KWord is a complete word-processing program. It is part of the KOffice suite of utilities.
Table of Contents
This documentation is not current with the status of KWord.
Due to circumstances outside of my control, I have not been able to keep the manual in step with the tremendous rate of improvement and change that KWord has gone through.
If anyone is interested in helping with the documentation of KWord or any other application for KDE, please visit the documenters web site.
KWord, is a full featured WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Word-processor/Desktop Publishing Program.
KWord is part of the KOffice productivity suite for the K Desktop Environment. Other applications in KOffice include:
KSpread (A fully functional spreadsheet.) |
KPresenter (A presentation creator.) |
Kontour (A vector drawing program.) |
Krayon (A bitmap image editor) |
Kivio (A flowchart creator) |
Kugar (A report generation tool.) |
and a simple integrated office desktop, to help organize your work. |
All KOffice applications were designed from the beginning to take advantage of the features of KDE 2.0. Because of this, KWord (like all of KOffice), supports drag and drop, themes, and many other advanced features you expect from todays desktop environment.
KWord is a word-processor which can work either as a traditional word processor, or as a simple but powerful desktop publishing application. This is possible because KWord is a frame oriented word processor, not a page oriented word processor (Microsoft® Word, Word Perfect and Applixware are all page oriented word processors).
Frame oriented word processors work by creating one or more frames per page. Each frame acts as a boundary (like a frame which surrounds a photograph), which limits the text to the boundaries of the frame. You can move and re-size boundaries to define exactly where on the page the text will be placed. As you re-size frames, the text is reworked to fit within these frames.
You can easily connect one frame to the next. When you connect two frames, any text which does not fit within the first frame, flows easily and automatically into the next.
In addition to text, you can include virtually anything inside a frame. A frame can contain a spreadsheet, clip-art, pictures, a database form, or nearly any piece of data. Since each page can have any number of frames, documents can appear quite sophisticated while still remaining easy to edit.
KWord users also benefit from the auto wrap features of KWord. When you place one frame on top of part of another frame, the text from the lowest frame can be automatically wrapped around the newly created frame. This reformatting occurs in a WYSIWYG Graphical User Interface, and happens automatically while you edit.
KWord simplifies the creation of new pages (at the users option), by automatically creating frames for the next page, using the current page as a blueprint. This eliminates the need for the user to re-define the frame boundaries each page.
As a word-processor, KWord includes the most used options of many other word processors, while maintaining a simple interface. In addition to the features you expect from a modern word-processing package (text entry, bold face, italics, text alignment, text printing, etc.), KWord can:
Use predefined templates, to generate complex document layout with one click of the mouse. As a user, you can build your own templates, download templates from the web, or use the current document to create a new template.
KWord allows very complicated numbering of lists. You are not limited to numbers or letters, you can define your own series for your special lists.
Define paragraph layout styles, to shorten the editing time of your document, and ensure consistency throughout a long document.
Edit headers and footers for your documents. You can have different headers for even and odd pages, or the same headers throughout.
Search through your document for text. You can further refine your search by specifying font, format, font size and many other features of the text. By adding wild-cards to your search, the search and replace functions can become very powerful.
Complete footnote and end-note support.
Tables. You can either use the table formatting capabilities of KWord, or you can import any spreadsheet from KSpread.
KWord has built in support for KParts. KParts allows you to insert any spreadsheet, picture, chart, graph, document, or any other data type from any KOffice application. You are free to edit that KPart using the tools designed for that task, without needing to start the application at all.
KWord can zoom in or out to make the editing of your documents easier on any computer, and with any font size.
KWord supports customizable tool bars and menus.
KWord has extensive internationalization support.
You can embed formulas directly into KWord using the integrated formula editor.
The best part about KWord, is the effort that has been placed to make KWord a productive tool for all your needs from the simplest letter, to the most complex document you might need to work on.
Anyone who has looked at the table of contents has surely come to the conclusion that reading this manual from cover to cover, is an unreasonable (and fortunately unnecessary).
Since different users will have different needs, each section of this manual is self-contained. You are not expected to have read all of the previous sections of the manual to find the instructions useful.
This user guide is designed to be helpful to a wide variety of users, from the very experienced, to the novice user. Each user will have different needs from this manual. To help you determine what you should read and what you can wait on, I have prepared a suggested reading list for three levels of user.
If you read each of these sections before you start using KWord, you will find that using KWord is easy.
Experience Level | Previous Experience | What you should read | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Novice | No previous computer experience |
| ||||||
Intermediate | Comfortable with other page based word processors (Microsoft®Word, Word Perfect and Applixware.) |
| ||||||
Advanced User | Comfortable with other frames based word processors (Frame Maker, etc.). |
|
Obviously this will not cover everyones needs. What I hope it will do, however, is help you determine which parts of the manual you need to read before you begin using KWord.
These sections will help you get started initially. You can then refer to the other parts of this manual as needed to help you with specific questions or situations.
This next section is designed to show you how to start KWord and some basic but important concepts you should understand when using KWord
KWord can be started one of four ways:
You can select KWord through the system menus, under: K-Button->Office->KWord.
If you are in a terminal program (Konsole, Xterm, etc.), you can type:
$ kword
&
Or
$ kword filename &
Using Konqueror, you can click on your data file (KWord documents end in .kwd). This will automatically start KWord and begin editing the file.
Using the KOffice Workspace.
OK, so the first question you may have is:
Why do I need to use a frames based word processor, when I am perfectly happy writing my letters on my current, page layout, word processor?
Well the good news is, adjusting to a frames based word processor is easy and once you select a template, KWord can act just like the page layout word processor you are used to. There are templates available for simple correspondence and day to day use.
When you need to generate a more complex document (newsletters, posters, etc.), however, you will not need to switch to a different application to generate these special documents. There are templates in KWord which will help you generate your newsletters or other more complicated documents.
OK. So now that you are willing to give this a try, we should talk briefly about what templates are, what templates can do for you and how you work with templates.
What are templates and what can they do for me
A template can be thought of as an initial mold for your document.
When we sit down to write a document, we already have an idea of what the final product will look like. If you are writing a letter to a business, you want a document with only one column, which goes all the way across the page, and from top to bottom of the page. When you sit down to author a newsletter for a local organization, however, you may want a large title across the top, and several columns for quick news articles.
With KWord, you can use this predetermined notion of how your document should look too make your work easier. By using a template, you can create a set of frames to approximate this final layout. For your business letter, you can select one large frame that covers the page from top to bottom and side to side (excluding margins of course). For that newsletter, however, you may decide that a two or three column document is more to your liking. Once you select this template, KWord will create the frames for you.
What if I decide later to change my layout
This is not a problem. If you begin your document as a single column document and decide later that two columns is better for your needs, you can add another column. The purpose of templates is not to limit your ability to change your layout, but rather to take some of the work load off you whenever possible. Choosing the correct template when you begin your document will simplify the formatting (as opposed to always selecting the default template and making your changes later.), but it is also important to remember that choosing the wrong template will not limit your work.
Working with frames (aka Your First Document)
The following section, consists of two fundamental topics which you should understand before we continue, followed by a step by step walk through of the most important functions you will need to understand to complete a complex document. We will generate the start of a newsletter using this tutorial. If you do not want to complete the tutorial, or have questions about a specific aspect of frames, you can use the following to jump directly to that section of the tutorial:
This tutorial is designed to be done in order, starting with The difference between Text Oriented and Page Layout templates. I recommend going through the tutorial in order at least once.
Before we begin with the tutorial, it is important that the difference between Text Oriented and Page Layout templates is clear in your mind.
The Text Oriented templates are designed to act like page-oriented word processors. When you select a Text Oriented template, you will create a template with one or more frames. The first frame is distinctly tied to the paper size of your document. When you increase or decrease the paper size or change the margins, the frame size is automatically adjusted. You are not able to move this frame around on the page and you cannot delete this frame. If you need to adjust the size or position of this frame, you must adjust the margins. On top of the first frame, you can, of course, add additional frames. These frames can contain pictures, text or whatever you want. These new frames can be moved, re-sized and deleted to suit your needs. If you want it, KWord will even wrap the text from the first frame around any information in any subsequent frames.
These templates are designed for desktop publishing. When you select a template from this class, all of the frames are created equal. This is where the difference between Page Layout and Text Oriented template lies. None of the frames in a Page Layout template are tied to the page as tightly as the main frame in a Text Oriented template is. Each of the frames is independent of the page size, and can be moved or re-sized without changing margins, etc. Of course this also means that altering the margins or paper size of your document requires that you individually move/resize each frame.
As you can see, the choice between Page Layout and Text Oriented templates is a choice between flexibility (Page Layout) and convenience (Text Oriented). You can create any document you like with either type of template.
If the concept of templates is still unclear, please follow along with the following tutorial. The first document you create will use a Page Layout template. This should help clarify exactly how templates function.
The steps to this tutorial are numbered from 1 thru 22. Beneath each step, is text in italics. This text will explain what the previous step in the tutorial accomplished.
Also, you will notice a red rectangle on many screen shots. This rectangle outlines the next object you will need to push/change/click/etc. Obviously a red rectangle will not appear when you are running KWord.
When you first start KWord (or start a new document after KWord is running), a dialog appears.
This dialog box is used to:
To select the initial template for your new document
Open a KWord Document saved to your hard drive or network.
Start KWord without any document started.
For your first document:
Step 1: Click on the Page Layout tab.
This will list the Page Layout templates available on your system.
Step 2: Now select the Simple Layout icon by clicking once with the left button of your mouse.
This is the template we will use for the tutorial
Step 3: Now confirm your selection by clicking on OK
To complete your selection
KWord will open a new document with three frames. The frames are outlined on the white background, as gray boxes. Each box is a separate frame.
To begin entering text (or adding any sort of data for that matter), to a document, you must first let the computer know which frame to put the data in.
Step 4: Place the mouse cursor over the upper-left frame
Step 5: Click once with the left mouse button.
This selects a frame. You can tell this is the current frame because a cursor appears in the upper left corner.
Step 6: Enter the following text into the keyboard: KWord Press Release.
This is some sample text for our newsletter.
Step 7: Select KWord Press Release by placing the mouse cursor on the left end of the text. Click once with the left mouse button and drag the mouse cursor to the right. Selected text will be white text on dark background.
Step 8: Click inside the text size drop down box. Change this number to 36.
This changes the size of the text to one more appropriate for a title.
Now that we have entered some text, we can see that the frame is too large for the text.
Step 9: Place the mouse cursor over the frame border, and click once.
This will select this frame, so it can be re-shaped.
You will now notice the frame is outlined in black, with 8 black squares on the outline. These squares are used for re-sizing the frame.
Step 10: Place the mouse cursor over the black square in the lower right corner of the frame. Click with the left mouse button and hold it down. Drag the mouse up and to the left.
Notice how the frame changes shape. Adjust the size and shape of the frame until it looks like this:
When it does, release the mouse button.
Now that we have created a title block, we will center it at the top of the page.
Step 11: Place the mouse cursor over the border of the frame (but not on any of the black squares).
The cursor will now change to a 4 way arrow. This indicates KWord is ready to move the frame on the page.
Step 12: Click and hold with the left mouse button. Drag the mouse, and the frame will follow it. Position the frame in the center of the page near the top. When you are satisfied with its final location, release the mouse button.
Step 13: Begin by selecting Insert->Text Frame
The cursor has changed to cross-hairs. You can draw your new text box with this cursor. Start by placing the cursor at one corner. Click and hold the left mouse button. Drag the mouse diagonally. An outline will appear which represents your new text frame. When you have a text frame of reasonable size, release the left mouse button.
It is not important if your text box does not resemble the example for the purposes of this tutorial.
When you release the left mouse button, a new dialog box appears.
This dialog box lists all the current frame sets. The default value is highlighted. By selecting the default value, you will create a new frame set (text will not flow from any other frame into this frame)
Step 14: For the purposes of this tutorial, select Frameset 2
Step 15: Select OK
What you have just done, is connect frameset 2 to your new text frame. To test this:
Step 16: Click once inside the new frame.
Notice that your cursor immediately jumps to the frame below the newly created text frame. That is because that lower left frame is the first frame in the current frameset.
Step 17: Begin typing. You will need to type quite a bit, but keep typing. When you run out of space in the text frame, you will see your new text is moved immediately into your new text frame.
Now we will delete an unneeded frame. (Yes I know, we just created a new frame, but KWord will forgive you being fickle). We will delete the long text frame on the right side of the page.
Step 18: Place the mouse cursor over the frame border of the right hand text frame, and click with the left mouse button.
This selects the frame.
Step 19: Select Frames->Delete Frame
This deletes the frame.
Hopefully this tutorial has introduced you to the basics of using frames in KWord.
At this point, you have been introduced to:
Adding Text to a frame.
Creating, moving, resizing and deleting frames.
and Resizing text.
Now you should begin to feel more comfortable with the basics of KWord.
KWord, like most GUI based programs, divides the screen up into several areas. Each area of the screen is used to perform a group of similar features . When you start the KWord screen, it is initially divided into 4 major areas:
The KDE titlebar (which remains at the top of all programs run under KDE).
The KDE Titlebar surrounds all applications run under KDE. For more information, please see the KDE User Guide.
The Menu Bar provides access to all of KWord's functions and options. Each part of the KWord menu bar is detailed in the section entitled: The Basic Menu Bar.
The Tool bars provide shortcuts to commonly used functions. KWord uses 8 tool bars, with similar functions grouped together.
The document area consists of:
The rulers can be used to help you layout your document. For more information on Rulers, see Using Rulers.
The scroll bars are used to move through a KWord document quickly. The KWord scroll bar functions similar to all scroll bars in KDE or Windows®.
This is used to select and place tab stops in your document for easy formatting. For more information on tab stops, see the section entitled Using Tab Stops.
This is the area of the screen which is used to enter text. It shows you the current status of your document, and allows you to adjust frames, select text, and cut and paste text.
This toolbar has commonly used features for formatting your text and paragraph borders. Features on this toolbar include boldface and italic text, superscripted text, and adding a border to your paragraph
This toolbar is used to load, save, print and start new documents
This toolbar is used to add new text frames to your document. You can also add graphics, tables or formulas to your document with this toolbar.
This toolbar is for common editing functions such as cut, paste, undo, redo, find and spell check
This toolbar is used to insert pictures, clip-art or special characters in your document.
This toolbar is used to add or remove rows or columns from tables.
This toolbar is used to add or remove borders surrounding paragraphs.
