Viewing Your Document

Opening Word

If you have a Microsoft Word icon on your desktop, double-click it to open Word. Otherwise, follow these steps:

For the PC

• Choose Start from the Taskbar
• Choose Programs
• Choose Microsoft Word
• To learn to create a Word shortcut icon on your desktop on the PC, click here.

For the Mac

• Double-click your hard drive icon
• Double-click the Applications folder (usually)
• Double-click Microsoft Office
• Double-click Microsoft Word
• To learn to create a Word alias icon on your desktop on the Mac, click here.

Understanding the Word Screen

The big white area is where you type. The flashing vertical line (insertion point) indicates where the text you type will appear. The top toolbars contain buttons to help you quickly select commonly used commands. At the bottom of the screen is the status bar, which contains information about the area of the document displayed on your screen.

Opening an Existing Document

1. Click the open folder icon on the Standard toolbar.
2. At the top of the dialog box, select the drive and folder of the document.
3. Select the name of the document.
4. Click Open.

Starting a New Document

When you open Word, you automatically have a new document. But if you have finished working on one document and want to start another one, you don't have to open Word again. Just click the New button (the first one on the left of the Standard toolbar).

Typing Text

Just start typing! When you reach the end of the line the text will automatically wrap to the next line. You only need to press Enter/Return when you want to start a new line or paragraph. To start a new paragraph, press Enter/Return twice on the keyboard.

Saving A Document

To save a document, click the Save button (it looks like a diskette) on the Standard toolbar.

If you haven't saved your document yet, Word opens the Save As dialog box. Use the Save In drop-down list (PC) or the list at the top of the dialog box (Mac) to set the drive and folder location. At the bottom of the dialog box, type the file name in the text box. Then click Save.

If you've already saved the document, click Save to save your most recent changes. Save often!

To save a document under a new name or in a new location, choose File > Save As and follow the same instructions just given for saving a document the first time.

Printing a Document

Before printing, it's a good idea to preview your document by clicking the Print Preview button on the Standard Toolbar (to the right of the printer icon). When you finish your preview click Close on the toolbar.

To print the document using the current defaults, click Print on the Standard toolbar. (The button looks like a printer.)

To make adjustments, choose File > Print. The Print dialog box appears. You may choose the following print options:

• All-Prints every page of the document.
• Current Page-Prints the page containing the mouse cursor. (PC only.)
• Pages-Prints the pages you specify.
• Selection-Prints the text you selected. (PC only.)

You can also choose how many copies of the document you want to print. Then click OK (PC) or Print (Mac).