Lesson 03 – Advanced Word

Processing Skills
Lesson Objectives
• Use some advanced capabilities of Microsoft Word
commonly used to increase productivity and efficiency;
• Effectively use these features to help improve the
productivity of an organization through maximizing the
potential of Microsoft Word;
• Create form letters or documents for distribution to
various recipients;
• Create labels and envelopes for distribution;
• Create media-rich documents for printing or publishing.
 In the professional world, sending out
information to convey important information is
vital. Because of ICT, things are now sent much
faster than the traditional newsletters or postal
mail. You can now send much faster than the
traditional newsletters or postal mail. You can now
use the Internet to send out information you need
to share.
I. Mail Merge and Label Generation
A. Mail Merge
One of the important reasons in using computers per
se is its ability to do recurring tasks automatically. But this
ability has to be honed by learning the characteristics and
features of the software you use with your computer. After
all, no matter how good or advance your computer and
software may be, it can only be as good as the person
using it.
 In this particular part of our lesson, we will learn one of the most
powerful and commonly used features of Microsoft Word called Mail
Merge. As the name suggests, this feature allows you to create
documents and combine or merge them with another document or
data file. It is commonly used when sending out advertising materials
to various recipients.
The simplest solution for the scenario above is to create a document
and just copy and paste it several times then just replace the details
depending on whom you send it to. But what if you have hundreds or
thousands of recipients? Would not that take too many hours? What if
you have a small database of information where you can automatically
generate those letters?
Two Components of Mail Merge

1. Form Document

2. List or Data File

 The first component of our mail merged document is the form document. It is
generally the document that contains the main body of the message we want to
convey or send. The main body of the message is the part of the form document that
remains the same no matter whom you send it to from among your list.
Also included in the form document is what we call place holders, also referred
to as data fields or merge fields. This marks the position on your form document
where individual data or information will be inserted. From our sample document, the
place holders are denoted or marked by the text with double-headed arrows (<< >>)
on each side and with a grey background. On a printed standard form, this will be the
underlined spaces that you will see and use as a guide to where you need to write the
information that you need to fill out. In its simplest form, a form document is literally a
“form” that you fill out with individual information. A common example of a form
document is your regular tax form or application form.
 The second component of our mail merged document is the list or
data file. This is where the individual information or data that needs
to be plugged in (merged) to the form document is placed and
maintained. One of the best things about the mail merge feature is
that it allows data file to be created fro within the Microsoft Word
application itself, or it gets data from a file created in Microsoft Excel
or other data formats. In this way, fields that needed to be filled up on
the form document can easily be maintained without accidentally
altering the form or main document. You can also easily add,
remove, modify, or extract your data more efficiently by using other
data management applications like Excel or Access and import them
in Word during the mail merge process.
B. Label Generation
Included in the mail merge feature on Microsoft Word is the Label Generator.
It just makes sense that after you print out your form letters, you will need to send it
to individual recipients in an envelope with the matching address printed directly on
the envelope or on a mailing label to stick on. By using virtually the same process as
a standard mail merge, Microsoft Word will print individual addresses to a standard
form that it has already pre-formatted. Simply put, it creates a blank form document
that simulates either a blank label or envelope of pre-defined size and will use the
data file that you selected to print the information, typically individual addresses. So
even in generating labels, the two essential components of creating a merged
document are present: the form document and the data file. Only in this case, you did
not have to type or create the form document yourself because it was already
created and pre-formatted in Microsoft Word. All you need to do is select the correct
or appropriate size for the label or envelope and select the data file that contains the
addresses (data) to be printed. You can also preview your merged labels before
printing if you want to.
II. Integrating Images and External Materials
Integrating or inserting pictures in your document is fun and it
improves the impression of your document. A common use of inserting a
picture on a document is when you are creating your resume. Though
seemingly simple to do, your knowledge on the different kinds of
materials that you can insert or integrate in a Word document and its
characteristics can help you create a more efficient, richer document not
only in content but also in physical form. A better understanding of the
physical form of your document as well as the different materials you
would integrate in it would allow you to be more efficient and versatile in
using Microsoft Word.
A. Kinds of Materials
There are various kinds of materials Microsoft
Word is capable of integrating to make the documents
richer, more impressive, and more informative.
1. Pictures
Generally, these are electronic or digital pictures
or photographs you have saved in any local storage
device. There are three commonly used types of picture
files. You can identify them by the extension on their file
names.
a. .JPG/JPEG
This is pronounced as “jay-peg“ and is the short form of .jpeg or
Joint Photographic Experts Group. Like all the rest of the image file
extensions, it identifies the kind of data compression process that it uses to
make it more compatible and portable through the Internet. This type of
image file can support 16.7 million colors that is why it is suitable for use
when working with full color photographic images. Unfortunately, it does
not support transparency and therefore, images of this file type can be
difficult to integrate in terms of blending with other materials or elements in
your document. But if you are looking for the best quality image to integrate
with your document then this is the image file type for you. .JPG does not
work well on lettering, line drawings, or simple graphics. .JPG images are
relatively small in file size.
Example of a .jpeg format picture.
b. .GIF
This stands for Graphics Interchange Format. This type of image
file is capable of displaying transparencies. Therefore, it is good for
blending with other materials or elements in your document. It is also
capable of displaying simple animation. Apparently, this may not be too
useful on a printed document but if you are sending documents
electronically or through email, or even post documents into a website,
then this could be quite impressive. The downside is that it can only
support up to 256 colors so it is good mostly on logos and art decors
with very limited, and generally solid colors. .GIF is much better for
logos, drawings, small text, black and white images, or low-resolution
files.
Example of a .gif format picture.
c. .PNG
This is pronounced as “ping“. It stands for
Portable Network Graphics. It was built around the
capabilities of .GIF. Its development was basically for the
purpose of transporting images on the Internet at faster
rates. It is also good with transparencies but unlike
.GIFs, it does not support animation but it can display up
to 16 million colors, so image quality for this image file
type is also remarkably improved. .PNG allows the
control of the transparency level or opacity of images.
Example of .png format picture.
2. Clip Art
This is generally a .GIF type; line art drawings or images used
as generic representation for ideas and objects that you might want to
integrate in your document. Microsoft Word has a library of clip arts
that is built in or can be downloaded and used freely. There are still
other clip arts that you can either purchase or freely download and use
that come from third-party providers.

Clip Art Icon in Microsoft Office 2010.

3. Shapes
These are printable
objects or materials that you can
integrate in your document to
enhance its appearance or allow
you to have some tools to use
for composing and representing
ideas or messages. If you are
designing the layout for a poster
or other graphic material for
advertising, you might find this
useful.
Shapes Icon under the Insert ribbon tab.
4. Smart Art
Generally, these are
predefined sets of different
shapes grouped together
to form ideas that are
organizational or structural
in nature. If you want to
graphically represent an
organization, process,
relationships, or flow for
infographic documents,
then you will find this easy
and handy to use.
Smart Art
5. Chart
Another type of material
that you can integrate in your
Word document that allows you
to represent data characteristics
and trends. This is quite useful
when you are preparing reports
that correlate and present data in
a graphical manner. You can
create charts that can be
integrate in your document either
directly in Microsoft Word or
imported from external files like
Microsoft Excel. Chart – Used to illustrate and compare data.