Introduction

Abstract

This book is an introduction to word processing and the capabilities of a number of the most popular word processing systems available at the time of publication. It is not intended to replace the comprehensive manuals supplied with each word processing program. Unfortunately some of these manuals can be rather frightening for the newcomer and so this book provides a gentle lead-in to the full story provided by the manufacturers. Manuals are very useful if you know what you are looking for and if you want to know, for example, how to deal with headers, footers, widows and orphans — always assuming you realise what these things are in the first place. This book provides an overview of typical word processing facilities and how they can help to improve and enhance the work that you process. All word processors will allow you to perform a series of basic text manipulations, but some will offer a number of extremely sophisticated additional functions, some of which you may need desperately and some of which you will not find any use at all. It is often felt, by people unfamiliar with this very useful application of the new technology, that there is so much to remember and so many new things to learn, apart from the geography of the keyboard, that it offers no real advantage over the typewriter.