2.2.3a+Word+Processing

media type="youtube" key="PGUU7CiK7YU" height="344" width="425" =**__Summary__** = Even though the computer was originally designed to work with numbers, it quickly became an important tool for processing text as well. Word-processing software enables the writer to use commands to edit text on the screen, eliminating the chore of retyping pages until the message is right. With a word processor, you can control the typefaces, spacing, justification, margins, columns, headers, footers, and other visual components of your documents. Most professional word-processing programs automate footnoting, hyphenation, and other processes that are particularly troublesome to traditional typists. Outlining software turns the familiar outline into a powerful, dynamic organizational tool. Spelling checkers and grammar and style checkers partially automate the proofreading process, although they leave the more difficult parts of the job to literate humans. Online thesauruses, dictionaries, and other computer-based references automate reference works. As word processors become more powerful, they take on many of the features previously found only in desktop-publishing software. Still, many publishers use word processors and graphics programs to create source documents that can be used as input for page-layout programs. Desktop publishing has revolutionized the publishing process by enabling publishers and would-be publishers to produce professional-quality text-and-graphics documents at a reasonable cost. Amateur and professional publishers everywhere use desktop-publishing technology to produce everything from comic books to reference books. The near-overnight success of desktop publishing may foreshadow other changes in the way we communicate with words as new technologies emerge. Computer networks in general and the World Wide Web in particular have made it possible for potential publishers to reach mass audiences without the problems associated with printing and distributing paper documents. Typing may no longer be a necessary part of the writing process as handwriting and speech-recognition technologies improve, and word-processing software that incorporates other artificial intelligence technologies may become as much a coach as a tool for future writers. Spreadsheet programs, first developed to simulate and automate the accountant’s ledger, can be used for tracking financial transactions, calculating grades, forecasting economic conditions, recording scientific data and just about any other task that involves repetitive numeric calculations. Spreadsheet documents, called worksheets, are grids with individual cells containing alphabetic labels, numbers, and formulas. Changes in numeric values can cause the spreadsheet to update any related formulas automatically. The responsiveness and flexibility of spreadsheet software make it particularly well-suited for providing answers to “what if” questions. Most spreadsheet programs include charting commands to turn worksheet numbers into a variety of graphs and charts. The process of creating a chart from a spreadsheet is automated to the point where human drawing isn’t necessary; the user simply provides instructions concerning the type of chart and the details to be included in the chart, and the computer does the rest. Number crunching often goes beyond spreadsheets. Specialized accounting and tax preparation software packages perform specific business functions without the aid of spreadsheets. Symbolic mathematics processors can handle a variety of higher mathematics functions involving numbers, symbols, equations, and graphics. Statistical-analysis software is used for data collection and analysis. Scientific visualization can be done with math processors, statistical packages, graphics programs, or specialized programs designed for visualization. Modeling and simulation are at the heart of most applications involving numbers. When people create computer models, they use numbers to represent real-world objects and phenomena. Simulations built on these models can provide insights that might be difficult or impossible to obtain otherwise, provided that the models reflect reality accurately. If used wisely, computer simulation can be a powerful tool for helping people understand their world and make better decisions.

//Many aspiring writers are now able to publish their work on paper or electronically to worldwide audiences. This does not guarantee the quality of the ideas, but does allow a better quality of presentation.//
 * 1) Formatting
 * Computer Confluence //Creating Professional-Looking Documents// pp.188-9
 * 1) Effective communication - use of appropriate fonts, white space, line spacing etc.
 * Computer Confluence //Processing Words with Speech// pp. 186
 * speech-enabled input and output
 * 1) Templates
 * 2) Spell check, grammar check
 * Computer Confluence //Spelling Checkers// and //Grammar and Style Checkers// pp. 183-4
 * Do computers make us lazy? Gift of Fire 9.3 //Loss of Skill and Judgment// pp.374-7
 * 1) ASCII and Unicode
 * Computer Confluence //Bits, Bytes and Buzzwords// pp.79-81 and //Representing the World's Languages// p. 80
 * 1) PDF, RTF, TXT format
 * 2) Word processing versus page layout
 * 3) Using word processing shortcuts effectively to streamline document production
 * 4) How has DTP contributed to the freedom of the press and the free exchange of ideas?
