Word 2010 For Dummies

By Dan Gookin

John Wiley & Sons

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-470-48772-3

Chapter One

Hello, Word!

In This Chapter

* Starting Word

* Deciphering the Word screen

* Quitting Word

* Setting Word aside

You can't do squat with a computer until you start the thing. Likewise, you can't even write the word squat on a computer until you start a word processing program. Because you bought this book and not Pencils For Dummies, the program you need to start is Microsoft Word. This chapter tells you how to get Word started and begin your word processing day. Let me also mention that reading this chapter is a far more enriching experience than reading Pencils For Dummies, which is barely a pamphlet, albeit one that's charmingly illustrated.

Getting Word Started

There is no single way to start Word. The Windows operating system is all about offering many different (and, often, confusing) ways to get things done. Rather than bore you by listing all those ways, I figure you just want to find the best way to start Word for how you use the computer. This section offers three solid choices.

  •   Before you can use Word, your computer must be on and toasty. Log in to Windows. Start your computer day. (But - seriously - don't put bread into your computer and expect toast to appear.)

  •   Make sure you're seated, with a nice, upright, firm posture as you use your computer. They tell me that your wrists should be even with your elbows and that you shouldn't have to tilt your head forward. Shoulders are back and relaxed.

  •   Don't freak out because you're using a computer. You are in charge! Keep that in mind. Chant silently to yourself, over and over: "I am the master."

    TIP

  •   If you need help starting your computer, refer to my book PCs For Dummies for quick and accurate turning-on-the-computer instructions.

  •   You can stop chanting "I am the master" now.

    The good, yet unimaginative, way to start Word

    Without fail, the place to start any program in Windows is at the fabled Start button. It may not be the fastest or the most interesting or most convenient way to start a program, but it's consistent and reliable - both good qualities to have in a computer. Obey these steps:

    1. Click the Start button.

    Use your computer mouse to click the Start button, which is often found on the left side of the taskbar and at the bottom of the screen, adorned with the Windows logo.

    Clicking the Start button displays the Start menu.

    2. Choose Microsoft Word 2010 from the list of programs.

    As luck may have it, you might find the Microsoft Word 2010 program icon (shown in the margin) right there on the Start menu. Click the icon to run the program. Otherwise, keep plowing away in Step 3.

    3. Choose All Programs to pop up the All Programs menu and choose Microsoft Word 2010.

    If you don't see the Microsoft Word 2010 icon or program name, you must obey Step 4, which is almost certain to work.

    4. Choose the Microsoft Office item (submenu) to display its contents, and then choose Microsoft Word 2010.

    Behold! Word starts! Watch in amazement as the program unfurls its sails on your computer's monitor.

    Don't let Word's appearance overwhelm you! I describe what you're looking at in the section "Looking at Word," later in this chapter.

  •   If you can't find Word anywhere on the All Programs menu, it may not be installed on your computer. This book is specific to Microsoft Word, not the Microsoft Works word processor or any other word processor. (See the section "Foolish Assumptions" in this book's Introduction.)

  •   Supposedly, every program ever installed on your computer has installed its icon in a spot somewhere on the All Programs menu.

  •   I refer to the program as Word, though its icon may be labeled Microsoft Word, Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Word 2010, or another variation.

    The better way to start Word

    When you use Word a lot, it helps to have quick access to its program icon; opening that icon is the way you start Word and then start your work. A better way than keeping Word hidden on the All Programs menu is to create a Word shortcut icon on the desktop. Heed these steps:

    1. Locate the Word icon on the Start button's All Programs menu.

    Don't start Word now! Just point the mouse at the Word icon on the Start button's All Programs menu or wherever else it may be found. (Refer to the preceding section.)

    2. Right-click the Microsoft Word 2010 menu item.

    A pop-up menu appears.

    3. Choose Send To->Desktop (Create Shortcut).

    4. Press the Esc key to hide the Start button menu and view the desktop.

    You haven't changed anything, but you have added the Word program icon to the desktop (shown in the margin). You can use that icon to start Word: Just double-click the icon and Word starts.

    The best way to start Word

    The best way to start Word, and the way I do it every day, is to place the Word icon on the taskbar in Windows 7, or what's called the Quick Launch toolbar in older versions of Windows. To do so, follow these steps:

    1. Find the Word icon on the Start button's All Programs menu.

    Don't click the icon - just find it!

