Lesson 1.1 -3.2 ITEQ all lessons.docx

**Lesson 1.1: The Practical User: How Becoming Computer Savvy** **The Digital User: How Becoming Computer Savvy Benefits You** Being *computer savvy* means that you have to understand the capabilities and limitations of computers, its advantages and risks, knowing when you can fix computer problem...

**Lesson 1.1: The Practical User: How Becoming Computer Savvy** **The Digital User: How Becoming Computer Savvy Benefits You** Being *computer savvy* means that you have to understand the capabilities and limitations of computers, its advantages and risks, knowing when you can fix computer problems and when you have to call for help. Among the practical payoffs are these: ***You will know how to make better buying decisions***. No matter how much computer prices come down, you will always have to judge quality and usefulness when buying equipment and software. Computer savvy can help you identify the parts of a computer system, what they do, and how much they cost. ***You will know how to fix everyday computer problems***. Whether it's replacing a printer cartridge, obtaining a software upgrade, or pulling photos from your digital camera or camera cellphone, being computer savvy will give you the confidence to deal with the continual challenges that arise with computers--and know when and how to call for help. ***You will know how to customize your computer equipment and integrate it with new products***. Different industries are continually developing new gadgetry and software. A knowledgeable user learns how and when to upgrade devices and software, and when to start over by buying a new machine. ***You will know how to use the internet most effectively***. The sea of data on the internet and other online sources is so vast that finding what is best or what is a necessity can be a hugely time-consuming activity. Being computer savvy will show you the most workable ways to approach this problem. ***You will know how to protect yourself against online villains***. The online world poses real risks to your time, privacy, finances, and peace of mind-- spammers, hackers, virus senders, identity thieves, and companies and agencies constructing giant databases of personal profiles. Being computer savvy aims to make you streetwise about these threats. ***You will know what kinds of computer use can advance your career***. Even top executives now use computers, as to people in jobs ranging from police work to politics, from medicine to music, from retail to recreation. Being computer savvy will give you ideas about how technology can benefit you in whatever profession you choose. **Lesson 1.2: Information Technology &** Information technology (IT) is a popular term that portrays any technology that helps produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and disseminate information. IT fuses computing with high-speed communications links that relay data, sound, and video. Examples of information technology are personal computers but also new forms of electronic appliances and various handheld devices. Education: A More Interactive and Individualized Learning ========================================================= No one will argue that information technology is universal on college campuses, and at lower levels, the internet has penetrated 99% of schools. Most college students are already exposed to computers since their lower grades. One-fifth of college students are saying they were using computers between ages 5 and 8, and all had started using computers by the time they were 16-18 years old. When assimilated into the curriculum and classroom, information technology can allow students to personalize their education. It can also automate many tedious and usual tasks of teaching and managing classes and reduce the teacher's workload so that he or she can focus on reaching individual students. Besides using the internet to teach, today's college instructors also use presentation applications such as PowerPoint to convey their lecture outlines and other materials on classroom screens. One of the most exciting progress in education at all levels is the proliferation of distance learning, or e-learning, the term given to online education programs, which has gone from under 2 million online students in 2003 to an expected nearly 5 million students in 2009. Bringing career and technical courses to students in rural areas, pairing gifted science students with master teachers, and helping busy professionals obtain further credentials outside business hours are some of the applications of elearning. But the influence of information technology into education has just started. Health: High Tech for Wellness ============================== Computer technology is fundamentally changing the tools of medicine. All medical data, including those generated by a lab test, pulse monitor, and X rays, can now be conveyed to a doctor in digital format. Image transfer technology relays radiologic images such as CT scans and MRIs to electronic charts and physicians\' offices immediately. Intensive care patients, who are usually observed by nurses during off-times, can also be monitored by doctors in remote \"control towers\" far away. Electronic medical records and other computerized tools capacitate heart attack patients to receive follow-up drug treatment and people with diabetes from having their blood sugar levels measured. The software can compute a woman\'s breast cancer risk. Patients can use email to ask their doctors about their records (although there are still privacy and security issues). Various robots, automatic devices that execute functions ordinarily performed by humans, with names such as HelpMate, ROBO DOC, RoboCart, and TUG, help free medical workers for more critical tasks. The four-armed da