ICTs AND E-LEARNING
Third Lesson: An Introduction to Word
AYA MOTION PICTURES
October 13th 2025
I. An introduction
Microsoft Word is a word processing software that allows you to type letters, reports,
newsletters, tables, brochures, and web-pages. Using this processing system can add
many features such as pictures, tables, and charts to the running document. You can
check spelling and grammar.
II. Microsoft Word allows users to accomplish the following tasks.
Type and edit text.
Copy and move text from one location to another in the document, or to other
documents.
Format text and paragraphs with fonts, colors, pictures, tables, and many other tools.
Design pages for specific purposes- from personal letters to sophisticated memos and
reports.
Enhance documents for readability with pictures, charts, graphics, etc.
Use mail merge features to quickly and easily send customized communications to
customers.
Share documents securely to others.
Communicate clearly and professionally with others by using the built-in tools of Word.
III. Understanding the Backstage
All of Microsoft Office 2016 contains the Backstage area. The Backstage is where you
manage, save, and open your files. Here you can also print, select templates, and
complete other useful tasks. Let’s take an in depth look at the Backstage. First, click your
File tab (found at the top left corner of the window).
Backstage
The first page you see is the Info Page. Info displays your file’s name, size, and authors.
You can also see when the last AutoSave occurred.
AutoSaves are Office’s safety net. Periodically, your computer will automatically save
your file as a temporary file. If you experience a computer shut down, you can recover
some of your work from the AutoSaves.
1. New: You can create a new, blank document or
select from Word’s template library. Word provides
resume, calendar, and flyer templates to help you get
started.
2. Open: Click this option to open a previously saved
file and continue editing it.
3. Save: Save your file frequently. You can also click
the in the upper left corner. Or press CTRL + S on your
keyboard at the same time.
4. Save As: The first time you save your file you will
see the Save As menu. See below for more information.
Save as Adobe PDF: Lets you save the document as an
Adobe PDF file.
5. Print: Print your document using this screen. We will
go into more details about this later in the class.
6. Share: This is new to Office 2016. This allows you to
email your file, upload it to a blog site or present your
document online. You will need additional accounts to use
these features, such as a Microsoft Account (to present)
or a WordPress account (to blog). For this introduction we
will not cover these features in-depth but be aware that
these capabilities exist.
7. Export: Allows you to export (or save) your
document as a different document type. Account: Allows
you to change the colors of your Office Background and
sign in with a different Microsoft Account if needed.
8. Options: Gives you access to the advanced features
in Word. This feature also allows you to rearrange the
ribbon or other settings in this application.
IV. Features of a Microsoft Word
The image on the below shows a window of a word processor with some features that
enable a user to manipulate a document.
1. Title bar: displays the name of the document and the name of the program. Until
you give a new document a different name, its temporary name is Document 1. The left
side of the title bar contains the Quick Access toolbar, which includes buttons for
saving a document and undoing, redoing, and repeating a change. The right side of the
title bar contains the Ribbon Display Options button, which you use to hide or show the
Ribbon and tabs, the resizing buttons, and the program Close button.
2. The File Tab provides access to Backstage view where you manage files and the
information about them.
3. The Ribbon contains the Word tabs. Each tab on the Ribbon includes buttons for
commands related to editing and formatting documents. The commands are organized
in groups. For example, the Home tab includes the Clipboard, Font, Paragraph, Styles,
and Editing Groups. The Ribbon also contains the “Tell me what you want to do” box,
which you can use to find a command or access help. The ribbon also contains the
share command, which you can use to easily share documents.
4. The document window displays the current document. This is the space you are
working inside.
5. The rulers only appear in the Print Layout view. The horizontal ruler displays left
and right document margins as well as the tab settings and paragraph indents, if any,
for the paragraph. The vertical ruler displays the top and bottom button margins.
6. The vertical and horizontal scroll bars are used to navigate inside your
document. They contain arrows to help you navigate the document.
7. The status bar displays the page number of the current page and the total
number of pages and words in the document. It also displays spelling and grammar
checking.
8. The view buttons on the status bar allow you to adjust the view, toggling
between print layout, read mode, or web layout view. The Zoom slider allows you to
zoom in and out of the document.
In the document window, you should see a blinking cursor. This is known as your
“insertion point”. Your insertion point is where text or objects we are placed in the
document. You can change the insertion point using your arrow keys or mouse.
V. Saving an MS Word Document File
Saving is the process of storing a document in a certain location or creating a file. This
can be done on a newly created document or on an already existing document. Saving is
normally in two categories; Save and Save As.