This toolbar is used to add or remove formulas and their components.
Along the left and top edges of the Document area, are a horizontal and a vertical ruler.
These rulers measure from the top left edge of the page.
Each ruler has a bright area surrounded by a dark area. The bright area shows the size and location of the currently selected frame on that page. As you change frames, the bright area changes to reflect the new frame's settings.
The ruler can measure the page in 3 units of measure:
Millimeters (mm)
Points (pt)
Inches (in)
To change the units of the ruler, place the mouse cursor over one of the rulers (either one), and click with the right button on your mouse.
Select your choice from the sub-menu. You will notice both rulers change to the new unit of measure.
You may also notice two vertical arrows (one pointed up, the other pointed down), on the left side of the bright area of the horizontal ruler. These are used to adjust the margin of a paragraph. For more information, see the section entitled Formatting Paragraphs.
Finally, you may see some black marks, which are not part of the ruler. They may appear as L shaped, a Reverse-L, an Upside-down T, or an Upside-down T with a dot in it. These are location of tab stops. For more information see the section entitled Using Tab Stops.
To quickly format the page layout, you can right mouse click on either ruler. A small sub menu will appear. Simply select Page Layout, and the Page Layout Dialog box will appear.
If you don't want the rulers in your document area, they can be switched off.
Simply select Settings->Configure Kword from the Menu Bar. Click on the Interface button. The top check box will let you toggle the rulers on and off.
This section of the documentation will cover everything you need to know about starting a new document, saving a document, retrieving a saved document and printing a docuemnt.
Starting a new document can be done 5 ways:
You can start KWord from the KDE Panel.
You can start KWord from the command line by typing
$
kword &
You can begin a new document in KWord by selecting File->New from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+N
or by clicking on the
toolbar.
However you begin a new document, a dialog box appears:
This dialog box allows you to:
You can use the following keyboard shortcuts:
New document from a template | Alt+T |
Open a recent document | Alt+R |
Start and Empty document | Alt+E |
If you use the keyboard shortcuts, you will need to press Enter on the keyboard or click OK to confirm your selection.
In order to start a new document based on a template, you must first choose your template.
Remember templates are either Text Oriented or Page Layout templates. If you need to review the differences, click here.
You can use the tabs labled Text Oriented and Page Layout to display all the available templates of that group.
Once you are on the correct tab, you are shown all the available templates, each with a title and a small icon which shows you the general layout of the template.
KWord comes with two standard template groups. You can add new tabs by installing outside templates, or creating templates of your own.
To select your template, click on it with the left button. The selected template will be highlighted. Confirm your choice by clicking the OK button. This will begin a new document with that template.
For faster access to a template, simply double click on the template, and KWord will immediatly load that template.
Click on the Choose button, and an new dialog box is revealed. For more details on this dialog box refer to Retreiving a saved document.
KWord keeps track of the most recently edited documents. You can select one of these documents by using the drop-down box to the right of the radio button labeled Open a recent document.
Once you have entered text and data into a document, you will usually want to save this to a file on your hard drive.
The Save command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting File->Save from the Menu Bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+S
or by clicking on the toolbar.
Any of these methods results in the same action by KWord.
By selecting the Save command, you are instructing KWord to save the file under the current filename. You will not be given the option to change the filename or its location. If you want to change the name of the file, or where it is saved, you must select File->Save As... from the Menu bar.
If you have not saved this file before, it does not have a filename. KWord automatically executes the Save As... command so you can provide a file name.
KWord does not report a sucessful save. Therefore, if the file was saved without incident, KWord will return you to editing your document.
You can verify that the file was saved, by checking KWords title bar. If there are unsaved changes, the titlebar will have [modified] in the titlebar. If the save was successful, only the filename will be in the titlebar. If there is a probelm with the save, an error box will appear.
Saved Successfully
The document still has unsaved changes
The Save As... command can be invoked 2 ways:
By selecting File->Save As... from the Menu bar
or by trying to Save a file which does not yet have a filename.
The difference between the Save and the Save As... command, is the Save As... command prompts you for a filename, and lets you select a different file format or location. The Save command simply saves the file in the previous location.
When you select the Save As... function, a dialog appears.
Lets look at this dialog more closely:
This dialog shows my current directory is /home/mmcbride/kword. You can see this by the textbox at the top of the dialog
The large box below that shows I currently have 1 folders in this directory, entitled Past Work, and 2 files (Job Description and Resume).
In the upper left corner, is a blue arrow pointed up. This arrow will take you up one level in the directory structure.
The next two buttons are backwards and forward buttons. These buttons work just like a browser, where you can use the back button to travel to the previous directory, and the forward button to advance into a directory you just came from.
Next to the arrow buttons, is a button that looks like a house. Clicking this will take you to your home directory.
Next to the home button, is a reload button. Clicking this button, causes KWord to reload the current directory in the event things have changed.
Next to the reload button, is a button with a grey ribbon on it. This button allows you to set and navigate through bookmarks. This is a quick way to jump to commonly accessed directories. By clicking this button, a submenu appears which allows you to add bookmarks or jump to a new bookmark.
Next to the bookmark button, is a new folder button. If you want to create a new folder, simply click the button. KWord will ask for a name for the folder. Then the folder will be created and you will automatically be placed in the new folder.
The text box labled Location is blank, which indicates this file does not currently have a filename at all.
The text box labled Filter shows we intend to save this as a KWord file. Using KWord, you can save the file as other formats. For information on other filters, see the section on Filters.
There is a Cancel button, if you click this button, the save will be aborted, and you will return to editing the document.
There is an OK button, which will be used when we have selected the correct location, correct format and correct filename. Clicking this button saves the file.
Using this dialog, you can move through the directory tree to find a location to save your document in.
To enter a folder click on that folder. To exit that folder, click the blue up arrow button.
When you are in the correct folder, you can type a name into the Location box. There is no need to put a .kwd at the end of your filename, KWord will do this for you.
UNIX® filenames are more flexible than many other operating systems. Filenames can:
be of nearly any length
be any comination of upper and lower case letters
include spaces and puncuation
Filenames should not:
begin with a space or period
end with a common file extension (.ps,.pdf,etc). This will tell KWord to try to export to that filetype. KWord has only certain specific filters.
Once you have entered the correct information you can click on OK to complete the save.
KWord does not report a sucessful save. Therefore, if the file was saved without incident, KWord will return you to editing your document. If there is a probelm with the save, an error box will appear.
KWord will only allow you to save your file where you are allowed to by the permisions listed by the operating system. If you try to save outside that area, KWord will generate an error.
The Open command can be invoked 4 ways:
By clicking Open a previously saved document and the Choose button when Opening a New Document
By selecting File->Open from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-O
or by clicking
on the toolbar.
Any of these methods results in the same action by KWord.
When trying to open a file, a dialog appears.
Lets look at this dialog more closely:
This dialog shows my current directory is /home/mmcbride/kword. You can see this by the textbox at the top of the dialog
The large box below that shows I currently have 1 folder in this directory, entitled Past Work, and 2 files (Job Description and Resume).
In the upper left corner, is a blue arrow pointed up. This arrow will take you up one level in the directory structure.
The next two buttons are backwards and forward buttons. These buttons work just like a browser, where you can use the back button to travel to the previous directory, and the forward button to advance into a directory you just came from.
Next to the arrow buttons, is a button that looks like a house. Clicking this will take you to your home directory.
Next to the home button, is a reload button. Clicking this button, causes KWord to reload the current directory in the event things have changed.
Next to the reload button, is a button with a grey ribbon on it. This button allows you to set and navigate through bookmarks. This is a quick way to jump to commonly accessed directories. By clicking this button, a submenu appears which allows you to add bookmarks or jump to a new bookmark.
Next to the bookmark button, is a new folder button. If you want to create a new folder, simply click the button. KWord will ask for a name for the folder. Then the folder will be created and you will automatically be placed in the new folder.
The text box labled Location is blank. Once you click on a filename, that filename will appear in this blank. Alternativly, you can simply type the filename in the blank.
The text box labled Filter shows we intend to load all file types. Using KWord, you can load files from other formats. For information on this, see the section on Filters.
Another function of the Filter box, is to act as a file mask. A file mask hides all the files that KWord believes are unimportant to your current task. When the KWord filetype is set to KWord file, the dialog box only shows Folders, and files ending in .kwd. If you file does not end in .kwd, you need to change the file type box to read All files, by selecting the drop down box. Now all files will be displayed.
Using this dialog, you can move through the directory tree to find a location to load your document from.
To enter a folder, you double click on that folder. To exit that folder click the blue up arrow button.
There is a Cancel button, if you click this button, the load will be aborted.
There is a OK button, which will be used when we have selected the correct location, correct format and correct filename.
The Print command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting File->Print from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-P
or by clicking
on the toolbar.
No matter how you do this, the KDE print dialog will appear.
The top drop down box labeled Name shows the currently selected printer. To configure this printer click on the Properties button.
To select a different printer, click on the dropdown box and select the desired printer.
If you want to print your output into a postscript file, select Print to File. You can now use the Browse button to locate the files destination. As an alternative, you can enter the absolute path and filename for your new file.
Under Page Selection, you can select either to print the whole document (the default), print the page the cursor is located on, or print a range of pages. If you select the Print Range option, you will be given the opportunity to select your start and end pages in the text boxe provided.
In the box in the lower right, you should set the number of copies you want printed. You can either enter the number directly into the box, or use the arrows to adjust the number. KWord can print a maximum of 9999 copies at once.
You can have KDE collate your documents by clicking on the Collate check box. If selected, KDE will print all of the pages for copy 1, then print all the pages for copy 2, etc. If not selected, KDE will print all of the copies of the first page, then all of the copies of the second page, etc.
You can also determine if the document is printed in forward order (print first page first), or reverse order (print last page first).
Just above the OK you can tell KDE to print the Even pages, the Odd pages or All pages.
When you are satisfied with your selections, you can click OK to print.
If you click on Cancel, the printing will be aborted.
This section of the guide will cover more advanced features of data editing. This section focuses entirely on text data. For working with other types of data, please see the next section.
For many editing and formatting functions in KWord, you will want to perform a certain action (bold face, underline,etc.) to a certain section of text, not the document as a whole. You specify which text you want by selecting (highlighting) text.
Selected text has a dark background to seperate it from unselected text. You select text by designating a start and an end point. All the text in between the start and end point is selected text.
The ‘endpoint’ can be located before the start point. The text will not be in reverse order.
Selected text has a black background to seperate it from unselected text. You select text by designating a start and an end point. All the text in between the start and end point is selected text.
The ‘endpoint’ can be located before the start point. The text will not be reversed.
You can select text with either the mouse or the keyboard.
Shift+Left Arrow | Move selection one character to the left. |
Shift+Right Arrow | Move selection one character to the Right. |
Shift+Up Arrow | Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the character directly up one line. |
Shift+Down Arrow | Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the character directly down one line. |
Shift+Home | Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the beginning of the line. |
Shift+End | Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the end of the line. |
It happens all the time. You are working on a document, and you make a change. Then you realize, thats not what you wanted to do at all!
Fortunately, KWord has a solution for you.
Each time you make a change to a document, KWord remembers what the change was. If you decide to remove some of the changes, you can “Undo” each change one at a a time.
As an example, William Shakespeare is using KWord to write his new drama. He types in the following verse:
Chorus: | Two households, both alike in dignity, |
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, | |
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, | |
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. |
Now he thinks to himself, “Maybe Verona is not the ideal place?”
So he changes the line:
Chorus: | Two households, both alike in dignity, |
In fair Constantinople, where we lay our scene, | |
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, | |
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. |
“No”, he says to himself, “that screws up the meter of the poem”, and decides to change it back.
He selects Edit->Undo from the menubar.
The text now reads “Verona” again.
If, after you Undo a change, and then decide that was a mistake, you can select Edit->Redo and the Undo is reversed.
Sometimes it is not possible for KWord to undo an edit. You will be informed of this when you select the Edit function, it will replace the Undo function with No Undo Possible.
The “clipboard” is a concept familiar to most people who have used modern word processors. It is a piece of your computers memory which is set aside as a temporary storage space. You can “Cut” or “Copy” text from your document into the clipboard. You can then move to another part of the document, and “Paste” this text back into the document at the new position.
The most common use for the clipboard is to move or coppy text which you have already entered into one part of your document to another part of the same document or to another document entirely.
This concept is probably best described with an example.
To do this, we will begin with a test sentence
“The big, red fox jumped over the lazy dog.”
Using the mouse or keyboard, you select the phrase “big, red”.
Now select Edit->Copy from
the menubar, click
from the toolbar or press Ctrl+C.
This has moved a copy of the selected text to the clipboard.
You now place the mouse cursor between “lazy” and “dog” and click once.
Now select Edit->Paste
from the menubar, click
from the toolbar or press Ctrl+V
The resulting sentence is:
“The fox jumped over the lazy big, red dog”
The ‘Copy’ command can be invoked 4 ways:
By selecting Edit->Copy from the Menu bar
By clicking
on the toolbar.
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+C
You can use the mouse to highlight the text. That text is automatically moved into the clipboard.
The ‘Copy’ command moves a copy of the selected text to the clipboard. The original sentance is unaffected.
The ‘Cut’ command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting Edit->Cut from the Menu bar
By clicking
on the toolbar.
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+X
The ‘Cut’ command moves a copy of the selected text to the clipboard. The selected text is then deleted from the sentance in your document.
The ‘Paste’ command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting Edit->Paste from the Menu bar
By clicking
on the toolbar.
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+V
The ‘Paste’ command inserts a copy of all the text in the clipboard at the current position of the cursor. The clipboard is unaffected. (So another paste command will produce yet another copy of the text in the document.)
If no text in the document is currently highlighted, the Paste command inserts the text at the current position of the cursor.
If there is selected text when the Paste command is executed, the selected text is replaced with the contents of the clipboard.
Remember: You are not limited to the bounds of one document. If you Copy (or Cut) text from a document, you can Paste this text into another open document.
The ‘Find’ command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting Edit->Find... from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut:Ctrl+F
By clicking on
the toolbar.
When the Find Command is invoked, a dialog appears.
The drop-down box labelled Text to Find, provides a place for you to enter the text of your search command. In the screenshot, that box is currently filled with KDE)
If you click on OK, then KDE will search the document until it finds a match to your text. If KWord cannot find a match, a dialog box will appear that says No match found.
KWord's find feature is much more sophisticated than we discussed above. Using the options in the dialog box, you can narrow down your search to find exactly what you want.
