PART A ▪ UNIT 3 · Information & Communication Technology Skills – III

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PART A ▪ UNIT 3

Information & Communication Technology Skills – III

Word Processing with LibreOffice Writer (Class XI)

A word processor is a software application that helps us to create documents by typing text, making corrections (editing), arranging it neatly (formatting) and printing it. At Class XI level, ICT Skills focus on one productivity tool — the word processor — and how to create, format, edit, save and print a professional-looking document. The handbook uses LibreOffice Writer (free, comes pre-installed on Ubuntu) as the reference application; Microsoft Word, Google Docs, OpenOffice Writer and Notepad offer the same core features.

Learning Outcome 1: Create a document on a word processor

1.1 Introduction to Word Processing

With a word processor you can do what paper-and-pen cannot. Write a letter or a report, get it checked, edit the suggestions right inside the document, save it for months, and print as many copies as you need — all without rewriting the whole thing.

Advantages of Using a Word Processor

✏️ Easy editingAdd or remove text anywhere, any time — no rewriting the whole document.

🔤 Spelling & grammar checkGreat for résumés / bio-data where mistakes must be zero.

💾 Save and resumeWork on a long report across many days — save, close, reopen exactly where you left off.

🖨️ Print copiesPrint one or many hard copies of the same document on demand.

🎨 Make it attractiveAdd colours, font styles, sizes; highlight titles and dates.

🖼️ Rich mediaInsert pictures, bulleted lists, tables, shapes and charts — great for posters too.

1.2 Software Packages Available for Word Processing

📝

LibreOffice WriterFree & open-source — covered here.

📄

Microsoft WordPaid — industry standard in offices.

☁️

Google DocsFree, cloud-based, real-time collaboration.

📘

OpenOffice WriterFree & open-source alternative.

🗒️

NotepadBasic plain-text editor (no formatting).

Most functions work the same way across packages — only the location of menu items and shortcut keys may differ. Learning one well (e.g., LibreOffice Writer) means you can pick up the others quickly.

1.3 Opening and Exiting the Word Processor

Ubuntu comes with LibreOffice pre-installed. To start it:

Click the LibreOffice Writer icon in the launcher on the left-hand side of the Ubuntu desktop.
The Writer window opens with a blank new document ready for typing.

To exit: click File → Close (closes the current document) or File → Exit LibreOffice to quit the application entirely.

1.4 Creating a New Document

Click the New icon on the toolbar and choose Text Document, OR
Press the shortcut Ctrl + N.

A fresh blank page appears. Start typing and your text flows from the cursor position.

1.5 Basic Interface of LibreOffice Writer

When you open Writer, the screen has four main areas. Learn where each item lives — it saves time later.

📋

Menu Bar

At the top — File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Styles, Table, Form, Tools, Windows, Help.

🛠️

Toolbars

Below the menu — two toolbars: Standard (new/save/print/table) and Formatting (bold/size/align).

📊

Status Bar

At the bottom — word/character count, page number, language on the left; document-view and zoom controls on the right.

🖱️

Context Menu

Right-click anywhere — a shortcut menu pops up with options relevant to the selected object (text / image / paragraph).

📋 Menu Bar — What each menu contains

Menu	Typical commands
File	Apply to the whole document — New, Open, Close, Save, Print.
Edit	Editing commands — Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Find & Replace.
View	Change display — Zoom in/out, Web view, Status Bar, Ruler.
Insert	Add objects — Image, Shape, Chart, Header, Footer, Page Number.
Format	Change the look — Bold, Line spacing, Alignment, Paragraph.
Styles	Set common styles — create a new style, load style, Styles & Formatting.
Table	Insert or delete tables; format them.
Form	Insert form controls — text box, list box, check box, option, button.
Tools	Spelling & Grammar, Mail Merge, Macros.
Window	List of open LibreOffice windows; switch between them.
Help	Open built-in help or go to online help.

🛠️ Toolbars

Standard Toolbar (top row) — icons for creating a new file, saving, printing, inserting a table, etc.
Formatting Toolbar (second row) — icons to change text style, font size, alignment, bold/italic/underline.
Hover your mouse over an icon and a tooltip shows what the icon does.

Multiple Ways to Perform a Function (Example — Making text Bold)

Menu Format → Text → Bold

Toolbar Click the B icon on the Formatting Toolbar

Right-click Character → Style → Bold → OK

Shortcut key Ctrl + B

Learning Outcome 2: Edit, save and print a document in a word processor

2.1 Saving a Document

Click File → Save (or Save As for a new copy).
Browse to the desired folder, type the filename (e.g., Hello World) and click Save.
Shortcut: Ctrl + S.

