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UPDATED TO 2023-2025 SYLLABUS

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SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE THEORY SYLLABUS
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Remember to follow all the instructions given to avoid

1. Document Production losing easy marks
Type in the name of the style exactly as it is in the paper
Click on the drop-down arrow in the Styles section →
1.1. Word Processing (MS Word) select Create a new style
Always base your styles on the Normal font
Serif – with flicks, e.g. Cambria ­Setting the line spacing → click on format → then
Sans-serif – without flicks, e.g. Calibri paragraph → select required options
One part of the document is 1 column, and the rest is in From the same tab, you can change the spacing before
two columns. a → section break. and after the paragraph
When you want to move text to the next column, a →
column break. Setting all capital letters → click on format → font → tick
To force all further text onto the next page → page break the option All Caps
A widow= single line that appears on the next page or
column, separated from the rest of the paragraph
An orphan = a single line that appears on the previous
page or column, separated from the rest of the
paragraph.
To add page numbers in the header/footer ------→ Place
your cursor where you want to put the number → Go to
insert tab → Quick parts → Select Numbering category
→ Select Page in field names → Click Ok
Add the file size/name (including file path) → click on
Quick Parts in the Insert tab → click on Field → select File
Size or File name. For file path →, check the box to
include file path. For file size →, choose whether
Kilobytes or Megabytes.
To set certain bullets to a list style → click on format →
Include date → click on Date & Time in Insert tab →
click on Numbering → Bullets tab → choose the required
choose an appropriate format as specified. (If the
option
date/month format is flipped →, change your region/
To indent text for a style → click on format → Paragraph
language settings on your computer to the United
and input required indents under the Indentation
Kingdom.)
section. Choose hanging indents to indent the whole
Update fields if required (select auto-update while
paragraph and the first line indents to indent only the
inserting fields.)
first line of a paragraph.

2. House Styles 3. Mail Merge

2.1. House Styles 3.1. Mail Merge

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Create a master document, which is mainly given as a While importing files, make sure you select text file and
source file not excel file, as .csv files are plain text.
In the master document, click on the Mailings tab When they ask for a set number of decimal places in a
In the start mail merge section, click on select recipients field, choose Fixed in Format.
→ select use an existing list → choose the source file
Select records to be used, filter if necessary

Ensure that the dates displayed in the table are in the

correct format under Table Design view.

Insert merge fields where indicated with chevrons, i.e.

Place automated current date and/or time, as well as
your name, centre number and candidate number where
specified. Ensure the date is in the correct format To form a relationship between two tables, go to the
specified. Relationships section of the Database Tools tab and
choose the required tables.

Spell-check and proofread the document.

Save the master document, and click finish and merge.
Preview results and ensure that they look as required. The calculations will ONLY work if placed in the report
While printing: footer. If Σ Total is used, then it appears automatically in
Check all merge fields are placed the report footer.
Field codes are visible if necessary. (Go to Advanced
settings so they are displayed when printing. Proof of
date inserted may be asked, right-click and toggle
field codes, or just use the shortcut Alt+F9.)

4. Data Manipulation
4.1. Data Manipulation (MS Access)

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6. Data Analysis
6.1. Data Analysis (MS Excel)

Count the number of fields in a report =COUNT(\[Primary_field\])

Always use the primary field as it is the unique field
Sum of fields in a report =SUM(\[Field_name\])
Average of fields in a report =AVG(\[Field_name\])
Minimum of fields in a report =MIN(\[Field_name\])
Maximum of fields in a report =MAX(\[Field_name\])