The default action for KWord is to search for an exact match of the text. Fortunatly, however, KWord has the ability to match text according to patterns.
To enable patterns, place a mark in the box labeld Use Patterns.
This will enable the Insert Pattern button. This button can be a quick way to add patterns for people unfamiliar with UNIX® pattern matching.
You do not need to use the Insert Pattern button, to insert your text string. You can type it into the search line. The Insert Pattern button is a convenience for people unfamiliar with pattern matching.
You should now type the text in place, stopping to insert the pattern elements where necessary.
For specific information on pattern matching, take a look at the section entitled Pattern Matching
In addition to pattern matching, you can limit the search results with a few miscellaneous options.
When this option is selected, KWord will not only search for the string of letters, but will verify that the case of the letters is the same. For example. Searching for: KDE
will match: KDE and hiddenKDEinwords but not: Kde, kde or hiddenkdeinwords.
When this option is selected, KWord will only return search items that are surrounded by spaces, paragraph marks or punctuation. For example. Searching for: KDE
will match: KDE
but not: hiddenKDEinwords or KDElike.
By default, KWord begins searching at the beginning of the document. If this option is selected, KWord begins its search from the current possition of the cursor. The direction that KWord searches is, by default forward in the document, but can be changed with the Find Backwards option.
This option changes the direction of the search. This can be useful when you only want to search for a string of text before the current cursor position, not after. This option is usually used in conjunction with From Cursor, but if that option is not specified, KWord will start searching from the end of the document backwards.
If you want to limit your search to a specific part of the document (a few paragraphs, for example), you can select the part of the document you want to search prior to selecting the Find command. When text is selected, KWord will default to only searching the selected text. You can use this option to enable or disable this restriction.
This option will not be available if you have not selected text prior to selecting the Find command.
The replace command is an extension of the find command. If you are familiar with the find command, you will see many similarities.
The Replace command can be invoked 2 ways:
By selecting Edit->Replace... from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+R
When the Replace command is invoked, a dialog appears.
The drop-down box labeled Text to Find, provides a place for you to enter the text of your search command. In the screenshot, that box is currently filled with KDE)
You can enter your replacement text in the text box labeled Replacement Text. You can now click OK to replace all occurences in the document, or you can further refine your search.
KWord's find feature is much more sophisticated than we discussed above. Using the options in the dialog box, you can narrow down your search to find exactly what you want.
The default action for KWord is to search for an exact match of the text. Fortunatly, however, KWord has the ability to match text according to patterns.
To enable patterns, place a mark in the box labeld Use Patterns.
This will enable the Insert Pattern button. This button can be a quick way to add patterns for people unfamiliar with UNIX® pattern matching.
You do not need to use the Insert Pattern button, to insert your text string. You can type it into the search line. The Insert Pattern button is a convenience for people unfamiliar with pattern matching.
For specific information on pattern matching, take a look at the section entitled Pattern Matching
In addition to pattern matching, you can limit the search results with a few miscellaneous options.
When this option is selected, KWord will not only search for the string of letters, but will verify that the case of the letters is the same. For example. Searching for: KDE
will match: KDE and hiddenKDEinwords but not: Kde, kde or hiddenkdeinwords.
When this option is selected, KWord will only return search items that are surrounded by spaces, paragraph marks or punctuation. For example. Searching for: KDE
will match: KDE
but not: hiddenKDEinwords or KDElike.
By default, KWord begins searching at the beginning of the document. If this option is selected, KWord begins its search from the current possition of the cursor. The direction that KWord searches is, by default forward in the document, but can be changed with the Find Backwards option.
This option changes the direction of the search. This can be useful when you only want to search for a string of text before the current cursor position, not after. This option is usually used in conjunction with From Cursor, but if that option is not specified, KWord will start searching from the end of the document backwards.
If you want to limit your search to a specific part of the document (a few paragraphs, for example), you can select the part of the document you want to search prior to selecting the Find command. When text is selected, KWord will default to only searching the selected text. You can use this option to enable or disable this restriction.
This option will not be available if you have not selected text prior to selecting the Find command.
The Spell Checking... command can be invoked 2 ways:
By selecting Tools->Spelling... from the Menu bar
By clicking on
the toolbar.
Spell Checking your document is controlled through a dialog box.
In this example, the mispelled word KWord found, was youve. It has only one suggestion you've.
There is a progress bar below the list of suggestions which tells you how much of the document has been spell checked.
From here you have eight options:
Replaces the current word with the suggestion. Only replaces this occurance.
Replaces all occurances of the current word with the suggestion.
Do not make any changes to this occurance. Ask me if this word appears again.
Do not make any changes to this or any other occurance. Do not ask me about this word again.
Add the current word to the dictionary.
Keep the current changes, but stop any further checking.
Stop spell checking.
Loads this help file.
When the entire document has been checked, KWord will return you to editing your document.
If your document does not have any spelling errors, KWord does not provide you with a dialog box. When you start the spell check, it will proceed to check all of your document against the dictionary, and then exit the spell check dialog box. With short documents, you may miss the dialog box. KWord has spell checked the document!
Auto correction is a system for correcting common typing errors, converting abbreviations to their full spelling and adjusting capitalization. As you could guess from its name, this all occurs automatically, while you are editing your document.
To adjust the options for auto correction, select Tools->Autocorrection... from the Menu bar
A dialog window appears to help you set your options.
When selected, this option will replace the standard keyboard quotes, with typographical quotation marks. If you want to change the quotation character, click on one of the buttons.
When selected, KWord will automatically capitalize the first letter after a period.
When selected, KWord will automatically convert a double capital letter (a common typographical error), into a single capital letter.
To switch to the Advanced Autocorrection, click on the tab labled Advanced Autocorrection.
This allows you to automatically have KWord replace one string of text with another. This can be useful for special symbols, commonly used abbriviations that you want spelled out, or abbreviations.
KWord comes standard with 4 autocorrection strings. Each string listed in the column labeled Find will be automatically replaced with the text in Replace.
To add an autocorrection string, simply click on the Add button. This will bring up a dialog box.
Enter the text you want KWord to search for in the text box labeled Find. Alternativly, you can click the button to the right of the Find text box, and you can select a special character from the table provided.
Now enter the text you want to replace it with in the text box labeled Replace. The button to the right of the Replace. text box works the same as the button next to the Find text box.
When these are entered, click OK. Your text strings are now added to the table.
If you select Cancel, your strings will not be added.
Begin by clicking once on the string you want to edit. It will be highlighted. Now click on the Edit button. The dialog will appear with the familiar fields for you to edit. When you are done, simply select OK to keep your changes, or Cancel to forget your changes.
Simply click on the string you want to delete. Now click the Remove button. The string is removed.
Be aware that KWord does not give you a chance to back out once you have deleted a string. Be sure you have slected the correct string before you click the Remove button.
Two sections ago, we talked about creating, saving, loading and printing documents. In the section after that (the previous section), we discussed entering the textual information, moving it around, spell checking, and auto-correcting your text.
This section of the guide is designed to help you layout your documents. We will begin with changing the size and shape of the page and the margins, and work progressively through smaller and smaller blocks of text (frames, then paragraphs, then characters).
After we have discussed formatting individual characters, we will deal with some miscellaneous topics related to layout of your document.
If you will remember back to when we talked about Text Oriented Documents and Publishing Templates, we mentioned that there were differences in your formatting options.
Well these differences are most important when we talk about Formatting the Page. What follows are two sections, one for formatting the page with a Text Oriented Document, and another section for formatting the page with a Publishing Template. Each section is independent of each other, so you should refer to the section that applies to your document.
When you are working with a Text Oriented Document, you control the size and shape of the main frame by setting the margins.
Formatting the page is usually done by selecting: Format->Page... from the menu bar.
You can also go straight to the Format Page options by double clicking on either of the rulers.
A dialog box will appear with 3 tabs, labeled Format and Borders, Columns and Header and Footer.
The Format and Borders tab is for altering the paper size, and changing the margins.
First you will notice, that a preview box appears on the right half of this dialog. This will approximate the final look of your document. It is updated with each change, and should be used as a guide for your changes.
On the left, the dialog first informs you what unit of measurement it is using. This unit of measurement is the same unit of measurement you have set for your rulers. (In this example, we are using inches.)
Below that, you can determine the paper format you will eventually print to. KWord provides many common paper sizes predefined.
In addition to standard paper sizes, there are two selections that deserve special mention.
Screen is used to generate a document where each ‘page’ has an aspect ratio (shape) which matches the aspect ratios of computer monitors.
If you select the Custom paper size, two text entry boxes (labeled Width and Height) become active. Using these two boxes you can now enter any size paper you need.
Next to the paper format, in the drop-down box labeled Orientation you can select either Portrait or Landscape layout for your document.
Below the page format options, is the Page Borders Options, which consists of 4 entry boxes labeled (Right, Left, Top and Bottom).
The Page Borders (aka Margins), define the white-space surrounding the text in your main frame. You can enter any number from 0 to the maximum size of the page in these boxes. The units are the same for all four boxes, and is the same as the measurement listed at the top of the dialog..
Clicking on the Columns tab allows you to change the number of columns on each page. Details can be found here.
Clicking on the Header and Footer tab changes the dialog options.
This dialog can be broken into two major sections, with each section being divided in to smaller divisions.
If you are not familiar with Headers and Footers yet, you should first read the section entitled Headers/Footers
Headers
This section lets you determine the placement of headers, and which pages have which headers on them.
In the text box labeled Spacing between header and body, you can specify how much empty space should be placed between the bottom of the header, and the top of the main frame.
You are also presented with three options. You must choose one:
Same header for all pages - If you select this option, all pages, even or odd, including the first page, will have the same headers. This is the default.
Different header for first page - If you select this option, the first page will use a different header than the other pages. After the first page, all pages have use the same header
Different header for even and odd pages - If you select this option, the even pages will use one header, the odd pages use another header. You can use this to ensure the page numbers are always on the outside of the page, or to list the title of the document on odd pages and the chapter number on the even pages.
Footers
This section lets you determine the placement of footers, and which pages have which footers on them.
In the text box labeled Spacing between footer and body, you can specify how much empty space should be placed between the top of the footer, and the bottom of the main frame.
You are also presented with three options. You must choose one:
Same footer for all pages - If you select this option, all pages, even or odd, including the first page, will have the same footer. This is the default.
Different footer for first page - If you select this option, the first page will use a different footer than the other pages. After the first page, all pages have use the same footer
Different footer for even and odd pages - If you select this option, the even pages will use one footer, the odd pages use another footer.
When you are satisfied with the changes you are ready to make, click OK.
If you click Cancel, all your changes will be ignored.
When you are working with a Page Layout Template, you control the size and shape of all the frames individually.
Formatting the page is usually done by selecting Format->Page... from the menu-bar.
You can also go straight to the “Format Page” options by double clicking on either of the rulers.
A dialog box will appear with 3 tabs, labeled Format and Borders, Columns and Header and Footer.
The Format and Borders tab is for altering the paper size, and changing the margins.
First you will notice, that a preview box appears on the right half of this dialog. This will approximate the final look of your document. It is updated with each change, and should be used as a guide for your changes.
On the left, the dialog first informs you what unit of measurement it is using. This unit of measurement is the same unit of measurement you have set for your rulers. (In this example, we are using inches.)
Below that, you can determine the paper format you will eventually print to. KWord provides many common paper sizes predefined.
In addition to standard paper sizes, there are two selections that deserve special mention.
All of these options (with the exception of Screen and Custom), refers to standard paper sizes.
Screen is used to generate a document where each ‘page’ has an aspect ratio (shape) which matches the aspect ratios of computer monitors.
If you select the Custom paper size, two text entry boxes (labeled Width and Height) become active. Using these two boxes you can now enter any size paper you need.
Next to the paper format, in the drop-down box labeled Orientation you can select either Portrait or Landscape layout for your document.
Below the page format options, is the Page Borders Options, which consists of 4 entry boxes labeled (Right, Left, Top and Bottom). These boxes cannot be edited and have no effect when working with Page Layout Templates.
Clicking on the Header and Footer tab changes the dialog options.
This dialog can be broken into two major sections, with each section being divided in to smaller divisions.
If you are not familiar with Headers and Footers yet, you should first read the section entitled Headers/Footers.
Headers
This section lets you determine the placement of headers, and which pages have which headers on them.
In the text box labeled Spacing between header and body, you can specify how much empty space should be placed between the bottom of the header, and the top of the main frame.
You are also presented with three options. You must choose one:
Same header for all pages - If you select this option, all pages, even or odd, including the first page, will have the same headers. This is the default.
Different header for first page - If you select this option, the first page will use a different header than the other pages. After the first page, all pages have use the same header
Different header for even and odd pages - If you select this option, the even pages will use one header, the odd pages use another header. You can use this to ensure the page numbers are always on the outside of the page, or to list the title of the document on odd pages and the chapter number on the even pages.
Footers
This section lets you determine the placement of footers, and which pages have which footers on them.
In the text box labeled Spacing between footer and body, you can specify how much empty space should be placed between the top of the footer, and the bottom of the main frame.
You are also presented with three options. You must choose one:
Same footer for all pages - If you select this option, all pages, even or odd, including the first page, will have the same footer. This is the default.
Different footer for first page - If you select this option, the first page will use a different footer than the other pages. After the first page, all pages have use the same footer
Different footer for even and odd pages - If you select this option, the even pages will use one footer, the odd pages use another footer.
When you are satisfied with the changes you are ready to make, click OK.
If you click Cancel, all your changes will be ignored.
Since KWord is a frames based word processor, an understanding of Frames is necessary for all but the most simple of documents.
This section is designed to give you a firm understanding of how to create, destroy and manipulate frames so KWord can provide you with the exact document you want.
Before we continue our discussion of Frames, its important that we define a couple terms now:
A frame is a rectangular space on the page. This space defines an area where text (or other data), can be placed.
A frame set is a group of frames. Each frame in the Frameset has a position within the Frameset
The position is determined when the frames are created. The first frame created is Frame #1, the second is Frame #2, etc.
All text flows from one frame to another within a frame set, and only within a frame set. Text flows from frame to frame within the frame set according to the position of each frame
As an example: If we have a frame set that consists of three frames (#1, #2, and #3).
As we type text into Frame #1, the text is shaped to the outline of Frame #1
When the text will no longer fit within Frame #1, it is automatically continued into Frame #2.
As you can see, text must (and does) move freely between frames within a Frameset.
