MM 1A03E Tutorial

Wednesday, June 2, 1999


Administrative Stuff

Please sign up for CIS services on MUGSI if you have not done so already. Visit http://www.mcmaster.ca/dataserv-htm/mcss0001.htm. You must register with MUGSI to log on to Windows in the computer labs and to use e-mail.

Also, please sign up for the class electronic discussion list. Francois has put up instructions for this at http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/mcmaster/humcom.htm


About Word Processors

By now, you are probably already familiar with word processors. The most recent word processors, such as Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word, even allow you to go beyond typing up essays, to publishing brochures and using complex text/image layouts. This is called desktop publishing.

You will need to know some basics on word processors for the upcoming skills test. Specifically, you will have to know your way around Microsoft Word.


Microsoft Word: Getting Started

You can load up Microsoft Word through the General Campus Applications folder on the Desktop of the lab computers.

You will notice that the Microsoft Word screen has 8 main parts (listed here from the top of the screen to the bottom):

  1. Title Bar
  2. Menu Bar
  3. Button Bar
  4. Status Bar I
  5. Ruler Bar
  6. Work Area
  7. Scroll Bar
  8. Status Bar II

Of these 8 elements, perhaps the one that needs the most explaining is the Menu Bar. See below for more information on the Menu Bar.


Microsoft Word: The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar has 9 categories: FILE, EDIT, VIEW, INSERT, FORMAT, TOOLS, TABLE, WINDOW, and HELP. Given here are some of the most important features for each of these 9 categories.

  • FILE
  • EDIT
  • VIEW
  • INSERT
  • FORMAT
  • TOOLS
  • TABLE
  • WINDOW
  • HELP

    • See below for more information on some of the most common procedures in Word.


    Microsoft Word: Setting Margins

    Here is how to set the margins for your document.

    1. Select FILE | PAGE SETUP.
    2. Select the Margins tab.
    3. Enter measurements for the Top, Bottom, Left, and Right margins (1" all around is common).
    4. Use the gutter to give extra space on the left-hand side of the paper (for hole-punching, etc.); the left margin begins at the right side of the gutter.
    5. Enter measurements for the headers and footers.


    Microsoft Word: Replacing Words

    Here is how to replace words in your document.

    1. Select EDIT | REPLACE.
    2. At FIND WHAT, enter what to look for.
    3. At REPLACE WITH, enter what to replace that string with.
    4. Click REPLACE ALL to apply this change to the whole document.


    Microsoft Word: Inserting Headers and Footers

    Here is how to insert headers and footers into your document.

    1. Select VIEW | HEADER AND FOOTER.
    2. Enter the desired text into the dotted box for your header. Notice the AutoText option, which helps to customize your header more easily with information such as the date, time, and number of pages.
    3. Toggle the Header/Footer Switch icon (4th in from the right on the pop-up toolbar).
    4. Enter the desired text into the dotted box for your footer. Again, notice the AutoText option.
    5. Click CLOSE on the pop-up toolbar.


    Microsoft Word: Inserting Pictures

    Here is how to insert pictures into your document.

    1. Select INSERT | PICTURE.
    2. Choose between CLIP ART and FROM FILE.
    3. The image will appear bordered by 8 squares. Click and drag one of these squares to resize the image.
    4. Click and drag the image itself to move it.
    5. On the pop-up toolbar, select the Text Wrapping option. This defines how you would like your image and text to work together.
    6. Close the pop-up toolbar when desired. Click on the image to get it back.


    Microsoft Word: Inserting Tables

    Here is how to insert tables into your document.

    1. Select TABLE | INSERT TABLE.
    2. Fill out the pop-up box.
      1. Enter the desired number of columns.
      2. Enter the desired number of rows.
      3. Enter the column width if desired.
    3. Fill in your table cells as desired.
    4. Customize your table as desired.


    HTML: More on Images

    Here are some final words on images in HTML.

    You can customize the size of your image. To do this, you specify the desired width and height for the image in either pixels (dots of light on the screen) or percent (percentage of the screen width or height).

    For example, to get image dog.gif to show up with a width of 200 pixels and a height of 150 pixels, you would type this: 

    <IMG SRC="dog.gif" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=150>

    However, to get image dog.gif to show up with a width that takes up 50% of the screen and a height that takes up 25% of the screen, you would type this: 

    <IMG SRC="dog.gif" WIDTH=50% HEIGHT=25%>

    WARNING:It is best not to rely on browsers to resize an image. If you are concerned about either possible distortion or performance (speed with which a browser assembles and displays the components of an hypermedia document), you should always use in your markup the true pixel dimension of the images. Of course, there are occasions where this feature is a boon.

    Furthermore, you can give the image a caption, so that the user has something to read while the image loads. After loading, the caption will appear when the user "mouses over" the image. This is a great feature for the visually impaired, who have machines that read to them the text on the screen. To add a caption, use the ALT code.

    To give the image dog.gif the caption Here is a dog., you would type this: 

    <IMG SRC="dog.gif" ALT="Here is a dog.">

    HTML: Indenting Text

    Here is a final tag for HTML.

    Sometimes you need to be able to indent a chunk of text, particuarly if you are using a large quotation. To do this, surround the text in the <BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> tags.

    This paragraph here is surrounded by the <BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> tags. As you can see, it makes a big difference, because now the text is indented on some browsers (Remember, browsers render elements differently). For example, view this document in Lynx, Mosaic, Netscape, Internet Explorer or Cyberdog and compare the results.

    You should now have the basics to continue your markup adventures.


    This page copyright Gord Roberts, May 1999.

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