WORD PROCESSOR
A word processor is software that allows users to create, edit, and print documents. It enables you to write text,
store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the
keyboard, and print it. Microsoft Word is the most popular word processor available, other examples are –
• Wordpad
• Lotus word pro
• Notepad
• WordPerfect (Windows only),
• AppleWorks (Mac only),
• Work pages
• OpenOffice Write
Standard Features of Word Processors :-
All word processors support the following basic features:
• DOCUMENT FORMATTING-The text within a document can be formatted in terms of how
the actual text appears (for eg. Bold, Italic, Underline, font styles , font size and coloured font).
Formatting improves the readability of documents.
• Fast Typing: Text in a word processor becomes fast since there is no associated
mechanical carriage movement.
• GRAPHICS- Graphics can be added to Word in a variety of ways, including inserting; Pictures,
Clip Art, Shapes and SmartArt.
Spelling & Grammar checking -(actually checks against wordlists,grammatical mistakes etc.)
• Header and footer: A header or footer is text or a graphic, such as a page number, a date, or a
company logo, that is typically printed at the top or bottom of each page of a document.
• Thesaurus function (finds words with similar or opposite meanings)
• TABLES- A table is a grid of cells arranged in rows and columns. It can be useful to present data in a
table inside a word processing document because it is displayed in an organised and easy to read
format.
• Collaborative editing -which allows two people to work on one document, automatically leaving each
other notes to show where editing has taken place.
• MAIL MERGE AND LABEL PRINTING - Mail merge is the batch mailing of letters - using a letter
template and a data file or address database. Instead of creating multiple copies of the same letter, one
letter and one data file is created. The letter and data file are merged together - which means the names
and address are automatically added to each of the letters and envelopes from the database or data file.
• OLE (Object Linking and Embedding): OLE is a program integration technology used to exchange
information between programs about objects. Objects are entities stored as graphs, equations, video
clips, audio clips, images, and so on.
• Spelling &Grammar Check: Not only can it check spelling mistakes, but it can also suggest possible
alternatives for misspelled words. It can also detect grammatical mistakes.
Home Tab
Format Painter
Format painter is a tool available in paragraph group under home tab that allows to quickly apply the
same formatting, such as color, font style and size, or border style, to multiple pieces of text or graphics.
With format painter, we can copy all of the formatting from one object and apply it to another one—we
can think of it as copying and pasting for formatting.
Format Painter is a powerful tool that makes it easy to copy and paste formatting styles throughout Word
documents. By using this feature, we can quickly duplicate the same font size, style, color and other text
effects. Format Painter can also copy and paste paragraph-level formatting options, such as numbered
and bulleted lists, spacing, alignment, indentation, shading and borders. Format Painter can also help
duplicate the formatting of images and tables.
Benefits of this this tool include :
• Creating consistency throughout our document
• Saving time
• Improving the visual appearance of our documents
• Developing document themes
Text Formatting
In MS Word there are multiple types of formatting we can apply to a given text such as Fonts, Font
Styles, Font Colors, Font Sizes, Text Highlight Colors, Clearing Formats, Change Cases, etc.
Font
Fonts are used to change the display of the text or Word Document, look more appealing, and as per the
requirement of the situation. There are multiple types of fonts available in MS Word-
like: Calibri, Times New Roman, Algerian, Arial, Century, etc.
Font Style
Font Styles are used to change the Look ability of the text or give more emphasis on some texts in the
Word Document. There are three types of font styles in MS Word: Bold, Italics, and Underline.
ou could also use the shortcuts like:
• CTRL+B for Bold
• CTRL+I for Italics
• CTRL+U for Underline
Font Color
Font Colors have wide use in real life when using the Word Document. Be it highlighting the main points of
the document or want to convey some important information. There are multiple types of Font Colors available
in MS Word-like: Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Light blue, etc.
Font Size
Font Sizes are used to display the text in the Word Document larger or smaller according to our needs. We
generally display a heading with a Font Size of 15, Subheadings with a Font Size of 14 or 13, and paragraphs
with a Font Size of 12. Many Font Sizes are available in MS Word-like: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, etc.
Text Highlight Color
As the name itself suggests, the Text Highlight Color is used to highlight text in the Word Document. There
are many Text Highlight Colors available in MS Word-like: Yellow, Bright Green, Turquoise, Pink, Red, etc.
Change Case
Change Case is used to display the text in the way we want in our Word Document. There are five types of
Change Cases available in MS Word-like: Sentence case, Lowercase, Uppercase, Capitalize each word, and
toggle case.
Find and Replace
Find and Replace is a feature in MSWord that helps us to find words or formats in a document and can let
us replace all instances of a word or format in the entire document. This is particularly very useful when we
have very long documents.
