Editing and formatting
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Editing and Formatting a Basic Word Document
Creating and Naming Your Document
We have already created a document and learned the basics of cutting and pasting. Now, let's look at how to edit and format a document. First, open your file. Instead of typing out the content, you can paste in text from another source. For example, let's add some text from one of our blogs about student first aid courses.
Once the text is added, you may notice the default title at the top, such as "Document 2". This is because Word generates a name by default. To rename the document, you can either save it with a new name or add a title within the document.
For instance, let's name our document "Free Student Video Online Course". Copy this title and paste it at the beginning of the document. Highlight the title and use the formatting icons to centre it. You can also underline, bold, and increase the font size using the options in the toolbar.
Saving Your Document
To save your document, go to the File menu and select Save As. The title you added will appear in the save dialog box. If you didn't add a title, you can enter it now. You can also choose the file format, such as a Word document or PDF. Click Save to save the document with the new title. You can save manually by pressing Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmd+S (Mac).
Formatting Text
Let's tidy up the document. Add line spaces between the title and the first line, and between paragraphs to make the text more readable. Highlight all the text and use the alignment options to justify it to the left, right, or centre.
For a cleaner look, you might prefer justified alignment, which aligns text evenly on both sides. However, be mindful of gaps in the text, particularly with long URLs or domain names. Adjust these as needed by switching back to left alignment if necessary.
Checking Spelling and Grammar
Word provides tools to check spelling and grammar. Words with issues are underlined in red or blue. Right-click on the underlined word to see suggestions. You can also go to Tools > Spelling and Grammar for a comprehensive check.
For example, if Word suggests adding a comma or correcting a spelling mistake, you can accept or ignore the suggestion. Use the options under Tools to manage spelling and grammar settings.
Highlighting and Colour Coding
To make certain parts of your document stand out, you can highlight text or change its colour. Select the text you want to modify, click the font colour icon, and choose a new colour. You can also use the highlight tool to apply a background colour to the text.
Saving as Different File Types
Once you are happy with the document, save it. If you need to email it, consider saving it as a PDF. Go to File > Save As and choose PDF from the file format options. This creates a new file in PDF format while retaining the original Word document.
Adding Page Breaks
To insert a page break, go to the Insert menu and select Page Break. This splits your document into separate pages, which can be useful for longer documents. If you change your mind, use the undo button or Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) to remove the page break.
Conclusion
We have covered the basics of creating and formatting a Word document, including text editing, spell checking, and saving in different formats. These are fundamental skills that will help you create professional-looking documents. There is much more to explore in Word, and as you continue using it, you will discover many other useful features.
- EDSQ Unit 2 LO 6.2