Applications programs

Word processor  |  Spreadsheet  |  Database

History of writing
Different modes of writing
Word processors at work   

The most recent word processors are practically powerful editing devices that only a few years ago would have been the envy of professional printers. But it is not only a matter of graphical arrangement and page layout, the effects of writing through this medium are far reaching on a number of more profound levels.

HISTORY OF WRITING - If we consider how the whole history of writing developed, we will see that the first letters were not simply painfully carved on pieces of clay. Indeed, writing soon became closely related to the arts of chiselling and later painting. Most of the written records we have from the Middle Ages are precious figurative pieces of art: a sort of handcrafted desktop publishing. Ornate head-letters, skilfully harmonised colours and a sense of proportion were just as important then as they are now in most published materials. The invention of the printing technique in Europe, however, changed things radically: no more personal innovation, but a standardised process; its most prominent feature being a linear sequence of characters, which for centuries (at least until the 1970’s) have accustomed people to a disciplined way of reading and writing.  

DIFFERENT MODES OF WRITING - The linear attitude induces a sequential procedure that impels the writer to start from the very beginning, follow a number of steps and get to a final stage, all along a line which is taken for granted and cannot be modified.
However, this is not what really happens when we set about to write. Quite often we proceed in a stumbling way, often changing our mind as to the choice of words or syntax or content. Therefore what we actually do is to re-write constantly, a laborious operation when we have to use pen and paper. As a matter of fact, we instinctively use a modular procedure in all our creative efforts, and this is somewhat in contrast with the linear format of the traditional printing system. Word processors have freed the writer from the linear constraint. By means of editing devices such as the cut, copy and paste commands we can instantly edit any text. It is only after we have got used to this new style of writing that we realise how much restraint we had to suffer from the previous writing medium. Besides, being free from a pre-set course of action also encourages creativity and experimentation with new writing styles. But more than that, such new freedom is very close to the basic pattern of human thinking, which is like a spiral rather than a continuous line constantly pointing forward. In fact ideas and thoughts, rather than being processed as if they were coming with a constant flow to our mind, seem to storm our brain before we can find some kind of order.

Using a word processor, anybody with just a little practice, can grace his own piece of writing quite easily, without much effort, thanks to ready-made models (called: templates) that are now included in most writing programs. You can add pictures and choose from a wide variety of fonts and character sizes and colours.

Although the apprearance of the document is not as important as its content, yet a neat layout and some tasteful decorations can greatly enhance the effect on the reader by encouraging or deterring him to start reading the text at all. Well-formatted documents surely give a better impression than sloppy hand-written pieces of writing. In addition, as more and more people use computers, the reader tends to expect certain standards in written documents.

Finally, on many occasions we need to keep track of our written documents. Filing away documents can require a lot of space and be a waste of paper, but digitilised documents can avoid all that and only take space in your hard-disk memory. However this is so only in theory: in fact recent research has shown that the mass of paper has increased dramatically since the appearance of word processors, and the reason seems to be that people, besides keeping their documents in the computer memory, also want to keep a hard-copy of them. Furthermore, printers being ever faster, some people tend to print out different versions of their documents, or copies of their first drafts, before deciding for a final version.
However, this circumstance might change for the better in the future, once we will gradually get familiar with the idea of electronic storage, in so far as storage devices become safer. An example of this trend is the success of e-mail communication, where no paper is used to transfer messages from place to place and they are usually read on screen rather than printed out.

Word processors at work

Software companies have launched on the market many word processors that have similar features. Some brand names are more well known than others, but this often is more the result of marketing capabilities than technical performance.
All modern word processors share  some basic features:

1. Basic editing tasks easy to carry out; 2. A pre-view window to see what the document really looks like; 3. Possibility to store the document with a meaningful name; 4. Document suitably formatted to be sent by fax or e-mail; 5. WYSIWIG feature (What You See Is What You Get)

Although most users stick to the basic functions, a word processor is indeed a powerful tool for desktop publishing (DTP). With the proper skills one can give the document a fully professional look. What most users do instead is to start the application and try to get the hang of it by trial and error (the hands-on approach). We will now use as an example Microsoft Word2000 to show some of the basic features of word processors.