WORD PROCESSING

1. History of Word Processing Here are some of Dan Bricklin's recollections about the development of Word Processing. Dan helped develop an early Word Processor in the mid-1970's, the WPS-8. It was later sold (in new hardware) as the DECmate. Word processors evolved from typewriters. The earliest ones were merely electric typewriters with a tape recorder that could be edited. They were first used for automatic typing of letters. Later, they were used to playback material that was typed correctly when corrections were added. The "manual" way, at the time, was to have a typist type something, have it proofread, and then retype it with corrections, hoping that no new errors were introduced with the retyping. The word processor insured that the parts that were left alone did not change. Those early word processors were very much designed to control the typewriter to which they were connected. The operators were specially trained typists. Most of the early products were "page oriented" as opposed to "document oriented". This meant that they dealt with documents as a series of separate pages, and the page breaks were very important barriers. For example, if you added text to the middle of a page such that it pushed other text off the bottom, you had to "cut" the extra and move it to the next page. If that pushed text off that page, you had to do it again and again. This page orientation was very helpful for carefully lining up letters, newsletters, and the other documents that made up most of the target market. The machines were expensive and were justified for the repetitive work of fundraising form letters and the exacting requirements of newsletters and small newspapers. The early units often used IBM Selectric printing mechanisms that had changeable fonts (by replacing the typing ball) and were used as simple typesetting machines for newspapers. General purpose personal computers were still in the future, and each computer was built specially to do word processing. With the advent of inexpensive video computer screens, the connection to the typewriter as input device was broken. Some early devices tried to avoid this break, and simulated the look and feel of a typewriter by making the screen act as much like a piece of paper as possible, even going as far as having margin setting levers that were under the screen just like those under paper on a typewriter. These devices kept the page orientation. Some of the early screen-based word processors broke with this page oriented tradition and dealt with the entire document as one long string of text, with the pagination done at print time. Explicit pagination was left to extra commands, such as explicit page breaks. These machines were WYSIWYG versions of the RUNOFF programs on large timesharing

computers. Features we take for granted today, such as having margins and other paragraph settings spanning a certain amount of text, had to be invented. Much debate went on between the page and document oriented camps, continuing to this day with some page-layout vs. word processing programs. In all cases, the design goal of the word processor was to produce a final paper output. The initial uses were not even the authors, they were the typists and typesetters. 2. About Word Processing Using a computer to create, edit, and print documents. Of all computer applications, word processing is the most common. To perform word processing, you need a computer, a special program called a word processor, and a printer. A word processor enables you to create a document, store it electronically on a disk, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it on a printer. The great advantage of word processing over using a typewriter is that you can make changes without retyping the entire document. If you make a typing mistake, you simply back up the cursor and correct your mistake. If you want to delete a paragraph, you simply remove it, without leaving a trace. It is equally easy to insert a word, sentence, or paragraph in the middle of a document. Word processors also make it easy to move sections of text from one place to another within a document, or between documents. When you have made all the changes you want, you can send the file to a printer to get a hardcopy. Word processors vary considerably, but all word processors support the following basic features: insert text: Allows you to insert text anywhere in the document. delete text: Allows you to erase characters, words, lines, or pages as easily as you can cross them out on paper. cut and paste : Allows you to remove (cut) a section of text from one place in a document and insert (paste) it somewhere else. copy : Allows you to duplicate a section of text. page size and margins : Allows you to define various page sizes and margins, and the word processor will automatically readjust the text so that it fits. search and replace : Allows you to direct the word processor to search for a particular word or phrase. You can also direct the word processor to replace one group of characters with another everywhere that the first group appears. word wrap : The word processor automatically moves to the next line when you have filled one line with text, and it will readjust text if you change the margins. print: Allows you to send a document to a printer to get hardcopy. Word processors that support only these features (and maybe a few others) are called text editors. Most word processors, however, support additional features that enable you to manipulate and format documents in more sophisticated ways. These more advanced word processors are sometimes called full-featured word processors. Full-featured word processors usually support the following features:

