MAIN SOFTWARE 10 WORD PROCESSORS Answer these questions. a. What software do you use to write texts? And your classmates? b. What about when you need to do calculations or presentations? c. What can the calendaring software on your phone do? footer: piè di pagina header: intestazione to italicise: mettere in corsivo misspelt: con errori di ortografia template: modello trial: di prova unreliable: inaffidabile StarOffice StarOffice was released in 1984 by a German student, Marco Boerries, then 16 years old, who was living as an exchange student in Silicon Valley. StarOffice is now known as OpenOffice, though some Open Office developers have now created a new version, LibreOffice. Word processors are used to write and manipulate text documents. When the user enters text by typing, the software provides tools for copying, deleting and formatting the text. The main functions of a word processor can be grouped in two categories: text formatting, which refers to the appearance of the text. It includes: choosing the font type and size, bolding, underlining and italicising text editing, which refers to the content of the text. It includes: creating, editing, saving and printing documents, creating and editing tables, inserting elements from other software such as illustrations or photographs, and correcting spelling and grammar. Other important features are the layout, revision, and headers and footers. The layout refers to the orientation of the page and margins. Revision is a function that enables multiple users to modify or add notes to the text. The notes and the corrections are visible to other users until they are accepted or refused. A header is at the top of the page and can be used to insert the title of the document. The footer is at the bottom of the page and is generally used to print the page number. Word processing software typically also contains features to make it easier to perform repetitive tasks, for example, a standard letter template can be used to send similar letters to different people. The very first word processors were just used to enter and edit texts. Modern word processors can produce different kinds of texts: letters, memos, CVs, questionnaires, reports, leaflets containing graphics, newsletters, printed envelopes, personalised letters using mail merge, worksheets, labels, web pages and so on. The first word processor was a program called WordStar (1982) and worked with DOS. It was followed by other programs such as: WordPerfect, Microsoft s Word and Microsoft s Works. The first word processor for Windows appeared in 1989: Microsoft s Word 1.0. Today, other word processors are available to users, although Microsoft Word is the major player on the market. They include: Google Docs a free online word processor which utilises cloud storage, Open Office Writer both free and open source, Lotus Word Pro proprietary software provided with Lotus SmartSuite but compatible with Microsoft Windows computers, and WPS Writer part of a free office suite for different OS, often found on smart phones and tablets. Proprietary software refers to programs owned by individual or companies which are sold with some restrictions of use and do not provide the source code, i.e. they cannot be modified by the user. Open source is software available for free and with the source code so that it can be modified and shared. As for free software, you do not pay to have it, but the source code is not available. It is often a trial or a basic version of proprietary software. 150 Module 4 FLOWCHARTING