ECDL F4 Sec Ver: 5

ECDL Syll abus 5.0

ECDL St a r t 2012

ECDL START Syllabus 5 Courseware

Form 4

Contents MODULE 2 OPERATING SYSTEM ..................................................................... 1

MODULE 3 WORD PROCESSING .................................................................... 22

MODULE 4 SPREADSHEETS........................................................................... 48

MODULE 7 INTERNET & EMAILS ................................................................... 89

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Module 2 Operating System Using the Keyboard Print Screen Facility Sometimes you may want to show someone what you are seeing on your computer. In Windows, one easy solution is the PrtScn key. When you press it, an image of your screen is copied to the Clipboard. This is called a screen capture or screen shot.

To print the screen capture or send it to someone in an e mail, you will first have to paste it into MS WordPad or MS Paint and save it.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Press Print Screen key on your keyboard (labelled Print Scrn SysRq ) to capture a full screen. To capture the active window only, hold the Alt key down while pressing Print Screen key. A copy of the screen display will be placed in the clipboard (computer s primary memory).

Open a new WordPad file.

Click Paste button. The file will display a copy of the screen contents.

Save the file.

Note that: On some keyboards, PrtScn might appear as PRTSC, PRTSCN, or a similar abbreviation.

Certain laptops might use other key combinations, such as FN+PRTSC, to capture the screen.

Common Icons As indicated earlier on, the MS Windows desktop may contain different icons representing files, folders, application/Program shortcuts, recycle bin etc.

Desktop Icons

Example

File

Sometimes you may decide to save a file on the desktop.

Normally you will save this file on the desktop because you need fast access to this file.

Folder

Saving individual files to the desktop will clutter the desktop. Therefore you will save these files to an individual folder icon on the desktop. Typically desktop folder icons are created to store files which are accessed by the user on a regular basis.

Application Shortcut

Shortcut icons have a small arrow in the lower left corner.

Clicking such icons will normally open a program (such as Adobe Reader) or a file or a folder.

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Desktop Icons

Example

Recycle Bin

The place in which MS Windows stores deleted files. You can retrieve files that you have mistakenly deleted in error, or you can empty the Recycle Bin to create more disk space.

Selecting & Moving Icons By default, MS Windows stacks icons in columns on the left side of the desktop. But you can move an icon by dragging it to a new place on the desktop: 1. To select a desktop icon, click the icon. The icon will be highlighted as shown:

2. To move the icon, drag the mouse. The icon will move only if the Auto arrange icons option is not switched on.

Arranging Icons You can arrange the icons on your desktop as follows: 1.

2.

3.

Right-click on an empty area of the desktop.

Point to Sort by.

Click one of the commands on the submenu, as explained in the table.

Click

To Do This

Name

Arrange icons in alphabetical order by the icon name.

Size

Arrange icons in order of file size. If the icon is a shortcut to a program, the size refers to the size of the shortcut file.

Item Type

Arrange icons in order of type. For example, if you have shortcuts to several MS PowerPoint presentations on your desktop, these will be arranged next to each other.

Date modified

Arrange icons in the order that the shortcut was last modified.

To automatically arrange the icons in columns along the left side of your desktop: 1. Right-click on an empty area of the desktop.

2. Point to View.

3. Click Auto arrange icons.

Note that: When switched on, the Align icons to grid option snaps icons into place as designated by an invisible grid on your screen. The grid keeps the icons aligned with each other.

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Opening Folders & Icons To open folders or icons: 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the icon to open e.g. Recycle Bin. Double-click the mouse.

A window will show on the desktop area. This window may contain other icons or folders.

Creating & Removing Desktop Shortcut Icons In MS Windows a shortcut is a pointer to a file, document or printer. A shortcut is represented by an icon containing a curved arrow on the desktop.

Selecting the program shortcut icon runs the program to which the shortcut points .

Selecting a document shortcut runs the application that created the document (provided the document type is associated with a program).

To create a desktop shortcut to a folder or file: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Open Windows Explorer by pressing Windows key + E. Locate the folder or file.

Right-click the folder or file.

Point to Send to.

In the sub-menu, click Desktop (create shortcut). The shortcut icon appears on MS Windows desktop.

To create a desktop shortcut to a program: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Start button.

Locate the program.

Right-click the program.

Point to Send to.

In the sub-menu, click Desktop (create shortcut). The shortcut icon appears on MS Windows desktop.

Note that: Shortcut icons display a curved arrow.

A shortcut does not create a copy of the item (file, folder or application program) on the desktop. Therefore deleting a shortcut to an item, does not delete the item. It still exists on your computer in its original location.

To delete a shortcut icon: 1.

2.

3.

Click the shortcut icon (on the desktop) to delete.

Press DELETE key. The Delete Shortcut dialog box is displayed.

Click Yes button.

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Using Icons to Open Files & Folders Double-clicking an icon (representing a file, folder or program) will open the file, folder or application i.e. program.

The Anatomy of a Window Whenever you open a program, file, or folder, it appears on your screen in a box or frame called a window (that's where the Windows operating system gets its name).

Although the contents of every window are different, most windows have the same basic parts.

Menu bar - Contains items that you can click to make choices in a program.

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Title bar - Displays the name of the document and program (or the folder name if you are working in a folder).

Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons - These buttons hide the window, enlarge it to fill the whole screen, and close it, respectively.

Scroll bar - Lets you scroll the contents of the window to see information that is currently out of view.

Borders and corners - You can drag these with your mouse pointer to change the size of the window.

Working with Windows Maximising (Expanding) a Window 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the Maximise button.

Click the mouse.

Note that: When a window is maximised it fills the entire screen covering the desktop area. The Maximise button changes to the Restore button.

You can also maximise a window by double-clicking on its title bar.

Restoring a Maximised Window 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the Restore button.

Click the mouse.

Note that: You can also restore a maximised window by double-clicking on its title bar.

The maximised window returns to its previous size.

Minimising (Collapsing) a Window 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the Minimise button.

Click the mouse.

Note that: You can also minimise a window by pressing the shortcut key combination: Windows key + M. The window will disappear from the desktop, but its name will still show on a button located on the taskbar.

Restoring a Minimised Window 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the taskbar button showing the name of the window.

Click the mouse.

Note that:

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The minimised window returns to its previous size.

You can also restore a minimised window by pressing the shortcut key combination: Windows key + SHIFT + M. Moving a Window 1.

2.

3.

4.

Point the mouse pointer to the title bar of the window.

Press the left mouse button.

Move the mouse to the location where the window will be positioned.

Release the mouse button.

The technique of pressing the left mouse button, moving the mouse and releasing the button is known as dragging.

Resizing a Window 1.

Point the mouse pointer to the window border (the pointer will change to a double-headed arrow).

2. Drag the mouse.

Note that: A window that is maximized cannot be resized. You must restore it to its previous size first.

Although most windows can be maximized and resized, there are some windows that are fixed in size, such as dialog boxes.

If some of the icons will be hidden when changing the window size, columns appear to the right or bottom of the window. The right or vertical grey column is known as the vertical scroll bar. The bottom or horizontal grey rectangle is known as the horizontal scroll bar. The arrows in the scroll bar are used to display any hidden icons in the window.

Closing a Window 1.

2.

Point the mouse pointer to the Close button.

Click the mouse.

Note that: When you close a window, this will disappear from the desktop and the taskbar. When a window is minimised, this will also disappear from the desktop, but its button still shows in the taskbar.

Switching between Windows If you have two application windows running, you can switch from one window to another by clicking on the appropriate button located on the taskbar.

You can also cycle through application windows that are running on the computer by pressing ALT+TAB keys.

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You can also arrange open windows in three ways: 1.

2.

Right-click the mouse on an empty area of the taskbar.

Click Cascade Windows or Show windows stacked or Show windows side by side.

Note that: The cascade format arranges all open windows in a stair-like format. The stacked format puts windows in one or more vertical stacks depending on how many windows you have open. The side by side format places each window open, but not maximized -on the desktop so you can see all the windows at once.

To see your desktop without closing your open windows, minimize all of your windows at once by clicking the Show desktop button next to the notification area at the end of the taskbar.

Show Desktop

FILE MANAGEMENT Organisation of Files & Folders A computer program is made up of a collection of files. These files can be divided in two categories: 1.

Program files / Instruction files - written by computer programmers i.e. manufacturers of software. Users are not really interested in the contents of these files.

2.

Data files / User files - written by you (the user) i.e. letters, memos, faxes, databases, graphs etc.

The program files are automatically organised when the software is installed. However you will need to organise the data files to ensure efficient day-to-day use. This organisation becomes particularly important where a lot of data files are present on the disk.

Imagine your computer as a filing cabinet with a number of drawers. Each drawer represents a disk-drive on your computer. The drawers are for the USB flash disk, the hard disk, the CD-ROM or a disk on the network.

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In an office, a single filing cabinet drawer usually contains a lot of information organised in folders. Related information is usually stored in a single folder. Diskdrives can have lots of folders. Each of these folders will contain files having related information.

For example, you may wish to store all the data files related to your school work in a single folder called SCHOOL . If a large number of data-files are present in this SCHOOL folder, you will find it more efficient to group some files together.

For example, you may wish to group all your data files related to English in a sub-folder called ENGLISH within the same folder SCHOOL . You will find it more efficient if you create two subfolders LANGUAGE and LITERATURE - within ENGLISH to store language and literature documents in separate sub-folders. Similarly you can do the same thing to store data files related to IT and MALTESE etc.

The number of folders or sub-folders on a disk depends on the storage capacity of the disk. The more bytes a disk has the more folders, sub-folders and files it can store.

Icon

Represents A folder, which can contain sub-folders and data-files. Folders are used to organise your files.

A file, the basic unit of storage in MS Windows. Files are documents, spreadsheets and databases you use and create. Different types of files have different looking icons. The icon shown on the left is used for files created in MS Word.

The files and folders can be organised through the Windows Explorer window.

File & Folder Storage Before discussing the storage of files and folders it is important to understand the basics about computer storage.

Bit short for Binary Digit, is the smallest unit of information on the computer. A single bit can hold only one of two values: 0 or 1. More meaningful information is obtained by combining consecutive bits into larger units. A group of eight bits (e.g. 1011 0010) make up one byte.

Byte (B) - is the amount of storage needed to store one character (e.g. a, c, +, =, %, 8). So, for instance, a computer with 32,000 bytes of memory can store up to 32,000 characters in its memory. Large amounts of memory are indicated in terms of kilobytes, megabytes and gigabytes.

Kilobyte (KB)

is equivalent to 1024 bytes.

Megabyte (MB) is equivalent to 1024×1024 bytes (or 1,048,576B). Five hundred (500) pages of double-spaced text occupy about 1MB of space.

Gigabytes (GB) is equivalent to 1024×1024×1024 bytes (or 1,073,741,824B). Hard-disks (discussed later) have storage capacities measured in terms of GB (200-320GB).

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Terabyte (TB) is equivalent to 1024Ă—1024Ă—1024Ă—1024 bytes (or 1,099,511,627,776B).

Files are units that store collections of data. Almost all information stored in your computer must be in a file. Different types of files store different types of information.

For example, program files store programs, text files store text; graphic files store images or pictures etc. Each file has a name referred to as a filename. Typically file sizes range from KB to MB. Folders store collections of files. Typically you organise your word-processing, spreadsheet and picture files (from your digital camera) in folders. Computer programs (e.g. MS Windows, MS Word, MS Excel etc) are stored in separate folders.

Folders may also contain other folders (sub-folders) in them. Folder sizes may range from KB to GB. MS Windows uses several devices known as drives to store files and folders: Hard disk is typically found inside the computer. It contains all program folders and files. It also stores data files i.e. document, spreadsheet, presentation files etc. Hard disks can hold very large amounts of data (200320GB).

Network drive is typically a shared disk that is accessed by several computers connected to a network. Typically a network stores data files that are shared amongst several users.

USB flash drive is a portable device that is used to store data files. USB flash drives can store large amounts of data (up to 256GB). USB flash drives connect to the computer through USB ports.

CD-RW (Compact Disc-Re-Writeable) is a portable device used to store data files. CD-RW disks can be erased and written to over and over again.

CD-RW disks have storage capacities up to 650MB. DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk Re-Writeable) disks are similar to CD-RWs but they can store much more data than CDs. DVDs have storage capacities which range from 4.7GB to 17GB. Typically these disks are used for full-length movies, advanced multimedia games and interactive encyclopaedias.

It is important to copy data files present on the hard-disk onto a secondary storage medium (e.g. USB flash drive, CD-RW or DVD-RW) in case the hard-disk fails. This process is known as data backup. You should backup your files regularly.

It is also recommended that you make two/three backups of all data files. One copy should be kept away from the computer room off-site storage.

In recent years, some users are using online storage facilities (e.g. MS SkyDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox) available through Internet to store data files. These can be easily accessed from any computer connected to Internet. Such storage is particularly useful to share data files with friends or colleagues.

Opening a Window to Display Drives

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The Computer window or Windows Explorer is used to scan for devices which can store files and folders like hard disk, USB flash drive, CD-RW, DVD-RW and network drives.

You can open the Computer window using the Windows + E key combination.

Inside the Computer window there are the drawers of your computer s filing cabinet.

All your drives are shown as icons. Different disk drives are assigned different location addresses. Every disk drive is referred to by an alphabet letter usually: C: represents the primary hard disk.

D: represents a removable disk (USB flash drive).

E: represents the CD/DVD drive.

Other location addresses may be present if more disks are available. For example, the Computer window may display another drive G: representing the USB flash drive.

Even more location addresses may be present if you are working on a networked computer.

Navigating to Folders & Files The Computer window is split in two parts. The Navigation pane on the left displays the list of drives and folders. The File List pane on the right pane shows folders and files within the highlighted drive or folder in the Navigation pane. The highlighted drive or folder in the Navigation pane is known as the current drive or folder.

Toolbar

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Address Bar

Search Bar

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Navigation Pane Current Drive

File List

Details Pane

To navigate to a folder or file on a drive: 1. Open the Computer window using the Windows + E key combination.

2. In the folder list (left pane), click the drive containing the folder or file. This will display the contents of the drive in the right pane.

3. Click the name of the folder or file in the right pane.

Note that: You may need to click through sub-folders (folders in another folders) to navigate to a file.

Expanding & Collapsing Views of Drives & Folders To view the folders, sub-folders or files on a drive: In the Navigation pane, click the arrow of the folder s name e.g. SCHOOL. Alternatively double-click the folder s name. A list of folders contained in the disk will be displayed.

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To collapse the branch i.e. to hide the folders on the disk: In the Navigation pane, click the black downwards pointing arrow of the folder s name. Alternatively double-click on the folder s name.

The folders and sub-folders will disappear.

Creating Folders & Sub-Folders To create a folder: 1.

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2.

In the Computer window, right-click the drive e.g. Local Disk C: where the folder will be created.

In the pop-up menu, click New. A new folder will be added.

3.

4.

Type a name for your folder in the text box displayed.

Press Enter key. A yellow folder will be created.

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To create a sub-folder: 1.

2.

In the Computer window, right-click on the folder/sub-folder where the subfolder/s will be created.

Repeat steps 2-4 as for above.

Note that: It is good practice to use meaningful names for folders and sub-folders to help with recall and organization.

Files When you enter information in a computer you usually store this on a disk (hard-disk or removable disk) for future use. This procedure of storing information is known as saving. Information is saved in files and the first time you save any piece of information you need to give a name to the file. Filenames are used to call out the information on the computer screen for use.

MS Windows XP and any other programs designed for this environment can have filenames with up to 255 characters long including any spaces. However these filenames cannot have the following characters: \ ? : * < >. It is good practice to use meaningful names for files to help with recall and organization.

