Glossary
A
The way text aligns along the right and left sides of the page. Alignment comes in four distinct settings: left, center, right, or justify.
A feature that corrects spelling errors as you type. You can also use AutoCorrect to quickly insert long phrases automatically.
Pre-drawn shapes and lines you can use to add graphic elements to a document, such as a square or star.
B
A custom tab stop that creates a vertical line at the tab stop.
A link in a document that allows you to return to a specific location in the document.
Lines around one or more sides of a paragraph, page, or object. Word offers a wide variety of line types and colors to choose from.
See page break or section break.
C
A box in a table, formed by the intersection of a row and a column.
An alignment option that aligns text between the right margin and left margin in the center of the page.
A small box that you click to enable or disable an option in a dialog box. If the check box has a check mark in it, the option is currently enabled; if the box is empty, the option is disabled. Check boxes are not always mutually exclusive; sometimes you can mark several check boxes in a group.
A collection of pre-drawn artwork you can use to illustrate your document.
A temporary storage area that holds multiple pieces of cut or copied text or other items. You can paste items from the Clipboard to other documents or files.
Also called a shortcut menu. A menu that appears when you right-click on something. The commands in a context menu are related to where you click.
To place a duplicate of the selected text or object somewhere else in the document or another document.
See insertion point
A tab stop that you insert in a document. When you add a custom tab, all the default tabs to its left disappear.
To move the selected text or object somewhere else in the document or another document.
D
A file that contains the data you will merge into the main document. See also mail merge.
A custom tab stop that aligns text along the decimal point.
A small window that appears when you issue a command or implement a feature that requires more information about how you want to carry out the task.
To press and hold down the mouse button as you move the mouse pointer. You typically drag to move, draw, or select objects with the mouse.
A large initial or capital letter that appears at the start of the paragraph and seems to drop below the baseline into the rest of the paragraph.
A menu that appears when you click a drop-down arrow next to a command or tool button allowing you to select from additional commands or options.
E, F, G
A reference note that appears at the end of a chapter.
A placeholder for information that can be updated. Typical fields in Word include the date field, which displays the current date, or the page number field, which displays the correct page number on each page in a document. See also mail merge.
Only the first line of a paragraph is indented.
Refers to a typeface, such as Arial, that defines the shape or character set of text.
Refers to the size of text in a document, measured in points.
Text that repeats at the bottom of every page.
A reference note that is placed at the bottom of a page.
H
All the lines in a paragraph except the first line are indented.
Also called a manual page break, this is a page break inserted by the user to force a page to break at a particular spot; press Ctrl+Enter to insert a hard page break.
Text that repeats at the top of every page.
A clickable piece of text that links you to a different location within the current document, to another file on your computer or network, or to a page on the Internet.
I
In-line images are in the same layer of the document as text, so text cannot wrap around them.
To push in the text in a paragraph so that it moves away from the margin. Word offers four indent options: left, right, first line, or hanging.
The flashing vertical bar, also called the cursor, that marks where text will be inserted or deleted when you type new text or delete existing text.
J, K, L
An alignment that creates both a flush left and flush right edge.
A combination of keystrokes that you can use to issue a command instead of using buttons and menus.
The document prints so that the long edge of the paper is at the top of the page.
An alignment option that aligns text along the left margin of the page.
M, N, O
The process of merging a “boilerplate” document, such as a form letter, with a list of data, such as names and addressees, to generate personalized documents.
The temporary storage area in your computer that holds the programs and documents that you currently have open (also called RAM). Memory is cleared each time you turn off your computer.
A field you insert in a main document telling Word where to insert personalized data from a list, such as a person’s name or address.
A general description for any item or element you add to a document, such as clip art, a picture, or a text box.
See radio button.
P
The separation between one page and the next.
A symbol (¶) that marks the end of a paragraph. Normally hidden, you can turn on paragraph marks using the Show/Hide Paragraphs command.
A measurement stemming from the tradition of typography equivalent to 1/72 of an inch. Twelve points make a pica, and 6 picas make an inch. A point is the smallest unit of measure in desktop publishing and commonly describes the height of a font or space between lines of text and other digital elements.
The document prints so that the short edge of the paper is at the top of the page. Portrait is the default setting for most documents.
Q
A small toolbar that appears at the top of the Word program window that contains commonly used commands.
Pre-made content elements, also called building blocks, you can insert into your documents, such as headers.
R
Also called an option button, this button allows the user to choose only one of a predefined set of options.
All the information about one person in a data source list, such as a person’s name and address. Each record is composed of individual fields for the specific pieces of information, such as first name and last name.
The area at the top of the program window containing tabs of commands and tools.
An alignment option that aligns text along the right margin of the page.
S
A small pop-up box that appears when you rest your mouse pointer over a button or other element that identifies the item. Also called a ToolTip.
The arrows at either end of a scrollbar that you can click to scroll through a document.
A long bar that lets you move through your document with the mouse. The vertical scrollbar lets you move up and down pages, while the horizontal scrollbar lets you move left and right.
Marks the end of a section in your document, storing section formatting information such as margin settings and headers and footers.
To mark text for performing an action, such as applying formatting or moving the text.
Small squares that surround a selected object, such as clip art. You can drag selection handles to resize the object.
A free online storage service offered through Microsoft’s Windows Live website. You can upload documents to the server and access them from any computer with an Internet connection.
When Word recognizes the data you’re typing, such as a person’s name, and offers a menu of actions you can apply.
A group of pre-formatted, editable diagrams you can use to illustrate a process, procedure, hierarchy, or cycle.
A page break inserted by Word when text must flow to the next page.
Tiny arrow buttons next to an option that let you set a value for the option.
The horizontal bar at the bottom of the program window that keeps track of pages, line count, column count, and other status information.
A set of formatting you can apply to text. You might apply a heading style to all the chapter titles in a document, for example, or a body style for all the chapter text.
T
In a document, a tab refers to the amount of space you indent when you press the Tab key. A tab can also refer to a group of commands organized into a page or section, such as the tabs on Word’s Ribbon.
The destination to which a hyperlink leads.
A vertical pane that usually appears on the right side of the program window offering information and options for a particular feature.
A rough “blueprint” for a document that controls the layout and contains some combination of formatting and text. You can replace the placeholder text within the template with your own text.
A special box you can insert into a document to hold text, such as a pull quote.
Special artistic effects you can apply to text to create visual appeal.
Preset formatting that helps you maintain a consistent look and feel throughout a document or documents.
The horizontal bar that appears at the top of the program window, listing the name of the file and the name of the program.
A button or keyboard command you click or press once to turn on and once again to turn off.
See ScreenTip.
U, V
To transfer files from your computer to a location on the Internet.
W, X, Y, Z
A background image that appears behind the document text, usually shaded. Watermarks are commonly used to mark pages with company logos, DRAFT, or CONFIDENTIAL warnings.
A specialized feature that asks you about what type of document you want to create and walks you through the process, generating a final document based on your choices.
A Microsoft Office feature for turning text into a graphic object.
Refers to the way text flows around an image or object in a document.
To change the magnification of a document onscreen. You can zoom in to enlarge a document or zoom out to view more of the contents.
