First we have to learn how to create a document. There are several ways to create new documents, open existing documents, and save documents in Word:

Create a New Document

1. Click the New Document button on the menu bar.
2. Choose File|New from the menu bar.

Press CTRL+N (depress the CTRL key while pressing "N") on the keyboard.

Open an Existing Document

1. Click the Open File button on the menu bar.
2. Choose File|Open from the menu bar.
3. Press CTRL+O on the keyboard.

Each method will show the Open dialog box. Choose the file and click the Open button.

Save a Document

1. Click the Save button on the menu bar.
2. Select File|Save from the menu bar.

Press CTRL+S on the keyboard.

To rename a Word document while using the program (note: you can't rename a document while it is open or still in use), select File|Open and find the file you want to rename. Right-click on the document name with the mouse and select Rename from the shortcut menu. Type the new name for the file and press the ENTER key.

Working on Multiple Documents

Several documents can be opened simultaneously if you are typing or editing multiple documents at once.  All open documents are listed under the Window menu as shown below. The current document has a checkmark beside the file name. Select another name to view another open document or click the button on the Windows taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

To enter text, just start typing! The text will appear where the blinking cursor is located. Move the cursor by using the arrow buttons on the keyboard or positioning the mouse and clicking the left button. The keyboard shortcuts listed below are also helpful when moving through the text of a document:

Move          Action Keystroke

HOME             Beginning of the line
END                End of the line
CTRL+HOME  Top of the document
CTRL+END     End of the document

To change any attributes of text it must be highlighted first. Select the text by dragging the mouse over the desired text while keeping the left mouse button depressed, or hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard while using the arrow buttons to highlight the text. The following table contains shortcuts for selecting a portion of the text:

Selection                    Technique
Whole word                  double-click within the word
Whole paragraph           triple click within the paragraph
Several words or lines    drag the mouse over the words, or hold down SHIFT while using the
                                    arrow keys
Deselect the text by clicking anywhere outside of the selection on the page or press an arrow key on the keyboard.

Deleting Text

Use the BACKSPACE and DELETE keys on the keyboard to delete text. Backspace will delete text to the left of the cursor and Delete will erase text to the right. To delete a large selection of text, highlight it using any of the methods outlined above and press the DELETE key.

Formatting Text

The formatting toolbar is the easiest way to change many attributes of text. If the toolbar as shown below isn't displayed on the screen, select View|Toolbars and choose Formatting.

• Style Menu - Styles are explained in detail later in this tutorial.
• Font Face - Click the arrowhead to the right of the font name box to view the list of fonts available. Scroll down to the font you want and select it by clicking on the name once with the mouse. A serif font (one with "feet" circled in the illustration below) is recommended for paragraphs of text that will be printed on paper as they are most readable. The following graphic demonstrates the difference between serif (Times New Roman on the left) and sans-serif ("no feet", Arial on the right) fonts.
  
• Font Size - Click on the white part of the font size box to enter a value for the font size or click the arrowhead to the right of the box to view a list of font sizes available. Select a size by clicking on it once. A font size of 10 or 12 is best for paragraphs of text.
• Font Style - Use these buttons to bold, italicize, and underline text.
• Alignment - Text can be aligned to the left, center, or right side of the page or it can be justified across the page.
• Numbered and Bulleted Lists - Lists are explained in detail later in this tutorial.
• Increase/Decrease Indent - Change the indentation of a paragraph in relation to the side of the page.
• Outside Border - Add a border around a text selection.
• Highlight Color - Use this option to change the color behind a text selection. The color shown on the button is the last color used. To select a different color, click the arrowhead next to the image on the button.

Text Color - This option changes the color of the text. The color shown on the button is the last color chosen. Click the arrowhead next to the button image to select another color.

The Font dialog box allows you to choose from a larger selection of formatting options. Select Format|Font from the menu bar to access the box.

Format Painter

A handy feature for formatting text is the Format Painter located on the standard toolbar. For example, if you have formatting a paragraph heading with a certain font face, size, and style and you want to format another heading the same way, you do not need to manually add each attribute to the new headline. Instead, use the Format Painter by following these steps:

1. Place the cursor within the text that contains the formatting you want to copy.
2. Click the Format Painter button in the standard toolbar. Notice that your pointer now has a paintbrush beside it.
3. Highlight the text you want to add the same format to with the mouse and release the mouse button.

To add the formatting to multiple selections of text, double-click the Format Painter button instead of clicking once.  The format painter then stays active until you press the ESC key to turn it off.

Undo

Feel free to experiment with various text styles. You can always undo your last action by clicking the Undo button on the standard toolbar or selecting Edit|Undo... from the menu bar. Click the Redo button on the standard toolbar or select Edit|Redo... to erase the undo action.

Format a paragraph by placing the cursor within the paragraph and selecting Format|Paragraph from the menu bar.

Moving (Cutting) Text

Highlight the text that will be moved and select Edit|Cut from the menu bar, click the Cut button on the standard tool bar, or press CTRL+X at once. This will move the text to a clipboard.

To move a small amount of text a short distance, the drag-and-drop method may be quicker. Highlight the text you want to move, click the selection with the mouse, drag the selection to the new location, and release the mouse button.

Copying Text

To copy text, choose Edit|Copy, click the Copy button on the standard toolbar, or press CTRL+C to copy the text to the clipboard.

