Download the NHS ELITE learning materials manual

NHS ELITE Manual 

Contents 

Contents 1 

1 Switching On & Off 5 

1.1 Power Switches & Switching On 5 

1.2 Logging on 6 

1.3 Changing your Password 8 

1.4 Smartcards 9 

1.5 Locking the Computer 10 

1.6 Logging Off 11 

1.7 Restarting 11 

1.8 Shutting Down 12 

2 Mouse Skills 13 

2.1 Introduction to Pointing Devices 13 

2.2 Moving the mouse pointer & clicking 14 

2.3 Double Clicking 15 

2.4 Dragging 15 

2.5 Scrolling 15 

2.6 Right Clicking 16 

2.7 Drawing Skills 16 

3 Keyboard Skills 18 

3.1 Introduction to Text Entry Devices 18 

3.2 Letters & Numbers 20 

3.3 Capital Letters 20 

3.4 The Text Entry Cursor 21 

3.5 Punctuation & Symbols 21 

3.6 The Return Key 22 

3.7 Backspace & Delete 22 

3.8 The Tab Key 23 

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3.9 Useful Key Combinations 23 

4 Using Windows 25 

4.1 The Desktop 25 

4.2 The Start Menu 26 

4.3 Parts of a Window 27 

4.4 Maximise, Minimise, Close and Restore 28 

4.5 Moving a Window 29 

4.6 Resizing a Window 29 

5 Working with Applications 31 

5.1 Introduction to Applications 31 

5.2 Starting Applications 32 

5.3 Toolbars 34 

5.4 Menus 35 

5.5 Context Menus 36 

5.6 Dialog Boxes & Task Panes 37 

5.7 Save & Save As 40 

5.8 Opening Files 42 

5.9 Page Setup and Printing 43 

5.10 Accessing Help 44 

5.11 Switching between Windows 45 

5.12 Selecting Text 46 

5.13 Overtyping 46 

5.14 Cut, Copy & Paste 47 

5.15 Using Undo 48 

5.16 Working with Tables 48 

5.17 Using Task Manager 51 

6 File Management 53 

6.1 Introducing the Computer Filing System 53 



6.2 The My Computer Window 54 

6.3 Changing Views 54 

6.4 Locating your Network Drive 55 

6.5 Working with the Explorer View 56 

6.6 Finding and Opening Files and Folders 57 

6.7 Sorting Files 58 

6.8 Creating Folders 59 

6.9 Moving & Copying Files/Folders 60 

6.10 Renaming Files / Folders 60 

6.11 Deleting Files 61 

6.12 Restoring Files 61 

6.13 Emptying the Recycle Bin 62 

7 Web Skills 63 

7.1 Introducing Web Browsers 63 

7.2 Using Web Addresses 64 

7.3 Finding and Following Links 65 

7.4 Searching the Web 66 

7.5 Using Web Forms 67 

8 E-mail Skills 69 

8.1 Introducing Email 69 

8.2 Opening and Closing Inbox Messages 70 

8.3 Replying and Forwarding 71 

8.4 Sending a New Message 72 

8.5 Deleting Messages 73 

8.6 Emptying Deleted Items 74 

8.7 Sorting Messages 74 

8.8 Organising Messages 74 

8.9 Creating Contacts 75 



8.10 Using the Address Book 76 

8.11 File Attachments 78 

8.12 Adding Attachments 79 

9 Word Processing 79 

9.1 Introduction to Word processing 79 

9.2 Working with Templates 81 

9.3 Text Formatting 82 

9.4 Layout Formatting 84 

9.5 Finding and Replacing Text 86 

9.6 Page Layout 88 

9.7 Inserting Pictures and Objects 89 

9.8 Spell Checking and Proof Reading 92 

10 Working Safely 92 

10.1 Understanding the Risks 92 

10.2 Setting up your Workstation 94 

10.3 Routine Maintenance 95 

11 Glossary 97 

1 Switching On & Off 

1.1 Power Switches & Switching On 

Objectives for this tutorial: 

• Recognise the symbol used to identify the power switch on a computer. 

• Be able to locate the power switches on the system unit and monitor and 

switch the computer on. 

Before switching your computer on, ensure that both the system unit and monitor are 

plugged in and switched on at the wall. 

To switch the computer on, you will need to locate and press the power switch. On 

a desktop computer this will be on the front of the system unit. The system unit is 

the box that houses the components of the computer. 



The power switch will usually be labelled with one of the following symbols: 

The exact appearance and position of the power switch will vary. 

If you have a desktop computer, the power switch on the screen or monitor will be 

labelled in the same way as the switch on the system unit. 

To switch the monitor on, locate and press the power switch. 

Always shut the computer down using the option in the Windows Start menu 

(covered in a later tutorial). Don’t switch it off using the power switch as this could 

lead to loss of data and damage to the computer. 

1.2 Logging on 


• Know what a computer network is. 

• Know that logging on identifies a user to the network. 

• Understand that having a password protected login helps to keep the 

information on the network secure. 

• Understand the importance of not sharing your password / login with others. 

• Be able to log in to a Windows computer. 

Logging on is the process by which a user identifies themselves to a computer 

network. 

A computer network connects computers to allow them to communicate and share 

information and resources. 

Networks are used in most organisations and businesses where people use 

computers. 

In order for a computer user to be given access to the right information and 

resources on the network, the network needs to know the user’s identity. 



Each user on a network will be given a unique user name by which they can be 

identified. To keep the information on the network secure, the user also has a 

password. 

When a user logs on, they type their user name and password to identify themselves 

to the network. 

The information available on an NHS computer network is likely to be sensitive and 

possibly confidential. As part of your duty of confidentiality, you should keep the 

information on the network secure. An important part of this is preventing others 

(including colleagues) from accessing the network using your login details. 

One of the best ways to keep your login details safe is to choose a password that is 

difficult to guess but easy for you to remember. You should never write your 

password down or tell it to anyone else. 

When you switch on a networked PC you will be asked to press Ctrl, Alt and Delete 

to begin logging on. 

The Ctrl and Alt keys can be found in the bottom left hand corner of the keyboard. 

These should be held down at the same time with two fingers of your left hand. 

The Delete key is found above the cursor keys to the right of the keyboard and is 

sometimes labelled Del. 

With the Ctrl and Alt keys still held down, you should tap the Delete key with a 

finger of your right hand. The Ctrl and Alt keys should then be released. 

Having pressed, Ctrl, Alt and Delete, the Login box will appear. 



A username will already be present and the text entry cursor is in the password box. 

The username will be that of the last person to logon to the computer. This is handy 

if you use the same computer frequently but if it is not your username, you will need 

to change it. 

1. Click in the User name box or hold down Shift and press the Tab key. 

2. Delete the contents of the user name field. 

3. Type in your username. 

4. Press the Tab key or click in the Password box. 

5. Type in your password. 

Notice that the password is disguised as you type it. This is a security feature 

to help protect your password from prying eyes. 

6. The Log on to box will only appear if you are logging on to a networked 

computer. 

7. Click the arrow to open the Log on to list and click to choose the correct 

option from the list. 

8. Now that you have provided all of the necessary details to logon, press the 

Return key or click OK. 

Once your details have been checked, Windows will finish loading. 

1.3 Changing your Password 


• Know that regular password changes are an important part of network 

security. 

• Know how to change your Windows login password. 

Password security is very important in maintaining the security of your organisation’s 

computer network and the information it holds. To ensure password security, it is 

important to change your password regularly. 



In most organisations regular password changes are required. If so, you will be 

asked to change your password at set intervals (often 30 days). You should also 

change your password if you think that the security of your password may have been 

compromised (e.g. somebody may have found out your password). 

The option to change your password is found in the Windows Security box. 

Pressing the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys will open the Windows security box. 

Click the Change Password button. 

A form will appear. Type your password then press the Tab key or click in the New 

Password box. 

Choose a new, secure password, then press the Tab key or click in the Confirm 

Password box. 

Retype the password, then press the Return key or click OK. 

A message will appear confirming that your password has been changed. Click OK. 

You will be returned to the Windows Security box. Click the Cancel button to close 

it. 

1.4 Smartcards 




• Know that Smartcards are used to add additional security to Healthcare 

Information Systems. 

• Know that Smartcards work in a similar way to chip and PIN bank cards. 

• Know that it is important not to allow others to use your Smartcard. 

Smartcards are now used widely in the NHS to provide secure access to computer 

systems. If your organisation uses Smartcards, it is important to understand the 

local policies and procedures governing their use. 

Smartcards work in a similar way to a chip and PIN credit card. 

Your card will have a chip containing information that identifies 

you to the computer system. When you insert the Smartcard 

you will usually be asked to enter your Personal Identification 

Number or PIN. 

Smartcards are used to protect access to Healthcare Information Systems 

containing confidential information. It is very important that you do not allow other 

people (including colleagues) to access these systems using your Smartcard. 

Access to these systems is audited and misuse of them will be attributed to the 

person whose Smartcard was used so make sure it’s not yours! 

If Smartcards are used in your Trust, then you will not be able to access the 

Healthcare Information Systems without one. It is essential, therefore, that your 

Smartcard is kept with you at all times and is not mislaid. 

1.5 Locking the Computer 


• Know when and why to lock the computer. 

• Be able to lock and unlock the computer. 

The information held on NHS computers and networks must be kept secure. There 

are lots of ways that we can help to do this. We have already emphasised the 

importance of keeping your password secure and not sharing your login details or 

Smartcard with colleagues. There are also things that you can do to help maintain 

security whilst working at your computer. 

A simple and very practical way to help keep information secure is to pay attention to 

who can see the information being displayed on your computer screen. Avoid 

positioning your screen where it can easily be seen by others (including colleagues). 

If you are leaving your computer for a short time (for example, if you have printed a 

document and need to take it to the photocopier at the other side of the office) you 

should lock your computer. 

To lock your computer: 



1. Press the Ctrl and Alt keys with your left hand and tap the Delete key with 

your right hand (just as you do to login to Windows). 

2. The Windows Security box will be displayed. Click the button labelled Lock 

Computer. 

3. Whilst your computer is locked, nobody will be able to access it without 

entering your password. 

4. To unlock the computer, press Ctrl, Alt and Delete again. 

5. Type your password. 

6. Then press the Return key or click OK. 

If you are likely to be away from the computer for any length of time or if anyone else 

may need access to the computer while you are away, don’t lock it. Instead you 

should log off or shut down the computer, as we will see in the next few tutorials. 

1.6 Logging Off 


• Know when and why to log off. 

• Be able to log off. 

Logging off closes the computer’s connection to the network. You should Log off the 

computer if: 

• You have finished using the computer and somebody else wishes to use it. 

