4a Word P-rtocessing

4.1 Editing and formatting text

In Unit 4a, you will learn about how word processing software is used
LEARNING OUTCOMES
10 create documents that are attractive and useful. You will learn how
Word processing software is word processing facilities are used 1o make documents more suttable for
used to edit text and to change purpose, and how using a word processor can make work easier.
its appearance. In 4.1, ycu will A t the end of this untt. you will find some practice exam questions 10 test
learn ab0u1 how word processing your knowledge.
fea1ures are used to work wtth text.
Text mea"s a-:y characters, letters Editing and formatting
or numbers 1ha: you ca,i 1ype at
lhe keyboard. Word processing makes it easy to edtt and format text.
• Editing text means making changes 1o the text content, such as
adding or deleting words and characters.
• Formatting text means changing tne appearance of text, such as

I Mouse pe,nter 1
i -- -
making it larger.

Pointer and cursor

I Text PO n:er f--
1- I You will be familiar with the mouse poinler that moves about on tne
computer screen as you move your mouse. V\lhetl you are using word
Figure 4.1.1 I Mouse po nter and te<I processing software to edh a document, the mouse pointer takes on a
pointer
vertical shape (see Figure 4 .1.1 ). This is sometimes called a text pointer.
When you move the text pointer to anywhere in your document and
KEY POINTS click, the cursor appears where you click. The cursor is typically a
flashing vertical bar. Any typing, edtting or formatting you do will happen
• A typeface is the shape and wnere 1he cursor is.
style of characlers.
• A font Includes the type'ace Insert and delete text
and tre size of the 1ex..
If yOo.J 1ype characters on lhe keybOard, they will appear where the cursor Is.
Different fonts are used to make
text plain, fancy, easy 10 read or • Normally, the charae1ers will be inserted in betvveen any words that are
to add emphasis. already there. This is called Insert mode.
• In Overtype mode, the characters you type will write over whatever is
there already, deleting it.
You can swap between Insert and Overtype mode by pressing the Insert
key on your keyboard . You will use Insert mode most of the time.
i Cut If you need to remove text from a document, you can delete tt using the
Baokspace and Delete keys. Backspace removes characters lo lhe left of
~ Copy the cursor. The Delete key removes charac1ers to the right of tne cursor.
Paste

Figure 4.1.2 I loons

Working with blocks of text
As well as deleting single characters at the cursor. you can select a block EXAM TIP
of text and delete it in ore go.
It is 111,ot e""oug 11 to k""llw
• To select a word you double-click with the mouse (you must click fairly I-low to t<Se for""-&1tti~
quickly). To select a paragraph you click three times.
fecitures. sucJ., &IS bold
• To select any ot11er block of text, move the text pointer to the start , or fo ...t. you ""-t<St aLso
hold down 1he mouse button and drag the pointer 10 the end of lhe
R."'-OW wl-111 a vccl wl1e111,
block of text.
11°u sJ.iould t<Se t'1el¾,
The selected 1ext is highlighted, typically with a snaded block. The
highlighted text can be deleted, formatted or moved around in
to '"""a~e docu""-e....ts .
For ex'.Cll¾pte, bold could
the document.
~e used to pick. out
Character formatting """-)'OrtClvct Words """ Cl
pcece of text.
To make part of your text stand out you can pick a range of character
formats.
• Make text UPPERCASE or lowercase
• Text size can be larger or sma,ier , ACTIVITY I
• Select a font (the st1::1Le of text} ,hat suits the purpose o' your
document Use word processing software to
• Add emphasis with underlining. bold and italic type up a short document. You
• Add small characters above or below the main words using ,.b"'"' and can choose anything you like: an
'""~ !I~ advert, a slory, some scnool work
or an extract from a book such
To format a block of text, highlight it and then choose a format option as this one.
from ,he toolbar of your software. Alternatively, you can choose a
suitable format before you begin to type. • Produce one version of the
document that has no text
The defautt character format is the size and style of text that you begin formatting - it is all In the
with, before you make any changes. default style.
• Produce a second version
KEY POINTS
that uses lots of character
'Default' means '.he normal way tne software will operate if you don't formatting - many different
make any changes. fonts and sizes and layout
options.
• Produce a third version that has
Move and copy text a small amount of character
formatting - only the headings
The simplest way to move a block of text is to highlight it and drag it to
and the most important words
the ne,_,v place v>/nere you want it to be.
are emphasised by formatting.
Or you can Copy and Paste. Which o' the three versions do
• Copy: select a block of text and click on the Copy icon on ihe tool yo..i like best?
bar (see Figure 4 .1.2). The selected text is copied imo a small area of
memory called the clipboard. You can't see the clipboard, but tne text
is stored there.
• Cut: if you choose the Cut icon Instead of the Copy icon, the selected LINK %
block of text will disappear from the document and will be stored in the Find out more about
clipboard.
Text layc,Ji: 4.2
• Paste: move the cursor anywhere In tne document and click the
Paste icon. The text stored in the clipboard will be inserted into your Crea1ing finished documenis: 4.3
document at the cursor.
 Text layout