Paste Text

To paste cut or copied text, move the cursor to the location you want to move the text to and select Edit|Paste from the menu bar, click the Paste button on the standard toolbar, or press CTRL+V.

The Clipboard

The last 12 elements that were cut or copied are placed onto Word's clipboard. You can view the elements on the clipboard by selecting View|Toolbars|Clipboard from the menu bar.

Place the mouse arrow over each element in the clipboard to view the contents of each item and click on an element to add its contents to the document. Click Paste All to add all of the items to the document at once. Click the Clear Clipboard button (the icon with an "X" over the clipboard image) to clear the contents of the clipboard.

Columns

To quickly place text in a column format, click the Columns button on the standard toolbar and select the number of columns by dragging the mouse over the diagram.

For more column options, select Format|Columns from the menu bar. The Columns dialog box allows you to choose the properties of the columns. Select the number and width of the columns from the dialog box.

Drop Caps

A drop cap is a large letter that begins a paragraph and drops through several lines of text as shown below.

Add a drop cap to a paragraph by following these steps:

1. Place the cursor within the paragraph whose first letter will be dropped.
2. Select Format|Drop Cap from the menu bar.
3. The Drop Cap dialog box allows you to select the position of the drop cap, the font, the number of lines to drop, and the distance from the body text.
4. Click OK when all selections have been made.
5. To modify a drop cap, select Format|Drop Cap again to change the attributes, or click on the letter and use the handles to move and resize the letter.

To create a bulleted or numbered list, use the list features provided by Word.

Bulleted and Numbered Lists

1. Click the Bulleted List button or Numbered List button on the formatting toolbar.
2. Type the first entry and press ENTER. This will create a new bullet or number on the next line. If you want to start a new line without adding another bullet or number, hold down the SHIFT key while pressing ENTER.
3. Continue to typing entries and press ENTER twice when you are finished typing to end the list.

Use the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons on the formatting toolbar to create lists of multiple levels.

NOTE: You can also type the text first, highlight the section, and press the Bulleted List or Numbered List buttons to add the bullets or numbers.

Nested Lists

To create a nested list, such as a numbered list inside of a bulleted list, follow these steps:

1. Type the list and increase the indentation of the items that will make up the nested list by clicking the Increase Indent button for each item.
   
2. Highlight the items and click the Numbered List button on the formatting toolbar.

Formatting Lists

The bullet image and numbering format can be changed by using the Bullets and Numbering dialog box.

1. Highlight the entire list to change all the bullets or numbers, or
   Place the cursor on one line within the list to change a single bullet.
2. Access the dialog box by selecting Format|Bullets and Numbering from the menu bar or by right-clicking within the list and selecting Bullets and Numbering from the shortcut menu.
   
   
3. Select the list style from one of the seven choices given, or click the Picture... button to choose a different icon. Click the Numbered tab to choose a numbered list style.
4. Click OK when finished.

Tables are used to display data and there are several ways to build them in Word. Begin by placing the cursor where you want the table to appear in the document and choose one of the following methods.

The page margins of the document can be changed using the rulers on the page and the Page Setup window. The ruler method is discussed first:

1. Move the mouse over the area where the white ruler changes to gray.
   
2. When the cursor becomes a double-ended arrow, click with the mouse and drag the margin indicator to the desired location.

Release the mouse when the margin is set.

The margins can also be changed using the Page Setup dialog box:

1. Select File|Page Setup and choose the Margins tab in the dialog box.
   
2. Enter margin values in the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right boxes. The Preview window will reflect the changes.
3. If the document has Headers and/or Footers, the distance this text appears from the edge of the page can be changed.
4. Click OK when finished.

Page Size and Orientation

Change the orientation page within the Page Setup dialog box.

1. Select File|Page Setup and choose the Paper Size tab.
2. Select the proper paper size from the drop-down menu.
3. Change the orientation from Portrait or Landscape by checking the corresponding radio button.

A header is text that is added to the top margin of every page such as a document title or page number and a footer is text added to the bottom margin. Follow these steps to add or edit headers and footers in the document:

1. Select View|Header and Footer from the menu bar. The Header and Footer toolbar will appear and the top of the page will be highlighted as shown below.
   
   
2. Type the heading in the Header box. You may use many of the standard text formatting options such as font face, size, bold, italics, etc.
3. Click the Insert AutoText button to view a list of quick options available.
4. Use the other options on the toolbar to add page numbers, the current date and time.
5. To edit the footer, click the Switch Between Header and Footer button on the toolbar.
6. When you are finished adding headers and footers, click the Close button on the toolbar.

Follow these instructions for another way to add page numbers to a document.

1. Select Insert|Page Numbers from the menu bar and the following dialog box will appear.
   
   
2. Select the position of the page numbers by choosing "Top of page" or "Bottom of page" from the Position drop-down menu.
3. Select the alignment of the page numbers in the Alignment drop-down menu.
4. If you do not want the page number to show on the first page (if it is a title page, for example), uncheck the Show number of first page box.
5. Click OK when finished.

Print Preview and Printing

Preview your document by clicking the Print Preview button on the standard toolbar or by selecting File|Print Preview. When the document is ready to print, click the Print button from the Print Preview screen or select File|Print.

Keyboard shortcuts can save time and the effort of switching from the keyboard to the mouse to execute simple commands. Print this list of Word keyboard shortcuts and keep it by your computer for a quick reference.

Note: A plus sign indicates that the keys need to be pressed at the same time.

Inserting tables and adding clip arts in microsoft word