Revolution in Writing

From Word Processing to Paperless Publishing

The Word Processing Process

Word processing involves the following steps: Entering text Editing text Formatting & proofreading the

document Saving the document on disk Printing the document

Entering Text

As you enter text using a word processor, your text is displayed on the screen and stored in the computer’s RAM.

Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory.

Editing Text

Write and refine a document easily by: navigating to different

parts of a document inserting or deleting

text at any point

moving & copying text searching and replacing

words or phrases

Formatting Text Formatting refers to how the words look on a

page.

WYSIWIG (“What you see is what you get”) What you see on the screen is a close

approximation of what you will see on paper

Types of formatting: Character Line & Paragraph Entire Document

Character Formatting

Characters are measured by point size with one point equal to 1/72 inch.

A

20 pts

A40 pts

80 pts

120 pts

A A200 pts

A

All About Fonts

A font is a size and style of typeface. Serif fonts have serifs or fine lines at

the ends.

Sans-serif fonts have plainer, cleaner lines. Arial

Paragraph Formatting Formatting for paragraphs involve

margin settings, line spacing, indents, tabs and justification.

Document Formatting You can impact the

appearance of an entire document through the following: Style sheets Headers and footers Multiple columns Automatic editing features Table of Contents and Indexes Conversion to HTML for web

publishing

The Wordsmith’s Toolbox

Outliners and Idea Processors Synonym Finders Digital References Spelling Checkers Grammar and Style Checkers Form Letter Generators Collaborative Writing Tools

Outliners and Idea Processors

arranging information into levels

rearranging ideas and levels

hiding and revealing levels of detail as needed

Outliners are effective at performing the following functions:

Synonym Finders

Computerized thesaurus can provide instantaneous feedback for synonyms and antonyms.

Digital References Dictionaries, quotation

books, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs and other references are now available in digital form.

The biggest advantage of the electronic form is speed.

The biggest drawback is that quick copying may tempt writers to plagiarize.

Spelling Checkers Spelling checkers

compare words in your document with words in a disk-based dictionary.

Words may be flagged; you make the decision to ignore or change the spelling.

Grammar and Style Checkers A grammar and style

checker flags possible errors and makes suggestions for correcting.

It spots the following: Spelling Errors of context Common grammatical

errors Stylistic foibles

Form Letter Generators

The Mail Merge feature in word processors generates personalized form letters and mailing labels.

Create a database with names Create a form letter Merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter

Collaborative Writing Tools Groupware -software designed to be

used by a workgroup

Provides for collaborative writing and editing

Tracks changes and identifies by the originator’s name

Compares document versions and highlights differences in documents

The Desktop Publishing Story

The process of producing a book, magazine or other publications includes several steps:

Writing text Editing text Producing drawings, photographs, and other graphics to accompany text Designing a basic format for the publication

What is Desktop Publishing?

With modern desktop publishing technology, the production process can be accomplished with sophisticated tools that are affordable and easy to use. Typesetting text. Arranging text and graphics on images. Typesetting and printing pages. Binding pages into a finished publication.

Desktop Publishing Tools

Scanners transform photographs and hand-drawn images into computer-readable documents.

Page-layout software combine the various source documents into a coherent, visually appealing publication QuarkXpress PageMaker Adobe InDesign

What does the future hold?

Despite predictions, written media isn’t going away.

Yet… Electronic mail messages now out

number post office deliveries of letters. CD-ROM encyclopedias briskly outsell

their paper versions. The Internet provides for self-publishing

to millions of users.

Tomorrow’s Word Tools

Word processors are growing in sophistication and absorbing the features of page-layout software.

Paperless electronic media will replace desktop publishing.

Groupware for writing and editing Electronic dictation Intelligent Word Processors

Electronic Books and Digital Paper

The electronic book, or ebook is a handheld device that can contain anything from today’s top news stories to lengthy novels.

Digital paper, or epaper is a flexible, portable, paper-like material that can dynamically display black-and-white text and images on its surface.