Adding a text frame can be done one of three ways:
By selecting Insert->Text Frame... from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: F6
or by clicking on the tool-bar.
Whatever method you choose, KWord responds by changing the cursor to a set of cross hairs.
Using the mouse, place the cursor at one of the corners of your new text frame. (Any corner will work)
Now click and hold with the left mouse button.
Drag the mouse towards the opposite corner of the rectangle. As you drag the mouse, you will see a box drawn. This box represents the boundaries of your new text frame.
When you are satisfied with the size and shape of your new text box, release the mouse button.
A dialog box appears.
The purpose of this dialog box is two fold:
Determine which frame set this new frame will belong to
Set up text flow options.
The tab labeled Connect Text Frames in this dialog box is used to determine which frame set this new text box belongs.
Using the example given, you have just created a new frame in a document which currently has two framesets (called Frameset 1, and Frameset 2).
You now have the option of either:
appending this text box to one of the previously created framesets.
To do this, simply select the frame set you want to connect this new text box two (either Frameset 1, or Frameset 2)
When this text frame is created, the new text frame will become the last frame in the selected frame set.
or
You can create a new frame set. This newly added frame will be the first (and currently only) frame in the frame set.
If you want this to be a new frame set, you can enter a descriptive name for your new frame set. (A name which will tell you what you might find in that frame set). This name should be entered in the text box labeled Name of new Frameset.
The other tabs in this dialog box, can be used to set some options for this frame. For more information on these options, see the section entitled Formatting Frames.
If you click OK, the new frame will be created.
If you click Cancel, the new frame will not be created, and you will be returned to editing your document.
You may decide you no longer need a frame in your document. You could leave it blank (so it would not be visible in the final output), but you should delete it to keep your document as simple as possible.
Begin by clicking on the text frame border of the frame you want to delete.
There is now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame.
If this is the frame you want to delete, you can do so by:
selecting Frames->Delete Frame from the Menu bar
or
While the cursor is on the border of the frame you want to delete, click once with the right mouse button.
A small menu will appear. Select Delete Frame.
If you are trying to delete the last frame in a frame set, KWord will ask you if you want to delete the current text frame. If you click Delete, the frame, all frames connected to it, and the data within these frames (if there is any), will be deleted. If you click Cancel, the frame will not be deleted.
If you are trying to delete a frame that is not the last frame in a frame set, KWord will not ask for a confirmation. It will delete the current frame immediately, and move the data into the next frame in a frame set. No data will be deleted.
Deleting the last frame in a Frameset will delete the entire frame set. All data within that frame set will be lost. Always use caution when deleting the last frame in a frame set.
Moving a frame around on the page is easy.
Place the mouse cursor over the frame border, click once with the left mouse button and hold the button down..
There are now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame.
Drag the cursor in the direction you want to move the frame.
You will see an outline of the frame as you move it. When the outline is where you want it, release the mouse button.
It is also easy to change the size or shape of a frame.
Place the cursor on the border of the frame you want to change the size or shape of and click once with the left mouse button. This selects this frame as the current frame.
There are now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame. By moving these squares, you will be able to drag the frame border(s) to a new location.
Each square will move a different combination of borders.
As an example: To move the bottom border of a frame, place the mouse over the box at the six o'clock position in the frame. When the mouse is over the box, it will change to a double headed arrow.
Now click with the left mouse button and hold the button down. As you move the mouse up and down on the page, you will see that the frame changes shape to match your mouse movements. When you have the bottom edge of the frame where you want it, simply release the mouse button, and your changes will become permanent.
If you need to resize the frame of a neighboring frame, you should click once inside that frame (to make it the current frame), and you can move its borders in the same fashion.
If you are using a Text Layout Template, you cannot change the size of the primary frame by dragging the edges of the frame. If you want to resize this frame, you must do so by Changing the margins
This section of the Users Guide is devoted to controlling where (which text frame) text flows when the current frame is full.
Normally, you will create each new text frame with a specific purpose. Sometimes, however, as the document is changed, you will want the text to flow to a new text frame. To accomplish this, you will need to know how to move a frame from one frame set to another.
Begin by clicking on the frame border of the frame you want to change.
You can change the frame set of the currently selected frame by selecting Frames->Frame/Frameset from the Menu bar
This will bring up a dialog box with 4 tabs. Select the tab labeled Connect Text Frames.
You will be presented with a list of framesets. Simply select the frame set you want, and the currently selected frame will be added to the end of that frame set.
When you click OK, you will notice that KWord automatically updates the text flow immediately.
A hard frame break is a special formatting character. It is invisible on the final printed output.
The purpose of a hard frame break, is to force all the text that follows it into the next frame in the Frameset.
If we have the following sentence: We have nothing to fear but fear itself
and we insert a Hard Frame Break, just before the word but.
We will end up with one frame containing We have nothing to fear, and the next frame in the frame set begins with but fear itself.
To add a Hard Frame Break, you should first place the keyboard cursor where you want the break to be located in the document.
A Hard Frame Break can be inserted one of two ways:
Select Insert->Hard Frame Break from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Return
If you want to remove a Hard Frame Break, you simply delete it like you would any other character. Since this is not a character that you can see, I recommend the following procedure to most easily delete the Hard Frame Break.
First, I recommend turning on View Formatting Characters (Select View->Formatting Characters from the Menu bar)
This will let you see the carriage returns, and tab stops in your document.
Find the last carriage return before the break in your text. Place the cursor in front of this carriage return.
Now press the delete key.
For each frame in your document, you can:
Determine how KWord handles full text frames
Determine how text wraps around or through overlapping frames
Determine the frames exact size
Establish margins within a frame.
All of these settings can be determined in the Frame Properties dialog box.
In order to adjust the properties of any frame, you must first select the frame you want to change.
Simply click once on the frame border of the frame you want to edit.
You can now edit the properties one of two ways:
Select Frames->Frame/Frameset from the Menu bar
Place the mouse pointer on the border of the frame, and click once with the right mouse button. A small menu will appear. Select Frame/Frameset.
The Properties dialog consists of one dialog box, with four index tabs labeled Options, Text Run Around, Connect Text Frames and Geometry.
It is a common situation. You define a frame, and begin to type. There is too much text to fit within the current bounds of the frame.
KWord has three solutions to this problem. Using this dialog, you can determine which method it uses.
If you choose Create automatically a new frame, whenever a frame set becomes full, KWord automatically creates a new page. On this new page, it creates a new frame, of the same size and position. It also sets the frame so that your text automatically flows into the new frame
If you choose Resize automatically last frame, whenever a frame set becomes full, KWord automatically extends the bottom border of the text frame to accommodate the new text. It will continue to expand as new text is added.
The third solution is not really a solution at all. If you select Don't show the extra text, KWord does not create a new frame or change the current frame in any way. You will need to manually resize the current frame, or add a new frame to the frame set.
Remember these options only apply to a full frame set. If there is already another window for text to flow into, the text will flow into the next frame in the frame set as you have previously determined.
To adjust how text flows around overlapping frames, click the tab labeled Text Run Around.
When you overlay two text frames, and text from both frames is competing for the same space on the page, KWord can (at your option), make sure that text from two frames does not overlap.
As you can see from the options in the dialog box, there are three possible choices.
By selecting this option, you are telling KWord to ignore all other frames when it displays the text in this frame.
By selecting this option, you are telling KWord to wrap the text of this frame around other overlapping frames.
By selecting this option, you are telling KWord to not wrap any text around the edges of other frames, but instead, to skip down below the other frames before continuing to display text in this frame.
You can also determine how close your frames appear by setting the Runaround Gap in the text-box provided. Increasing the size of the runaround gap will create a white border between the text in the two text frames.
You can adjust the size, position and margins of your frame by clicking on the tab labeled Geometry
This dialog box allows you to specify exactly where the frame goes and how large it is.
You can locate your frame on the page by first entering the top and left measurements. This determines where the top left corner of the frame will be. All measurements are from the top left corner of the page.
You can also determine the exact size of the frame by entering its height and width in the text boxes provided. These two measurements are relative to the top left corner of the frame you specified above.
You can also use this dialog box to specify margins for your frame. The margins of the frame are similar to margins on a page. By entering a margin into the text boxes, you can have KWord automatically set aside a border of white space around the text in this frame. This will ensure that the text will not be located too closely to other frames or margins.
It is important to understand the difference between setting the margins here, and setting the Runaround Gap (see above).
KWord only applies the Runaround Gap when two frames overlap. If two frames are placed right next to each other, the runaround gap does not affect the final output.
When you set a margin for a frame, however, the white space is set aside regardless of what other frames may be overlapping.
This section will detail all the options available to format your paragraphs.
Before you start formatting a paragraph, ensure your cursor is currently located in the paragraph you want to format.
The formatting paragraphs dialog consists of 5 tabbed sections labeled Indent and spacing, Aligns, Borders, Bullets/Numbering, and Tabulators
This dialog box allows you to set the paragraph margins, the spacing between lines, and the spacing between paragraphs.
The first section of this dialog box is labeled Indent, and consists of three parts:
You can indent all the lines of a paragraph by entering a value in this box. The first line is unaffected by this box. If you want to alter the first line, you must specify that separately.
Entering a non-zero number here causes all lines of the paragraph (including the first line) to be moved away from the right margin.
Any non-zero value entered in this text box, will shift the left margin of the first line.
The next section controls how KWord divides paragraphs when they occur over a page or frame edge.
The first option is labeled Keep lines together. If this option is selected, then all of the lines of the paragraph will remain on the same page. If this is not selected, KWord may choose to move to a new page or frame while in the middle of the paragraph. For most work, this option is usually left unchecked.
The option labeled Keep lines together, works as follows. When this option is checked, and the paragraph moves to the next frame in the frame set, a hard frame break will be inserted in front of the current paragraph. This will serve to keep the paragraph in the next frame, even if text prior to that frame is deleted. This option is often used in conjunction with Keep lines together, to ensure that the paragraph does not creep back onto the page during editing.
The next section is labeled Line Spacing. It consists of two elements:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Blacked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing between lines from the default. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing between lines. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing between lines.
Changes to this entry do not affect the line spacing between lines of different paragraphs.
The last section is labeled Paragraph Space. It consists of two entries:
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing before each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing before a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing before each paragraph.
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing after each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing after a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing after each paragraph.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
This section determines how the text is placed within the line. With other applications, you may have referred to this as Alignment, or Justification.
As you can see, there are only 4 choices.
If you choose Left, Right or Center, the text will be moved on the line so that it aligns with the left margin, aligns with the right margin, or is centered between the margins respectively.
If you choose Justify, KWord will increase the space between words, so that each line (with the exception of the last line in a paragraph), reaches both the left and right margins.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
The next section is used to define and configure graphical borders around your paragraphs.
You can tell KWord to surround (on some or all sides) a paragraph with a border. This border can be solid or not, of any color and of any size. You use this dialog panel to adjust the borders.
To define some borders for a paragraph, you first determine how the borders should appear on the document. Then you select which paragraph borders should be used. You can mix and match styles, weights and colors of paragraph borders for maximum flexibility in you document.
You can use this drop-down box to select the overall type of the new border.
Your choices are previewed in each selection.
This will determine how wide the resulting border will be. It is measured in points.
Clicking on the color bar will allow you to select a color using a new dialog box
Now that you have determined how the borders should look, you need to tell KWord which edges of the paragraphs need borders.
![]() | Select/Unselect Left Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the left paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the left paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Right Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the right paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the right paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Top Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the top paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the top paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Bottom Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the bottom paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the bottom paragraph border. |
The Preview window will show you how your paragraph borders will look.
A very common element of a document, is a list of items. The list contains several elements. These elements may be numbered, for easy reference. Alternatively, the list elements may be simply set off from the rest of the text with a special character. These special characters are called bullets.
You can use this dialog box to define your bullets or the numbering method of your list.
The first thing you may notice about this dialog box, is the large preview window on the right side of the box. This can be used to approximate the final look of your list.
Along the left side, the top section of the dialog box is divided has three options.
Tab stops are a (very useful) holdover from the days of typewriters. They allow you to align text into columns quickly and easily.
When a tab stop is in place, you can immediately jump to that horizontal position on the page by pressing the "Tab" key. Tab stops are most commonly used to align columns in a table, or to automatically indent paragraphs.
Tab stops are part of the properties of a paragraph. Each paragraph keeps track of its own set of tab stops. You can view the tab stops of a particular paragraph by placing the mouse cursor within a paragraph, clicking once, and checking the top ruler. The tab stops are marked as symbols in black.
KWord recognizes 4 types of tab stops. Each of these types has a corresponding symbol to help you identify the type in the ruler.
Type | Symbol | Description | |
Right Tab Stop | ![]() | With a right tab stop, the right edge of the next set of words is aligned at the tab stop. | |
Example: | ![]() | ||
Center Tab Stop | ![]() | With a right tab stop, the text is centered at the tab stop. | |
Example: | ![]() | ||
Left Tab Stop | ![]() | With a left tab stop, the left edge of the next set of words is aligned at the tab stop. | |
Example: | ![]() | ||
Decimal Tab Stop | ![]() | With a decimal tab stop, the decimal points of the text are aligned at the tab stop. | |
Example: | ![]() |
Tab stops can be set one of two ways:
You can use the top ruler on KWord to interactively insert tab stops.
First, you should select the type of tab stop you want to use.
Place the mouse cursor over the current tab character (located directly to the left of the top ruler). Click once with the right button of the mouse. A small submenu will appear. You can select the tab stop you want from the sub menu.
You can also use the left mouse button to cycle through the different types of tab stops.
Click once on the current tab character, and the tab stop changes from ‘Left Tab Stop’, to ‘Center Tab Stop’. If you continue to click with the left mouse button, you will change to ‘Right Tab Stop’, then to ‘Decimal Tab Stop’, then back to ‘Left Tab Stop’.
Once you have the correct type of tab stop, you can simply place the mouse cursor on the top ruler bar, and click once with the left mouse button. This will place a tab stop at that position.
The fastest way to get to the tab stop dialog panel, is to select Format->Paragraph from the Menu bar. This will bring up a dialog box with 5 tabs.
Click on the tab labeled Tabulators
You can now add tab stops by:
Type the horizontal location of the tab stop in the space provided. The units are listed above the text box.
Select the type of tab stop from the list on the right.
Click Add.
When you are done adding tab stops, you can click OK to finish.
Tab stops can be moved one of two ways:
To move a tab stop with the ruler, place the mouse over the desired tab stop. The mouse cursor will change to a double arrow.