LEARNING OUTCOMES Text wrap

Normally; when you are typing a document, tne sof!v,are will arrange the
In "· 1, you saw new word iext inio lines automatically. When there is no more room on ihe line, the
processing allows text to be next word appears on the line below. This Is called text wrapping. The
edited and formatted. In 4.2, you text will nol wrap In the middle of a word, but only in the space between
wlll leam abo~t otner features words.
that are used to Improve the
layout and appearance of If you press the Enter key while you are typing a dowment, this will start
documents. a new line. This is called a manual line break or a hard return.
The only times 1hal you need to use a manual line break are:
• when you want '.o break the text into short lines or create a list
•• • at the end of a paragraph .
Ma<1y word processing packages If you are typing a long documenl. you should break the text inlo
will display 'II symbols in the text paragraphs lo make it easier to read .
showing wnere you have entered
manual line breaks and oiher Line spacing
formatting and layoi,11 fealures.
The lines of text can be close together or there can be a lot of space
You can turn this display of' and between them. This ls called the lir e spacirg. You can set line spacing
on using a tool bar icon. llie fer the whole document or for a block of text.
picture above shows w'nat 1his
icon may look like. In general, mere space between lines can make the !ext clearer, but you
can't fit so many lines on a page.
Try clicking It to turn i he
lormaWng display on and off.
Line justification
The left- and right-hand sides of ;he text are called ihe margins.
When you look al a documeni you will see that the iext is neatly lined
up at one side. Typically, the left margin is s1raight, and the right-hand
margin is irregular. This book is printed in that s1yle.
How words are arranged on a line is called the iext alignment.
• If all new lines start neaily at the lefl-hand margin, this is called left-
justified text. Tnis is the most common default layout. Use this for
normal text.
• If the text is lined up neatly at the right margin, this Is called right-
justified text. Use this for numerical data and when typing your address
at the top of a letter.
• The software can also adjust the spacing between words so that both
the left and right margins are exactly slralghi. This is called fully justified
text. Use this for text that you want lo look like printed material.
Newspaper columns are often laid out using fully justified text.
• If the text is plJ! in the very centre oi the line, with space on the
left and the right, this is called centred text. Use this for headings
and titles.
Tabs
If you want lext lo neatly line up at some olher place on l he page, not KEY POINTS
al the margins, then you can use labs. Tabs are points In the document
where text can be Positioned. To move the cursor to the next 'Tab stop' in A single paragrap'1 can be
the line. you press the Tab key on your keyboard. The posttion of tabs is indented. This means the
sometimes shown on a 11.,ler at the top of a document. See Flgure £ .2.1 paragraph ,s moved In from the
for an example. left margin.
Use tabs to line up columns of words or figures neatly. If all the lines in a paragraph
except tne firs: are Indented, this

Tne ruler at ttie too ot

,i,e oocornent shows
• ,~
;I ' • 1 -•
..,,.- '
I • J • I
• ' .. '
l
is called a hanging paragraph

me ooov•1ent rrargln

ThkS t•xt b1p,s at tht m1.r,in

Ti,e ruler also shows
tnetaoS:op This

Tekt

IText C<l'l be al gned to

me tao Stop
L-- -- - -- tu J&n• d
To a lab
r[jl•~ Br•aks •
Ile.) Lin• Numb•rs •
IColumns
, b:- Hyphtnatlon •

~
Figure 4.2.1 Use of labs
•
On •
Columns
In some documents, ,ext and images are shown in columns on a page.
-- c .- Two
Newspapers and newsletters are printed this way.
r
You can use a column layout in your word processed documents. 1
au Thr••
In Vvord, the columns menu is in the Layout tab. When you select ,he
coh,mns button you can choose one, two or lhree columns. Selecting
two or three columns will make your document look more like a ~ l•ft

newspaper or magazine page.

You can add columns to your entire documem er Just to a section of tt.
You will see as you type that the text flows from one oolumn to the next
~ Rlght

as each oolumn is filled. !! More tolumns...

Figure 4.2.2 I Co•urrns menu

/ ACTIVITY I
1 Collect samples of printed material, such as magazines, which
show the following features:
• fully Justified text
• columns
• tables
• very wide er narrow line spacing.
LINK %
2 Create a document - either from your own wor1< or by copying
Find out more about
one of l he samples you have collected - that demonslrates some
of these features. Creabng finished docu-nents: 4.3
.