Filenames usually end with a 3 character extension. A period (.) separates the filename from the file extension. Some of the common file extensions are listed here:

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File Extension

File Type

.doc or .docx

MS Word document

.rtf

Word-processing program - Rich Text Format

.txt

MS Notepad - TeXT file

.xls or .xlsx

MS Excel worksheet file

.ppt, .pptx or .pps

MS PowerPoint file

.mdb or .accdb

MS Access database file

.bmp

MS Paint - BitMaP file (picture)

.gif

Graphics Interchange Format (picture)

.jpg

Joint Photographic Experts Group (picture)

.wav

Wave file (sound)

.mp3

Audio file (sound)

.mpe, .mpg

MPEG animation

.avi

MS Video for Windows movie

.zip

Zip file (compressed)

.tmp

Windows temporary file

.exe

Executable file

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By default MS Windows does not display file extensions. You can display the file extensions in the Computer window: 1.

2.

3.

4.

In the Computer Window, click Organizer button.

Click Folder and search options. The Folder Options dialog box is displayed.

Click View tab.

Deselect the option Hide file extensions for known file types.

5.

6.

Click Apply button.

Click OK button.

Using a Text Editing Application MS Windows has two text editing programs: Notepad and MS WordPad. Both programs have basic word processing facilities; however WordPad has more features compared to Notepad.

Opening MS WordPad 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click Click Click Click

Start button.

All Programs.

Accessories.

WordPad.

By default, WordPad opens with a blank document.

To enter text in WordPad, start typing. Text will appear at the blinking cursor.

Saving a File It is important to save your work from time to time whilst typing. When you save the document for the first time, you need to give it a name. Document names can have up to 255 characters including spaces. File names cannot include any of the following characters: forward slash (/), backslash (\), greater than sign (>), less than sign (<), asterisk (*), period (.), question mark (?), quotation mark ("), pipe symbol (|), colon (:), or semicolon (;).

To save a file:

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1.

In the Quick Access toolbar, click Save button. The Save As dialog box is displayed.

2.

3.

4.

Browse to the drive and folder where the document file will be saved.

Type a name for your document in the File Name: box.

Click Save button.

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Note that: After you save a file for the first time, the filename appears in the title bar.

When you save the file the second, third, fourth time etc. the computer will not ask you to input all this information again but will only update the file with the changes made up to that moment.

To close WordPad: 1.

2.

3.

Save your work.

Click WordPad tab.

Click Exit.

To open an existing WordPad File 1.

2.

3.

In WorPad, click Open button. The Open dialog box.

Browse to the drive or folder that contains the document to open.

Double-click the document you want to open.

Changing the File Status All files have property sheets which display information such as size, location, date/time last saved and the status of the file i.e. read-only, hidden and/or archive.

To change the status of a file: 1. In the Computer window, right-click the name of the file to change its attributes. A shortcut menu will be displayed.

2. Click Properties. The Properties dialog box for the selected file will be displayed.

3. Tick the appropriate attribute:

4. Click Apply button.

5. Click OK button.

Attibute

Effect

Read-only

Specifies whether this file is read-only/locked, which means that it cannot be changed.

Hidden

Specifies whether the file or folder is hidden, which means that you cannot see or use it unless you know its name.

Archive

Specifies whether this file or folder should be archived. Some programs use this option to control which files and folders are backed up.

Sorting Files To view the details of files:

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1. In the Computer window, click the arrow next to the Change your view button. A pop-up menu will be displayed.

2. Click Details.

The Details option displays the file attributes: name, date/time it was last modified, file type and size.

The files displayed in the Computer window can be sorted by name, size, file type and the date/time last modified: 1.

2.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 as above.

Click the appropriate header:

Option

To Do This

Name

To sort the files by name.

Size

To sort the files in order of increasing or decreasing size.

Type

To sort the files by type.

Date Modified

To sort the files by date/time last saved.

Note that: To reverse the sort order, re-click the appropriate header.

Renaming Files & Folders You can rename files, folders and sub-folders: 1.

2.

3.

4.

In the Computer window, right-click the file, folder or sub-folder to rename.

Click Rename.

Replace the existing name in the text box with the new name.

Press Enter key.

Note that: You can only rename a file provided that this file is not marked as read-only and is not currently being used by a program.

You should not change the extension when renaming a file. The extension of a file determines the program to be used to open that file. For example, document files ending by .doc are typically opened by a word processing program. If you rename the extension, MS Windows will not be able to determine which program to use to display the file contents.

The following message is displayed when you attempt to change the extension of a file.

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You should never rename (or delete) files ending with these extensions: .exe

.com

.bat

.dll

.ini

.sys

Selecting Files & Folders To select one file, folder or sub-folder: In the Computer window, click the file, folder or sub-folder to select. The selected file will be highlighted.

To select several files, folders or sub-folders adjacent to each other: 1.

2.

3.

4.

In the Computer window, click the first file, folder or sub-folder in the block.

Press and hold the SHIFT key.

Click on the last file, folder or sub-folder of the contiguous block to select.

Release the SHIFT key.

The block of files, folders or sub-folders will be selected.

To select several files, folders or sub-folders that are non-adjacent to each other: 1.

2.

3.

4.

In the Computer window, click the first file, folder or sub-folder to select.

Press and hold the CTRL key.

Click on the other files to select.

Release the CTRL key.

Copying Files & Folders To copy files, folders between folders and between drives: 1. In the Computer window, select the file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s to copy using one of the methods indicated in the previous section.

2. Right-click the selected file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s. A short-cut menu will be displayed.

3. Click Copy.

4. Right-click the folder or disk drive where you want to copy the file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s. A short-cut menu will be displayed.

5. Click Paste.

Note that: You can press the shortcut key combinations: CTRL + C instead of step 3.

CTRL + V instead of step 5.

Moving Files & Folders To move files, folders between folders and between drives: 1. In the Computer window, select the file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s to move.

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2. Right-click the selected file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s. A short-cut menu will be displayed.

3. Click Cut. 4. Right-click the folder or disk drive where you want to move the file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s. A short-cut menu will be displayed.

5. Click Paste.

Note that: You can press the shortcut key combination: CTRL + X instead of step 3.

Deleting Files & Folders Files, folders or sub-folders which you delete from the hard-disk are placed in the Recycle Bin or wastebasket. To delete files, folders or sub-folders: 1. In the Computer window, highlight the file/s, folder/s or sub-folder/s to delete.

2. Press Delete key. The Delete File dialog box is displayed prompting you to confirm if you wish to delete the selected file, folder or sub-folder.

3. Click Yes button. The Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full.

The Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full.

Note that: You can also delete files, folders or sub-folders by right-clicking the file or folder and then clicking Delete.

Items deleted from removable disks (e.g. USB flash disk) or a network drive are permanently deleted and are not sent to the Recycle Bin.

Restoring Deleted Files & Folders Items in the Recycle Bin remain there until you decide to permanently delete them from your computer. These items still take up hard disk space and can be undeleted or restored back to their original location. When it fills up, MS Windows automatically cleans out enough space in the Recycle Bin to accommodate the most recently deleted files and folders.

To restore a file or folder: 1. In the MS Windows desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin window is displayed.

2. Right-click the file or folder to restore. A shortcut menu will be displayed.

3. Click Restore.

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To restore all contents in the Recycle Bin: 1. In the MS Windows desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin window is displayed.

2. Click Restore all items.

Note that: Restoring an item in the Recycle Bin returns that item to its original location.

Emptying the Recycle Bin To delete the contents of the Recycle Bin: 1. In the MS Windows desktop, double-click the Recycle Bin. The Recycle Bin window is displayed.

2. Click Empty the Recycle Bin. Note that: Deleting an item from the Recycle Bin permanently removes it from your computer. Items deleted from the Recycle Bin cannot be restored.

Searching Files & Folders MS Windows provides several ways to find files and folders. You can search for files or folders: 1. Click Start button.

2. In the Start menu search box, type the name of the file or folder to search.

As you type, items that match your text will appear on the Start menu. The search is based on text in the file name, text in the file, tags, and other file properties.

3. Click the file to open or click See more results. The Search Results window is displayed.

Click in the Search field. This will display Add a search filter.

Click Date modified: to search for a file by date modified. Choose the appropriate options.

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The Search Results dialog box will automatically display the list of files matching the date criteria.

4. Click the file to open.

You can also search for files using wildcards: 1.

2.

Click Start button.

In the Start menu search box: Type the file extension e.g. .pptx to locate all PowerPoint files.

Type the first letter of the filename e.g. T*.docx to locate all MS Word documents starting with the letter T.

Type the file type and size e.g. .docx:<25MB to locate all MS Word documents with file size less than 25MB.

5. Click the file to open.

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Viewing the List of Recently Used Files Jump Lists are lists of recent items, such as files, folders, or websites, organized by the program that you use to open them. To open a jump list: 1.

2.

3.

Open the program e.g. MS Word to view the list of recently used documents.

The program icon will be displayed in the task bar.

Right-click the program icon. The program s jump list will be displayed.

Click the file to open.

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Module 3 Word Processing

Creating New Documents Every MS Word document is based on a template. A template determines the basic structure for a document and contains document settings such as fonts, page layout, special formatting, and styles.

By default all new documents are created on a standard (or default) template called normal.dotx. To create a new document based on the default template: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab.

Click New. Double-click Blank document. A new file with an empty workplace will be opened.

Note that: You can open a new document combination: CTRL+N keys.

using

the

shortcut

key

You can also base a new document on other templates available in MS Word or created by you.

22

1.

2.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 as above.

Click Sample templates or My templates

3.

Double-click the template to use e.g. Adjacency Report.

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Saving Documents It is important to save your work from time to time whilst typing. When you save a document for the first time, you need to give it a name. Document names can have up to 255 characters including spaces. File names cannot include any of the following characters: forward slash (/), backslash (\), greater than sign (>), less than sign (<), asterisk (*), period (.), question mark (?), quotation mark ("), pipe symbol (|), colon (:), or semicolon (;).

To save a document to a location/drive: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click File tab.

Click Save. The Save As dialog box is displayed.

Select the disk and/or folder where the document file will be saved.

Type a name for your document in the File name: field.

Click Save button.

Note that: After you save a file for the first time, the filename appears in the title bar.

When you save the file the second, third, fourth time etc. the computer will not ask you to input all this information again but will only update the file with the changes made up to that moment.

You can save a document using the Save button in the Quick Access Toolbar or the shortcut key combination:

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CTRL+S keys.

To save an open document under another name: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab.

Click Save As The Save As dialog box is displayed.

Repeat steps 3-5 as above.

To save a document in another format: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Click File tab.

Click Save As The Save As dialog box is displayed.

Select the disk and/or folder where the document file will be saved.

Type a name for your document in the File name: field.

Click the drop-down arrow in the Save as type: field and select the file format that you want the file to be saved in e.g. Word 97-2003 Document.

Click Save button.

Note that: The facility to save a document to another format can be useful to convert the document in a format which can be read by previous versions of MS Word or other word processing programs.

FORMATTING Applying Font Types & Sizes A font is a collection of characters (letters, numerals, symbols and punctuation marks) that have a particular design. A list of some of the most common fonts used in MS Word documents is below. The list shows both the font name and the way the characters look.

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The font size determines the size of the selected characters. The height of a character is expressed in points (1 point = 1/72 ). The larger the number, the larger the character.

Arial pt. 13 Lucida Calligraphy pt.12

Impact pt. 13 Courier pt.13

Mercurius Script MT pt.14

Times New Roman pt. 13

To change the font type: 1.

2.

3.

Select the text to change its font style.

In the Home tab, click the Font drop-down arrow.

Click the appropriate font style to apply.

To change the font size: 1.

2.

3.

Select the text to change its font size.

In the Home tab, click the Font Size drop-down arrow.

Click the appropriate size to apply.

Applying Bold, Italics & Underline Typestyles are applied to text to emphasise it. There are three ways of emphasising text, using either or a combination of the following typestyles: Typestyle

Button

Effect

Shortcut Key

Bold

to make the characters look darker

CTRL+B

Italics

to slant the characters to the right

CTRL+I

Underline

to underline characters

CTRL+U

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To apply typestyles: 1.

2.

Select the text to apply typestyles to.

In the Home tab, click the appropriate typestyle/s button/s required.

To removing typestyles: 1.

2.

Select the text to remove its typestyles.

In the Home tab, click the appropriate typestyle/s button/s to remove.

Applying Subscript & Superscript Subscript text is text that is slightly lower than other text on a line e.g. 2 in H2O. Superscript text is text that is slightly higher than other text on a line e.g. 2 in AB2.

To make text subscript or superscript: 1.

Select the text you want to format as superscript or subscript.

2.

In the Home tab, click the Superscript Subscript button.

or

Applying Font Colours To apply a different colour to the text: 1.

2.

3.

Select the text to apply colour to.

In the Home tab, click the drop-down arrow of the Font Color button.

Select the appropriate colour.

Applying Case Changes to Text You can change the case of a text to uppercase, lower case, title case, sentence case etc.

1.

2.

3.

Select the text you want to change its case.

In the Home tab, click Change Case button.

Click the appropriate case option.

Option

To Do This

Sentence case.

Capitalises the first letter of the first word in the selected sentences.

lowercase

Changes all selected text to lowercase letters.

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Option

To Do This

UPPERCASE

Changes all selected text to capital letters.

Capitalize Each Word

Capitalises the first letter of each word in the selection.

tOGGLE cASE

Changes all uppercase letters to lowercase in the selection and vice versa.

Applying Automatic Hyphenation If a word is too long to fit on the end of a line, MS Word moves the word to the beginning of the next line instead of hyphenating it. However, you can switch on the option to have automatic hyphens in your documents.

1.

2.

In the Page Layout tab, click Hyphenation button.

Click Automatic.

Note that: When you turn on automatic hyphenation, MS Word automatically inserts hyphens where they are needed in the document. If you later edit the document and change line breaks, MS Word re-hyphenates the document.

Creating & Merging Paragraphs To start a new paragraph press ENTER key. The cursor moves to the next line where you can start typing the text making the new paragraph.

To join or merge two paragraphs in a single paragraph: 1.

2.

Position the cursor to the left of the second paragraph i.e. just before the first letter of the second paragraph.

Press Backspace key until the second paragraph moves just after the first paragraph.

Inserting & Removing Line Breaks To insert a line break (soft carriage return) i.e. a new paragraph: 1.

2.

Place the cursor to the right of the last character on the line.

Press Enter key.

To remove a line break: 1.

2.

Place the cursor to the left of the paragraph mark.

Press Backspace key.

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Aligning Text This facility is important to change the position of text in relation to the left and right margins. The left and right margins are the white spaces at the left and right edges of a page.

There are four different alignment options: This is left-aligned text.

This is centered text.

This is right-aligned text.

This is justified text. If this text is on a line that is shorter than the paragraph width, it will remain aligned left.

Option

To Do This

Left

Aligns each line of the paragraph with the left margin, leaving a ragged right edge which means that there is no alignment on the right side.

Centered

Aligns each line of the paragraph between the left and right margins. This is useful for headings and titles.

Right

Aligns each line of the paragraph with the right margin leaving a ragged left edge, which means that there is no alignment on the left side. This is useful for a right-aligned date and return address in a letter.

Justified

Aligns paragraph text so that both the left and right margins have a straight edge, creating blocks. Use this option judiciously because it can create white rivers of space in the text, which can make reading difficult.

To align text: 1.

2.

Select the text or position the cursor in the text to align.

In the Home tab, click: Alignment option

Button

Shortcut Key

Align Left button

CTRL+L

Centre button

CTRL+E

Align Right button

CTRL+R

Justify button

CTRL+J

Indenting Text Indentations play an important role in giving the document the look you want it to have. When you indent a paragraph you specify, how far in from the margin, or how far out into it you want the text to print. It is a good practice to indent text than inserting spaces.

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To indent text: 1.

2.

Highlight the paragraph or position the cursor in the paragraph to indent.

In the Home tab, click: Increase Indent button Decrease Indent button

You can also indent text using the ruler. The ruler provides an excellent way for you to see exactly where you set indentations.

