Typing and screen objects

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Do you press Enter at the end of every line while typing? That is a common mistake. Today we will learn how to type correctly in Word and understand the objects you see on the screen.

First, do not mix up two different marks on the screen. The insertion point is the blinking line that shows where your typing will appear. The mouse pointer moves with the mouse. Over text, the pointer becomes an I-beam, shaped like a tall capital letter. Click with the I-beam to move the insertion point there.

Word wrap means Word moves a word to the next line on its own when a line is full. So you never press Enter at the end of a line. Press Enter only to start a new paragraph. If you press Enter on every line, the text breaks badly when you change the margins or font.

These keys are used all the time in data entry. Backspace deletes the letter to the left of the insertion point. Delete removes the letter to the right. Enter starts a new paragraph. Shift gives capital letters and the top symbols on keys. Caps Lock keeps typing in capitals until you press it again.

Word normally works in Insert mode. In Insert mode, new text pushes the old text to the right. In Overtype mode, new text types over the old text and replaces it. Overtype is off by default in Word. You can switch it on in File, Options, Advanced.

Here are the keys to move around. Moving with keys is faster than the mouse. The arrow keys move one letter or one line. Home jumps to the start of the line, and End jumps to its end. Ctrl+Home goes to the top of the document, and Ctrl+End goes to the bottom. Page Up and Page Down move one screen at a time.

Before you change text, you must select it, which means highlight it. Double click a word to select that word. Triple click inside a paragraph to select the whole paragraph. Drag the mouse, or hold Shift with the arrow keys, to select any part. Press Ctrl+A to select the whole document.

Everyone makes mistakes while typing. Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, and you can press it again to undo more. Ctrl+Y redoes what you just undid. Both buttons are also on the Quick Access Toolbar.

Word hides some marks while you type. Click the Show/Hide button on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. A pilcrow, shaped like a backward P, marks each place you pressed Enter. A small dot marks each space. An arrow marks each Tab key press. These marks never print, and they help you find extra spaces and Enters.

Pause and predict. You typed a long address and pressed Enter after each line. Then you make the margins wider. What happens? Some lines become short and leave gaps, because each Enter forced a new paragraph. With Show/Hide on, you would see a pilcrow at the end of every line.

The Word screen also shows a few small helpful objects. The Mini Toolbar pops up near selected text with quick formatting buttons. A ScreenTip is the small label that appears when you rest the pointer on a button. A red wavy line under a word marks a possible spelling mistake.

Let us revise. The insertion point shows where text goes, and the I-beam is the mouse pointer over text. Word wrap moves text to the next line, so press Enter only for a new paragraph. Backspace deletes left and Delete deletes right. Double click a word, triple click a paragraph, or press Ctrl+A for everything. Show/Hide reveals Enters, spaces and tabs. Practise by typing one paragraph without pressing Enter.