1: Introduction to Word Processing Software

Bullet Lists

Starting in the upper left corner are bullet lists . Bullet lists should be used when creating a list of similar items that do not require any order. Clicking on the drop-down arrow allows for customization of the appearance of bullet lists. Pressing “Tab” on the keyboard will indent a list item and create a sub bulleted item.

Numbered Lists

To the right of Bullet, Lists are numbered lists . Numbered lists are like bullet lists, but they should be used when listing out a sequence of events that must be followed in order. Clicking on the drop-down arrow will allow for customization of the numbered list. Pressing “Tab” on the keyboard will indent a list item and create a sub numeral.

Multi-Level Lists

To the left of Numbered Lists are Multi-Level Lists . Multi-Level Lists provide more customization of lists and sub-lists to the user.

Increase/Decrease

Indent Next on the right, the increase/decrease indent icons  allow the user to move the selected text to the right or left five spaces, or to the next tab setting. Increase/Decrease indent also changes the hierarchy of the list. Increasing an indent to the right will make an item a sub-bullet or sub-number of the item above it and decreasing indent to the left will do the opposite.

Sort

After an increase/decrease indent is the Sort icon  allows the user to arrange a current selection of text in alphabetical or numerical order. It is usually used when working with tables in Microsoft Word.

Show/Hide Paragraph Formatting

Finally, in the top right corner of the paragraph group is the Show/Hide Paragraph Formatting icon  allows the user to view all the hidden formatting options that are currently attributed to the document. This is useful if the formatting seems incorrect in a document and the user is trying to investigate it. Any formatting displayed is not printed.

Paragraph Alignment

The bottom row of the paragraph group begins with Paragraph Alignment settings . The settings align the selected text to the left side of the screen (which is standard formatting), centered (which is common for titles), right-aligned, and justified, which distributes text evenly between the margins. Most word documents are written with left alignment, so that is the default settings.

Line & Paragraph Spacing

To the right of the paragraph alignment icons is Line & Paragraph Spacing . These settings allow the user to choose how much space exists between lines and between paragraphs. This is helpful to enhance the readability of paragraphs by creating enough space between sentences and paragraphs. For more customization, users can click on “Line Spacing Options” in the drop-down menu for even greater controls.

Shading

The Shading function  to the right of Line & Paragraph Spacing allows the user to change the color behind a paragraph, table, or selected text. It can be used in flyers and more creative word documents.

Borders

The Page Borders icon  allows the user to create borders around selected text and/or paragraphs and define the type of borders from the drop-down menu. There is every type of border imaginable for the user. Borders are usually created to create distance or space between separate ideas or paragraphs.

More settings

Users who desire more control in paragraph formatting can click on the arrow icon facing down and to the right. . This will launch a more settings menu that will provide customization of the line & paragraph spacing and page breaks.

3. View Tab

Microsoft Word provides a variety of options to view their document for the user to customize their workspace. Read Mode allows the document to be viewed without any editing tools available in Fullscreen mode. Print Layout simulates what the document would look like if the document were printed. It is the default view mode in Microsoft Word. Web Layout simulates the view of the document if it were on a web. Outline mode is for a way to quickly insert ideas on the page, while Draft allows the user to just see the text in the document.
Learning Tools allows the document viewer to customize the way the document is presented and read to them. It allows the user how text and pictures are displayed. Users can also determine whether to display the Ruler on the top and left sides of the workspace, gridlines on the document to make it appear like graph paper, and the navigation pane on the left-hand side of the document. The user can also Zoom in or out, and have the document automatically be adjusted to the display size of one page or multiple pages. Users can even open a new window of the document to work in two different places at the same time, or split the document at the insertion point to work in multiple sections at the same time in the document. Finally, Word users can click on the Switch Windows icon on the screen to switch between open word documents, and Record Macros, which allow the user to create their shortcuts by recording actions on the screen and creating a shortcut to perform everything they previously did. When they need to replicate that task, they can enter shortcut and the Macro would be initiated. Macros are for advanced users and not covered in detail in this text.