COURSE GUIDE

Course Code: COM 001

Course Title: COMPUTER APPLICATION PACKAGES 1

Credit Unit: 2

Semester: 1st

Edition: First

Required Study Hour: 4 hours per week

Course Developer: Adebunmi M. O

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

To achieve the above aims, a set of relevant objectives have been formulated to guide COM 001.
Focusing on these objectives is critical to students’ self-evaluation as the course progresses.

Students should be able to do the following at the end of the course:

 Define and describe application software.

 Differentiate between software and an application
 Differentiate between general purpose and specialized application packages.
 Understand and use Microsoft word processing package.
 Understand Excel spreadsheet and its users
 Master the use of Microsoft PowerPoint for presentation.
 Learn the fundamentals of database development packages with practical applications
using Access 2000.
 Describe graphic packages.

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UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION TO APPLICATION PACKAGES

Definition of Application Software

Software can be defined as a set of instructions that instruct the computer on how to perform
various activities/tasks. Application is a type of software that can be used to perform a specific
task.

Applications software is software that has been developed to perform specific tasks, or solve
particular problems, or provide entertainment for users. As users, you interact with the
application's software. System software enables the applications software to interact with the
computer and helps to manage its internal resources. Generally, it is considered as any set of
commands that guides or tells the hardware how to accomplish a given task. If you buy a
computer in a store, you will find that some packaged software have already been installed on it.
This typically includes system software (e.g., operating system) and various types of applications
software compatible with it. Application Software’s are programs designed for end users which
allow them to accomplish a set of specific tasks.

Software is divided into systems software (i.e., programs designed to control the execution and
utilization of other programs and hardware effectively) and applications software (i.e., programs
to solve users’ problems). Systems software is generally supplied by hardware manufacturers.
Applications software, on the other hand, comprises the method and guides which enable
computer systems to do what the user requires.

Application packages are software programs written to support tasks that a computer was
originally allowed to do; they are developed according to the needs of computer users. Most of
the time, the application software has to be installed by the user. This means that the application
packages you may have on your computer will be different from what others may have on their
computer, because each user has different needs or tasks to perform. In addition, application
software is available in various versions. And the system properties determine which packages
will work on the computer depending on the system capacity.

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SUMMARY

In this unit, we have examined the concept of software and application packages. It has been
seen from this unit that without software a computer system cannot function and that application
packages help to perform specific tasks on the computer.

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UNIT 2

CATEGORIES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Application software may be classified in many ways. In this unit, we are going to use four
categories. That is:

 Entertainment software
 Home/personal software
 Education/reference software
 Specialty software

Let us consider them briefly:

Entertainment Software

Entertainment Software refers to a wide variety of software; it can refer to video games, software
for watching videos or playing music, displaying pictures, and other forms of entertainment
which users can experience through a computer device. It can also be said that entertainment
software is type of software that provides opportunities for leisure activities or any form of
entertainment.

We can say that due to the loose definition of entertainment software, there is quite a lot of
software that fall into this category. One of the most well-known sectors of entertainment
software is video games or the gaming industry, we can see how popular video games are if we
take a look around, from adventure games like tomb raider to sports games like FIFA, NBA to
action games like Call of Duty to simple games like candy crush and it’s not all games that are
for leisure purpose, we also have educational games like Hangman, Scrabble, etc. Video games
have been around since the ‘70s and they have developed rapidly to the point that modern-day
games almost look as good as the real world.

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Another category is the Media Software, this can be for media creation and editing or for playing
media files (movies and music). Though this category may not be as popular as the gaming
category, they are still quite widely known. We also have various software for watching movies
like VideoLAN (VLC), KMPlayer:, Netflix, etc., or listening to music like iTunes, Deezer, etc.
All this software enables us to watch videos or listen to music on our Computers.

Entertainment Software are not solely for leisure purposes, we also use it for educational
purposes. Children love to be entertained, they love to have fun and it is also easy to instruct
children through educational games or videos, this is commonly used in modern schools and it
has proven to be very efficient. Educational games come in various forms and sizes; some are
general while others offer a more specialized educational experience, examples include
Minecraft which is used by architectural schools for the project, Kahoot which can be said to be
an educational platform. Overall, there are so many different ways to teach kids while having
fun. This means modern children have many new opportunities to be interested in learning and
have fun while doing it.

Home/Personal Software

Personal software or Personal application software can be said to be software one uses for their
purpose, this implies that it is software you use to complete a certain task that relates to you,
technically personal software does not have to be unique, it just has to be software that various
individuals can use for their purpose. It is also known as home application software because it is
intended for home, private use.

