UPDATE
At the end of my original opinion I bemoaned the fact that I could not find how to type in all those accented letters but it was staring me in the face for all these months. Go to the menu at the top and click on Insert, then select Symbol and in the box that pops up you have all the strange letters that you will ever be likely to need and then some. Over 1, 000 in all such as:
° ± ² ³ µ » ¼ ½ ¾ Æ ç ó ò ô õ ö ÷ ň ũ ū ű Ω
END OF UPDATE
Microsoft Word 2000 is the only word processor that I have used on a PC as the bulk of my computer experience has been on the Amiga platform and its associated word processors and for a short spell at college on the AppleMac platform some ten years ago.
But words really do come easy on this excellent word processor as it has all the features that are required by not just the amateur wordsmith but also by the professional writer. As an out and out novice on Word 2000 but experienced in word processors on the Amiga it was easy enough to find the basic functions, as the jargon was the same. Finding those extra features didn’t come quite so easy but I had the “Office Assistant” to help out whenever needed.
My “Office Assistant”, called Clippit, lurks wherever you want to put him and is an animated paper clip although there are several to choose from like Genius an Einstein like figure, Links a cat, Rocky a dog and F1 a robot with more available as a download. Just click on the assistant, type in your query and within a few seconds you are pointed in the right direction for the answer. When you first open the processor Clippit, in the shape of a bike, rides in on a piece of paper as the road and then transforms into a paper clip with two bulging eyes and bushy eyebrows ready to serve his master, the typist. When you close down Word 2000, Clippit reverts back to his bike form and rides off screen taking the paper with him. In between times he is an animated character who, if you stop typing for a minute or two will coil down and go to sleep. He may even form himself into a bed but those bulging eyes keep a watchful lookout waiting for you to make a move. There are times when he acts like a dog and wags his tail or scratches his head if you stop half way through a word. When saving a document Clippit will have a real duck fit, tie himself in knots, form a box, put the paper inside and slam the lid shut. All animations are accompanied by appropriate sound effects. But in whatever form Clippit is always around keeping a sharp lookout in case you need his services. It’s those eyes that tickle me, blinking shyly or staring wildly and together with the eyebrows he has a multitude of expressions.
Adjusting the “settings” to your own requirements isn’t too difficult once you have found where to look for them but Word 2000 is ready to use on opening so only some fine-tuning is needed, at least for the basic functions. In fact all I’ve had to do is set the page margins to my requirements.
Across the top in the title bar is the drop down menus with every function to hand. (Word insists that it is – is the drop down menus. I think that it should be – are the drop down menus, but then I’m only a human) Underneath are a handful of tiny icons for the most used functions with some hidden ready for use if required. Next to these is the place for selecting the type of text, a selection of about 50 fonts and a range of sizes from 8 point to 72 point but you can type in any size that you wish to use. Further along you can select bold, italics or underlined and the justification of the text and the line spacing. On the extreme right you can set the page borders, highlight a particular piece of text in yellow and select one of forty colours to use.
There is a ruler across the top marked in whatever measurement that has been set and it is on this ruler that you can click the mouse to set up a tab otherwise the tabs are pre-set and the place is shown in grey. Making your own tabs removes all the pre-set ones that precede it. If you want to remove your tab, click on the same place again, and whilst holding the mouse button down drag it off the ruler. There is also a ruler down the left side but I’m not sure what use this can be.
Open a new page and type Dear Sir, and Mr Clippit shows a box and suggests that as you appear to be writing a letter would you like some help. Accept his offer and the letter Wizard puts in an appearance and you can make your selection.
One feature that particularly appeals to me and at the same time drives me nuts is the automatic spelling and grammar checker. Words spelled wrongly are underlined with a red wavy line and grammar errors in green and as much as I bow to the superior knowledge of the programme I have to argue with some of the grammar quibbles. But deep in my heart I know that the programme is right so I give in and do as I’m told. Yet there is the odd occasion where Word has got it wrong, as demonstrated above.
The “smart cut and paste” option too is very useful once that I had got used to it. If you want to cut out a word and one space either side of it you only need to highlight the word as the “smart” bit takes over and takes a space with it. The when you paste that same word between two other words old “smart arse” puts a space in, in the right place.
I have only mentioned a few of the functions but no doubt a newcomer to the word processing business will find out for him/herself all the extra little bits that there are. Position the mouse pointer over an icon and keep it still for a second or two and a small box will appear with a brief description of that function. The best advice I can give is to have a click on everything and see what comes up but take care not to alter any settings unless you are absolutely sure that you know what you are doing. Better still make a note of any alterations, then if things don’t work out you can always put things back as they were.
Once you get used to using Word 2000 it is a joy to use and the best word processor I have ever used. Great for writing opinions that do not have spelling mistakes or grammar errors. But it still needs a watchful eye by the user to use the right word as in their and there or to and too or bare and bear and the like.
Finally if you want to be able to type accented letters like in Nestlé or Lódz press AltGr and the letter in question to get what you want. I’m not sure how you would get them if you haven’t got AltGr.
In my word processor on the Amiga I was able to access all the characters that were accented whether the accent was above or below the character. So far I have been unable to find this facility on Word, except for áéíóú, so if anyone knows how to get at such characters I’d be very grateful if they would let me know. The German U or u with two little dots over the top for instance. Greek letters and the like. One of my word processors on the Amiga could read out loud as you typed. I don’t think that Word can do that, but then who would want it to.