File Extensions — Saving in Different Formats

Extension	File type	When to use
.odt	Open Document Text — LibreOffice default.	Default choice when everyone can open LibreOffice / OpenOffice.
.docx	Microsoft Word document.	When sending to someone who uses MS Word.
.pdf	Portable Document Format — preserves layout.	Final copy for printing, sharing, or submission.
.txt	Plain text — no formatting.	Simple notes; data pasted into programs.
.html	Web page.	Publishing on a website.

Use Save as type dropdown in the Save dialog box to choose any of the above formats.

2.2 Closing, Opening and Printing a Document

📂 Close & Open

Close: File → Close (or Ctrl + W).
Open existing: open File Explorer, browse to the saved file (e.g., Hello World.odt), double-click to open.
Or: File → Open, browse, click Open.

🖨️ Print

Click File → Print (or Ctrl + P).
The Print dialog box opens — pick the printer and number of copies.
Click OK. The document prints on paper.

2.3 Formatting Text

Formatting means changing the way text appears — font style, size, weight, colour, alignment. It makes the document attractive and readable.

A. Changing Text Style, Size and Emphasis

Action	How to do it	Shortcut
Change font style	Select text → click the Font drop-down on the toolbar → pick a style.	—
Change font size	Select text → click the Size drop-down → pick a size.	—
Bold	Select text → click the B icon.	Ctrl + B
Italic	Select text → click the I icon.	Ctrl + I
Underline	Select text → click the U icon.	Ctrl + U

B. Aligning Text & Wrapping

⬅ Left

Text flushed to the left margin. Ctrl + L

⬆ Center

Text centred between the left and right margins. Ctrl + E

➡ Right

Text flushed to the right margin. Ctrl + R

↔ Justify

Text spread so both edges are flush. Ctrl + J

Text wrapping controls how words flow around an inserted object (picture / shape). Click the image, then Format → Wrap — choose None / Page Wrap / Optimal / Through.

C. Cut, Copy & Paste

Action	What it does	Shortcut
✂️ Cut	Removes selected text and stores it on the clipboard (moves the text).	Ctrl + X
📋 Copy	Copies selected text to the clipboard; original text stays in place.	Ctrl + C
📌 Paste	Inserts clipboard content at the cursor position.	Ctrl + V

To move text: select it → Cut (Ctrl+X) → click at the new location → Paste (Ctrl+V). The text disappears from the original place and appears at the new one.
To copy text: select it → Copy (Ctrl+C) → click at the new location → Paste. The text stays in both places.

D. Find and Replace

Click the Find & Replace icon on the toolbar (or press Ctrl + H).
In the Search box type the text to find.
In the Replace box type the new text.
Click Replace to change one occurrence, or Replace All to change every occurrence at once.

2.4 Checking Spelling & Grammar — AutoCorrect

Word processors underline errors as you type:

Red wavy line = spelling mistake.
Blue wavy line = grammatical mistake.

Starting the Spell Checker

Click the Check Spelling icon on the toolbar, OR press F7.
Alternatively: Tools → Spellings.
The Spelling dialog box highlights each wrong word in red.

Spelling Dialog Options

Option	Effect
Ignore Once	Leaves this occurrence unchanged — good for rare names.
Ignore All	Leaves this word unchanged throughout the document.
Add to Dictionary	Adds the word so future documents don't flag it (e.g., your company name).
Correct	Changes this occurrence to the suggestion you picked.
Correct All	Changes every occurrence to the chosen suggestion in one click.

🔄 Toggle AutoCorrect (Automatic Spell Checking)

Click Tools → Automatic Spell Checking (or press Shift + F7) to turn the wavy-line highlighting on or off. You can also right-click an underlined word to see quick-fix suggestions.

2.5 Inserting Lists, Tables, Pictures & Shapes

A. Bulleted & Numbered Lists

• Bulleted List

Select items → Format → Lists → Bulleted List.
Shortcut: Shift + F12.

1. Numbered List

Select items → Format → Lists → Numbered List.
Shortcut: F12.

B. Inserting a Table

Click the Insert Table icon, OR press Ctrl + F12, OR Table → Insert Table.
The Insert Table dialog opens.
Enter the number of columns and rows and click Insert.
By default, a blank table with 2 columns × 2 rows is created.
Click inside any cell and type to fill in data.

C. Inserting Pictures & Shapes

Object	Steps
🖼️ Picture	Click Insert → Image → browse to the image file → Open. The image appears at the cursor.
🔷 Shape	Click Insert → Shape → pick a category (e.g., Basic) → click a shape (Rectangle, Circle, Square) → click & drag on the page to set its size.