Vinci surgical robot, for instance, can do cuts and sutures deep inside the body to have less traumatic surgery and faster recovery time. Artificial limbs get \"smarter\" by using hydraulics and computers. A stroke-paralyzed patient has obtained an implant that allows communication between a computer and his brain; as a result, he can navigate a cursor across a screen using brainpower and convey simple messages. Patients are often already steeped in information about their conditions when they arrive in health care professionals\' offices. It represents a fundamental shift of knowledge, and therefore power, from physicians to patients. Also, health care consumers can now share experiences and information. Money: Toward the Cashless Society ================================== Besides currency, credit and debit cards, and paper checks, the things that substitute as "money" include automatic transfers (such as direct-deposit paychecks), cash-value cards (such as subway fare cards), and digital money ("electronic wallet" accounts such as PayPal). You probably already have engaged in online buying and selling, purchasing airline tickets, or computers. But what about groceries? E-grocers keep their delivery charges at a minimum and delivery times convenient. They take great efforts in filling orders, knowing that a single bad piece of fruit will produce a devastating word-of-mouth backlash. Online bill paying is also becoming mainstream. Paying bills online has also been possible, such as phone and utility companies, with special software and online connections to your bank. Some banks and other businesses are deploying an electronic payment system that allows internet users to buy goods and services with *micropayments*--- electronic payments as little as 25 cents in transactions for which it is wasteful to use a credit card. All kinds of businesses and organizations now accept micropayments. Leisure: Infotech in Entertainment & the Arts ============================================= Information technology is being utilized in all kinds of entertainment, ranging from videogames to telegambling. The arts have also applied it, from painting to photography. Let us ponder on just two applications: music and film. The World Wide Web, the internet, and computers control the system of music recording and distribution---and in the process, they are altering the financial underpinnings of the music industry. Since the industry has a high overhead, major record labels typically require a band to sell half a million CDs to be categorized as profitable. Still, independent groups can be reasonably successful by selling 20,000 or 30,000 albums using online marketing. As for movies, now that blockbuster films routinely incorporate live-action and animation, computer graphic artists are in demand. Star Wars: Episode I (1999), for example, had 1,965 digital shots out of about 2,200 shots. It was converted into digital data to be tweaked with animated effects, lighting, and the like. Entire beings were produced on computers by artists working on designs developed by producer George Lucas and his chief artist. But animation is not the only domain in which computers are transforming movies. Digital editing has revolutionized the way films are assembled. Whereas traditional film editing involved reeling, unreeling, cutting, and gluing spools of film, an editor can access 150 miles of film stored on a computer today. An instant finding of any visual or audio moment allows a review of hundreds of variations of a scene. Even nonprofessionals can get into movie making as new computer-related products come to market. Now that digital video capture-and-edit systems are available for under \$1,000, amateurs can turn home videos into digital data and edit them. Also, digital camcorders, which offer outstanding picture and sound quality, have steadily dropped in price. Government: Participating in Electronic Democracy ================================================= The internet and other information technology have helped the government deliver better services and paved the way for making governmental operations more transparent. Many local and state governments have websites through which citizens can deal with everything from paying taxes and parking tickets, renewing vehicle registration and driver's licenses, viewing birth and marriage certificates, and applying for public sector jobs. The internet is also changing the nature of politics, enabling political candidates and political interest groups to connect with voters in new ways, raise money from multiple small donors, and (using cellphones and text messaging) to organize street protests. Jobs & Careers ============== Today almost every job and profession need computer skills of some sort. Some are ordinary jobs in which using computers as regular tools. Others are professional jobs in which advanced computer training combined with professional training gives people dramatically new kinds of careers. Information technology is revolutionizing old jobs and creating new ones. To thrive in this environment, you need to integrate traditional education with training in computers and communications. It would be excellent if you also were savvy about job searching, résumé writing, interviewing, and postings of employment opportunities. Finding employers and employers finding you is possible through the use of computers. As you might expect, the first to utilize cyberspace as a job market were companies scouting people with technical backgrounds and professionals seeking employment. However, as the public's regard in commercial services and the internet has exploded, the focus of online job exchanges has broadened. Most websites are free to job hunters, although many require that you fill out an online registration