LEARNING MICROSOFT WORD 2000
Chapter 1: Documents

1.0 STARTING WORD
Starting Word is exactly the same as starting any other Windows application.

Step 1.1 Launch Word by choosing the "Word" icon on the start menu.

Figure 1.1

Step 1.2 If the Personal Assistant appears click on 'Start using Microsoft Word'.

Figure 1.2

2.0 THE WORD SCREEN
A window similar to that shown below should appear. Remember that the exact appearance of the window on your computer depends on your own particular configuration. Usually by default, Word 2000 will enable the menu, standard and formatting tool bars.

Figure 2.1

The window displays a new document.

The insertion point indicates where text will be entered if you type. In this case, that is at the start of the document. The end marker indicates where the document ends. In this case, after the first line because there is no text.

The ruler shows the margins and tab settings for the current paragraph.

The menu bar gives the menus available for the current mode of editing. The standard tool bar gives quick access to many of the document tools also available under the menus, while the formatting tool bar provides quick access to many of the text formatting tools available.

The Personal assistant provides quick access to help features.

The view buttons allow you to change easily between the different possible views of the document.

Normal and page layout views
Word has three modes of viewing a document.

1. Normal view is generally used for typing, editing, and formatting text.
2. Outline view allows you to collapse or expand a document to various levels of headings and is useful for planning document layout and content. We will not be covering this.
3.Page layout view displays the document as it will look when printed. It also allows you to see any footnotes attached to the document.

We will use normal view for most of the exercises.

Step 2.1 Click on the normal view button at the bottom left of the window.

Figure 2.2

Windows Concepts
Remember that all of the concepts you learned in Learning Microsoft Windows NT Workstation will apply here. For example, maximising and minimising windows are the same, as is moving or closing them. The principles relating to using menus and moving around the window with the mouse pointer are also the same.

Practice this now, as described below.

Step 2.2 Click on the File menu with the left mouse button to display the menu options. In Word 2000, not all menu options are visible, and Word 2000 displays the most commonly used options (it remembers what you select and displays these next time you select the menu).

Step 2.3 Highlight the extra menu button (move the mouse over the option) to display the additional options available.

Figure 2.3

Step 2.4 Click on the Close menu option.

Figure 2.3

This closes the blank document that opened by default when you started Word 2000 and leaves you with a blank screen. Most of the menus disappear, as does the ruler. These options are no longer of any use because you do not have a document open.