Notice the triangle on the left (Hanging Indent), the inverted triangle above it (First Line Indent), and the small rectangle below (Left Indent). You can move the two triangles together or separately.

To indent text using the ruler: 1.

2.

Highlight the text to indent.

Perform one of the actions below for the appropriate indentations.

Option

To Do This

Indent all lines in the selected paragraph

Click the rectangle, hold down the mouse button, and drag to the left or right.

Indent only the first line in a selected paragraph

Click the upper triangle, hold down the mouse button, and drag to the left or right.

Move the lines on the right margin for a selected paragraph

Click the triangle on the right and move it to the left or right.

You can indent text to specific measurements: 1.

2.

Highlight the paragraph or position the cursor in the paragraph to indent.

In the Page Layout tab, type the measurements in the Indent Left: and Right: fields. You can also use the arrows to increase or decrease the 0cm value.

Setting Tabs In some documents, tab stops facilitate the laying out of text. When you press the TAB key (or CTRL+TAB if the insertion point is in a table), the insertion point jumps to the next tab stop, and a tab character fills the space. The tab character does not print, and it is not visible unless you choose to display it.

Each paragraph in a new document has default tab stops, which are preset at half-inch intervals. You can use these tab stops, or you can: Change the interval of the default tab stops.

Set custom tab stops at any position within selected paragraphs. You can specify how text aligns at custom tab stops (e.g. centred). You can also add

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leader characters the tab character.

solid, dotted, or dashed lines that fill the space taken by

To set tab stops: 1.

Select the paragraphs in which you want to set tab stops.

2.

Click on

at the far left of the horizontal ruler until it changes to the type

of tab you want.

Tabulation option

3.

Button

To Do This

Left-align tab

Aligns text to the left of the tab stop.

Right-align tab

Aligns text to the right of the tab stop.

Centre tab

Centres text along the tab stop.

Decimal tab

Aligns the decimal point along the tab stop.

Click on the horizontal ruler where you want to set a tab stop.

If you want to set precise measurements for tabs: 1. Click Page Layout tab.

2. Click Paragraph Dialog Launcher. The Paragraph dialog box is displayed.

3. Click Tabs button. The Tabs dialog box is displayed.

4. In the Tab stop position: type the position (e.g. 1.5cm) where you want your tab stop.

5. Tick the appropriate Alignment option.

6. Click OK button.

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To display tab characters: Click Show/Hide button.

The arrow mark

will show on the screen wherever the Tab key was pressed.

To clear or move tab stops: 1.

2.

Select the paragraphs in which you want to clear or move a tab stop.

To clear a tab stop, drag the tab marker off the horizontal ruler. To move a tab stop, drag the tab marker to the right or left on the horizontal ruler.

Adjusting Line & Paragraph Spacing The right amount of line spacing is crucial for a printed document. MS Word uses point measurement. There are 72 points in an inch. Too many or too few points of spacing between lines make text difficult to read.

To adjust line spacing: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the paragraph or position the cursor in the paragraph to adjust its line spacing.

In the Home tab, click Line spacing button.

Select one of the options.

Option

To Do This

1.0

Single-line spacing. MS Word increases spacing by one line, based on the font type and size you choose.

1.5

One-and-a-half line spacing. MS Word increases spacing by one-and-a-half lines, based on the font type and size you choose.

2.0

Double line spacing. MS Word increases spacing by two lines, based on the font type and size you choose.

You can change the spacing before or after each paragraph: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the paragraphs in which you want to change spacing.

In the Home tab, click Line spacing button.

Click Add Space Before Paragraph and/or Add Space After Paragraph.

To specify exact measurements for paragraph spacing: 1.

2.

Highlight the paragraphs in which you want to change spacing.

In the Page Layout tab, type the measurements in the Spacing Before: and After: fields. You can also use the arrows to increase or decrease the 0pt value.

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Note that: It is a good practice to apply spacing between paragraphs rather than use the ENTER key.

Adding Bullets & Numbers to Lists MS Word s powerful feature for bulleted and numbered lists makes it easy to format information in lists. In addition, MS Word can renumber lists automatically if you add or delete items.

To add bullets to a list: 1.

2.

Highlight the paragraphs to which you want to add bullets.

In the Home tab, click Bullets button drop down arrow.

3.

Click the bullet style to apply.

Note that: You can also add bullets to text by highlighting the text and clicking the Bullets button. However, this method does not allow you to choose from the different bullet styles available in MS Word.

To remove bullets: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the text to remove its bullets.

In the Home tab, click Bullets button drop down arrow.

Click None.

Note that: You can also remove bullets by highlighting the text and click the Bullets button.

To modify bullets: 1.

2.

32

Highlight the text to modify its bullets.

In the Home tab, click Bullets button drop down arrow.

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4.

5.

6.

Form 4

Click Define New Bullet The Define New Bullet dialog box is displayed.

Click Symbol or Picture button.

Select the appropriate symbol or picture.

Click OK button twice.

To add numbers to a list: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the list to which you want to add numbers.

In the Home tab, click Numbering button drop down arrow.

Click the number style to apply.

Note that: You can also add numbering to a list by highlighting the text and clicking the Numbering button.

However, this method does not allow you to choose from the different number styles available in MS Word.

To remove numbering: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the list to remove its numbers.

In the Home tab, click Numbering button drop down arrow.

Click None.

Note that: You can also remove numbering by highlighting the list and click Numbering button.

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To modify the number styles: 1.

2.

3.

Highlight the list to modify its numbers.

In the Home tab, click Numbering button drop down arrow.

Click Define New Number Format The Define New Number Format dialog box is displayed.

4.

5.

Enter the appropriate options.

Click OK button.

Option

To Do This

Number Format

After selecting the number style to apply, you can add non-editable text to appear before and after each number in the list. For example, square brackets [ ] to create a number format such as [1], [2], [3], and so on.

Font

Select the font you want for numbers in a list and for any text before or after the numbers.

Number Style

Select the number style you want for a list.

Alignment

Select the alignment you want for the list.

Preview

The Preview box shows the effects of the formatting and positioning you specify before you change it in the document.

Adding Borders & Shading to Paragraphs You can set apart text from the rest of a document by adding borders and shading.

To add borders to a block of text: 1.

2.

34

Select the text you want to apply a border to.

Click the drop-down arrow next to the Borders button. Click the

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appropriate border style button.

To modify the border style and apply shading: 1.

2.

Select the text you want to apply a border to.

Click the drop-down arrow next to the Borders button. Click Borders and Shading The Borders and Shading dialog box is displayed.

3.

4.

5.

Click the Borders tab.

Select the appropriate Setting: Style: Color: and Width: options.

Click OK button.

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To apply shading to a block of text: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Click the Shading tab.

Select the appropriate Fill colour.

Click OK button.

Applying Styles A style is a set of formatting characteristics that you can apply to a word, line or paragraph in your document to quickly change their appearance. When you apply a style, you apply a whole group of formats in one simple task. For example, instead of taking three separate steps to format your title as 14 pt and Cambria you can achieve the same result in one step by applying the Heading 1 style.

MS Word has a number of built-in styles. By default the Normal style is applied to all text.

To use a built-in style: 1.

2.

Highlight the word, line or paragraph to apply a style to.

In the Home tab, click the drop down arrow next of the Style box. A list of styles will be displayed.

3.

Click the appropriate style.

Copying Text Formatting You can copy the formatting (typestyles, fonts etc.) of a piece of text to another piece of text: 1.

2.

3.

36

Highlight the word or character containing the formatting you want to copy.

In the Home tab, click Format Painter button.

Drag the mouse to highlight the word or character to which you want to apply the formatting.

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Mail Merge Sometimes you may need to send a standard letter to a large number of contacts.

Typically you will address each of these letters specifically to the intended recipient and you may also need to prepare labels with individual recipient addresses to affix to the envelope.

The novice user might type the standard letter, save it and then personalize each of these letters manually by typing the recipient contact details on every single letter.

However, this task is expensive in terms of time especially if the same letter is sent to many recipients.

The mail merge facility in MS Word makes the task of generating mass mailing letters and labels relatively easy.

Preparing any type of merged document typically involves two files: The main document contains the standardised text and graphics to be included on the letters or labels. You insert special instructions, known as merge fields, in this document to indicate where you want the variable information to be printed from the data source file.

The data source file contains the information that varies with each version for example, names, addresses, account numbers etc.

When you merge the data source file and the main document, MS Word inserts the appropriate information from the data file in the main document s standard text.

Preparing the Main Document The first step when you perform a mail merge is creating a main document. If you want to use an existing document as a mail merge main document, open it before you choose mail merge.

To create the Main Document: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Type the main document or letter and save it.

Click the Mailings tab.

Click Start Mail Merge button.

Click Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard... The Mail Merge task pane is displayed.

Tick the option Letters.

Click Next: Starting document (located at the bottom of Mail Merge task pane).

Tick the option Use the current document if you want to use the active letter/document displayed on the screen.

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8.

Click Next: Selecting recipients (located at the bottom of Mail Merge task pane).

The Mail Merge wizard will prompt you to select the recipients to be later included in the letter (refer to next section).

Preparing the Data Source File As indicated earlier on, the data source file contains the text and graphics that vary with each version of a merged document. The second step when you perform a mail merge is creating a new data source file or use an existing data source file. In this section you will create a new data source file. However, before creating a new data source file, you will learn about some basic concepts of data organisation.

Each set of related information makes up one record in the data file. One record in a person s mailing list, for example, contains all the information for one individual person.

The different types of information title, name, mailing address, father s name, and so on - are called fields. Each field in the data file must have a unique name. In most cases, you list the field names in the first record of the data file, called the header record.

The remaining records in the data file, the data records, contain the field information corresponding to each field name in the header record.

Field Names

Name

Surname

Address1

Address2

Town

John

Borg

44,

Main Street

Qormi

Mary

Vella

St. Philip Street

Zebbug

Il-Bejta

You can go through the following steps to create a new data source file. The following steps continue from the previous section.

38

1.

Tick the option Type a new list if you want to create a new data source file. If you want to use an existing data source file, tick the option Use an existing list.

2.

Click Create below Type a new list. The New Address List dialog box is displayed. This dialog box lists the fields you are likely to use in letters, labels and envelopes. You can remove any of these fields or add new fields to the data source file.

Header record

Data records

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3.

Click Customise Columns button to remove, add or rename fields in the data source file. The Customise Address List dialog box is displayed.

4.

To remove a field: i. Click the field name to delete. ii. Click Delete button in the Customise Address List dialog box. The underlying message will be displayed. iii. Click Yes button. The deleted field will no longer be displayed in the Customise Address List dialog box.

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To add a field: i. Click Add button in the Customise Address List dialog box. The Add field dialog box is displayed. ii. Type a name for your field. iii. Click OK button. The fieldname will be displayed in the Customise Address List dialog box.

To rename a field: i. Click Rename button in the Customise Address List dialog box. The Rename Field dialog box is displayed. ii. Type in the new name in the To: field. iii. Click OK button. The fieldname will be displayed in the Customise Address List dialog box.

To arrange the order of field: i. Click the field name to adjust its position in the Customise Address List dialog box. ii. Click Move up or Move down button.

5.

6.

40

Following changes made in the Customise Address List dialog box (step 4), click OK button. The Customise Address List dialog box will be closed. The New Address List dialog box will display the added or renamed fields.

Click OK button. The Save Address List dialog box is displayed.

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7.

8.

9.

Form 4

Browse to the drive/folder where the file will be saved.

Type in a name for the data source file in the File name: field.

Click Save button. The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box will be displayed.

10. Click OK button to close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.

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Following the creation of the data source file you will proceed with typing in the data:

42

1.

Click Edit recipient list in the Mail Merge task pane or Edit Recipient List button in Mailings tab. The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box is displayed.

2.

3.

4.

Choose the Data Source e.g. Address List.mdb to edit.

Click Edit button. The New Address List dialog box is displayed.

Type in the data in the fields.

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5.

6.

7.

Click New Entry button to type in the data of the next record.

Repeat step 4-5 (in this section) for further record entries.

Click OK button. The following message is displayed.

8.

Click Yes button to save the data and return to the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box. The latter will display all record entries.

Click OK button to close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.

9.

To edit a record: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Click the cell containing the data to edit.

Edit the data as necessary.

Repeat steps 7-9 as above.

To delete a record: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Edit recipient list in the Mail Merge task pane or Edit Recipient List button in the Mailings tab. The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box is displayed.

Choose the Data Source e.g. Address List.mdb to edit.

Click Edit button. The New Address List dialog box is displayed.

Click the cell containing data to delete.

Click Delete Entry button. You will be prompted to confirm whether you wish to proceed with the deletion or not.

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6.

7.

8.

9.

44

Click Yes button. The record will be deleted from the data source file.

Click OK button.

Click Yes button to save the data and return to the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box. The latter will display all record entries.

Click OK button to close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.

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Activity 2 1.

Start MS Word and open a new blank document.

2.

Save this document as announce.docx in the folder Module 3 Exercises.

3.

Type in the following text: 18th February 2004 Attn.

Joseph Muscat, St. Philip, Main Street, Zebbug ZBG 1010 Dear Joseph, You are requested to call at Administration Building RM 205 to collect your invitation.

Sincerely yours, James

4.

Create a data source file containing the following fields: Name, Surname, Address1, Address2, City, Country, Postcode.

5.

Save the data source file as addresslist.mdb in the folder Module 3 Exercises.

6.

Enter the following data in this file:

Name

Surname

Address1

Address2

City

Country

Postcode

John

Vella

St. Peter

Main Street

Balzan

Malta

BZN3333

Mary

Bonanno

55

Mdina Road

Qormi

Malta

QRM2222

Phil

Costa

Il-Bejta

St. Joseph Street

Msida

Malta

MSD1111

7.

Edit the Surname of the second record from Bonanno to Borg.

8.

Delete the third record. Add the following record instead:

Name

Surname

Address1

Address2

City

Country

Postcode

Mario

Calleja

My Nest

St. Philip Street

Zebbug

Malta

ZBG4444

9.

Save and close announce.docx and addresslist.docx. Close MS Word.

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Merging Data Once you have created the main document and attached to it a data source file it is very easy to perform the merge process. To tell MS Word where you want variable information printed, you insert the merge field names defined in the attached file.

When you merge the main document with the data file, MS Word replaces the merge field names with the corresponding field information from each record in the data file.

1.

2.

3.

4.

In the main document, place the cursor at the location where the merge field will be inserted.

In the Mailings tab, click Insert Merge Field button.

Click the appropriate field name. This will be inserted in the document.

Repeat steps 2-3 for the field names you need on your document.

«Title» «Name» «Last_Name» «Address_Line_1» «Address_Line_2» «Town» «Post_Code»

5.

Click Preview Results button. The document displays the data.

6.

Click Finish & Merge button.

7.

Click Print Documents to print the letters including the merged data. The Merge to Printer dialog box is displayed.

Tick the appropriate option.

Click OK button to print the letter/s.

8.

9.

Note that: Each merge field starts and ends with these special chevron symbols <<>>. You cannot insert a merge field from the keyboard; you have to use Insert Merge Field button.

Don t forget to include spaces between merge fields if they are separate words and remember the punctuation that needs to appear in the finished document.

If you see a field code such as {MERGEFIELD Title} instead of «Title», select it and press ALT+F9 key combination to display the field result.

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Form 4

Activity 3 You will use Module 3 practice files.

1.

In MS Word, open announce.docx (created during Activity 2) in the folder Module 3 Exercises. You will use this document as the form letter for a mail merge.

2.

Use addresslist.mdb (created during Activity 2) in the folder Module 3 Exercises as the data source to be merged with the announce.docx form letter.

3.

Replace the existing name and address lines at the top of the announce.docx document with the appropriate address block.

