10 Minute Guide to Word for Windows 95

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What's New in Word for Windows 95

This appendix is intended for readers who are upgrading from Word for Windows version 6 to the new version. It provides brief descriptions of features that are new or have changed significantly.

The Latest Word

The basics of Word have not changed. If you were comfortable using Word for Windows Version 6, you'll feel right at home with the latest version. A number of new features, however, bring additional power and convenience to the program. For those features that are covered in this book, you'll find a cross-reference to the appropriate lesson. For more complete information on the new features, click the Contents tab on Word's Help screen, then select the What's New topic.

If you are new to Windows, see Appendix B ("Windows 95 Primer") for a quick introduction.

Opening a Document From Windows

Most people open documents by starting Word, then using the File Open command to open the document. With Windows 95, you can also do things the other way around. If you select the document, Windows knows that it was created with Word and will automatically start Word and load the document. Here's how to do it:

1. Start the Windows Explorer by clicking the Start button on the Windows Taskbar, selecting Programs, then selecting Windows Explorer from the menu that is displayed. If your Desktop includes a shortcut to the Explorer, you can double-click it.

2.
In the Explorer window, use the Folders pane to select the desired folder, the one that contains the file you want to open. (See Figure A.1.)

3.
In the Contents pane, double-click the name of the document file you want to open.

Figure A.1
Double-clicking the highlighted document will start Word.

4. Windows will start Word and load the selected document file. If Word is already running, the file will be loaded.

You can also open documents you have worked on recently from the Start menu. Click Start on the Windows Task Bar, then click Documents to display a menu with a list of documents on it. Click the desired document name, and Word will start and load the document. Note that this menu lists all kinds of documents, not just Word documents. You can identify the program that created a document by the icon next to the document name.

Answer Wizard

The Answer Wizard (see Figure A.2) is an addition to Word's Help system. If you are having trouble finding the information you need using the Help Index or Contents, you may want to try the Answer Wizard. It permits you to enter plain English questions, then searches the Help files for the relevant information. Please turn to Lesson 2 for more information on the Answer Wizard.

Figure A.2
The Answer Wizard searches Help for answers to your plain English questions.

Tip Wizard

The Tip Wizard (see Figure A.3) is another new part of the Help system. While the Tip Wizard is active, it "watches" what you are doing in your Word document, and displays hints, time saving techniques, and other helpful information. Although the Tip Wizard is aimed primarily at new users, more experienced users may find it helpful also. You'll find more information on the Tip Wizard in Lesson 2.

Automatic Spell Checking

Word has always been able to check the spelling in your documents, but now it can do it as you type. With Automatic Spell Checking (see Figure A.3) enabled, misspelled words are immediately marked in your document, as soon as you enter them. There's more information about Automatic Spell Checking in Lesson 19.

Figure A.3
The Tip Wizard offers plain-English help; Automatic Spell Checking marks misspellings as you type.

Templates

One of Word's most powerful features has always been its use of document templates. The new version of Word makes your life even easier by providing an expanded collection of pre-written templates (see Figure A.4) that you can use. The use of templates is covered in Lesson 4. You may want to browse through Word's new template offerings to see what's available. Note: The templates that are available to you will depend on options selected when Word is installed on your system.

Figure A.4
Word for Windows 95 provides an expanded collection of prewritten templates.

E-Mail

If your computer is hooked up to a Microsoft-compatible electronic mail system, you'll find Word's new E-mail capabilities to be a great time saver. E-mail is not covered in this book. Please refer to your Word documentation on on-line Help for more information.


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