Word 97, Lesson 2

What you will learn from this lesson

How to

  • Change font size and color.
  • Save a document as a new or existing document or in a different file format.
  • Close the file and quit the program.

What you should do before you start this lesson

Start Word 97
  1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner.
  2. Position the mouse pointer to Programs, Microsoft Word, and click.

Creating your own document

    Creating your own original document in Word 97 is easy to do, too. You can begin typing your document right away, or you can customize it to take advantage of the many Word 97 features. The following exercise will change your screen to show where your margins are and allow you to see all nonprinting characters, such as carriage returns, spaces, and tabs.

    Creating your own document

  1. On the Standard toolbar, click the New button.
  2. Type the days of the week with a space between each day.
  3. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  4. Click the General tab, and then click the Blue background, white text box.
  5. Click OK.
  6. On the Standard toolbar, click the Show/Hide button (the one up on the toolbar that looks like ) to display or remove nonprinting characters such as spaces between words and carriage returns. 
  7. You can return to the normal screen by repeating steps 5 through 7.
  8. To close the document, on the File menu, click Close, and then click No.

    Changing font size and colors

    Part of the versatility of Word 97 is in the variety of font sizes and colors. Ordinary text comes alive with color. This lesson explores the available fonts and color choices.

    Changing fonts to explore the variety of Word 97

  1. Open a new document.
  2. On the Format menu, click Font.
  3. Click the Font tab, select Arial Narrow from the Font list, and observe this and the following changes in the Preview box.
  4. By using the Size scroll bar or typing the number in the dialog box, change the font size to 36.
  5. In the Color list, click Blue.
  6. Under Effects, click Outline. Click it again to remove this effect.
  7. Click Cancel to void all changes.

    Type a Multicultural National Anthem (Assignment #3)

    • Type the National Anthem of the USA
    • Make each line of text a different font, size, and color. 
    • You can make each word appear different if you so desire 
    • Save this assignment as anthem. 

End assignment #3

Each method of creating a Word 97 document has its advantages; use whichever is easiest for you. When you are familiar with templates and wizards, you may find those features useful for creating documents you frequently use.  You can create borders, add graphics, and include repetitive information on a frequently used document.

Saving your work

    When you create a document, regardless of which method you use, you must save your work in a logical place on the computer. Just like filing a document in a file drawer, storing a computer document requires some attention to how you name the document and where you place it, in order for you to be able to find it again. 

    It is always a good idea to back up your work in one or two places: on a floppy or 2 and at home if you have a computer. PLEASE do this: many heartaches, tears, and sheets of Kleenex can be saved by saving your files to more than one location.

    Once you have saved the document, the file name is displayed in the title bar at the top of the document. You can save files in many ways.
     

    Saving for the first time

    Saving a new document (Assignment #4)

  1. On the File menu, click New.
  2. In the New window, click Professional Memo.dot and open Professional Memo.dot.
  3. Type Escuela International Sampedrana in the Company Name Here box.
  4. Make it to Mr. Henderson, EIS Social Studies guru
  5. Send a copy (cc) to Mr. Wells
  6. The subject is Technology Literacies
  7. Type the following excerpt of the memo from the Department of Education’s Report on Getting America’s Students Ready for the 21st Century in the body of the Professional Memo (you do not have to type it in green): 
    Background
    Technology literacy--meaning computer skills and the ability to use computers and other technology to improve learning, productivity, and performance--has become as fundamental to a person’s ability to navigate through society as traditional skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Yet, for the most part, these new technologies are not to be found in the nation’s schools. Students make minimal use of new technologies for learning, typically employing them for only a few minutes a day.
  1. On the File menu, click Save.
  2. In the File name box, type Technology Report.
  3. Save the file to your folder.

End assignment #4

    Saving to a different location and changing the file name

    Saving as a different name or to a different folder or disk drive (Assignment #5)

  1. With the document from the previous lesson still open, on the File menu, click Save As to save the document with a new name.
  2. In the File name box, type Assignment5.
  3. Save it to the desktop.

End assignment #5

    Creating your own personal letterhead (Assignment #6)

    Create a letterhead that lists your name and other information. Word 97 makes it is easy to update the stationery whenever you want.
     
  1. Open a new, blank document.
  2. Type your name and whatever else you'd like to appear on all your papers (email or ICQ address, for example)
  3. Copy all the text, by pressing ctrl+a and then pressing ctrl+c (ctrl-c is the same as clicking File, Copy).
  4. On the View menu, click Header and Footer.
  5. Paste the information into the header, by pressing ctrl+v.
  6. Center the text, by selecting all the text and then clicking the Center button on the Formatting toolbar.
  7. To close the header, click Close on the Header and Footer toolbar.
  8. Delete your name and other information from the document.
  9. Save your document to your folder, naming it Letterhead
  10. Now whenever you want to type a document, begin by opening Letterhead. Save the documents with different names, but the personal info will always appear!

Summarizing what you have learned

Through these exercises you have explored and practiced:
  • Using the Page Layout view.
  • Using the toolbars.
  • Exploring templates and wizards.
  • Using Office Assistant.
  • Creating new documents.
  • Changing fonts.
  • Saving and closing a document.
  • Creating your personal letterhead.

You should have the following documents saved at this point in your folder:
  • assignment1
  • assignment2
  • anthem
  • Technology Report
  • Assignment5
  • Letterhead

End Lesson 2