Office Automation

Unit - 2
Office Automation is a necessity for modern offices. The word ‘office automation’ denotes
replacement of manual office operations by machine. In simple terms, office automation is the use of
computer systems to execute a variety of office operations, such as word processing, electronic filing,
accounting, and e-mail. These operations are the basic requirements of any office or department
within an organization. A variety of office automation devices are used in modern offices which
include FAX machines, copiers, computers, printers etc. Office automation is the backbone of
organizations which makes work easier. Some of the basic benefits of an office automation system
are:
 It eliminates the need for a large staff.
 It handles all the office functions which include dictation, typing, filing,
 copying, FAX, e-mails etc.
 It reduces storage space, speeds retrieval and allows several employees to access the
 same data at the same time.
 It handles large volume of work in a better manner with greater accuracy and speed.
 It increases the productivity of an organization.
 It facilitates better communication.
 It reduces the operational cost of an organization.
 It saves time and resources of an organization.
 Paperless office.
 Smart Monitoring.

MICROSOFT OFFICE - AN INTRODUCTION

The main components of Microsoft Office suit are-
 Microsoft Word - Microsoft Word is a word processing program that enable user to create,
edit, save and print documents.
 Microsoft Excel - Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that lets user manipulate the data
by using number of built-in functions.
 Microsoft PowerPoint - Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program which helps to
create presentations for business settings.
 Microsoft Access - Microsoft Access is a database management program that lets user to
store and organize data in a set of tables.
 Microsoft FrontPage - Microsoft FrontPage is a website development tool that allows users
to create and manage web pages.
 Microsoft Outlook - Microsoft Outlook is an e-mail software program that allows users to
send and receive email.
 Microsoft Publisher - Microsoft Publisher is used to produce professional looking
publications. With the layouts and templates in Publisher, you can create brochures,
newsletters, invitations, business cards and more.
Advantages of word processors
 Easy to correct mistakes
 You can save your work and come back to it at a later time
 Many handy features available e.g. borders, text layout
 Useful tools such as spell checker, grammar checker available to improve the
quality of your work
 Plenty of professional quality document templates available online
 Can import data from a database and use it to create mail merge
Word Processing Concepts
Word processing is the act of creating, formatting, and editing documents using a
computer program called a word processor.
Here are some fundamental concepts or features related to word processing:
1. Document: A document is the basic unit of work in word processing. It can include text, images,
tables, and other elements. Documents can be letters, reports, memos, or any other type of written
content.
2. Word Processor: The software application used for creating, editing, and formatting documents.
Examples include Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice Writer.
3. Text: Text is the written content within a document. Word processing software allows users to
input, edit, and format text, including features like font styles, sizes, and colors.
4. Editing: Editing involves making changes to the content of a document. Word processors provide
various tools for editing, such as cut, copy, paste, find, replace, and spell check.
5. Formatting: Formatting refers to the appearance of text and other elements in a document. This
includes font styles, sizes, alignment, line spacing, indentation, and the use of bold, italics, or
underline.
6. Styles: Styles are sets of formatting options that can be applied consistently throughout a
document. They help maintain a uniform look for headings, paragraphs, and other elements.
7. Headers and Footers: Headers and footers are sections at the top and bottom of each page,
respectively. They often contain page numbers, document titles, or other repeating information.
8. Tables: Tables allow users to organize information in rows and columns. Word processors provide
tools for creating, editing, and formatting tables within documents.
9. Graphics and Images: Word processing software allows users to insert and manipulate graphics,
images, and other visual elements within documents.
10. Bullets and Numbering: Formatting options used to create lists. Bullets represent unordered lists,
while numbering is used for ordered lists.
11. Cut, Copy, and Paste: Operations used to move or duplicate text and other elements within a
document or between different documents.
12. Undo and Redo: Allow users to reverse or repeat the last action performed, providing a way to
correct mistakes.
13. Spell Check and Grammar Check: Word processors typically include spell check and grammar
check features to help users identify and correct spelling and grammatical errors in their documents.
14. Templates: Templates are pre-designed document formats that users can customize for specific
purposes. They provide a starting point for creating documents with a consistent layout.
15. Mail Merge: Mail merge is a concept that allows users to create personalized documents by
merging data from a spreadsheet or database into a word processing document.
16. Macros: Macros are automated scripts that can be used to perform repetitive tasks in a word
processing document.
17. Search and Replace: It allow users to find specific words or phrases within a document and
replace them with others.
18. Page Layout: Adjusting the overall appearance of a page, including margins, orientation (portrait
or landscape), and page size.
19. Printing: The process of producing a hard copy of a document on paper using a printer.
20. Document Export: Saving a document in different file formats, such as PDF, for sharing or printing
while maintaining formatting.

