Microsoft Word

MS Word is a word processor made by Microsoft. Its files use the extension .docx (older .doc). A template is .dotx; a file with macros is .docm.

The window

• Title bar, Quick Access Toolbar (Save, Undo, Redo), Ribbon with tabs, Ruler, Status bar (page number, word count, zoom), Scroll bars.
• Ribbon tabs: File, Home, Insert, Design, Layout (Page Layout), References, Mailings, Review, View.

Important concepts

• Views: Print Layout (default), Read Mode, Web Layout, Outline, Draft.
• Default page: margins of 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides in recent versions; A4 in India.
• Alignment: left, centre, right, justify. Indent: moves text from the margin. Line spacing: distance between lines.
• Header and Footer: repeated text at the top and bottom of every page.
• Drop cap: large first letter of a paragraph.
• Section break: lets you change layout (margins, orientation) inside one document. A page break only starts a new page.
• Footnote: note at the bottom of the page; endnote: at the end of the document.
• Track Changes records edits so others can accept or reject them.
• Table of Contents is built automatically from Heading styles.
• Print range example: typing 1-3,5 prints pages 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Mail Merge

Mail merge creates many personalised copies of one letter. It needs three parts:

1. Main document: the letter with fixed text.
2. Data source: a table (Excel, Access or Word table) with names and addresses.
3. Merge fields: placeholders such as «Name» that take values from the data source.

Steps: Start Mail Merge → Select Recipients → Insert Merge Field → Preview Results → Finish and Merge. Types: Letters, Emails, Envelopes, Labels, Directory.

Word shortcuts

Selection with the mouse: double-click selects a word, triple-click selects a paragraph, Ctrl + click selects a sentence, and clicking in the left margin selects a line.