MENG 421 Assignment 7, 8

Setting Up Microsoft Word

and Starting a Term Paper

  MENG 421 -- Class assignments -- 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12  

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In this lesson you will set up Microsoft Word for use on Windows. Then you will create the title page and major headings for a bridge design report that you won't have to do. However, you will make simple Truss Plan with Word and insert the graphic of Trussw you made last week. Notice the small triangles and circles under the truss. You will also learn to distinguish serif and sans serif typefaces.

Your outline must have the following parts:

          Title Page
          Abstract
          Table of Contents
          I. Introduction
          II. Objective
          III. Procedure
          IV. Results
          V. Discussion
          VI. Conclusions
          References
          Appendix A, Truss Plan
          Appendix B, Ansys Code and Trusses

The Table of Contents will look like this. Use the Format Tabs Leader control of Word to make the rows of dots. (Click Format and Tabs, then pick Leader 2.) Use the page numbers in the figure to set the tab stops.

The lesson is designed for Tech PCs, but can be used on any Windows computer. MS Word is a very powerful editor with many features. However, it is not necessary to know all the features to use it. You will certainly want to use Word for writing papers, memos, and formal letters. However, don't use it for writing HTML for web pages or for computer programs such as Matlab and Ansys. Use Notepad instead.

You should have already have set up the desktop to include shortcuts to Word, Notepad, Wordpad, Windows Explorer, and MSIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer).

1. You should be reading this lesson from a printed listing or from a browser on a Windows PC.
2. Before starting Word, set up a folder for saving your work.
3. As you know, you must be careful to save your work in the Win directory on drive U. Otherwise, you will lose your work.
4. To be sure your work is safe, create a special folder for it and make a desktop shortcut to easily continue the work each time you log in.
   • In the left pane of Windows Explorer, scroll to the U drive.
   • If there is a plus next to the icon, left-click it to show the folders.
   • Look at the folders under U; they contain all your files.
   • Continue down the folders for the U drive until you find the folder named Win. This is where all your Windows files are stored.
   • If necessary, left-click the plus next to the Win icon to see the folders.
   • If you already have a folder named My Documents skip on to the next numbered section.
   • Move the mouse pointer to a blank region of the right Explorer pane.
   • Press the right mouse button to get a menu.
   • Left click the menu entry New and while still holding the left button move right (or sometimes left) to get a new menu.
   • Move to the top of this new menu and left-click the menu item Folder.
   • A new folder with the initial name New Folder appears.
   • Notice that the name is highlighted waiting for you to rename it.
   • Type the new name My Documents including the space; this is Microsoft's default name for Word files.
   • When you get many Word files, you will want to make subfolders with different subjects.
   • Now you are ready to start a Word document.
5. Start Word by clicking the start menu and clicking its icon, or double-clicking its icon on the desktop.

   

6. Look at the top of the Word window where there are at least four bars. The first two of them are found in most windows.
   • At the top of the window is the usual Title bar, used to move the window.
   • The Menu titles are on the next bar down.
   • The Standard toolbar with its buttons comes next.
   • The Formatting toolbar with three drop-down lists and buttons is fourth.
   • There are other toolbars that you can turn on by right-clicking the space at the end of the toolbars.
7. If the toolbars are not showing, click the View menu and move right at Toolbars to get a new menu. Check both Standard and Formatting.
8. If the Ruler is not visible below the Formatting toolbar, click the View menu and pick Ruler. The ruler is used to set tab stops and margins.
9. Type the line

        Bridge Design Project

10. Notice that there are two cursors; a mouse cursor and a typing cursor.
11. The mouse cursor follows your mouse movements and changes shape depending on where it is. Clicking in the text area positions the typing cursor.
12. The typing cursor is a vertical line and marks your location in the text. It moves as you type.
13. If the typing cursor is not in the line you just typed, move the mouse cursor to the line and click the left button.
14. Near the center of the Formatting toolbar are four alignment buttons for left, center, right, and justify. Move the mouse pointer over any tool button and a ToolTip pops up to identify it.

    

15. To center the title:
    • Put the typing cursor in the line you just typed.
    • Put your mouse cursor over each of the four alignment buttons and wait a moment for the ToolTip to tell you what it does.
    • With the typing cursor still in the line you typed, move the mouse cursor over the Align Center button and press the left mouse button.
    • Check that your text is now centered from left to right.
16. Next you will change the font and size of your title, but first you must highlight the characters.
    • Be careful with highlighted text because it is deleted if you touch any letter or number key.
    • You can, however, safely use the cursor keys including the arrow keys and Home and End keys.
    • On the other hand, if you accidentally erase some highlighted text, just click the Undo button near the middle of the Standard toolbar. This button has a counter-clockwise arrow.

