Getting Started with Word 2002

In Windows, there are several ways you can start Word and get it running within seconds. Although it is common knowledge to start programs in Windows via the conventional Start button, I think it really wouldn't be bad at all to know other nerdy methods of starting programs (like Word) in Windows.

You can start Word 2002 via any of the following methods:

• Start button and the Start menu
• Using the Run command
• Shortcut icon on the desktop
• Automatically after starting Windows
• Together with a Word document

Starting Word Using the Start Button and the Start Menu

Use the following procedures to start Word using the Windows Start button and the Start menu:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the (All) Programs item in the menu. The programs menu will appear.
3. Move the pointer over the Microsoft Word item and click.  

Word will start in a new blank document window as follows:

For a detailed explanation/description of the Word XP 2002 window and its elements, click here. In the meantime, let's quickly walk through the other methods of starting Word in Windows.

Starting Word Using  Run Command
To do this,

1. Click the Start button, to display the Start menu.
2. On the Start menu, click Run.
3. Type 'winword.exe' in the text box within the Run dialog box that appears (ignore quotations marks).

Word will start immediately in a new blank document.

Starting Word Using Word Shortcut Icon on the Desktop

You can also start Word straight and more quickly via a Word shortcut icon on the desktop.
If you do not already have the Word shortcut icon on the desktop of your PC, and you'd like to speed up starting Word by using this method, follow the procedures below to add the shortcut icon to the desktop of your PC, and with it start Word more quickly any time you want.

To add the Word shortcut icon to the desktop

1. Click the Start button.
2. Point to (All) Programs.
3. On the programs menu, right-click the Microsoft Word item.
4. On the shortcut/context menu that appears, select 'Send To', and then choose 'Desktop (create shortcut)'.

The Microsoft Word shortcut icon will be added to the desktop.

• To start Word at any time, simply double-click the Word shortcut icon on the desktop and Word will start in all its glory!

Starting Word Automatically after Starting Windows

Customarily, you no doubt must have been starting Word by simply clicking the Start button on the Windows Task bar and choosing Programs and then Microsoft Word.

If you cannot but use Word every time you boot your PC, it means that you invariably go over the same task of manually starting Word after every reboot of your PC. This can sometimes be time-consuming, boring and frustrating, you know.


Well, in this section, I will teach you how to make Word start automatically after loading Windows.


You should/must have known that Windows is an operating system, and so, controls the automatic starting of programs, not the programs themselves starting automatically. This means that every program that starts automatically every time you boot/reboot your PC does not do so on its own, but is being started automatically by your PC's operating system (Windows, for example).


Windows places all programs and documents to be loaded, automatically, in a special folder called StartUp. 

So, if you want to speed up your work by making Word (or any other program) start automatically after  starting Windows, you need to move the Word program file or shortcut into the StartUp folder.

Steps:

1. Click the Start button and select (All) Programs.
2. On the Programs menu, move the mouse pointer over the Microsoft Word item, right-click and then choose Copy.
3. To reach the StartUp folder, enter this path on the address bar of the Windows Explorer 'C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs\Startup'. 
   Please ignore the quotation marks and, if necessary, replace the drive letter, 'C' with the appropriate drive letter of the hard drive or partition where you installed Word. If necessary also, replace 'Administrator' with the appropriate UserName you have on your PC.
4. On getting to the StartUp folder, paste the Word program icon you copied in step 2 above.

That's all you need to do to make Word, or any program, start automatically after starting Windows.
In future, Word will start automatically and immediately Windows is loaded.

TIP:

1. Any time you no longer want Word to start automatically this way, simply do one of the following:

•   Go back to the Startup folder and delete the Word shortcut icon from it.
•   Click the Start button, point to Programs, select the Startup item, and in the Startup sub-menu, click and drag the Word program icon out of it.

   2.  If you find step 3 above difficult to apply, you may consider the following alternative steps: 

To start a program each time you start Windows

1. Right-click the Start button, and then click Properties.
2. On the Start Menu tab, click Classic Start menu, and then click Customize. This changes the style of the Start menu.
3. Click Advanced.
4. In the Start Menu folder, find the shortcut to Word ( or the program you want to start each time you start Windows), and paste or hold down the Ctrl key and drag it to the Startup folder located in the Programs folder.
5. You can get to the StartUp folder by following the hierarchy below on the left hand side of the Windows Explorer.

• Documents and Settings
• User name
• Start Menu
• Programs
• Startup

Start Word together with a Word Document

Another way you can load Word is by starting it and opening a document simultaneously.
Steps:

1. Locate the folder where the Word document you want to open is saved.
2. Double-click the Word file or right-click it and choose Open from the shortcut menu that appears.

Word will now start and open the document together with it.

