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:
- set the margins
of a document
- change the typefaces
in a document
- indicate to
readers how paragraphs are divided
- use the alignment
tools
- make characters
be superscript (for footnote numbering
- use the "Find..."
command
- use the Spellchecker
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
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- by clicking
anywhere in the text and then pulling down the Edit menu to "Select
All."
- 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:
- On the Mac,
use the scroll bar at the bottom of the window to scroll out to the right
until you can see the pointer.
- On the PC,
select "Zoom" from the View menu. Adjust the options in the
dialog box that appears so that you can see the pointer
- Or, you
can point your cursor on the right and/or left side of the application
until you see the pointer turn into a line with two arrows. Adjusting
these allows you to make your box bigger or smaller.
- 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:
- 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).
- Choose the
"Font" selection from the Menu bar on the top of the page.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.)
- Spell-check
the document.
- Apple: Click
on the "Spell Check" icon at the top of the screen. It looks like
this: Choose "Spelling..." from the Tools menu to do this.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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to Schedule