Module 5: Manipulate Information in a Usable Form

Software

• System Software
• Application Software
• Word Processing Software
• Spreadsheet Software
• Presentation Graphics Software
• Communication Software

There are two major types of software: system software, which works in the background to control your computer's operations, and application software, which lets you create documents and perform other specific functions.

System software are the programs that control your computer and all of its devices. The major type of system software is the operating system, which coordinates all of the activities of the computer. Your computer must have an operating system in order to run all your other software. When you turn on your computer, the operating system is loaded from the hard disk in to the computer's memory during the boot up process.

The operating system determines your computer's user interface. The user interface controls both input and output, and relates to how the information looks to you on your monitor. The most common type of user interface is a graphical user interface, or GUI. GUI interfaces are user-friendly, and include graphics such as buttons, icons, menus, and other visual cues to help you use your computer more effectively.

The most common GUI operating systems today are from Microsoft, with its Windows operating system, and Macintosh (Apple Computers) with its Mac OS system. As each operating system is upgraded, the name changes slightly. Windows operating systems include the older Windows 95 and Windows 98, Windows NT (often used in networked environments), Windows ME, and the newer Windows XP. Mac OS X is one of the latest Mac OS systems.

Both types of GUI operating systems have some common elements. The desktop is the main work area from which you access all of the programs and files on your computer. The desktop usually has several icons on the screen. Icons are small pictures that represent a program, file, or other object. You can double-click on an icon with the mouse to start the program or open the file.

Buttons are also found on the desktop and within programs. A button is a graphical element on the screen that when clicked with the mouse will perform a function, such as saving or printing a file.

Another common element is the Trash can on Macs or Recycle Bin in Windows. When a file is deleted from the hard drive it is put in the Trashcan or Recycle Bin, and the files are not permanently gone until it is "emptied" or purged. This allows you to recover files you may have deleted accidentally. However, files from a floppy disk are not put in the Recycle Bin.

One important button in the Windows environment is the Start button, which opens a menu of programs, files, and commands that are accessible to you. This is the main entry point into all that your computer can do. If you see a right-pointing arrow next to an option on the menu, that means there is another sub-menu with more items from which to choose. Clicking on an item on a menu, such as a program, will cause that program to start.

Once a program has started, it opens in a new window. A window is a rectangular area on the screen that opens on top of the desktop, and which contains the program. You can have more than one window, or program, open at the same time. Buttons at the bottom or side of your screen will indicate what programs are currently running on your computer.

WEB INFO: Take the Windows XP Tour from Microsoft How Operating Systems Work Operating Systems Introduction

Application software lets you create many different types of documents. Documents can include text files, spreadsheets, databases, Web pages, and more. You can also use application software to get information, such as from a CD-ROM encyclopedia, create graphics, and play games.

The most common type of application software is productivity software, which is usually sold in suites, or collections of related software sold in a single package.

Microsoft Office is the most common software suite. Software suites usually include a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, and can also include a database program, presentation graphics software, Web authoring software, graphic publication software, and mail and calendar software. It is usually an advantage to buy software in a suite because it is less expensive, and you can integrate several types of software when creating complex documents.

Software suites are released in "versions," which are updates to older releases. Traditionally, major revisions of versions have been denoted by whole numbers, such as Version 2.0, Version 3.0, etc. while minor changes are designated by decimals, such as from 4.0 to 4.2. Now some manufacturers are using the calendar years the version was released, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, and Office 2000.

If you work on several different computers with different versions of software, you need to be careful. Typically, a newer version of a program will be able to read a file created in an older version (called "backwards compatible"), but the reverse is not usually true. A document created in Version 2.0 of a program may not be able to be opened on a computer using Version 1.0 of the same program.

There can also be difficulty using files created on a Macintosh computer and a Windows computer. One problem is that the two types of PCs format disks differently, so that PCs normally cannot open files saved on a Macintosh-formatted disk. However, Macs are usually able to access PC-formatted disks. Some programs allow you to save files in other formats. There is also special software that will perform PC to Mac and Mac to PC file conversions.