To use Find and Replace, use the shortcut Ctrl+H or navigate to Editing in the Home tab of the ribbon, then
choose Replace. To just quickly find something, use the shortcut Ctrl+F or navigate to
Home>Editing>Find.
The Find and Replace dialog box looks like:
Type what you want to find in the Find what field, and the replacement in the Replace with field. Find Next
highlights the first occurrence of the Find word. Clicking Find Next again will highlight the second occurrence,
clicking Find Next again will highlight the next occurrence, and so on.
Clicking Replace replaces only the highlighted occurrence of the Find word. Replace All replaces every
instance of the Find word with the Replace word. A small dialog box will appear to tell you how many
replacements were made.
Insert Tab
Header and Footer
A header is text or any information that is placed at the top of a page, while a footer is placed at the bottom, or
foot, of a page. Headers are located in the margin area at the top of the page. Footers are located in the margin
area at the bottom of a page. Headers and footers generally contain document information, such as the file
name, author, date created, page numbering and the like. This information is repeated on each page and thus
enables the reader to easily navigate the document.
To insert header and footer in our word document, go to insert tab then go Header and Footer group.
Microsoft Word contains a number of built-in and preformatted headers and footers that enable you to add a
stylish header and/or footer to your document. These headers and footers can be inserted and then edited to suit
our need.
Each and every document contains header and footer areas, but the areas are only visible when they contain
information. To enter information into a header or footer, you need to activate it. You can double-click on
either the header or footer area to edit the header or footer. In multi-page documents, headers and footers will
appear on every page. This is particularly useful for information such as page numbering. If section breaks
have been used in the document, then you are able to change the headers and footers for each section.
WordArt
Word Art enables us to display text graphically by applying colours and effects to text. Words presented as
graphics, with colour, distortion, shadows or other 3D effects can add interest and impact to a document. In
Word you can create these effects by applying WordArt to text.
WordArt can be used to emphasis specific words, for headings and cover pages, for example, we can apply a
glow or reflection to our text. We can also distort text using WordArt.
The WordArt Gallery provides 30 styles to choose from. To display the WordArt gallery, click on the Insert
tab and then click on WordArt in the Text group.
APPLYING WORDART - There are two ways to apply WordArt to text. You can select existing text and
then select a style from the WordArt gallery, at which point Word will copy and insert the text into a text
box. Or you can select a WordArt style first and then type the text into the text box that appears. WordArt
is best used for short snippets of text, such as headings and captions.
Page Layout Tab
Word offers a variety of page layout and formatting options that affect how content appears on the page. You
can customize the page orientation, paper size, and page margins depending on how you want your
document to appear.
Page orientation
Word offers two page orientation options: landscape and portrait.
Landscape means the page is oriented horizontally.
Portrait means the page is oriented vertically.
Page size
By default, the page size of a new document is 8.5 inches by 11 inches. Depending on your project, you may
need to adjust your document's page size. It's important to note that before modifying the default page size, you
should check to see which page sizes your printer can accommodate.
Page margins
A margin is the space between the text and the edge of your document. By default, a new document's margins
are set to Normal, which means it has a one-inch space between the text and each edge. Depending on your
needs, Word allows you to change your document's margin size.
Review Tab
Spelling and Grammar check
Spell and Grammar check is a feature in Microsoft's Word program that automatically checks for spelling
and grammatical errors in your text. This feature underlines mistakes in our writing and prompts us to fix them
to ensure accuracy our document. The spell check feature in Word operates automatically after we activate it,
so it can check our work quickly. This allows us to see possible errors in our writing easily, as Word underlines
or highlights them.
• For eg. if there is spelling mistake (or words that MS Word doesn't know) , we can see that word as red
underlined.
• if there is grammatical mistake we can see green underline.
• Blue line for contextual errors i.e. a word spelled correctly but used out of context.
spelling and grammar check option is present under Review tab in proofing group. The shortcut key to
start spelling and grammar check in word is F7.
Protecting Word Document
Microsoft word offers different ways to secure the word document. They are
➢ Protect document with read only option
➢ Protect document with password option.
➢ Protect document with final option.
➢ Restrict document with restrict editing
Protect Word Document with Read Only Option
• One of the easy ways to protect word document is the read only method.
• Once document is set as read-only, then anyone can read the document with read only option,
modify and resave the document.
• The advantage is that, people can’t alter / change the original document
content.
Protect Word Document with Password Option
• This is most powerful method to protect the word document with password option. Here word
document will be securely protected by using password option
•Here user has to submit new password and confirm password for the document protection.
• Once document is encrypted by password, then user needs to submit correct password each
time when opening the document otherwise word document will not be opened.