• You have finished using the computer and you or somebody else is likely to 

need to use the computer again later the same day. 

If the computer is unlikely to be used again for more than a few hours, it is better to 

shut down the computer instead. 

To log off: 

1. Click the Start button. 

2. From the Start menu, click to choose Shut Down. 

3. Click the arrow to open the drop down list and click to choose Log off from 

the list. 

4. Press the Return key or click the OK button. 

You will be returned to the Welcome to Windows screen ready for the next 

user to logon. 

1.7 Restarting 




• Know when and why to restart the computer. 

• Be able to restart the computer. 

Restarting the computer closes all applications, closes Windows completely, empties 

the computer’s memory and then restarts Windows without switching the computer 

off. 

You should restart Windows if you are having persistent problems with the computer 

(for example, an application has repeatedly crashed). You should always try 

restarting your computer before contacting your IT Helpdesk / Technical Support. 

To restart the computer: 


2. Click to choose Shut Down from the Start menu. 

3. Click the arrow to open the drop down list and click to choose Restart from 


4. Press the Return key or click the OK button. 

After Windows has closed down, it will reload and you will be returned to the 

Welcome to Windows box. 

1.8 Shutting Down 


• Know when and why to shut down the computer. 

• Be able to shut down the computer. 

Shutting down the computer closes windows and empties the computer’s memory 

then switches the computer off. 

You should shut down the computer if you have finished using it and it is unlikely to 

be used again for more than a few hours (for example at the end of the working 

day). 

Remember, switching off your computer using the power switch could result in loss 

of data or damage to the computer. 

To shut down the computer: 


2. Click to choose Shut Down from the Start menu. 

3. Ensure that Shut down is selected from the drop down list, then click OK or 

press Return. 

Windows will close and the computer will eventually be switched off. 



2 Mouse Skills 

2.1 Introduction to Pointing Devices 


• Know that the mouse is a type of pointing device. 

• Know about some other types of pointing device. 

• Know that the mouse is used to control the computer. 

You will use the mouse to control the computer. 

The mouse is a type of pointing device. 

As you move the mouse, the ‘mouse pointer’ (a little arrow) will follow 

your movements on the screen. 

Once you have moved the mouse pointer over an object, you can use 

the buttons on the mouse to choose or operate it. 

There are other types of pointing device: 

• Touchpad 

Touchpads are often found on laptop computers. 

Moving your finger lightly over the surface of the 

touchpad will move the mouse pointer on screen. 

Buttons, similar to those found on the mouse, are usually positioned next to 

the touchpad. Tapping the touchpad can also be used in place of a left 

mouse button click. 

• Pointing stick 

Pointing sticks are another type of pointing device 

sometimes found on laptop computers. The pointing 

stick is usually positioned in the centre of the laptop 

keyboard. 

Applying directional pressure to the pointing stick using 

your finger will move the mouse pointer in that direction. 

Buttons, similar to those on the mouse, are usually found nearby on the 

keyboard. 

• Stylus 

Styluses are another type of pointing device often used 

with ‘tablet’ PCs or handheld computers. 

Moving the stylus close to the screen on a tablet PC will 

move the mouse pointer to that location. 



Tapping an object on the screen with a stylus is used in place of a left mouse 

button click. 

Holding down the stylus on an object on screen is used in place of a right 

mouse button click. 

• Trackball 

Trackballs are another type of pointing device that can be used 

instead of a mouse. 

The movement of the mouse pointer is controlled by rolling the 

ball in the direction that you wish the mouse pointer to move. 

Different trackball designs are available that allow you to control 

the ball using either your fingers or your thumb. 

Trackballs can sometimes be useful for computer users with impaired 

movement in their arm or hand. 

2.2 Moving the mouse pointer & clicking 


• Know how to rest your hand on the mouse. 

• Know how to use the mouse to control the movement of the mouse pointer 

on screen. 

• Know how to click to choose objects on the screen. 

Your mouse should be placed on a flat surface, preferably a mouse mat. 

If you are left handed, you might find it easier to place the mouse and its mat to the 

left of the keyboard so that you can use it with your left hand. 

Rest your hand lightly on the mouse. Your wrist should be supported by the desk. 

Your forefinger should rest on the left mouse button and your middle finger on the 

right mouse button (the other way round if you are left-handed). 

As you move your mouse, the mouse pointer follows your movements on screen. 

If you come to the edge of your mouse mat or run out of space on your desk, lift the 

mouse and place it back down in the middle. The mouse pointer will not move while 

the mouse is in the air. 

The mouse buttons are used to interact with objects on the screen. 

You will use the left mouse button more often than the right. 

It is useful to think of the left mouse button as the ‘I want…’ button. 

When you want to choose or use something on the screen, click it with the left 

mouse button. 



From now on, a click of the left mouse button will be referred to simply as a ‘click’. 

To click an object, move the mouse pointer over it, hold the mouse steady and 

gently press and release the left mouse button. 

2.3 Double Clicking 


• Know when a double click should be used. 

• Be able to double click objects. 

A double click is two quick clicks of the left mouse button. A double click is used to 

open things. 

The mouse pointer is moved over the object. The mouse is held steady and the 

object is clicked twice in quick succession. 

2.4 Dragging 


• Know that dragging is used to move objects around the screen. 

• Know how to drag objects around the screen. 

Dragging is used to move things around the screen. Dragging can also be used to 

select text; this will be covered in another tutorial. 

To move an object, move the mouse pointer over it and hold down the left mouse 

button. With the mouse button held down, move the mouse to drag the object. 

When the object is where you want it, release the mouse button. 

2.5 Scrolling 


• Know why scrollbars appear. 

• Be able to use scrollbars to view the contents of a window. 

• Know that the mouse wheel can be used to scroll up and down. 

Microsoft Windows is named after the windows that it displays things in. If a window 

is too small to display its contents, scrollbars will appear. Scroll bars will allow you to 

view the contents of a window that would otherwise not be visible. 

Vertical scrollbars will appear to the right of the window allowing you to move the 

view up and down. 

Horizontal scrollbars will appear at the bottom of the window allowing you to move 

the view left and right. 



There are several ways 

to use scroll bars: 

Click the arrow buttons at 

either end of a scrollbar 

to move the view in small 

steps. 

The block on a scrollbar 

represents your view of 

the window. You can 

drag the block to scroll. 

This can be both quick 

and accurate. 

You may also click either 

side of the block to scroll 

in larger jumps. 

If your mouse has a mouse wheel, it can be used to scroll up and down by rolling the 

wheel forwards and backwards, being careful not to press it down. You may need to 

click inside a window before using the mouse wheel to scroll. 

2.6 Right Clicking 


• Know that a right click opens a context menu. 

• Be able to use a right click to access context menu options. 

• In previous tutorials, we have used the left mouse button for clicking, double 

clicking, dragging and scrolling. The right mouse button tends to be used 

less often but it is still very useful. 

If the left mouse button is thought of as the ‘I want…’ button, the right mouse button 

can be thought of as the ‘I wonder…’ button. 

Right clicking an object will open a context menu. The context menu will give a 

choice of options relevant to the object you have right clicked. To choose an option 

from the menu, click it with the left mouse button. 

2.7 Drawing Skills 


• Be aware of occasions when you may need to draw with the mouse. 

Formatted: Bullets and 

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• Be able to draw and erase ‘freehand’ using the mouse. 

• Be able to select colours. 



• Be able to draw straight lines and shapes. 

• Be able to fill objects with a colour. 

• Be able to annotate drawings with text. 

Simple drawing tools are used for a variety of purposes on the computer. You may 

come across drawing tools in dedicated painting and drawing programs. Most 

versions of Windows have Paint, a simple drawing program, available from the 

Accessories section of the Start menu. 

You may also come across drawing tools as a feature within other applications. 

Microsoft PowerPoint, for example, allows you to annotate your presentations using 

simple drawing tools. Some Health Information Systems also include drawing tools, 

to allow X-ray images to be annotated. 

The first thing you will need to do is select your drawing tool. The first 

tool we will use is the freehand drawing tool. 

1. Click the Free Hand tool button. 

2. Move your mouse pointer over the canvas, notice that it has changed to a 

pencil. 


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3. To draw, hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse around. 

Notice the colour palette. To draw in a different colour, simply click it. Have a go, 

change the colour, and try drawing some more. 

The Eraser tool works in the same way as the Free Hand drawing tool. 

Click to select it and then use it to erase parts of your picture. 

The next drawing tool we will us is the Straight Line tool. To draw a 

straight line: 

1. Click the Straight Line tool button. 

2. Move your mouse pointer over the canvas, notice that it has changed to a 

crosshair. 


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3. Click and hold the left mouse button where you would like the line to start. 

4. Keep the mouse button held down and drag to where you would like the line 

to finish. 

Shapes can be drawn in the same way. 

1. Click the Shape tool button. 


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2. Click and hold the left mouse button where you wish one of the corners to be. 

3. Keep the mouse button held down and drag to where you would like the 

opposite corner to be. 

You can fill an area of your image with colour using the Paint Bucket 

tool 

1. Click the Paint Bucket tool button. 

2. Click an area of your picture to fill it with the selected colour. 


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If you wish to annotate (label) your drawing, the text tool will allow you to 

do so. 

4. Click the Text tool button. 

5. Click on the image in the place where you wish to add text. 


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6. A box will appear with a text entry cursor. Type some text using the 

keyboard. 

You can adjust the size of the text box by dragging the handles in the corners. 

3 Keyboard Skills 

3.1 Introduction to Text Entry Devices 


• Know that the keyboard is a text input device. 

• Know about some other common text input devices. 

The keyboard is a device used to input text on the computer. The keyboard can also 

be used to control the computer. 

This is a standard keyboard. Most computers will have a keyboard like this one. 

This type of keyboard is also sometimes referred to as a QWERTY keyboard. 

The top line of letter keys starts with the six letters Q W E R T Y. Notice that the 

main area of the keyboard is made up mainly of letter and number keys. 



Above the main area of the keyboard, there is a row of Function keys labelled F1 

through to F12. 

To the far right of the keyboard are a set of keys similar to those that you would find 

on a calculator. This is the numeric keypad or number pad. 

We will look at the number pad in a bit more detail in another tutorial. 

Between the main keyboard and the number pad there are four arrow keys, these 

are referred to as cursor keys because their main function is to control the text entry 

cursor as we’ll discover later. 

Although this is the most common text entry device, there are several others that 

you may come across from time-to-time… 

• Laptop keyboard 

Laptops have more compact keyboards. The 

letters are normally laid out in the same way as 

a standard keyboard but there is no number 

pad. The cursor and function keys are 

combined with the main keyboard. Laptop 

keyboards can vary considerably in layout and 

this can make them tricky to get used to. 

