WORD PROCESSING

INTRODUCTION TO WORD PROCESSING PACKAGES

A word processing package enables you to type in and manipulate text.  It helps you to enter, store, format, copy and print text.  It is a software that turns the computer into a sophisticated typewriter. With any type of word processing software, you can produce any kind of document, large or small, whether personal letter, business report, school report sheet, circular etc. and save the document for future reference.

The word processing software allows you to determine how you want the finished page to look i.e. page size, line, width, margin etc.  Once you are satisfied that everything look all right, you can print out any number of copies on paper.

 

FUNCTIONS OF WORD PROCESSING

1. Text correcting/Editing
2. Inserting paragraph
3. Deletion of sentence, words, paragraphs etc.
4. Correction of wring spelling
5. Inclusion of graphics

 

Examples of word processor: word perfect,word Star,MS-word,loco Script, Ami-Pro,Word Craft,notepad, WordPad.

Starting Microsoft word: Click the start button to bring the start menu; click program; click on Microsoft word

Create a new document: Click on file ,clicknew, start typing

Saving a document:click on file, click save, make a choice of location to save in, type the name you want to save it as, click command button ‘save’

Opening an existing document: click on file, clickopen, click on the document- saved- in location or other storage devices.

 

EVALUATION

1. Define Word Processing Package?
2. State four uses of word processing.
3. List five examples of word processing packages.

 

FEATURES OF WORD PROCESSING PACKAGES

1. WORD WRAP – Instead of pressing ‘Enter key’ at the end of every line while typing, word wrap automatically moves the insertion point  to the next line when you reach the end of the current line and allows you to continue typing without having to press the ‘Enter key’ to start a new line.
2. EDITING OF DOCUMENT– Once you have finished typing your document, you can then use WORD basic editing techniques. These include inserting text, deleting text, moving paragraphs from one position to another, etc.
3. DELETING TEXT– Word processing features allows for deletion, that is, the removal of unwanted text. Some can be deleted using ‘delete key’ while you can also press ‘back space key’ to delete text depending on where you place the cursor before deletion.
4. INSERTING TEXT– The process of adding text in-between existing text; it could be a character or a full statement.
5. PAGE FORMATING– This is the standard setting of page format. Information in page formatting include the length of each line, number of lines per page, the size of the margin and line spacing.
6. SPELLING CHECKER– This is a program to detect and correct wrongly spelt words. Spelling programs read word processing files and compare each word to the computer dictionary.  It then underlines any wrongly spelt word and gives suggested spelling options.
7. SAVE AUTO RECOVER– When you are working, you can sometimes forget to save regularly, which could mean you lose your work hence, you saved in the event of power outage. Microsoft Word provides an automatic save feature that you can set to ensure that your documents are saved regularly.  However, this depends on the specific time interval in minutes set by you.
8. NON-PRINTING CHARACTER– Microsoft Word provides a feature called Non-Printing Characters that has certain landmarks you might find helpful as you create your document. These keys include ‘ENTER key’, ‘TAB key’ and ‘SPACEBAR key’.  They are called non-printing character because though they appear on the screen, they will not appear in the printed document.

 

ADVANTAGES OF USING WORD PROCESSING PACKAGES

1. The use of computer allows for neat jobs.
2. It makes typing pleasurable.
3. There is room for corrections such that it does not leave any scar on the document.
4. With the use of computer, text could be formatted to suit the user’s taste.
5. It allows Mail Merging operation thereby relieving the secretary of the problem of having to type a particular document a number of times.
6. It allows the production of as many copies of the document as the owner will need and each appears as the original.
7. It has the capability of storing text for as long as it will be needed.
8. Document can be enhanced with graphics (pictures)

 

GENERAL EVALUATION

1. Define word processing.
2. List and explain five features of Word Processing
3. State what word processing can be used for.

 

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. …………package enables you to type in and manipulate text.

(a) Word processing    (b) Spreadsheet     (c) Corel Draw   (d) database

2. Which of these CANNOT be done with word processing package?

(a) sleeping    (b) typing    (c) printing   (d) sorting

3. One of these is NOT a function of word processing.

(a) Title bar    (b) Text correction    (c) Deletion of pages    (d) duplicating

4. Word processing can be used to produce any kind of document except

(a) letter writing     (b) journalism     (c) memo   (d) graph

5. One of these is an example of word processing package.

(a) Microsoft Word    (b) Microsoft Excel    (c) Corel Draw   (d) Graphics

 

THEORY

1. List the functions of Word Processing packages. Briefly explain the following: (i)  Word wrap   (ii)  Editing of document   (iii) Spelling checker (iv) Non-printing character
2. Mention any FIVE examples of Word Processing packages

 

See also

COMPUTER ETHICS

SYSTEM UNIT

MONITOR

SPREADSHEET

COMPUTER ROOM REQUIREMENT