File menu
New - Opens a new document. If you use the keyboard combination indicated on the right a
blank document opens immediately. Selecting the New menu item with your cursor gives the
opportunity to open a large number of types of documents.
Open - Opens a previously saved document.
Close - Closes the active document but does not quit the application.
Save - Saves the active document with its current file name, location and format.
Save As - Saves by opening a window which gives the opportunity to change the file name,
location or format.
Page Setup - Sets margins, paper size, orientation and other layout options.
Print Preview - Shows how the file will look when you print it.
Print - Prints the active file, also gives the opportunity to change print options
Quit - Closes Microsoft Word.

Find and Replace

In Microsoft Word, you can:
1. Go to Home > Editing > Replace or Press Ctrl + H
2. In the Find what field, type the word or text you want to replace
3. In the Replace with field, type the new text
4. To replace all occurrences, select Replace All
5. To replace a specific occurrence, select Find Next until you find the desired instance, then
select Replace

Show/Hide button
The Show/Hide button in Microsoft Word turns formatting marks and hidden characters on and
off. You can use this button to show hidden text, paragraph markers, tab marks, and spaces.
How to use the Show/Hide button
1. Open your Word document
2. Go to the Home tab
3. In the Paragraph group, click the Show/Hide button
4. The button looks like a backward "P"
You can also use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+* to turn formatting marks on or off.

Create bulleted or numbered lists

1. Select the set of paragraphs that will become the list, or click to place the insertion point
where you want the list to begin.
2. Do any of the following:
 Click the Bulleted List button or the Numbered List button in the Control
panel (in Paragraph mode). Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while
clicking a button to display the Bullets And Numbering dialog box.
 Choose Bullets And Numbering from the Paragraph panel or Command panel. For
List Type, choose either Bullets or Numbers. Specify the settings you want, and then
click OK.
 Apply a paragraph style that includes bullets or numbering.
3. To continue the list in the next paragraph, move the insertion point to the end of the list and
press Enter or Return.
 4. To end the list (or list segment, if the list is to be continued later in the story), click the
Bulleted List or Numbered List button in the Control panel again, or choose Bullets And
Numbering from the Paragraph panel menu.
Format a bulleted or numbered list
1. Using the Type tool , select the bulleted or numbered paragraphs you want to reformat.
2. Do any of the following to open the Bullets And Numbering dialog box:
 Choose Bullets And Numbering from the Control panel menu (in Paragraph mode) or
the Paragraph panel menu.
 Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) either the Bulleted List button or
the Numbered List button .
3. In the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, do any of the following:
 Change the bullet character.
 Change the numbered list options.
 Choose a style for the numbers or bullets from the Character Style list.
4. To change the position of the bullet or number, specify any of the following:

Alignment
Left-aligns, centers, or right-aligns the bullets or numbers within the horizontal space allotted for
numbers. (If this space is narrow, the difference between the three options is negligible.)

Left Indent
Specifies how far the lines after the first line are indented.

First Line Indent

Controls where the bullet or number is positioned.
Increase the First Line Indent value if you want the punctuation in long lists to be aligned. For
example, if you want “9.” and “10.” to be aligned on the period, change the Alignment to Right and
gradually increase the first line indent until the numbers align (make sure Preview is turned on).
To create the hanging indent effect, specify a positive Left Indent value (such as 2p0), and then
specify an equal negative value (such as -2p0) for First Line Indent.

Change the bullet character

1. On the Control panel menu or Paragraph panel menu, select Bullets And Numbering.
2. In the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, select Bullets from the List Type menu.
3. Select a different bullet character, and then click OK.
Add a bullet character
1. In the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, select Bullets from the List Type menu, then click
Add.
2. Select the glyph that you want to use as the bullet character. (Different font families and font
styles contain different glyphs.)
3. If you want the new bullet to remember the currently chosen font and style, select
Remember Font With Bullet.
4. Click Add.
Remove a bullet character
1. In the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, select Bullets from the List Type menu.
2. Select the bullet character you want to remove, and click Delete. (The first preset bullet
character cannot be deleted.)
Change numbered list options
1. Open the Bullets And Numbering dialog box.
2. Under Numbering Style, select the type of numbering you want to use from the Format
menu.
3. In the Number box, use the default expression—period (.) and tab space (^t)—or construct a
number expression of your own. To enter a number expression, delete the period after the
number metacharacter (^#) and do one of the following:
 Type a character (such as a closing parenthesis) or more than one character in place
of the period.