• Ergonomic keyboard 

Ergonomic keyboards are designed to allow your hands to be positioned 

more naturally whilst typing. 

This helps to reduce the risk of injury for 

people who use the keyboard often. 

Ergonomic keyboards can also be more 

suitable for people who suffer from joint 

problems in their arms, wrists or hands. 

• Soft keyboard 

A ‘soft’ keyboard is an on screen text entry device. Soft keyboards are 

usually found on handheld 

computers and tablet PCs. 

A soft keyboard is operated 

by tapping with a stylus. 

• Hand writing recognition 

Hand writing recognition 

software, used on tablet PCs 

and handheld computers, 

allows you to write on the 

screen using a stylus. The 

software converts your 

handwriting into text. 


3.2 Letters & Numbers 




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• Know how to use the keyboard to input letters, numbers and spaces on the 

computer. 

Although the letter keys are labelled with upper case letters, they will produce lower 

case letters when pressed. 

When entering text, locate the letter key that you need and then tap it gently. Do not 

hold letter keys down for any length of time or multiple letters will appear. 

The spacebar is the long blank key that runs 

along the bottom of the main keyboard. 

Pressing the spacebar will produce a space 

between words when typing. You should only 

put one space between words. 

Towards the top of the keyboard is a row 

of number keys. Press these keys to type 

numbers. 

If ‘number lock’ is switched on, the number keys on the number pad can also be 

used to type numbers. 

The Num Lock key switches number lock on and off. A light on your keyboard will 

be illuminated when number lock is switched on. 

3.3 Capital Letters 


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• Be able to use Caps Lock to type in block capitals 

• Be able to use the Shift key to type a capital letter. 

In the previous tutorial, we identified that pressing a letter key on the keyboard would 

produce a lower case letter when typing. In this tutorial, we will learn about two 

ways to produce upper case letters. 

If you wish to type in block capitals, the best way is to 

switch on Caps Lock (Capitals Lock). The Caps Lock 

key on the keyboard switches Caps Lock on and off. 

When Caps Lock is switched on, a light on the 

keyboard will be illuminated; all of the text that you type 

will be in capitals or upper case. 

When Caps Lock is switched off, the light will switch 

off and all of the text that you type will be in lower case. 



Caps Lock is great for typing in block capitals but what if you only require one 

capital letter e.g. at the beginning of a sentence or name? 

To type a single capital letter: 

1. Hold down the Shift key 

with the finger of one 

hand. 

2. Tap the letter key with a 

finger of the other hand. 

3. Then release the Shift 

key. 

3.4 The Text Entry Cursor 


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• Know the purpose of the text entry cursor 

• Know that the text entry cursor is sometimes called the insertion point 

• Be able to use the mouse to position the text entry cursor 

• Be able to use the cursor keys to move the text entry cursor. 

Have you ever noticed the flashing line that appears when you are typing on a 

computer screen? It is known as the text entry cursor or the insertion point. It 

indicates where text will appear when you type. 

You will notice that the text entry cursor moves to the right of the letters as you type. 

You might need to move the text entry cursor if you make a mistake and need to go 

back to correct it or if you want to insert some more text earlier in your document. 

As you move your mouse pointer over the text on screen, it changes shape. This 

mouse pointer is known as the I-beam mouse pointer. 

Clicking within a block of text with the I-beam mouse pointer will move the text entry 

cursor to the position you have clicked. 

In the first tutorial of the keyboard skills section, the cursor keys were introduced. 

These are the four arrow keys located between the main keyboard and the numeric 

keypad on a standard keyboard. They are called cursor keys because they let you 

move the text entry cursor up, down, left and right. 

3.5 Punctuation & Symbols 


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• Know how and when to use the Shift key to type punctuation marks and 

other symbols. 



In this tutorial we will look at typing punctuation marks and other symbols. Have a 

quick look at the keyboard and see if you can spot any keys that have punctuation 

marks or symbols on them. 

There are keys to the right of the main keyboard that 

have punctuation marks and symbols. There are also 

some above the number keys that run along the top of 

the main keyboard. 

The full-stop key is found towards the bottom right of the 

main keyboard. Because the full-stop symbol is on the 

bottom row of the key, pressing it will type a full-stop. 

Remember using the Shift key to type a capital letter? It is also 

used to type some symbols. When a key contains more than 

one symbol or a number and a symbol, use the Shift key to type 

the uppermost symbol. 

Notice that the pound symbol appears on the upper row of the 3 

key. To type a pound symbol, hold down the Shift key and 

press the 3 key with the pound (£) symbol. 

3.6 The Return Key 


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• Be able to use the Return key to begin a new line of text when typing 

• Be able to use the Return key to submit information in a form. 

On a standard keyboard, the Return key is the large key to 

the right of the main keyboard. 

The Return key gets its name from a carriage ‘return’ on a 

typewriter. Just like the carriage return on a typewriter, the 

Return key is used to begin a new line when typing. 

The Return key is also used to submit information when you 

are filling in forms on the computer. Forms are often found on web pages and in 

dialogue boxes as we will see in later tutorials. 

Once you have entered the required information in a form, press the Return key to 

submit it. 

You will sometimes hear the Return key referred to as the Enter key. The Enter 

key is found in the bottom right corner of the number pad and has exactly the same 

function as the Return key. 

3.7 Backspace & Delete 


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• Be able to use the Backspace and Delete keys to erase text. 



The Backspace and Delete keys let you erase text when you 

are typing. 

The Backspace key will erase text to the left of the text entry 

cursor. Each time you press Backspace, one character will 

be erased. 

The Delete key will erase text to the right of the text entry 

cursor. Each time you press Delete, one character will be 

erased. If there are no characters to the right of the text entry 

cursor, nothing will be erased. 

Because text appears to the left of the text entry cursor as you 

type, you are likely to use the Backspace key much more 

often than Delete. 

Sometimes you will need to erase text that you typed earlier in the document. To do 

this, use the cursor keys or the mouse to move the text entry cursor to the right of 

the text that you wish to delete and then press Backspace to delete it. 

3.8 The Tab Key 


Numbering 


• Be able to use the Tab key to move to the next field on a form. 

• Be able to use Shift + Tab to move to the previous field on a form. 

• Know that the Tab key has a different function when typing. 

In a previous tutorial, we introduced the idea of forms 

and said that the Return key could be used to submit 

the information that we had entered on a form. When 

there is more than one text box on a form, the Tab 

key can be used to move the text entry cursor into 

the next text box. This tends to be quicker than using 

the mouse to click in the next text box. 

Occasionally you may need to go to the previous text box on a form, perhaps to 

correct an error or to add some information that you have missed; in this case, hold 

the Shift key and press Tab to move to the previous text box. 

Just like the Return key, the Tab key has a different function when you are typing. 

When typing, pressing the Tab key will indent your text. This can be used to set out 

your text in columns like a table. This is where the Tab key gets its name – Tab is 

short for Tabulate. 

3.9 Useful Key Combinations 


Numbering 


• Be aware that the Function Keys are used to access common functions. 



• Be aware that the Ctrl and Alt keys are often used in combination with other 

keys to access functions. 

• Be able to use a key combination to access a function. 

There is a row of keys along the top of a standard keyboard labelled F1 to F12 – 

these are the function keys (the F is short for ‘Function’). 

The function of each function key varies depending on what you are doing on the 

computer. Some are common to most programs. 

F1 for example will almost always open the ‘Help’ facility in whichever program you 

are using. 

F5 is often used to refresh the information on the screen. 

F7 is often used to spell check text. 

F12 is often used to access the ‘Save As’ function (we will look at ‘Save As’ in more 

detail in a later tutorial). 

In previous tutorials we have seen that keys can be used in combination with each 

other to achieve different things. For example, we have seen how to hold the Shift 

key down and press letter keys to produce capital letters. 

The Ctrl key is often used in combination with letter keys on the keyboard for certain 

functions. Ctrl and A (holding down Ctrl and pressing A) is often the keyboard 

shortcut for selecting all of the text in a document. 

Ctrl and C is usually the shortcut for copying selected text. We will look in more 

detail at selecting text and Cut, Copy and Paste in a later tutorial. 

The Alt key is also used in combination with other keys. Holding down Alt and 

pressing F4, for example, will close the program you are using. Some more useful 

keyboard shortcuts will be introduced in later tutorials. 



4 Using Windows 

4.1 The Desktop 


• Know the name and function of each of the main features of the Windows 

desktop. 

Most of the features included in these tutorials should be available on any computer 

but if they are not, don’t worry… 

Computers in the NHS often have certain features turned off to reduce the risk of 

damage to the computers themselves or the information they hold. The features 

available will be governed by the IT policies in your organisation and these vary from 

trust to trust. 

Once you have logged in and Windows has finished loading, you will be presented 

with the Windows ‘desktop’: 

Just as a traditional desktop is the space on which you might perform paper based 

office tasks, so the Windows desktop is the space on which you will perform 

electronic office tasks. 

The desktop background is usually blue, though it can be any colour and in some 

cases may include a picture. 



Towards the left of the desktop, you will usually find icons. These are 

small labelled pictures that give access to programs or areas of the 

computer. 

To open a program or area of the computer using a desktop icon, point to it and 

double click. 

The bar that runs along the bottom of the desktop is the taskbar. The taskbar 

contains a button for each of the tasks that are open on the computer. On the 

taskbar (above) there are buttons for the My Computer and Internet Explorer 

windows. 

At the far right hand side of the taskbar is a clock – handy for reminding you how 

close it is to home time! 

The area of the taskbar that contains the clock is known as the notification area. 

Small symbols will appear in the notification area to let you know when certain 

events occur. When you receive an e-mail, for example, a little yellow envelope may 

appear in the notification area. 

At the far left of the taskbar is the Start button. Clicking the Start button will open 

the Start menu. The Start menu gives access to all of the programs and settings for 

the computer. The next tutorial will look at the Start menu in more detail. 

4.2 The Start Menu 


• Be able to open the Start menu. 

• Be able to find your way around the submenus in the Start menu. 

• Be able to choose options from the Start menu. 

As explained in the previous tutorial, the Start button will open the Start menu which 

gives access to all of the programs and settings for the computer. 


To open a program using the Start menu: 



2. Move your mouse pointer over each of the menu options to highlight them. 

As you move over the options for Search, Settings, Documents and 

Programs, a submenu appears. Whenever you see an arrow to the right of a 

menu choice, it indicates that a submenu is available. 