Most software that we use is personal software because of various reasons apart from being
intended for home and private use, they come most times with instructional use, they are

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comparatively cheaper than any other category of application software, they also increase
personal productivity and effectiveness.

Based on this description of personal software we can give an example of personal software
which is Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office is considered as an example of personal software
because it caters to a lot of activities in our daily lives; for example, Microsoft word is used for
typing documents like research papers, projects, lesson notes, assignments, etc. Microsoft Office
is also one of the most popular if not the most popular personal software in the world today,
apart from that it is also very cheap to acquire and easy to use. Other examples are our various
web browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Explorer, etc. they enable us to have access
to the web and to browse it.

The common features among all these examples are that:

o We use them for personal purposes;

o We use them in our daily activities;
o They are cheap to get;
o And, they increase personal effectiveness.

Educational/Reference Software

Educational software are programs that are mainly developed for teaching and learning. It covers
a wide range of different purposes right from language learning software to reference software to
classroom management software to video instruction software etc. The potential of educational
software was recognized early by educational professionals, this lead to educational software
arriving virtually with the first desktop computers. Educational software covers a large area of
different forms, costs, and purposes, some exist to instruct children on various letters in the
alphabet, others include introducing complex concepts to all grades, some are also for
developmental purposes in the aspect of good writing skills, good speaking skills, etc. some are
designed for instructing professionals various details of their job, etc. some examples include
Encarta, Google Classroom, SIMS, eClassroom, Litmos, Moodle, etc.

There are various categories of educational software which include:

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1) Courseware, which is additional materials that can either be intended as kits for teachers or
tutorials for students. In most cases, they are documents intended to provide further assistance.

2) Classroom Aids, which are specifically designed for use in school classrooms. When such
software are used, they are typically displayed on large whiteboards e.g. Moodle.

3) Specific Educational purpose, which are highly specific software that is used mainly teaching
on a specific subject or instruct on a specific task e.g. driving test software, language learning
software, etc.

Other categories include corporate training, custom platforms reference software, and assessment
software.

Specialty Software

Whatever your occupation, you will probably find it has specialized software available to it. This
is so whether your career is as an architect, building contractor, pilot, etc. Some programs help
architects or engineers to be able to simulate buildings before building them. Other programs
help construction estimators pull together the costs of materials and labor needed to estimate a
job.

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SUMMARY

Various categories of application software help to carry out various tasks ranging from
education-related tasks to entertainment. Users determine which of these categories they install
depending on their needs. In this unit, we have gone through the four major categories of
application packages. It is clear that users have the choice to install any or all of the categories.

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UNIT 3

COMMON FEATURES OF SOFTWARE

The following discussion provides a brief review of some features common to both applications
software and system software.

The User Interface or UI is the point at which the users interact with a computer program or
application. The main goal of the user interface is to make the user experience easy, enabling the
user to achieve a maximum outcome with minimal effort. The type of user interface is usually
determined by the system. There have been various types of interface in the past but the currently
most used or widely known is the Graphical User Interface or GUI as it is commonly known. It
is a form of user interface which allows users to interact with a computer through graphical icons
and audiovisual indicators. Various actions in GUI are usually performed by directly
manipulating the graphical elements.

Image of a Graphical User Interface for Windows (11)

Source: Caesar’s PC

Common features of GUIs are menus, windows, icons, buttons, and dialog (dialogue) boxes.

 Menus: A menu is a list of available commands shown on the screen. It is a list of

command options presented to a user on a computer system.

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A menu bar is a horizontal bar that contains the labels for drop-down menus which is
usually anchored to the top of a window, coming most times after the title bar.

Image of a Menu Bar in File Explorer

Source: Screenshot

A drop-down menu is a list of commands options that "drop down" from a selected menu
bar item at the top of the screen. It allows a user to choose one value from the list. When
it is inactive it shows a single value, when it is activated or clicked on it drops down a list
of values or commands for a user to select one.

Image of an active Drop Down Menu

Source: Screenshot

A pop-up menu, also known as shortcut menu and context menu, refers to a hidden menu
that doesn’t show/appear until the user right-clicks. This menu is mostly referred to as a
context menu because the menu that appears relates to what was right-clicked. For
example in Microsoft word, if a text that is highlighted is right-clicked on, a pop-up menu

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 similar to the example below will appear. This menu gives quick access to common
features related to the text.