 Choose an item (such as Em Dash or Ellipses) from the Insert Special Character
menu.
 Type a word or character before the number metacharacter. For example, to
number questions in a list, you can type the word Question.
4. Choose a character style for the expression. (The style you choose applies to the entire
number expression, not just to the number.)
5. For Mode, choose one of the following options:
Continue From Previous Number Numbers lists sequentially.
Start At Starts numbering at a number or other value that you enter in the text box. Enter a
number, not a letter, even if your list uses letters or Roman numerals for numbering.
6. Specify any other options, and then click OK.
Spell checker
The spell check feature in Microsoft Word documents is programmed to run automatically as you
type. Your choices will be reflected in the colour-coded underlines that appear on errors in your
document, such as red for spelling errors, green for grammar mistakes, and blue for contextual
spelling mistakes.

Steps to Start the Spelling and Grammar Checker

It is essential to always double-check your documents for spelling and grammar errors before
delivering them. Word, thankfully, makes it simple. This feature works in all current versions of
Microsoft Word.
1. Select Spelling & Grammar from the Proofing group on the Review tab.
2. Starting from where your cursor is in the document, Microsoft Word will check for spelling
and grammar mistakes.
3. A navigation pane similar to the one below will appear if Word discovers a spelling error.
Next, you have the following choices:
  Ignore: Click Ignore to leave the text alone in a specific situation while receiving notification
if Microsoft Word discovers the same thing again.
 Avoid All: Click Ignore All to keep the text exactly as it is in this and future instances.
 Add: When a word is entered into your dictionary, Microsoft Word will no longer flag it as
being mistyped.
 Change: Click Change to change the spelling only in this particular context.
 All Changes: Click Change All to make all the spelling corrections throughout the entire
document.
4. If Word detects a grammar mistake, a dialogue box similar to the one shown below will
appear.
Character and Paragraph Formatting
Applying Character Formats You can apply character formats to selected text by using the
Formatting toolbar (formerly called the ribbon), shortcut keys (see appendix), or the Font command
on the Format menu.
Changing fonts and point sizes : You can change the shape and size of your selected text by changing
text's font and point size. The font determines the shape (type style) of the text and the point size
determines the size of the font (one point equals 1/72 of an inch).

a) Using formatting toolbar :

1. Select the desired text or position the insertion point where you want to begin typing text .
2. Click on the down arrow of the font or font size list boxes
3. Select a font name or point size in the Font box or the
Font Size box.

b) Using menu :
1. Select the desired text
2. From the Format menu, choose Font.
3. Select Font tab.
4. Select the desired font and or point size in the Font and
or Size box.
5. Click on OK.

Applying Font Styles

a) Using menu :
1. Select the desired text.
2. From the Format menu, choose Font.
3. Select Font tab
4. Select desired font style options from the Font Style box.
5. Click on OK.

b) Using formatting toolbar :

1. Select the desired text
2. Click on Bold, Italic or Underline, button to add or remove font Style

Bold, Italic and Underline Button

Removing Character Formatting and Font Styles

To remove character formatting :
1. Select the desired text
2. Click on the button of the font styles you wish to remove or press CTRL +SPACEBAR.
To remove font styles :
1. Select desired text
2. From the Format menu, choose Font.
3. Select the Regular from Font Style box.
4. Choose OK.

Creating and Removing Shadow

To Create Shadow :
1. Select the desired text
2. From the Font dialog box, select Color.
3. Select Lt Gray
4. Choose OK button.
To Remove Shadow :
1. Select the desired text
2. From the Font dialog box, choose Color.
3. Select Auto or select another color.
4. Choose OK button/Press enter.
5. Press any arrow key for returning to document.

Paragraph Alignment
Many important document layout features are controlled at the paragraph level, including tab stops,
indents, text alignment and line spacing. You can click buttons on the Formatting toolbar and drag
items on the ruler to indent paragraphs, align text between the margins, and set tab stops. You can
also apply many paragraph formats with shortcut keys, shown in the appendix. To make finer
adjustments or to change several formats at the same time, use the Paragraph command on the
Format menu.
Centering and Aligning Text
Paragraph alignment determines how text is positioned between the left and right indents. Word is
preset to align text flush left with the left margin, leaving a ragged right edge (left justified). The
alignment you select affects all text in the selected paragraphs.
To center or align text :
1. Select the desired paragraphs.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click the button for the alignment you
want.
To align text Click

At the left indent (press Ctrl + L or Cmd + L )

Centered between indents (press Ctrl + E or Cmd + E )
At the right indent (Ctrl + R or Cmd + R )
At both the left and right indents Justified
(press Ctrl + J or Cmd + J)

Indenting Text
Indents define the left and right boundaries of the selected paragraphs within a document

Formatting Texts and Pages

a) Using Increase and Decrease Indent button :
1. Select the desired paragraphs.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, do one of the following :
To indent a paragraph Click
To the next tab stop
To the previous tab stop

b) Using the ruler :

The ruler provides indents markers.

