UNIT 3

APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft Notepad, for
writing and editing simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs called a
software package, which work together to accomplish a task.

Some examples of application software are: Word processing software, Presentation

software, Spreadsheet software.

I. Word Processing

Word Processing refers to the act of using a computer to create, edit, save and print
documents. In order to perform word processing, specialized software known as a Word
Processor is needed. One example of a Word Processor is Microsoft Word.

Some of the functions of word processing software include:

● Creating, editing, saving and printing documents.

● Copying, pasting, moving and deleting text within a document.

● Formatting text such as font type, bolding, underlining or italicizing.

● Creating and editing tables.

● Inserting elements such as illustrations and photographs from other software.

● Correcting spelling and grammar.

N.B Text editors such as Notepad, which only work on plain text with no formatting,
should not be confused with word processing software. Text editors are used to work
with files in plain text format such as source code of computer programs and
configuration files of an operating system.

A tour of the Word user interface

The common interface elements of Microsoft Word 2016

No. Interface Part Description

Name

1 Title Bar Displays the file name of the document that is being edited
and the name of the software you are using.
2 QuickAccess Toolbar is a pull-down menu where you can add other
Toolbar commonly needed commands.

5 Edit Window Shows the contents of the document you are editing.

6 Scroll Bar Let’s you change the display position of the document

7 Status Bar Displays information about the document

8 Zoom Slide Control Let’s you change the zoom settings

9 InsertionPoint/ blinking line in your document that indicates where text is

Cursor inserted

10 I-beam Pointer The I-beam [I] shows where your mouse pointer is.

Paragraph Formatting

A paragraph is a collection of words, numbers or any combination of them. Formatting

a paragraph can be a little combination of different commands. These include:

● Indention

● Alignments

● Bulleting and Numbering

● Line and Paragraph Spacing.

A. Setting Indent

Indentation means how far you want to move the paragraph away from the left or the
right margin. There are four methods to do paragraph indentation:

- The Tab Key method

- The Ruler method

- The Indent Command method

- The Paragraph Dialog Box method

How far you want to move the paragraph away from the left margin is called Increase
Left indention.

How far you want to move the paragraph away from the right margin is called Increase
Right indention.

NB. To select all paragraphs in a word document, you can use Ctrl + A key board short
cut keys.

B. Text Alignment

Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the Paragraph.

● Left-alignment- Ctrl+L is aligned evenly along the left margin.

● Right-alignment- Ctrl+R is aligned evenly along the right margin.

● Center-alignment-Ctrl+E aims to make equal spaces between the left and right
page margins.

● Justified alignement-Ctrl+J is adjusting the space between each word until all
lines within a paragraph are equal in length.

C. Manipulating Lists

In Word, there are two types of lists: bulleted and numbered lists. Bulleted and numbered
lists can be used in your documents to outline, arrange and emphasize text.

To remove numbers or bullets from a list, select the list and click the Bulleted or
Numbered list command.

When you are editing a list, you can press Enter to start a new line, and the new line will
automatically have a bullet or number. When you have reached the end of your list,
press Enter twice to return to normal formatting.

By dragging the indent markers on the Ruler, you can customize the indention of your
list and the distance between the text and the bullet or number.

D. Line and Paragraph Spacing

The space between lines and paragraphs can be increased or decreased using line and
paragraph Spacing command. In Microsoft Word document, the default space between
the lines is 1.15”. Similarly, the space between the paragraphs is 8 points.
Inserting and Deleting a Page Break in a Document
A page break is the location in a document where one page ends and a new page begins.
The Breaks menu contains options for inserting three types of breaks:

● Page Inserts: Inserts a manual page break where one page ends and the new
page begins.

● Column: Inserts a manual column break where a text will begin in the next
column after the column break.

● Text Wrapping: Separates the text around objects on a web page, such as
caption text from body text.

Insert and Delete Page Number in Document

To identify different pages in Word document, page number is used. Page numbers are
usually placed in the header, footer or side margins. When you need to number some
pages differently, Word allows you to restart page numbering.

Adding and Deleting Headers and Footers in Document

A header appears at the top of a document page, and the footer appears at the bottom.
Headers and footers generally contain additional information such as page numbers,
dates, author’s name and footnotes. The text entered in the header or footer will appear
on each page of the document.

Group work: on text book page 108 practical exercise 3.5