Creating a Document in Microsoft Word 2003

I. Introduction
Microsoft Word is a versatile tool that you can use for a variety of purposes, such as creating
documents, mail merges, and newsletters. With Word, you can initiate commands by using the
keyboard or the mouse, by selecting commands from pull-down menus, or by using toolbars
(bars of buttons used to access commands with a mouse click). This guide contains instructions
for using Word to create, save, edit, and print a document.

II. Starting Word

You can access Microsoft Word in any computer lab on campus. The procedures for accessing
Word are generally the same is each lab. If these procedures do not apply to the particular lab
you are using, check with the lab personnel for other instructions. Follow these steps to access
Microsoft Word:
1. Click on the Start menu
2. Click on Programs
3. Click on Microsoft Word. A new, blank document will appear

III. Viewing the Word screen

The title of the document, the Menu bar, Toolbars, and a ruler appear at the top of the window.
The insertion point, or cursor, which is indicated by a blinking, vertical line, appears in the
document. The Status bar, which is at the bottom of the screen, indicates the mode and the
location of your cursor. When you move the mouse over a toolbar button, the name or
description of the button will display.

IV. Creating a document

To enter text in your document, simply type. The text will appear where the cursor is located,
which is called the insertion point. When your typing reaches the end of a line, the text will
wrap, which means that text will automatically flow onto the next line. To move your cursor to a
new line or to create a blank line, press [Enter].

V. Saving a document
The first time that you save a new document, you need to give the file a name and indicate where
you want to save the file. For example, you can save the file on the hard disk in your computer,
on a floppy disk, or on a USB flash drive.
1. Go to the File menu and choose Save or go to the Toolbar and click on the Save button, as
shown above. The Save As dialog box will appear.
2. Make sure that the Save in: field displays the drive or folder where you want to save the
document. If not, click on the down arrow to the right of the Save in: field to display a list of
drives and folders. Then, click on the drive or folder where you want to save your file.
3. Click in the File name: field box and then type a name for your file. If the field box contains
text, double-click on the box to overwrite the text. Note that Word will automatically assign
.doc to the filename to identify the file as a Word document. For example, if you call the file
textfile, the full file name will be textfile.doc.
4. Next, check that “Word Document” displays in the Save as type: field. If not, click on the
down arrow to the right of the field and select Word Document from the drop-down list.
5. Finally, click on Save.

Note: As you work on your document, you can go to the File menu and select Save or you can
click on the Save icon to automatically save the file by the same name and to the same location.
If you want to change the name of the file and/or save the file to another location, go to the File
menu and choose Save As.

VI. Selecting text

When you edit a document, you may want to format some of the text, such as underline a word
or change margins. To do this, you must first select the text that you want to format. The
following are some common text selections:
ƒ Part of a word/s
Click at the beginning of the selection and hold down the mouse button while you slide
the mouse. When the desired text is highlighted, release the mouse button. This is called
dragging.
ƒ Word
Double-click on the word.
ƒ Paragraph
Triple-click on any word in the paragraph.
ƒ Entire document
From the Edit menu, choose Select all.

VII. Deleting text

To delete text one character at a time to the left of the insertion point, press the [Backspace] key.
To delete one character at a time to the right of the insertion point, press the [Delete] key. To
delete a block of text, select the text and then press the [Delete] key.

VIII. Inserting text

To insert text, position the insertion point by clicking the mouse once where you want to insert
the text. Then type your text.

IX. Replacing text

To replace text, first select the text to be replaced and then type the new text. The new text will
replace the highlighted selection.

X. Formatting text
A. Using the bold feature
To apply or remove a bold typeface, first select the desired text and then go to the Toolbar and
click on the Bold button.
B. Using the underline feature
To add underlining to or remove underlining from text, select the desired text and then go to the
Toolbar and click on the Underline button.
C. Using the italic feature
To apply or remove an Italics typeface, first select the desired text and then go to the Toolbar
and click on the Italic button.

XI. Changing the font

To change the font of your text, first select the desired text. Then go to the Toolbar and click on
the triangle to the right of the Font field to display a pop-up list. Then click on the desired font.

XII. Changing the font size

To change the font size of your text, first select the desired text. Then click on the triangle to the
right of the Font size field to display a pop-up-list. Then click on the desired font size.

XIII. Setting margins

The margin markers are displayed as small triangles on the ruler: one for setting the right margin,
and two for setting the left margin. Margin settings are applied from the cursor point forward in a
document. To set the margins for existing text, first select the text and then follow the steps
below.

A. To set the left margin:

Drag the rectangle underneath the bottom left margin marker to a new location on the ruler. The
two left margin markers will move with it. Note: The top left margin marker allows you to
position the first line of a paragraph.
B. To set the right margin:
Drag the right margin marker to a new location on the ruler.

XIV. Changing line spacing

When you open a new document, Microsoft Word sets the line spacing at single. If you wish,
you can change the spacing between the lines or paragraphs in your document.

To change the line spacing:

1. Highlight the text for which you want to change the line spacing.
2. From the Format menu, select Paragraph.
3. At the Paragraph window check that the Indents and Spacing tab is selected.
4. At the Line spacing: box, click on the down arrow and select a spacing option. Note that the
Preview box shows a sample of the spacing that you selected.
5. Finally, click on OK.

XV. Checking spelling and grammar

As you create a document, wavy red and/or green underlines may display in the text. The red
underline identifies a word that the dictionary does not recognize; the green underline indicates a
possible grammar error. Note that if you do not select text, spelling and grammar are checked
from the cursor forward in document.
To access the spelling and grammar checker:
1. Go to the Tools menu and choose Spelling and Grammar or go to the Toolbar and click on
the Spelling and Grammar button, as shown above.
2. The first word not found in the predefined dictionary or the first questionable grammar usage
will appear in the upper box and any suggested change(s) will appear in the lower box. You
have the following options:
• To disregard the suggestions, click on Ignore Once.
• To choose one of thee suggestions, click on your selection and then click on Change.
• To make your own change, type the new text in the upper box and then click on Change.
• To avoid checking subsequent occurrences of the same word, click on Ignore All.
• To add a word to the custom dictionary, click on Add to Dictionary.
• To exit from the spelling checker, click on Cancel.
3. When the spelling and grammar check is complete, a message window will appear. Click on
OK to return to your document.

XVI. Printing a document

You can print all or specific pages of your document and you can also print more than one copy.
Note: At Marygrove College, printing facilities and policies vary from one computer lab to
another. At most labs, you can print your paper on a line printer, while some labs also offer laser
or color printing for a fee. For more information at individual labs, ask a lab consultant on duty.

A. To print a document on a PC:

1. Click on the File menu and select Print or go to the Toolbar and click on the Print button, as
shown above. The dialog box will display.
2. Under the Page range, you can indicate the page(s) that you want to print by clicking on All or
Current page. You can also select a range of pages by clicking on Pages and typing the page
range in the box. For example, if you want to print pages 3 to 6, you would type 3-6 in the
box. Also, if you want to print more than one copy, go to the box under Copies and click on
the arrow to select the number of copies.
3. Finally, click OK.

XVII. Exiting from Word

To exit from the Word program, go to the File menu and choose Exit. If you did not save your
changes, you will be prompted to do so. To save your changes, click on Yes; to discard your
changes, click on No.