Word Processing
Senior 1 · ICT
Word Processing
Lesson 1 of 5
20 min
Let's begin
The head teacher needs a letter to parents about the S1 study trip. On a typewriter, one mistake meant typing the whole page again. With a word processor, you fix the mistake, change the date for next year, print 200 copies and email the same letter, without retyping a word. In this unit you will learn to create, edit and format documents with one.
A word processor is application software for creating, editing, formatting, saving and printing text documents such as letters, reports, notices and CVs. Common examples are LibreOffice Writer (free and open source), Microsoft Word and Google Docs (which runs in a web browser).
Why use one? You can correct and rearrange text without retyping; format it to look professional; check spelling; save a document and reuse it; print many copies; share it by email; and add tables and pictures.
The steps use LibreOffice Writer, which is free. Microsoft Word works the same way for everything general, and the keyboard shortcuts in this unit are the same in both unless a note says otherwise. Where the menus differ, the Word path is given in brackets.
| Part | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Title bar | Shows the document's name. A new document is called Untitled 1 until you save it (Word: Document1). |
| Menu bar | File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Styles, Table, Form, Tools, Window, Help: every command is in one of these menus. (Word uses a ribbon of tabs instead: File, Home, Insert, Layout, References, Review, View.) |
| Standard toolbar | Buttons for common jobs: new, open, save, print, cut, copy, paste, undo. |
| Formatting toolbar | Style, font, size, bold, italic, alignment, lists. |
| Ruler | Shows the margins, indents and tab stops. |
| Work area | The white page where you type. |
| Insertion point | The blinking vertical line showing where the next character will appear. (Also called the cursor.) |
| Sidebar | A panel on the right with formatting, styles, the Navigator and more. |
| Status bar | At the bottom: the page number, word and character count, language and zoom. |
By default you type in Insert mode: the text after the cursor moves along to make room. Pressing the Insert key switches to Overwrite mode, where new text replaces the old. If your typing starts eating words, press Insert again.
| Task | How |
|---|---|
| Create a new document | File > New > Text Document, or Ctrl + N |
| Save | File > Save, or Ctrl + S. The first time, the Save As dialog opens: choose a folder, type a name, click Save. |
| Save As | File > Save As, or Ctrl + Shift + S (Word: F12): saves a copy with a new name, place or file type. The old file stays as it was. |
| Open | File > Open, or Ctrl + O; or File > Recent Documents |
| Rename | Close the document, then in File Explorer select the file and press F2. (Save As with a new name makes a renamed copy, but the old file remains.) |
| Close | File > Close. If there are unsaved changes, Writer asks whether to save them. |
Writer can also save AutoRecovery information every few minutes (Tools > Options > Load/Save > General), which helps after a crash or power cut. It is not a replacement for saving.
Tip
Save early, save often: Ctrl + S. Save updates the file; Save As makes a new copy.
Give three advantages of a word processor over a typewriter or handwriting.
Solution: Any three: mistakes are corrected without retyping; text can be moved and reused; spelling can be checked; the document can be saved and printed many times; it can be emailed; formatting, tables and pictures can be added.
Where in Writer would you look to see how many words you have typed?
Solution: In the status bar at the bottom of the window.
Keza's letter is saved as Letter.odt. Her teacher uses only Microsoft Word and wants a .docx file. What should she do?
Solution: File > Save As, choose a Word format in the File type list, and click Save. She keeps her .odt file too.
While Gatete types, the letters he types replace the words after the cursor. What has happened, and how does he fix it?
Solution: He pressed the Insert key and switched to Overwrite mode. He presses Insert again to return to Insert mode.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