3. Point at Programs (without clicking) to open the Programs submenu. 

4. Move the mouse pointer into the Programs submenu. 

5. To choose a menu option, simply click it. 

4.3 Parts of a Window 


• Know that Windows displays most tasks in a window. 

• Know the name and function of the common parts of a window. 

In an earlier tutorial, we used the desktop icons to open programs and parts of the 

computer. Almost everything you open on the computer, whether it is a program or 

the filing system, will be displayed in a window. These windows are so common, in 

fact, that Microsoft Windows is named after them. 

There are lots of features that are common to all of the windows that you open. 

Throughout the next few tutorials, we will learn to use the common features of 

windows. 


• Title bar 


Running along the top of a window is its title bar. The title bar contains the 

name of the window. 

• Menu bar 

Beneath the title bar is the menu bar. The menu bar gives access to all of 

the functions that are available in the program. 

• Toolbar 

Beneath the menu bar, you will usually find at least one toolbar. Toolbars 

provide buttons that give you quick access to the most common functions in 

the program you are using. We will focus on using menu bars and toolbars 

in later tutorials. 

• Status bar 

Running along the bottom of a window, you will often find a status bar. As 

its name suggests, the status bar usually gives information about the status 

of the program or task that is being displayed in the window, e.g. what page 

you are viewing in a document. 

• Scrollbar 

Most windows will also contain scrollbars. Scrollbars were introduced in an 

earlier tutorial. Scrollbars usually appear towards the bottom and at the right 

hand edge of a window and allow you to view contents of a window that 

wouldn’t otherwise fit, e.g. moving down or across a page. 

4.4 Maximise, Minimise, Close and Restore 


• Be able to maximise, minimise, restore and close a window using its title 

bar buttons and its taskbar button. 

In the last tutorial, we introduced the title bar; this runs along the top of a window 

and contains the name of the window. Notice that there are three buttons at the 

right hand end of the title bar. 

Moving your mouse pointer over a button and holding the mouse 

steady will display a tooltip – a little yellow box indicating the 

function of the button. Tooltips will appear when you hover the 

mouse pointer over almost any button in Windows, telling you 

what the button does. 

The Close button closes the window. 

Maximising a window makes it fill the screen, giving you the 

biggest possible area to work in. This can be very useful. 



Once a window has been maximised, the middle button changes to 

a Restore Down button. Restore Down returns the window to the 

size it was before it was maximised. 

Minimising a window hides it from view but does not close it. A 

taskbar button representing the window will still be visible, clicking the 

taskbar button will return the window to the screen. 

There are other ways of maximising, minimising, restoring and closing windows. 

4.5 Moving a Window 


Right clicking a window’s taskbar button will open a 

context menu offering options for maximising, 

minimising, restoring and closing the window. 

There are also keyboard shortcuts that will allow you 

to carry out these tasks. Pressing the key 

combination Alt + F4, for example, would close the 

current window. 

• Understand the reason why you may need to move a window. 

• Be able to drag a window around the desktop. 

Notice that the My Documents window is currently obscuring some of the desktop 

icons. If we wanted to use the desktop icons it would be useful to be able to move 

the window. As you use the computer, you will discover lots more occasions where 

it would be useful to be able to move windows. 

The window can be dragged around the desktop by its title bar: 

1. Move your pointer over the title bar. 

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the window around the screen. 

3. When the window is in place, release the left mouse button. 

4.6 Resizing a Window 


• Understand the reason why you may need to resize a window. 

• Be able to resize a window. 

There are occasions when it might be useful to change the size of a window on 

screen. This might be useful if you want to compare two documents side by side. 

We have already seen that windows can be maximised and restored. In this tutorial, 

we will learn to change the size of windows by resizing. 



Notice that there are icons in the My Documents window (above) that we cannot 

currently see. You can make the window a little bigger so that all of the icons are 

visible: 

1. Move your mouse pointer over the resize area in 

the bottom right corner of the window. 

2. Notice that the mouse pointer changes shape to a 

diagonal double headed arrow. 

3. Hold down the left mouse button and drag to make 

the window larger. 

4. Once all of the icons are visible, release the mouse button. 

Windows can also be resized by dragging the edges of the window. Wait for the 

mouse pointer to change to a resize pointer before dragging. 



5 Working with Applications 

5.1 Introduction to Applications 


• Know what an application is. 

• Know some of the office applications commonly used in the NHS. 

Software is the coded instructions that tell the computer what to do. Computer 

software is created by computer programmers. A piece of software may also be 

called a computer program or, simply, a program. 

There are two main categories of software - operating systems and applications. 

An operating system is an environment that allows the user to interact with the 

computer and its filing system. Microsoft Windows is an example of an operating 

system. 

Applications are computer programs that allow you to perform a particular task on 

the computer. Common categories of application include: 

• Word processor 

Word processors provide the tools to create a range of documents on the 

computer. 

Microsoft Word is part of the Microsoft Office suite of software and is the word 

processing application available on most NHS computers. 

• Web browser 

Web browsers allow you to view and navigate between web pages. 

Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer is included in the Microsoft Windows 

operating system and is the web browsing application used on most NHS 

computers. 

• E-mail Client 

E-mail Client software allows you to send, receive and organise e-mail 

messages. 

Microsoft Outlook is part of the Microsoft Office suite of software and is the 

E-mail Client available on most NHS computers. 

• Database Management System 

A database management system is an application that allows you to create 

and maintain a database (a collection of information stored on a computer in 

a systematic way). 



Microsoft Access is part of the Microsoft Office suite of software and is the 

database management system available on most NHS computers. 

• Spreadsheet 

Spreadsheet software allows you to work with numerical (often financial) data 

recorded in rows and columns. 

Microsoft Excel is the spreadsheet software included in the Microsoft Office 

suite and is available on most NHS computers. 

• Presentation Software 

Presentation software allows you to generate slideshows that can be used as 

an audio visual aid for the delivery of presentations. 

The Microsoft Office suite includes Microsoft PowerPoint presentation 

software. PowerPoint is available on most NHS computers. 

• Health Information System 

A Health Information System, is an “electronic system that holds information 

on a person’s health or healthcare. These records could be anything from 

clinical information like the details of a patient’s operation or the medication 

they’re taking, to demographic information like their date of birth or ethnicity” 

according to the ECDL Health Unit Learning Materials. 

• Corporate Systems 

A corporate system is an application which provides the tools to store and 

manage information relating to the corporate workings of an organisation. 

These include human resources and payroll record systems. 

5.2 Starting Applications 


• Be able to start applications using desktop icons and the Start menu. 

In the ‘Using Windows’ tutorials, we looked at using the desktop icons and Start 

menu to open areas of the filing system and some of the programs on the computer. 

This tutorial will focus specifically on starting applications. 

The Windows desktop icons will vary considerably from computer to computer but 

some of the icons will give access to applications on the computer. 

In the previous tutorial we identified that Internet Explorer was the web browser 

application that was used on most NHS computers. We also identified that Microsoft 

Outlook was the E-mail Client application used on most NHS computers. 

Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook usually have desktop icons. 

If an application has an icon on the desktop, double clicking the icon will start the 

application. 

Remember that the Close button on the title bar will close an application window. 



Not all applications will have a desktop icon. On this desktop, for example, there is 

no icon for Microsoft Word. 

Applications can almost always be opened from the Start menu: 

1. Click the Start button to open the Start menu. 

2. Most applications will be available from the Programs submenu. Hover over 

Programs to view the submenu. 



3. Microsoft Office is listed in the Programs submenu. Hover over Microsoft 

Office to view the submenu. 

4. Notice that all of the Microsoft Office applications are available from this 

submenu. 

5. Click to launch the required application. 

5.3 Toolbars 


• Be able to identify and use toolbars within applications. 

• Know that hovering over a toolbar button will display a tooltip indicating its 

function. 

Most application windows will have at least one toolbar. In the Using Windows 

tutorials, we identified that toolbars are usually found towards the top of a window, 

beneath the menu bar. Notice the toolbars on the Microsoft Word application 

window above. 

Toolbar buttons give access to the most commonly used functions in an application. 

The buttons available on the toolbars will vary from one application to another but 

there are several toolbar buttons that are common to most of the Microsoft Office 

suite of programs. 

To find out a toolbar button’s function, hover the mouse over it 

until a tooltip appears. Tooltips usually give a good indication 

of a button’s function and are great when you’re becoming 

familiar with an application and for searching for help. 

You will find New, Open, Save, Print, Cut, Copy and Paste toolbar buttons in most 

applications. 

To use a toolbar button, simply click it. 

Occasionally, a toolbar button will include a drop down list of 

choices. Look for the drop down arrow that indicates this. 

Click the drop down arrow. 

From the drop down list that appears, click to make a choice. 



If there isn’t room on a toolbar to display all of the buttons, some buttons will be 

hidden. To view and use the hidden buttons, click the drop down arrow on the 

toolbar. 

The hidden buttons will be displayed. Locate and click the required button. 

It is possible to move toolbars by dragging them. 

Each toolbar will have a faint grey line at the left 

hand end. Move the mouse pointer over the grey 

line. 

The mouse pointer changes shape to a four-headed 

arrow. This is the move mouse pointer. Drag the 

toolbar to move it. 

Once you release the mouse button, the toolbar will ‘snap’ into its new position. 

5.4 Menus 


• Be able to identify and use application menus. 

Almost all application windows will have a menu bar. In the Using Windows 

tutorials, we identified that the menu bar was found towards the top of a window, just 

beneath the title bar. 

To open a menu, click its title. 

Look at the options in the File menu (above). They have been grouped together 

because they relate to opening, saving and printing Word document files. 

Once you have opened a menu, you can view the contents of another menu by 

moving the mouse pointer over its heading without clicking. 

Whilst the menus and the choices within them will vary from application to 

application, some menus are available in nearly all applications. The File, Edit and 

View menus will almost always be present as will the Tools and Help menus. 



To close the menus without choosing an option, click the title of the open menu. 

Occasionally, some of the less commonly used menu 

options will be hidden when you first open a menu. 

Notice the double arrow at the 

bottom of the menu (left). This 

indicates that some of the menu 

options are currently hidden. Click 

the double arrow to view the hidden items. 

Notice that there is an arrow to the right of the Toolbars 

option in the View menu (right). The arrow indicates that 

there is a submenu available. To view the contents of the 

submenu, move your mouse over the Toolbars option. 

5.5 Context Menus 


• Be able to access and use context menus within an application. 

During the Mouse Skills tutorials we introduced right clicking to access context 

menus. We identified that a context menu gives access to options relating to the 

object or area clicked on. 

In this tutorial we will explore how context menus are used 

in applications. 

Right clicking on an area of the toolbar will open a context 

menu. 