    

17. You can select or highlight the text in one of following four ways.
    • We start with dragging.
      • One way to highlight a line is to drag the mouse cursor through it.
      • Move the mouse cursor to the left end of the text and left-click.
      • Hold down the left mouse button and drag to the other end.
      • When you release the button, the text will stay highlighted.
    • Another way to highlight is with the shift-click method. This method is a little easier.
      • If your text is highlighted, click somewhere else to temporarily remove the highlighting so we can try the second method.
      • Click the mouse cursor at the left end of the text to put the typing cursor there.
      • Without pressing a mouse button, move the mouse cursor to the right end of the line.
      • While holding the Shift key, left-click the mouse cursor at the right end of the line to highlight the text.
    • A third way to highlight is with the Home and End keys.
      • If your text is highlighted, click somewhere else to temporarily remove the highlighting.
      • Click the mouse cursor somewhere in the text.
      • Press the Home key to move the cursor to the left end.
      • While holding the Shift key, press the End key.
    • The fourth method only works of you want to highlight and entire line.
      • If your text is highlighted, click somewhere else to temporarily remove the highlighting.
      • You can highlight an entire line by clicking at the left margin or by triple clicking within the line of text.
      • Put the mouse cursor on the left margin of your text and left click.
      • Of course, you can't use this method of you don't want an entire line.
18. Now that your line is highlighted, we can change the typeface. But remember, if you touch any regular key the highlighted text will be erased.
    • Move the mouse cursor to the third drop-down box on the Formatting toolbar. There will be a number, such as 12, indicating the point size and the ToolTip will say Font Size.
    • Click the down arrow to get the Font Size drop-down list.
    • Left click on 18 to set the point size. You can also type the value into the font-size box.
    • While the line is still highlighted, move the mouse cursor to the left to the Font box, initially set to Times New Roman.
    • Click the down arrow to open the box.
    • Move down the list and click on the typeface Arial.
    • Click away from the line to remove highlighting.
    • From now on, these two typefaces, Times New Roman and Arial will appear at the top of the list so you can easily choose one or the other.
    • We will use only these two typefaces for the bridge report; Arial for headings and Times New Roman for regular text.
    • Notice that Times New Roman has serifs (T) while Arial does not (T).
    • After class, look at your textbooks to see that a serif typeface is used for regular text and a sans serif typeface is used for headings.
19. Before leaving this page, you will add your name and the system date. The system date will automatically update your title page each time you make changes to your report.
    • Put the typing cursor at the end of the title line by clicking the mouse cursor there.
    • Press Enter twice.
    • If the cursor is not centered, click the Align Center button on the toolbar.
    • Type your name.
    • Press Enter twice.
    • Click the Insert menu and pick Date and Time.
    • The three dots at the end of the line mean a dialog box will appear.
    • Click the line that is month, day, year such as March 5, 2003.
    • Click the box near the bottom of this dialog box that says Update Automatically and click OK.
    • Now the date will automatically change to the current date each time you edit this file.
20. Let's vertically align the text on your title page.

    

    • Click the Print Preview icon that has a page of paper and magnifier. The tool tip identifies the button.
    • Now you see the entire page at once however, you can't edit it yet.
    • If your page is very small, drop down the zoom list and pick a larger number. Just make sure the entire page is visible. You can also type in a number
    • In the new tool bar is a different icon with a page of paper and magnifier that is sunken in. It has the tool tip Magnifier.
    • Click this button to remove the sunken appearance. Now there a cursor on the page and so you can edit it.
    • Move the cursor between the lines and press Enter several times so the lines are spread out vertically.
    • Click the Close button to return to the regular view.
21. We are going on to other pages. However, you will need to come back to this first page to add the class name and other things and to vertically center the lines again.
22. Notice that the lower-left corner of Word shows Page 1.
23. The line and column numbers of the typing cursor are also identified on the bottom near the middle.
24. Also check the four buttons just above the page number.
    • The left button sets normal view. Click it if is not already pressed in.
    • Click the third button with the ToolTip Page Layout View.
    • This mode shows gaps between the pages and shows headers and footers.
    • Click the first button again.
    