Click and hold down the right button on the mouse. Drag the tab stop to its new location
When the tab stop is where you want it, release the mouse button.
The fastest way to get to the tab stop dialog panel, is to select Format->Paragraph from the Menu bar. This will bring up a dialog box with 5 tabs.
Click on the tab labeled Tabulators
You can now move tab stops by: !!!!!!!!!This is assumed, not working when written!!!!!!!!!!!
Click on the tab stop you want moved. The list of all tab stops is in the box on the left side of the dialog panel
Click Modify.
Edit the horizontal location of the tab stop in the space provided. The units are listed above the text box.
If you need to make changes, select the type of tab stop from the list on the right.
Click “OK”.
Tab stops can be removed one of two ways:
To delete a tab stop with the ruler, place the mouse over the desired tab stop. The mouse cursor will change to a double arrow.
Click and hold down the right button on the mouse. Drag the tab stop off the edge of the document.
Release the mouse button.
The fastest way to get to the tab stop dialog panel, is to select Format->Paragraph from the Menu bar. This will bring up a dialog box with 5 tabs.
Click on the tab labeled Tabulators
You can now delete tab stops by: !!!!!!!!!This is assumed, not working when written!!!!!!!!!!!
Click on the tab stop you want moved. The list of all tab stops is in the box on the left side of the dialog panel
Click Delete.
When you are done adding tab stops, you can click OK to finish.
This section will cover the changes you can make to individual or blocks of characters including:
There are several keyboard shortcuts which you can use to make common changes to character formatting. After selecting the text, you can use these key combinations to toggle each attribute.
The Basic Formatting Tool bar also has buttons which you can use to toggle these same attributes.
The following table details each attribute, the tool bar buttons and the keyboard shortcuts.
Attribute | Tool bar Button | Key Combo |
---|---|---|
Font Size | ![]() | - |
Font | ![]() | - |
Bold Face | ![]() | Ctrl-B |
Italics | ![]() | Ctrl-I |
Underline | ![]() | Ctrl-U |
You cannot change the Character Set using the keyboard or the tool-bar, you must use the dialog box.
If you have many changes to make, you can also use a dialog box to set these same attributes.
You can open the Character Formatting Dialog box in one of two ways:
Select Format->Font from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Alt-F
Either method will open a dialog box
Using this dialog box, you can select the font, size, character set, italics and boldface options.
The preview box along the bottom, will show you how your current settings will appear.
Clicking OK will commit your changes to the document.
Clicking Cancel will abort all changes made.
The default sentence for the preview box is ‘The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog’.
You can change this sentence by clicking once within the sentence. You can then change the sample sentence to anything you want.
This can be especially useful if you need to view numbers, special characters, or non-arabic characters
The sample sentence will revert to the default the next time you open this dialog.
The ‘Change Font Color’ command can be invoked 3 ways:
By selecting Format->Font Color from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Alt-C
or by clicking on
the
tool-bar.
You can now choose a color for the selected text using the Color Selection Dialog Box.
When you build documents that are more complex than a business letter, such as a book, newsletter, or resume, the document is often broken down into sections. Each of these sections may have a similar appearance.
You can use styles to easily keep a consistent look throughout your document.
If you are familiar with ‘Styles’ in Microsoft® Word, KWord styles perform the same functions. You can skip to the next section.
As an example, if we look at a snippet of a document, and assign different styles to appropriate parts :
Section Title ----> | Section 1: How to use your new computer | |
Normal Text ----> | Do to a revolutionary new teaching method, we can now teach you how to use you computer in 10 minutes. | |
We should begin by quickly summarizing the parts of your new computer. | ||
(text deleted) | ||
Section Title ----> | Section 2: What to do if the 10 minute manual didn't work. |
In this example, you can see this computer manual consists of two sections. To the title text of each section, we have changed the text style to “Section Title”. The rest of the document text is left as “Normal Text”.
We do not need to know how exactly we want the text and paragraphs of these sections to look yet. All we need to do is identify these sections of text as “Section Titles” or “Normal Text”.
Once we have finished the document, you can change the look of all the text labeled “Section Title” all at once.
This will ensure that all section titles appear consistent throughout your document.
KWord has 11 predefined Styles. For a list of them, and the formatting options, click here.
To change the style of text, first, select the text you want the changes to apply to.
You can now change the character style in one of two ways:
Select Format->Style from the Menu bar. This will open the list of available styles, select the style from the list.
You can select the style using the drop down box on the Character
Formatting Tool-bar. (
)
If you plan on using Styles extensively in a large document, you will probably want to create new styles specific for your needs.
To create a new style:
Procedure 8.1.
Select Extra->Stylist from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box
Click Add.
This will bring up another dialog box
Type a descriptive name in the box labeled Name. This will be the name of the style.
Now select a style from the drop-down box labeled Following Style Template. This will be the basic style that you modify to create your new style (You have to start somewhere right?). If in doubt, ‘Standard’ is fine.
Now you can make the changes you need to create your new style.
The preview box will show you what your new style will look like.
Use the buttons labeled Font, Color, Spacing and Indents, Alignment, Borders, Numbering, and Tabulators to create the style.
If you want to change the scope of the style, see the section entitled Controlling Styles.
Click OK to create your new style.
Click Cancel to abort the creation of the style.
You can change the font size, character set, font, character set and toggle italics and bold face by clicking on Font. This will open a new dialog box.
Using this dialog box, you can select the font, size, character set, italics and boldface options.
The preview box along the bottom, will show you how your current settings will appear.
Clicking OK will commit your changes to the style.
Clicking Cancel will abort all changes made in this dialog box.
You can change the font color of your new style, by click on Color.
You can now choose a color for the selected text using the Color Selection Dialog Box.
To change the paragraph spacing and indentation of the paragraph of your style, click on "Spacing and Indents". This opens a new dialog box.
This dialog box allows you to set the paragraph margins, the spacing between lines, and the spacing between paragraphs.
The first section of this dialog box is labeled Indent, and consists of three parts:
You can indent all the lines of a paragraph by entering a value in this box. The first line is unaffected by this box. If you want to alter the first line, you must specify that separately.
!!!!Just blacked out!!!!!
Any non-zero value entered in this text box, will shift the left margin of the first line.
The next section is labeled Line Spacing. It consists of two elements:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Blacked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing between lines from the default. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing between lines. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing between lines.
Changes to this entry do NOT affect the line spacing between lines of different paragraphs.
The last section is labeled Paragraph Space . It consists of two entries:
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing before each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing before a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing before each paragraph.
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing after each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing after a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing after each paragraph.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
To change how he text is placed within the line, click on Alignment. This will open a new dialog box.
As you can see, there are only 4 choices.
If you choose Left, Right or Center, the text will be moved on the line.
If you choose Block, KWord will increase the space between words, so that each line (with the exception of the last line), reaches both the left and right margins.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
To add borders to your style, click on Borders. This will open a new dialog box.
You can tell KWord to surround (on some or all sides) a paragraph with a border. This border can be solid or not, of any color and of any size. You use this dialog panel to adjust the borders.
To define some borders for a paragraph, you first determine how the borders should appear on the document. Then you select which paragraph borders should be used. You can mix and match styles, weights and colors of paragraph borders for maximum flexibility in you document.
You can use this drop-down box to select the overall type of the new border.
Your choices are: Solid Line, Dash Line, Dot line, Dash Dot line, Dash Dot Dot line
This will determine how wide the resulting border will be. It is measured in points.
Clicking on the color bar will allow you to select a color using a new dialog box
![]() | Select/Unselect Left Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the left paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the left paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Right Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the right paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the right paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Top Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the top paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the top paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Bottom Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the bottom paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the bottom paragraph border. |
The "Preview" window will show you how your paragraph borders will look.
To add bullets or numbering to your style, click Numbering.
!!!!!!!!!!Still needs work before writing!!!!!!!!!
You can define tab stops for your styles. To do so, click Tabulators. This will open a new dialog box.
You can now add tab stops by:
Procedure 8.2.
Type the horizontal location of the tab stop in the space provided. The units are listed above the text box.
Select the type of tab stop from the list on the right.
Click Add.
When you are done adding tab stops, you can click OK to finish.
Deleting an unneeded style is easy.
Procedure 8.3.
Select Extra->Stylist from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box
From the list of available styles, select the style you want to delete by clicking once with the mouse left mouse button.
Be sure you have selected the correct style before you click Delete. KWord will not ask for confirmation, so you will not be given an opportunity to back out.
Click Delete.
The style is now deleted.
Certain styles in KWord are considered fundamental (Standard, Head 1, Head2, Head 3, Enumerated List, Bulleted List, and Alphabetical list) and cannot be deleted.
When you select any one of these styles to delete it, the Delete button will not function.
The true power of styles, is the ability to edit the formatting options of that style after you have defined the style. By changing the formatting of the style, you immediately change every paragraph with that style, and you maintain a consistent look to your document.
You will also notice, that editing the formatting options of a style, uses the same interface you used to create the style in the first place.
To edit a current style:
Procedure 8.4.
Select Extra->Stylist from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box
Select the style you want to edit from the list in the left
Click Edit.
This will bring up another dialog box
Now you can make the changes you want to this style.
The preview box will show you what your new style will look like.
Do not change the name of your template.
Doing so will delete your current style from the list (and create a new one with the new name).
Any paragraphs which were originally formatted with this style, will revert to “Standard”.
Use the buttons labeled Font, Color, Spacing and Indents, Alignment, Borders, Numbering, and Tabulators to alter the look of the style.
If you want to change the scope of the style, see the section entitled Controlling Styles.
Click OK to commit your changes.
Click Cancel to abort all changes to this style.
You can change the font size, character set, font, character set and toggle italics and bold face by clicking on Font. This will open a new dialog box.
Using this dialog box, you can select the font, size, character set, italics and boldface options.
The preview box along the bottom, will show you how your current settings will appear.
Clicking OK will commit your changes to the style.
Clicking Cancel will abort all changes made in this dialog box.
You can change the font color of your style, by clicking on Color.
You can now choose a color for the style using the Color Selection Dialog Box.
To change the paragraph spacing and indentation of the paragraph of your style, click on Spacing and Indents. This opens a new dialog box.
This dialog box allows you to set the paragraph margins, the spacing between lines, and the spacing between paragraphs.
The first section of this dialog box is labeled Indent, and consists of three parts:
You can indent all the lines of a paragraph by entering a value in this box. The first line is unaffected by this box. If you want to alter the first line, you must specify that separately.
!!!!Just blacked out!!!!!
Any non-zero value entered in this text box, will shift the left margin of the first line.
The next section is labeled Line Spacing. It consists of two elements:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Blacked out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing between lines from the default. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing between lines. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing between lines.
Changes to this entry do NOT affect the line spacing between lines of different paragraphs.
The last section is labeled Paragraph Space. It consists of two entries:
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing before each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing before a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing before each paragraph.
By entering a value in here, you can adjust the spacing after each paragraph from the default spacing. If you enter a positive number, you will increase the spacing after a paragraph. If, on the other hand, you enter a negative number, you will decrease the spacing after each paragraph.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
Click OK to accept your changes.
Click Cancel to reject any changes you made with this dialog box.
To change how he text is placed within the line, click on Alignment. This will open a new dialog box.
As you can see, there are only 4 choices.
If you choose Left, Right or Center, the text will be moved on the line.
If you choose Block, KWord will increase the space between words, so that each line (with the exception of the last line), reaches both the left and right margins.
On the right of the dialog box, is a preview box, which will approximate the final layout of your document.
If you are happy with the change you made, click OK to accept your changes.
Click Cancel to reject any changes you made with this dialog box.
To add borders to your style, click on Borders. This will open a new dialog box.
You can tell KWord to surround (on some or all sides) a paragraph with a border. This border can be solid or not, of any color and of any size. You use this dialog panel to adjust the borders.
To define some borders for a paragraph, you first determine how the borders should appear on the document. Then you select which paragraph borders should be used. You can mix and match styles, weights and colors of paragraph borders for maximum flexibility in you document.
You can use this drop-down box to select the overall type of the new border.
Your choices are: Solid Line, Dash Line, Dot line, Dash Dot line, Dash Dot Dot line
This will determine how wide the resulting border will be. It is measured in points.
Clicking on the color bar will allow you to select a color using a new dialog box
![]() | Select/Unselect Left Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the left paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the left paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Right Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the right paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the right paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Top Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the top paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the top paragraph border. |
![]() | Select/Unselect Bottom Border. Clicking this button will apply the current options to the bottom paragraph border. Clicking a second time will remove the bottom paragraph border. |
The Preview window will show you how your paragraph borders will look.
Click OK to accept your changes.
Click Cancel to reject any changes you made with this dialog box.
To add bullets or numbering to your style, click Numbering.
!!!!!!!!!!Still needs work before writing!!!!!!!!!
Click OK to accept your changes.
Click Cancel to reject any changes you made with this dialog box.
You can define tab stops for your styles. To do so, click Tabulators. This will open a new dialog box.
You can now add tab stops by:
Procedure 8.5.
Type the horizontal location of the tab stop in the space provided. The units are listed above the text box.
Select the type of tab stop from the list on the right.
Click Add.
When you are done adding tab stops, you can click OK to finish.
With some documents, you will want to ensure that every character within your document exactly matches the document style. With other documents, you will need some additional flexibility. In this second case, you need to configure KWord so it only changes certain specific aspects of the style with each update.
To edit a current style:
Procedure 8.6.
Select Extra->Stylist from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box
Now click on the tab labeled Update Configuration.
This dialog box is broken down into 7 major parts, and a single check box.
Fonts
The first drop down box, determines what font attributes a style should control, and when they should be applied. Your choices for this drop-down box are:
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any fonts (with respect to size, font name, italics or bold face, etc.) when applying the style.
When selected, KWord will not alter any fonts when applying the style unless the fonts size attribute of the selected text matches the font size within the style. If the font sizes do not match, KWord will not change any font attributes. If the size does match, the selected text will be changed to the font family of the style. No other changes (bold face, italics, etc.) will be made.
With this option, KWord will convert the Font Family (but no other attributes), to the font defined in the style irrespective of font size.
When selected, KWord will not alter any fonts when applying the style unless the fonts size attribute of the selected text matches the font size within the style. If the font sizes do not match, KWord will not change any font attributes. If the size does match, the selected text will be changed to match the style. All attributes (bold face, italics, etc.) will be changed.
With this option, KWord will change all text, irrespective of size or attributes, to match the font specified in the style.