Electronic Dictation & Intelligent Word Processors

The bottleneck continues to be in the input side of desktop publishing systems.

For the future: Speech-recognition software systems that

can reliably recognize human speech. Intelligent word processors that

anticipate a writer’s needs, acting as an electronic editor or co-author.

Chapter 6

Calculations, Visualization, and

Simulation

The Spreadsheet

Cell A1

Cell C12

The spreadsheet consists of: Cells (the intersection

of a row and column)

Addresses (column letter and row number, e.g., A1, C12)

Spreadsheet cells can contain values, labels, and formulas:

The Spreadsheet

Values such as numbers and dates

Labels that explain what a value means, such as column and report headings

The Spreadsheet

Formulas allow you to create instructions using mathematical expressions and commands

+ (plus)- (minus) *(multiplication)/ (division) SumAverage

Spreadsheets offer many automatic features such as replication of data

Type the first value in the series such as Qtr 1 or January or 500

Qtr 2 Qtr 3 Qtr 4

and let the software replicate it to other cells.

Spreadsheet Features

Spreadsheet Features

Formulas can be relative, so they refer to different cells when they are copied

Or absolute, so the formula references never change when they are copiedWhen the formula in column B is copied to column C, it changes relative to the new column.

Spreadsheet Features

Automatic recalculation

– Any time a change is entered into the spreadsheet, all data related to the change automatically updates.

Spreadsheet Features

Functions (e.g., SUM, AVG, SQRT) are used to automate complex calculations

Macros let you store keystrokes and commands so they can be played back automatically

Templates offer ready-to-use worksheets with labels and formulas already entered

Spreadsheet Features

Linking spreadsheets togetherWhen the value change in one spreadsheet, the data is automatically updated in all linked spreadsheets

Spreadsheet Features

Database capabilities Search for information Sort the data by a specific criteria Merge the data with a word processor Generate reports

Spreadsheets allow you to change numbers and instantly see the effects of those changes. “What if I enter this value?”

Equation solvers Some spreadsheets generate data

needed to fit a given equation and target value.

“What If?”

Charts allow you to turn numbers into visual data:

Pie charts (show relative proportions to the whole)

Line charts (show trends or relationships over time)

Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings

Spreadsheet Graphics: From Digits to Drawings

Bar charts (use if data falls into a few categories)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr

North

West

East

Scatter charts (use to discover, rather than to display, a relationship between two variables)

$0.00

$1,000.00

$2,000.00

$3,000.00

$4,000.00

$5,000.00

$6,000.00

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Australia

Germany

Canada

Great Britain

Accounting and Financial Management software allows you to do electronically handle routine transactions such as:

writing checks balancing accounts creating budgets

Statistical Software:Beyond Spreadsheets

Statistical Software:Beyond Spreadsheets

Mathematics Processing software turns abstract mathematical relationships into visual objects.

Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets

Statistical and data analysis software collects and analyzes data that tests the strength of data relationships.

Statistical Software: Beyond Spreadsheets

Scientific visualization software uses shape, location in space, color, brightness, and motion to help us visualize data.

Computer modeling uses computers to create abstract models of objects, organisms, organizations, and processes.

Calculated Risks: Computer Modeling and Simulation

Computer Modeling and Simulation

Examples: computer games (chess boards, sports

arenas, and mythological societies) computer models of organisms,

objects, and organizations flight simulators and simulations of

science lab activities managing a business, city, or nation

Computer Simulations are widely used for research in the physical, biological, and social sciences, and in engineering.

Computer Simulation

Schools, businesses, and the military use simulations for training because:

Safety: non-threatening environments Economy: less expensive than real life Projection: less threatening to systems Visualization: allows to see and

understand Replication: allows repetition of

projects

Computer Modeling and Simulation

Computer Simulation:The Risks

Risks: Simulation isn’t

reality.

Not all factors can be entered into the model or simulation.