Joseph Muscat, St. Philip, Main Street, Zebbug ZBG 1010 Dear Joseph, with the following fields: <<Title>> <<Name>> <<Surname>> <<Address1>> <<Address2>> <<City>> <<Postcode>> Dear <<Name>>

4.

Merge the address list data source file with the letter to create a mail-merged document showing all the addressees.

5.

Save the mail merge document as merge.docx in folder Module 3 Exercises.

6.

Save and close all open documents. Close MS Word.

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Module 4 Spreadsheets

USING THE APPLICATION Spreadsheet applications are computer programs that originated in the accounting world. These programs can be used for a wide variety of activities, but most applications of spreadsheets focus on generating numeric information from other numeric information. MS Excel is an example of a spreadsheet program.

Opening & Closing MS Excel To open MS Excel: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Start button.

Select All Programs.

Click Microsoft Office.

Click Microsoft Excel 2010.

MS Excel Button Quick Access Toolbar

Title Bar

Tabs

Help Button

Command

Ribbon

Home Cell Group Scroll bars Row Heading

Column Heading

Cells

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Features of the MS Excel Screen MS Excel screen displays a grid of rectangles similar to a graph paper. This grid is known as a spreadsheet or worksheet - it is the primary document where you store and manipulate data.

A worksheet is made up of vertical lines called columns and horizontal lines called rows.

A group of worksheets make up a workbook. By default, each MS Excel workbook displays three worksheets, which are identified by tabs along the bottom of the screen Sheet 1, Sheet 2, Sheet 3.

Worksheets are like pages in a book. The workbook is the book containing these pages or worksheets.

Each column has a heading, consisting of one or two alphabet letters. Each row has a heading, consisting of a number.

The screen shows only a small portion of the whole worksheet. Every single worksheet is made up of 256 columns and 65,536 rows. The intersection of each column and row is a cell. The total number of cells in a worksheet is 16,777,216.

Each cell has a unique address known as its cell reference . A cell reference consists of: the column heading

the row heading

(A, B, C )

(1, 2, 3 )

Examples of cell references include A1, F23, BC25 etc.

Note that: Cell references always start with the column heading and then the row heading.

Cell references are not case sensitive i.e. you can use lowercase letters (a5) or uppercase letters (A5).

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To close MS Excel: 1.

2.

Click File tab.

Click Exit.

To open an existing workbook: 1.

2.

Click File tab.

Click Open. The Open dialog box is displayed.

3.

Select the drive and/or folder that contains the workbook to open e.g.

Desktop.

Double-click the workbook you want to open.

4.

Note that: You can also open a recently used document by clicking the File tab and choosing Recent. A sub-menu showing a list of recently used workbooks is displayed. Click the name of the workbook you want to open.

You can open an existing workbook using the shortcut key combination: CTRL+O keys.

To open other existing workbooks repeat steps 1-4 as above.

To close a workbook: 1.

2.

3.

Save your work.

Click File tab.

Click Close.

Note that: You can close a workbook using the shortcut key combination: CTRL+F4 keys.

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Creating New Workbooks Every MS Excel workbook is based on a template. A template determines the basic structure for a workbook and contains the settings of the workbook such as fonts, page layout, special formatting, and styles.

To open a new workbook based on the default template: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab. A drop down menu will be displayed.

Click New button.

Double-click Blank workbook. A new file will be opened.

Note that: You can open a new workbook using the shortcut key combination: CTRL+N keys.

You can also create a new workbook based on other templates available in MS Excel or created by you.

4.

5.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 as above.

Click Sample templates or My templates

6.

Double-click the template to use e.g. Billing Statement.

Saving Workbooks It is important to save your work from time to time whilst typing. When you save a workbook for the first time, you need to give it a name. Workbook names can have up to 255 characters including spaces. File names cannot include any of the following characters: forward slash (/), backslash (\), greater than sign (>), less than sign (<),

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asterisk (*), period (.), question mark (?), quotation mark ("), pipe symbol (|), colon (:), or semicolon (;).

To save a workbook to a location or drive: 6.

7.

Click File tab.

Click Save. The Save As dialog box is displayed.

8. Select the disk and/or folder where the workbook will be saved.

9. Type a name for your workbook in the File name: field.

10. Click Save button.

Note that: After you save a workbook for the first time, the filename appears in the title bar.

When you save the file the second, third, fourth time etc. the computer will not ask you to input all this information again but will only update the file with the changes made up to that moment.

You can save a document using the Save button in the Quick Access Toolbar or the shortcut key combination: CTRL+S keys.

To save an open workbook under another name: 4. Click File tab.

5. Click Save As The Save As dialog box is displayed.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 as above.

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Saving a Workbook as another File Type You can save a workbook as another file type like: template, text file, specific file extension and version number.

7.

8.

Click File tab.

Click Save As The Save As dialog box is displayed.

9. Select the disk and/or folder where the workbook file will be saved.

10. Type a name for your workbook in the File name: field.

11. Click the drop-down arrow in the Save as type: field.

12. Select the file format that you want the file to be saved in e.g. Excel 97-2003 Workbook.

13. Click Save button.

Note that: The facility to save a workbook to another format can be useful so that this can be read by previous versions of MS Excel.

Switching between Open Workbooks You can switch between two or more open workbooks by: 1.

2.

3.

Click View tab.

Click Switch Windows button. This will display the name/s of open workbooks. The active workbook i.e. the one you are viewing will have a checkmark (e.g. refworks.xls).

Click the name of the workbook file to display.

Note that: To switch between open workbooks you can position the pointer over the MS Excel button on the task bar (running horizontally across the bottom of the MS Windows screen). This will display the name/s of open workbooks. Then click the name of the workbook file to display.

CELLS Entering Data in Cells Worksheet cells can hold three kinds of data: text, numbers and formulas.

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Text entries - are labels such as December or Zebbug or text/number combinations such as birth dates etc.

Numeric entries - are numbers on which calculations will be performed.

Formulas - are calculations involving two or more values (to be discussed later on).

A cell in a worksheet should contain only one element of data, for example, first name detail in one cell and surname detail in the adjacent cell.

As a good practice when you create lists: avoid blank rows and columns in the main body of list insert blank row before Total row ensure that cells bordering the list are blank.

To enter a number, text or date in a cell: 1. Click the cell where the data will be entered.

2. The selected cell will show a thick border. Its reference will also be displayed in the Name box (over the top left box of the worksheet). When you select a cell you make this active i.e. you can type in this cell.

3. Type the appropriate data.

4. Press Enter key or click Enter button in the formula bar.

Note that: By default, text entries are aligned to the left of cells and numeric entries are aligned to the right of cells.

Text entries are usually referred to as labels. Labels describe numeric data in a cell/s.

To enter dates use a slash or a hyphen to separate the parts of a date; for example, type 19/08/2002 or 19-Aug-2002.

To move from one cell to the next you press the arrow/cursor keys on the keyboard.

You can also click on any cell to make this active.

You can move to column XFD (the last column in the spreadsheet) by pressing CTRL+ keys. You can move to row 1,048,576 (the last row in the spreadsheet) by pressing CTRL+ keys. To return back to cell A1 the home cell press HOME key.

Selecting Cells To select a single cell: Click the cell to select.

Note that: The thick border around the cell indicates that it is highlighted.

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Click anywhere outside the highlighted cell/area to switch off the highlighting.

A range of cells is a group of cells in a worksheet.

An adjacent cell range is a group of cells that are directly beside, above or below one another. Adjacent cells are sometimes referred to as contiguous cells.

To select an adjacent cell range: 1.

2.

Click the first cell to select.

Hold down the mouse button and drag through the remaining cells to select.

Note that: The first cell will also be included in the selection even though it is not shaded.

A non-adjacent cell range consists of group of cells that are not directly beside, above or below one another. Non-adjacent cells are sometimes referred to as non-contiguous cells.

To select a non-adjacent cell range: 1. Select the first cell or range of cells to select.

2. Press and hold the CTRL key and drag through another range of cells.

To select the entire worksheet: Click Select All button of the worksheet i.e. the shaded cell where row 1 meets the column A.

Editing Cell Content You can replace the content of a cell as follows: 1.

2.

Double-click the cell that contains the data to edit.

Perform the necessary editing.

Note that: You can also edit the contents of a cell by clicking the cell and pressing F2 key.

Using Undo & Redo Commands MS Excel records all actions you performed since you opened the workbook during a session. All actions are stored in the Undo list. If you change your mind, you can tell MS Excel to undo them.

To undo or redo your most recent actions click the Undo or Redo buttons on the Quick Access toolbar.

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Note that: To undo or redo your most recent action (or actions), click the arrow next to Undo or Redo, select the actions you want to undo or redo, and click.

The Undo feature does not work once you close your workbook. Closing a workbook removes all contents from the Undo list.

Using the Search & Replace Commands When you need to review or change data in your workbook, use the Find and Replace commands. Use Find to quickly locate occurrences of the data you specify. To change data use Replace command.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Select the range of cells you want to search. If you want to search the entire worksheet, click any cell in the worksheet.

Click the Home tab.

In the Editing group, click Find & Select.

Click Replace... The Find and Replace dialog box is displayed.

In the Find what: field, enter the text or numbers you want to search for or choose a recent search from the Find what: drop down box.

Click Options button to further define your search. For example, you can search for all of the cells that contain the same kind of data, such as formulas.

In the Replace with: field, enter the replacement characters and specific formats if necessary.

Click Find Next button.

To replace the highlighted occurrence or all occurrences of the found characters, click Replace button or Replace All button.

Note that: If you want to delete the characters in the Find what: field, leave the Replace with: field blank.

To cancel a search in progress, press ESC key.

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Sorting Data You can sort the data in ascending (A to Z, 0-9) or descending order (Z-A, 9-0).

1.

2.

3.

4.

Click a cell in the column you would like to sort by.

Click the Home tab.

In the Editing group, click Sort & Filter.

Click Sort A to Z or Click Z to A.

Note that: All data in the range of adjacent cells will be sorted.

Original

Sorted by Name in alphabetical order

If you want to sort the data in one column only: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click the Column Heading button of the column to be sorted.

Repeat steps 2-4 as above. The Sort Warning dialog box is displayed.

Tick Continue with the current selection.

Click Sort button.

Original

Sorted by Name in alphabetical order

The Sort A to Z works as follows:

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Data Type

Sorting Rule

Numbers

From smallest negative to largest positive.

Dates and Times

Actual values, regardless of the formatted appearance. (April does not come before February, because alphabetical formatting is ignored).

Text

0-9, space !

Blank cells

Blank cells are last, whether the sort order is ascending or descending.

# $ % & ( ) * + , . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ { } ~ A-Z.

Copying Data You can copy the content of one or more cells from one location to another, either within a worksheet, between worksheets or to another workbook.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Highlight the cell/s to copy.

Click the Home tab.

Click Copy.

Select the upper-left cell of the paste area - the cells you want the data to be copied to - or select the entire paste area. You can click on a cell in a different sheet within the same workbook or open another workbook file.

Click Paste.

Note that: When you click Copy, MS Excel surrounds the selected cells with a moving border and copies the data to the Clipboard. You can use ESC key to switch off the moving border.

Using AutoFill Tool Sometimes you find yourself entering data in a logical sequence such as days of the week, month names, numbers etc. The AutoFill feature logically repeats some series as indicated in the following table

1.

2.

3.

4.

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Data type

Starting series value

Extended series

Quarter abbreviated

Qtr 3

Qtr 4, Qtr 1, Qtr 2

Month names

November

December, January

Month names abbreviated

Nov

Dec, Jan

Weekday

Saturday

Sunday, Monday

Type in the cell.

Position the mouse on the fill handle of the cell. The fill handle is the solid, small square located in the lower-right corner of the selection.

Drag the fill handle down or to the right.

Release the mouse button at the end of the series range you want to create.

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Note that: You can see the current value in the series in the reference area of the formula bar. This changes as you drag the fill handle. If you drag the fill handle further than you intended, you can drag it in the opposite direction to clear the unwanted values. Stop dragging at the last value you want.

Moving Data You can move the content of one or more cells from one location to another, either within a worksheet, between worksheets or to another workbook.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Select the cell/s to move.

Click the Home tab.

Click Cut. Select the upper-left cell of the paste area - the cells you want the data to move to - or select the entire paste area. You can click on a cell in a different sheet within the same workbook or open another workbook file.

Click Paste.

Deleting Cell Content To delete the contents of a cell: 1. Select the cell to delete.

2. Press DELETE key. The cell will be emptied.

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MANAGING WORKSHEETS Selecting Rows To select a single row: Click the heading of the row to select e.g. click 3 to select row 3.

Note that: The entire row of the spreadsheet will be highlighted. The leftmost cell will also be included in the selection even though it is not shaded.

To select a range of adjacent rows: 1.

2.

Click the heading of the first row to select e.g. click row heading 3.

Press and hold SHIFT key and click the heading of the last row to select e.g. row heading 5.

Note that: Alternatively you can drag across the row headings of the rows to be selected.

To select a range of non-adjacent rows: 1.

2.

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Click the heading of the row to select e.g. click row heading 3.

Press and hold CTRL key and click the heading of the row to select next row e.g. row heading 5.

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4.

5.

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Repeat step 2 to select other rows.

Release the mouse.

Release CTRL key.

Selecting Columns To select a single column: Click the heading of the column to select e.g. click column heading D. Note that: The entire column of the spreadsheet will be selected. The topmost cell will also be included in the selection even though it is not shaded.

To select a range of adjacent columns: 1.

2.

Click the heading of the first column to select e.g. click column heading B. Press and hold SHIFT key and click the heading of the last column to select e.g. column heading D.

Note that: Alternatively you can drag across the column headings of the columns to select.

To select a range of non-adjacent columns: 1.

Click the heading of the column to select e.g. click column heading A.

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2.

Press and hold CTRL key and click the heading of the column to select next column e.g. column heading C.

3.

4.

5.

Repeat step 2 to select other columns.

Release the mouse.

Release CTRL key.

Inserting & Deleting Rows & Columns To insert rows or columns: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the cell where you want the blank row or column to be inserted.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Insert.

Click Insert Sheet Rows or Insert Sheet Columns.

To delete rows or columns: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the cells, rows or columns to delete.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Delete.

Click Delete Sheet Rows or Delete Sheet Columns.

Modifying Column Widths & Row Heights Column widths can be changed to allow enough space for the data to fit in the cells of the column.

1.

2.

3.

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Position the mouse pointer over the right border of the column heading to adjust.

Drag the mouse.

Release the mouse button to complete the adjustment.

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The same procedure can be used to adjust the row height but instead you use the row heading.

To modify column widths to a specified value: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the column/s to adjust its width.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click Column Width The Column Width dialog box is displayed.

5. In the Column width: field enter the width value.

6. Click OK button.

To modify row heights to a specified value: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the row/s to adjust its width.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click Row Height The Row Height dialog box is displayed.

5. In the Row height: field enter the height value.

6. Click OK button.

You can also adjust the width of a column according to the longest data entry in that column: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the column/s to adjust its width.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click AutoFit Column Width.

Note that: Alternatively you can double-click the right edge of the column heading. This adjusts the column width according to the longest entry in that column.

You can also adjust the height of a row according to the data entry in that row: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the row/s to adjust its height.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click AutoFit Row Height.

Note that: Alternatively you can double-click the bottom edge of the row heading.

Freezing & Unfreezing Row & Column Titles Comparing two pieces of information at either ends of a large spreadsheet can be very difficult. MS Excel enables you to lock in column and/or row titles such that these will be in view no matter where you scroll through your sheet. This facility of locking in columns and/or rows is known as freezing.

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Typically the column titles are in column A and the row titles are in row 1. To freeze the column and/or row titles: 1. Click the View tab.

2. In the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

3. Click Freeze Top Row to freeze row 1. Click Freeze First Column to freeze column A.

Note that: Dark horizontal and/or vertical line/s appear on the spreadsheet. These lines mark the areas of the spreadsheet you have chosen to freeze. Now as you scroll horizontally or vertically inside the spreadsheet, the areas above and to the left of the dark, lines will stay on the screen while the rest of the sheet is allowed to scroll.

