Chapter 5: Productivity Applications

Doug Engelbart Explores Hyperspace

-One of the pioneers of the computer hardware and software

-In 1968, he demonstrated his Augument system:

• Mouse
• Video Display editing
• Mixed text and graphics, windowing
• Outlining
• Shared-screen video conferencing
• Computer conferencing
• Groupware
• Hypermedia

The Wordsmith's Toolbox

-Working with a processor invloves several steps.

• Entering text
• Editing text
• Formatting the document
• Proofreading the document
• Saving the document on disk
• Printing a document

-Entering, Editing, and Formatting Text

-Displayed on the screen and stored in the computer's RAM.

• Save your work periodically because RAM is not permanent memory.

-Editing Text

• Navigate to different parts of a document.
• Insert or delete text at any point
• Move and copy text
• Search and replace words and phrases.

The Wordsmith's Toolbox

-Formatting the Document

• Stylesheets
• headers and footers
• multiple variable-width columns
• graphics
• automatic editing features
• hiddden comments
• table of contents and indexes
• coaching and help features

Word Processors

-Rules of Thumb: Word processing is NOT TYPING

Use the return or Enter key only when you must

• Word wrap moves text to the next line.

-use tabs and margins guides, not the spacebar, t0 align columns

• WYSIWYG is a matter of degree.
• text that looks perfectly aligned onscreen may not line up on paper.

-Dont underline:

• Use italics and boldface for emphasis:italicize book and journal titles.

-Use only one space after a period.

• Proportionally-spaces fonts look better without double spaces

-Outliners and Idea processors are effective at:

• Arranging information into levels.


• Rearranging ideas and levels


• Hiding and revealing levels of detail as needed.

-Digital referencing:

• Dictionaries, quotation books, encyclopedia, atlases, almanacs, and other references are now available in digital form.
• The biggest advantage is the speed
• the biggest drawback is that people can plagerize

-Grammar and Style Checkers

• Analyze each word in context, checking for errors
• check spelling
• point our errors and suggest improvements

-Form letter Generators

• Mail merge capabilities produce pernalized form letters.
• create a database with names
• Create a form letter
• merge the database with the form letter to create a personalized letter.

- You can incopertate custom paragraphs based in the recipent's personal data.

-Collaborative Writing Tools:

Groupware: Software designed to be used by a workgroup

• Provides for collaborative writing and editing.
• Tracks changes and identifies then by the originators name.
• Compare document versions and highlights differences in documents.

-processing handwritten words

-processing words with software that can reliably recognize human speech

-Anticipating a writers needs, acting as an electronic editor or co-author.

-What is Desktop Publishing?

• The process of producing a book, magazine, or other publication includes several steps.
• writing text
• editing text

-producing drawing, photgraphs, and other graphics to accompany the text

-Designing a basic format for the publication.

-typesetting text

-Arranging text and graphics on pages

-Typesetting and printing pages

-Binding pages into a finished publication.