Working with Documents

New vs. Open

You are most likely going to use Microsoft Word to write papers or school assignments. To start writing a paper you must first create a new document. Creating a new document is different from opening a document. We open a document that already exists, whereas we create a new document when we want to start typing in a new file. To create a new document:

• Choose New from the File menu.

The new document appears on the screen, with the word Untitled1 in the middle of the title bar.

The use of the word Untitled indicates that this document has not been saved yet, and therefore has not been given a title. The number 1 indicates that this is the first new document that has been opened. If you open another new document (by choosing New from the File menu again), a new window, Untitled 2 will appear indicating it is the second new document opened.

If you have already created a document and you want to view or edit it, first you must open the document. Two documents already exist in your diskette. They are called _________ and ________ Let's open one of these documents by doing the following:

1. Choose Open from the File menu.
2. Insert the disk.

A list of the existing documents appears, in this case ______ and _______. If you want to open the document _______, you first have to select it.

To select a document follow these steps:

1. Select the name of the document you want to open.
2. Click on Open.

As you noticed, the document you just opened is "on top" of the new, Untitled 1 document. To access and work with the new document you have to click on any part of it, or select it from the Window menu.

Entering Text

Now that you have opened a new document you are ready to begin typing text. For example, type...

This evening I am going to learn how to use Microsoft Word. This will enable me to work more efficiently on my papers and school assignments.

As you type, you do not have to press any key to go to the next line. Word automatically will do that for you. However, if you want to start a new paragraph...

Press the Return key.

...and continue typing. Use Return consistently to start a new paragraph. Now type...

In order to learn to use Microsoft Word I need to do all the exercises the Instructor will ask me to.

If you type things which should stand alone on a line (e.g., a list, headings, addresses, etc.), you should press the Return key at the end of each line. Also, press the Return key at the end of the very last sentence of the paragraph to designate the end of that paragraph.

Getting Around

Often, when you work with large documents, you will need to move around your document to view and edit different sections. To help you with this, Word has an easy way of getting around the documents. Let's go back to the ______ file by pointing and clicking on any part of the ______ window, or selecting it from the window menu.

To scroll through this document do one of the following:

• Move the scroll box through the vertical scroll bar.

  -or-

• Use the page down/page up keys.

To move to the beginning of the document do one of the following:

• Drag the scroll box to the top of the vertical scroll bar.

  -or-

• Press the Home key.

To go to the end of the document do one of the following:

• Drag the scroll box to the bottom of the vertical scroll bar.

  or

• Press the End key.

You could also use the arrow keys to move around your document.

Save and Save As...

CAUTION: You should get in the habit of saving your work every 10 to 15 minutes even if it contains errors or is incomplete. Computers will crash at unexpected times you do not expect them to, so make sure you save your work often. Let's go back to the Untitled 1 document by clicking on any part of the Untitled 1 window, or by selecting it from the window menu. The first time you save your work as a file, you must give it a name consisting of no more than 31 characters. To save a file, follow these steps:

1. Choose Save from the File menu.
2. Select the location where you want your document to be saved (e.g., your floppy diskette).
3. Enter the name you want to give to your document.
4. Click on the Save button.

Your work has been saved on your diskette. The filename you assigned to your work should now appear in the Title Bar.

NOTE: After you've told Word how you want it saved, using the Save command will not bring up the Save dialog box. To tell Word that you want this dialog box so you can save it in another place or under a different name, use the Save As... command.

Print and Print Preview

Word enables you to preview your document on the screen before you print it.

Print Preview lets you see what your document will look like when printed. It is a good way to check on the appearance of your document before sending it to the printer. To do so:

• Choose Print Preview from the File menu.

A picture of what your document will look like on the paper appears on the screen. You have several options.

In addition, you can...

• Use Page Down or the scroll bar to scroll through a multiple page document.
• Click on the Close button to return to your document window.

To print your document without previewing it do the following:

Choose Print from the File menu.

This command will result in a dialog box providing you with options. This dialog box will vary depending on what kind of printer is currently chosen:

After you choose the correct options:

Click on Print or press the Return key.

Closing

When you are finished editing or viewing a document:

• Choose Close from the File menu.

  or

• Click on the window's close box.

If you have not saved your latest changes, Word will ask if you want to Save changes before closing. Here, you answer yes if you want to save your work, no if you don't want to save the latest changes, or cancel if you changed your mind and you want to continue working on the document.

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