form. On the other hand, posting your résumé online for prospective employers to view is attractive because of its low (or zero) cost and broad reach. But does it have any disadvantages? Indeed, it might if the employer who sees your posting happens to be the one you are already employed. Also, you have to be aware that you lose control over anything broadcast into cyberspace. You are putting your credentials out there for the whole world to see, and you need to be somewhat concerned about who might gain access to them. **Lesson 1.3: The Categories of Machines** Figure 1. The five sizes of computers Supercomputers ============== Supercomputers are high-capacity computers with thousands of processors that can execute more than several trillion calculations per second. These are the most costly and quickest computers available. Computing professionals use supercomputers for tasks requiring the processing of enormous volumes of data, such as doing census count, forecasting the weather, designing aircraft, modeling molecules, and breaking encryption codes. Lately, they have been employed for business purposes---for instance, sifting demographic marketing information---and creating film animation. Supercomputers are still the most robust computers, but a new generation may be coming that relies on *nanotechnology*, using molecule-size nanostructures to create tiny machines for holding data or performing tasks. Computers the size of a bottle cap could become available that works ten times faster than today's fasters supercomputer. Eventually, nanotech could show up in every device and appliance in your life.  Figure 2. NASA researchers and university partners use supercomputers to better understand the coronavirus and how it spreads. (image source: NAS Supercomputing \| Twitter) Mainframe Computers =================== The only type of computing machine available until the late 1960s, mainframes are water- or air-cooled computers that differ in size from small, to medium, to large, depending on their use. Small mainframes, also called *midsize* *computers*; they used to be called *minicomputers*, although today it is a seldomused term. Mainframes are used by large organizations---such as banks, airlines, insurance companies, and colleges---for processing millions of transactions. Often users access a mainframe through a *terminal*, which has a display screen and a keyboard and can input and output data but cannot process data by itself. Mainframes process billions of instructions per second. Figure 3. A mainframe computer (image source: What Are Some Examples of Mainframe Computers? \| Reference.com) Workstations ============ *Workstations*, introduced in the early 1980s, are costly, powerful personal computers usually used for complex scientific, mathematical, and engineering calculations and computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing. Workstations, providing many capabilities comparable to those of midsize mainframes, are used for such tasks as designing airplane fuselages, developing prescription drugs, and creating movie special effects. Workstations have caught the public\'s eye mainly for their graphics capabilities, which breathe three-dimensional life into movies. The features of low-end workstations overlap those of high-end desktop microcomputers.  Figure 4. A workstation computer (image source: Daniel Byrne on Pinterest) Microcomputers ============== Microcomputers, also called *personal computers* (PCs), can fit next to a desk or on a desktop or be carried around. They either are stand-alone machines or are linked to a computer network, e.g., a local area network. A *local area network* (LAN) connects several desktop PCs and other devices, such as printers, offices, or buildings. Microcomputers are of several types: desktop PCs, notebooks (laptops), netbooks, tablets, and smartphones. Desktop PCs (Figure 5, right) are older microcomputers whose case or main housing sits on a desk, with a keyboard in front and monitor (screen) often on top. *Notebook computers* (Figure 5, left), also called *laptop computers*, are lightweight, portable computers with a built-in monitor, keyboard, hard-disk drive, CD/DVD drive, battery, and AC adapter plugged into an electrical outlet. These are similar to desktop PCs except that they comprise an integrated unit. Because of the costly components and the smaller market for laptops, these are usually quite a bit more expensive than personal computers. Netbooks are low-cost, lightweight, computers with tiny dimensions and functions designed for basic tasks, such as web searching, email, and word processing. They have little processing power and fill a technological category between notebooks and handheld devices. Figure 5. Laptops (left) are more portable devices than desktops (right) (image source: MacBook laptop vs Mac desktop: Buying guide - Macworld UK) A *tablet* is a mobile gadget, typically with a mobile operating system, a rechargeable battery in a single thin package, and a touchscreen display processing circuitry. Tablets resemble smartphones in some ways and can also be used to take photos, make phone calls, send messages, record videos, and perform tasks that can also be performed by a smartphone. *Smartphones*, on the other hand, is a mobile phone with highly advanced features---a highresolution touchscreen display, Wi-Fi connectivity, among others. It is a cellular phone with an integrated computer and other elements not originally associated with telephones, like an operating system, web browsing capability, and the ability to run software applications.  