Elements of a Word Processing Window
A full-featured word processing program allows you to easily create and revise
documents such as announcements, letters, resumes, and reports, and revise them
easily. Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect are
two examples of full-featured word processors; however, there are many other
good examples. If you use a different word processor, the basic
operations will be similar. For this tutorial, Microsoft Word will be used
in the illustrations and examples.
The illustration below is an example of a blank document window. It displays
text, tables, graphics, and other items as you type.
The elements you will need to know in order to create a document are the insertion
point, end mark, mouse pointer, rulers, menu bars and toolbars.
- INSERTION POINT A blinking vertical bar that indicates where text
will be inserted as you type. As you type, the insertion point moves to the
right, and when you reach the end of a line, it moves downward to the start
of the next line.
- END MARK A short horizontal line that indicates the end of
your document. Each time you begin a new line, the end mark moves downward.
- MOUSE POINTER The shape and location of the mouse pointer changes to
depending on the task you are performing and the pointer’s location on the screen.
The pointer has the shape of an I-beam when you are pointing to the document area.
When you point to other features such as the scroll bar, the pointer has the shape
of an arrow.
- RULERS The horizontal ruler that is located at the top edge of the
document window is used to set tab stops, indent paragraphs, adjust column widths,
and change page margins. A vertical ruler will sometimes be displayed at the
left edge of the window when you perform certain advanced features.
- SCROLL BARS Scroll bars located on the bottom and right side of the
window are used to display different portions of your document in the document
window. The position of the scroll box reflects the relative location of the
portion of the document displayed in the document window.
- STATUS BAR The status bar presents information about the location
of the insertion point, the progress of current tasks, and the status of certain
commands, keys, and buttons. From left to right, the following information
displays on the status bar: the page number, the section number, the page
containing the insertion point followed by the total number of pages in the
document, the position of the insertion point in inches from the top of the
page, the line number and column number of the insertion point, followed by
several status indicators. When you perform a task that requires several seconds,
the status bar displays a message informing you of the progress of that task.
- MENU BARS The menu bar displays the word processor's menu names.
- TOOLBARS Toolbars have many pre-defined buttons that allow you
to perform tasks at the click of a button. For example, to print
a document, you click the PRINT button on the standard toolbar.
These elements can be further examined by using the HELP feature
built into your word processor.
Further explore your word processing window by moving the mouse pointer; add
some text to see the end mark move; move the insertion point after you have
typed some text; and use the menu bar and toolbars to gain familiarity with
their features. Be sure you can identify the elements described above.
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