Parts of the MS Word Screen

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The Microsoft Word screen is a simple, user-friendly and highly customizable interface for word processing. Most of the screen is composed of the document you are creating or editing, but surrounding this are toolbars, scroll bars and buttons that help you navigate and personalize your document. Familiarize yourself with the main components of the screen to maximize the time you spend working on the document.

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The Title Bar

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A bar across the top of the screen provides the name of the document on which you are working. To the left of this is the Quick Access Toolbar, which contains commands, such as Save and Undo Paste. To the right of the document title are the standard Windows buttons to minimize, restore or close the Word window.

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The Ribbon

The Ribbon appears below the title bar. It comprises the main tabs you'll work with, including File, Home, Insert and Page Layout. Within each tab, related tasks called Groups appear when you select the tab. At the bottom right of many groups a small arrow appears that launches a dialog box containing more options when you click it.

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The Document

Below the Ribbon is the document that you're creating. A blinking cursor, referred to as the insertion point, indicates where text will show up on the page when you begin typing. On the right side of the document is the vertical scroll bar, which you can click and drag to navigate the document's pages.

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More Toolbars

Along the bottom of the Word document is a menu bar that on the right contains document status information, such as word count, and on the left contains view options, such as print layout and full screen reading, enabling you to toggle through different document views quickly.

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