Figure 6. A tablet is bigger than a smartphone in terms of size. (image source: iMore) Microcontrollers ================ Microcontrollers, also called *embedded computers*, are the minute, specialized microprocessors installed in "smart" appliances and automobiles. These microcontrollers enable microwave ovens, for example, to store data about how long to cook your potatoes and at what power setting. Developing a new universe of experimental electronic appliances uses microcontrollers. For example, they are behind single-function products such as digital cameras, MP3, and MP4 players, which develop into hybrid forms such as gadgets that store photos, videos, and music. They also help run tiny web servers embedded in clothing, jewelry, and household appliances such as refrigerators. Also, blood-pressure monitors, airbag sensors, gas and chemical sensors for water and air, and vibrations sensors use microcontrollers. Figure 7. A microcontroller (image source: Whitehat - Posts \| Facebook) Other IT Infrastructures or Gadgets =================================== A *network server* is a central computer that stores the collections of data (databases) and programs for connecting or supplying services to PCs, workstations, and other devices, which are called *clients*. A wired or wireless network links these clients. The entire system is called a *client/server network*. In small organizations, servers can store files, provide printing stations, and transmit emails. In large organizations, servers may also house enormous libraries of financial, sales, and product information. A *computer peripheral* is any detachable device that provides input and output for the computer machine. Computer peripherals, or *peripheral devices*, are often called "I/O devices" because they supply input and output. Some peripherals, like external hard drives, provide both input and output for the computer. A *hard disk drive*, also abbreviated to HDD, is an electronic data memory device that uses magnetic storage to keep and retrieve digital information using one or more rigid, rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material. The platters paired with magnetic heads usually arranged on a moving actuator arm, which read and write data to the platter surfaces. Data is read in a randomaccess manner, indicating that individual blocks of data can be stored or retrieved. A hard drive saves all your digital content. Your documents, pictures, music, videos, programs, application preferences, and operating systems represent digital content stored on a hard drive. Hard drives can be external or internal.  Figure 8. Some examples of peripheral devices (image source: Design Elements - Computer Peripheral Devices \| ConceptDraw on Pinterest) A *solid-state drive* (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data persistently, typically using flash memory. Sometimes called a solid-state device or a solid-state disk, although SSDs lack the physical spinning disks and movable read-write heads used by HDDs. In its purest form, an SSD is a flash memory and has no moving parts. SSD storage is much faster than its HDD equivalent. *Flash drives* are solid-state devices that connect to the computer via the USB port. It provides a quick and reliable method of storing data externally. It is typically removable, rewritable, and much smaller than an optical disc. An *automatic voltage regulator* (AVR) is a hardware device used to maintain a constant voltage and power line conditioning to the equipment load under a wide variety of conditions, even when the utility input voltage, frequency, or system load vary widely. An *uninterruptible power supply* (UPS) is a device that supplies battery backup when the electrical power fails to an unacceptable voltage level. Small UPS devices provide power for a few minutes, sufficient to power down the computer in an orderly manner, while larger systems have an adequate battery for several hours. **Lesson 2.1: Email Basics** **What are Electronic Mails, or Emails?** Electronic mail is a method of trading messages between people using electronic devices' mail. *E-mail*, short for electronic mail, is information stored on a computer exchanged between two end-users over telecommunications. In simple terms, e-mail is a message that may carry text, files, images, or other attachments sent through a network to a designated individual or group of individuals. It allows you to post, receive messages to and from anyone with an e-mail address anywhere in the world. Two Ways to Send & Receive Email ================================ The earliest use of the internet is for sending and receiving electronic mail, or email. There are two ways to send and receive an email--via email program or web-based email. An *email program*, also called *email client software*, enables you to send emails by running email software on your computer, which interacts with an email server at your internet access provider to send and receive an email. With web-based email or *webmail*, you send and receive messages by communicating via a browser with a website. The big four email carriers currently are Yahoo! Mail, Windows Live Hotmail (discontinued), Gmail (Google), and AOL Mail. The advantage of web-based email is that you can easily send and receive messages while traveling anywhere in the world. Moreover, because of the mail servers storing all your outgoing and incoming messages and folders, you can use personal computers and browsers to keep up with your email. Many users will rely mostly on an email program on their personal computer, but they will switch over to web-based email to check messages when traveling without their PCs. How to Use Email ================ You will need an email address, of course, a sort of electronic mailbox used to send and receive messages. All such addresses follow the same approach: *username\@domain*. For example, *juandelacruz\@vsu.edu.ph*. ***The username***: *juandelacruz*. The username, or user ID, identifies who is