We will talk about the three most common types of productivity software that allow you to communicate information to others: word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation graphics software. All of these software types use many of the same tools and concepts, such as saving, cutting, pasting, formatting, etc. This makes it easy to learn a new software program when you already know how to use one.

When using any application software program, "Help" is usually available online rather than in a printed user manual, although manuals may be used as reference as well. To access help, choose the "Help" option from the menu bar. In Windows-based programs, the Function key F1 may also be used to access help. Depending on the program you can get help by looking at a table of contents, searching an index, or typing in the question you want help with (such as, "How do I change the margins?")

When you create a document, you enter the letters, numbers, and/or graphics using the keyboard and mouse. Using a word processor, you can create letters, reports, newsletters, fax sheets, mailing labels, and more. All of these items are considered documents. You can also edit and format your documents using tools on the word processor's toolbars.

Below is an illustration of the Standard Toolbar from Microsoft Word and what each button does.

Here is an illustration of the Formatting Toolbar from Microsoft Word and what each button does.

After entering your text and other data, the next step in document creation is editing. Word processors make it easy to go back and edit, or change, work you have already entered. Some common editing functions include cutting, copying, and pasting parts of the document. When you cut (remove) or copy something, it is stored to a temporary storage location called the clipboard. Pasting places the contents of the clipboard back into the document.

You can also insert and delete items in the document. Deleting removes the item permanently, versus cutting which stores it in the clipboard. You can insert items such as charts or clip art. Clip art is a collection of copyright-free drawings or photographs that often come with word processors and that you can insert into your documents.

A common function in word processors that helps you edit your document is spell check. The spell checker will compare the words in your document to an electronic dictionary and indicate which words are not found in the dictionary, often with a colored squiggle line underneath the word. Right-clicking on the word will bring up a list of possible correct spellings from which you can choose. Proper names and places often do not appear in the word processor's dictionary, but you can easily add them in if they will be appearing often in your document.

Another editing function is find or search and replace. This is especially useful in extremely long documents. You can search for a particular word, and if you need to change every instance of the word, you can have the word processor automatically replace the word with your correction.

Usually the last step in document creation is formatting. Whereas editing changes the actual content of your document, formatting changes the look of the document. There are many text formatting options in word processors:

• Font: specific design or type of character such as Arial or Times New Roman.
• Font size: size of character, measured in "points" (1/72 of an inch). Regular text is usually 10 or 12 point.
• Font style: includes bold, italic, and underline.
• Columns and alignment: documents can have more than one column. The text in a regular or multi-column document can be aligned to the left, right, center, or justified. Left alignment is most common, with the words lined up with the left margin and a jagged right edge. You can also align right, with the words lined up with the right margin, and a jagged left edge. Center alignment will center every line in the middle of the page or column, and justified alignment will space the words so that both the right and left edges line up with the margins.
• Headers and footers: You can have page numbers, titles, dates, and other information appear at the top of every page (header) or bottom of every page (footer).
• Bulleted and numbered lists: You can easily create lists that have bullets, or a small dot or other shape, before each line, or you can number the lines as a straight numbering system or in outline format.
• Borders and shapes: You can add borders, or decorative lines or patterns, along the edge of a page or graphic. You can also draw shapes such as squares, circles, stars, etc. to create your own graphics.
• Color: You can change the color of text, borders, fills (inside a shape), and backgrounds.

Saving, Opening, and Printing

When you create a document, it is important to save it by giving it a unique file name and storing it on some kind of storage medium. You should do this shortly after you begin working on the document so that you will not lose your work if your computer suddenly loses power.

To save a document, you simply click the save button on the menu bar. The first time you save, the program will ask you to enter where you want to save the file and what you want to name it. This is called "Save as." You can save the file to the hard drive, a floppy disk, or some other storage medium. The name of the file can be anything you'd like. It should be something meaningful so that you will remember what is stored in the file. If you have already saved a file and you make changes to the document, you can choose to save it with the same name, which will overwrite to older version, or you can "Save as" to save a second copy of the file with a new name.

The file name will almost always be followed by a dot (.) and a three letter file extension. An extension indicates what type of file it is. For instance a Microsoft Word file will end in .doc. A WordPerfect file ends in .wpd. A plain text file ends in .txt.