afterbefore

5. Presentations
5.1. Presentation Authoring (MS
PowerPoint)

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DESCRIPTION FORMULA
Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide
SUM = Adding a range of numbers
=A1+B1
=SUM(A1:A4)
Anchors: help navigate throughout a webpage
AVERAGE - Find the average =AVERAGE(A1:A4) Highlight the destination of the anchor, and set a
MIN - Find the low value =MIN(A1:A4) bookmark
MAX - Find the highest value =MAX(A1:A4)
COUNT - Finding how many numbers are in a
=COUNT(A1:A4)
You can use
range
COUNTA - Counting the number of items in a
tags in your code around this text
range =COUNTA(A1:A4)
<div id="top"> Destination text </div>
INT - Converts to the lowest whole number =INT(A1)
ROUND - Rounding numbers =ROUND(A1,2) The 2 is the number of decimal Highlight the word or image that will be the hyperlink,
places
=ROUNDUP(A1,2) The 2 is the number of
click insert a hyperlink, and type the address of the
ROUNDUP - Rounding numbers up decimal places website, the bookmark, or the email address
=ROUNDDOWN(A1,2) The 2 is the number of
ROUNDDOWN - Rounding numbers down
decimal places provided in the respective places.
=VLOOKUP(A1,$B$1:$C$8,2)A1 is the cell to
VLOOKUP - Looking up what particular values check$B$1:$C$8 is the array to look in2 is If the link needs to open in a new window, select New
mean from a table arranged vertically column 2 from $B$1:$C$8 meaning return the
value in column 2 in that section.
Window from the target frame. This will give you a
=HLOOKUP(A1,$B$1:$G$2,2)A1 is the cell to target setting of "_blank."
HLOOKUP - Looking up what particular values check$B$1:$G$2 is the array to look in2 is row 2
mean from a table arranged horizontally from $B$1:$G$2 meaning return the value in
row 2 in that section.
=SUMIF($B$1:$C$8,A1, $D$1:$D$8)Checks if any
SUMIF – adding up specific values in a range cells in $B$1:$C$8 = A1 and if they do then it
adds them together
=COUNTIF(A2:A4,">4") Checks that cells have a
COUNTIF - Counts the number of cells in a value greater than 4=COUNTIF(A2:A4, A1)
range that satisfy the given criteria Checks that the cells are equal to the value in
cell A1
IF – Deciding what will go into a cell =IF($B$1:$B$8=A1,”A”)IF the value in A1 appears
in the range of cells then write A
=IF($B$1:$B$8=A1,”A”, IF($B$1:$B$8=A2,”B”,
Nested IF IF($B$1:$B$8=A3,”C”,D)))IF the value in the range
equals A1 then write A, if it equals A2 write B, A3
write C and none of them D
Average IF – it searches for criteria and makes =AVERAGEIF($D$4:$D$64,G3,$E$4:$E$64)$D$4:$
an average of the range according to the D$64 is the range, G3 is the criteria, $E$4:$E$64
criteria is the average range
SQRT – Square root of a number =SQRT(B3)B3 is the number

7. Website Authoring If there are specified dimensions for a table, use the
table properties to set these values.
Check the code to ensure that the table is not set to
7.1. HTML 100% width, if there are other values given.
To hide bullets from your webpage, add hidden after
your tag selector.
Font type h2 {font-family: “Times New Roman”}
Text size h2 {font-size: 16pt}
Aligning text h2 {text-align: center}
‘Bold’ text h2 {text-weight: bold}
‘Underline’ text h2 {text-decoration: underline}
Second choice of font h2 {font-family: “Times New Roman, Verdana”}
Adding generic fonts (either serif or sans-serif) h2 {font-family: “Times New Roman, serif”}h2
{font-family: “Calibri, sans-serif”}
Changing colour h2 {color: #000000}
Using classes to set styles. It can be used by right {text-align: right}
many selectors
Comment in HTML - text that is not read by the
computer, only for users
Comment in CSS - text that is not read by the /* Enter comment here */
computer, only for users

Colour codes have three parts:

(RED, GREEN, BLUE)

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Amount of Light (colour) Hex code
Fully on
¾ on
FF
C0
External CSS sheets are separate sheets that style the
½ on 80 webpage.
¼ on 40 To use, they are required to be attached to the main
Off 00
HTML file using the tag:
Examples: <link rel=“stylesheet” type=”text/css”
Pure red is (FF0000) href=”sourcefile.css”>
Pure green is (00FF00) The tag is placed in the head tag of the html file.
Pure blue is (0000FF) Several html sheets can be attached.
Pure yellow is (FFFF00) Preference is given to the sheet placed last in the
Pure black is (000000) head tag
Pure white is (FFFFFF) Format for external CSS
h1 { property: value ;}
HTML tag for e.g. h1 { color:#000000;}
Opening/closing head tag
Page title ↑ Element source is taken from HTML script linked
Attaching a CSS file <link rel=“stylesheet”
type=“text/css”href=“mystyle.css”>
Defining anchor tag CSS Tags
Setting default target window
Opening of the body/content
Table tag | border width as 1 | alignment Colours
centre

Colours can be in hexadecimal

7.2. CSS hashtag before the hexadecimal is mandatory
e.g. #000000
What is CSS? F full capacity
0 is the least capacity
Cascading style sheet Some colours can be written in words. Such as black or
Used to style webpages white.
Two types
Embedded/inline Fonts
External
Fonts are given priority from first to last in order
Embedded To add multiple fonts, add commas.
Eg. h1 { font-family: Arial, Calibri, sans-serif;}
Used to apply style properties within HTML sheet
Format: Tables
…style = “attribute: specification”>
Inline CSS for e.g. <table border=”1” style= Tables have many attributes to help style them
“width:200px”> Cell padding: creates space between text and cell
To add several attributes, add a semicolon to separate border
them and then use the same format Cell spacing: creates space between individual cells
For e.g. < table style= “width:29%; margin-left: Borders
auto**;**”> Background colour: background tags in the tables
For inline CSS, adding -style= “….”- is mandatory. only apply to the tables.
Individual td or th headings can also be specified in CSS
External