at the address. There are many ways that the username might be designated, with and without capital letters, numbers, or special characters. ***Domain name***: *vsu*. The domain name, located after the @ ("at") symbol, tells the location and type of address. Periods (called "dots") separates domainname components. The domain portion of the address provides specific information about the area--where the message should be delivered. ***Top-level domain***: *edu*. The top-level domain, or domain code, is a three-letter extension that describes the domain type:.net,.com,.gov,.edu,.org,.mil,.int-- network, commercial, government, educational, nonprofit, military, or international organization. ***Country***: *ph*. Some domain names also include a two-letter extension for the country. Creating an Email Account ========================= Most email carriers provide free email services, and the account creation can be relatively straightforward. Different email carriers may require similar information, such as your name and a username. For the sake of this lesson, try to create a new email account using Google\'s Gmail service. 1. ***Open the Gmail account registration website***. 2. ***Click Create an Account***. 3. ***Input your first and last name***. 4. ***Come up with a username for your Gmail account***. 5. ***Enter a password for your Gmail account***. 6. ***Click on the Next button***. Essential Parts of an Email =========================== Figure 1. An example of an email composition. ***To***: The email address of the primary recipient ***Cc***: Previously means *carbon copy*, but now it means *courtesy copy*. When referring to email "cc," this means every recipient email address you enter into the "to" and "cc" field will be able to see who the recipients of the email message are. ***Bcc***: *Blind carbon copy*. The email address you add to the "bcc" field will receive a copy of the email message, but this will be unknown to the other recipients. ***Subject***: The subject is a very brief topic sentence describing the content of the email body and displays in most email systems that list email messages individually. ***Body***: The email body, which contains text that is the actual content. It may include signatures--automatically generated information that is inserted by the sender's email system. **Lesson 2.2: Email Etiquette** *Email etiquette* is referring to the principles of behavior that one should use when writing or answering email messages. It is also known as the code of conduct for email communication. Email etiquette depends on whom the sender is writing--friends and relatives, partners, customers, superiors, or subordinates. **Email Is A Powerful Tool. Use It Wisely.** Emails are a part of the business. But as one gets more and more inundated, it should be ensured that emails get read. One way to do this is to appropriate some best practices for professional email etiquette. From a professional email greeting to a professional email format, it can all make a big difference. ***Specify the subject line***. The first principle in professional email etiquette is to provide an appropriate subject for the email so that the recipient immediately knows the point of the message. ***Use professional email greetings***. Using the same professional salutations as you typically would if writing business correspondence with pen and paper is encouraged even if it might be tempting to use informal greetings when emailing work associates and friends. ***Keep fonts classic***. Courier New has a time and a place, but for business correspondence, keep fonts, colors, and sizes simple. The cardinal rule: emails should be legible for other people to read. It is advisable to generally use a 10- or 12-point type and an easy-to-read font such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Black is the safest choice for the font color. ***Resist emojis in email***. There might be an urge to add a smiley face to a potentially harsh sentence or cap off a joke with a laughing emoji. However, unless the recipient has already used one, resist temptation. Research reveals including emojis in work emails is terrible for reputation: they make senders look less competent (and they do not have any effect on how friendly you seem). ***Proofread every message***. Do not rely on spell-check. Read and reread the email several times, preferably aloud, before sending it off. Sometimes people pay little attention to spelling and proper grammar when composing emails than when writing actual letters, which is how people traditionally do business correspondence. But the truth is that correct spelling and grammar still counts. After writing the email, read it out loud to ensure that errors do not overshadow your message. ***Type addresses carefully***. When it comes to business affairs, the last thing that should happen is to send an email to the wrong person. That is why to double-check the recipient\'s info before hitting the \"send\" button. Making a habit of verifying the receiver\'s info will avoid making mistakes ***Try to reply to email messages***. It may be challenging to respond to every email message ever sent, but one should try to. It includes when accidentally sending the email, especially if the sender is expecting a reply. A reply isn\'t necessary but serves as proper email etiquette, mainly if the recipient works in the same company or industry. ***Attach small size files if needed***. Before sending out attachments with emails, you should ensure that they are the smallest size possible. Compressing data before distributing them over the Web costs your company less bandwidth and allows recipients to download the attachments faster.. **Email Terminologies** ***Attachment***. An e-mail attachment is a software file sent along with an