Word-processing Package

The term word processing describes use of hardware and software to create, edit, view, format, store, retrieve and print documents (written materials such as letters, reports, books, etc.). A word processing package enables us to do all these on computer system.

Commonly supported features:

Today's word processing packages normally support the features described below:

1. Entering Text :

This feature allows a user to enter text with computer's keyboard. Every character typed on keyboard is displayed immediately on computer's screen. Word wrap feature of word processing software determines when current line is full, and it automatically moves the text that follows to the next line. Hence, only time the user has to press Enter key is at the end of the paragraph. This feature is very useful to those having fast typing speed because they can enter text at their speed, without the need to keep track of where to end a line.

2. Editing Text :

This feature allows a user to make changes in an existing document.

While editing, the user can use either insert mode or type-over mode. In insert mode, when the user types new character in the text, the package inserts them at cursor's position by moving characters to the right of  cursor to right to make room for new character. In type-over mode, when the user types a new character, it replaces (types over) the existing character to cursor's position.

3. Formatting Page Style :

This feature allows a user to define page layout format for a document. Definition of a page layout format may include things such as :

1. Space to be left for left, right, top and bottom page margins.

2. Default spacing between two lines ( such as single space, double space,1.5 space, etc.).

3. Automatic numbering of pages with page number style and page number position.

4. Automatic placements for header and footer labels on each page (such as header labels in the book.).

5. Setting text in multiple columns on a single page. Multi-column is used frequently in newsletter and newspaper printing.

4. Formatting Text :

This features allows a user to format portions of text in the document to improve its general appearance and readability. It normally includes such as:

1. Selection of an appropriate font.

2. Selection of an appropriate font size.

3. Selection of an appropriate font style.

4. Selection of an appropriate justification.

5. Indenting text appropriately wherever desired.

6. Creating numbers or bulleted list of items.

5. Entering Mathematical Symbols :

Several scientific and engineering documents often use mathematical symbols. This features allows user to enter complex mathematical equations using mathematical symbols. In following figure shows the use of a few mathematical symbols.

Example of few mathematical symbols.

6. Displaying Documents :

This feature allows user to display contents of a document on computer monitor screen. For editing displayed text, a user can move text cursor to the desired position in the document. In case of a large document that can not completely fit on the screen, the user can browse through the document by scrolling a line at a time, a screen at a time, by using suitable keys on keyboard.  

7. Saving, Retrieving and Deleting Documents :

This features allows a user to save a document on a secondary storage and retrieve it alter for reuse. When saving a document for the first time, the user must specify the file name for the document. The user later retrieves the document for reuse by specifying its file name. The user may remove the document permanently from secondary storage by deleting it, when it is no more useful, or when the user has created and saved its new version.

8. Printing Documents :

This features allows a user to print a document on a printer. Almost all modern word-processing packages and printers supports the following printing facilities:

1. Selective printing for a single page, specific pages, a range of pages or the entire document.

2. Single sided or double sided printing. Single sided printing prints only one side of paper, while double sided printing prints on its both sides.

3. Portrait and landscape printing. In portrait mode, the printed lines are parallel to the shorter age the paper (like book), whereas in landscape mode, the printed lines are parallel to the longer edge.

4. Previewing a document before printing it, This facilities shrinks the pages down the pages of a document so that its user can display the entire page or even facing pages in almost the same form, as it will appear when printed. This avoids wastage of paper by allowing the user to see on screen how margin and others settings in a document, without having to print the document first.

9. Importing Text, Graphics and Images :

This feature allows a user to import text, graphics and images from some other document into a document that the user is working on currently. It often helps in saving tremendous time and efforts because a user needs not spend creating a piece of text, diagram, graph or image that he/she can obtain easily from somewhere else. Many word processing packages also have document conversion facility that enables conversion of imported documents (prepared using a different word processing packages), into a document compatible with users word processing packages. 

10. Searching and Replacing  text string :

This feature enables a user to quickly search for all occurrences of specific word, phrase or group of characters in a document. For example, user might have used the month "November" at several places in the document. If he/she wants to ensure that the current month name appears instead of  "November" at all places in the document, he/she can use search facility to do this quickly.