Text editing using applications such as Microsoft Word

14/07/26 •0•0

Microsoft Word, Google documents, LibreOffice Writer are programs used for editing and laying out texts. Today we will see how to get started with them.

작성자:Leon

번역자Editorial

개정자Editorial

Word was developed by the Microsoft company and is sold together with a package offered called MS Office, composed of several other programs such as Excel and PowerPoint. It is the most common text editing and layout application on the market.

Word can produce several types of files; however, files with the ".doc" extension are standard and the most commonly used for this tool. See below other types of files that can be edited by Word:

.dot: these are template files, used to keep a template or standard preserved.

Example: a record sheet or form to be filled out.

.htm or .html: Word can produce pages for the Web (for websites). These files have the .htm or .html extension; however, this is not the appropriate tool for producing this type of material, as its resources for this are extremely limited.

.rtf: Word can also produce files in RTF (Rich Text Format). This

format was created by Microsoft with the goal of transferring documents between different programs, and not only to Word.

Files in RTF format acquire most of the formatting power of

.doc files, with the guarantee that users will view the file very close to how it was created, even when printing the file.

Other programs, such as LibreOffice Writer, produce files in the ".odt" (OpenDocument Text) format. As the name "Open" says, its format is open, that is, anyone can collaborate and view the LibreOffice source code, making it free. In it, it is also possible to save in Microsoft Word extensions. This distinction is important since Word is paid, and its official version can be found here for purchase: https://ggsel.net/en/catalog/microsoft-first

The last one I would like to mention here is Google Docs. It is also free and exports in all formats, including ".odt". Unlike the others mentioned, Google Docs is not only an application, but also a website.

Inside a text editor

When entering one of these applications, you will see a blank page, which will serve to create your text content. This blank page can be configured according to your specific needs.

Generally, we will see the following options above, regardless of the application: "file", "edit", "view", "insert", "format", and "tools". Depending on the version and the application, there will be more options than these, but the ones mentioned are standard and serve to deal with basic problems that exist in every text editor.

File

In the file tab, we will see options for how to save the document (and generate a file!). We will also see options for how to export, open new files, and generate a new document. Generally, we will also see "extra" options that would not fit in other tabs here, such as: printing, language change, and page settings.

Edit

In the edit tab, we see tools to undo mistakes, the famous Ctrl + Z, as well as options to copy, paste, or find words and replace them in the text. Depending on the program, we will also see options to add comments or references within the text.

View

The View tab is linked to tools that modify the editor's display for each page. Note that it will modify it only for the person editing, not for the final reader. You may see options to display rulers (the ones at the top that show the number of centimeters on the page), Grid, and change the display mode. Depending on the program, this tab will be full of options to better adapt the view, and may contain: night mode (changing from a white background to a black background), zoom, and it may edit minimal details such as the mouse display or indications of the end of each paragraph, etc...

Insert

As the name insert says, this tab is linked to the insertion of elements in your text, such as images, charts, mathematical formulas, geometric formulas, links, etc... It is also linked to other types of insertions, such as: whether there will be a header or footer; page number; text break; links; tables of contents; among other common textual elements.

Format

The format tab is where we can see layout tools. There we can decide how each element of our document will look. Here we will decide margin size, space between paragraphs, text alignment, whether the text will be in bold or italic, the number of columns the text will be divided into, etc...

Tools

In tools, we will find features that will help us understand the document. Spell checker, word count, automatic translation, among other tools.

Conclusion

We saw a basic overview of how a text editing application is assembled, with its main needs divided into tabs. Generally, these tabs are found in all text editing applications; in some, it is possible to see many more tabs, with a more complete service. Do not be intimidated! Go and explore each part of the application and understand why there needed to be more divisions.

Google Docs has the "Add-ons" and "Help" tabs. Add-ons serve to add plugins to the application, making it more personal. Help serves for us to see terms of service, provide feedback, etc...

LibreOffice Writer also has the tabs "Styles", "Table", "Form", "Help", and "Window". Much more complete than Google Docs, Styles and Tables are continuations of the "Format" and "Insert" tabs, offering more options to the user. "Form" allows the insertion of interactive elements within the text. "Window" allows greater control if you have several instances of the application open. "Help" is similar to Google Docs, offering ways to provide feedback and view the application's terms and services.

Exercises

(1) Which additional tabs does Microsoft Word have?

(2) Visit this link here. Explore your text editing application thoroughly and try to reproduce the document on the second page with the specifications from the first page.