Protect Word Document with Final Option
• The goal of this option is not to avoid from editing the document but to tell the readers that is the
recommended final version
•If someone still wants to edit the word further, their actions will be recorded.
•When a word document is marked as final, then edited again, the original person who locked it is still
displayed as the author, while the other person will be saved as the one who lost modified the
document.
•This option is done by opening File Info Protect Document And choose as Mark as Final.
Protect Word Document with Restrict Editing option
• We can limit the ways in which the word can be edited.
•Through this option, you can restrict the options like formatting restrictions, editing restrictions and
start enforcement with password /authenticated user.
• This is done by clicking File Info Protect Document and choose Restrict Editing option.
Understanding the Mailings Tab – Envelops, Labels, Mail Merge
MS Word provides a feature to add an Envelope directly into the Word Document, and it is ready
to get printed with a click. It also provides the Label feature, in which we can provide the
address/information we want to get on the label, select its quantity, and good to go for printing on a
click.
Envelopes
Envelopes are used traditionally everywhere. It is a simple mode of communication between the
sender and the receiver for e.g., Invitations, Congratulatory messages, etc.
We can get an envelope inserted into our Word Document directly following the steps:
Step 1: Go to the Mailings bar and select the Envelopes bar under the Create bar.
We can get an envelope inserted into our Word Document directly following the steps:
Step 1: Go to the Mailings bar and select the Envelopes bar under the Create bar.
Step 2: A dialog box will appear.
Step 3: Provide the details such as the Delivery address, Return address, etc., and then click on
the Add to Document button below.
Step 4: An Envelope will get inserted into the MS Word document.
Labels
Labels refer to the information or Address (in particular) we want to get displayed on products,
banners, etc. We can also set the quantity of the labels we want and can print them instantly.
Follow the steps to get labels in MS Word:
Step 1: Go to the Mailings bar and select the Labels option under the Create bar.
Step 2: A dialog box will appear.
Step 3: Provide the details of the Address and select the options button below.
Step 4: Another dialog box will appear then Provide the Label information such as Label vendors,
and the Product number, and then press the OK button.
Step 5: Labels will get inserted into the MS Word document.
Mail Merge
Mail merge is a powerful tool in MS Word that lets you create a batch of documents that are personalized for
each recipient. A data source, like a list, excel sheet, or database, is associated with the document.
Placeholders--called merge fields--tell Word where in the document to include information from the data
source. Mail Merge feature in Word is available in the ‘Mailings’ tab.
Mail merge is typically used to send the same document to many of people. Word will merge the document
with the names and addresses of the recipients, which are stored in a separate file called a data source. Mail
merge is perfect for bulk mailing, sending out invitations, creating personalised letters, labels, price lists,
special offers etc.
To use Mail Merge go to Mailings tab ,then select →Start Mail Merge subtask from the main tab bar. Then
select Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard option on the subtask bar. The Mail Merge Wizard menu will appear on
the screen. This will help you to create mail merge documents in customised step manner.
TYPES OF DOCUMENTS IN MAIL MERGE
Mail Merge requires three types of documents:
(a) Main Document: It is the document containing the text and graphics that remains same for each version
of the merged document - for example, the body of a birthday invitation letter.
(b) Data Source: Data source is a file that contains the names ,addresses, mobile no. or any other
information of various recepients.
(c) Merge Document: Inserting the data or information from the data source in the main document creates
the merge document. For example, insert the merge field «City» in a letter document to have Word
insert a city name, such as “New Delhi” that is stored in the City data field of data source.
Advantages of Mail Merge
Mail merge has several advantages :-
• The Mail Merge feature helps you send the same letter to many people quickly. we can choose multiple
recipients at once and send them the letter easily.
• With Mail Merge, we don't have to type each person's personal information like name,address,mobile
no. etc. in every letter.
• You only need to check the main document for mistakes.
• It saves time and money, as you can send many letters at once without extra cost.
• Editing the letter is also simple—any change made in the main letter will be applied to all the letters for
other people.
VIEW TAB
Document Views in MS WORD
Microsoft Word provides us five different views of a document. They are :
1. Print Layout
2. Full Screen Reading
3. Web Layout
4. Outline
5. Draft
Print Layout:
This is the default document view in Word. The Print Layout view shows the document as it
would appear after printing.
Full Screen Layout view:
This view opens the document to a full screen. This layout helps us to make our document
easily readable above the screen.
Web Layout: This view displays a document on the screen the way it will look when viewed in
a Web browser if you saved it as a web page.
Out Line view:
The outline view shows the document as an outline form.
Draft view:
This is the most commonly used view, in this view we can edit our document very quickly and
easily.