Microsoft Word Toolbars, ScreenTips and Toolbar Buttons

The ToolbarA toolbar is a bar containing buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. With toolbars, commands become just handy and easily accessible to users. The buttons contained in them are used to access commands more quickly than by opening the menus and the respective dialog boxes. ScreenTips I mentioned earlier that toolbars contain smart icons serving as shortcuts to the main menu commands. However, these toolbars offer too many buttons of various looks and shapes for a user to easily remember their names or their functions. You might well ask: 'What is the use of a toolbar button if its name or function is not known?' Well, the ever-creative programmers at Microsoft also once contemplated this problem. So they fashioned a tool known as ScreenTip. ScreenTips, also known as Tooltips, are little pop-up descriptions that appear when you rest the mouse pointer over a toolbar button. They appear on the screen to provide certain information about a toolbar button, tracked change, or comment or to display a footnote or endnote. So, any time you are at a loss as to the name or use of a toolbar button, simply rest the mouse pointer over such button and immediately, you'll see a little text pop-up below the pointer, saying something. This is a ScreenTip or ToolTip. In case the ScreenTips don't appear when you move the pointer over a button, it is possible the feature has been disabled/turned off. You can turn it on by doing the following: On the Tools menu, click Options and then click the View tab. Under Show, select the ScreenTips check box. That's all. Those are the steps you'll also take to deactivate the feature, for one reason or another, though not advisable. HOW TO DISPLAY/INVOKE A (MISSING) TOOLBAR Suppose a toolbar you need very much to hasten your work (e.g., the Formatting Toolbar) is not currently visible on screen, what would you do to invoke such 'missing' or 'hiding' toolbar from its hiding place? Well, anytime you face a situation like this, simply use any of the following methods to bail yourself out.

Displaying A Toolbar Using the View Menu

1. On the Menu bar, click View. This displays the View menu.
2. Then, on the View menu, point to Toolbars item.

This now displays the Toolbars sub-menu, in which the names of certain toolbars are shown. Here, you'll find that some of the toolbar names have a check mark to the left of them, while some have none. The check mark indicates the toolbar bearing it is already displayed on screen.

3. Select and click the name of the desired toolbar from the Toolbars sub-menu.The toolbar you selected will then appear on screen.

Fig: Showing or hiding a toolbar using the View menu

Those are the steps you'll also follow to hide a toolbar you no longer want on screen at a particular moment.

NOTE:

If you can't find the particular toolbar you are really looking for on the Toolbars sub-menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab in the Customize dialog box that appears. In the Toolbars list, click the checkbox next to the name of the toolbar you want and then click Close. See figure below.

Fig: Showing or hiding a toolbar using the Customize dialog box

To Display a Desired Toolbar Using a Shortcut
Simply right-click an empty space on any toolbar, and then click the name of toolbar you want.

TIP:  If you do not see the toolbar you're looking for on the  shortcut menu, click the Toolbar Options arrow, point to Add or Remove Buttons, click Customize, click the Toolbars tab in the Customize dialog box, and then, in the toolbars list, click the checkbox next to the toolbar you want and click Close when you are through.

Fig: Displaying the Customize dialog box via the Toolbar Options button

At this juncture, I'm quite confident to a reasonable extent that how to determine the name of any toolbar button/icon should never be a problem to you, since the ScreenTips are there to "tell-tale". Right now, your problem, I guess, should be: "What exactly is the function of each of these toolbar buttons/icons?" Well, if you have asked that question, it simply shows you are bright and ready to learn. The good news is, you are not helpless: I have dedicated the following sections to expatiate a little on the Standard toolbar, Formatting toolbar, and the Drawing toolbar, since you will be using them constantly.

Standard Toolbar

You have learned that the Standard toolbar is, by default, docked directly below the Menu bar, and that it contains buttons used for performing tasks similar to the commands available in the Menu bar. Let's now take a moment to identify the name and purpose/use of each of the buttons on the Standard toolbar.

NAME	ICON	USE
New		Creates a new blank document based on the default or current template.
Open		Opens a document previously created and saved in Word.
Save		Saves new changes to the current document or file, with its filename, location and document format.
E-mail		Sends the content of the current document as the body of an E-mail message.
Search		Finds files, Web pages and Outlook items based on the search criteria you enter.
Print		Prints the active document or selection.
Print Preview		Shows how a document or file will look when you print it.
Spelling		Checks spelling in the active document, file or item.
Cut		Removes the selected item from the active document and places it in the Clipboard.
Copy		Copies selected text or object to the Clipboard.
Paste		Pastes the item you cut or copied into (the position of the insertion point) the document from the Clipboard.
Format Painter		Copies the format from a selected text or object and applies it to the text or object you click.
Undo		Reverses the last action or deletes the last entry you typed. Click the arrow next to this icon to select and reverse multiple actions at a time.
Redo		Reverses the action of the last Undo command. Click the arrow next to this icon to select and reverse multiple Undo command actions.
Insert Hyperlink		Inserts a new hyperlink or edits the selected hyperlink.
Tables and Borders		Displays Tables and Borders toolbar, which offers tools for editing/formatting a table and its content.
Insert Table		Inserts a table in the document. Click and drag to specify the number of rows and columns.
Insert Microsoft Excel Worksheet		Inserts a new Microsoft Excel worksheet at the insertion point. Click and drag to specify the number of rows and columns. Use the Excel tools on the toolbar to edit the table.
Columns		Changes the number of columns in a document or a section of a document.
Drawing		Shows or hides the Drawing toolbar.
Document Map		Used to turn on or off the Document Map. Document Map shows the outline structure of a document so that you can quickly navigate through the document and keep track of your location in it.
Zoom		Used to "zoom in" to get a close-up view of a document or "zoom out" to see more of the page at a reduced size.
Show/Hide		Shows or hides non-printing characters, such as tab characters, paragraph marks and hidden text.
Office Assistant (Microsoft Office Help)		Opens Help or invokes the Office Assistant to provide help topics and tips to help you accomplish your task.