file management : Many word processors contain file management capabilities that allow you to create, delete, move, and search for files. font specifications: Allows you to change fonts within a document. For example, you can specify bold, italics, and underlining. Most word processors also let you change the font size and even the typeface. footnotes and cross-references: Automates the numbering and placement of footnotes and enables you to easily cross-reference other sections of the document. graphics graphics: Allows you to embed illustrations and graphs into a document. Some word processors let you create the illustrations within the word processor; others let you insert an illustration produced by a different program. headers , footers , and page numbering: Allows you to specify customized headers and footers that the word processor will put at the top and bottom of every page. The word processor automatically keeps track of page numbers so that the correct number appears on each page. layout : Allows you to specify different margins within a single document and to specify various methods for indenting paragraphs. macros : A macro is a character or word that represents a series of keystrokes. The keystrokes can represent text or commands. The ability to define macros allows you to save yourself a lot of time by replacing common combinations of keystrokes. merges: Allows you to merge text from one file into another file. This is particularly useful for generating many files that have the same format but different data. Generating mailing labels is the classic example of using merges. spell checker : A utility that allows you to check the spelling of words. It will highlight any words that it does not recognize. tables of contents and indexes: Allows you to automatically create a table of contents and index based on special codes that you insert in the document. thesaurus: A built-in thesaurus that allows you to search for synonyms without leaving the word processor. windows : Allows you to edit two or more documents at the same time. Each document appears in a separate window. This is particularly valuable when working on a large project that consists of several different files. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get): With WYSIWYG, a document appears on the display screen exactly as it will look when printed. The line dividing word processors from desktop publishing systems is constantly shifting. In general, though, desktop publishing applications support finer control over layout, and more support for full-color documents. 3. What to Look for in Word Processing Software Finding the best word processing software for your needs can be difficult, so we've done the work for you! We've found the best software, tried them out and posted the goods here so you can make an informed decision before you buy. Here is an overview of the criteria we used when ranking each software brand. Usability You don't want to buy word processing software that you can't figure out. That's why we made sure to test each piece of software from a beginner's point-of-view. You're

also going to be looking at the software's screen for prolonged periods of time, so we also took note of how easy the layout is on the eyes. Basic Features These are features that we feel every word processor should possess. From creating bulleted lists to keeping your documents safe, these features are essential to making simple documents that will work for the office, classroom or home. Editing Tools We understand that not everyone is a spelling whiz or a grammar champion. Good text software should pick up the slack. We looked for software that included dictionaries, thesauruses, spell checkers and grammar correcting tools built in. Publishing/Print Options A finished document sitting on a hard drive is of no use. Print and publishing options help you get that text out to the world by turning it into blogs, HTML, wikis and more with a few mouse clicks. Insert Tools Plain text is boring. Insert tools jazz up documents by allowing you to add drawings, pictures, clip art, graphs, charts, movies and more. Better yet, these word processors have tools that allow you to create many of these types of media yourself for a truly unique touch to your projects. File Formats When you're done with a text document, you may need to send it to someone else. Saving your document in a form that your buddy can open on his computer is crucial. Because of this, we checked to see which programs could save in different file formats, including rich text format, .doc, .txt and more. By browsing these categories in each review, you will be able to find the features that you need for your projects, and ultimately, make an informed decision on the word processing software you need. So which word processing software made our top three picks? Take a look at Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and EasyWord. 4. 5 Word Processing Mistakes to Avoid reating professional quality documents with your word processor isnt difficult; in fact, the default options in most word processing software are perfect for creating top-notch documents every time. However, when you start changing the default options and apply special formats to your text, it is just as easy to end up with a poorly designed document that is less than appealing to your reader. When youre formatting your document and changing things such as margins, fonts, and typefaces, here are some things to think about:

1. Margins that are too big or too small Most of the time your softwares default margins will do just fine, providing the optimum amount of white space. If youre tempted to fit two pages of text onto one piece of paper by adjusting the margins, dont even think about it -- your reader will tire quickly from reading the document, as the white space allows one to rest ones eyes. If youre trying to make your document longer by increasing the margins, youll look like a high school student trying to fool their English teacher. You should only change the margins when you have specific formatting requirements that demand it, when you want to squeeze a couple extra lines of text onto a page, or to accommodate your papers letterhead. 2. Inconsistent spacing The margins arent the only white space on the page that require attention: You should consider every space you add to your document. The first thing you should look for is consistency -- are you using one or two spaces between sentences and do you stick with it, are you adding one or two blank lines between paragraphs, are your indents in a neat row, etc. After you check for consistency, you should evaluate whether youre giving your readers the right amount of white space between paragraphs and other elements on your page. Remember -- Too little and it will look scrunched up and be difficult to read; too much and it looks like youre padding. 3. Too many fonts Nothing is more jarring than a document that uses too many fonts, and, for the record, more than one font is often too many. You should stick with a single font for your document -- preferably a serifed font, as they are easier to read. If you have titles or section headings, a second sans-serif font may be appropriate, although not a necessity. Outside of that, there really is no reason to use multiple fonts. Period. 4. Fonts that are too big or too small Just as margins and spacing can add or detract from your documents readability, so can the size of your font. It is no secret why Times New Roman 12 is the default font in Word. No, not because it is a conservative, business-like font, but because it is easy to read. If you go any larger than 12 it will look like youre trying to pad your document. Go any smaller and your readers will need a magnifying glass. 5. Too much special formatting

