Word Processor Facilities

Many systems offer the user a menu, or a list of the facilities available on the word processor. Whatever be the subject matter, the first draft of a document will rarely be acceptable. The word processor enables a great deal of time to be saved in planning layouts, editing and typing in corrections.

Word processors can help to make routine typing tasks easier and less tedious. As characters are keyed in, they are displayed on the screen so that simple typing errors can be immediately corrected. The cursor is backspaced to the mistake, and corrections are made by deleting, inserting or typing over as appropriate.

In a similar way, whole words and sentences can easily be inserted or deleted. If a word or a sentence is deleted, the word processor will automatically adjust the surrounding text so that no spaces are left in the finished document. With a word processor, one can insert, delete, move and overwrite the text on the screen, and the final document will show no trace of the editing.

When the operator is satisfied with the first draft of the text, the processor will be instructed to save one copy on disk and to print out hard copies for comments and further editing.
There are a number of ways in which the layout of a document can be improved with a word processor. Centering facility enables headings and paragraphs to be automatically centered. When requested, the word processor will line up the right and left margins through a process called justifying. Underlining involves only two instructions, marking the beginning and end of the text to be underlined or selecting the text and invoking the underline option.

Lengthy documents can be separated into pages each containing the same specified number of lines by a facility known as pagination. The pages can be numbered automatically, and the numbering will be corrected any time revisions are made. Modem Word Processor applications offer page numbering in various locations in the header / footer of the documents.

Typing out tables can be made much simpler with the tabulation and formatting features of many word processing systems. This is particularly useful for tables which need to be updated frequently, often several times a day, such as the currency exchange tables. Once the layout and constant has been created and fed into memory, the table can be printed out any time updated with new information.

While various operations being carried out on the word processor, the status line and rulers, normally at the top / bottom / left edges of the screen, show useful information such as the page number, size, tab setting, margin widths and so on. These lines / rulers appear only on the screen and will not appear on the printed document.

The glossary, or user-defined dictionary, provided by many word processors is particularly useful when preparing documents and reports where complex vocabulary is required. Difficult terms can be internally stored in the processor so that the correct spelling is generated automatically from a code on the keyboard. So, for example, typing in the short code word DNA would result in the full chemical name, deoxyribonucleic acid, being printed out.

When the first draft of a document has been edited, it will be necessary to produce a revised version incorporating all the changes. The stored copy of the first draft is copied into the internal processor from the disk drive and displayed on the screen. The operator alters the document as necessary, copies the revised version into disk for storage, and instructs the printer to produce a revised hard copy.

One of the major uses of word processors is in preparing personalized standard letters. This is useful for many organisations which have large lists of clients who need to be kept informed of new products when they are released. This is achieved through a facility in modern Word Processors which is usually referred to as ‘Mail Merge’ facility.

Two sets/files of information are fed into the processor, one holding the client list, and the other, a description of the new product. The information in these two files will be combined by the internal processor, which will automatically insert each customer’s name and address at the top of the letter. Other individual details can also be included so that the letter appears completely personalized. In preparing personalised letters, a part of the letter which does not change, is said to be constant and the other parts that differ in each letter are called variable items. In mail merge option, appropriate data for each individual is picked up and inserted suitably in the variable portion resulting in a personalised letter.

This option can also be used by the recruitment departments of large concerns which receive many letters in the from of job applicants. Most of the letters written in response will be repetitive and are often answered by using a word processor, which combines previously stores sets of phrases. This is known as document assembly. The stored set of phrases is called a biolerplate. The biolerplate is read from disk into the internal processor and displayed on the screen. Appropriate sections of text are selected and combined by the processor into a continuous letter. When the final version is produced on the printer, it looks like an individually typed letter. Document assembly is mainly used for drawing up documents which have a lot of information in common.

The search and replace facility is useful for changing a particular word or phrase throughout a text. For example, a Word ‘Form’ appears in number of places in this document as a common mistake committed in place of typing ‘Farm’. Instead of retyping / correcting the words one by one the entire document, a word processor can be instructed to search through it for ‘Form’, and automatically substitute the same with ‘Farm’.

Many word processors incorporate a spelling checker, a dictionary stored on disk. When a document has been completed, the word processor can be asked to read through it and query any words which do not appear in the dictionary. In addition, some systems have special features for particular applications, such as working in foreign languages, or carrying out calculations on figures which have been entered. Some modern Word Processing also offer automatic checking of grammar besides supplying the meanings and synonyms for words through thesaurus.

All word processors are supplied with detailed documentation of the features and facilities they offer. We have only covered the important ones, which are available on most systems.