To freeze additional rows or columns for example all rows 1 & 2 and columns A & B: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click cell C3.

Click the View tab.

In the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

Click Freeze Panes.

To unfreeze column and/or row titles: 1.

2.

3.

Click the View tab.

In the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

Click Unfreeze Panes.

Switching between Worksheets Earlier on you have learnt that workbooks can contain several sheets (also known as worksheets). By default each workbook displays three sheets Sheet1, Sheet2 & Sheet3. To switch from one sheet to the next you need to click on the appropriate sheet tab (bottom right of the workbook).

The sheet feature allows you to split your data into manageable sections. The sheets could have the same type of information, for example, sales per person per month i.e.

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each sheet would be a different month. Or, the sheets could contain totally different information, but you have a need to use data from one sheet on another sheet.

Inserting & Deleting Worksheets To insert a single sheet: 1.

2.

3.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Insert.

Click Insert Sheet.

Note that: A new sheet tab will be displayed at the bottom of the workbook screen.

Alternatively, you can insert a sheet by clicking the Insert Worksheet button.

To add multiple sheets: 1.

2.

3.

Determine the number or worksheets you want to add.

Hold down SHIFT, and then select the same number of existing worksheet tabs that you want to add in the open workbook. For example if you want to add three new worksheets, select three existing worksheet tabs.

Repeat steps 1-3 as for inserting a single sheet.

You can delete one or more sheets: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Select the sheets you want to delete.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click the Delete.

Click Delete Sheet. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Click Delete button.

Moving, Copying & Renaming Worksheets To move or copy sheets within a workbook: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the sheets you want to move or copy.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click Move or Copy Sheet The Move or Copy dialog box is displayed.

5.

In the To book: field select the workbook to receive the sheets. To move or copy the selected sheets to a new workbook, click new book.

In the Before sheet: field select the sheet before which you want to insert the moved or copied sheets.

To copy the sheets instead of moving them, select the Create a copy check box.

6.

7.

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8.

Click OK button.

Note that: To move or copy sheets to another workbook, open the workbook that will receive the sheets. Repeat steps 2-8 as above.

You can also move a sheet within a workbook by dragging the sheet tab.

As you start to use sheets, you will probably need to give the sheets more meaningful names.

To rename the active sheet: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click the Home tab.

In the Cells group, click Format.

Click Rename Sheet. The name in the sheet tab will be highlighted.

Type the new name over the current name.

Note that: You can also rename a sheet, by right-clicking the sheet tab card, selecting the option Rename and repeating step 4 as above.

The sheet name can consist of one or more words. The longer the name, however, the fewer tabs you can see at once.

It is a good practice to use meaningful worksheet names rather than accept default names.

FORMULAE & FUNCTIONS Creating Formulae Formulae allow you to perform calculations addition, subtraction, multiplication and division - using values from any cell/s in a spreadsheet. You build formulae using the arithmetic operators: The plus sign (+).

The slash (/) for division.

The minus sign (-).

The asterisk (*) for multiplication.

There are some basic rules associated with formulae: A formula always begins with an equal (=) sign.

Cells are referenced in a formula by their column-row identifier, i.e. A1, B2 etc.

You do not have to enter capital letters in your formula; MS Excel will automatically capitalize them for you.

The symbols for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are: + - * / A formula cannot contain spaces.

Always press ENTER key to confirm your formula. The answer to the formula displays in the cell into which the formula is entered.

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Addition Consider the following sheet:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

A Income Total Sales Expenses Cost of Goods Sold Advertising Rent Total Expenses

B

C

D 4000

5000

1500 300 450

1800 350 650

Profit or Loss Average Expenses Tax Rate @8%

1. Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C8 2. Enter the formula: =C5+C6+C7 3. Press ENTER key.

Note that: The answer will be displayed in the cell where you entered the formula.

You can still see the formula in the formula bar.

The answer can also be worked out by typing =1500+300+450 in cell C8, however, if one of the values in cell C5, C6 or C7 change, you will also need to change the number in cell C8 otherwise the answer will be wrong. Instead of numbers we use cell references in cell C8 so that the answer will be automatically updated when values change.

Subtraction 1. Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C10 2. Enter the formula: =C2-C8 3. Press ENTER key.

Multiplication 1. Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C14 2. Enter the formula: =C10*8% 3. Press ENTER key.

Division 1. Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C12 2. Enter the formula: =C8/3 3. Press ENTER key.

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Formula Error Messages MS Excel displays error messages when your formula/function cannot do the calculation. The following are some standard error messages associated with formulae: Error

Explanation

#####

The cell contains a number or calculation result that is too wide for the cell to display. Adjust the column width to accommodate the result.

#VALUE!

The formula contains text (or a cell reference that points to a cell containing text) instead of a number. Edit the formula or cell to sort this problem.

#REF!

Probably the formula contains a cell reference that points to an invalid cell (the cell could have been deleted).

#NAME?

MS Excel does not recognise text contained within a formula.

#DIV/0

The formula divides a number by zero or by a cell reference that points to a cell containing a zero. The same message is displayed if you divide a number by a cell reference that points to an empty cell.

Relative & Absolute Cell Referencing Consider the example displayed on the next page, you can use the AutoFill feature to copy formulae from one cell to another.

1.

2.

3.

Click in the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C8.

Type the formula =C5+C6+C7 to calculate the total expenses.

Use AutoFill to replicate the function on cells D8.

Note that: Cell D8 displays the answer. If you click this cell, the formula bar displays the formula used to calculate the answer.

However you need to use the AutoFill with caution when replicating formulas and functions. If you calculate the tax rate in cell C14 and then drag the formula to D14, E14 and F14 you will get strange answers. Click in the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. in C14 and type the formula =C10*B14 to calculate the tax rate on the Profit. Now drag the formula using the AutoFill handle to cell D14. The first answer will be correct (140) but the second one is definitely incorrect (308000). What happened?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

68

A Income Total Sales Expenses Cost of Goods Sold Advertising Rent Total Expenses

B

C

D 4000

5000

1500 300 450

1800 350 650

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Profit or Loss Average Expenses Tax Rate

8%

When you dragged the formula =C10*B14 to cell D14, the computer created the formula =D10*C14. MS Excel adjusted the formula according to its new position - this is called relative referencing.

However, in your example you expected MS Excel to continue to refer to the same tax rate. Therefore you have to modify the formula to continue referring to a specific cell called absolute referencing.

Absolute cell references allow you to continue to refer to a cell, no matter where you copy a formula. You create an absolute cell reference by entering dollar signs ($) before each part of a cell reference of a formula you want to copy. The above tax rate formula will be modified to =C10*$B$14.

Therefore: A relative cell reference is a reference to a cell in the format A1. MS Excel changes a relative cell reference when you copy a formula or function containing such a reference.

An absolute cell reference is a reference to a cell in the format $A$1. MS Excel does not adjust an absolute cell reference when you copy a calculation containing such a reference.

Arithmetic Functions Functions, like formulae, allow you to perform calculations using values from any cell/s in a spreadsheet. You will use the following common functions: sum( )

average( )

count( )

min( )

max( )

round( )

There are some basic rules associated with functions: Functions always begins with an equal (=) sign.

Cells are referenced in a function by their column-row identifier, i.e. A1, B2 etc.

You do not have to enter capital letters in your function; MS Excel will automatically capitalize them for you.

Function cannot contain spaces.

Always press ENTER key to confirm your function. The answer to the function displays in the cell into which the function is entered.

Sum Function Consider the following sheet: A

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C

D

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Income Total Sales Expenses Cost of Goods Sold Advertising Rent Total Expenses

4000

5000

1500 300 450

1800 350 650

Minimum Expense Maximum Expense Average Expenses

1. Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C8 2. Enter the function: =sum(C5:C7) 3. Press ENTER key.

Note that: The answer will be displayed in the cell where you entered the function.

You can still see the function in the formula bar.

Using the sum function facilitates the addition of a range of cells. The function in the above example tells the computer to add the contents of cells C5 to C7.

You can use the AutoSum function to add the contents of a range of cells: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C8 Click the Home tab.

In the Editing group, click AutoSum. Click Sum. Highlight the cells to add their values by dragging the mouse.

Press ENTER key.

Minimum Function The Minimum function returns the smallest value in a range of cells.

1.

2.

3.

Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C10 Enter the function: =min(C5:C7) Press ENTER key.

Maximum Function The Maximum function returns the largest value in a range of cells.

1.

2.

3.

Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C11 Enter the function: =max(C5:C7) Press ENTER key.

Average Function The Average function returns the average (arithmetic mean) of a range of cells.

1.

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Click the cell where the answer will be placed e.g. C12

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Enter the function =average(C5:C7) Press ENTER key.

Count Function Sometimes you may wish to count values or worksheet elements (text, blank cells, specific number or text, etc.) in a spreadhseet. A "counting" function will return the number of cells in a range that meet certain criteria.

The COUNT function works out how many cells in a given range contain numbers (including dates and formulae with numerical answers). It ignores blank cells and cells containing text, logical or error values. =COUNT(value1,value2,

)

where value1, value2,... are 1 to 30 arguments that can contain or refer to a variety of different types of data, but only numbers are counted.

Consider the following example: Formula

Description (Result)

=COUNT(A2:A8)

Counts the number of cells that contain numbers in the list (3).

=COUNT(A5:A8)

Counts the number of cells that contain numbers in the last 4 rows of the list (2).

=COUNT(A2:A8,2)

Counts the number of cells that contain numbers in the list, and the value 2 (4)

Counta Function The COUNTA function counts the number of cells that contain any type of value numbers, text, error text etc. It does not include empty cells. =COUNTA(value1,value2,

)

where value1, value2,... are 1 to 30 arguments representing the values you want to count.

Consider the following example.

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Formula

Description (Result)

=COUNTA(A2:A8)

Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list (6).

=COUNTA(A5:A8)

Counts the number of nonblank cells in the last 4 rows of the list (4).

=COUNTA(A1:A7,2)

Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list above and the value 2 (7).

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=COUNTA(A1:A7,"Two")

Counts the number of nonblank cells in the list above and the value "Two" (7).

Round Function The ROUND function rounds a number to a specified number of digits. =ROUND(number,num_digits)

where

number is the number you want to round.

Num_digits specifies the number of digits to which you want to round

number.

Note that:

If num_digits is greater than 0 (zero), then number is rounded to the specified number of decimal places.

If num_digits is 0, then number is rounded to the nearest integer.

If num_digits is less than 0, then number is rounded to the left of the decimal point.

Formula

Description (Result)

=ROUND(2.15, 1)

Rounds 2.15 to one decimal place (2.2)

=ROUND(2.149, 1)

Rounds 2.149 to one decimal place (2.1)

=ROUND(-1.475, 2)

Rounds -1.475 to two decimal places (-1.48)

=ROUND(21.5, -1)

Rounds 21.5 to one decimal place to the left of the decimal point (20)

Using the Logical Function IF The logical function IF (also known as the IF statement) tells MS Excel what to place in a cell (text, number or calculation) if certain defined parameters are either met or not met.

Consider the following values A=5 and B=6. The results of the following logical tests are: Operators

Symbol

Values for Evaluation

Result

=

A=B

FALSE

Not equal to

<>

A<>B

TRUE

Greater than

>

B>A

TRUE

Equal to

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Less than

Form 4

<

B<A

FALSE

Greater than or equal to

>=

B>=A

TRUE

Less than or equal to

<=

B<=A

FALSE

The IF( ) function decides the contents of a cell on a spreadsheet based on whether a test condition is TRUE or FALSE. It returns a value if a one condition is TRUE, and another value or result if the condition is FALSE. The IF( ) function is written as: IF(logical_test, value_if_true, value_if_false) where:

logical_test is any value or expression that can be evaluated to TRUE or FALSE. value_if_true is the value returned if the logical test is TRUE. value_if_false is the value returned if the logical test is FALSE.

Example 1: A 1 2 3 4

B Amount 4 0 10

Part No. 542013B 190802A 121271C

C Available Yes No Yes

The spreadsheet uses the IF() function to display a message in column C depending on the Amount for each part which is recorded in column B. If the Amount is 0 column C displays No otherwise it displays Yes .

The The The The

formula in C2 is written as follows: =IF(B2=0, No , Yes ) logical_test is B2=0 value_if_true is No value_if_false is Yes

Example 2: A 1 2 3 4

B Amount 4 0 10

Part No. 542013B 190802A 121271C

C Ordered On order On order No

The spreadsheet uses the IF() function to display a message in column C depending on the Amount for each part which is recorded in column B. If the Amount is less than 5, column C displays On order otherwise it displays No .

The The The The

formula in C2 is written as follows: =IF(B2<5, On order , No ) logical_test is B2<5 value_if_true is On order value_if_false is No

Example 3: A

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1 2 3 4

Student Borg Jan Callus Mario Portelli Carlo

Average Mark 55 44 78

Pass/Fail Pass Fail Pass

The spreadsheet uses the IF() function to display a message in column C depending on the Average Mark obtained by a student. If the Average Mark is equal to or greater than 45, column C displays Pass otherwise it displays Fail .

The The The The

formula in C2 is written as follows: =IF(B2>=45, Pass , Fail ) logical_test is B2>=45 value_if_true is Pass value_if_false is Fail

Example 4: 1 2 3

A Staff Bartolo Carol Felice Philip

4

Zammit Lourdes

B Sales 500 255

C Commission @ 2% 10 5.1

210

0

The spreadsheet uses the IF() function to display a message in column C depending on the Sales made by each staff. If the Sales is equal to or greater than 250, column C displays a 2% commission of the sales otherwise it displays 0 .

The The The The

formula in C2 is written as follows: =IF(B2>=250, B2*2%, 0) logical_test is B2>=250 value_if_true is the answer returned by B2*2% value_if_false is 0

Creating & Selecting Charts A chart/graph is a graphical representation of the numeric data in a worksheet. Each cell (or piece of data) represented in the chart is called a data point. Data points are represented on the chart by bars, columns, lines, or some other graphical device. A group of related data points is called a data series.

Name

74

English

Maltese

Maths

Anthony

55

80

74

Maria

63

43

84

Philip

62

57

65

Rita

43

7

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Typically, values are plotted along the vertical plane (y-axis) and categories are plotted along the horizontal plane (x-axis). Labels that run horizontally under the various data series and display the categories represented are x-axis labels. Labels running vertically and listing the value increments are the y-axis labels.

To create a chart: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Highlight the data to be included in the graph.

Click the Insert tab.

In the Chart group, click the type of chart to use e.g. Column, Line, Pie, Bar etc.

Click the sub-type of chart to use.

To select a chart:

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Click anywhere in the chart. This displays the Chart Tools, adding the Design, Layout, and Format tabs.

Changing the Chart Type You can change the type of chart in a slide: 1.

2.

3.

Click the chart in the slide.

Click the Design tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Type group, click Change Chart Type. The Change Chart Type dialog box is displayed.

4.

5.

6.

Select the type of chart to use e.g. Pie. Click the chart sub-type.

Click OK button.

Moving, Resizing & Deleting a Chart To move a chart in a new worksheet: 1.

2.

3.

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Select the chart to move.

Click the Design tab below Chart Tools.

Click Move Chart. The Move Chart dialog box.

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5.

6.

Form 4

Click New sheet: option.

Enter a title for the sheet in the text box provided.

Click OK button.

To move a chart to a different sheet or workbook: 1.

2.

Click the Home tab.

Click anywhere in the chart to move.

3.

4.

5.

Click Cut (to move).

Click in the sheet or workbook where the chart will be copied.

Click Paste.

To resize a chart: 1.

2.

3.

Click anywhere inside the chart.

Position the pointer on one of the corner handles. The pointer changes to a double-headed arrow.

