This guide explains the functions of the Microsoft Office
suite of programs installed on NCI computers.
WHAT
IS MICROSOFT OFFICE?
NCI computers give students access to the popular Microsoft
Office package for creating or viewing essays, reports, spreadsheets,
and other documents.
Microsoft Office contains computer programs for word processing,
spreadsheet, database, publicity documents and presentation
creation. It is widely used in the workplace and is a popular
choice for home computers.
To use the Microsoft Office programs:
click Start at the bottom left-hand corner of
the screen
Microsoft Office should appear on the pop-up
list. If not, look for it under All Programs
Slide your pointer onto Microsoft Office and
then to the right to select the required program
MICROSOFT
WORD
This program is a word processor and can be used to produce
typed documents such as letters, essays and reports.
Pictures and other graphics can be inserted into the typed
document. Word can format your work into columns, tables and
simple diagrams. It's also possible to insert links to Internet
pages.
Colour documents can be created and there are also page formatting
options to change the look of your document.
Word has a spell-checker, thesaurus and grammar-checker to
help ensure your writing is error-free.
Excel is used to create speadsheets (tabulations of data).
You can use it for financial statements, or compilations of
statistics or other figures.
Using the automatic calculation feature known as formulas,
complex calculations can be done automatically and will recalculate
automatically if the figures in the spreadsheet are changed.
Graphs can be produced in a wide range of styles. The graphs
can be pasted into a Word document (eg a report) if required.
Access is a database program that allows you to create inventories,
lists, catalogues or registers. The database features can
be used to generate reports which extract data from your database
and print it out in the form you require.
There are import and export features available to read other
database formats or save your database into other formats.
PowerPoint creates audiovisual presentations (projected "slide
shows") for meetings or seminars.
Your slides can be animated with sliding and dissolving effects,
and sound effects can be inserted.
PowerPoint is an effective way to present project results
and comes with numerous templates for a quick start.
Publisher is a powerful, versatile tool to produce documents
for publication. Page formats supported include folded brochures,
banners, greeting cards as well as flyers (single-page documents)
and multiple-page documents (booklets or newsletters).
Text and graphics can be inserted as desired for an infinitely
variable look, or use the large variety of sample designs
available.