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Table tags format
cell padding
cell spacing
Table { padding :40px;}
Table { spacing : 30px;}
Enter data twice and compare them either after data has
Table { border-width:3px;} been entered or during the entry process.
borders Table { border-color: #000098;}
Table { border-style: solid;}
Table { background-color: #009499;} 15.2 Explain the need for validation as well as
td { font-size: 3;}
Td/th tags td { font-family: Calibri;} verification:
td { color: #000000;}
table { width:50px;} Validation only ensures that the data entered is in the
Dimensions table { height:60px;}
accepted format. Verification is needed to ensure
that the data entered is correct. Data entered may be
body { background-repeat: no-repeat;}
in the right format but of the wrong value. Or it may
body {background-position: top/left/right/bottom;}
be copied correctly but does not match the criteria.
h1 {text-align: left/right/top/bottom;}
17.1 Explain why it is necessary to use page, section and
column breaks, to adjust pagination and to avoid widows
8. Editing Images and orphans?
Page breaks and column breaks help remove widows
and orphans by forcing text onto the next page/
8.1. Editing Images column so it is all together.
It does not disrupt the reader by breaking the flow.
To save a picture with 8 bits - of colour depth, save it as a 17.3 Explain why mail-merged documents are created
gif Mail merged documents save time typing out
Open it in Paint and save it as individual letters, as the computer can personalize
To compress the size of a picture, open it in the picture them. Typing errors are also reduced since the
manager master document is only typed once. They can also
Edit picture be emailed using the address in the source file.
Compress pictures 18.1 Define the terms flat-file database and relational
Choose the most suitable option database.
To change the colour options of a picture, use picture Flat-files databases are tables that have data sorted
manager in rows and columns.
Edit picture Relational databases are several tables linked
Colour together, preventing unnecessary repetition of data.
18.1 Explain that other field types, such as placeholders
9. Answers to Theory for media, including images, sound bites and video clips
are used in commercial databases
Questions They are not studied in depth in this syllabus. They
are used in web applications where a back-end
database holds the media to be displayed in another
9.1. Answers to Theory Questions application, such as a webpage.
18.1 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using
relational tables rather than a flat-file database
Relational Database Flat file Database
Better security Poor at complex queries
Cater for future requirements Poor at limiting access
Data is only stored once Harder to update, so it is inherently inefficient
Requires more planning Potential duplication
Easy to design
Non-unique records
It is harder to change the data format.

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18.1 Define and understand the terms primary and foreign
keys and their role in a relational database. Tables make the basic structure of a webpage and
organise page layout.
Primary key: The key field of a table which is unique and
identifies each record 21.2 Define and understand the terms relative file path
Foreign key: The field linked to the primary field of the and absolute file path
table linked to a relationship Relative file path: A path referring to a file in the
same directory relative to the page the reference is
made in.
Absolute file path: The full path of a file which is not
relative to anything.
21.2 Explain why absolute file paths must not be used for
hyperlinks to locally saved web pages/ objects
Absolute paths always include the domain name of
the website
These should not be used to refer to locally saved
web pages as the computer the webpage is stored on
(the server) is not the same as where the webpage
was developed, and an absolute file path would point
to the wrong address.
21.3 Explain what is meant by the term cascading
stylesheets
CSS (cascading stylesheet) is a text-based language
which is attached to web pages to set their format.
CSS files have a “.css” extension
21.3 Explain the hierarchy of multiple attached
stylesheets and in-line styles within a web page
Internal CSS have more preference over Inline CSS.
Inline CSS overrides externally attached stylesheets.
If several external stylesheets are attached to one
web page, the stylesheet attached last (at the bottom
of that part of the code) is given preference (over the
other ones). Priority increases as you go down a list.
21.3 Explain why relative file paths must be used for
the attached stylesheets
They should be attached using relative file paths, as
they are stored along with the webpage since they
are stored in the same folder.
21.4 Explain how to upload and publish the content of a
website using FTP

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Used to upload website files to the web hosting space. To

upload these files successfully, the user needs:
FTP client software
All files in one folder
Host Name/URL/IP address for FTP
Host port to be used for upload
Username and password

21.4 Create a test plan to test a website including web

page elements are visible, navigation within/from a web
page
Open the webpage in different browsers to check
that all elements appear as they should.
Click all hyperlinks to ensure that they direct users to
the correct pages, using functional testing. Check that
both internal and external links are functional. Check
that fonts and background colours are appropriate to
the purpose of the website and its users (audience)
Perform user testing on a group from the target
audience, gain feedback from their usage, and use it
to improve the website before publishing it
21.4 Justify the choice of test plan
The test plan used to test a webpage must be
justified based on the tested elements. e.g. If
hyperlinks are being tested, it checks if all the
hyperlinks are redirecting the user to the correct
webpage/ section of the webpage.

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syllabus.
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