Font Color
This drop down box allows you to specify if the Font colors should be changed to match the style or not.
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any font colors.
When selected, KWord will change the font colors of selected text to match the color defined in the font style.
Indents and Spacing
This drop down box allows you to specify if the indenting and paragraph spacing should be changed to match the style or not.
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any indenting or paragraph spacing settings.
When selected, KWord will change the indenting or paragraph spacing settings of selected text to match those defined in the font style.
Aligns/Flows
This drop down box allows you to specify if the paragraph alignment should be changed to match the style or not.
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any paragraph alignment settings.
When selected, KWord will change the paragraph alignment settings of selected text to match those defined in the font style.
Numbering
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any auto-numbering settings.
When selected, KWord will change the auto-numbering attributes of selected text to match those defined in the font style.
Borders
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any paragraph borders.
When selected, KWord will change the paragraph borders to match those defined in the font style.
Tabulators
If this option is selected, KWord will not alter any tab stops.
When selected, KWord will change the tab stops to match those defined in the font style.
When you are finished, click Close to apply your changes.
You can divide the page into several columns, of equal width, with a user controlled space in between each column.
This feature is only available in Word processing Templates.
If you are working in a DTP Template, you can build up several columns using a different frame for each column.
To change the number and width of columns:
Procedure 8.7.
First, you must be in Frame Edit Mode. If you are not currently in frame edit mode, you can change to Frame Edit Mode, in one of three ways:
Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5
or by clicking on
the tool-bar.
Place the mouse cursor inside the frame you want to move, and click once with the left mouse button. This selects this frame as the current frame.
Select Format->Page from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box
Click on the table labeled Columns.
This will change the dialog panel.
You can now select the number of columns, and the spacing in between.
The preview box shows you what you can expect.
Click OK when you are done.
Click Cancel to abort changes.
KWord has the built in ability to generate simple tables.
!!!!Need to add more here -- Table formatting not implemented well!!!
If you need more complicated functionality or you want more control over the look of your table, you can Embed a KSpread Table in your document.
This section of the document will cover the formatting of tables created in KWord
You can create a table in KWord in one of three ways:
Select Tools->Create Table from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: F9
or by clicking
on the tool-bar.
This will open a dialog box.
This dialog box is divided into two halves.
The right half of the dialog box provides you a quick visual guide to how many rows and columns will be created in the table. This is useful for ‘counting’ out your table. You can not edit your table layout here.
The left half of the dialog box consists of two drop down boxes, and two number selection boxes.
The number selection box labeled Number of Rows, allows you to specify from 1 to 128 rows in the table.
The number selection box labeled Number of Columns, allows you to specify from 1 to 128 columns in the table.
While adjusting either of these two options, the preview box adjusts to your new settings.
The drop down box labeled Cell Height, can be set to either of two options.
If this option is selected, KWord will set the cell height of each cell in the new table to a size appropriate based on the size of the current text. KWord will not automatically provide additional space in each cell, because you draw a table larger (or smaller) than necessary.
As an example, if you create a table with three rows, it does not matter if you “draw” the table as 1 inch tall, or 4 inches tall, the height of each cell will be based on the current text size.
When selected, calculate the cell height by dividing the user specified size of the table by the number of rows.
If this is selected, and you create a table with 3 rows and “draw” the table 3 inches tall, each cell will be 1 inch in height. If you draw the table 1.5 inches tall, each cell will be 0.5 inches tall.
The drop down box labeled Cell Widths, can be set to either of two options.
If this option is selected, KWord will determine the width of each cell, by dividing the total width of the frame by the number of columns. It is unaffected by the table size you have “drawn” on the document.
When selected, KWord determines the width of each cell, by dividing the width of the table you “draw” by the number of columns selected.
As an example, if you create a table with 3 columns, and “draw” it 3 inches wide, each cell will be 1 inch in width. If, however, you draw the same table 6 inches wide, each cell will be 2 inches wide.
To change the properties of the table, click on the tab labeled Properties.
!!!Not implemented yet!!!
To delete a table in KWord:
Procedure 8.8.
Place the text cursor within any cell of the table you want to delete.
Be sure you have selected the correct table before continuing. KWord will not ask for confirmation.
Select Table->Delete Table from the Menu bar
The table will be immediately deleted.
You can insert a row into any place in a table.
To insert a row into a table:
Procedure 8.9.
Place the text cursor within any cell of the table you want to add a row to.
Select either:
Table->Insert Row from the Menu bar
or by clicking on the
tool-bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
The number selection box labeled Row, allows you to select any row within the table. This number selection box limits you to the rows currently in the table.
Select the row you want to use as a reference.
Now select either Before or After" as is appropriate.
Click OK to add the row or click Cancel to not add any rows.
To insert a column into a table:
Procedure 8.10.
Place the text cursor within any cell of the table you want to add a row to.
Select either:
Table->Insert Column from the Menu bar
or by clicking on the
tool-bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
The number selection box labeled Column, allows you to select any column within the table. This number selection box limits you to the columns currently in the table.
Select the column you want to use as a reference.
Now select either Before or After as is appropriate.
Click OK to add the column or click Cancel to not add any columns.
To delete a row from a table:
Procedure 8.11.
Place the text cursor within any cell of the table you want to delete the row from.
Select either:
Table->Delete row from the Menu bar
or by clicking on the
tool-bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
Select the row you want to delete in the number selection dialog.
Make sure you have selected the correct row before continuing.
KWord will not ask for verification before deleting the row.
Click OK to delete the row, or click Cancel to not delete any rows.
To delete a column from a table:
Procedure 8.12.
Place the text cursor within any cell of the table you want to delete the column from.
Select either:
Table->Delete Column from the Menu bar
or by clicking on the
tool-bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
Select the column you want to delete in the number selection dialog.
Make sure you have selected the correct column before continuing.
KWord will not ask for verification before deleting the column
Click OK to delete the column, or click Cancel to not delete any column.
A table is traditionally made of a grid of rows and columns, with equal sized cells throughout the table.
Sometimes you would like to spread text out over several cells in a table. This is especially common with titles.
KWord allows you to do this by ‘Joining’ two (or more) adjacent cells of a table together.
This is an example of three cells joined together in the middle of a table.
You can join cells vertically, as well as horizontally.
To ‘join’ several cells:
Procedure 8.13.
You must be in Frame Edit Mode. To change to Frame Edit Mode, you can:
Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5
or by clicking on
the tool-bar.
Now select one of the two (or more) cells you want to join into one. You can do this by clicking once in the cell with the left mouse button.
Select another cell you want ‘joined’", by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking with the left mouse button.
Continue to select additional cells, until you have selected all the cells necessary.
If you have a number of cells in a row that you want to select, you can select them in two quick steps:
First click on one of the end cells.
Now hold down the Shift key and click on the cell at the other end of the row or column you want to join.
All cells between these two cells will be selected.
Select Table->Join Cells from the Menu bar
The cells will now be joined.
Any text in the right most frame will now be located in the joined frame. Any text from any other frames will be hidden from view.
Joining several cells together into one larger cell, is not a one way action.
If you decide that you do not want the previously joined cells to be joined any longer, you can "split" them back into individual cells again.
To split previously joined cells: you must be in Frame Edit Mode.
Procedure 8.14.
You must be in Frame Edit Mode. To change to Frame Edit Mode, you can:
Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar
You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5
or by clicking on
the tool-bar.
Select the cell you want to split by clicking on it with the left mouse button.
Select Table->Split Cells from the Menu bar
The cells will be restored to their previous state. Any text in the original cell will be relocated to the rightmost cell.
With multi-page documents, you might want to provide certain information at the tops or bottoms of each page throughout the document. They can provide the reader with important information and they tie your documents together.
Fortunately, headers and footers are really just a special type of frame. You can edit the text and data within the headers and footers
You can toggle headers and footers independently at any time.
If you are using a Word processing template, the footers will be added below the margins you set under page setup. The text within the main frames will be moved so the headers and/or footers do not overlap any text.
If you are using a DTP template, the headers/footers will be placed at the margin edges, just like in the word processing templates, but these frames are treated just like any other frame. If the text frame below the Header/footer frame is set to wrap around text in overlapping frames, that will cause the text to move.
You can toggle the headers by selecting View->Headers. from the Menu bar.
You can toggle the footers by selecting View->Footers. from the Menu bar.
KWord comes with several pre-defined templates (both Word processing and DTP templates), which are designed to get you started on your documents.
If, however, you often use the same format for a document over and over, you may want to create a template which exactly matches your needs.
You can create an unlimited number of templates in KWord, and you can organize them into categories for easy recall.
You create these templates by first generating the layout in KWord based on one of the pre-defined templates, and then you save the file. Instead of saving it as a traditional file, you save it as a template.
What follows, is a step by step process to save the current document as a template.
Procedure 8.15.
When the document is like you want, Select Extra->Create Template From Document from the Menu bar.
This brings up a dialog:
This dialog helps you organize your templates into categories.
As you can see, your templates will be saved into a sub-directory in your home directory. You first need to create a Folder (which represents a sub-directory) within the templates directory.
To create this folder:
Place the mouse cursor over the line directory name (in this example: /home/mmcbride/.kde/share/apps/kword/templates/) and click with the right mouse button.
This will bring up a sub-menu.
Select Add Folder.
This will add another dialog to the screen.
Type in a name for the folder. The name should be descriptive of the types of templates you will be placing within it.
Click Clear to ???Not implemented yet???.
Click Cancel to abort creating a new folder.
Click OK to create this folder.
The dialog box will now show your new folder.
You do not need to create a new folder for each template. The folders you create can be used to organize your templates.
You must, however, have at least one folder. You can not save any templates into the templates sub-directory.
Select the newly created folder by clicking once on it with the left mouse button.
Type the name of your new template in the blank entitled Template Name.
You now need to select a graphic to represent your template in the open document window.
???Not implemented yet???
Once you have saved your template, the next time you open a document, you will see your new category/new template in the open file dialog.
This is an example of a new category named Newsletters, with a new template named Monthly.
The key to getting the most out of KWord, is found in the menu bars and the toolbars.
The menu bar is organized into groups of functions (e.g. file functions, table functions, etc.). Below each of these groups, is a submenu of actions. Some of these submenus will have sub menus of their own. All of the functions of KWord can be found inside the menu bar hierarchy.
The tool bars are also organized into groups. Each toolbar consists of a set of buttons. Each button performs a specific function. The toolbars are designed to act as shortcuts for more commonly used functions.
The first part of this section of the manual discusses the manipulation of KWord's toolbars to suit your needs.
The second part of this section, takes a detailed look at each menu bar function, and each tool bar button, and provides you with a brief summary of its action. Most of these menu bar functions and tool bar buttons also provide you with a link to more detailed information.
KWord offers the user great flexibility when it comes to toolbars. This first section will show you some of the many options you have for relocating, reformatting and removing toolbars from your desktop.
When you startup KWord, all the several toolbars are visible. If you don't think you will need a toolbar, and want to reclaim that desktop space, you have two options. You can hide the toolbars or you can temporarily flatten the toolbars.
Each toolbar has a stippled area to the left (or on top) of the toolbar buttons. By clicking on this area, the toolbar will be minimized.
Once a toolbar is flat, this stipled area moves up near the menubar.
Clicking on this area will restore the toolbar to its original size.
Alternatively place the cursor over on the toolbar you want to flatten, and click with the right mouse button.
The mouse must be on the background of the toolbar, not over a button to use this option.
A small menu will appear at the mouse cursor. Select Flat.
To restore this menu to its original size and position, place the mouse cursor over the stipled area near the menu bar, and click with the right mouse button.
A small menu will appear at the mouse cursor. Select UnFlat.
Toolbars can be located on the screen in 4 places.
Top
Bottom
Left
Right
Top, Bottom, Left and Right refer to the edges of the KWord screen.
By locating a tool bar in the Bottom position, for example, you move the toolbar into a horizontal position below the Document Area, and along the bottom of the KWord window. By locating a tool bar in the Left position,however, you move the toolbar into a verticle position to the left of the Document Area, and along the left edge of the KWord window.
Multiple toolbars can be located at each of these points in the screen. (You could, for instance, move all the toolbars to the top of the screen). KWord will shuffle toolbars around, to fit in the most compact way at that location.
There are two ways of moving your toolbars:
Procedure 11.1. Option 1
If you left click on the stippled area of the toolbar (the same location you used to minimize the tool bar), and hold the button down, you can drag the toolbar around the KWord screen. This allows you to move the toolbars around to suit your needs.
Procedure 11.2. Option 2
Place the cursor over on the toolbar you want to minimize, and click with the right mouse button.
The mouse must be on the “background”" of the toolbar, not over a button to use this option.
A small menu will appear at the mouse cursor. Select Top, Bottom, Left, or Right.
Toolbars can have their buttons displayed different ways. Below are examples of the four options for the "File" toolbar.
Icons Only | ![]() |
Text Only | ![]() |
Text Aside Icons | ![]() |
Text Under Icons | ![]() |
To change the appearance of a toolbar, place the cursor over on the toolbar you want to minimize, and click with the right mouse button.
The mouse must be on the toolbar, but not over a button to use this option.
A small menu will appear at the mouse cursor. Select Text position. This will open a submenu, select your preference from the list.
Setting the look of one toolbar does not alter the look of another toolbar.
The Menubar contains all commands available to KWord. It is divided into 10 general categories.
By clicking on the File menu, you can begin new documents, load previously edited documents, print your documents, close the current document (so you can load another document), or quit KWord entirely.
Allows you to open new files for editing. For Step by Step instructions see Beginning a New Document.
Typing Ctrl+N or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
For opening previously created KWord files. For Step by Step instructions see Retrieving a Saved Document.
Typing Ctrl+O or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
For opening the most recently edited files.
Saves your current file to disk. If you have not saved the file yet, you will be prompted for a filename. For more details, see Saving a Document.
Typing Ctrl+S or clicking
are equivalent to
using the menubar.
Allows you to save your file under another name or another format. For more details, see Saving a Document.
Allows you to save your file as a template, to use as a starting point for future documents. For more details, see Creating a new template..
Opens a window that counts the sentences, words, characters and syllables in your document.
The number of sentences is not always absolutely correct, as KWord has to guess if a dot really starts a new sentence or not. The number of syllables is estimated, KWord therefore assumes that the text is written in English.
The Flesch reading ease score is a number between 0 and 100 which estimates how readable a text is. The higher the number, the easier the text can be read. Texts with a score of 70-80 have a fairly good readability.