Image of an active pop-up Menu

Source: Screenshot

 Window: A particularly interesting feature of GUIs is the use of windows. A window is

the rectangular part of the computer display in the GUI that shows the program currently
in use. For example, the browser window you use to explore the files on your system is a
window. Windows allows users to work with multiple programs or view multiple
programs at the same time. Most windows allow you to minimize and maximize them,
allowing you to temporarily hide and show programs.

Image of a window
Source: Screenshot

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A window (small w) should not be confused with Windows (capital W).
The program known as Microsoft Windows is the most popular form of system software for the
personal computer. However, as you might expect, Windows features extensive use of windows.

 Icons: An icon is a small graphical representation of a program, function, or file. When

you click or double-click an icon, the associated file or program opens or an action is
performed. For example, if you doubleclick the This PC icon, Windows Explorer will
open windows explorer.
Icons are components of GUI operating systems, including Apple's macOS X and
Microsoft Windows. Icons help users quickly identify the type of file represented by the
icon. The image is an example of the "My Computer" icon in various versions of
Microsoft Windows.

Image of a Windows Screen with Various Icons

Source: Screenshot

 Buttons: A button is a graphic icon that may have text that performs a software function.
For example, the Windows Start button is used to open the Start menu, the X button by
the top right of a window s used to close the window.

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 Image with the windows button clicked
Source: Screenshot

 Dialogue (Dialog) box: A dialog box is a window that opens to allow communication
between the computer and you, the user. Dialogue can ask questions or give you
information. Generally, once a dialogue box appears, an action must be taken which
relates to it before the user can access other applications.

Image of a Dialogue Box

Source: Screenshot

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UNIT 4

WORD PROCESSING PACKAGE

INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT WORD ENVIRONMENT

The new Word environment is designed to more closely reflect the way people generally work
with the program. Microsoft Word is a word processing application that allows you to create a
variety of documents, including letters, resumes, and more. In this section, you'll learn how to
navigate the Word interface and become familiar with some of its most important features, such
as the Ribbon, Quick Access Toolbar, and Backstage view.

To open the Microsoft Word application, click on the start button, then click on all app (or all
programs), look for the Microsoft office folder (a suite of Microsoft applications) and inside it
you will find the Microsoft word application, click on it to launch.

This is the environment you will be working on, it comprises of the title bar, menu bar, standard
toolbar, formatting toolbar, ruler, insertion point, Scroll bars, Status Bar, View Buttons, etc.

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The Tile bar

As seen above, by default it is titled “Document 1-Word”. When you save as then you have the
option to name it whatever you want to name it.

The Ribbon

As seen above, the ribbon is a set of toolbars at the top of the window in Office programs
designed to help you quickly find the commands that you need to complete a task.

The file tab and backstage view

As seen above, The File tab is a colored tab, for example, a blue tab in Word, located in the
upper-left corner of Microsoft Office programs while the backstage view provides access to
saving, opening, info about the currently open file (Permissions, Sharing, and Versions), creating
a new file, printing, etc.

Ruler

Scroll Bars

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Document View Buttons

The view buttons are a feature that lets you change how the presentation or document appears.

Zoom sliders

The zoom slider is usually in the lower right corner of the software window as shown above.

The mini Toolbar

The mini toolbar appears whenever you right-click text in Word.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of one or more keys that you can use to perform actions,
e.g. opening a new document (Ctrl + N). You can save time working with long documents by
using some of Microsoft Word's keyboard shortcuts to perform common or repetitive tasks.

Here is a list of shortcuts you can always use, Basic Windows keyboard shortcuts

Ctrl+Z: Undo.

Ctrl+W: Close.

Ctrl+A: Select all.

Alt+Tab: Switch apps.

Alt+F4: Close apps.

Win+D: Show or hide the desktop.

Win+left arrow or Win + right arrow: Snap windows.

Win+Tab: Open the Task view

Win+E: Open windows explorer

Ctrl+C: Copy

Ctrl+V: Paste

Ctrl+X: Cut

Ctrl+S: Save

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UNIT 5

INTRODUCTION TO EXCEL

Excel is used for calculation; it is easy to use. With excel you can perform a lot of mathematical
functions. In this unit, we will be introducing what and how the excel interface looks like.

Excel, which is part of Microsoft Office Suite has become the global choice and most widely
accepted spreadsheet software. Despite the availability of another spreadsheet, the popularity of
Excel appears to be unmatched and has been the flagship in spreadsheet applications across the
years and globally.

