Project 2: AutoTools
Edit Wizard Letter

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
Did you want: Working with Words: Word 2007,2010,2013,2016 or españolIcon: Change web


You can easily get a new letter started with the Letter Wizard. But then, you must make changes, or you don't have much of a letter!

In the steps below you will replace the temporary text with the text of the letter. Then you will format part of the new text into columns using tab stops.

Letter with temporary text


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Word97-2003

Before you start...

Project 1: Word BasicsTo subtopics

Project 2: Auto Tools
    Make ChangesTo subtopics
    AutoformatTo subtopics
    Margins & BreaksTo subtopics
    Wizards/Templates icon- subtopics open
        Letters
    icon- footprintLetter Wizard
    icon- footprintEdit Wizard Letter
    icon- footprintWordArt
    icon- footprintText Boxes
    icon- footprintTemplates
        Macro Viruses
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

Project 3: BrochureTo subtopics

Project 4: ReportTo subtopics


    Search
    Glossary


Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step: Edit Wizard Letter

 Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn:

to replace temporary text
to create a columns effect with tab stops
to use borders to create a row effect

Start with:Desktop Class disk, letter-AAA.doc

Replace Temporary Text

The Letter Wizard includes just one line of temporary text for the body of the letter.  You certainly need to replace it!

Temporary Text is similar to:
 Type your letter here. To add, remove, or change letter elements, choose Letter Wizard from the Tools menu. 

  1. Review the popup Tips for Typing with Body Text Paragraph Style.
     
  2. To print a copy of the replacement text (shown below) for you to read from while typing, click HERE. A new browser window will open. From the menu of that browser window select  File  |  Print .
     
  3. Select the temporary text for the body of the letter that starts  Type your letter... When you type, your new words replace the selected text by overtyping it. Do not delete the temporary text. You might lose the paragraph settings.
     
  4. Type the text in the illustration shown below. Some of the lines won't make much sense right now. You will be turning them into a table.

Body text for letter-AAA.doc

  1. Correct any typing errors. You may see some green or red underlines where Word suspects spelling or grammar problems. Do not worry about those yet, unless your fingers mis-typed the text!
     
  2. Class disk Save as  letter-AAA2.doc  in the  word project2  folder of your Class disk.
    Full disk How to handle a full disk

Letter with new text

Letter after entering body text


Columns: Manual Tab Stops

Part of this letter is a real mess! The middle section (lines 15 - 22) needs to be in three columns to make any sense. You can arrange such short phrases into columns using tab stops. The steps below will show you how to create your own tab stops and line up the text with them. Tab stops will keep items in line going across the page. Columns can only keep things together vertically.

  1. If the horizontal ruler is not displayed, select from the menu,  View  |  Ruler .
     
  2. Select from line 15 that starts with  Name  through line 22 which starts with  Joyce Godfrey .
     
  3. Ruler showing left tab selectedIf necessary, select, on the left of the ruler, the tab type Left tab stop, left aligned, by clicking on the icon in the little rectangle until the left tab shows.

    Ruler with default tab stopsThe default tab stops are set every half-inch. You can change the default spacing using the Tabs dialog from the Format menu.


  4. Manual tab stops added.Click at the 2" and 3.5" ruler marks. This inserts manual tab stops for the selected paragraphs only. It automatically clears the default tabs to the left of the manual tab stops.
     
  5. Keyboard tip Click  at the beginning of line 15 (which starts with  Name  ) and use the key combo CTRL + right arrow to move your cursor in front of the word Interest.
     
  6. Press the TAB key. The text shifts over to the first tab stop.
     
  7. Use the key combo CTRL + right arrow to move your cursor in front of the word Concern.
     
  8. Press the TAB key. The text jumps to the second tab stop.
     
  9. Continue, moving the text on the other lines into columns by using the TAB key and arrow keys until all lines are arranged as shown below. Can you see how these phrases are related to the labels in line 15?

    Text- Letter body with tabs

  10. Class diskSave. [carta-AAA2.doc]
    Full disk How to handle a full disk

    These columns are still not lined up nicely. The space between columns 1 and 2 is too wide and there isn't any space between columns 2 and 3, which makes column 3 uneven. Our first guess on where to put the tab stops was not that great.
     

  11. Select the lines again.
     
  12. On the ruler, drag the tab at the 2" mark back over to 1.5".

    Tip If you drag the tab off the ruler, you will erase it. Just make a new one. 
     
  13. Drag the second tab (at the 3.5" mark on the ruler) to the right to 4".
     
  14. Click on Button - Show Marks the Show Marks button to turn off the display of marks to see how the letter looks. Much better looking! Now you have columns you can read!!

    TipIf you still see some of the marks, you need to change the settings in the Option dialog. From the menu select  Tools  |  Options  |  View  tab and make sure that all the boxes in the Formatting marks section are cleared.
     

  15. Show the marks again.
     
  16. Class diskSave. [carta-AAA2.doc]
    Full disk How to handle a full disk

    Letter Body after dragging tabs


Border Rows

The tabbed columns are rather hard to read all the way across. Some lines would help and would set this information off from the rest of the letter. You will use the Tables and Border tool bar to do this.

TipUsing the Format menu's Borders and Shading will give VERY different results.

  1. Select the lines 15 through 22 again.
  2. Toolbar - Tables and BordersOn the Formatting bar click Button- Tables and Borders the Tables and Borders button to open its toolbar.

    This bar is designed for use with tables but can also help us with text.
     

  3. Select the solid line, line width of 1 pt, and line color black, as shown in the illustration of the toolbar.
     
  4. Palette of border choicesClick the arrow in the Borders button to open the list of choices.
  5. Click on Button- All borders All Borders.

    TipYou have to set all the characteristics before you apply the border!

    Text- Letter after applying borders

    Lines are drawn around the text and between each paragraph.

    The last row is not as tall as the others. This is because the Body Text paragraph style is adding blank space after each line, but the outside border didn't recognize such spacing. You can fix this with a Line Break, which starts a new line of text but does not create a new paragraph.
     

  6. Place your cursor at the end the last row, after the word  money .
     

  7. Money phrase justifiedKeyboard tip  Insert a line break with the key combo SHIFT + ENTER. The line spacing looks good but we've found that justification glitch again! This phrase is stretched out way too much.
     

  8. Text - Letter money phrase left aligned Click on Button - Left Align the Left Align button. Now the phrase is spaced out neatly. 
     

  9. Close the Tables and Borders toolbar by clicking the Close button in its upper right corner.
     
  10. Click on Show/Hide Marks to hide the marks and look at your letter at Zoom = Whole page. It's looking pretty good! 
     
  11. Class disk Save. [ letter-AAA2.doc]
    Full disk How to handle a full disk

Letter with tabbed columns