25. Press Enter several times to move below the date on your title page.
26. While holding the Ctrl key, press the Enter key to get a new page.
27. You can also get a new page by clicking the Insert menu and selecting Break.
28. Notice that the page number is now 2 and there is a dotted line across the page indicating a page break.
29. Click the Align Left button to turn off centering.
30. Type the word Abstract and press Enter.
31. Double-click the new word to highlight it.
32. Pull down the Font Size list and pick 14. Alternatively, while holding both Ctrl and Shift, you can repeatedly press the < key to reduce the type size.
33. Click a blank area to remove highlighting.
34. Before continuing with regular text, change the typeface for the next text you type to Times New Roman and set the font size to 12.
35. Type the following text, but be careful not to press Enter at the end of each line. Just let Word start a new line automatically. Also, please type the two misspelled words just as they are shown (they are in boldface).

    In this section I will describe whaat I did and what I found. But first we will use some temporary text to study two features of Word. One feature is changing the spacing and the other feature is correction of spelling. For example, the word carefull is misspelled so Word immediately puts a wavy line underneath. Then you can correct the misspelled word by right clicking it and picking the correct spelling from a menu.

    

36. After typing all the above text, press Enter to get a new paragraph.
37. Notice the wavy lines under the two misspelled words.
38. Right-click on each one and pick the correct spelling from the menu.
39. With the typing cursor on a line in the paragraph, hold the Ctrl key and press the 2 key (the one on the row above the letters not on the one on number pad) to get double spacing.
40. Hold the Ctrl key and press 5 to get 1.5 spacing.
41. Hold the Ctrl key and press 1 to get back to single spacing.
42. If you were preparing a real report, you would now hold Ctrl and press Enter to get a new page. Just press Enter twice.
43. Type the next heading

         Table of Contents

    and press Enter.
44. Notice that the typeface and size are wrong; we'll easily fix that in a moment.
45. Press Enter twice.
46. Type the next heading

         Introduction

    and press Enter.
47. Go back and highlight the word Abstract by double clicking it.
48. Look on the Standard toolbar for the button that has a paintbrush on it. This tool tip is Format Painter.
49. The Format Painter lets us easily make the font and size of one block of text match that of another.
50. With the word Abstract still highlighted, double click the Format Painter button. Double clicking lets you use the painter tool more than once. Otherwise it shuts off after the first use.
51. Notice that the mouse cursor has changed to a combination of an I-beam and a paintbrush.
52. Left drag the mouse cursor through Table of Contents and watch it change to the form of the Abstract heading.
53. Click Introduction to change it too.
54. Click the Painter button to turn it off.
55. If you only want to use the Painter once, single-click it; then it will automatically turn off after you use it.
56. Pages are not initially numbered, so turn on page numbers with the following.
    • Click on the Insert menu and pick Page Numbers.
    • Check that Bottom of Page is selected.
    • In the Alignment drop-down list, pick Center.
    • Don't click OK yet.
    • While still in the Page Numbers dialog box, remove the check mark for Show Numbers on First Page.
    • Click OK to close the dialog box.
    • Even though you just added page numbers, they don't show in this Normal View.
    
57. To see the page numbers, change to Page Layout View.
    • Go to Page 2, since Page 1 doesn't have a number.
    • At the lower left corner we saw that there are six buttons.
    • We have been using the one on the left, Normal View.
    • Click the third button, Layout View, to see the page numbers.
    • You can also add header and footer information in this view.
    
58. Page numbers also show in Print Preview mode
    • Change back to Normal View by clicking the left button in the lower-left corner.
    • Look for toolbar button with a magnifying glass and sheet of paper.
    • Click the Print Preview button with a magnifying glass and sheet of paper. This is the button you used above to adjust the title page.
    • Check for page numbers.
    • You can scroll through the pages in this view.
    • Click the Close toolbar button to return to the normal view.
59. Save your work before you lose it.
    • Click the File menu and pick Save As.
    • Notice the three dots after Save As.
    • Remember, the three dots mean that a dialog box will appear.
    • In the dialog box, pull down the Save in list near the top.
    • Click on Drive U.
    • Steer your way to your My Documents folder.
    • Double-click the Win folder to open it.
    • Double-click your My Documents folder to open it.
    • Look at the bottom of the dialog box for the File name box. This name will be the first line of your title page

           Bridge Design Project.doc

    • Long names with spaces are legal in Windows. However, it might be better omit them since they may cause trouble.
    • You might want to use a shorter name such as Bridge.doc.
    • To shorten the name, highlight the part you want to erase including the space and press the Del key. Alternatively, click just left of Design and press Del repeatedly.
    • Click the Save button in the dialog box.
    • From now on, you can save the latest version just by clicking the Save toolbar button that looks like a floppy disk.