Preference for Excel is predicated on its versatility. The strength of Excel lies in the performing
numerical calculations. However, Excel is also useful for non-numeric applications. The uses of
Excel are many and varied. Here are just a few uses for Excel:

1. Create budgets
2. Tabulate expenses
3. Analyze survey results
4. Financial analysis
5. Create a variety of highly customizable charts
6. Compiling mailing lists by using the row-and-column layout
7. Creating graphical dashboards
8. Summarize a large amount of business information in a concise format
9. Use shapes and SmartArt to create professional-looking diagrams.
10. Automating complex tasks

Excel Interface/Ribbon

Excel interface revolves around the ribbon/menus. The excel ribbon comprises of tabs, which
contain groups of controls. The commands available in the Ribbon vary, depending upon which
tab is selected. The Ribbon is arranged into groups of related commands. Here’s a quick
overview of Excel’s tabs:

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- Home - You’ll probably spend most of your time with the Home tab selected. This tab
contains the basic Clipboard commands, formatting commands, style commands, and
commands to insert and delete rows or columns, plus an assortment of worksheet editing
commands.
- Insert - Select this tab when you need to insert something into a worksheet—a table, a
diagram, a chart, a symbol, and so on.
- Page Layout - This tab contains commands that affect the overall appearance of your
worksheet, including some settings that deal with printing.
- Formulas - Use this tab to insert a formula, name a cell or a range, access the formula
auditing tools, or control the way Excel performs calculations.
- Data - Excel’s data-related commands are on this tab, including data validation
commands
- Review - This tab contains tools to check to spell, translate words, add comments, or
protect sheets.
- View - The View tab contains commands that control various aspects of how a sheet is
viewed. Some commands on this tab are also available in the status bar.
- Help - This tab provides ways to get help, make suggestions, and access other aspects of
Microsoft’s community.
- Add-Ins - This tab is visible only if you loaded an older workbook or add-in that
customizes the menu or toolbars.

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 Excel interface

Structure of an Excel Workbook

A worksheet is inside a workbook and it is used in Excel documents which is a collection of cells
organized in rows and columns as you see above. The worksheet is the working surface you
interact with to enter data. You perform the work you do in Excel in a workbook. Please note
that it is practicable to have as many workbooks open as may be needed, each appearing in its
window.

Because of the multiple numbers of cells scattered on a worksheet, each cell have to be
addressed individually and uniquely, and the way to do that is through the cell address – which is
derived by the column letter and the row number that an active cell is currently under. So, a cell
addressed as B3 would mean it is under column B and on row 3.

Some important features of excel to know:

Active Cell: Is the selected cell where data is entered when typing commences

Cell: The intersection of a row and a column

Chart: Any object that presents data in a visual or graphic manner

Column: Vertical arrangement of cells

Spreadsheet: A file consisting of cells in rows and columns which facilitates the arrangement,
calculation and sorting of data

Row: Horizontal arrangement of cells

Workbook: This an excel file with at least one worksheet

Worksheet: One spreadsheet in a workbook.

AutoFill: The Auto Fill feature is used to fill cells with data that follows a pattern or are based
on data in other cells. It allows you to automatically fill in a range of cells with a series of values
based on a pattern you specify.

Name Box: It displays the cell address of the active cell in the spreadsheet.

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CALCULATIONS IN EXCEL

Working with the SUM( ) function

The sum function adds values. You can add individual values, cell references or ranges, or a mix
of all three.

The basic syntax for performing a calculation using a function in excel is:
=functionName(Parameters)

To do this, select a cell next to the numbers you want to sum, type the = sign, followed by the
function name, then open a bracket and type the cells you want to add up inside the bracket.
Close the bracket and press the enter key on the keyboard. The sum value will be displayed in
that cell.

For example, if we are calculating values in cell A1 to A5, the formula will be:

=SUM(A1:A5) OR =SUM(A1,A2,A3,A4,A5)

The same syntax goes for other functions in excel. E.g, MAX, MIN, COUNT, AVERAGE, etc.

It is important to note that the comma symbol (,) means ‘and’ in excel and the colon symbol (:)
means ‘to’.

Also, while calculating in excel, the best practice is to calculate using the cell addresses instead
of the cell values. It helps adjust the formula value when the values in the cells changes.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Calculate the SUM of c3, d3, e4, f3, g3 using the SUM() function.

Calculate the MIN of 33, 22, 11, 234, 1 using the MIN() function.

Calculate the AVERAGE of c3, d3, e4, f3, g3 using AVERAGE() function

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