 * intellectual property rights - how much should we copy or transform digital information?
 * 1) How has DTP affected businesses economically?
 * 2) word processing and DTP in the workplace - job losses, deskilling, surveillance and ergonomics
 * Gift of Fire sections 8.1 //The Changing Nature of Work//, 8.2 //The Impact on Employment// and 8.3 //The Work Environment//

=KEY TERMS = = = CHAPTER 5


 * ** accounting and financial management software ** || Software especially designed to set up accounts, keep track of money flow between accounts, record transactions, adjust balances in accounts, provide an audit trail, automate routine tasks such as check writing, and produce reports. ||
 * ** address ** || In a spreadsheet, the location of a cell, determined by row number and column number. ||
 * ** agents ** || Software programs that can ask questions, respond to commands, pay attention to users' work patterns, serve as a guide and a coach, take on owners' goals, and use reasoning to fabricate their own goals. ||
 * ** automatic correction (autocorrect) ** || A word processing feature that catches and corrects common typing errors. ||
 * ** automatic footnoting ** || A word processing feature that places footnotes where they belong on the page. ||
 * ** automatic formatting ** || A word processing feature that applies formatting to the text. ||
 * ** automatic hyphenation ** || A word processing feature that divides long words that fall at the ends of lines. ||
 * ** automatic link ** || A link between worksheets in a spreadsheet that ensures that a change in one worksheet is reflected in the other. ||
 * ** automatic recalculation ** || A spreadsheet capability that allows for easy correction of errors and makes it easy to try out different values while searching for solutions. ||
 * ** bar chart ** || A chart that shows relative values with bars, appropriate when data fall into a few categories. ||
 * ** bot ** || Software robots that crawl around the Web collecting information, helping consumers make decisions, answering email, and even playing games. ||
 * ** camera-ready ** || Typeset-quality pages, ready to be photographed and printed. ||
 * ** cell ** || The intersection of a row and a column on the grid of a spreadsheet. ||
 * ** columns ** || Along with rows, comprise the grid of a spreadsheet. ||
 * ** desktop publishing (DTP) ** || Software used mainly to produce print publications. Also, the process of using desktop publishing software to produce publications. ||
 * ** electronic book (ebook) ** || A handheld device that displays digital representations of the contents of books. ||
 * ** electronic paper (epaper) ** || A flexible, portable, paperlike material that can dynamically display black-and-white text and images on its surface, as well as erase itself and display new text and images as the reader "turns" the page. ||
 * ** equation solver ** || A feature of some spreadsheet programs that determines data values. ||
 * ** feedback loop ** || In a computer simulation, the user and the computer responding to data from each other. ||
 * ** footer ** || Block of information that appears at the bottom of every page in a document, displaying repetitive information such as an automatically calculated page number. ||
 * ** formula ** || Step-by-step procedure for calculating a number on a spreadsheet. ||
 * ** function ** || A predefined set of calculations, such as SUM and AVERAGE, in spreadsheet software. ||
 * ** GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) ** || Valid output requires valid input. ||
 * ** grammar and style checker ** || Component of word processing software that analyzes each word in context, checking for content errors, common grammatical errors, and stylistic problems. ||
 * ** groupware ** || Software designed to be used by work groups rather than individuals. ||
 * ** header ** || Block that appears at the top of every page in a document, displaying repetitive information such as a chapter title. ||
 * ** HTML (hypertext markup language) ** || An HTML document is a text file that includes codes that describe the format, layout, and logical structure of a hypermedia document. Most Web pages are created with HTML. ||
 * ** justification ** || The alignment of text on a line: left justification (smooth left margin and ragged right margin), right justification, (smooth right margin and ragged left margin). ||
 * ** label ** || In a spreadsheet, a text entry that provides information on what a column or row represents. ||