The Flesch formula uses the number of words per sentences and the number of syllables per word. It assumes that the use of short words and short sentences increases the readability of a text. It says nothing about grammar or meaning. As both the number of sentences and the number of syllables is estimated, the result is not absolutely precise. The text should be at least 200 words long, if it isn't the score will be marked as approximated.
The Flesch score is defined for English text only, but the basic idea should work for many other languages, too.
Click OK button to dismiss the window.
Print the file. For an overview of printing options see Printing a Document.
Typing Ctrl+P or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Print the file, but sends the output to your postscript viewer, for your confirmation before sending it to the printer. The operation of your postscript viewer will vary depending on which viewer you use. Refer to the help files for your viewer for help.
Clicking are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Opens a window that lets you enter information related to the document (such as Authors name, Addresses, Phone numbers, Abstract, etc.). This information is saved with the document for later classification.
Close the file you are currently working on. If you have not saved your most recent changes, you will be prompted.
Typing Ctrl+W is equivalent to using the menubar.
Quits KWord
Typing Ctrl+Q is equivalent to using the menubar.
By clicking on the Edit menu, you can cut/copy/paste text, undo or redo edits and perform searches and text replacement.
Reverses the last action you performed. Not all actions can be reversed. If you are not able to Undo the last action, the Undo option will be replaced with No Undo Possible. For a more thourough discussion of Undo/Redo, click here.
Typing Ctrl+Z or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Reverses the last Undo performed. If the Redo option is unavailable, the Toolbar will replace Redo with No Redo Possible. For a more thourough discussion of Undo/Redo, click here.
Clicking are
equivalent to using the menubar.
Deletes the highlighted text from the document, and places a copy in the clipboard. For a more complete directions on Cutting and Pasting, and a full description of the clipboard, click here.
Typing Ctrl+X or clicking
are equivalent to using the menubar.
Places a copy of the highlighted text in the clipboard, without changing the text in the document. For a more complete directions on Cutting and Pasting, and a full description of the clipboard, click here.
Typing Ctrl+C or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Inserts a copy of the clipboard into the current cursor position. If there is highlighted text, KWord replaces replaces all highlighted text with the contents of the clipboard. The clipboard is not altered. For a more complete directions on Cutting and Pasting, and a full description of the clipboard, click here.
Typing Ctrl+V or clicking
are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Immediatly highlights all text of the current frameset.
Typing Ctrl+A is equivalent to using the menubar.
Allows you to search for a series of characters. The find features of KWord are covered in more detail under Searching for Text.
Typing Ctrl+F or clicking
are equivalent to
using the menubar.
Allows you to replace for a series of characters with others. The find and replace features of KWord are covered in more detail under Replacing Text.
This will create a new view of your docuement. For more information on views, refer to the section entitled Using Multiple Views.
This will close all views except the current view. For more information on views, refer to the section entitled Using Multiple Views.
This will split the view. The orientation of the split is determined by the Splitter Orientation. For more information on views, refer to the section entitled Using Multiple Views.
This will close the current view. For more information on views, refer to the section entitled Using Multiple Views.
This determines whether split views are oriented horizontally or vertically. Click on this option, and you are presented with a submenu with 2 options: Vertical and Horizontal. For more information on views, refer to the section entitled Using Multiple Views.
Clicking on this option toggles the display of formatting characters. Selecting this option will display non-printable characters (spaces, character returns, and tab stops). Selecting this option again will turn the display of these characters off.
Clicking on this option toggles the display of the borders to frames. Normally, KWord draws a grey line around each frame, so that know the borders of the frames. If you want this option turned off, you can select this option. Selecting this option again will turn the borders back on.
Selecting this option will toggle headers on. Selecting this option again will turn headers off. A checkmark before the menu entry will show you the current status of this option. More information on headers and footers can be found under Headers and Footers.
Selecting this option will toggle footers on. Selecting this option again will turn footers off. A checkmark before the menu entry will show you the current status of this option. More information on headers and footers can be found under Headers and Footers.
Selecting this option will cause all bibliographic information to be formated as footnotes. More information on Footnotes and Endnotes can be found under Endnotes/Footnotes.
Selecting this option will cause all bibliographic information to be formated as endnotes. More information on Footnotes and Endnotes can be found under Endnotes/Footnotes.
Selecting this option will let you increase or decrease the page magnification. Selecting a zoom value larger than 100 percent causes the text and pictures to appear larger. Selecting a zoom value smaller than 100 percent will cause the text and pictures to appear smaller.
The zoom value does not affect the final output of the text or pictures. This option is intended to help you edit and layout your documents.
Insert a picture from a file into the current cursor position.
Typing F2 or
clicking
are equivalent to using the menubar.
Insert a formula into the document. More information on formulas in KWord can be found here.
Clicking are equivalent to using
the menubar.
Opens a dialog box which allows you to select characters not found on the keyboard.
Typing Alt+Shift+C is equivalent to using the menubar.
This will enter a special character which will force text into the next connected text frame. More information can be found in Working with Frames.
Typing Ctrl+Return is equivalent to using the menubar.
Selecting this option will insert a bibliographic mark which will appear as either a footnote or endnote. More information on Footnotes and Endnotes can be found under Endnotes/Footnotes.
This will insert a Table of Contents at the current cursor position. More detailed information can be found here.
Selecting this option will allow you to insert page numbers, Date, time, Serial letters, etc. You can find specific information about page numbers here. More information about Date and Times can be found under Inserting the Date and Time. More information on other variables can be found Special Variables.
This will allow you to create a table in the current cursor location. For more information, please see Working with Tables.
Clicking are equivalent to using the
menubar.
To create a new text frame. After selecting this option, your cursor will change to cross hairs. chose the location of one corner of your new text frame. Click on the left mouse button and hold the button down. Drag the mouse, until you have the desired text frame. When you have the correct shape and size, release the mouse button. KWord will now bring up a dialog box with options to connect this text frame to other frames in your document. For more information on this subject, see Working with Frames.
Typing F6 or
clicking are equivalent to using the
menubar.
This option will let you create a new frame, and automatically insert a picture from a file into the new frame. After selecting this menu item or toolbar button, a dialog box will be opened, so you may select the picture file from your system. (For help with this dialog box, please see Inserting a Picture.) Once you have selected the file you want, click on the OK button. KWord will close the dialog box, and your cursor will change to cross hairs. Locate the cursor on the page where you would like to locate one corner of your picture. Click and hold the right mouse button, then drag the mouse. This will create a border which represents the final size of the picture in your document. When you are happy with the size of the picture, release the mouse button and the picture will be inserted in your new frame.
Typing F7 or
clicking
are equivalent to using the menubar.
Creates a new frame, and opens a dialog box listing each of the KOffice applications. This will allow you to insert any data into your KWord document.
Typing F12 or
clicking are equivalent to
using the menubar.
Allows you to change the formatting characteristics of the selected text. For more details, go to Character Formating
Typing Ctrl+Alt+F is equivalent to using the menubar.
To change the indenting, spacing between paragraphs, text flow, tab stops, numbering and borders. For more details, go to paragraph Formating.
Typing Ctrl+Alt+P is equivalent to using the menubar.
Allows you to alter attributes of a selected frame(s). You must be in Frame Edit Mode to use this function. For more details, go to Frame Formating
Use this to alter the properties of the printed page, including size, headers and footers. For more details, go to Formating the Page
Opens a dialog to allow you to format, add and delete styles. For more information go to Styles
Typing Ctrl+Alt+5 is equivalent to using the menubar.
Allows you to select a style for the selected text. For more information go to Styles
Allows you to format the selected formula. For more information go to Formulas
This will allow you to delete the entire frame, and all of the text and objects contained within the frame. You will be prompted before the frame is deleted. This command must be executed while you are in frame edit mode.
Allows you to reconnect the currently selected text frame, with another text frame. More information on this subject can be found in Working with Frames.
This command must be executed while you are in frame edit mode.
Switches you to Edit Text Mode. For more detailed information see Working with Frames.
Typing F4 or
clicking
are equivalent to using the menubar.
Switches you to Frame Edit Mode. For more detailed information see Working with Frames.
Typing F5 or
clicking
are equivalent to using the menubar.
Allows you to insert a row into a table. For more on tables, click here.
Clicking is
equivalent to using the menubar.
Allows you to insert a column into a table. For more on tables, click here.
Clicking is
equivalent to using the menubar.
Delete a row from a table. For more on tables, click here.
Clicking
is equivalent to using the menubar.
Delete a column from a table. For more on tables, click here.
Clicking
is equivalent to using the menubar.
This will convert two (or more) seperate cells into a single cell. For more on tables, click here.
This will split previously joined cells in a table. For more on tables, click here.
STUFF........For more on tables, click here.
Deletes the table the cursor is in. For more on tables, click here.
Will spell check the document.
Clicking is
equivalent to using the menubar.
Not fully functional yet.
Allows you to modify the autocorrection options. For more on Autocorrection, click here.
Toggles whether the File Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Edit Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Table Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Insert Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Format Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Borders Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the Formula Toolbar is visible.
Toggles whether the File Toolbar is visible.
Allows you to change the keyboard shortcuts. For details, click here
Allows you to change the toolbars. For details, click here
Allows you to change miscellaneous KWord options.For details, click here
Shows the contents of the documentation.
Typing F1 is equivalent to using the menubar.
The mouse changes to an arrow with a question mark beside it. Now you can click on a component of the KWord interface, and you can get brief help.
Typing Shift+F1 is equivalent to using the menubar.
If KWord crashes, or you have an idea that you think the developers should know about, select this option, and fill out the form on the internet.
Shows information on KWord
Shows information on KDE.
The Formatting Toolbar consists of 9 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar.
![]() | Select Font Face |
![]() | Character Size |
![]() | Toggle Bold Text |
![]() | Toggle Italics Button |
![]() | Toggle Underline Button |
![]() | Toggle Strikeout Button |
![]() | Toggle Superscript Text Button |
![]() | Toggle Subscript Text Button |
![]() | Toggle Text Color Button |
The File Toolbar consists of 5 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
The Insert Toolbar consists of 5 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
The Insert Toolbar consists of 8 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
![]() | Select Character Style |
![]() | Left Text Align Button |
![]() | Center Text Align Button |
![]() | Right Text Align Button |
![]() | Justify Text Button |
![]() | Numbered Text paragraphs |
![]() | Select Border Style |
![]() | Select Border Style |
The Table Edit Toolbar consists of 4 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
The Border Toolbar consists of 9 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
![]() | Toggle border colors |
![]() | Toggle Left Paragraph Border |
![]() | Toggle Right Paragraph Border |
![]() | Toggle Top Paragraph Border |
![]() | Toggle Bottom Paragraph Border |
![]() | Select Border Size |
![]() | Select Border Style |
![]() | Select Border Color |
![]() | Select Background Color |
The Formula Toolbar consists of 17 buttons. Each button performs a task from the menubar. Click on that task for more details.
![]() | Add or Change Square Root |
![]() | Add or Change Fraction |
![]() | Add or Change to Brackets |
![]() | Add or Change to Square Brackets |
![]() | Add or Change to Curly Brackets |
![]() | Absolute Value |
![]() | Integral |
![]() | Change to Sum |
![]() | Change to Product |
![]() | Add Matrix |
![]() | Add Upper Left Index |
![]() | Add Lower Left Index |
![]() | Add Upper Right Index |
![]() | Add Lower Right Index |
Right Facing Characters | |
Left Facing Characters | |
Special Symbols |
To configure the key bindings select Settings->Configure Key Bindings from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
To edit the key bindings, the first thing you need to do is find the action you want to edit. All of the possible actions are listed in the combo box labled Action. By using the scrollbar, locate the action you are interested in and click once with the left mouse button.
Once you have selected the action, you can turn your attention to the bottom half of the dialog box. You use the bottom half of the dialog box to change the key bindings.
By selecting this option, the currently selected action will not have any key binding.
By selecting this option, the currently selected action will use the default key binding. Once this option is clicked, the key binding column above lists the default key.
By selecting this option, the currently selected action will use any key combination you choose.
You determine the key combination by placing the appropriate checks in the check boxes labeld Shift, Ctrl, and Alt. You can select any combination of these keys.
You can also click on the large button with a letter in it. Now type the letter or function key you want to use. The letter will change to the typed letter.
When the combination is correct, you can either select another action, or press OK to save all changes.
If you click on the Cancel button, you will return to editing your document, without saving the changes.
Clicking on the Default button, you will change all keybindings back to their default value.
To configure options reguarding spelling and the user interface select Settings->Configure Toolbars from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box. You can add or remove as many toolbar buttons to as many toolbars as you like. You can also move the buttons around on the toolbar.
To add a button from a toolbar, you move it from the Available Actions box to the Current Actions column.
First select the toolbar you want to add a button to by selecting the toolbar from the dropdown box labeled Toolbar
Now select the action you want to add from the combo box labeled Available Actions by clicking once with the left mouse button.
Now click the action in the combo box labeled Current Actions you want your new button to follow in the toolbar.
Click the blue arrow pointing to the
right.
Once the OK has been clicked, the toolbars will change.
To delete a button from a toolbar, you move it from the Current Actions box to the Available Actions column.
First select the toolbar button you want to remove the button from the combo box labeled Current Actions.
Click the blue arrow pointing to the
left.
Once the OK has been clicked, the toolbars will change.
First select the toolbar you want to move a button on by selecting the toolbar from the dropdown box labeled Toolbar
To move a button, simply click on the button you want to move with the left mouse button.
Click the up or down arrows to move the button up or down the toolbar respectively.
Once the OK has been clicked, the toolbars will change.
To configure options reguarding spelling and the user interface select Settings->Configure KWord from the Menu bar.
This will bring up a dialog box.
To configure the options for the speller, click on the button labeled Spelling.
If you place a check in the box labeled Create root/affix combinations not in dictionary, then when KWord encounters a root word in combination with either a prefix or a suffix for the combined word, KWord will add a new entry to your dictionary. If this is not checked, then KWord will continue to report this word as a misspelled.
The next check box down will flag words that have been combined. Examples of such words are shutout, cannot, and blackout.
Leaving this check box unchecked will prevent KWord from flagging website and email addresses for spelling errors. These addresses often contain words run together.
The Dictionary dropdown box is used to select the dictionary you want KWord to use.
The Encoding dropdown box can be used to specify which character set you want the speller to use.
The Client dropdown box is used to specify the spell checking program that KWord should use.
When you are happy with the changes, simply click OK.
If you click on Cancel, all changes will be lost.
