to Use the
current document, Start from a template, or Start from
existing document. Make your selection Use the current
document and then click Next: Select recipient.
7) Under Select recipients, choose Use an existing list and then
click Browse to select the data source.
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8) The Select Data Source dialog box will be opened. In that select the data source name and
give open.

9) You will get the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box. In that you can view all your records.
Click OK. Then in the Step 3 of 6 click Next: Write your letter.

10) Now you need to customize your main document. This means that you have to edit your
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main document by adding the merge fields into it. To do that click on more items.

11) You will be given a Insert Merge Field dialog

box. In the Fields choose the field names one by one
and click Insert. Now the fields will be inserted into
your main document.

12) After inserting all fields into the main

document click on Next: Preview your letters.