Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace
- One of the pioneers of the computer hardware and software
- In 1968, he demonstrated his Augment system:
> Mouse
> Video Display Setting
> Mixed text and graphics, windowing
> Outlining
> Shared-Screen Video Conferencing
> Computer Conferincing
> Groupware
> Hypermedia
The Wordsmith's Toolbox
- Working with a word processer involves several steps
> Entering text
> Editing text
> Formatting the document
> Proofreading the document
> Saving the document on disk
> Printing the document
Entering, Editing, and Formatting Text
Entering Text
> Text is displayed on the screen stored in the computer's RAM
> Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory
Editing Text
> Navigate to different parts of a document
> Insert or delete text at any point
> Move and copy text
> Search and replace words or phrases
- Formatting paragraphs involves:
Margin settings
Line spacing
Indents
Tabs
Justification
- Formatting the document
Stylesheets
Headers and footers
Multiple variable-width columns
Graphics
Automatic editing features
Hidden comments
Table of contents and indexes
Coaching and help features
(sometimes called wizards)
Conversion to HTML for Web publishing
-Rules of Thumb: Word Processing Is Not Typing
Use the Return or Enter key only when you must.
Word wrap moves text to the next line.
Use tabs and margin guides, not the spacebar, to align columns.
WYSIWYG is a matter of degree.
Text that looks perfectly aligned onscreen may not line up on paper.
Don’t underline.
Use italics and boldface for emphasis; italicize book and journal titles.
Use only one space after a period.
Proportionally-spaced fonts look better without double spaces.
Take advantage of special characters.
Bullets (•), em dashes (—), and curly or smart quotes (“ ”) make your work look more professional.
Outliners and Idea Processors are effective at:
Arranging information into levels
Rearranging ideas and levels
Hiding and revealing levels of detail as needed
Digital References
Dictionaries, quotation books, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, and other references are now available in digital form.
The biggest advantage of the electronic form is speed.
The biggest drawback is that quick and easy copying might tempt writers to plagiarize.
Synonym Finders
A computerized thesaurus can provide instantaneous feedback for synonyms
- Spelling Checkers
Compare words in your document with words in a disk-based dictionary
Words might be flagged, but you make the decision to ignore or change the spelling.
Grammar and Style Checkers
Analyze each word in context, checking for errors of content
Check spelling
Point out possible errors and suggest improvements
Analyze prose complexity using measurements such as sentence length and paragraph length
- Form Letter Generators
Mail merge capabilities produce personalized form letters.
Create a database with names.
Create a form letter.
Merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter.
You can incorporate custom paragraphs based on the recipient’s personal data.
Each letter looks as if it were individually written.
- Collaborative Writing Tools
Groupware: software designed to be used by a workgroup
Provides for collaborative writing and editing
Tracks changes and identifies them by the originator’s name
Compares document versions and highlights differences in documents
- Processing handwritten words
Processing words with software that can reliably recognize human speech
Anticipating a writer’s needs, acting as an electronic editor or co-author
- What Is Desktop Publishing?
The process of producing a book, magazine, or other publication includes several steps:
Writing text
Editing text
- Producing drawings, photographs, and other graphics to accompany the text
Designing a basic format for the publication
Typesetting text
Arranging text and graphics on pages
Typesetting and printing pages
Binding pages into a finished publication
With modern desktop publishing technology (DTP), the production process can be accomplished with sophisticated tools that are affordable and easy to use.
A desktop publishing system generally includes:
One or more Macs or PCs
A scanner
Transforms photographs and hand-drawn images into computer-readable documents
A high-resolution printer
Software