Once you have saved your file, you can then easily open it for later editing and reading. There are several ways to open a file. You can open the program in which you created the file, such as Word, click the "Open" icon, select the file from where you saved it (a: drive for floppy, c: drive for hard disk, etc.), and click "OK." If it is a file you worked on recently, in Windows you can click the Start button, go to "Documents," and then select the file. The program that created it will open, and the file will load into the program.

To print a file to your printer, simply click the "Print" icon on the menu bar. Most programs are WYSIWYG, (pronounced "Wizzeewig"). That stands for "What You See Is What You Get." This means that your printout should look pretty much the same as what you see on the screen.

To save, print, open, and format files, you can also use the menu bar at the top of the screen as well as the toolbars. Additional options are often available when using the menu bar versus the toolbars.

Wizards and Templates

Most word processing programs and other productivity software include wizards, which help you to create documents or tasks by walking you through the steps and asking questions along the way. The wizard automatically performs actions for you based on your answers. It is an easy way to create complex documents. Some wizards unclude Fax wizards, Newsletter wizards, Resume wizards, and Web page wizards.

Templates are pre-formatted documents that you can customize yourself. Common word processing templates include business letters, fax cover sheets, resumes, reports, and more.

WEB INFO: Using a Word Processor Tutorial Microsoft Office Word 2003 Information   Study Guide: Word Processing

Spreadsheet software has the same kind of editing and formatting features found in word processors. The most common spreadsheet program is Microsoft Excel, but others include Corel Quattro Pro and Lotus 1-2-3.

In Excel, a file is called a workbook. A workbook consists of several worksheets. Workbooks allow you to keep related information together in a single file. For example, a company may keep a workbook called "Sales." Within the workbook are different, individual worksheets for each of the different departments.

Worksheets are organized into tables with columns and rows. Each column is designated by a column letter and each row is designated by a row number. The intersection of a column and row is called a cell. Cells are identified by the column letter and row number; for instance, the intersection of column D and row 4 is cell D4.

There are three major types of data that can be held within a cell: text, numbers and formulas.

Text can be labels for columns or rows, headings, names, addresses, or any type of non-numerical information.

Numbers can be any kind of value: dollar amounts, percentages, totals, etc. A formatting feature in Excel is the number style. You can enter numbers as text, if they are not the type of numbers on which you would perform a calculation, and you want to ensure the numbers appear exactly as you enter them. Numbers as text would be telephone numbers or social security numbers. You can also have numbers as percentages (32%), decimal style (34.29), or comma style (4,321).

Formulas can also be entered to perform calculations on the numbers in the spreadsheet; the resulting value displays in the cell containing the formula. For instance, you might have a column of numbers that you want to add. Instead of manually adding the numbers, and entering the total yourself, you can simply enter a formula that says to add that column and display the total. The advantage to using a formula is that if any of the numbers in the column change, the total will adjust accordingly.

There are many quick ways to enter formulas that can add, get an average, do an if/then statement, etc. At the top of the spreadsheet is the Formula bar where you enter the formula. In Microsoft Excel, you enter an equal sign (=) before the formula, to indicate that you are entering a formula.

Another important feature of a spreadsheet is the capability of creating charts to graphically illustrate the information in the spreadsheet. Often a chart can quickly show visually what it would take some time to sort out in a plain spreadsheet. Types of charts include line charts, pie charts, and bar charts. You can format the charts to include color, 3D effects, labels, legends, and more.

You can use the wizard within the spreadsheet to help you create very professional looking charts. There are also templates within Excel to create colorful pre-formatted spreadsheets in Accounting Style, Classic Style, List Style, and more.

Below is the Formatting Toolbar in Microsoft Excel and its functions:

WEB INFO: Online Spreadsheet Tutorials Microsoft Excel 2003 Overview Study Guide: Spreadsheets

Presentation Graphics Software

Microsoft PowerPoint is the most common presentation software. Others include Corel Presentations and Lotus Freelance. The features discussed here relate mostly to Microsoft PowerPoint, although some of the other presentation graphics programs have similar features.

Creating presentations is a fairly simple process, because the presentation graphics software provides many predefined slide designs with attractive backgrounds, font styles, and other complementary graphic features such as borders and other artwork.