e-mail message. Any e-mail message sent to the recipient can have one or more files attached. It is a simple method used to share documents and images. ***Threadjacking***. Threadjacking refers to an e-mail thread, message board, or social media conversation that veers away from the original topic. It usually occurs deliberately when individuals or groups use the platform to serve personal interests or promote an agenda. Threadjacking is considered lousy internet etiquette. ***Forward***. E-mail forwarding generically refers to the operation of re-sending an e-mail message delivered to one e-mail address to a possibly different e-mail address. ***Send Read Receipt***. A read receipt is an e-mail notification delivered to the sender when a recipient opens (and presumably reads) an e-mail sent. The receipt confirms that the recipient read the message and records the time. ***E-mail Signature***. A signature block is a personalized block of text automatically appended at the bottom of an e-mail message. Generally, a signature provides the recipient with your name, e-mail address, business contact information, or Web site URL. **Lesson 3.1: Creating, Editing, and** Creating Documents ================== Creating a document means entering text using the keyboard or the dictation function associated with speech-recognition software. Word processing software has three features that affect this process--the *cursor, scrolling,* and *word wrap.* ***Cursor.*** The *cursor* is the movable symbol on the display screen that shows you where you may next enter data or commands. The symbol is often a blinking rectangle or an I-beam. You can move the cursor on the screen using the keyboard's directional arrow keys or a mouse. The point where the cursor is located is called the *insertion point.* ***Scrolling.** Scrolling* means moving quickly upward, downward, or sideways through the text or other screen display. A standard computer screen displays only 20-22 lines of standard-size text. Of course, most documents are longer than that. Using the directional arrow keys, or the mouse and a scroll bar located at the side of the screen, you can move ("scroll") through the display screen into the text above and below it. ***Word Wrap.** Word wrap* automatically continues text to the next line when you reach the right margin. That is, the text "wraps around" to the next line. You don't have to hit a "carriage-return" key or Enter key, as was necessary with a typewriter. To help you organize term papers and reports, the *Outline View* feature puts tags on various headings to show the hierarchy of heads--for example, main head, subhead, and sub-subhead. Word processing software also allows you to insert footnotes that are automatically numbered and renumbered when changes are made. The basics of word processing are shown in Figure 1. Editing Documents ================= *Editing* is the act of making alterations in the content of your document. Some features of editing are *insert* and *delete, undelete, find and replace, cut/copy and paste, spelling checker, grammar checker,* and *thesaurus.* Some of these commands are in the Edit pull-down menu and icons on the toolbar. ***Insert & Delete.** Inserting* is the act of adding to the document. Simply place the cursor wherever you want to add text and start typing; the existing characters will be pushed along. If you want to write over (replace) text as you write, press the *Insert* key before typing. When you're finished typing, press the *Insert* key again to exit Insert mode. *Deleting* is the act of removing text, usually using the *Delete* key or the *Backspace* key. The *Undo command* allows you to change your mind and restore text that you have deleted. Some word processing programs offer as many as 100 layers of "undo," so that users who delete several paragraphs of text, but then change their minds, can reinstate the material. ***Find & Replace.*** The *Find,* or *Search, command* allows you to find any word, phrase, or number that exists in your document. The *Replace command* allows you to automatically replace it with something else. ***Cut/Copy & Paste.*** Typewriter users who wanted to move a paragraph or block of text from one place to another in a manuscript used scissors and glue to "cut and paste." With word processing, moving text takes only a few keystrokes. You select (highlight with the mouse) the portion of text you want to copy or move. Then you use the *Copy* or *Cut command* to move it to the *clipboard,* a special holding area in the computer's memory. From there, you use *Paste* to transfer the material to any point (indicated with the cursor) in the existing document or in a new document. The clipboard retains its material, so repeated pastes of the same item will work without your having to recopy each time. ***Spelling Checker.*** Mos word processors have a *spelling checker,* which tests for incorrectly spelled words. As you type, the spelling checker indicates (perhaps with a squiggly line) words that aren't in its dictionary and thus may be misspelled, as shown in Figure 2. Special add-on dictionaries are available for medical, engineering, and legal terms. *Figure 2. How a word processing program checks for misspelled words and offers alternatives (Microsoft Word)* In addition, programs such as Microsoft Word have an Auto Correct function that automatically fixes such common mistakes as transposed letters--replacing "teh" with "the", for instance. ***Grammar Checker.*** A *grammar checker* highlights poor grammar, wordiness, incomplete sentences, and awkward phrases. The grammar checker won't fix things automatically, but it will flag (perhaps with a different-color line) possible incorrect word usage and sentence structure, as shown in Figure 3. *Figure 3. Grammar checker points out possible errors in sentence structure and word usage and suggests alternatives (Microsoft Word).