2.6 Header, Footer and Page Numbers

The Header is the top part of every page; the Footer is the bottom part. Whatever you put in them appears on every page — perfect for a document title (in header) or a page number (in footer).

Inserting a Header

Click Insert → Header and Footer → Header → Default Style.
A shaded header area appears on every page — click it and type the text (e.g., the document title).

Inserting a Footer

Click Insert → Header and Footer → Footer → Default Style.
A shaded footer area appears on every page — click it and type (e.g., author name).

Inserting Page Numbers

Click inside the footer (or header) where the number should appear.
Click Insert → Field → Page Number.
The correct page number automatically appears on every page.
The same Field submenu also inserts Date, Time, Title, Page Count, etc.

2.7 Tracking Changes — Reviewing a Document

Track Changes keeps a record of every edit made to a document. Just as a teacher corrects a paper in red pen, the reviewer's changes are highlighted in a different colour so the author can see, accept or reject each one.

Start / Stop Tracking

Click Edit → Track Changes → Record (or press Ctrl + Shift + E).
All subsequent changes are recorded and displayed in a different colour.
Deleted text appears with a ~~strike-through~~ instead of disappearing.
Click Record again to stop tracking.

Reviewing Tracked Changes

Option	What it does
Next / Previous	Jump between the tracked changes one by one.
Accept	Make the current change a permanent part of the document.
Reject	Revert the current change to the original text.
Accept All	Apply every tracked change at once.
Reject All	Revert every tracked change at once.
Show	Toggle between the edited view and the tracked-changes view.
Protect	Set a password — only someone who knows it can accept or reject changes.
Manage	Open a list of all changes to accept / reject individually.
Compare Document	Compare the current file with another file and list all differences.

2.8 Quick-Reference — Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + N	New document	Ctrl + S	Save
Ctrl + O	Open document	Ctrl + P	Print
Ctrl + W	Close document	Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Y	Redo	Ctrl + X	Cut
Ctrl + C	Copy	Ctrl + V	Paste
Ctrl + B	Bold	Ctrl + I	Italic
Ctrl + U	Underline	Ctrl + L	Align Left
Ctrl + E	Align Center	Ctrl + R	Align Right
Ctrl + J	Justify	Ctrl + H	Find & Replace
Ctrl + F12	Insert Table	F12	Numbered List
Shift + F12	Bulleted List	F7	Spell Check
Shift + F7	Toggle AutoSpell	Ctrl + Shift + E	Toggle Track Changes

Quick Revision — Key Points to Remember

Word processor = software to create, edit, format, save and print documents (LibreOffice Writer, MS Word, Google Docs, OpenOffice Writer, Notepad).
6 advantages: easy editing · spell/grammar check · save & resume · print copies · attractive formatting · rich media (images, tables, shapes).
New document: File → New → Text Document, or Ctrl + N.
Interface: Menu Bar (top) · Toolbars (Standard + Formatting) · Status Bar (bottom) · Context Menu (right-click).
Menus: File · Edit · View · Insert · Format · Styles · Table · Form · Tools · Window · Help.
Multiple ways to format: Menu · Toolbar icon · Right-click · Shortcut key.
Save formats: .odt (LibreOffice) · .docx (Word) · .pdf · .txt · .html.
Save/Open/Close/Print: Ctrl+S / Ctrl+O / Ctrl+W / Ctrl+P.
Emphasis: Bold (Ctrl+B) · Italic (Ctrl+I) · Underline (Ctrl+U).
Alignment: Left (Ctrl+L) · Center (Ctrl+E) · Right (Ctrl+R) · Justify (Ctrl+J).
Cut / Copy / Paste: Ctrl+X · Ctrl+C · Ctrl+V (Cut moves, Copy duplicates).
Find & Replace: Ctrl+H — use Replace All for bulk change.
Spell checker: F7 · red wavy = spelling · blue wavy = grammar · options: Ignore / Ignore All / Add to Dictionary / Correct / Correct All · Shift+F7 toggles AutoSpell.
Lists: Bulleted (Shift+F12) · Numbered (F12).
Insert Table: Ctrl+F12 → pick rows & columns.
Insert image / shape: Insert → Image / Shape.
Header / Footer: Insert → Header and Footer → Default Style. Page number via Insert → Field → Page Number.
Track Changes: Ctrl+Shift+E to toggle · Next/Previous · Accept/Reject · Accept All/Reject All · Show · Protect · Manage · Compare Document.

🧠Practice Quiz — test yourself on this chapter→