Microsoft WordPad

...for the operating system) with Microsoft Windows 95 and above. It is a word processing program and is great if you don't
want to pay out for an expensive word processing application like Word. There is
enough there to layout a nice looking document, but if your looking to write a document with columns and clip art, you won't find it with WordPad.

-- What do I use it for? --

I wrote my first ever story with ...
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I have Microsoft Office so I don't really need to ever use WordPad, because I much prefer Microsoft Word, but the most useful feature of WordPad that I like is the possibility of finding and replacing text automatically. When I work on my web page and I need to change links quickly, I can open the html in WordPad and then find and replace what I need without have to take loads of time up on doing each part separately. WordPad displays ... more

WordPad is a program that you can find on your start menu and comes free (well, I say free, you still have to pay for the operating system) with Microsoft Windows 95 and above. It is a word processing program and is great if you don't
want to pay out for an expensive word processing application like Word. There is
enough there to layout a nice looking document, but if your looking to write a document with columns and clip art, you won't find it with WordPad.

-- What do I use it for? --

I wrote my first ever story with this program when I had my first personal computer when I was eleven. It was the only writing program on the computer and this is when I have used it for writing a document. Other times I need to use this application is when I try to open a document in notepad but the file is too big and WordPad has to open it. This is more advanced than notepad, but you can see the resemblance with the two by the menu options within the program. The main reason I use WordPad is to edit html code by using the find and replace option, as
WordPad speeds the process, usually I would have to go through the code and have to change each same link over and over, but with WordPad this can be automated. This isn't going to be applicable to everyone though.

-- The features of WordPad --

This is an overview of the drop down menus found at the top of the page.

File
*****

This has your usual options that come with a file drop down menu; New, Open, Save, Save As, Print, Print Preview, Page Set-up and Exit. If you are familiar with using notepad to write documents, you will notice that there isn't an option to print preview and also with the file menu on WordPad there is a list of recently
opened documents for quick reference
to files.

Edit
*****
This has your usual options that come with a edit drop down menu; Undo, Cut, Copy,
Paste, Paste Special, Clear, Select All, Find, Find Next, Replace, Links, Object Properties and Object. All these options can be useful in speeding up processes.

View
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This is a menu so you can edit the toolbars that are shown on a page and the tool bars that are available in this program are Toolbar, Ruler, Format Bar, Status Bar and there is also an option choice. This comes in handy when
preparing documents.

Insert
*******
From here you can insert the current date and time and you can also insert an object. Inserting an object is very useful as this is where you can insert any sort of file that have been installed and
registered on your computer, it can be complicated to use and other word processing applications do work better.

Format
*********
This menu gives you some basic word processing options that include font, bullet
style, paragraph and tabs. All these are ideally needed when making up a document as the layout means a lot and making parts of it stand out are sometimes a must and this is what this is for.

Help
******
From the help menu you can access the help files and they are very basic because the
program itself is very basic, and it very easy to pick up and apply. The help files do have the relevant information and is also clear and precise.

-- Conclusion --

There are plenty of word processing programs available some you have to pay for and some are free, and you will even find that some of the free counterparts do just the same jobs as the ones that run into hundreds of pounds. WordPad is there, and you can write your letters with it, and you can align text, change colours
and change fonts etc. It is a step up from notepad, and is very easy to use with a bit of previous computer knowledge. There isn't a spell-checking program, which can be a required tool if you are writing important documents, because some of the most obvious spelling mistakes are the hardest to see.

There are toolbars available with WordPad that offer the option to change the font, colour of the font and the style, for example you can underline, make text bold or italic or mix the three.

I have Microsoft Office so I don't really need to ever use WordPad, because I much prefer Microsoft Word, but the most useful feature of WordPad that I like is the possibility of finding and replacing text automatically. When I work on my web page and I need to change links quickly, I can open the html in WordPad and then find and replace what I need without have to take loads of time up on doing each part separately. WordPad displays text neatly, quickly and clearly
without loads of rulers around the sides and toolbars.

This is ideal if you want to write basic documents, but a more established word
processing program would be of more use
if you want to get a little bit technical with your documents. There are plenty of free packages and you will just need to wait for programs to download, which isn't too bad if your connected to the Internet by broadband, a little bit harder if connected by modem. You don't need to spend a lot of money on an office package. This program does a good job.

 

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