Notice that the context menu offers options for switching 

on and off toolbars in Word as well as an option to 

Customise the toolbar. 

To choose a context menu option, left click it. 

To close a context menu, click on a blank area of the 

screen. 



5.6 Dialog Boxes & Task Panes 


• Be able to identify and use dialogue boxes and task panes to select options 

within an application. 

• Be able to identify and use some of the common controls found on dialogue 

boxes and task panes. 

Dialogue boxes are a common feature of the Windows interface and will appear 

whenever an application needs to collect information or choices from you. 

Task panes have a similar function to dialogue boxes but will remain on the screen 

until they are closed or another task pane is opened. 

This tutorial will familiarise you with the common features of dialogue boxes and task 

panes. 

Notice that some of the options in the Microsoft Word File menu (above) are 

followed by three dots. These dots indicate that Microsoft Word will need some 

information from you before it carries out the command. A dialogue box or task 

pane will be displayed to allow you to enter this information. 

Choosing Print… from the File menu will open the Print dialogue box. 



Notice that the dialogue box allows you to control what is printed and how. Various 

‘controls’ allow you to choose your settings. 

Common Dialogue Box Controls 

Control Example in Print dialogue box Operation 

Drop down list 

Check box 

Option button 

(radio buttons) 

Text box 

Up Down 

control 

Command 

button 

A drop down list box will allow you 

to choose the printer. 

Check boxes will allow you to 

choose to print the document to 

file and or perform a manual 

duplex (let’s not worry what these 

mean these just yet!). 

Option buttons (may also be 

known as radio buttons) allow you 

to choose the Page Range to be 

printed. 

A text box will allow you to specify 

exactly which pages to print. 

An Up Down control allows you to 

change the number of copies to 

be printed. Practice clicking the 

up down buttons. 

Command buttons are provided 

allowing you to Cancel your 

changes or OK them. 

Clicking the arrow will open the 

drop down list allowing you to 

click to choose an item from 


Clicking a check box will check 

(tick) it, clicking again will uncheck 

(un-tick) it. 

Click an option button to select 

it. Only one button from an 

option button group can be 

chosen. 

Click in a text box and use the 

keyboard to enter information. 

Click the up and down arrows 

to increase / decrease the 

value. You may also type a 

choice into an Up Down 

control. 

Click a command button to 

choose it. 



Notice that, towards the top of the 

Page Setup dialogue box (left), there 

are three tabs labelled Margins, 

Paper and Layout. Notice also that 

the Margins tab is currently selected. 

Tabs offer a means to group controls 

within a dialogue box. To choose a 

tab, click it. 

Task panes work in a similar way to dialogue boxes 

and feature many of the same controls. Notice the 

Search for text box and drop down list box towards 

the top of the task pane (left). The major difference 

with task panes is that they remain on the screen 

until they are closed or another task pane is opened. 



5.7 Save & Save As 


• Know the difference between Save and Save As and be able to use both 

functions appropriately. 

• Understand the importance of saving your work regularly. 

In this tutorial, we will be using the save functions in Microsoft Word, however, the 

principles of saving your work are applicable to all office applications. 

Notice that this window is titled Document 1 – Microsoft Word. This indicates that 

the current document has not been saved. 

Notice that there are three options in the File menu that 

allow you to save the current document. 

For now, we will ignore the option to Save As Web Page 

and look at the Save and Save As options. 

Choosing Save from the File menu will open the Save As 

dialogue box. When you first save a piece of work, you 

need to tell the computer where to save it and what to call 

it. The Save As dialogue box will allow you to do this. 



Notice that the Save In drop down list box (above) is currently displaying the My 

Documents folder. My Documents, as we will explain more fully in the File 

Management Basics tutorials, is the area where you are likely to save your work. 

The file browser underneath is displaying the subfolders in My Documents. To 

open a subfolder, double click it. 

Notice that the document name has been taken from the first line of the document 

Keeping it Real. This can be edited by clicking in the text box and editing the text. 

To save the document using the selected settings, click the Save command button. 

12/09/08 Version 0.1 (DRAFT) Page 41 

Once a document has been saved, its name will 

appear on the title bar of the window (left). 

Once a file has been saved, choosing Save from the 

File menu will simply update the original file with any 

changes that you have made since it was last saved. 

Because the computer knows where the document 

should be saved and what it should be called, it will 

not ask us again (i.e. the Save As dialogue box will not open). 

As you work, it is useful to save your changes in this way frequently so that if 

anything goes wrong, you don’t lose too much work. 

What happens if we want to save the document but we don’t want to overwrite the 

existing file with our changes? 

Choosing Save from the File menu would save our changes to the existing file. 

Instead we should click to choose Save As… 

The Save As dialogue box will open. If the location and or the name of the file is 

changed, the existing file will not be replaced when Save is clicked.


Let’s recap. 

If your work has previously been saved, Save will simply save any changes that 

have been made to your work to the existing file. 

If your work hasn’t previously been saved, the Save option will open the Save As 

dialogue box so that you can choose where to save it and what to call it. 

The Save As option will always open Save As dialogue box. If you choose to save 

your work to a different location or with a different file name, any existing file will not 

be overwritten. 

5.8 Opening Files 


• Be able to open files from within an application. 

• Be able to open files from the filing system (My Documents window). 

In the previous tutorial, we looked at methods for saving your work. Once you have 

saved your work to a file, you will need to be able to open that file in order to access 

your work again. 

To open a file from Microsoft Word: 

1. Click to open the File menu. 

2. Click to choose Open... 

3. The Open dialogue box will be displayed. This works in a similar way to the 

Save As dialogue box. 

4. The Look In drop down list box displays the name of the current folder. 

5. Shortcut buttons to the left provide quick access to various parts of the filing 

system. 

6. The file browser area displays the contents of the current folder. 

7. Double-click to open folders if required. 

8. Once you have found the file you wish to open, double click to open it. 

9. The file will open, ready for you to work on. Notice that the file name appears 

on the title bar. 

To open a file from the desktop: 

1. Double click the desktop icon to open the My Documents window. 

2. Double-click to open folders if required. 

3. Once you have found the file you wish to open, double click to open it. 



4. Microsoft Word (or the program associated with the file) will start 

automatically and the file will open ready to continue working. 

To close a file: 


2. Click to choose Close 

This is often quicker than opening the application first and using the Open command 

to locate and open a file. 

Locating and opening files from the filing system will be covered in more detail in the 

File Management Basics tutorials. 

5.9 Page Setup and Printing 


• Be able to use Page Setup to change settings that affect the way your work 

is laid out on a page. 

• Be able to use Print Preview to see on screen how your work will look when 

it is printed. 

• Be able to print your work using the Print dialogue box. 

We will look at printing from Microsoft Word, however, the principles of printing are 

very similar for most office applications. 

All of the options for printing are found in the File menu: 

• Page Setup 

Will allow you to change settings, such as margin size and page orientation, 

that affect the way your work is laid out on the page. 

• Print Preview 

Will allow you to see, on screen, exactly what your work will look like when it 

is printed. 

• Print 

Page Setup 

Will allow you to print your work, choosing the printer, the number of copies to 

print etc. 

First, let’s explore the Page Setup options. To open the Page Setup dialogue box, 

click to choose Page Setup… from the File menu. 

Options in the Page Setup dialogue box are grouped under three tabs: Margins, 

Paper and Layout. 



The Margins tab contains options to control the margins, gutter settings and paper 

orientation for the document. The gutter is the white space formed by the inner 

margins on two facing pages. You can view the effects of any changes you make 

using the Preview image. 

The Paper tab gives options for paper size (useful if you are printing to envelopes 

etc) and allows you to select which paper tray to draw paper from on the printer. It is 

fairly rare that you will need to alter these settings. 

The Layout tab gives quite complex options to control the way that text is laid out on 

the page. 

Print Preview 

It is sometimes difficult to predict how your work will look when it is printed. 

Occasionally there will be problems with the way that your work is laid out that lead 

to unwanted results when you print. 

Print Preview will allow you to see exactly how your work will look on paper before 

you send it to the printer. 

To view a print preview, choose Print Preview from the File menu or click the Print 

Preview toolbar button. 

Print preview will display each page in your document. If you have more than one 

page in your document, scroll down to view the next page. 

Once you have finished with the Print Preview, click the Close button on the toolbar 

to return to edit your work. 

Print 

Once you are happy with the layout of your document and you have used Print 

Preview to see what it will look like when it is printed, you are ready to print your 

document. 

The Print button on the toolbar will simply print one copy of the document to the 

printer indicated in the tooltip. Instead choose Print… from the File menu. 

The Print dialogue box allows you to control the way the document is printed. 

5.10 Accessing Help 


• Be able to access and search the Help facility in an application. 

A built in Help facility is available in almost all office applications. There are lots of 

ways of accessing help: 

• Most applications will have a Help menu. 

• Most applications will have a Help button on the toolbar. 

• The F1 key will open the Help facility in most applications. 


Most applications will have a Help menu. 

To access Help in Microsoft Word: 

1. Click to open the Help menu. 


2. Click to choose Microsoft Office Word Help. 

It is usually best to find the help that you require by searching. 

3. Click in the Search for text box. 

4. Type the subject that you require help with (for example ‘page numbering’). 

5. Press the Return key or click the Start Searching button. 

6. A list of Help results will be returned. Click to view a topic. 

7. A box will open displaying the Help topic. 

8. Close the Help box using the close button on its title bar. 

Many Office applications like Microsoft Word use the Task Pane to display Help. 

Sometimes an application’s Help facility will open in a new window or dialogue box. 

5.11 Switching between Windows 


• Be able to switch between open tasks using the taskbar. 

• Be able to switch between open files in an application using the Windows 

menu. 

The taskbar can be used to switch between the windows that are open on the 

computer. 

In the example (above) Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word windows are open. 

Clicking the Internet Explorer taskbar button will bring the Internet Explorer window 

to the front. 

When the taskbar gets too crowded, the buttons for each file open in a particular 

application are grouped under one taskbar button. 

Clicking a grouped taskbar button will open a list of windows. Clicking a window 

from the list will bring it to the front. 



When you have more than one file open in an application, you can also switch 

between them using the Windows menu: 

1. Click to view the Windows menu. 

2. Click the title of a window to bring that file to the front. 

5.12 Selecting Text 


• Be able to select text using the mouse and keyboard. 

• Understand how the ‘select then do’ principle applies to text. 

Many tasks on the computer rely on the ‘select then do’ principle. In this tutorial, we 

will look at how the ‘select then do’ principle applies to text. 

When you are working with text in an application, you must select the text before you 

can do things to it. For example, if you wish to make a title bold, you must first 

select the title text and then make it bold. This is known as the ‘select then do’ 

principle. 