In addition, there are predefined slide layouts for the title slide, bulleted lists, two-column lists, text with clip art, text with chart, and more.

Finally, there are wizards and templates for specific types of presentations, such as employee training or communicating a marketing strategy, etc.

You can enhance your presentations by using 3-D and other visual effects such as shadows, textures, and WordArt. WordArt is a Microsoft feature that provides styles for decorative word styles. Clip art is another feature with all presentation graphics software that lets you add visual interest to your presentation. Most programs come with a variety of clip art images included, or you can add your own artwork from other clip art collections on the Web or a CD-ROM. Just be sure that any clip art you use does not have a copyright restriction.

Presentations can also incorporate animation, sound and even video for more visual interest. PowerPoint features both slide effects and slide transitions. With slide effects, you can have each item on a slide, whether it is text or graphics, appear individually on the slide when you click the mouse or timed automatically. For example, you can have each bulleted item in a list fly in from the left as you click the mouse, allowing you to keep the audience focused on each concept as you discuss it. There are many effects available such as flying in from any direction, zooming in from the center, dissolving in, and many more.

Slide transitions refer to how each slide appears. Again, there are many predefined slide transitions, such as "wiping" in from any direction, dissolving in, appearing in from a checkerboard, etc.

Any of the effects or transitions can be accompanied by a sound such as a slide projector sound, applause, whoosh, and more. These sounds are usually included with the program, or you can add your own.

Video clips and graphical animations can easily be added to the presentation as well. You can set the clips to run automatically when you get to that slide, or to run when you click with your mouse.

While slide transitions, effects, sound and animation are available in PowerPoint, it is usually a good rule of thumb not to use too many of these features in one presentation. Often instead of enhancing the presentation, they can distract from the message you are trying to communicate.

When creating your presentation, there are several different views you can use to help you organize your slides. There is an outline view that lets you see all your information in outline format. You can easily add information or move it around in the outline view. The changes will appear in the slides.

There is also the slide view which shows the presentation as slides, and you can add and edit information from each individual slide.

The normal view shows both the outline and slide, along with a space to add notes for yourself.

The slide sorter view presents all the slides as thumbnail images on one page. This view makes it easy to rearrange your slides. However, in the slide sorter view, you cannot make changes to a specific slide.

Finally, the slide show view is what you use when you are actually showing your presentation to an audience. This view will show only the slide itself on the screen without the menu bars, etc. This is the view you can use to test your animation, timing, etc.

Incorporating the Web into your presentation is also easy. Web links can be embedded within the slide, so that you can click on the link to open a Web browser and view a Web page within your presentation. You simply type in the name of the Web site, select the text, and click the "Insert Hyperlink" button on the menu bar. Type in the Web address (or URL), and the link becomes active. Of course, you must have the computer hooked up to the Internet in order for the link to work.

Presentations can be saved as Web pages for viewing online. Simply choose to save it as a Web page, and the program will create an HTML file that can be exported to the Web. Viewers can click through the presentation online. There are even programs such as PresenterOne that allow you to narrate the presentation for online users. This is advantageous in that it allows your live audience a chance to review your presentation at a later date, or for distance learning purposes.

Below are the Standard and Formatting Toolbars in PowerPoint. Note the toolbars contain many of the same functions as Word and Excel.

PowerPoint Formatting Toolbar

WEB INFO: PowerPoint Tutorial Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 Information Study Guide: Presentations

Communication Software

To understand how communications software works, you must first be familiar with how a computer processes data. Computers are digital, which means they process data using a series of 1s and 0s called the binary code. A 1 means an electrical signal within the computer is on, and a 0 means it is off.

Human voice, on the other hand, is analog, which means it uses continuous signals, or waves, to create sound. That is why most telephone lines are analog; they were designed to carry regular human speech patterns. So in order to send computer information over a phone line, that data must be translated from digital into analog and back again.

When you log on to the Internet from home, there is a good chance you are using phone lines to connect. Therefore, your computer must have a modem. A modem is a circuit board within your computer that attaches to a telephone socket in your house via a standard telephone cord. Modem stands for modulation/demodulation and it translates the digital signal from your computer into analog data the phone line can process. Modems transmit data at varying rates of speed, but most modems have speeds of about 56 kilobits per second.

