The Menu Bar
A Menu displays a set of commands. The Menu Bar is located at the top of an application window and it contains the menus for that application.
To use the Menu Bar, click on one of the menu titles. A dropdown list will appear from which you can choose a task. For example, by clicking on File, a dropdown list of tasks will appear.
To open a file that is already stored on your computer, from this menu you can click Open. If you wanted to save the document you are currently using, you can click Save.
Toolbars
In contrast to the Menu Bar, a Toolbar is a combination of menus and buttons that perform actions when clicked. The most common toolbars used in Microsoft Word are Standard Toolbar and Format Toolbar.
To be able to use the toolbars in Microsoft Word efficiently, you will need to learn to recognize the images and what task each one performs when clicked. In the meantime, however, letting the mouse pointer hover over the icon will provide you with an indication, in words, of what the icon will do.
To perform the task represented by a toolbar icon, simply single click with the left mouse button on the toolbar image.
Open and Save a Document
Now that you are familiar with the Menu Bar and have your Toolbars set as you like them, we need to learn how we can start to use Microsoft Word to type up a document. To make effective use of Microsoft Word, you will need to learn how to save the document you are working on for later use and be able to retrieve it. Basic file management is, therefore, the focus of this section of the module.
Open a New Document
1. Click on the File menu.
2. Select New from the dropdown list. This will open a New Document window.
3. Click Blank Document.
Note:
You can also click the New Blank Document icon from the Standard toolbar.
Save a New Document
1. Click on the File menu.
2. Select Save from the dropdown list . It will open a Save As window for you.
3. In the Save In field, select the location where you want to save your file.
4. Type the name of the file, in the File Name field.
5. Press the Save button.
Note:
To save a copy of your file, repeat this procedure, but you will have to save your document with a new name, otherwise it will overwrite the original document.
Save an Existing document
Once you have saved a document with a certain name, if you make some changes in it, you will need to save the document again. To do this, click on the File menu, click Save. Alternatively, you can click the Save Icon on the Standard toolbar, or, hold down the Ctrl key and the S key on the keyboard at the same time.
Open an Existing Document
1. Click on the File menu.
2. Select Open.
3. Click on the drop down arrow in front of the Look in field and find the file that you wish to
open or the folder that is located in.
4. Click on the file or folder that you wish to open. (When you click on a folder, the name of the
folder will be displayed automatically in the File name field).
5. Press the Open button.
Note:
If you know the name of your file, you can type the name directly into the File Name field. You can then select the Type of file, for example select all word documents and finally click Open.
Highlight, Delete and Insert Text
In the process of typing a document, you may need to Insert or Delete text. Being able to highlight text will help to make inserting and deleting text a speedier process.
Highlight Text
Highlight text by using the Mouse
1. Place the cursor by clicking the left mouse button when the mouse pointer is in the area where you want to start deleting.
- To highlight a single character, place your cursor in front of the letter and drag the mouse over the letter.
- To highlight a single word, place your cursor in front of the word and drag the mouse over that word or double click your mouse on the word you wish to delete.
- To highlight a whole paragraph, move the cursor to the beginning of the sentence and drag the mouse over that paragraph or triple click the mouse. The whole paragraph will be highlighted.
Highlight Text by using the Keyboard
1. Place the cursor by clicking the left mouse button when the mouse pointer is in the area where you want to start deleting.
- To select a single character , place your cursor in front of the letter hold the Shift key down and press the right arrow key on the keyboard.
- To select a word, place your cursor in front of the word and press Ctrl, Shift and the right arrow key at the same time on the keyboard.
- To select a whole sentence, place your cursor at the beginning of the sentence that you wish to delete. Hold down the Shift key and press the down arrow key on the keyboard.
- To select a whole paragraph, place you cursor at the beginning of the paragraph, hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys and press the down arrow key on the keyboard.
2. By holding down the Shift key and using the arrow keys you can highlight any portion of the text that you wish.
Delete Text
Once you have highlighted the text that you wish to delete, press the Delete key on the keyboard. You can also use Backspace key.
Insert Text
1. Place your cursor where you want to insert the text by clicking the left button of your mouse.
2. Type the text that you want to insert.