Selecting text is also sometimes referred to as ‘highlighting’. 

There are several methods for selecting text. First, let’s look at ways of selecting 

text using the mouse. 

To select any block of text, move the mouse pointer to the left of the first letter, hold 

down the mouse and drag to the right of the last letter. 

Once a block of text has been selected, things can be done to it; it could be made 

bold, it could be deleted, it could be made larger etc. 

There are shortcuts for selecting text with the mouse: 

• Selecting a word 

To select a word, double click it. 

• Selecting a paragraph 

Triple clicking (that’s three quick clicks with the left mouse button) within the 

text area will select a paragraph. 

Text can also be selected using the keyboard: 

1. Position the text entry cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to select. 

2. Hold down the Shift key and press the Right Cursor key. 

3. Continue holding down the Shift key and pressing the Right Cursor key until 

the text is selected. 

5.13 Overtyping 




• Be able to overtype selected text. 

When text is selected, it can be overtyped: 

1. Select the text that you wish to replace (see previous tutorial). 

2. Type the text that you wish to replace it with. 

5.14 Cut, Copy & Paste 


• Be able to use Cut and Paste to move text. 

• Be able to use Copy and Paste to duplicate text. 

Cut, Copy and Paste are functions that are used frequently on the computer in a 

range of contexts. In this tutorial, we will focus on using Cut, Copy and Paste with 

text. 

It is useful to relate Cut, Copy and Paste on the computer to their real world 

analogy – scissors and glue! 

We might edit work that we have done on paper by cutting out a piece of text and 

sticking it down in another place, thus moving it. 

On the computer we move text in a similar way; the result is less messy though! 

First, we select the text that we wish to move. We use the Cut command to cut it 

out and then use the Paste command to paste it in a new place. 

If we were creating a paper based document, we might photocopy some text from a 

book or journal and stick it into our own work. 

On the computer we can copy text in a similar way. 

First, we find and select the text that we wish to copy. Then we use the Copy 

command to copy the text to the computer’s memory and then use the Paste 

command to paste it into our work. 

To recap: 

Cut and Paste can be used to move text. 

Copy and Paste can be used to duplicate text. 

Cut, Copy and Paste commands can be found in the Edit menu and on the toolbar 

in most applications. 

To move text using Cut and Paste: 

1. Select the text that you wish to move. 



2. Choose Cut from the Edit menu or the toolbar (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + X). 

3. Move the text entry cursor to the location you wish to move the text to. 

4. Choose Paste from the Edit menu or the toolbar (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 

V). 

To copy text using Copy and Paste: 

1. Select the text that you wish to copy. 

2. Choose Copy from the Edit menu or the toolbar (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C). 

3. Move the text entry cursor to the location you wish to move the text to. 

4. Choose Paste from the Edit menu or the toolbar (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 

V). 

5.15 Using Undo 


• Be able to use the Undo command to reverse actions in an application. 

• Know that Undo can be used to undo a series of actions. 

• Be able to use Redo to reverse the Undo command. 

Undo is one of the most useful commands in any application. Most people, once 

they discover the Undo command, wonder how they ever lived without it. 

The Undo command is found on the toolbar and in the Edit menu in most 

applications. 

Undo reverses your last action in an application. If, for example, the last thing you 

did was to delete a paragraph of text, clicking Undo will bring the paragraph back. 

Undo does not work for every action. As you can imagine, if the last thing you did 

was print your document, this cannot be undone! 

To undo an action, click the Undo button on the toolbar or choose Undo from the 

Edit menu. 

What if we Undo an action by mistake? Redo will reverse the Undo action. Again, 

Redo is usually found on the toolbar and in the Edit menu. 

Just like Undo, Redo can be used to reverse a whole series of Undo actions. 

5.16 Working with Tables 


• Understand how tables are used to present structured information in 

applications. 



• Be able to sort the contents of a table. 

• Be able to move and resize columns. 

• Know that clinical and corporate systems often present information in tables. 

Tabular information (information laid out in a table) is presented in rows and 

columns. 

Many applications use tables to layout structured information: 

• Microsoft Word 

Microsoft Word lets you include tabular information in your documents. 

• Internet Explorer 

Web pages frequently present tabular information. 

• Microsoft Excel 

Microsoft Excel is designed to let you work with tabular information. 

• Microsoft Access 

The data in a Microsoft Access database is stored in tables. 

• Microsoft Outlook 

Microsoft Outlook presents your e-mail messages in a table. 

• Health Information Systems and Corporate Systems 

Clinical and corporate information systems store information in tables. 

In this tutorial we will look at some of the common ways that we can work with 

tables. The skills covered here should be applicable to most applications that 

include tabular information. 

In most cases, each row will represent one record or item in a table while each 

column represents one piece of information about the items. 



Look at the Microsoft Outlook Inbox (above). The Outlook Inbox is laid out in a 

table. 

Each row in the table represents one item - in this case one e-mail message. 

Each column in the table represents one piece of information about the e-mail 

messages – there is a column to tell you who each message is from, a column to tell 

you what the subject of each message is, a column to tell you when each message 

was received… 

In computerised records, each piece of information stored about the records is 

known as a field. 

For example, e-mail messages have a From field, a Subject field, a Received field 

etc. 

Storing data on a computer has many benefits; the most obvious benefit is the 

speed at which the computer can manipulate data. 

Tabular data can be sorted by the computer very quickly. There are two main 

methods for sorting tabular data in applications. 

In applications such as Microsoft Outlook, where the column titles are chosen by the 

program, clicking the title of a column will sort the data by that column. 

To sort Inbox messages by the From column, click the From column title. 

Clicking the column title a second time will sort the contents of the table into reverse 

order. 

Clicking column titles to sort is a method often used in clinical and corporate 

information systems. 

Some applications use a toolbar or menu command for sorting. 

To sort information using a toolbar or menu command: 

1. Click somewhere in the column that you wish to sort by. 

2. Click the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending button on the toolbar. 

Sometimes it is useful to be able to move columns. In many applications it is 

possible to move columns simply by dragging them. 

To move the Received column in Outlook to the left of the From column (for 

example): 

1. Point to the title of the Received column. 

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the column title to the left. 

3. Two red arrows will appear indicating where the column will be dropped. 

Release the column title so that it appears to the left of the From column. 



Sometimes, a column may not be wide enough to fit its contents or may be too wide 

so that it takes up too much room; in such cases it is useful to be able to resize 

columns. 

To resize a column: 

1. Move the mouse over the line dividing two column titles. 

Notice that the mouse pointer changes shape. This is the Resize Column 

mouse pointer. When the Resize Column mouse pointer appears, dragging 

will resize the column. 

2. Drag to resize the column. 

3. When you are happy with the width of the column, release the mouse button. 

There is a very quick method for resizing a column to make it fit its contents: 

1. Move the mouse over the line dividing two column titles. 

2. Double click to automatically resize the column to fit its contents. 

5.17 Using Task Manager 


• Be able to identify the symptoms of a non-responding application. 

• Be able to use the Task Manager to close a non-responding application. 

Occasionally, an application that you are using may stop working. You may have 

come across the terms crash or freeze to describe non-responding computer 

applications. Application crashes are fairly rare but get into the habit of saving your 

work frequently to reduce the impact of application crashes. 

If an application crashes, it will usually appear to freeze; it will stop responding to 

mouse clicks or keyboard input. In this tutorial we will look at what to do if you think 

an application has crashed. 

First, leave the application for a few minutes without clicking or pressing the 

keyboard. If your computer is running low on memory or the application is trying to 

do several things at once, it might freeze temporarily while it catches up. 

If the application is still not responding after being left for several minutes, the Task 

Manager will help you to close the non-responding application. 

To close a non-responding application using the Task Manager: 

1. Press the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys to open the Windows Security box. 

2. Click the Task Manager button. 

3. The Task Manager will open. The Applications tab should be selected and 

all of the open applications should be listed. 



All of the applications that are open on the computer will be listed. If an 

application has crashed, the Status column should read Not Responding. 

4. Click to select the application that has crashed. 

5. Click the End Task button to try to close the application. 

6. A further box may be displayed indicating that the program is still not 

responding - if so, click End Now. 

7. After a few moments the application will close. 


6 File Management 


6.1 Introducing the Computer Filing System 


• Understand the basics of the computer filing system. 

• Know the main storage devices available on a computer. 

As with many features of Windows, the filing system is made to reflect, as closely as 

possible, the real world equivalent. 

In an office, a filing cabinet provides a structured and organised way of storing files 

(records, documents, images, data, accounts info etc.). 

Most filing cabinets have more than one drawer and each drawer usually contains 

several folders. By labelling the drawers and folders in a filing cabinet, it becomes 

easy (in theory!) to file away work and then find it again when required. 

The filing system on the computer is almost identical. Instead of having drawers 

your computer will have disk drives. These drives can contain folders (also known 

as Directories) that allow you to store your files in an organised way. 

With the computer filing system, any given folder may also contain subfolders which 

in turn can contain further subfolders. The computer filing system, therefore, can be 

structured to a greater degree than a traditional filing cabinet. 

Storage devices are used to store information on the computer. There are three 

categories of storage device: 

• Local storage devices (hard disk drives) 

The hard disk drive (or hard drive) is usually 

represented as the C: drive on the computer. The 

Hard drive is known as a local drive because it is 

housed within the system unit of the computer. The 

Hard Drive stores the Operating System (Windows) 

and the software Applications on the computer. 

• Removable storage media drives (floppy drives, memory sticks, CDs, 

DVDs) 

The floppy disk drive is usually represented as the A: 

drive. The floppy disk is a removable storage device – 

floppy disks can be put into and taken out of the floppy 

disk drive. Not all NHS computers will have a floppy 

drive. 

Compact disk drives and / or DVD drives are another type 

of removable storage device. CD ROMs and DVD ROMs 

are identical to music CDs and video DVDs except that 

instead of storing music and video, they store computer 

files. You cannot save work to CDs or DVDs without 

specialist equipment. Not all NHS computers will have a 



CD or DVD drive. When you buy new software for a computer, it usually 

comes on a CD or DVD ROM disk. 

• Network drives for storing files on the network server rather than on the 

computer itself 

Your network drive is the best place to store your 

work on the computer (we’ll find out why in a later 

tutorial). Your network drive is not inside the 

computer itself but is accessed through the network 

in your organisation. 

6.2 The My Computer Window 


• Know that the My Computer window gives access to the storage devices on 

a computer. 

• Be able to open the My Computer window. 

The My Computer window will allow you to view all of the storage devices on your 

computer. 

To open the My Computer window, double click the My Computer desktop icon. 