* ***Thesaurus.*** If you find yourself stuck for the right word while you're writing, you can call up an on-screen *thesaurus,* which will present you with the appropriate word or alternative words. Formatting Documents with the Help of Templates & Wizards ========================================================= In the context of word processing, *formatting* means determining the appearance of a document. You can always format your documents manually, but word processing programs provide a helpful device to speed the process up and make it more sophisticated. A *template,* called a *wizard* in older Office versions, is a preformatted document that provides basic tools for shaping a final document--the text, layout, and style for a letter, for example. Simply put, it is a style guide for documents. Because most documents are fairly standard in format, every word processing program comes with at least a few standard templates. When you use a template, you're actually opening a copy of the template. In this way you'll always have a fresh copy of the original template when you need it. After you open a copy of the template and add your text, you save this version of the template under the filename of your choice. In this way, for example, in a letterhead template, your project's name, address, phone number, and web address are included every time you open your letterhead template file. Among the many aspects of formatting are these: ***Font.*** You can decide what *font*--typeface and type size--you wish to use. For instance, you can specify whether it should be Arial, Courier, or Freestyle Script. You can indicate whether the text should be, say, 10 points or 12 points in size and the headings should be 14 points or 16 points. (There are 72 points in an inch.) You can specify what parts should be [underlined,] *italic,* or **boldface.** ***Spacing & Columns.*** You can choose whether you want the lines to be *singlespaced* or *double-spaced* (or something else). You can specify whether you want to be *one column* (like this page), *two columns* (like many magazines and books), or *several columns* (like newspapers). ***Margins & Justification.*** You can indicate the dimensions of the margins--left, right, top, and bottom--around the text. You can specify the text *justification*-- how the letters and words are spaced in each line. To *justify* means to align text evenly between left and right margins, as in most newspaper columns. To *left-justify* means to align text evenly on the left. (Left-justified text has a "ragged-right" margin, as do many business letters.) *Centering* centers each text line in the available white space between the left and right margins. ***Headers, Footers, & Page Numbers.*** You can indicate headers or footers and include page numbers. A *header* is common text (such as a date or document name) printed at the top of every page. A *footer* is the same thing printed at the bottom of every page. If you want page numbers, you can determine what number to start with, among other things. ***Other Formatting.*** You an specify *borders* or other decorative lines, *shading, tables,* and *footnotes.* You can import *graphics* or drawings from files in other software programs, including *clip art*--collections of ready-made pictures and illustrations available online. ***Default Settings.*** Word processing programs (and indeed most forms of application software) come from the manufacturer with default settings. *Default settings* are the settings automatically used by a program unless the user specifies otherwise, thereby overriding them. Thus, for example, a word processing program may automatically prepare a document single-spaced, leftjustified, with 1-inch right and left margins, unless you alter these default settings. **Lesson 3.2: Output Options and Saving** Most word processing software gives you several options for printing. For example, you can print *several copies* of a document. You can print *individual pages* or a *range of pages.* You can even preview a document before printing it out. *Previewing (print previewing)* means viewing a document on-screen to see what it will look like in printed form before it's printed. Whole pages are displayed in reduced size. You can also send your document off to someone else by email attachment if your computer has the appropriate communications link. Saving Documents ================ *Saving* means storing, or preserving, a document as an electronic file permanently--on your hard disk or a flash drive, for example. Saving is a feature of nearly all application software. Having the document stored in electronic form spares you the tiresome chore of retyping it from scratch whenever you want to make changes. You need only retrieve it from the storage medium and make the changes you want. Then you can print it out again. (Always save your documents often while you are working: don't wait!) Tracking Changes & Inserting Comments ===================================== What if you have written an important document and have asked other people to edit it? Word processing software allows editing changes to be *tracked* by highlighting them, underlining additions, and crossing out deletions. Each person working on the document can choose a different color so that you can tell who's done what and when. And anyone can insert hidden questions or comments that become visible when you pass the mouse pointer over yellowhighlighted words or punctuation. An edited document can be printed out showing all the changes, as well as a list of comments keyed to the text by numbers. Or it can be printed out "clean," showing the edited text in its new form, without the changes.