Formatting Toolbar

The Formatting toolbar offers shortcut buttons to help format a document quickly. From the Formatting toolbar, you can quickly apply formatting attributes such as Font; Font Color; Alignment; Line Spacing; Bullets and Numbering, etc, document text, to save time.

The following table provides a list of Formatting toolbar buttons and a brief description of each.

NAME	ICON	USE
Style		Opens a Style drop-down list from which you can select one.
Font		Changes the font of the selected text or number. Click the drop-down arrow beside the box and select a font from the list.
Font Size		Changes the size of the selected text or number. Enter a size value in the box, or select an appropriate size from the drop-down list.
Bold		Applies or removes bold formatting to or from a selected text or number.
Italic		Makes selected text or number italic, but removes italic from selected text or number if it's already italic.
Underline		Underlines (rules a line)  or removes underline formatting from selected text or number.
Align Left		Aligns the selected text, number or inline object to the left with a jagged edge.
Center		Aligns selected text, numbers or inline objects to the center.
Align Right		Aligns the selected text, number or inline objects to the right, with a jagged edge.
Justify		Aligns the selected paragraphs to both the left and right margins or indents.
Numbering		Adds numbers to or removes numbers numbers from selected paragraphs.
Bullets		Adds bullets to or removes bullets from the selected paragraphs.
Decrease Indent		Indents the selected paragraph to the previous tab stop or indents the content of the selected item to the left by one character width of the standard font.
Increase Indent		Indents the selected paragraph to the next tab stop or indents the content of the selected item to the right by one character width of the standard font.
Outside Border		Adds or removes a border around the selected text, paragraphs, cells, pictures or other objects.
Highlight		Marks text so that it is highlighted and stands out from the surrounding text.
Font Color		Formats the selected text with the color you click

Drawing Toolbar

The Drawing toolbar is located at the bottom of the window, between the Horizontal Scroll bar and the Status bar. Like every other toolbar, this also contains smart icons representing shortcuts to Main menu commands in Word.

It holds buttons/tools used in creating drwaings, such as rectangles, ovals, lines, arrows, WordArt text, etc. It also offers tools for inserting organizational charts and ready-made pictures and Clip Arts from their different locations.

Also included in this toolbar are tools for formatting inserted objects and for adding special effects such as shadow or 3-D to lines, rectangles, ovals, etc. Like every other toolbar also, the Drawing toolbar can be displayed or hidden.

The following table shows a list of tools offered on the Drawing toolbar, and their functions:

NAME	ICON	USE
Draw		Offers a number of options for defining the relative positions, arrangements, rotation, etc, of drawings in a document. It also offers tools for changing the shape of AutoShapes.
Select Objects		Changes the pointer to a selection arrow so you can click to select objects in the active window.
AutoShapes		Offers a group of ready-made shapes that include basic shapes, such as rectangles and circles, including a variety of lines and connectors, block arrows, flowchart symbols, stars and banners, and callouts.
Line		Allows you to draw a straight line where you click or drag in the active window.
Arrow		Draws or inserts a line with an arrow head where you click or drag in the active window.
Rectangle		Draws a rectangle where you click and drag on the active window. You can also draw a square using this tool by holding SHIFT while you drag.
Oval		Draws an oval where you click and drag in the active document. To draw a (perfect) circle, hold down SHIFT while you drag.
Text Box		Draws a text box with horizontal direction where you click and drag in the active document.
Insert WordArt		Creates decorative text by inserting a Microsoft Office drawing objects.
Insert Diagram		Creates an organizational chart or a circle, radial, pyramid, or Venn or target diagram in your document.
Clip Art		Opens the Clip Gallery where you can select the clip art image you want to insert in your document or update your clip art collection.
Insert Picture		Inserts an existing picture in your  active document at the insertion point.
Fill Color		Adds, modifies, or removes the fill color or effects from the selected object.
Line Color		Adds, modifies, or removes the line color from the selected object.
Font Color		Allows you to add, modify, or remove the text color of the selected text.
Line Style		Used to select a thickness for the selected line.
Dash Style		Allows you to control the appearance of the selected line.
Arrow Style		Allows you to select the style of arrowhead.
Shadow Style		Allows you to select the shadow appearance of the selected drawing object.
3-D Style		Allows you to add depth to drawing objects such as lines, AutoShapes, and freeform objects.

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