INTRODUCTION TO WORD PROCESSING
A word processor is the modern electronic successor to the
typewriter. Whether you're involved in creative writing,
preparing technical or management reports, or simply writing
numerous business letters, a word processor (WP) lets you work
faster, more efficiently and much more conveniently. After
you've used one for even a short time, you'll wonder how you
ever persevered with a conventional typewriter.
With a WP you type (key in) your text material on a keyboard
similar to that on a normal typewriter. But it is not printed
on paper as you key it in, it is displayed on a Tv-type video
screen. You can make minor changes to it as you are keying it
in, and more extensive ones when it is all stored in the
processors memory. You can fix spelling mistakes, delete
wrong words, insert letters, words or even sentences -- and all
with the touch of a few keys.
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When you are happy with your polished up text, you can press
another couple of keys and the processor will type it on paper
for you.
That isn't all. A WP can "save" your text for you on a
magnetic disk so that
it
can be retrieved and fed back into the
processor at any time. using this feature you can, for
example, print out the draft copy of a report, save it, and
feed it back into theprocessor later, for correction and final
printing. Only the corrections have to be retyped.
You can also use the
wp
as an "electronic file" for notes and
ideas. you don't even need a printer for this sort of use.
If you're familiar with computers, you will realise from this
description that the WP is basically a dedicated computer. In
other words, it is a computer running a program specifically
designed to manipulate strings of text. This means almost any
computer can be made to perform the functions of a WP simply by
giving it the appropriate program. The Dick Smith WORP-9 Word
Processor is just such a program.
