Using Word to Format Text (Part 1)
module last modified: January 5, 2002

Word Processing: Using Microsoft Word 97 & 98
This part is where you will earn most of the points for the first project.

PLATFORM
You can do this module on either the Macs or the PCs. There are occasional steps that differ depending on the platform you are using; those steps are marked below.

PURPOSE OF THIS MODULE
This module will give you some basic familiarity with the Microsoft Word word-processing application. You will learn how to:

If you already feel pretty comfortable with Word, do the steps below, but then move on to the bonus section below.
If you are doing this on your own, remember to ask the consultants for help and, if you use a manual or some other documentation, be sure you use a text that is appropriate to the platform (Mac or IBM) you are using.

NOTE!
This assignment has 2 parts; you must complete both parts in order to complete this assignment. Note that each part of the assignment is turned in differently: you will print the first part and hand it to me; the second part you will turn in on the computers.

PART 1

  1. Open up Word 97 on the PC or Word 98 on a Mac and then open the Wendell Berry document in your home directory.

    On the Mac click on the apple at the top left of the screen and move the mouse down to "Local Applications" then to "Microsoft Word 98". Word 98 will open. You can also use the "find" utility which you can find under the file menu. When the window pops up type in "Word 98" and the computer will find the application for you to open.

    On the PC Word 97 is located in Start>Programs>Word Processors>Word (not Word 6.0).

    To open the Wendell Berry Document from inside Word, click on the File menu at the top left of the screen. Then click open and a window will pop up. On both the Macs and the PCs you want to find your home directory. Open it, then find the document, click on it then click open. If its not in your home directory, open it from the G: drive, which is the "groups" drive. Once you have opened the G drive open click on the "classes" folder, the "HU2644_Spring2002" folder, and the folder called "References". This is where all of the documents are kept you will need to import into specific software later on. You will find a file named as "Wendell Berry.rtf". Double click on this file and open it.

    Before you do anything else (if you haven't already in the first part), choose the "Save As..." option under the File menu, and save the document to your Home Directory (the H: drive). Put it in a folder named HU2644 with a subfolder called 'Word.' This organization now will save you a great deal of searching time over the course of the semester.

  2. Make the text fit onto the page by changing the right margin.
    In order to change the right margin of ALL the text, you will have to select ALL the text (if you were to click the cursor in a paragraph and adjust the right margin, you would only change the margin for that one paragraph).

    There are three different methods for choosing ALL the text:
    1. by clicking the cursor at the very top of the document, before any of the words, and then by holding down the mouse button and dragging down the mouse down to the very end of the document, so that all the text is highlighted.
    2. by clicking anywhere in the text and then pulling down the Edit menu to "Select All."
    3. by moving the cursor over to the LEFT edge of the document, so that the cursor changes from the text-entry bar to an arrow pointing to the right. Once you have the cursor changed into this arrow, hold down the command key (the key with the clover-leaf like shape on it) on the Macintosh or the Control key (the CTRL key) on the PC, and click the mouse.

     

    In the Ruler bar at the top of the window, move the right-hand pointer to the 6.5 inch mark:If you cannot see the right hand diamond or the right hand edge of your text:

  3. Change the typeface of the body text into something you think is more readable.
    First, select all the paragraphs that make the body of the article.
    Then, after you select the text, there are 3 methods you can use to change the typeface:
    1. Choose "Font" from the Format menu. This brings up a dialog box that allows you to set the font, font size, and style of a piece of text (as well as its color and some other features).
    2. Choose the "Font" selection from the Menu bar on the top of the page.
    3. Use the pull-down menus & buttons in the button-bar at the top of the window to change the font, size, and style:
      Remember: you must select text first before you can change it.

  4. Make the text be one-and-a-half or double-spaced.
    As in the steps above, you will have to select all the text of the body of the document before you choose the spacing options; otherwise the option you choose will only apply to the paragraph in which the cursor is sitting.

    Select "Paragraph" from the Format menu. In the dialog box that appears, click on the pull-down menu by "Line Spacing" (this menu is roughly in the middle of the dialog box.)

    Here you can choose whether to single-, one-and-one-half-, or double-space the selected paragraphs.

