CSCI 1101 Intro to Computers

1. CSCI 1101 Intro to Computers 3. Common Productivity Software

2. What are documents? • Documents are an integral part of our society • Declaration of Independence • U.S. Constitution • To Kill a Mockingbird • daily newspapers • As literacy increased, document production tools changed. • Document production software includes word processing and desktop publishing software.

3. Do I really need typing skills? • Typing is generally required but you don’t have to be an expert. • Typing tutor software can help you increase speed and accuracy.

4. How to get started • First - Just Do IT! • Most people begin with a rough draft typed on a word processing program. • don’t be distracted with the look of the document • Word processing handles many tasks for you, such as word wrap,which determines how text will automatically flow from line to line.

5. How has word processing improved the quality of writing? • Computerized document production tools can help you improve quality of writing. • insert text • cut sections • move entire paragraphs or pages • Text blocks - name given to sections of a document. • Outline feature helps you develop document as hierarchy of headings and subheadings. • Made iterative writing practical and functional

6. Typical quality improvement tools • Thesaurus - part of word processing software used to find more descriptive words • Searchfeature - used to hunt for all occurrences of a specific word • Searchandreplace - used to substitute one word or phrase for another • In-linespellingchecker - marks errors with a colored background or wavy underline

7. Productivity tools • Document template is a preformatted document into which you type text. • format settings are already set Document templates

8. Formatting improvements with word processors • A font is a specific type design. • You can adjust line spacing, margins, indents, tabs, borders, and frames. • Justification defines how letters and words are spaced across each line. Hanging indents make numbers stand out

9. How to publish the final document • Technology has made it possible for individuals to create pamphlets, newsletters, and manuscripts. • cost of paper still limits number of books published each year • The Internet has made electronic publishing possible. • can disseminate many kinds of information • documents can be sent, stored, or manipulated

10. Electronic publishing • Documents that you want to publish on the Web must be converted to a Web-compatible format. • HTML (hypertext markup language) • set of codes inserted into document • standardized way of handling text and graphics • Web browsers display HTML documents • Microsoft Internet Explorer • Netscape Navigator

11. Final document tools • Header is text that you specify to automatically appear in the top margin of every page. • Footer is text that you specify to automatically appear in the bottom margin of every page. • Wordcount - computer can count each word in a document • Concordance - alphabetical list of words and frequency in a document • Readabilityformulas identify the reading level required to understand a document.

12. Final production assistance tools • IndexandTableofContents - automatically produced by most document production software • MailMerge - process of creating a series of personalized letters by combining information in a mailing list with a blank form letter

13. Spreadsheet benefits • Even though the U.S. is one of the most technological societies on earth, many people experience mathephobia, a fear of math. • Entrepreneurs have devised tools to ease the burden of making calculations. • Spreadsheet - numerical model or representation of a real situation. • checkbook

14. What is a spreadsheet? • Spreadsheet refers to the data for numerical models. • Created and stored on a computer. • One expert describes spreadsheets as:“intuitive, natural, usable tools for financial analysis, business, and mathematical modeling, decision making, simulation, and problem solving.”

15. Components of a spreadsheet • Worksheets • an on-screen spreadsheet • based on grid of columns and rows • Cell - intersection of columns and rows • Cellreference - unique address given to cell • A1 = column A, row 1 • A cell can contain • numbers (values) • text (labels) • formulas (tells computer how to calculate)

16. An example of a spreadsheet A typical worksheet

17. How can a I trust a spreadsheet results? • Responsibility for the accuracy of a worksheet lies with the person who creates it. • Auditing, or testing a worksheet, is important. • Most spreadsheet software includes auditing features.

18. What about graphic displays? • Spreadsheet software provides you with an easy way to create polished charts and graphs. • Graphs provide a quick summary of a set of data. • visually interesting • easy to understand • can imply something other than truth

22. Where are spreadsheets used? • A spreadsheet works well for • recording and graphing data • making calculations • constructing numerical models of the real world • Main advantage is saving time. • SpreadsheetModeling - setting up numbers in a worksheet to describe a real-world situation. • What-ifanalysis - setting up a model and experimenting with different numbers.

23. What is a database? • Our society has moved from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. • Experts estimate that the amount of information doubles every year. • Information is stored in databases - collections of information stored on one or more computers.