One of the problems with todays feature-rich word processing programs is that users are always tempted to take advantage of all the formatting options available to them. This spells disaster for the look of a document. Generally speaking, things such as ornate borders and colored fonts have no place in a professional document, except under special circumstances. They make documents difficult to read and distract from the content. Along the same line, things you might not consider special formatting -- bold, italic, and underline typefaces can be included in this category. Dont overuse them; save them for emphasis, headings, or citations. If you stick to these rules and proofread your work carefully for spelling and grammatical errors, you will produce well formatted, easy to read documents every time. 5. Applications Of Word Processing The production of printed documents before word processing was a comparatively arduous task. Standard contracts had to be typed individually, or preprinted forms had to be carefully fed through a typewriter in order to align the typewriter text with the appropriate blanks on the form. Minor corrections could require whole pages to be retyped. Word processing software on computers all but eliminated much of this tedium, and it has been estimated that a secretary using a word processor may be three times more efficient than one using a typewriter. In addition to merely storing documents for later manipulation and retrieval, modem word processing software applications offer general features such as:

spelling and grammar checks thesauri word counts search-and-replace functions.

As word processors have grown more sophisticated, they have advanced from the arena of creating simple documents to the realms of desktop publishing and integrated office information processing. All modem word processors contain extensive options for formatting textbe it choosing a font face, a point size, or a justification style. Off-the-shelf word processing packages by leading software publishers also routinely include the following capabilities:

the ability to create spreadsheet tables with embedded formulas for automated calculations the ability to create a form letter and merge it with a list of recipient names and addresses for producing a mass mailing tools for placing custom shapes, colors, and graphics to produce highly formatted documents integration with certain spreadsheet and database programs to enable cross-use of structured data a facility for storing regularly used text formats as user-specified "styles"

the ability to automatically generate indexes and table of contents the ability to store user-defined sets of keystrokes and procedures, often called macros, to automate repetitive tasks.

Since the mid-1990s most word processing software has also included modest provisions for e-mail and Internet use. For instance, Internet addresses might be specially encoded in documents so that when a user selects the address it launches a web browser. Some programs have even added utilities for creating simple web pages. 6. Types of Word Processing Applications A word processor is an application that allows you to type in, edit, format, save, and print text. The text shows on screen the same or very similar to how it will appear in hard copy format. Word processors are commonly used by students, writers, authors, desktop publishing professionals and layout artists. Before you purchase a word processor, try several out. Some can be downloaded for free, and other can be downloaded for a trial period.

Microsoft Word

One of the most well-known and widely used word processing applications on the market is Microsoft Word. Word has more than 90 percent of the word processing market and more than 450 million users. Microsoft Corp. first released this program to the market in 1989, and since then there have been a number of upgrades to the software. Word can be purchased as part of the Microsoft Office suite of programs, which include Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Publisher. Word can be used to format text and build layout documents. WordPerfect

WordPerfect is a word processing application from Corel Corp.. WordPerfect was popular in the early 1990s. It is best for writing simple essays and articles. Though it isn't used as much today, WordPerfect is compatible with Microsoft Word, meaning that you can open and edit WordPerfect files in the Word program, then save them as WordPerfect files again. WordPerfect also can be used for formatting and laying out documents. Lotus Word Pro

If you use Lotus Notes or Lotus 1-2-3--common in corporate environments--Lotus Word Pro is an ideal program for your word processing needs. This program works in concert with Lotus applications to allow you to create and distribute formatted text documents. It is produced and distributed by IBM Corp. Lotus Word Pro is also compatible with Microsoft Word and ideal for writing reports, memos and proposals. iWork Pages

Pages is a word processing program offered by Apple Incorporated, so if you own a Mac computer this might be the ideal option for your needs. It is a part of Apple's iWork suite of programs. Pages allows you to perform basic word processing functions--writing and

formatting--as well as more complex graphical layout actions. You can open and save Pages files in Microsoft Word. And the Rest

There are dozens of word processors on the market. Other lesser-known word processors include OpenOffice Writer, Adobe InCopy, AbiWord, Microsoft Works and Scrivener. A growing number of online word processors are available and include Google Docs and Microsoft Office Web Apps.