Clicking on the Default button restores all values to their default values.
Clicking Interface will allow you to change the following.
By using the checkbox labled Show Rulers to toggle the rulers on the KWord screen.
The remainder of the controls are a can either be operated using the combo box arrows, entering the value directly or by sliding the slider to the right of the combo box.
You can use this to adjust how often KWord saves a temporary file. If you set this value to zero, KWord will not autosave. You can adjust the autosave from zero to 60 minutes.
This determines the maximum number of files that are listed under File->Open Recent command. You can adjust this value from 1-20.
When you are happy with the changes, simply click OK.
If you click on Cancel, all changes will be lost.
Clicking on the Default button restores all values to their default values.
KWord Copyright 1999-2001 by Reginald Stadlbauer <reggie@kde.org>
KWord Developers
Reginald Stadlebauer <reggie@kde.org>
Thomas Zander <zander@earthling.net>
Laurent Montel <lmontel@mandrakesoft.com>
David Faure<david@mandrakesoft.com>
Torben Weis <weis@kde.org>
Simon Hausmann <hausmann@kde.org>
Werner Trobin <trobin@kde.org>
Stephan Kulow <coolo@kde.org>
KWord Import/Export Filter developers
Shaheed Haque <srhaque@iee.org>
Enno Bartels <ebartels@nwn.de>
Nicolas Goutte<nicog@snafu.de>
Michael Johnson<mikej@xnet.com>
Wolf-Michael Bolle <Bolle@ID-PRO.de>
Robert Jacolin <rjacolin@ifrance.com>
Matthias Kalle Dalheimer <mailto:kalle@dalheimer.de>
KFormula developers
Andrea Rizzi <rizzi@kde.org>
Ulrich Kuettler <ulrich.kuettler@mailbox.tu-dresden.de>
Documentation by Mike McBride
This documentation is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
This program is licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
KWord is part of the KDE project http://www.kde.org. KWord is located in the KOffice package which can be obtained from ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/, the main ftp site of the KDE project.
In order to successfully use KWord, you need:
Qt™ Toolkit 2.3.3 or later. This can be obtained from Trolltech.
KDE 2.2 libraries (kdelibs) and the KDE 2.2 base package (kdebase). These can be obtained from the KDE web page.
GNU c++ compiler. For help on obtaining this, please refer to your installations documentation.
autoconf and automake
All required libraries as well as KWord itself can be found on The KWord home page.
In order to compile and install KWord on your system, type the following in the base directory of the KOffice distribution:
% ./configure % make % make install
Since KWord uses autoconf and automake you should have not trouble compiling it. Should you run into problems please report them to the KDE mailing lists.
You can specify some initial actions for KWord. The two most commonly used options are discussed below with instructions on finding help on the rest of the command line options.
Probably the most common command line option used is to specify the file to edit.
Example:
$ kword Resume.kwd
This will cause KWord to load Resume.kwd for editing.
The only other command line option to be discussed, is where to find more help on the other command line options.
To get detailed help, type:
$ kword --help
This will give you a few subjects to receive help on.
KWord comes with 11 pre-defined Styles.
The table below provides you a quick glimpse of the formatting that is predefined for these styles.
Style | Characters | Paragraph | Borders |
---|---|---|---|
Standard | Times 12 Point Regular Style | Left Justified | None |
Head 1 | Helvetica 24 Point Bold | Left Justified Arabic Numbering (Chapter Numbering, Depth 0, Start with 1) | None |
Head 2 | Helvetica 16 Point Bold | Left Justified Arabic Numbering (Chapter Numbering, Depth 1, Start with 1) | None |
Head 3 | Helvetica 12 Point Bold | Left Justified Arabic Numbering (Chapter Numbering, Depth 2, Start with 1) | None |
Enumerated List | Times 12 Point Regular Style | Left Justified Arabic Numbering (List Numbering, Depth 0, Start with 1) | None |
Alphabetical List | Times 12 Point Regular Style | Left Justified Lower Alphabetic Numbering (List Numbering, Depth 0, Start with a) | None |
Bulleted List | Times 12 Point Regular Style | Left Justified Open Circle Bullets | None |
Contents Title | Helvetica 20 Point Bold | Centered | Solid Borders 1 pt width Top and Bottom Only |
Contents Head 1 | Helvetica 16 Point Bold | Left Justified | None |
Contents Head 2 | Helvetica 12 Point Bold | Left Justified | None |
Contents Head 3 | Helvetica 12 Point Italics | Left Justified | None |
The Abiword filter is in the early stages, and should be used with caution.
Nicolas Goutte <nicog@snafu.de>.
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
The Applixware filter is in the early stages, and should be used with caution. This is currently an import only filter.
Enno Bartels <ebartels@nwn.de>.
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
The ASCII filter is complete and fully functional.
Wolf-Michael Bolle <Bolle@ID-PRO.de>, Werner Trobin <wtrobin@mandrakesoft.com>, Reginald Stadlbauer <reggie@kde.org>, Nicolas Goutte <nicog@snafu.de>
The HTML filter is in the early stages, and is being rewritten. It should be used with caution.
Nicolas Goutte <nicog@snafu.de>.
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
The MIF filter is in the early stages and should be used with caution.
Matthias Kalle Dalheimer <kalle@dalheimer.de>>
The RTF import filter is not currently functioning. The Export filter is working, but has some known limitations. It should be used with caution.
Wolf-Michael Bolle <Bolle@ID-PRO.de> and Michael Johnson<mailto:mikejl@xnet.com>.
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
The Microsoft® Word 97/2000 export filter is not currently functioning. The import filter is working, but has some known limitations. It should be used with caution.
Wolf-Michael Bolle <Bolle@ID-PRO.de> and Michael Johnson<mailto:mikejl@xnet.com>.
Can be located within Microsoft®s MSDN, but rumor has it that it may have been lost or removed.
Features |
|
Still to be done. |
|
Table E.1. Keybindings for Working with Documents
Start New Document | Ctrl+N |
Open Document | Ctrl+O |
Save Document | Ctrl+S |
Print Document | Ctrl+P |
Close Document | Ctrl+W |
Quit KWord | Ctrl+Q |
Table E.2. Keybindings for Character Selection
Move selection one character to the left. | Shift+Left Arrow |
Move selection one character to the Right. | Shift+Right Arrow |
Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the character directly up one line. | Shift+Up Arrow |
Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the character directly down one line. | Shift+Down Arrow |
Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the beginning of the line. | Shift+Home |
Selects all characters from the start of the selection, to the end of the line. | Shift+End |
Select All | Ctrl+A |
Table E.3. Keybindings for Character Formatting
Toggle Boldface On/Off | Ctrl+B |
Toggle Italics On/Off | Ctrl+I |
Toggle Underline On/Off | Ctrl+U |
Format Font | Ctrl+F |
Format Character Color | Ctrl+Alt+C |
Table E.4. Keybindings for Basic Editing Functions and Search and Replace
Undo | Alt+Backspace |
Copy | Ctrl+C |
Cut | Ctrl+X |
Paste | Ctrl+V |
Find | Ctrl+F |
Replace | Ctrl+R |
Table E.5. Keybindings for Inserting
Insert Picture | F2 |
Insert Clipart | F3 |
Insert Special Character | Alt+C |
Insert Hard Frame Break | Ctrl+Enter |
Switch to Edit Text Mode | F4 |
Switch to Edit FrameMode | F5 |
Create Text Frame | F6 |
Create Picture Frame | F7 |
Create Table | F9 |
Create Formula Frame | F11 |
Create Parts Frame | F12 |
Stands for American standard code for information interchange. This is what many people mean when they say plain text. KWord can read and write documents in ASCII format.
This is the ratio of the measurement of a screen or document horizontally compared to the vertical measurement. All standard computer monitors have the same aspect ratio, regardless of their vertical resolution. Any KWord document that conforms to the standard screen will look good on any monitor.
Binary code is the actual instructions for the computer. So if we refer to binaries we mean the executable KWord program. While computers have no difficulties reading binary files, they are not easily understood by people. Compare to Source Code.
Bit mapped images are composed of individual dots. This type of file is very good for photographs and complex drawings. The downside of using bitmap images, is that when you change the size of the image on the page, there is a loss of detail. The file names of such pictures often end in jpeg, png or gif. Compare to Clipart.
Tables are made up of rows and columns of cells. Each cell is defined by a combination of the row and column of a heading.
Clip art refers to vector based graphics. These graphic files describe the picture as a collection of lines, curves and dots. These file formats are preferable to bit-mapped images, because their size can be made larger or smaller, without any loss in quality. The downside of vector formats, is that it can be quite difficult to describe certain types of photographs using only lines and curves. This results difficult, complicated files and most of the benefits of vector formats are lost. Compare to Bitmap images.
The clipboard is a temporary storage area in memory. Whenever you use the Cut or Copy command, you are placing the object that was selected into this memory location. Then when you use the Paste command, you insert the information from the clipboard into the document. For more information see the section on Cut/Copy/Paste.
When you compile a program, you are converting it from a source file (which is easily edited by a programmer) into a binary file (which the computer uses). If you are planning on compiling KWord, please try to find a binary version of KOffice first. Compiling programs is not for the beginner. For more information on versioning KWord, see the section entitled Installation
Using custom variables you can store certain values (e.g. numbers or text) for later use in your document or in a script. If you want to find out more about custom variables, see Inserting Variables.
This is a binary file format that is used by Debian and Debian based distributions. This will be the suffix of a file specifically for these distributions. An example would be koffice-1.1.deb. For more information on installing these files, refer to the Debian Web Site.
A dialog box is a small window that appears on top of your working document. This window usually has questions, information or configuration options related to the task you are performing. When you are finished with the dialog box, it will disappear and return you to your document (possibly after making some changes to the document).
Stands for Desktop Publishing.
Stands for Frequently Asked Questions and normally means a document, where those questions are answered. If you have a question to the developers of KOffice, you should always have a look at the FAQ first. You'll find the latest version here.
A file mask can be thought of as a strainer for you. On the average computer, there are several thousand files. These files are sorted into sub-directories, but it is not uncommon for many users to have 100's of data files in a single sub-directory.
Fortunately for us, most applications use a suffix to their filenames. By applying a file mask, KWord will only show you the files which are not filtered out by the mask. (That is to say KWord only shows the files that fit through the strainer). This can be helpful if you have many files from many different applications. The file mask is incorporated in the File Type line of the save and load dialog boxes.
As an example. If you use a file mask for KWord files, the file mask will try to filter out all files that are not for KWord.
A filter takes a document file from one program (e.g. Microsoft® Word), and filters out the text and formatting information and converts that information into a KWord document. Filters are used to read and write files for other programs.
The footer of a page is an area below the normal text area. Often it contains the page numbering and maybe some additional information. The contents of the footer are normally the same for most pages, and changing the footer on one page will change all other pages as well. See Header.
Well, about everything in KWord is in a frame. Text is always in a text frame. Pictures are in picture frames. Parts are in part frames. A frame is basically just a rectangle that can contain some part of your document. Frames can be moved, resized, deleted etc.
A frame-set is a group of frames which are connected together. If you're writing text that doesn't fit into the first frame of a frame-set, it will continue in the next frame belonging to that frame-set.
FTP is the File Transfer Protocol. It's an Internet protocol that allows you to retrieve files from so-called FTP servers. If you want to download KOffice from the Internet, you'll probably use FTP.
Normally, KWord automatically adjusts text so it fits into a text frame. By inserting a hard frame break you can force KWord to always start the next frame in the framset with the text that follows the break.
The header of a page is an area above the normal text area. Often it contains the page numbering and maybe some additional information. The contents of the header normally are the same for most pages, and changing the header on one page will change all other pages as well. See Footer.
Stands for HyperText Markup Language. Most web pages on the Internet are written in HTML. KWord can read and write HTML documents for publishing on the World Wide Web.
Stands for the K Desktop Environment which is required for KWord to operate. The KDesktop Environment is user interface which allows users to manipulate files and operate programs graphically. For more information, please visit www.kde.org.
All of the features of KWord are available through the menubar. You will find, however, that there are certain features of KWord that you use on a regular basis. You can bind a certain key combination to that function. Once this combination is bound to the function, you can use it as a shortcut to the function. KWord comes with several predefined key-bindings. For more information on changing the default key-bindings, click here.
When you have a standard sheet of paper, you can either orient your document with the long side vertically or horizontally. When the horizontal dimension is greater than the vertical, this is termed Landscape.
Example:
Compare with Portrait.
The menubar is located at the top of the KWord screen. You can use it to access all features of KWord.
Menubar:
Yes, I know what your thinking--Who doesn't know what a picture is? When we speak of pictures with KWord, however, the term has a very specific meaning and should not be confused with clip-art. Pictures are bit-mapped images. See Clipart for more information.
When you have a standard sheet of paper, you can either orient your document with the long side vertically or horizontally. When the vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal, this is termed Portrait.
Example:
Compare with Landscape.
This is the binary file format for distributions based on the Red Hat® package manager, a widely used packaging tool for the Linux® operating system. If you still have to get KOffice and your system supports RPM packages, you should get KOffice packages ending in .rpm. They're very easy to use.
Whenever you change the size of a graphics image, you are scaling that image. In KWord you scale the pictures by changing the shape of the frame which surrounds the graphic.
Source code is the human readable version of an application (such as KWord). Computers cannot use source code directly. Instead, source code must be compiled into binary code, before use.
Tar is a tool used for the archiving of files in so-called tar-files which you recognize by their suffix .tar. You'll find KOffice source and binary distributions as gzipped tar-files. However, you shouldn't use them if there are special packages for your system and package manager. See RPM, DEB.
See TGZ.
Files ending in .tar.gz or .tgz are tar-files compressed with the gzip program. This makes the tar files smaller and quicker to download. You'll find KOffice source and binary distributions in this format. However, you shouldn't use them if there are special packages for your system and package manager. See RPM, DEB.
A toolbar is a line of buttons which are shortcuts to more of the commonly used features of KWord. More information on tool bars can be found here.
Example Toolbar:
A vector based graphic is described in terms of lines and shapes, not in terms of dots. These files are often referred to as clip-art.Because of this, Clipart usually scales better than bit-mapped images.
Stands for What You See Is What You Get. KWord is a WYSIWYG word processor, which means that the document will appear the same on the screen while you are editing it, as it will on the printed page.
The X Window System® System (also known simply as ‘X’) is required for KOffice to operate. More information on X Window System® for Linux® can be found at http://www.xfree86.org