Newsletter: 23
Changing the basic format of a Word document
A number of pupils have asked how they can change the basic format of the Microsoft Word page. They often find that the standard layout of font style and size is not to their liking. The type face is too small or they would prefer a different font. You can change the settings every tiem you want to create a new document but this can be a bore. Why not set the basic template – called normal.dot – to your personal preferences?
This is how to do it –
1. On the File menu, click Open, and then navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.
2. If no templates are listed in the Open dialog box, click the arrow next to the Files of type box, and then click Document Templates.
3. Double-click the Normal.dot file to open it. To be certain that you're working in the default template, check to see that Normal.dot appears in the Word title bar.
4. Make any changes you want, using the menus and dialog boxes just as you would to change default settings for a document, but remember that any changes you make to Normal.dot will be applied to documents that you create in the future.
5. When you have finished, on the Standard toolbar, click Save.
Note If Normal.dot is renamed, damaged, or moved, Word automatically creates a new version (which uses the original default settings) the next time that you start Word. The new version will not include any customizations you made to the version that you renamed or moved.
Changing the size of the type in a printed web page
Occasionally you may wish to print out a recipe or details of a holiday hotel from a web site.- some web pages even have a “Print” option – but the resulting document has print so small that you need a magnifying glass to read it. Here is a way of printing out a page that is easier to read –
1. Select the type on the web page by dragging the mouse across the text
2. Press Ctrl+C to copy it
3. Open up your word processor to a new page
4. Press Ctrl+V to Paste it into the document
5. Select the text again and change the font size to something that is easier to read
6. Print the document
Alternatives to Microsoft Word
Many people find the cost of the Microsoft Word program rather expensive and stick to the very basic word processor that comes with every PC computer such as WordPad. If this is the case I would strongly recommend that you download the Open Office suite which consists of a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation program as well as graphics and database facilities. There are two great advantages of this collection of programs. Firstly, they are free and secondly, they will read documents created by other Microsoft programs. You can download the suite from www.openoffice.org.
Learning how to use new programs
You may have downloaded a new program – such as Open Office described above or the marvellous, free imaging program, Picasa – but you need a little tuition on their use. One of the great teaching tools available on the Web is the video website, YouTube, found at www.youtube.com. Simply type in the name of the program followed by the word “tutorial” and you will be presented with a large selection of teaching videos explaining the basic use and finer points of hundreds of programs.
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