To connect to the Internet, you must have an modem (or communications) software, which usually comes with your computer. The software lets you enter the number to dial, choose your connection speed, and set any other preferences.

There are other ways of accessing the Internet, such as through a network in a building, like at FCCJ. In order to connect to a network, you must have a network interface card, which will connect you to the Internet without using a modem. The most common type of network, and the one used at FCCJ, is called an Ethernet network.

Another option for accessing the Internet is through a cable modem. Cable modem connections bypass the phone lines and connect you to the Internet via cable connections, similar to your TV cable. In fact, you usually get cable modem service from the same company that gives you your cable TV, and the charge appears on your regular cable bill. Cable modems can be 20 to 100 times faster than a regular 56K dial-up modem.

When a cable modem unit is installed next to your computer, a splitter also is placed on the side of your household. It separates the coaxial cable line serving the cable modem from the line that serves your TV sets. A separate coaxial cable line is then run from the splitter to the cable modem.

Cable modems typically connect to computers through a standard 10Base-T Ethernet interface. A wire, called "Category 5 cabling," is run from the cable modem to an Ethernet card in the computer. Data is transmitted between the cable modem and computer at 10 mbps (megabits per second). Tomorrow's cable modem technology also will support Universal Serial Bus (USB) and home phone-line networking connections to computers. (Cable-modem.net)

You can also get access to the Internet through DSL,or Digital Subscriber Line. There are two main types of DSL: ADSL, or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line and SDSL, or Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

DSL technology uses regular telephone copper wires to send data over the lines from the telephone switching station to the home or business with the DSL connection. It "works by sending digital pulses in the high-frequency area of telephone wires. Since these high frequencies are not used by normal voice communications, DSL can operate simultaneously with voice connections over the same wires". (Webopedia.com)

This technology requires a special DSL modem and account with a DSL provider, and allows for much faster connection speeds than with a regular dial-in modem.

Browser Software

Once you connect to the Internet, no matter what method you use, you will still need software to view the World Wide Web portion of the Internet. That software is called browser software, or just a browser.

Web pages are created using hypertext markup language, or HTML. It uses a special set of codes, called tags, that define what text and graphics look like on a page. Browsers translate the HTML into the pages that you view on the Web.

The first browsers were text-only and you navigated using the keyboard. In 1993, the first graphical Web browser called Mosaic was invented by Marc Andreessen, a student at the University of Illinois. The graphical interface, which incorporated pictures, sound, and video, made using the Web easier to navigate and better to look at. It also marked the beginning of the Internet explosion. Andreessen later became one of the founders of Netscape Communications Corporation, a leading Internet software company. Netscape Navigator Web browser is one of the major browsing software currently in use. The other major browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer.

All browsers have Address or Location bars at the top. This is where you enter the Web address you want to visit, such as http://www.fccj.org. Another name for a Web address is Uniform Resource Locator, or URL.

Some features of browsers include buttons that help you navigate. The Home button takes you to your home page, which can be any page you like. In the Preferences menu on your browser, you can set your home page to a page you've created, or any other page out on the Internet.

The Back button takes you to the previously viewed page. The Forward button will move you forward to a page you just backed out of. The Stop button will stop the current page from loading. The Refresh or Reload button will load the page you are currently on again. This is useful if you had to stop the page from loading, or if you want to check for any recent updates to the page.

Other features include a Bookmarks or Favorites list. This is a list of Web sites that you visit frequently. When you find a site you want to save to your bookmarks, simply add it using the menu option, and it will appear on your bookmarks list. You can even organize your bookmarks into categorized folders for easier retrieval.

Most browsers have other services built into them. These services can include email, a newsgroup reader, online chat and messaging services, a search function, a Web editor for creating your own pages, among others. See Module 6 for more information on email, newsgroups, and chat.

Browsers also have functions for printing as well as saving Web pages. In addition, there are many options for customizing your browser's colors, look, and feel.

WEB INFO: What Is a Cable Modem? Modems Overview Surf the Web: Web Browsers