To indent paragraph using the ruler follow the following step :

1. Select the desired paragraph.
2. Drag the indent markers on the ruler to desired new location from the indent table.
To set Drag
The first line indent
The left indent
The first line and left indents
The right indent
c) Using the Menu :
You can set exact indent position by using the Format menu.

Setting the Paper Size and Page Orientation

You can use the Page Setup command on the File menu to
specify a paper size. Pages can be oriented vertically (portrait)
or horizontally (landscape). The following figure shows the
paper size (margin) and page orientation
Figure: Orientation and Margins

To select the paper size and page orientation :

1. Select the desired text or position the insertion point in the
section
you want to change.
2. From the Layout menu, choose Page Setup.
3. Select the Paper Size tab. See the following page setup dialog box.
4. Select the paper size from the Paper Size and the page orientation
from the Orientation box.
5. In the Apply To box, select how much of the document you want to
print.
6. Choose the OK button.

Setting Margin
Margins determine the space between the four edges of the
page and text of the document. Figure: Orientation and
Margins shows the default margin settings-top and bottom
margins are set to 1 and left and right margins are set to
1.25". You can set margins either from print preview window
or in Normal / Page layout view.
To set margin by using page setup dialog box :
1. Select the text whose margins you want to change, or
position the insertion point in the section whose margins you
want to change.
2. From the Layout menu, choose Page Setup.
3. Select the margins tab. See figure.
4. Type or select the desired measurement for the margin to
adjust in
the top, Bottom, Left, or Right box.
5. In the Apply To box, select how much of the document apply the
new margin settings to.
6. Choose the OK button

Page Break in MS Word

Word inserts a page break at the end of each page. It also allows you to insert a page break at some
other place in the document. The steps to insert page break are given below;
o Place the cursor where you want to insert the break
o Select the Page Layout tab
o In Page Setup group click the 'Breaks' command
o A list of Page Breaks appears
o With a left click select the desired page break from the list

Creating Headers and Footers

A header or footer is text or graphics that is usually printed at the top or bottom of every page in a
document. A header is printed in the top margin; footer is printed in the bottom margin. Headers
and Footers are used extensively to do such things as page number on each page in a document,
place the current date on each page, and print the document title and/or another name on each
page and so on.
Formatting Texts and Pages
To create a header or footer :
Step 1: Open the new or an existing Word document in which you want to insert header and footer
Step 2: Go to the Insert tab at the top of the Ribbon.
Step 3: Click on either header or footer drop-down menu in the Header & Footer section.

Step 4: A Header or Footer drop-down menu will display on the screen with a list of built-in Header
or Footer options. Select your desired option from the Built-in list.

Step 5: A Design tab with Header & Footer option will appear at the top of the document (on the
Ribbon), as shown in the below screenshot.

Step 6: Type your desired information into the header or footer section.
Step 7: Once you type your desired text in the Header section, click on Close Header and Footer
under the Design section on the Ribbon or press the Esc key from the keyboard to remove the dotted
underline. Now, you can see that the Header is inserted to the Word document.

Insert the Date or Time in a Header or Footer

To insert the Date or Time in a Header or Footer, follow the below instructions -
1. Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click on the Date & Time option in the Text section.

2. A Date and Time dialog box will appear on the screen in which do the following -
o Select Date format from the Available format.
o Select your desired language.
o Tick on the Update automatically checkbox.
o Click on the OK button at the bottom of the dialog
box.

Now, you can see that your selected format will appear on
the Word document.

Edit Header and Footer in Word document

Once you create Header and Footer in Word document, you can also
edit it based on your requirement.
There are the following steps to edit Header and Footer in Word
document.
Step 1: Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click on either Header
or Footer drop-down menu that you want to Edit.
Step 2: A Built-In Header option window will appear on the screen.
Click on the Edit Header option.
Step 3: Edit Header based on your requirement. Once you edit
Header, click on the Close Header and Footer option at the top right
corner of the document to disappear the blue dotted lines.

Delete Header and Footer from Word document

To Delete Header and Footer from Word document, follow the below steps -
 1. Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click on the Header & Footer option.
2. A Header or Footer dialog will appear on the screen. Click on the Remove Header or Remove
Footer option.

Insert page numbers in Word

Microsoft word provides the easiest way to add page numbers in the word document.
Step 1: Open the word document in which you want to add the page number.
Step 2: Go to View tab at the top of the screen and select Print Layout, as shown in the below
screenshot.