Drag the mouse to resize the chart.

To delete a chart: 1.

2.

Click anywhere inside the chart.

Press DELETE key.

Adding, Editing & Removing Chart Titles To add a chart title: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Click the chart to add a title to.

Click the Layout tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Labels group, click Chart Title.

Click Above Chart. A placeholder with the text Chart Title is displayed.

Click in the placeholder.

Edit the text in the title placeholder.

To edit a chart title: 1.

2.

Click the chart title placeholder.

Edit the text in the title placeholder.

To delete a chart title:

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1.

2.

Click the chart title placeholder.

Press DELETE key.

Adding Data Labels You can add two kinds of labels to a chart: Value Labels these indicate the numerical values of the individual data points.

Text Labels these display the names of the data points. By default, Excel already displays these names on an axis.

To add data labels to a chart: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click the chart to add labels to.

Click the Layout tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Labels group, click Data Labels.

Click the appropriate option.

Changing Chart Colours You can modify the colours of the chart area, plot area and data series: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Click the chart.

Click the Format tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Current Selection group, click the drop down arrow and choose Chart Area, Plot Area, Legend or any data series.

In the Shape Styles group, click Shape Fill.

Select a standard colour or choose More Fill Colours The Colors dialog box is displayed.

Select a colour.

Click OK button.

Changing the Font Size & Colour of Chart Text You can modify the font size and colour of chart title, chart axes and chart legend text: 1.

2.

3.

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Click the chart.

Click the Format tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Current Selection group, click the drop down arrow and choose Chart Title, Horizontal (Category) Axis or Vertical (Value) Axis.

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Click the Home tab.

In the Font group: Click the drop-down arrow of the Font Size box.

Select the appropriate size.

In the Font group, click Font Colour drop-down arrow.

Choose the colour to apply OR click More Colours The Colours dialog box is displayed. Click the colour to apply. Click OK button.

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PREPARE OUTPUTS Setting the Worksheet Margins To change the margins of a worksheet: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click the Page Layout tab.

In the Page Setup group, click Margins.

Click the appropriate option or Custom Margins The Page Setup dialog box is displayed.

In the Margins tab, enter the appropriate measurements in the Top: Bottom: Left: and Right: fields.

Click OK button.

Setting the Worksheet Orientation & Paper Size To change the orientation of the worksheet to portrait or landscape: 1.

2.

3.

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Click the Page Layout tab.

In the Page Setup group, click Orientation.

Click Portrait or Landscape.

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To change the paper size: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click the Page Layout tab.

In the Page Setup group, click Size.

Click the appropriate option or More Paper Sizes The Page Setup dialog box is displayed.

In the Page tab, select the appropriate option from the Paper size: drop down list e.g. A4.

Click OK button.

Adjusting Page Setup to Fit Worksheet Contents You can also adjust the page setup such that worksheet contents fit on a single page or on a specific number of pages: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Click the Page Layout tab.

In the Scale to Fit group: click the Page Setup Dialog Box Launcher. The Page Setup dialog box will be displayed.

In the Page tab, select Fit to: check box.

Type a number in the page(s) wide by box.

Type a number in the tall box.

Click OK button.

Note that: The Fit to: option reduces the worksheet or selection when you print so that it fits on the specified number of pages.

To fill the paper width and use as many pages as necessary, type 1 in the pages(s) wide by box and leave the tall box blank.

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Adding, Editing & Deleting Data in Headers & Footers To add headers and/or footers to a worksheet: 1.

Click the Insert tab.

2.

In the Text group, click Header & Footer. The screen will display a text placeholder in the Header section.

3.

Type the header text or insert a field (refer to next section).

4.

In the Navigation group, click Go to Footer.

5.

Type the footer text or insert a field (refer to next section).

6.

Click the View tab.

7.

Click Normal to return to the standard MS Excel view.

To edit headers and/or footers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

82

Click the View tab.

In the Workbook Views group, click Page Layout.

Edit the header and/or footer text.

Click the View tab.

Click Normal to return to the standard MS Excel view.

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To delete headers and/or footers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Click the View tab.

In the Workbook Views group, click Page Layout.

Highlight the header and/or footer text.

Press DELETE key.

Click the View tab.

Click Normal to return to the standard MS Excel view.

Inserting & Deleting Fields in Headers & Footers You can insert fields such as page numbering information, date, time file name and worksheet name into the headers and footers: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click the Insert tab.

In the Text group, click Header & Footer. The screen will display a text placeholder in the Header section.

In the Design tab, below Header & Footer Tools, click the appropriate field in the Header & Footer Elements group to insert fields in the header text placeholder.

In the Navigation group, click Go to Footer.

Click the appropriate field in the Header & Footer Elements group to insert fields in the footer text placeholder.

To delete data in headers or footers: 1.

2.

Repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Edit or delete the data displayed in the header or footer.

Turning On & Off Gridlines and Row & Column Headings To turn on or off the display of gridlines and the row & column headings for printing purposes: 1.

2.

Click the Page Layout tab.

In the Sheet Options group: Click Click Click Click

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View Print View Print

Gridlines to display/hide gridlines.

Gridlines.

Headings to display/hide headings.

Headings.

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Applying Automatic Title Rows Printing To set automatic titles to print on every page of a printed worksheet: 1.

2.

3.

Click Page Layout tab.

In the Page Setup group, click Print Titles. The Page Setup dialog is displayed.

In the Sheet tab, under Print titles, select the Collapse button next to the Rows to repeat at top:

4.

Click the row to be printed on every page of the printed worksheet.

5.

6.

Click Expand button to display the Page Setup dialog box again.

Click OK button.

Previewing Worksheets By previewing the worksheet, you can see each page exactly as it will be printed, with the correct margins and page breaks, and the headers and footers in place.

To preview a worksheet: 1.

2.

Click File tab.

Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed. On the right side a preview of the worksheet is displayed.

3. Click the File tab to return to the Normal view.

Printing To print a selected cell range from a worksheet: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Highlight the cell range to print.

Click File tab.

Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed.

In the Settings section, click Print Selection.

Click Print button.

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To print an entire worksheet or entire spreadsheet: 1. Click File tab.

2. Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed.

3. In the Settings section: To print the entire worksheet, click Print Active Sheets.

To print the entire spreadsheet file, click Print Entire Workbook.

4. Click Print button.

To print a selected chart: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Select the chart to print.

Click File tab.

Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed.

In the Settings section, click Print Selected Chart.

5. Click Print button.

To print multiple copies of a worksheet: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab.

Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed.

Next to the Print button, set/type the number of copies in the Copies box.

4.

5.

Click Print button.

Click the File tab to return to the Print Layout view.

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Activity 4 You will use Module 4 practice files.

1.

In MS Excel, open graphs.xlsx located in the folder Module 4 Exercises.

2.

Create a chart showing the following data: X-data series Y-data series Chart Type Chart Title Category Value Place chart

Student English History 3-D Clustered Column Results Group A Max. 100 marks As new sheet: First Results

3.

Switch to Sheet1.

4.

Create a chart showing the following data: X-data series Y-data series Chart Type Format Chart Title Category Value Place chart

Student English Science Column Clustered Column.

English & Science Results Group A Max. 100 marks As object in: Sheet1

5.

Move the chart created in the previous step such that the top left corner is in cell A13 below the data.

6.

Resize the chart such that the bottom right corner of the chart will be in cell G33.

7.

Delete the chart. Undo the previous command.

8.

Save and close graphs.xlsx. Close MS Excel.

Adding, Editing & Removing Chart Titles To add a chart title: 7.

8.

9.

10.

Click the chart to add a title to.

Click the Layout tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Labels group, click Chart Title.

Click Above Chart. A placeholder with the text Chart Title is displayed.

11. Click in the placeholder.

12. Edit the text in the title placeholder.

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To edit a chart title: 3.

4.

Click the chart title placeholder.

Edit the text in the title placeholder.

To delete a chart title: 3.

4.

Click the chart title placeholder.

Press DELETE key.

Adding Data Labels You can add two kinds of labels to a chart: Value Labels these indicate the numerical values of the individual data points.

Text Labels these display the names of the data points. By default, Excel already displays these names on an axis.

To add data labels to a chart: 5.

6.

7.

8.

Click the chart to add labels to.

Click the Layout tab, under Chart Tools.

In the Labels group, click Data Labels.

Click the appropriate option.

Changing Chart Colours You can modify the colours of the chart area, plot area and data series: 8. Click the chart.

9. Click the Format tab, under Chart Tools.

10. In the Current Selection group, click the drop down arrow and choose Chart Area, Plot Area, Legend or any data series.

11. In the Shape Styles group, click Shape Fill.

12. Select a standard colour or choose More Fill Colours The Colors dialog box is displayed.

13. Select a colour.

14. Click OK button.

Printing a Selected Chart To print a selected chart: 6. Select the chart to print.

7. Click File tab.

8. Click Print. The Backstage view is displayed.

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9. In the Settings section, click Print Selected Chart.

10. Click Print button.

Activity 5 You will use Module 4 practice files.

88

1.

In MS Excel, open graphs.xlsx located in the folder Module 4 Exercises.

2.

In the First Results sheet, edit the chart title Results to English & History Results

3.

Edit the Value axis title from Max. 100 marks to 100 marks.

4.

Modify the chart such that all columns display value labels.

5.

Apply a light yellow colour to the chart area.

6.

Apply a white colour to the plot area.

7.

Apply a green colour to the red coloured columns.

8.

Save and close graphs.xlsx. Close MS Excel.

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Module 7 Internet & Emails USING THE BROWSER Opening & Closing the Web Browser As indicated earlier the Web browser is a program used to locate and display Web pages. The three most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. The Web browser used during this course is MS Internet Explorer 9.

To start MS Internet Explorer: 1.

2.

3.

Click Start button.

Click All Programs.

Click Internet Explorer. The following screen will be displayed:

Note that: You may also open MS Internet Explorer by clicking Internet Explorer icon in the Windows task bar.

When you start MS Internet Explorer, this will display a specific Web page.

The first page displayed when you start up your browser is called the home page.

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To close the web browser, click Close button.

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Entering URLs To enter a URL: 1.

Type the URL in the address field e.g. http://www.google.com.mt

2.

Press ENTER key.

Displaying Web Pages Web pages may contain text, images and icons, referred to as hyperlinks that may link to other: parts of the same Web page.

Web pages within the same website.

Websites.

Text that links to other areas in the same Web page or different Web pages is usually underlined or/and coloured differently from the other text in the page.

You can open a hyperlink and display the Web page in a new browser window: To display a Web page in a new separate browser window: 1.

2.

3.

Position the pointer on a hyperlink.

Right-click the mouse. This will display a popup menu.

Click Open in new window.

Note that: You can also open a hyperlink and display the Web page in a new browser window by pressing SHIFT key whilst clicking on the link.

Your screen will display two browser windows, one containing the first Web page and the second containing the second Web page.

Typically you can switch between different browser windows by clicking the appropriate browser window button on the task bar.

To display a Web page in a new tab: 1.

2.

Repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Click Open in new tab.

Note that: Your screen will display one browser window with two web pages in separate tab panes. Tabs enable you to switch between web pages within the same

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browser window. There are some features associated with tab browsing such as bookmarking all web pages

Tab panes

Stopping Web Pages from Downloading The downloading of some Web pages from Web servers to your computer may take considerable time. There may be several reasons for this: 1.

Web pages that are heavy loaded with images, sounds and movies are larger in terms of memory compared to text based Web pages. Accordingly these pages take considerable time to transmit from Web servers to your computer.

2.

The Web server may be slow.

3.

The modem and link to the Web server may be slow.

You can stop a transfer whenever the loading process takes longer than expected by clicking the Stop button in the web page address

Refreshing Web Pages Sometimes the content of a Web page (news page) may be updated during your online session. Your browser downloads the page once but it will not automatically reload the page when this has been changed. The refresh facility forces the browser to download the latest version of the page.

To reload a Web page, click Refresh button.

Using Help To use the available Help functions in Internet Explorer: 1.

2.

3.

4.

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Press F1 key. The Windows Help and Support window will be displayed.

In the Search Help field, type in the keyword to find e.g. cookies.

Click the topic to display. Help text will.

Close the help window.

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Setting the Browser Home Page Your home page is displayed each time you start Internet Explorer or when you click Home button.

You can set the browser s home page as follows: 1.

2.

Navigate to the webpage you want to set as the home page.

Click the Tools button.

3.

4.

Click Internet options. The Internet Options dialog box is displayed.

In the General tab, do one of the following: To set the current webpage as the home page, click Use current.

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To reset the home page, click Use default.

To set a blank home page, click Use blank.

5.

Click OK.

Deleting the Browsing History MS Internet Explorer automatically saves previously visited Web pages in a list known as the history list. The history list contains shortcuts to pages you viewed during browsing sessions. The list allows you to quickly return to the pages you have recently visited.

To access the history list and display previously visited Web pages: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

94

Click Favourites button. The Favourites pane appears along the left side of the browser window.

Click the History tab. This contains links to Web sites and pages visited in the previous days and weeks.

Click a week or day.

Click a website folder to display individual pages.

Click the Web page icon to display page.

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To delete specific websites from the history list: 1.

2.

3.

Repeat steps 1-3 as above.

Right-click the website folder to delete.

Click Delete.

To delete all browsing history: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Tools button.

Point to Safety.

Click Delete Browsing History displayed.

Tick the History check box.

Click Delete button.

The Delete Browsing History dialog box is

Note that: Deleting your browsing history does not delete your list of favourites or subscribed feeds.

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Allowing & Blocking Pop-ups A pop-up is a small web browser window that appears on top of the website you are viewing. Pop-up windows often open as soon as you visit a website and are usually created by advertisers.

MS Internet Explorer has a Pop-up Blocker feature that lets you limit or block most pop-ups. You can choose the level of blocking you prefer, from blocking all pop-up windows to allowing the pop-ups that you want to see. When Pop-up Blocker is turned on, the Information bar displays a message saying "Pop-up blocked. To see this popup or additional options click here."

By default, the Pop-up Blocker is turned on in MS Internet Explorer. To turn the popup blocker off: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Click the Tools button.

Click Internet options. The Internet options dialog box is displayed.

Click the Privacy tab.

In the Pop-up Blocker section, untick the Turn on Pop-up Blocker.

Click OK button.

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Note that: To turn on the pop-up blocker again, repeat steps 1-3 as above and tick Turn on Pop-up Blocker and click OK button.

Allowing & Blocking Cookies Cookies are text files that save information regarding particular websites. They may save information, shopping cart contents, or user preferences.

When a Web browser requests a Web page from a Web server, the latter can store a piece of text on the user s computer. The text is sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from that server.

The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customised Web pages for them. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages.

So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.

Many websites require that you enable cookies in order for the website to be properly viewed. To enable cookies: 1.

2.

3.

Click Tools button.

Click Internet Options. The Internet Options dialog box.

Click the Privacy tab.

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4.

Set the slider to Medium. This should be enough to enable cookies.

If you want to enable cookies for a particular site, click Sites button. In Address of website: field type the URL. Click Allow button to enable cookies for that site.

5.

6.

Click OK button to close the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box.

Click OK button to close the Internet Options dialog box.

To block cookies for a site: 1.

2.

3.

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Repeat steps 1-4 as above.

If you want to block cookies for a particular site, click Sites button. In Address of website: field type the URL. Click Block button.

Repeat steps 5-6 as above.

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Deleting Temporary Internet Files Cache is a special folder on the hard disk that stores Web pages accessed by your browser. The first time visit a Web page, your browser retrieves all content (text, images, audio etc.) and a copy of these will be stored on the hard disk. The next time you visit the same Web page, your browser checks if the last modified dates of the files on the Internet are newer than the ones stored or cached. If the dates are the same, your browser uses the files on your hard disk instead of downloading these again from the Web server. Thus the cache speeds up browsing of Web pages. The files stored in the cache are known as temporary Internet files.

