Chapter No: 3

Microsoft Word – An Introduction

Microsoft Word (MS Word) is one of the most widely used programs for creating, editing,
formatting, and printing documents. It is part of the Microsoft Office package, which includes
other programs like Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. MS Word is used for variety of tasks

Example:

 writing simple letters

 creating detailed reports.

3.1 Introduction to MS Office (MS Word)

MS Office is a collection of software tools designed to help you with different tasks at work or
school.

Some of the main programs in MS Office include:

 MS Word: Used for creating and editing text documents.

 MS Excel: A program for working with numbers and creating spreadsheets.
 MS PowerPoint: Used for making presentations.
 MS Outlook: An email program that also helps manage calendars, contacts, and tasks.

MS Word is mainly used for writing documents like letters, resumes, essays, and reports. It
provides tools for editing text, formatting, adding pictures, and more.

3.2 Introduction to MS Word and Its Screen

When you open MS Word, the screen is divided into several parts:

 Title Bar: Displays the name of the document you're working on (e.g., "Document1 -
Word").
 Ribbon: A toolbar at the top with tabs like Home, Insert, Design, etc., that contain
various tools.
 Quick Access Toolbar: Provides shortcuts for commands you use often, like Save or
Undo.
 Document Area: The large area where you type and edit your document.
 Status Bar: Shows information like page number, word count, and zoom options.
 Scroll Bar: Allows you to move up and down through the document.
3.3 To Create a New Word Document

To start a new document:

1. Click File → New → Choose Blank Document or select a template.

2. Or press Ctrl + N to quickly open a new blank document.

3.4 Editing and Formatting the Text

Editing Text: You can make changes to your text by typing, cutting, copying, or pasting using
the keyboard shortcuts:

 Ctrl + C (copy)
 Ctrl + X (cut)
 Ctrl + V (paste)
 Ctrl + Z (undo)

Formatting Text:

The Home Tab in word document allows you to format text i.e to choose how your text looks.

Following are some of the available formatting options.

 Bold (Ctrl + B)
 Italic (Ctrl + I),
 Underline (Ctrl + U)
 Font Size
 Color
 Text Alignment: Left, center, right, or justified (even on both sides).

3.5 Saving, Opening, and Closing a Document

Saving a Document:

General Method:

To save a document in MS word, click File → Save.

If it's a new document, a dialog will appear.

 Enter file name and choose where to save it.

Shortcut key method:

Press Ctrl + S from keyboard.

Opening a Document:

General Method:

Method 1: To open a document in MS word Click File → Open. Browse the file that you
want to open and click on it.

Method 2: To open an existing document in MS word, find your document in computer

and double click on it.

Shortcut key method:

To find and open an existing file, or press Ctrl + O.

Closing a Document:

To close a document in MS Word Click File → Close or press Ctrl + W to close the document.

A dialog box will open displaying “do you want to save?” Message. Click Yes to save, No to
discard and cancel to close the dialog box.

3.6 Page Setup

Page setup lets you adjust how your document will look when printed:

 Margins: Click Layout → Margins to change the margins (normal, narrow, wide).
 Orientation: Set the page orientation to Portrait (vertical) or Landscape (horizontal).
 Page Size: Change the paper size (e.g., A4, Letter) under the Size option.

3.7 Spell Check and Grammar

MS Word automatically checks spelling and grammar as you type. Mistakes are underlined with:

 Red line for spelling errors.

 Green line for grammar mistakes.
To check your document for errors:

 In office program go to Review Tab.

 Click Spelling & Grammar option.
 If program finds spelling mistakes a dialog box will appear.


Shortcut key

For spelling and grammar check press F7 from the keyboard.

3.8 Paragraph Alignment

Paragraph alignment is applied to the completed paragraph or on the whole document.

Text can be aligned in the following ways.

 Left Align: Align text to the left margin.

Shortcut Key Ctrl+L

 Center Align: Center the text in the middle of the page.

Shortcut Key Ctrl+E

 Right Align: Align text to the right margin.

Shortcut Key Ctrl+R

 Justify: Align text so that both the left and right margins are even.

Shortcut Key Ctrl+J

Use the options in the Paragraph section of the Home tab.

3.9 Inserting Page Numbers, Symbols, Textboxes, and Pictures

 Page Numbers:

To insert a page number in word document, click insert tab and go to page number.
Choose the location (i.e Top of page or bottom of page) and style.

Insert → Page Number to add page numbers.

  Symbols:

1. To insert a symbol, place your cursor on the place you want to add symbol.
2. Click Insert → Symbol to insert special characters (e.g., ©, ™).
3. Pick a symbol or choose more symbols.
4. Scroll up or down to find the desired symbol and double click on it.
5. Select close.

 Textboxes:

1. Word allows users to Insert textboxes for special text formatting by going to
Insert → Text Box.
2. You can choose from multiple option like (simple text box, Austin quote etc).
3. You can also draw a text box by clicking on the “draw text box” option. Drag to
draw the text of any size.

Pictures:

 To insert a picture, place your cursor on the place you want to add picture.
 Click insert tab and go to pictures. (Insert → Pictures)
 Choose an image from your computer.
 Click insert.

3.10 Using Format Drop-down Commands

In MS Word Format menu has various drop-down commands to help you format text and
paragraphs:

It helps to format documents in various ways.

 Font: It includes font style, font size, color, Underline, bold, italic and various styles like
strikethrough.
 Text Effects: from this option preset styles for text are available that can be applied on
text.
 Change Case: Allows you to change text to upper or lower case.

3.11 Inserting and Editing Tables

To insert a table:

1. Click Insert → Table and select how many rows and columns you want.
2. Edit the table by adding or removing rows, resizing columns, or changing the design from
the Table Design tab.
3.12 Printing a Document

To print your document:

1. Click File → Print.

2. Choose your printer, set the number of copies, and click Print.

3.13 Saving a Document as PDF Format

To save your document as a PDF:

1. Click File → Save As.

2. Choose PDF from the Save as type dropdown list.
3. Click Save.