    2. Right-click the Word icon on the All Programs menu.

    3a. In Windows 7, choose the command Pin to Taskbar.

    3b. In Windows Vista, choose the command Add to Quick Launch.

    The Word icon is pinned (permanently added to) the taskbar in Windows 7; in Windows Vista, the Word icon is slapped on the Quick Launch Toolbar.

    To start Word, you merely click the Word icon placed on the taskbar. Click! And then Word starts. That's the fastest and bestest way to begin your word processing day.

    TIP

    Another way to have the Word icon always handy is to pin it to the Start menu directly. In Step 3, choose the item named Pin to Start Menu. That way, the Word icon always appears at the top of the list on the Start button menu.

    Start Word by opening a document

    You use the Word program to create documents, which are stored on your computer in much the same way as people pile junk into boxes and store them in their garages. But that's not important. What is important is that you can use those documents to start Word: Opening a Word document causes Word to start and to display that document for editing, printing, or just giving others the impression that you're doing something.

    What's your point, Dan?

    My point is that you can also start Word by opening a Word document. Simply locate the Word document icon (shown in the margin) in a folder window. Double-click to open that document and Word starts up on the screen, instantly (more or less) displaying that document for editing, reading, modifying, perusing, cussing, mangling, and potentially fouling up beyond all recognition.

  •   The Word document you open can be on the desktop, in the My Documents or Documents folder, or in any other folder or location where a Word document icon can lurk.

  •   The document name appears beneath or to the right of the icon. You can use the name to determine the document's contents - as long as the document was properly named when it was saved to disk. (More on that elsewhere in this book.)

    TIP

  •   In Windows 7, you can see a Jump List of recently opened documents by either right-clicking the Word icon on the taskbar or clicking the right-pointing arrow next to the Word icon on the Start button menu. Choose a document from the list to start Word and open that document.

  •   Word is capable of opening other types of documents, including documents from previous versions of Word, Rich Text Format documents, and others. Each of these documents has its own icon, though the icon looks similar to the standard Word document icon. See Chapter 24 for more information on opening alien documents in Word.

    Looking at Word

    Like all programs in Windows, Word offers its visage in a program window. It's the electronic version of a blank sheet of paper - and more. It's the more part that you might find daunting. The dee-dads and goo-bobs that surround the Word program window all have specific names that you need to know to get the most from the program. Figure 1-1 shows the big picture.

    Figure 1-2 highlights the gizmos at the top of the Word window, showcasing the Ribbon interface.

    The details of how all the dee-dads and goo-bobs in the Word window work are covered elsewhere in this book. Use this book's index to help you find topics you might be curious about.

  •   The very first time you start Word, you may be asked some questions: Enter your name and initials, set up Word security, and set Microsoft update options. I recommend the updates.

    TIP

  •   To get the most from Word's window, change the window size: As with any window, you can use the mouse to drag the window's edges in or out or click the window's Maximize button (the middle button in the window's upper right corner) to have the window fill the screen.

  •   Word's window size affects what you see in the Ribbon command groups. When the Word window is smaller, fewer buttons show up, or they may show up in three rows. When the window is larger, you see more buttons, usually in two rows.

    Around the Word window

    Word processing is about writing, so the things you see in the Word window are all there for your writing pleasure. Or, if you find writing a pain, the items festooning the Word window are there for your agony. The word for the whole of those items is interface, which is how a computer program presents itself to the human world.

    The largest portion of the Word screen is for composing text. It's blank and white, just like a fresh sheet of paper. (Refer to Figure 1-1.) That's where you compose and format your text, and I cover that area specifically in the next section.

    Surrounding the text-composing area is a host of goobers that are as bewildering as an exhibit in a modern art museum, as intimidating as the cockpit of a jet fighter, and almost as dangerous as a plate of sushi. Despite their intimidating presence, those items exist to help you write. The following list gives you a quick top-to-bottom explanation. Use Figure 1-1 for reference. And, please: Do not memorize anything!

  •   The title bar lists the document's title, or merely Document1 until you give the document a title by saving it to disk. (See Chapter 8 for information on saving documents - very important!)