Step 3: Now, click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon and then click on the Page Number from
the Header & Footer section.

Step 4: A list of different page number options appears on the screen in which click on the Bottom of
Page from the drop-down menu to add page number at the bottom of the page.

Step 5: The page number design window appears on the screen

in which select page number design according to your
requirement. Once you select the page number design, it
automatically adds the page number on the page.

Remove page numbers from the Word

There are the following steps to remove the page number from the Word -
Step 1: Click on the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click on the Page Number from the Header &
Footer section.
Step 2: A list of different page number options appears on the screen in which click on the Remove
Page Numbers from the drop-down menu to delete the page number.

Print Preview
Print Preview enables the user to view how the hard copy of the current document will appear when
the user prints it on a sheet. It is especially beneficial as using print preview allows the user to check
for any errors in the hard copy. The user can also modify the layout of the print, which can save
resources while printing. It can save users ink and paper as the user won't be required to print
multiple times to get it right.
You can use the Print Preview by using the Print Preview icon. It is located in the toolbar in older
versions of the MS Suite application. You can click on the file and select the preview option.

The Print Preview is a view mode that can modify the document. It differs from the print layout as it
only represents the print's orientation on the hard copy.
Use the keyboard keys Ctrl + F2 to open the print preview in MS Word. It opens the current
document as it will appear on the paper.
Advantages of Print Preview
Some of the advantages of using print preview are as follows:
o It saves both the ink and paper as the user can check for errors in the document.
o You can check if the font size is perfect in the print. You can magnify the smaller fonts,
enabling you to verify the entire document is readable and error-free.
o It also allows the user to view several pages of the documents before printing them.
o The user can also modify the paper size, the margin, the colour of the print, and even the
page's orientation.

Mail Merge
Many day-to-day applications require similar documents containing similar text to be sent to a
number of persons. These documents also have a typical common layout. Invitation letters sent to
guests have a more-or-less common content and layout. Only the names of the recipients are
different in these letters. One obvious way to generate such letters is to type all of them individually,
putting the same amount of effort again and again. Another solution could be to copy the same block
of text again and again onto the new letters. The names and addresses etc., which are different from
each letter, can be entered separately in the documents. Though this method saves a lot of effort, it
still requires proper caution. There should be a way where these kinds of documents can be
prepared automatically. This task can be easily automated if we use the mail merge feature of a word
processor. So, it is time we learnt the mail-merge feature of the word.
Components of mail merge:
The three main components of the merging process are the main document, the data source, and
the merged document.
1. The main document contains the main body of your letter, field names, and merges
instructions. The basic information within the main document remains equivalent.
2. The data source (or Recipients’ list) stores the knowledge that changes for every document.
This information is inserted in the main document one by one. An example of the data
source is a name and address list from which the program gets what you want to include in
the main document.
3. The merged document contains the main text from the main document and data from a data
source.
Steps for mail merger:
Step 1:
 Open MS Word and click on the command sequence: Mailings tab → Start mail merge group
→ Select recipients button → Type new List.
  A dialog namely “New Address List” will pop up(as shown in the below image). Type here
the desired data under the given headings. To add a new record, click on the “New Entry”
button at the bottom of the dialog and click OK when you are done.
Step 2: Prepare Master Letter

The second step is to prepare our master letter for use in the mail merge. Before we enter all the
letter text we’d like to link this Word file to our list of names.

 Create a blank word document.

 Click Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group → Start Mail Merge → Letters command.
 Then click the Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group → Select Recipients button → Use
Existing List command.

 Now we can start typing the letter.

 Now we would like to add the name and address and other details for the people on the list.
 Mailings tab→ Write & Insert Field group → Insert Merge Field button.
 A pop-down will appear showing all the table headings, so choose Title and press the
spacebar to create a space.

then do this again and choose FirstName, followed by a space (i.e., press only spacebar key and
no other key); then choose LastName but this time press the Enter key to create a new line. Then
repeat the steps to choose the Address field, and press enter key.

Step 3:

Before we actually carry out the merge, we must first preview what the merged letters will look like.
Mailings tab→ Preview Results group → Preview Results button
 Once we are happy with the preview, you can carry out the actual mail merge.
 To do this you click the Mailings tab → Finish group → Finish & Merge button and choose
Edit Individual Documents.
 In the Merge to New Document panel, click All to create a separate letter for each person on
the Names list. Word then creates a fresh document with as many pages as there are names
on your list, and every page contains a wonderfully merged letter with all the correct
individuals’ details.

 We can save this with an appropriate name, such as ABC.docx