  5. Make the divisions between paragraphs be more apparent so that the document is easier to read.
    You will have to select all the paragraphs that make the body of the text, and then use one of the following 2 options:
    1. Use the left margin diamonds (in the Ruler bar); change them by dragging the top half of the diamond to the right. This will indent each paragraph.
    2. Use the "Paragraph" option under the Format menu. In the dialog box that appears experiment with the "Before" and "After" options under Spacing to see how the results look.

  6. Center the title and subtitle (using the alignment tools instead of the space bar).The left button is for left alignment; the second button is for centered alignment (always use this button to center text); the 3rd button is for right-aligned text; and the fourth button is for fully justified text. It is important to know that these tools maybe in a different arrangement or may not even be on the screen. If they are not visible go to Tools>Customize>Toolbar and click on formatting.



  7. Make the title and subtitle be in a typeface that stands out.
    Follow the directions under step 3 above to give the title and subtitle a bold and strong appearance, so that they are clearly the title and subtitle of the article.

  8. Make the footnote numbers into superscript (there are 4 of them, now incorrectly typed as just plain numbers).
    Use the Edit menu "Replace..." command to do this. When you choose this menu option, a dialog box will appear. Type "1" into the box following "Find What," and then type "1" into the "Replace With" box and choose "Font" from the "Format" pull down menu below this box; choose "Superscript" from the dialog box that appears. This will change a regular "1" into a superscripted "1". Click "OK", then click "Find Next".

    The computer will find the "1" that needs to be made into a footnote, and you will have to click "Replace" to make the change happen.

    Now repeat the steps for footnotes 2, 3, and 4. You will have to change what is in the "Find What?" and "Replace With" boxes in order to do this.

    (Note also that you can change a character directly if you don't need to find it first by highlighting it and choosing "Font" from the Format menu.)

  9. Spell-check the document.

Whether you are working on a Mac or PC, you will see a dialog box appear. The application will move through your document, landing on words it doesn't recognize and suggesting corrections. You can accept its suggestions, type in your own corrections, or move on to the next word without changing the word the application has highlighted.

Be forewarned that spellcheckers are essentially stupid: all they are doing is moving through your document, comparing the words in your document to all the words it has stored in a dictionary. If it doesn't have a word in its dictionary (and you'd be surprised at what *isn't* in most spellchecker's dictionaries), it will tell you that the word is unknown; this can happen with names, abbreviations, contractions, and foreign words.

There are at least 8 errors of spelling and words running together that I know of in the Wendell Berry document; all the proper names are correctly spelled, and be forewarned that many of the terms Berry uses (like "Joneses" and "cultish" and "langue)" are correctly spelled, but are not in the application's dictionary.

  1. Put your name at the top.
    Click at the very top of the document, before the title, and press the Return key two or three times; this will open up some lines for you to type your name. Then use the arrow keys to move the cursor back up the top line, or click there with the mouse. Please type your name and the date on the top two lines of the document, and make them have the same font and size as the body of the article.

  2. Save your document if you have not already done so.
    Select "Save" from the File menu.

Because you copied this file to your Home directory before you started, the computer will now save your changes to that file on your Home directory.

  1. Print the document.
    Choose "Print..." from the File menu. Click OK in the dialog box that appears.

Choose "Print..." from the File menu. Next to the word "printer" there is a dialogue box that tells you what printer has been preselected. You should print to Kruger, which is the laser printer on the Mac side.

If you are on a PC and your preferred printer has not been selected, choose the appropriate printer by clicking once on the button that says "Printer". Then highlight the printer you want and click on "Set as Default Printer." Finally click the close button. Click OK in the printer dialogue box.

If you are on a Mac and your preferred printer has not been selected, cancel "Print". Go to the apple menu in the upper left-hand corner of the screen and select "Chooser". Click on "Laser Printer" and select your preferred printer. Follow the steps above to print.

TURNING IN PART 1
Print out your reformatted file (be sure you added your name at the top, on the computer, and not in pencil!) and turn it in to me in class, or in my mailbox on the third floor of Walker prior to 5 PM on the due day.

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