Word processor basics (LibreOffice Writer)

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. A leave application, a school project, a birthday invitation: how do we type them neatly on a computer? We use a word processor. Today we will learn the basics of LibreOffice Writer.

A word processor is software used to create documents. It lets you type, edit, format and print text. Editing means changing the content, like adding or deleting words. Formatting means changing how the text looks, like making it bold or bigger. LibreOffice Writer, Microsoft Word and Google Docs are all word processors.

Writer belongs to a bigger package. LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite, which means a set of office programs. Writer is its word processor, for documents. Calc makes spreadsheets, and Impress makes presentations. LibreOffice runs on Ubuntu Linux, Windows and macOS, and it usually comes already installed on Ubuntu.

Let us open Writer on Ubuntu. First, click the Show Applications button in the dock. Then type the word Writer in the search box. Click the LibreOffice Writer icon. A blank document opens, with the temporary name Untitled 1 in the title bar.

Now the parts of the Writer window, from top to bottom. The title bar shows the name of the document. The menu bar has menus like File, Edit, View and Format. The standard toolbar has buttons for common jobs like new, save and print. The formatting toolbar has buttons for bold, italic, font and font size. The status bar at the bottom shows the page number and word count.

Now look at the middle of the window. In the middle is the work area, the white page where you type. The cursor is the blinking line that shows where the next letter will appear. The rulers at the top and side show the margins and tab positions. The scroll bars let you move up and down through a long document.

Here are a few typing rules. When a line is full, the text moves to the next line on its own, and this is called word wrap. So press Enter only when you want a new paragraph. Backspace deletes the character to the left of the cursor. The Delete key removes the character to the right of the cursor.

Before you edit or format text, you must select it, which highlights it. You can drag the mouse over the text. Double-click selects one word. Triple-click selects a whole sentence in Writer. And Ctrl+A selects everything in the document.

These shortcuts save a lot of time while editing. Cut removes the selected text so you can put it somewhere else. Copy keeps the text and makes a copy to paste. Paste puts the cut or copied text at the cursor. Undo reverses your last action. Redo brings back what you just undid.

Now some basic formatting on selected text. Bold, with Ctrl+B, makes text dark and thick, good for headings. Italic, with Ctrl+I, makes text slanted. Underline, with Ctrl+U, draws a line under the text. The font size box on the formatting toolbar makes text bigger or smaller.

Alignment decides where lines of a paragraph sit between the margins. Left alignment, with Ctrl+L, is used for normal text. Centre, with Ctrl+E, is good for titles. Right, with Ctrl+R, is often used for a date in a letter. Justified, with Ctrl+J, makes both the left and right edges straight and neat.

Pause and predict. You select a word and press Ctrl+B two times. Is the word bold now? No. Ctrl+B is a toggle, so the first press turns bold on and the second press turns it off.

Writer also helps you check your work. A red wavy line under a word shows a possible spelling mistake. Right-click that word to see suggested correct spellings. Pressing F7 opens the Spelling dialog to check the whole document. And the status bar shows how many words and characters you have typed.

Let us revise what we learned today. A word processor lets you type, edit, format and print documents. Writer is the word processor in the free LibreOffice suite. Know the title bar, menu bar, toolbars and status bar. Always select text first, then edit or format it. And remember the shortcuts: Ctrl+B, I and U to format, and Ctrl+X, C, V and Z to edit.