Word-Processing is usually the first PC application in a small business.
It releases you from the tyranny of the typewriter and opens up a whole new world of flexible production of letters, reports, legal documents, press releases etc.
When buying their first house in 1968 Richard and his wife sat for hours in the solicitors office on the day the keys were due to be handed over while a young typist painstakingly produced pages of legal documents. Nearly all were identical to those in any other house purchase agreement. With a word-processor she could have made the alterations to a standard text on file and run it all off in minutes.
'Flexibility' is the key word. Once a document is in the word-processor you can easily edit it, add different names and addresses, move sections around, use different text fonts and check the spelling. You can format the document (e.g. into 2 or 3 columns), to insert logos, graphs, and diagrams and even use coloured backgrounds or text.
Small businesses typically use word-processors for letters, newsletters, catalogues, reports, handbills/leaflets, instruction booklets, forms, and simple presentations.
The great thing about most word-processing packages is that you can start off using them in a very simple way, and gradually explore the fancy features as you need them.
| A Word-Processor programme enables you to type and format a document in the computer, viewing the result on the screen exactly as it will be printed. You can save as many different versions as you need, print them out or send them to the recipient as a file on a floppy disc or via a network connection.
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NES is the trading consultancy of the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, carrying out activities such as environmental audits and ecological surveys. It covenants all its profits to the charity so keeping costs down is of major importance. They need their computers to help them to make the best use of the time of the consultants, but they can't afford to invest in expensive equipment.
They have an old computer that is used mainly for word-processing and recently needed to use it to send promotional letters to potential clients. They chose to use 'mail-merge' which enabled them to run off a large number of letters with personalised names, addresses and other details which were taken from a simple table of data. Once the computer was set up correctly a volunteer member of staff was able to input the information and run the mail-merge facilities to produce the required letters.
| Case Study:
Northumberland
Ecological Services
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Business:
Environmental Consultants
Staff: 4
PCs: 1
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