The temporary Internet files are never deleted unless the cache is full. To delete these: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Tools button.

Point to Safety.

Click Delete Browsing History The Delete Browsing History dialog box is displayed.

Tick the Temporary Internet files check box.

Click Delete button.

Displaying & Hiding Toolbars By default Internet Explorer does not display toolbars. To display or hide built-in toolbars: 1.

2.

Right-click anywhere in the tab bar. A short-cut menu will be displayed.

Click the toolbar to display/hide.

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Activating Hyperlinks As indicated earlier on, links or hyperlinks are words or pictures in a Web page that can connect to another Web page. Links are usually underlined or in a different colour than the regular text in the Web page. Another way to find out if a piece of text or picture is a link, by placing the cursor over it. If it is a link, the cursor will change to a pointing hand.

To navigate a website: 1.

2.

Position the mouse pointer over the hyperlink. The pointer will change into a pointing hand. Also the URL location of the link appears in the status message area at the bottom-left of the window.

Click once on the highlighted text, image, or icon. This transfers page content from a server location to your computer.

Note that: Sometimes the page specified by a link may not be available. Such links are often referred to as dead links. The error window shown on the following page will be displayed.

By default, links you have previously visited (referred to as followed links) are shown in a different colour compared to links (or unfollowed links) that you have not visited.

Navigating Backwards & Forwards You can navigate backwards and forwards between previously visited web pages:

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1.

Click Back button or ALT+ the history list.

keys to display the previous page in

2.

Click Forward button ALT+ keys to display the next page in the history list.

This button is available only after you have used Back button or a history menu item.

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Navigating to the Home Page You can navigate to the home page of MS Internet Explorer by clicking the Home button.

Note that: Alternatively you can press ALT+M keys to display the browser s home page.

Displaying Previously Visited URLs MS Internet Explorer offers several facilities to re-display previously visited Web pages.

To display previously visited URLs using the address bar: 1.

Click the drop down arrow to the right of the address bar. A list of previously visited URLs will be displayed.

2.

Click the address of the Web page you wish to visit.

MS Internet Explorer automatically saves previously visited Web pages in a list known as the history list. The history list contains shortcuts to pages you viewed during browsing sessions. The list allows you to quickly return to the pages you have recently visited.

To access the history list and display previously visited Web pages: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click Favourites button. The Favourites pane appears along the left side of the browser window.

Click the History tab. This contains links to Web sites and pages visited in the previous days and weeks.

Click a week or day.

Click a website folder to display individual pages.

Click the Web page icon to display page.

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Adding & Deleting Bookmarks The Bookmarks, referred to as favourites in MS Internet Explorer enable you to store the URLs of Web pages that you frequently visit. It is a list of URLs of frequently visited Web pages. Through the favourites list you can return to a Web page without having to remember and retype its URL. Once you add a URL to the favourite list, the item stays until you remove it or edit the list.

To add a URL to your list of favourite Web pages: 1.

2.

3.

Go to the page that you want to add to your favourites list.

Click Favourites button. A short-cut menu is displayed.

Click Add to favourites button.

The Add a Favourite dialog box is displayed. You can replace the default name of the Web page in the Name: field.

4.

Click Add button.

Note that: The title of the currently displayed Web page will be added to the Favourites list. The Favourites menu grows as you add Web pages.

To delete a bookmark: 1.

2.

3.

Click Favourites button. The Favourites tab in the pane displaying the list of bookmarked Web pages appears.

Right-click the web page to delete from the Favourites list.

Click Delete in the shortcut menu.

Displaying Bookmarked Web Pages To display a bookmarked web page: 1.

2.

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Click Favourites button. The Favourites tab in the pane displaying the list of bookmarked Web pages appears.

Click the page to open. The browser will display the selected Web page.

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Creating & Deleting Bookmark Folders As your list of favourite pages grows, you can organise them by moving them into folders. To create a folder in the favourites list: 1.

2.

Click Favourites button.

Click Add to favourites arrow. A drop-down menu is displayed.

3.

Click Organise favourites . The Organize Favourites dialog box is displayed.

Click New Folder button. A new folder icon is displayed in the list.

Type a name for your folder e.g. ECDL Links.

Press Enter key.

Click Close button.

4.

5.

6.

7.

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To delete a folder in the Favourites list: 1.

2.

3.

Repeat steps 1-3 as above.

Select the name of the folder to delete.

Click Delete button. The Delete Folder dialog box is displayed.

4.

Click Yes button to confirm.

Adding Web Pages to Bookmark Folders To add a Web page to a particular folder in the Favourites list: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Go to the Web page that you want to add to your Favourites list.

Click Favourites button.

Click Add to favourites arrow. A drop-down menu is displayed.

In the drop-down menu, click Add to favourites again. The Add a Favourite dialog box is displayed.

5.

Click the drop-down arrow in the Create in: field. This will display the available Favourite folders.

Click the folder where the web page will be added.

Click Add button.

6.

7.

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USING THE WEB Completing Web-based Forms In recent years Web pages have become highly interactive. Nowadays, Web pages do not only display information. Users are purchasing goods and services through the Web. Users are applying for courses through the Web etc.

Web-based forms are one way how users may interact with the Web. Online forms are the equivalent of printed forms. They are so convenient because users can complete and submit these forms quickly.

Web based forms may contain: Text fields - These are blank boxes where you type in textual information.

Menu fields - These provide you with a choice to make in the form of a menu that appears when you click on it.

Check boxes - These are used when you have a choice to make. You can choose as many check boxes as you want.

Radio buttons These are also used when you have a choice to make. Unlike check boxes, you can only choose the one you want. They are circular.

Submit or Reset buttons - These allow you to clear your form (reset) or to submit your form. What happens to the data after you submit depends on how the Web page has been set up.

Text Field

Menu field

Check Boxes

Button

To submit a web-based form: 1.

2.

Complete the web-based form.

Click the Submit button.

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To reset a web-based form, click the Reset button.

Selecting a Search Engine As indicated earlier, a search engine is a program that locates Web sites via searches for keywords and phrases. You can use different search engines e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo, Chrome etc.

To select a specific search engine: 1.

2.

Type a word or phrase in the Address bar.

Click the arrow in the address bar.

3. Select a search provider icon at the bottom of the expanded Address bar e.g.

Google.

4. Press Enter key.

Searching for Information It is possible to look for information using the search facility available on the search engine site. If you know exactly what you are looking for, type the word or phrase that best describes the subject, click on search button, and wait for the search engine to come up with the results.

In some cases the search engine would list thousands of web pages related to the subject you are searching for. This would make it next to impossible to go through all the Web pages on the list. The following hints might help you select the appropriate information from Internet: Read the hints and help for each search engine - these will explain how the search tool works, and which commands can be used to attain more accurate results.

Use specific words instead of general ones for example, searching for constructivist education will have more specific results than a search for education .

Use quotes around words that are part of a phrase - if you want the words to be found in a specific order, it is important to enclose them in inverted commas. Thus, if you want to find documents about Jean Piaget, type in Jean Piaget . The former will produce a never-ending list of Web pages having either Jean or Piaget or both.

Use the + (plus) for words that the search must contain if you are looking for Italian cars, you should search for +Italian+cars, which, means that the documents retrieved will all have both the word Italian and the word cars in them.

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Use the - (minus) for words that the search must not contain if you are looking for information about cars but these must not be Italian cars, you should search for +cars-Italian. The results of this search would include a list of documents about cars with no mention of Italian cars.

Use Boolean operators AND, OR, AND NOT These operators must appear in capital letters and with a space on each side. o

AND documents found must contain all words joined by this operator, for example italian AND cars would list all Web pages about Italian cars.

o

OR documents found must contain at least one of the words joined by OR, for example butterfly OR caterpillar would list all Web pages containing either butterfly or caterpillar.

o AND NOT

documents found cannot contain the word that follows AND NOT, for example English language AND NOT England would display of all Web pages containing English language and not England.

To search for specific information: 1.

2.

3.

In the Search field: type the keywords.

Press ENTER key. The search engine will locate occurrences of the text in its database of Web pages.

Examine the search results. These are usually presented as a list of links to pages containing the text you requested. Click any link to display a Web page.

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Searching Web Based Encyclopaedias & Dictionaries You can access many encyclopaedias e.g. Wikipedia and dictionaries e.g.

Dictionary.com on Internet. The screens of encyclopaedias and dictionaries vary however all of them will have a search field where you can type keywords to search.

To use Wikipedia: 1.

2.

3.

In the address bar type www.wikipedia.org.

In the search field type the keyword e.g. ecdl.

Click search button.

To use Dictionary.com: 1.

2.

3.

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In the address bar type www.dictionary.com.

In the search field type the keyword e.g. flood.

Click search button.

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ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION Electronic Mail Electronic mail or email is a way of sending electronic messages through the systems and networks that make up the Internet. Email is the most frequently used application on the Internet. This is because email has many advantages over other means of communication: Email is very fast compared to normal the postal service. An email gets to any destination in a few minutes.

Email is cheaper compared to the normal postal service. It only requires an Internet connection. There is no need for envelopes and stamps.

To send and receive email you will need an Internet connection and an email address.

You may also need an email client (or program) with specific email addresses.

You can obtain an email address from any of the following sources: Typically the ISP which provides you with an Internet connection will also provide you with an email address.

Your school will provide you with an email address. It is important that you use such email for schoolwork. Such emails should not be used for personal communication or to forward jokes.

You can get a free email address from some Web sites e.g. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail etc. Email addresses derived from the Web are known as Web-based email accounts. Web-based accounts enable you to read and send email through a Web page i.e. from any location. You will not need to configure an email program on the Internet connected computer. However, most ISPs and organizations do offer facilities to check their email addresses through the Web.

Structure of an Email Address Email addresses have a standard format made up of two parts separated by the @ symbol: 1.

The UserID or Username is a unique identification of a person on a particular server.

2.

The Host name or Domain name is the location at which the mail is sent. This refers to the mail server i.e. the computer where the recipient has a mailbox.

Username

john.borg@skola.gov.mt

How does Email work?

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Every user with an email address has a mailbox that stores all incoming and outgoing mail. The mailbox is located on the mail server computer at the ISP. This mail server computer is connected to Internet 24 hours a day. So, your incoming mail is delivered to your mailbox even while you have your computer switched off. Therefore, you need to check your mailbox to read your mail. You will need a mail program such as MS Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird to read and send mail (unless you will be checking email on the Web).

Therefore, you type a message on your computer using a mail client. You send the message when you connect to Internet. The email will be delivered to the electronic mailbox of the recipient (the person who receives your email) on a mail server computer. The recipient can check his or her mailbox and can download the electronic messages from the mail server to his/her computer. The recipient of your message can respond to you, forward the message to someone else, file the message in the computer, or just delete the message.

It is important to understand that the recipients of your mail do not have to be present at their computer when you send mail to them. Your message travels to the destination mailbox quickly. But the person at the other end still has to check the mailbox to read your message.

Short Message Service (SMS) Short Message Service (SMS) allows for short text messages to be sent from one cell phone to another cell phone or from the Web to another cell phone. SMS is also referred to as texting, sending text messages or text messaging. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is an Internet service that enables you to communicate using voice with another person/s. The communication is real time. It is a telephone conversation over Internet. Sometimes this is referred to as Internet telephony or IP telephony. Many home users communicate with their friends and relatives through Internet telephony using a VoIP program, a microphone and speakers/headphones. There are no additional charges for these voice calls because these happen over the same Internet service used for Web browsing and e-mail.

Instant Messaging (IM) Instant Messaging (IM) is an Internet service that enables you to communicate using text with another person/s using an instant messaging program. The communication is real time similar to a telephone conversation but using text instead of voice. A program known as instant messenger is used for text or chat communication. Typically, the instant messaging system alerts you whenever somebody on your private list is online. You can then initiate a chat session with that particular individual. You can also use an instant messaging program to send files such as documents and pictures.

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Nowadays, programs such as Windows MSN (Messenger) and Skype are used as instant messengers and VoIP. Some users make use of web cam during IM or VoIP communications.

Online Communities An online (virtual) community is a group of people that communicate with each other using Internet e.g. email, internet social network service or instant messages. They communicate for social, professional, educational or other purposes.

Many individuals use social networking websites such as Hi5 or Facebook to keep in touch with their friends and seek old friends. They set up an online profile, describing their interests, and add links to other profiles. Generally, users are able to post personal information, including photographs, videos etc. Some people join special interest groups on social networking sites.

An Internet forum is also called a message board, discussion group, bulletin board or web forum. An Internet forum usually allows all members to make posts and start new topics.

Before a prospective member joins an Internet forum and makes posts to others, s/he is usually required to register. The prospective member must usually agree to follow certain online rules, sometimes called netiquette. When a member is approved by the administrator or moderator of the Internet forum, the member usually chooses his or her own user name and password. Sometimes, a password is supplied.

The separate conversations in an Internet forum are called threads. Threads are made up of member-written posts. Internet forum members can usually edit their own posts, start new topics, post in their choice of threads and edit their profile. A profile usually lists optional information about each forum member such as the city they are located in and their interests.

An Internet forum administrator or monitor may also participate in the forum. A forum administrator can usually modify threads as well as move or delete threads if necessary. Administrators can also usually change software items in an Internet forum. Moderators often help the administrator and moderate Internet forum members to make sure the forum rules are being followed.

Chat rooms are virtual spaces on Internet where individuals discuss topics in real time.

Within a chat room, there may be a moderator who monitors the content of the conversation in order to prevent abuse.

Social networking, Internet forums and chat rooms provide ways to learn, talk and socialize, however some users abuse these systems. Children and teens must be aware that they can meet irresponsible users and adults who use chat rooms anonymously. Children must report all bullying and harassment they may receive through chat rooms. Children and teens must never give their personal contact details, pictures etc unknown users. They must never meet a person that they have met through a chat room or any other social networking. If they agree to meet a person, they must be accompanied by a parent or an adult family member. Parents

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need to be aware of who their children are talking to in chat rooms and social networking sites.

Online computer games refer to any type of game that someone can play through the Internet or over a computer network. Most of the time, online gaming refers to video games played over the Internet, where multiple players are in different locations across the world. Online gaming also refers to gambling over the Internet, through an online casino.

Online gaming is growing in popularity for a variety of reasons. Gamers can easily find opponents of a similar skill level when playing a game over the Internet. Players also can compete in multiplayer games, where many players play an ongoing game in a virtual world. Often times, participants can communicate with other gamers through text chat sessions during online gaming or, sometimes, players can actually speak to other players, using special audio hardware. Some online games charge a monthly fee for access to the video game software.

Parents are encouraged to supervise closely what their children are doing on the computer. Software can be installed on computers to monitor the sites visited by children and teenagers. Parents are encouraged to agree with children on the duration of time that their children spend on the computer.

Fraudulent & Unsolicited Email All email users must be able to distinguish between genuine, unsolicited and fraudulent messages.

From time to time you may receive messages with promotional material about a product or service. You may not be interested in such messages which are often referred to as unsolicited mail or spam mail.

Occasionally you may receive messages with information about fraudulent schemes such as pyramid selling or get rich quick schemes. It is important that you do not forward such emails and delete these from your mailbox.

You may also receive messages which appear to be sent from a reputable institution such as a bank, a mobile company, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) asking for personal information such as name, surname, address, username, password, and credit card details. This is known as phishing. It is important that you do not forward such emails and delete these from your mailbox.

Phishing Messages Phishing messages often direct you to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Reputable institutions/organisations never ask users to send their usernames, passwords, credit card details etc via email.

It is therefore important to disregard these messages. If you are in doubt, phone the institution/organisation and inform them that you received a phishing message.

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Computer Viruses & Emails Files attached to emails may contain viruses that may infect your computer system.

Receiving an email with an infected file attachment does not infect your computer. You need to open the file for your system to be infected.