60. Making a better Truss Plan
    You can improve your Truss Plan with Word by importing your truss graphics made by Ansys. You don't have your own graphics yet, but you can insert Trusswtp.gif that you make last time and add yours later. Make your Truss Plan look like this today. Notice that there is a pin at the left end and a roller at the right and three down arrows for the forces.
    • Start a new page at the end of your Word report by Left-clicking the Insert menu and picking Break
    • Check that Page break is selected and pick OK
    • Type the lines

           Appendix A, Truss Plan
               Your name, (System Date)

      But insert the system date as you did above.
    • Highlight both lines and click the Center button
    • Select Arial typeface and Font Size 20
    • Press the End key and the Enter key twice.
    • Click the Align Left button so your first truss will be at the left
    • Set the Font to Times New Roman and the Size to 12
    • In the last lesson, you captured a graphic of trussw without the deformed shape that was reduced to better into your truss plan. You named it Trusswtp.gif. Now you can insert this graphic into your truss plan. Alternatively, right-click this text and pick Save Target As to save a copy of the figure above with the name trusswtp.gif.
    • In MS Word, left-click the Insert menu and move down to Picture
    • Move right in the menu and left-click From File
    • Steer to your Ansys folder and pick the file trusswtp.gif
    • Click Insert to insert the truss graphic
    • If necessary, click the graphic and left-drag the lower-right corner to adjust the size.
    • Press Enter twice and then type the lines

      N = 9, E = 15, R = 3, E + R = 18 = 2N
                   Trussw

      under the truss to show the number of nodes, elements, and reactions
    • Click the Save toolbar button
    
    

61. Adding triangles, a circle, and the arrows
    The Word drawing tools are powerful, but may be hard to learn at first. You will now add triangles, circles, and arrows to the truss.
    • Right-click a blank area on the right of a tool bar and pick Drawing if it is not already checked to show the Drawing toolbar at the bottom of Word
    • Left-click the black down arrow to the right of AutoShapes to get a menu
    • Move up to the menu item Basic Shapes and move right to get a new menu of many shapes
    • Left-click the triangle to get a plus cursor
    • Move the cursor near the truss and click
    • Change the triangle size by dragging a corner handle
    • Move the triangle into position by moving the cursor the center of the triangle and dragging
    • Hold the Alt key while dragging for a finer control
    • Type Crtl-C to copy the triangle and then Ctrl-V to paste a copy
    • Move the copy to the other end
    • On the Drawing toolbar click the Oval button to the right of AutoShapes. We will use it to create a circle.
    • Move the cursor near the truss to get a plus symbol
    • Hold the Shift key as you click to make the oval into a circle
    • Adjust the size with a handle and move the circle under the triangle at the right end.
    • Again, hold the Alt key while dragging for a finer control
    • Now add the downward load arrows. In the Drawing toolbar, click the diagonal arrow button.
    • Move the cursor to one of the bottom nodes and left-drag downward to draw the arrow; the head will be at the end. If necessary, hold Shift to make the arrow vertical
    • Copy the arrow with Ctrl-C and paste twice with Ctrl-V

62. To print your report, do the following.
    • Before printing, get a preview.
      • You should be on Page 1. However, if your report gets very large, here's an easy way to get to any page.
        • Double-click the page number at the lower-left corner of Word to get a dialog box.
        • Type the page number in the Enter Page Number box.
        • Click the Go To button and then click the Close button.
        • You can also get to the top of the file with Ctrl-Home
      • Click the Print Preview toolbar button to the right of the Printer button.
      • In this view you can scroll through the entire report.
      • You previously used this view to adjust your title page and to see the page numbers.
      • You also learned that you could edit in this view, for example to add spaces to better arrange the text on the title page.
      • To turn on editing, click the toolbar Magnifier button next to the upper Printer button.
      • Click the toolbar Close button to return to the normal view.
    • You can print just one page, several pages, or the entire report.
      • To print only one or a few pages, click the File menu and pick Print.
      • Under Page range you can select Current page or list the pages you want.
      • Click Cancel for now.
      • On the other hand, to print the entire report, you don't need the Print menu. Just click the Printer icon on the Standard toolbar.

    • Assignment
      Print out all the pages you made today and attach a cover page explaining what you did. Turn in the package as specified at the lab.

Here are some useful MS Word Shortcuts.

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Also see: Joe Schall's Style for Students, Harvey Lipkin's Writing Reference , Matt Young

  MENG 421 -- Ansys -- Lectures -- Class assignments -- 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 11 12  
Files: Ansys, Matlab, Bash

Revised: March 19, 2004 -- Copyright © 1997-2004 ARMiller