We think that at the present time it is extremely difficult to find a person who would not have encountered using office applications in everyday life. As practice shows, in 90% of this program is a text editor. And in our country, in addition to this, almost always we are talking about the notorious Word from Microsoft.
Reasons for success
Why did this class of utilities become so common? Everything is simple. Firstly, we often work with text. Secondly, the functionality of modern applications of this kind is so wide that they sometimes replace spreadsheets, and even the simplest
graphic editors. But still, the main functions of a text editor include:
- Create and edit text.
- The basic functions of a text editor include copying, cutting, and pasting.
- Formatting documents.
- Preparation and review of reports, articles, other types of text files.
Advanced functionality
But modern office work conditions dictate their own rules. If all this was quite enough eight years ago, today the following features are among the main functions of a text editor, all of which are very important:
- Mandatory support for various add-ons. If you open a document created using any add-in, many functions will be supported even if this extension was not installed on this computer for some reason.
- Using SmartArt graphic elements. When you open a document that initially has this option, you can edit and create text data, as well as cut, paste and resize existing shapes.
- Bookmarking is a must-have feature! When you open a document in which bookmarks are available, you can continue to work exactly from the moment where it was stopped.
- Cross-linking supported. You can follow them (if intersecting documents are preserved), cross-references can be deleted and edited. It is very convenient if you have to work with hundreds of different, but interconnected text files.
- The next mandatory function is to create a table of contents, which is especially important for students and researchers. If the table of contents was originally in the document, then you can change it or delete its elements.
Tools for serious work
But even this is just the main basis! Modern text editors are a powerful tool. So the main functions of a text editor include other important options:
- Creating footnotes. You can cut, move, or delete footnotes that were originally contained in an open document, or create your own.
- Among the main functions of the text editor MS Word are also the processes of creating formulas and signatures. The former are especially important, since both in science and in business, the visual display of methods for calculating particular indicators is very important.
- It supports the creation of a list of illustrations, their editing, as well as the addition and removal of new pictures.
- Automatic creation of footers, markers, references.
- Express blocks. A very convenient feature that greatly saves time for those who often work with large arrays of electronic documents.
- The developers of MS Word 2007 provide for the possibility of integrating a text editor with the Internet, for which there is a tab "Newsletters".
- The Start Merge group. Due to the commands included in this group, you can mass mail letters, envelopes, stickers, etc. to a large number of correspondents by e-mail.
Other functionality
Recall that back in Office 2007, Microsoft introduced a huge number of visual effects into the package, which allow you to create the effect of glow, three-dimensional deformation or shadow (in relation to any object). In Office 2010, this initiative was not only preserved, but continued. So, the main functions of a text editor include (the answer will surely amaze any inexperienced user) even the means of working with images!
Many stylization effects were added (for example, you can now create a pencil sketch from a photograph), even complex effects of mosaics or broken glass have appeared. Of course, this text editor, the purpose and main functions of which any schoolchild today knows, is not a competitor to Photoshop, but nevertheless the simplest operations can be performed in it.
Work with graphics
As experienced users may know, such effects are mainly found only in professional graphic editors, but their presence in their favorite text editor is only pleasing. Among other things, the programs received tools for better control of contrast, brightness, as well as the gamma of the image and its blur. In addition, new tools were added for creating screenshots of the entire screen, screenshots of application windows, as well as the function to delete background images.
The basic functions of a text editor also include pasting and copying. It should be noted that in earlier versions,
formatting of the text was only available after it was inserted into the text. Now, a separate item has appeared in the insert menu where you can set formatting options in advance. The Paste Preview function has also appeared, which allows you to evaluate how a document with an inserted fragment of text will look.
Cut and Paste
One of the most common types of formatting used by both beginners and advanced users is to cut out the selected fragment and then paste it in another place in the document (or even in another document). Perhaps these are the main functions of a text editor, which is used by an average office worker.
To carry out this operation after selecting the text, you can either use the corresponding buttons located on the main tab in the “Clipboard” group, or use the key combinations: “Ctrl + X” - to cut, “Ctrl + C” - to paste. In the case when it is necessary to leave the selected fragment in the source text, copying is used: the key on the main tab or the key combination “Ctrl + C”.
Expanding the capabilities of the standard "insert"
In the same “Clipboard” group there is an extremely useful command “Format by sample”, which is used to apply the format of one part of the text to another. This command also has its own key combination: “Ctrl + Shift + C”.
It should be noted that multiple applications of the same format are possible. To do this, after selecting the desired fragment, double-click on the “Format by sample” button, and then simply select the parts of the document that you want to format with the left mouse button.
Advanced features (from Word 2010 and later)
What about the contacts, calendar, and schedule? Actually, the local tabs from the "mail" absolutely do not differ. Yes, and the changes themselves seemed to be reduced as if under carbon paper: the most significant difference was the appearance of large icons of functions and applications, which made it easier to get through. In addition, the user can now customize the display options for the calendar, which is also very, very convenient. In general, the changes in contacts are similar. It is especially nice that you can choose options for displaying business cards.
There is no longer a large round “Office” button, since it has been replaced by the File tab, activation of which leads to the disclosure of a new menu, which can be called without modesty one of the main innovations of the entire Office 2010/2013. This is not just a detailed context menu, but a powerful tool that allows you to work with almost all types of office files (with Word, PowerPoint files, etc.). During its development, the goal was to minimize the number of all kinds of dialog boxes that can easily confuse the average user, allowing the latter to easily and without any hesitation to work with documents.
There is a considerable number of completely new options. For example, now any Word file can be converted to PDF without using third-party applications.
We hope that from now on you know the basic functions of a text editor.