It is important to treat all files attached to emails with caution. Use an updated antivirus program to scan these files before opening. Some file types particularly those carrying the extension .EXE, .COM, .PIF, .JS, .VBS, .SHS, .SCR, .DOT are potential viral infections. Double file extensions e.g. "readme.txt.vbs", should always be treated with suspicion. Just because an email appears to come from someone you trust, this does not mean the file is safe or that the supposed sender has anything to do with it.

Digital Signatures A digital signature (not to be confused with a digital certificate) is basically a way to ensure that an electronic document (email, spreadsheet, text file, etc.) is authentic.

Authentic means that you know who created the document and you know that it has not been altered in any way since that person created it.

Digital signatures rely on certain types of encryption to ensure authentication.

Encryption is the process of taking all the data that one computer is sending to another and encoding it into a form that only the other computer will be able to decode. Authentication is the process of verifying that information is coming from a trusted source. These two processes work hand in hand for digital signatures.

Netiquette As with other forms of communication media, there are widely observed conventions, often known as network etiquette or netiquette - associated with email communication. Netiquette is a set of guidelines intended to promote effective, efficient and responsible communication between all email users.

The following netiquette guidelines are derived from those in use at many locations on the Internet: Use short meaningful descriptions in the subject field of all your messages.

Messages without subject lines can confuse and frustrate the persons who receive these particularly if they receive a lot of mail.

Messages should be concise and to the point. Use short paragraphs with breaks in between. White space makes long text easier to read.

Be careful about the way you express yourself in a message, especially if you feel strongly about an issue. Never shoot off a quick response to some issue.

Once you press the send button there is no way you can retrieve the message back.

Never type your messages in all uppercase letters. Capitalizing whole words that are not titles is the equivalent of shouting. Asterisks are usually used to add *emphasis* to a word.

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Acronyms (e.g. ASAP as soon as possible) are often used in email messages. Avoid overuse of acronyms in your messages. Such messages can confuse and annoy readers that are not familiar with acronyms.

Ensure that your message is free of spelling and grammar errors before pressing the send button.

It is unethical to forward a message without asking permission of the person who wrote the message.

Do not make changes to someone else's message and pass it on without making it clear where you have made the changes.

Do not initiate or forward chain letters and other unwanted email, known as spam , to your friends.

Be careful with file attachments that you send along with your mail. Large files can completely fill the recipient s mailbox making it impossible for him/her to receive any more messages. Seek permission from your recipients before actually sending large mail (>5Mb). Compression utility programs can be used to reduce the sizes of your attached files.

Some networks blocked the transmission of emails with particular files e.g. executable files and MS Access files. You may be able to send such files if these are compressed using compression utility programs.

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USING EMAIL Opening & Closing MS Outlook As indicated earlier, an email client is a program used to send and receive email.

There are several email clients such as MS Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird. The email program that you will use is MS Outlook 2010.

To start MS Outlook: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click Start button.

Select All Programs.

Click Microsoft Office.

Click Microsoft Outlook 2010.

1 4 3 2

MS Outlook 2010 displays four vertical panes: Navigation Pane (1) has tools and information determined by the current selection. The Navigation Pane displays several tabs including Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes, Folder List, Journal, and Shortcuts.

Message Pane (2) - contains all emails in the folder currently selected.

Reading Pane (3) - displays the content of the email currently selected, its basic header information (sender, recipients and subject) and any file attachments.

Calendar Pane (4) - displays appointments, events and meetings.

To close MS Outlook, click Close button.

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To open an email i.e. to view a message: 1.

2.

In the Navigation pane click Inbox folder. The Message Pane will display the list of emails in the Inbox folder.

In the Message pane, click the email to open. The Reading pane will display the message.

Note that: To view a message in a separate window, double click the email in the Message pane.

To view messages that you have sent, click Sent Items folder in the Navigation pane.

To close an email: If you are viewing the email in a separate window, click the close button of the window. You will be returned to the previous MS Outlook screen.

A typical email message includes: Subject: a short meaningful description of the message Date: when mail was sent From: the sender s address To: the recipient s address Body of the message.

The From: and To: lines contain addresses that are similar to the addresses you put on a paper envelope. The electronic postmaster is much stricter about the format of the address. All the spelling and punctuation must be correct, or the message will be sent right back to you from the electronic mailbox.

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The Subject line is a convenient place to give a one-line description of your message.

This description helps the person receiving your email to decide what your mail is all about.

Creating New Email To create a new email: 1.

In the Home tab, click New E-mail button. The Untitled Message window will be displayed - here you will type the message to send.

2.

Type the email address of the person you want to send the message to in the To: field. If you want to send the same message to several people, press ENTER key after typing the first address and type another email address.

An address in an address list can have one of the following recipient types: To:

Primary recipients of your message.

Cc:

Carbon Copy, for secondary recipients i.e. the persons whom you decide to keep them informed.

Bcc:

Blind Carbon Copy, email addresses typed in this field are not visible.

3.

Type the subject of your message in the Subject: field.

4.

Click in the lower part of the window and type in the message. You can copy and paste text from other programs such as MS Word etc.

5.

Click Send button to send your message.

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Note that: By default, the email message sent is stored in the Sent Items folder.

To discard your message without sending it, just close the window.

Inserting & Removing File Attachments Email messages do not only consist of simple text messages. Depending upon the hardware and software, e-mail messages can contain embedded sound files, image files, video-clip files, executable files etc. These are collectively known as attached files. Attached files are files that are sent along with e-mail messages.

You can attach files to an email message: 1.

In the Message tab, click Attach File button. The Insert File dialog box will be displayed.

2.

3.

Browse to the disk/folder where the file (to be attached) is located.

Click the file to attach. The name of the selected file will be displayed in the Attached: field.

4.

Click Insert button.

To remove a file attachment: 1.

2.

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Click the name of the file in the Attached: field.

Press Delete key.

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Retrieving Messages Messages are stored in your mailbox on the mail server until you download them using your mail program. To retrieve messages, you need to connect to the Internet: 1.

2.

Click Home tab.

Click Send/Receive All Folders button. The program retrieves all mail in your mailbox.

Note that: By default, the Inbox folder stores all incoming mail.

Saving Draft Emails Occasionally you may wish to save an email and continue working on it at a later time before sending this.

To save a draft of an email: 1.

2.

3.

In MS Outlook, start typing an email.

Click File tab.

Click Save.

Note that: The email will be saved in the Drafts folder.

When you are ready to continue working on the message: 1.

2.

Click the Drafts folder in the navigation pane.

Double-click on the message you want to work with from the list in the main view.

Checking Email Spelling To check the spelling of an email: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Click in the body of the email.

Click the Review tab.

In the Proofing group, click Spelling & Grammar button.

Click the appropriate options (refer to the following table).

Click OK button when MS Outlook displays a message that it has checked all text in the email.

Option

To Do This

Not In Dictionary

Displays a possible error, such as an incorrectly spelled word, a duplicate word, a grammar error, or incorrect capitalization. Edit the text in this box to correct it, and then click Change, or click the correct word in the Suggestions box and then click Change.

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Option

To Do This

Suggestions

Lists a number of words close to the incorrectly spelled word. appropriate suggestion to choose it.

Ignore Once

Leaves the word unchanged and continues with the checking. The spell checker stops if the same word is encountered within the same email. This button changes to Resume if you click in the document to edit the document.

Ignore All

Leaves the word unchanged and skips any occurrences of the same word within the entire email throughout the rest of the current MS Outlook session.

Add to Dictionary

Adds the word in the Not In Dictionary box to the custom dictionary.

Change

Replaces the incorrectly spelled word with the highlighted word/phrase in the Suggestions: box. When the selected error is a repeated word, this button changes to Delete so you can easily remove the second instance of the word.

Change All

Replaces all occurrences of the same incorrectly spelled word with the word/phrase in the Suggestions: box.

Autocorrect

Adds a word to the AutoCorrect list so that MS Outlook can correct any incorrect spelling of it automatically as you type.

Options

Displays a dialog box in which you can specify the rules that MS Outlook uses to check spelling and grammar.

Undo

Reverses the most recent spelling and grammar check actions, one at a time.

Click the

Setting Message Priority When you send a new message, you can assign a priority to it, so the recipient could see if the message has a high or low priority setting.

You can set the priority of a message: 1. Click the Message tab.

2. In the Tags group, click High Importance or Low Importance.

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Note that: Messages sent with a high priority setting will be delivered at the same speed as a message having a low priority setting.

To switch off priority repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Replying to Emails When replying to a message the original message and the subject details of the message with the prefix RE:. The reply to the message can be typed above, below or in the body of the original message.

To reply to a message: 1.

2.

3.

In the lnbox folder, select the message to reply to.

Click the Home tab.

In the Respond group: To reply to the sender, click Reply button.

To reply to all recipients of the original email, click Reply All button.

4.

5.

The RE: message form displays. Type a reply message.

Click Send button.

Forwarding Emails Once a mail message has been read it can be forwarded to other mail users. The sender's own comments can be added to the message before it is sent to other members.

As with replying to messages, the subject of the original message is automatically entered in the Subject box with a prefix. In this case FW: indicating that the message is a forwarded message.

When forwarding a message the original message with the address information is automatically entered in the Message area.

To forward an email: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

In the lnbox folder, select the required message to forward.

Click the Home tab.

In the Respond group, click Forward button. The FW: message form displays.

Click in the To: field and type the email addresses of the users to receive the forwarded message.

If required, type a message in the Message area.

Click Send button.

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Saving & Opening File Attachments Messages carrying attachments display a paper-clip icon. When you read these messages, the name of the attached file will be displayed below attachments.

It is important that you save the attached file on your computer and use updated antivirus software to scan if the file is infected.

To save a file attachment: 1.

Click the email that has the file attachment.

2.

3.

Click the attached file.

In the Attachments tab, in the Action group, click Save As button.

The Save Attachment dialog box is displayed.

4.

5.

Browse to the disk/folder location where the attachment will be saved.

Click Save button.

Note that: To open the attachment/s saved you will need a program that can open files of the same type as the attachment's file format. For example, if you want to

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open a .DOCX file, make sure you have a program on your computer that can open .DOCX files.

Previewing & Printing Messages You can preview a message before printing: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab.

Click Print. The BackStage View is displayed. The message will be displayed on the right.

Click Print button.

Replying With/out Original Message By default, when replying to a message, this will also contain the original message. To change this setting: 1.

2.

3.

Click File tab.

Click Options. The Outlook Options dialog box is displayed.

Click Mail. Scroll down to Replies and Forwards section.

4.

In the field When replying to a message, click Include original message text or Do not include original message.

5.

Click OK button.

Flagging Emails

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You can use flags to remind yourself to follow up an issue or to categorize messages in your Inbox. To flag a message: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click the message to flag.

Click the Home tab.

In the Tags group, click Follow Up. Click Flag Message. The subject of the message will display a coloured flag.

To remove the flag mark from a message: 1.

2.

Repeat steps 1-3 as above.

Click Clear Flag.

Identifying Read & Unread Emails When you receive emails, the Unread Mail folder will be bold. It will also display the number of unread messages within a bracket.

Unread emails in the Message pane will display a closed envelope. Messages that you have already opened will display an open envelope.

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You can also mark emails as read or unread: 1.

2.

Choose the message in the Message pane.

In the Home tab, in the Tags group, click Unread/Read button.

Minimising & Restoring the Ribbon You can minimise the Ribbon i.e. the row of buttons below each tab: 1.

2.

Right-click on one of the tabs e.g. the View tab.

Click Minimise the Ribbon. This will hide the Ribbon, leaving only visible the Ribbon's tab headers.

Note that: Clicking on any of the tabs will now display the tab's commands, and hide the ribbon once you have clicked on a command.

To restore the minimised Ribbon: 1.

2.

Right-click on one of the tabs e.g. the View tab.

Click Minimise the Ribbon. This will display the Ribbon.

EMAIL MANAGEMENT Searching Messages You can use the Instant Search tool in MS Outlook to search for a message by sender, subject or email content: 1.

2.

In the Navigation, click the folder that you want to search.

In the Instant Search box, type your search text e.g. sender s name or subject or text in email messages.

Items that contain the text that you typed are displayed in the Instant Search Results pane with the search text highlighted.

To narrow your search, type more characters.

To widen your search to include all folders, at the end of the search results, click Try searching again.

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3.

Click the message to view.

To search an e-mail specifically by sender: 1.

2.

3.

In the Navigation, click the folder that you want to search.

Click the Instant Search box.

In the Search tab, in the Refine group, click From.

The Instant Search box will display from:(Sender Name)

4.

Replace the Sender Name with the name or email address of the sender.

Items that contain the sender name are displayed in the Instant Search Results pane.

5.

Click the message to view.

To search an email specifically by subject: 1.

2.

3.

In the Navigation, click the folder that you want to search.

Click the Instant Search box.

In the Search tab, in the Refine group, click Subject.

The Instant Search box will display from:(keywords)

4.

Replace the keywords with a word or phrase Items that contain subjects with the word or phrase are displayed in the Instant Search Results pane.

5.

Click the message to view.

Sorting Messages You can sort emails by name, by date or by size: 1.

2.

Click View tab.

In the Arrangement group, Click From to sort the emails by name.

Click Date to sort emails by date starting from the most recent one.

Click Size to sort the emails by size.

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Creating & Deleting Email Folders You can create folders in MS Outlook to organise the messages that you want to save for future reference. For example you can create a folder to store messages that you received during 2011.

To create an email folder: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Click Folder tab.

In the New group, click New Folder.

In the Name: field type the folder s name e.g. Year 2011.

Click OK button.

Note that: The Navigation pane will display the folder created.

To delete an email folder: 1.

2.

3.

Select the name of the folder to delete e.g. Year 2011.

Click the Folder tab.

In the Actions group, click Delete Folder.

4.

Click Yes button to confirm that the folder will be deleted.

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Moving Email to Folders To move an email to a folder: 1.

2.

3.

In the lnbox folder, select the message to move.

In the Home tab, in the Move group, click Move.

Click Other Folder The Move Items dialog box is displayed.

4.

In the Move Items dialog box, click the folder name where the message will be moved.

Click OK button.

5.

Deleting Email To delete an email: 1.

2.

Choose the message in the Message pane.

In the Home tab, in the Delete group, click Delete.

Note that: Deleted messages are transferred to the Deleted Items folder.

Restoring Deleted Email You can restore a deleted message:

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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Click Deleted Items folder. This will display the list of messages that have been deleted.

Choose the message to undelete in the Message pane.

In the Home tab, in the Move group, click Move.

Click Other Folder The Move Items dialog box is displayed.

In the Move Items dialog box, click the folder name where the message will be moved.

Click OK button.

Emptying the Deleted Items Folder You can delete your mail permanently from the Deleted Items folder as follows: 1.

2.

3.

Click Deleted Items folder.

Click Folder tab.

In the Clean Up group, click Empty Folder.

4.

Click Yes button.

Alternatively, you can delete all messages in the Deleted Items folder as follows:

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1.

2.

Right-click Deleted Items folder.

Click Empty Folder.

Adding & Deleting Address Book Contacts MS Outlook has a built-in address book to store the email addresses and other contact details of friends etc.

To open the address book: 1.

2.

Click Home tab.

In the Find group, click Address Book. The Address Book: Contacts window is displayed.

Note that: The first time you open the address book, it will be empty.

To add the details of a friend to the address book: 1.

2.

3.

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Repeat steps 1-2 as above.

Click File menu.

Click New Entry The New Entry dialog box is displayed.

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4.

5.

6.

In the Select the entry type: field click New Contact.

Click OK button.

Type the contact details in the form.

7.

In the Contact tab, in the Actions group, click Save & Close button.

The Address Book window will display the details of your friend.

Close the Address Book window.

8.

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To delete the contact details from the address book: 1.

2.

Click Home tab.

In the Find group, click Address Book. The Address Book: Contacts window is displayed.

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