WINDOWS DESKTOP - PRESSING AND DRAGGING TO SELECT TEXT USING WORDPAD

We want to make a few changes so the text stands out. To change text in Wordpad, we have to select it first. This tells Wordpad which text we want to change.

We’ll press and drag from the beginning of the text we want to select to the end of the text we want to select. It’s important to keep a steady hand when pressing and dragging.

1.      To select the title,

NOTE: Users tend to press and drag from left to right to select text. However, you can select text by pressing and dragging right to left if you prefer.

You see the title highlighted:

This indicates that the title is selected.

NOTE: To deselect text, click anywhere else in the document.

(g) Formatting Text

A font is a set of characters of a particular design and size. Now that we’ve selected text, we can format it by changing attributes or qualities of the font.

We’ll use the Bold style, which makes selected text heavier and darker, and the Underline style, which adds a line under selected text. We’ll also increase the Font size.

1.      To bold the selected text, on the Format bar,

Notice that the Bold button looks selected or pressed down.

Now let’s underline the text.

2.      To underline the selected text, on the Format bar,

The title is bold and underlined.

Now let’s increase the Font size.

3.      To begin to increase the Font size,

The list that appears is called the Font Size drop-down list.

4.      To increase the Font size, on the Font Size drop-down list,

The size of the font changes.

(h) Understanding Toggle Buttons

Toolbars often contain toggle buttons, meaning that the feature the button represents is either on or off. When the feature is on, the button looks selected or pressed down.

Let’s turn off the Underline style for the selected text.

1.      To remove the Underline style from the title, on the Format bar,

The title is bold but not underlined.

2.      To deselect the text,

(i) Saving a Document

Before a document is saved, changes are temporarily stored in the computer’s RAM. These changes could be lost due to a power outage or system failure.

Let’s save the document on the hard disk, which creates a permanent copy of the document.

1.      To begin saving the document, on the toolbar,

Because this is the first time we’re saving the document, you see the Save As dialog box:

This dialog box is used to specify where you will save the file, the name of the document, and the file type. You can use the Search box in the top-right corner to navigate to a new “Save in” location. Keep in mind that these features are similar for Open and Save dialog boxes in most Windows Vista applications.

NOTE: If you are working in Windows XP, the window will look slightly different but will include the same basic features. Windows selects the Documents folder as the default Save in location.

(j) Naming Files

It’s a good idea to use a consistent method for naming files. Concise and relevant file names make it easy to locate and organize your files. One standard suggests using underscores (_) instead of spaces in file names. Whatever method, make sure you are consistent.

Let’s name the file.

1.      To name the file, in the File name field, type:

welcome

Let’s save the file.

2.      To save the file in the Documents folder,

The document is saved. Notice that the name “welcome.rtf - Wordpad” now appears on the Title bar at the top of the window.

(k) Understanding Filename Extensions

The “.rtf” portion of the filename is called the filename extension. It identifies the file type, which in this case, is the word processing file type rich text format. Extensions are always found at the end of filenames. They usually follow an “.xxx” or “.yyyy” or “zzzzz” format, with 3 to 5 letters indicating a specific file type. All programs identify files by assigning specific filename extensions.

The following table lists some common filename extensions:

 

 

Filename Extension	Description
.rtf	Text document with formatting
.txt	Text document
.html	Web document
.wav	Audio file
.jpg	Image

 

Some file types can be opened by more than one application while others are application specific. Windows can be configured to display or hide filename extensions.

NOTE: Rich text formatting is a file format standardized by Microsoft for creating formatted text files. Unlike a basic text file, an RTF can include information such as text, style, size, and color. The nice thing about the RTF format is that it is a universal format, meaning that it can be read by nearly all word processors.

(l) Editing Text

Now that we’ve saved, we could close the document and access it later. Instead we’ll keep working and save the new changes later. In order to learn more about how Windows applications behave, let’s edit the text. For example, let’s insert a descriptive word before the term “features” in the first sentence.

NOTE: Be aware that the Insert key on your keyboard toggles between Insert and Overwrite modes. Insert mode is used to create space for newly-typed text while Overwrite mode replaces text after the cursor with newly-entered text. We’re working in Insert mode.

1.      To position the cursor, in the second sentence,

You see the blinking cursor positioned before “features.”

Now we can type to add text before the word.

2.      To add a descriptive word and a space, type:

You see the word “various” added before the word “features.”

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