6.3 Changing Views 


• Be able to use the View menu to change the way the icons are displayed. 

• Be able to display icons in groups. 

When working with the computer filing system, it is useful to be able to manipulate 

the way that icons are displayed in a window. 

The view menu can be used to switch between Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List and 

Details views. 

To change the way that the storage device icons are displayed in the My Computer 

window: 

1. Click on View to open the menu. 

2. The bullet point indicates which view is currently selected. 

3. To select another view, click to choose it. 

It is useful to be able to view the My Computer icons in groups. To view the My 

Computer icons in groups: 

1. Click to open the View menu. 



2. From the Arrange Icons by submenu, click to choose Show Icons in 

Groups. 

The storage device icons will now be grouped into the categories outlined in the 

previous tutorial; Hard Disk Drives, Devices with Removable Storage and 

Network Drives. This makes the storage devices much easier to identify. 

6.4 Locating your Network Drive 


• Understand the advantages of storing your work on the network drive. 

• Be able to identify and open the network drive from the My Computer 

window and explore its contents. 

When you log on to an NHS computer you will be given access to your network 

drive. Your network drive is a secure area of your organisation’s file server – a 

computer with huge storage capacity at the centre of the network. 

Your network drive is the best place to store your work on an NHS computer. Most 

organisations will have policies that forbid the storage of sensitive information 

anywhere other than on your network drive. 

Your network drive has lots of significant advantages: 

• You can access the files on your network drive from any computer on the 

network. 



• The contents of your network drive are frequently backed up – should you 

lose a file by accident your IT department should be able to get it back for 

you. 

• Your network drive is very secure – provided that you keep your password 

secret, no one else will be able to access the files on your network drive. 

• Your network drive is very big – it will allow you to store lots of files. 

• Your network drive is very robust – files stored on the network are very 

unlikely to be lost. 

The My Computer window provides access to your network drive. 

Double click the desktop icon to open the My Computer window. 

If the icons are arranged in groups (see previous tutorial), your network drive icon 

will appear under the title Network Drives in the My Computer window. 

Notice also that the network drive icon image has a cable underneath the drive – the 

cable indicates that the drive is on the network. 

Double click the network drives icon to open it and view its contents. 

Icons representing the files and folders on your network drive will be visible. The 

exact way that your network drive is set up will depend on your IT department. 

To view the contents of a folder on your network drive, double click to open it. 

Clicking the toolbar Up button will allow you to return to the previous level. 

6.5 Working with the Explorer View 


• Be able to view the Folders Explorer Bar. 

• Be able to drill down through the filing system using the Folders Explorer 

Bar. 

The use of folders and subfolders in the computer filing system gives it a hierarchical 

structure. The Up toolbar button introduced in the previous tutorial allowed you to 

return to a higher level in this hierarchical structure. 

The Folders Explorer Bar provides a hierarchical view of the folder structure. 

To open the Folders Explorer Bar: 

1. Click to open the View menu. 

2. From the Explorer bar submenu, choose Folders. 

Alternatively, click the Folders button on the toolbar. 



The Folders Explorer Bar displays a hierarchical representation of the filing system 

in a split screen format. 

Click the network drive in the explorer view to show its contents in the left-hand 

pane. 

The folders on the network drive will appear beneath it on the Folders Explorer 

Bar. Each folder will have a plus symbol to the left of it. 

To view the contents of a folder, click it in the explorer view. 

Any subfolders within the folder now appear beneath it on the Folders Explorer 

Bar. The folder you have opened now has a minus symbol to the left of it. 

Using the Explorer Bar to navigate down through the hierarchical structure of the 

filing system is known as drilling down. 

Clicking a plus sign next to an item in the explorer view will expand it (show any 

subfolders). 

Clicking a minus sign next to an item will collapse it (hide any subfolders). 

6.6 Finding and Opening Files and Folders 


• Be able to identify the application associated with file icons. 

• Be able to locate and open files from the filing system. 

• Be able to use the file Search facility to locate files. 



On most NHS computers, the My Documents icon will take you directly to the 

documents folder on your Network Drive. 

As we have seen in previous tutorials, it is possible to view the contents of a folder 

or subfolder by double clicking and the Up toolbar button can be used to return to 

the previous level. 

The files that are stored in folders are usually associated with an application (the 

application that was used to create them). Hovering over a file icon will open a 

tooltip indicating what kind of file it is. In the example (above) the tooltip indicates 

that the file is a Microsoft Word Document. 

A file extension is a series of letters (usually three letters) that the computer adds to 

a file name to identify the type of file, e.g. .doc identifies a Word document. 

If the application that is needed to open the file isn’t present on the computer, then 

the file extension will not be recognised and the file cannot be opened. 

To open a file, double click its icon. If the file has an application associated with it, 

that application will be used to open the file. 

If you have forgotten which folder you have stored a file in, the file Search facility will 

help you to find it. 

To search for a file: 

1. Click to open the View menu . 

2. From the Explorer Bar submenu, choose Search. 

(Alternatively, click the Search button on the toolbar or press Ctrl + E) 

3. The Search Explorer Bar will open. First choose which type of files to 

search for. 

4. Click in the text box and type the words Appendicitis Factsheet then press 

the Return key or click the Search button. 

5. Type all or part of the file name into the text box and then press Return or 

click Search. 

It will take the computer a little while to search all of the folders in the filing 

system but, eventually, icons for all files with matching names will be 

displayed and their location in the computer filing system will be indicated. 

6. To open one of the files that has been found, double click its icon. 

6.7 Sorting Files 


• Be able to sort the contents of a folder in Details view. 

• Recognise useful file information in Details view. 



When browsing the filing system, being able to sort files and folders can help to 

locate the file you are looking for. 

In order to sort the contents of this folder effectively, we need to change to Details 

view. From the View menu choose Details. 

The Details view presents information about each file in columns and we can click 

the column title to sort by a particular column. 

Sorting by Name is very useful if you know the name of the file you are looking for. 

Having files sorted by Type groups files of the same type together. 

6.8 Creating Folders 


• Be able to create folders in the computer filing system. 

It is worthwhile keeping your filing system organised so that you can find the right file 

quickly. Folders are used to keep files organised. In this tutorial we will look at how 

to create folders in the filing system. 

To create a new folder: 

1. Browse to the location in which you wish to create a subfolder (see previous 

tutorials). 


3. From the New submenu, choose Folder. 

A folder will be created and given the temporary name New Folder. The 

name will be selected ready to be overtyped. 

4. Type a new name for the folder. 

5. Press the Return key to confirm the new name. 



6.9 Moving & Copying Files/Folders 


• Be able to use Cut and Paste to move files and folders. 

• Be able to use Copy and Paste to copy files and folders. 

To keep your files tidy, it is useful to be able to move them from folder to folder in the 

filing system. In this tutorial we will use Cut and Paste to move files and folders 

from one location to another. 

Sometimes it may also be useful to copy a file from one location to another; we will 

use Copy and Paste to do this. 

To move a file or folder we must first locate and select it – remember ‘select-thendo’. 

To move a file or folder: 

1. Browse for the file or folder that you wish to move (see previous tutorials). 

2. Click the file or folder icon (single left click) to select it. 

3. From the Edit menu, click to choose Cut (keyboard shortcut – Ctrl + X). 

4. Browse to the location that you wish to move the file or folder to. 

5. From the Edit menu, click to choose Paste (keyboard shortcut – Ctrl + V). 

It is sometimes necessary to copy a file from one location to another. In this 

example we will copy a PowerPoint presentation file to a floppy disk. This would 

make the file portable – useful if you are delivering a presentation on somebody 

else’s computer. Remember that sensitive information should not be copied to 

floppy disks or other removable storage devices. 

To copy a file or folder from one location to another: 

1. Browse for the file or folder that you wish to copy (see previous tutorials). 


3. From the Edit menu, click to choose Copy (keyboard shortcut – Ctrl + C). 

4. Browse to the location that you wish to move the file or folder to (use the My 

Computer icon to access removable storage devices such as USB Memory 

Sticks or Floppy Disks). 

5. From the Edit menu, click to choose Paste (keyboard shortcut – Ctrl + V). 

6.10 Renaming Files / Folders 


• Be able to rename files and folders. 

• Know the importance of retaining file extensions when renaming. 



There are occasions when you may wish to rename a file or folder. For example if 

the current name is too vague to indicate the file or folder’s content. 

To rename a file or folder: 

1. Browse for the file or folder that you wish to rename. 


3. From the File menu, choose Rename (keyboard shortcut – F2). 

4. The name of the file has been highlighted ready to be overtyped. Type a new 

name. 

5. Press the Return key to confirm the name. 

6.11 Deleting Files 


• Be able to delete files from the filing system. 

Sometimes you may need to delete files from the filing system. If files become 

irrelevant or are no longer needed, they should be deleted so that they don’t clutter 

the filing system. 

Remember ‘select-then-do’? You must first select the file that you wish to delete. 

To delete a file: 

1. Browse for the file that you wish to delete. 

2. Click the file icon (single left click) to select it. 

3. From the File menu, choose Delete (keyboard shortcut – Delete). 

Depending upon where you are deleting from, the file may be sent to the 

Recycle Bin when it is deleted (we will look at this in the next tutorial). 

4. Click the Yes button to confirm that you wish to send the file to the Recycle 

Bin. 

The file has been deleted and temporarily moved to the Recycle Bin. 

The same process can be used to delete folders but this should only be done with 

extreme caution – deleting a folder will delete all of the files and subfolders that it 

contains. 

6.12 Restoring Files 


• Be able to restore deleted files from the Recycle Bin. 



When you delete a file, it will usually be moved to the Recycle Bin for temporary 

storage. Think of the Recycle Bin as a waste paper bin. If you throw something in it 

by mistake, you might be able to get it back but it shouldn’t be used for long term 

storage! 

In the last tutorial we looked at deleting files and folders. In this tutorial we will see 

how to restore them from the Recycle Bin. 

To restore files or folders from the Recycle Bin: 

1. Double click the desktop icon to open the Recycle Bin. 

The Recycle Bin window should contain the files that you deleted in the 

previous tutorial (if you haven’t completed the previous tutorial – the files you 

would have deleted are in here). 

Remember ‘select-then-do’? You must select the file that you wish to restore. 

2. Click to select the file or folder you wish to restore. 

3. From the File menu, click to choose Restore. 

4. The file will be restored to the location that it was deleted it from. 

6.13 Emptying the Recycle Bin 


• Be able to empty the Recycle Bin. 