 * ** line chart ** || A chart that shows trends or relationships over time, or a relative distribution of one variable through another. ||
 * ** macro ** || Custom-designed embedded procedure program that automates tasks in application programs. ||
 * ** mail merge ** || A feature of a word processor or other program that enables it to merge names and addresses from a database mailing list into personalized form letters and mailings. ||
 * ** mathematics processing software ** || Software designed to deal with complex equations and calculations. A mathematics processor enables the user to create, manipulate, and solve equations easily. ||
 * ** modeling ** || The use of computers to create abstract models of objects, organisms, organizations, and processes. ||
 * ** online banking ** || Use of the Internet to conduct basic banking transactions. ||
 * ** outliner ** || Software that facilitates the arrangement of information into hierarchies or levels of ideas. Some word processors include outline views that serve the same function as separate outliners. ||
 * ** page-layout software ** || In desktop publishing, software used to combine various source documents into a coherent, visually appealing publication. ||
 * ** pie chart ** || A round pie-shaped chart with slices that show the relative proportions of the parts to a whole. ||
 * ** replication ** || Automatic replication of values, labels, and formulas, a feature of spreadsheet software. ||
 * ** scatter chart ** || Discovers a relationship between two variables. ||
 * ** scientific visualization software ** || Uses shape, location in space, color, brightness, and motion to help you understand invisible relationships, providing graphical representation of numerical data. ||
 * ** source document ** || In desktop publishing, the articles, chapters, drawings, maps, charts, and photographs that are to appear in the publication. Usually produced with standard word processors and graphics programs. ||
 * ** speech-recognition software ** || See speech recognition. ||
 * ** spelling checker (batch or interactive) ** || A built-in component of a word processor or a separate program that compares words in a document with words in a disk-based dictionary and flags words not found in the dictionary. May operate in batch mode, checking all the words at once, or interactive mode, checking one word at a time. ||
 * ** spreadsheet software ** || Enables the user to control numbers, manipulating them in various ways. The software can manage budgeting, investment management, business projections, grade books, scientific simulations, checkbooks, financial planning and speculation, and other tasks involving numbers. ||
 * ** stack chart ** || Stacked bars to show how proportions of a whole change over time. ||
 * ** statistical analysis software ** || Specialized software that tests the strength of data relationships, produces graphs showing how two or more variables relate to each other, uncovers trends, and performs other statistical analyses. ||
 * ** statistics ** || The science of analyzing and collecting data. ||
 * ** stylesheet ** || Custom styles for each of the common elements in a document. ||
 * ** tax preparation software ** || Provides a prefabricated worksheet where the user enters numbers into tax forms. Calculations are performed automatically, and the completed forms can be sent electronically to the IRS. ||
 * ** templates ** || In desktop publishing, professionally designed empty documents that can be adapted to specific user needs. In spreadsheet software, worksheets that contain labels and formulas but no data values. The template produces instant answers when you fill in the blanks. ||
 * ** thesaurus ** || A synonym finder; often included with a word processor. ||
 * ** value ** || The numbers that are the raw material used by spreadsheet software to perform calculations. ||
 * ** what if? Questions ** || A feature of spreadsheet software that allows speculation by providing instant answers to hypothetical questions. ||
 * ** wizard ** || A software help agent that walks the user through a complex process. ||
 * ** worksheet ** || A spreadsheet document that appears on the screen as a grid of numbered rows and columns. ||
 * ** WYSIWYG ** || Short for "what you see is what you get," pronounced "wizzy-wig." With a word processor, the arrangement of the words on the screen represents a close approximation to the arrangement of words on the printed page. ||