  •   The File tab replaces the traditional File menu of older Windows programs. Clicking the File tab replaces the contents of the Word window with a full-screen menu full of commands and their descriptions. To return to the Word window, click the File tab or any other tab on the Ribbon. Speaking of which:

  •   The Ribbon contains all Word commands, which appear as buttons, input boxes, and menus. The Ribbon is divided into tabs (refer to Figure 1-2). The commands on the Ribbon are separated into groups. Some tabs may appear and disappear depending on what you're doing in Word. And the commands in groups change as you change the window's size.

  •   The Ruler may or may not be visible. When it's visible, it helps you set margins and tabs. The View Ruler button (refer to Figure 1-1) shows and hides the Ruler.

    Below the writing area dwells the status bar. This informative strip of graphical goodness contains trivial information about your document as well as the following ornaments:

  •   Document information lists optional data that's specific to your document.

  •   The View buttons specify how the blank page appears in the window (also refer to the next section).

  •   The Zoom thing specifies how large or small your document appears inside the window. (See Chapter 29 for more information on zooming.)

    Don't fret over these things! What's important now is that you recognize the names so that you don't get lost later.

    TIP

  •   You can hide the Ribbon if you would rather have more room to write: Use the Expand the Ribbon button (refer to Figure 1-2).

  •   The Windows taskbar, located at the bottom of the screen, is a part of Windows itself and not Word. However, as you open documents in Word, buttons representing those documents appear on the Windows taskbar.

    TECHNICAL STUFF

  •   Unlike in previous versions of Word, the tabs, groups, and command buttons cannot be changed. You can customize the Quick Access Toolbar (refer to Figure 1-1), and you can add your own, custom groups and tabs, a topic I cover in Chapter 29.

    The blank place where you write

    Word's equivalent of the mind-numbing, writer's-block-inducing blank page can be found in the center part of the Word program window (refer to Figure 1-1). That's where the text you write, edit, and format appears. Unlike with a sheet of paper, however, the text you create in Word can be viewed in five different ways.

    Relax. Of all the different ways to view text in Word, only these two are useful enough to describe here:

  •   Print Layout: Word's native mode is named Print Layout, shown in Figure 1-1. In this view, the entire page of text is displayed on the screen just as it prints. Print Layout view shows graphical images, columns, and all sorts of other fancy effects. You even see the blank space between pages, described as the ethereal void in Figure 1-1.

  •   Draft: I prefer using Word in Draft view, which shows only basic text and not all the fancy features. Because Draft view doesn't show any fancy formatting (graphics, columns, or page breaks, for example), you can more easily concentrate on writing.

    The three other ways to view your document are Full Screen Reading, Web Layout, and Outline. None of these views has anything to do with basic word processing.

    Switch between views by using the View buttons found in the lower right corner of the Word program window (refer to Figure 1-1). Clicking a button with the mouse changes the view.

  •   When you're working in Draft view and you want to edit a header or insert a picture, Print Layout view is activated. You can switch back to Drafts view by clicking the Drafts button when you're done going graphical.

  •   One thing that's visible in Draft view that you don't find in Print Layout view is a thick, horizontal bar on the left side of the page, just below a document's last line of text. That heavy bar marks the end of your document's text.

  •   Draft view may also be referred to as Normal view, as it was in previous versions of Word.

  •   Any weird stuff you see onscreen (a , for example) is a Word secret symbol. Chapter 2 tells you why you may want to view those secret symbols and how to hide them if they annoy you.

    The mouse pointer in Word

    Though word processing is a keyboard thing, you'll find that the computer mouse does come in handy. You use the mouse to choose commands, move around the document you're editing, and do something called selecting text. This book explains all those topics elsewhere. For now, it helps to understand how the mouse pointer changes its look as you work in Word:

    [??] For editing text, the mouse pointer becomes the I-beam.

    [??] For choosing items, the standard 11 o'clock mouse pointer is used.

    [??] For selecting lines of text, a 1 o'clock mouse pointer is used.

    The mouse pointer may change its look when click-and-type mode is active: Lines appear to the left and right of, and below, the I-beam mouse pointer. Refer to Chapter 32 for more information on using click-and-type.

    (Continues...)


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