Word Processing Skills

Updated 2011.07.27

Editing text

• Insert and delete text
• Use Undo and Redo (ctrl+z)

• Use cut (ctrl+x), copy (ctrl+c), paste (ctrl+v)

• Use find (ctrl+f) and replace (ctrl+h)
• Use find and replace with formats, special characters and non-printing elements
• Insert date and time codes
• Insert symbols
• Create and apply frequently used text with AutoCorrect
• Insert and remove page breaks
• Insert and remove line breaks
• Insert and remove column breaks

Formatting text

• Set font name
• Set font size
• Set font style (bold, italic, underline)
• Set font color
• Set other character effects (superscript, subscript, strikethrough, small caps, outline, etc.)
• Define, apply, and remove styles

Formatting paragraphs

• Set alignment (Center, Left, Right and Justified)
• Set line spacing (single, 1.15, 1½, double)
• Set character spacing options
• Set paragraph spacing options (before, after)
• Set indentation options (Left, Right, First Line and Hanging Indent)
• Create and modify a bulleted list
• Create and modify a numbered list
• Create a drop-cap
• Apply borders and shading to paragraphs
• Sort lists, paragraphs, tables
• Use text flow options (Windows/Orphans options and keeping lines together)
• Create an outline style numbered list

Working with sections

• Create sections with formatting that differs from other sections

· Set page orientation for a section

· Set page margins for a section

· Create and modify header/footer for a section

• Create and modify page numbers for a section
• Create and use newspaper columns for a section
• Revise column structure for a section
• Balance column length (using column breaks appropriately)

Working with documents

• Use the spelling/grammar checker
• Use the thesaurus
• Create a new document using a template
• Navigate through a document using mouse and keyboard
• Use "click & type"

• Create and modify page borders
• Format first page differently than subsequent pages
• Create or revise footnotes and endnotes
• Create a bibliography
• Create watermarks
• Save a document with a different file type (e.g. HTML)
• Use GoTo to locate specific elements in a document
• Use bookmarks

File Skills

· Open, close, save a file

· Save a file with a new name

· Save a file as a different document type (e.g. PDF, HTML)

· Print a document

Positioning text: Using tabs

• Set/clear tab stops (Center, Decimal, Left and Right)
• Create tabs with leaders

Positioning text: Using Tables

• Create and format tables
• Set borders and shading
• Revise tables (insert & delete rows and columns, change cell formats)
• Modify table structure (merge cells, change height and width)
• Rotate text in a table

• Embed worksheets in a table
• Perform calculations in a table
• Link Excel data as a table

• Modify worksheets in a table

Working with pictures and charts

• Create a text box
• Set the properties of a text box
• Insert drawing objects (clip art, pictures, shapes, SmartArt, WordArt, charts, screenshots, etc.)
• Format a drawing object using the drawing tools
• Use advanced text alignment features with graphics

• Position graphics
• Delete graphics
• Create and modify charts (see Excel)
• Import data into charts (see Excel)

Using mail merge

• Create main document
• Create data source
• Sort records to be merged
• Merge main document and data source
• Prepare and print envelopes and labels
• Merge a document using alternate data sources

• Insert a field

Automating tasks

• Record a macro
• Customize toolbars/ribbons

Collaborating with workgroups

• Insert comments
• Track changes to a document
• Protect documents
• Create multiple versions of a document
• Set default file location for workgroup templates

Working with very large documents

• Work with master documents and subdocuments
• Create and modify a table of contents
• Create and modify an index