Quick Tour: Menu Bar, Ruler, and Toolbars

The line of words along the top of the screen is called the Menu Bar. Each word on the Menu Bar is a pull-down menu. Everything we need to do in word processing can be accomplished using these pull-down menus.

Let's look at the "View" pull-down menu. First we'll use the cursor to click on "View." Next we'll click on "Ruler." What do you see now?

A ruler has been added to the top of your document right under the Menu Bar. This ruler can be helpful when you format your document. If you want the ruler to disappear from your screen, go back to the "View" pull-down menu and click on "Ruler" again.

Let's use the "View" pull-down menu again. Click on "View." Then click on "Toolbars." "Toolbars" is also a pull-down menu. Now you have a list of toolbars to choose from. Click on "Standard" and "Formatting," and then click on Okay. Now what do you see?

You should have two toolbars at the top of your screen, under the Menu Bar. We could use the pull-down menus to do everything, but the icons on these toolbars make our work easier and faster.

You will probably find that you will want to have these two toolbars, "Standard" and "Formatting," visible on your screen most of the time. When you get a chance, explore the other toolbars to see what they can do too. Just go into the "View" menu, click on "Toolbars," click on each of the toolbars to place a check mark next to it, and click "OK." Remember, you can always make them disappear again if you want to.