Just as it is important to empty a wastepaper basket to avoid it overflowing, so it is 

important to empty the Recycle Bin occasionally. Files that have been moved to 

the Recycle Bin after deleting still take up disk space and it’s not a good idea to let 

them build up. In this tutorial we will learn to empty the Recycle Bin. 

To empty the Recycle Bin: 

1. Open the Recycle Bin. 

Only if you are certain that the files in the Recycle Bin are no longer needed, 

should you empty it. 

2. From the File menu, choose Empty Recycle Bin. 

3. A message will appear asking you to confirm that you wish to delete the files. 

Click the Yes button to confirm. 

4. The Recycle Bin is now empty and the files it contained are permanently 

deleted. 



7 Web Skills 

7.1 Introducing Web Browsers 


• Know the purpose of web browsing software. 

• Understand that web pages are available on the World Wide Web, NHS Net 

and your organisation’s Intranet. 

• Understand the basic precautions that should be taken when accessing 

information from the Web. 

• Be familiar with the Internet Explorer window. 

From an NHS computer, you will have access to web pages from three main 

sources: 

• The World Wide Web 

(Abbreviated to ‘WWW’ or ‘Web’) the World Wide Web uses the Internet to 

share web based information worldwide. The Internet is not generally a 

secure way of communicating information. 

• Your organisation’s Intranet 

Your organisation has a closed internal network upon which web based 

information can be shared for the exclusive use of staff. Information can be 

communicated very securely over an Intranet. 

• The NHS Net 

The NHS has a closed network that allows web based information to be 

shared for the exclusive use of NHS staff. Information can be communicated 

very securely over the NHS Net. 

Your organisation will have an Internet usage policy that you should be familiar with 

before browsing the web. This will outline any restrictions on the use of the web 

within your organisation. 

A web browser is the program that allows you to view and navigate web page 

information. Internet Explorer is the web browser most commonly used in the 

NHS. Internet Explorer is included with Microsoft Windows. 

To start Internet Explorer double click the desktop icon. 

The web page that you are taken to when you first start Internet Explorer is known 

as your Homepage. Your homepage is likely to be set to your organisation’s Intranet 

page. 

Clicking the Home button on the Internet Explorer toolbar will return you to your 

Homepage at any time. 



The Back and Forward toolbar buttons allow you to move back and forth between 

the pages that you have visited. 

The Address bar allows you to navigate to other web pages using a web address 

as we will see in the next tutorial. 

Because web pages are often quite large, Internet Explorer has a full screen mode 

that gives you the biggest possible area for viewing them. 

Choose Full Screen from the View menu or press the F11 key to access full screen 

mode. 

To exit full screen mode, click the Restore Down button on the title bar or press the 

F11 key again. 

7.2 Using Web Addresses 


• Be able to navigate to a web site using the Internet Explorer address bar. 

• Know how to identify a secure web page. 

Every web site and web page on the World Wide Web has a unique web address. A 

web address is also known as a Uniform Resource Locator or URL. 

The URL for the page you are viewing is given in the Internet Explorer Address 

bar. 

The Address bar can be used to navigate to any web site or web page that you 

know the address of. 

To navigate to a URL or web address: 

1. Click the URL in the Address bar. 

2. Notice that the URL has been highlighted. Overtype with the URL that you 

wish to go to. 

3. Press the Return key or click the Go button. 

4. After a moment the page will be displayed. 



The first part of the web address is the protocol. Most of the addresses you see will 

have the protocol http. Http stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Web pages are 

written in Hypertext Mark-up Language or HTML. Hypertext Transfer Protocol is 

used to communicate Hypertext pages over the Internet. 

Occasionally, you will see pages that begin https. The S stands for secure and 

indicates a secure connection protocol is being used. You will also see a padlock on 

the Status Bar. When transferring confidential information over the Internet, it is 

essential that a secure connection is used. 

The next part of the address tells us where the page is being accessed from. www 

tells us that a page is being accessed from the World Wide Web. If a page is being 

accessed from the NHS Net, this part of the address will read nww – NHS Wide 

Web. Addresses for Intranet pages do not normally have this section. 

The next part of the address names the organisation that owns the web site. 

Abbreviations are often used here; DH for Department of Health for example 

(www.dh.gov.uk). 

The next part of the address tells you what type of organisation this is: 

• co / com 

commercial company. 

• org 

non-profit making organisation or charity. 

• nhs 

NHS organisation. 

• ac / edu 

Academic institution or educational establishment. 

• gov 

government department. 

The last part of the web address indicates the country of origin. For US web sites, 

this is usually omitted. 

Knowing this information makes the web address for most large organisations easy 

to guess. This helps make it easy to guess the address for many web sites, and 

provides one of the best ways to spot ‘dubious’ web sites. If you banked with the 

Halifax, you would expect their web address to be www.halifax.co.uk a malicious 

web site that was masquerading as the Halifax would not have this address. 

7.3 Finding and Following Links 


• Be able to identify and follow links on web pages. 



Web pages work by linking information together. A web page may contain links to 

other web pages in the same web site or to pages on other web sites. 

Whilst web sites often have very individual styling, the same clues are often used to 

indicate where links are on a web page. 

Most web sites will have a navigation menu that is often visible from all pages in the 

site. Navigation menus often appear along the top of a web page and / or down the 

left hand side. 

Text links are often a different colour and are sometimes made bold or underlined. 

The most reliable way to locate links, however, is to move the mouse over 

the web page. The mouse pointer will change to the Follow Link mouse 

pointer (a hand pointing) whenever you move over a link. 

To follow a link, click it. 

Click the Back button on the toolbar if you wish to return to the previous page. 

7.4 Searching the Web 


• Be able to navigate to a search engine. 

• Be able to use a search engine to search the World Wide Web (www). 

One of the most useful tools for finding information on the World Wide Web is a 

search engine. There are literally hundreds of search engines available and almost 

all are available free to use. 

Most search engines work in a similar way – the user specifies words related to a 

topic that they are interested in (keywords) and the search engine lists Internet 

pages containing those keywords. 

Most search engines share common functionality. Once you have tried a few, you 

will soon find a favourite engine. 

Google (www.google.co.uk) is the most popular of all search engines. 

To perform a simple search in Google: 

Navigate to Google, enter its URL in the Address bar (see previous tutorial). 

The Google search page is fairly simple. There is a text box, two command buttons 

and two option buttons. 

Type a keyword (or keywords) and press the Return key or click Google Search. 

Web pages containing the keyword(s) you entered will be listed. Click to follow the 

link to any result that looks promising. 

Click the Back button on the toolbar to return to the Google results list. 



If appropriate, your search results can be limited to UK only web pages. Click to 

choose pages from the UK option button beneath the Google search text box then 

click Search. 

7.5 Using Web Forms 


• Be able to identify and use the components of a web form to submit 

information to a web site. 

• Know some of the precautions to take to ensure that the information you 

transfer is safe. 

Many web pages contain forms. A form enables you to enter information into a web 

page, which can then be submitted to a program to process the information. 

Forms are widely used in web pages and have a variety of functions: 

• A form might be filled in to search a database 

• A form might be used to send billing information when shopping online. 

Web forms contain controls very 

similar to those that appear in 

dialogue boxes (refer to 

Dialogue Boxes tutorial in 

Working with Application). 

The Tab key and Shift + Tab 

key can be used to move 

between controls on a web form. 

This tutorial will cover the most 

common web form controls. 

Be wary of submitting 

confidential information to web 

sites on the Internet and always 

check that a secure connection 

(web address beginning https) is 

being used before transmitting 

confidential information. 

• Text boxes: 

Are used to enter free text into a web form. 

• Drop down list boxes: 

Drop down list boxes are used in place of text boxes when the user has a 

predefined list of choices. Left-clicking the arrow to the right of a list box will 

open a drop down list from which an entry can be chosen by highlighting and 

left-clicking. 

• Option buttons: 



Option buttons are used in place of check boxes in ‘either-or’ situations where 

you can only select one of a group of options at a time. When an option 

button is selected (by left-clicking), it will contain a dot, all others in the same 

group will be cleared. Option buttons are also known as ‘radio’ buttons. 

• Check boxes: 

Check boxes are similar to option buttons but more than one check box can 

be selected from a group. When a check box is selected (by left-clicking), it 

will contain a tick. To deselect a check box, left-click it again. 

• Command buttons: 

Command buttons are usually clearly labelled to indicate their function, i.e., 

submit, send etc. A command button is operated by left-clicking. There will 

almost always be a command button for submitting the information you have 

entered in the form. Pressing the Return key will usually submit the 

information you have typed. 

The tab key and shift + tab can be used to move between the controls on a form. It 

is useful to know which form control has the current focus (is currently active), 

especially when filling in a form using the keyboard. Only one control can have the 

focus at any one time. 

A visual clue will tell you which form control has the current focus. 

If a text box control has the current focus, it will contain a flashing text entry cursor. 

If a drop down list box control has the current focus, it will be highlighted (usually in 

blue). 

If an option button, check box or command button control has the current focus, its 

text label will be surrounded by a dotted line. 



8 E-mail Skills 

8.1 Introducing Email 


• Understand some of the advantages and disadvantages of e-mail as a form 

of communication. 

• Know about the national NHS mail service and its benefits 

• Know that Microsoft Outlook is the E-mail Client most widely used in the 

NHS. 

In its simplest form, e-mail is an electronic message sent from one computer to 

another. E-mail messages can be sent over your organisation’s Intranet to 

colleagues, or worldwide via the Internet. E-mail is a cost-effective and quick means 

of communication. 

Every e-mail account must have a unique e-mail address. 

E-mail is one of many forms of communication. When compared with other means 

of communication, e-mail has many advantages, though these are counterbalanced 

by some disadvantages. 

To use e-mail you need to have access to a program that will allow you to send, 

retrieve and organise messages, known as an E-mail Client. In most NHS 

organisations the E-mail Client used is Microsoft Outlook. 

Other E-mail Clients that you may encounter are Outlook Express (a scaled down 

version of Microsoft Outlook), Lotus Notes and Internet based E-mail Clients such 

as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail. You may also come across NHS Mail. 

NHSmail is the email and directory service designed specifically for NHS staff. It is 

provided free of charge in England and Scotland. Here are some of it's benefits: 

• You can log on from any internet connection - at work, home or on the move 

• You can access the NHS Directory containing contact details for over one 

million NHS staff 

• Your email address will stay the same throughout the duration of your NHS 

career, even if your organisation changes 

• It's a centrally funded service that's free at the point of use 

• A helpdesk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Find out more at www.cfh.nhs.uk/nhsmail. 

These tutorials will focus on the use of the Microsoft Outlook e-mail Client, 

however, the principles of sending and receiving e-mail will be similar no matter 

which software you use. 



8.2 Opening and Closing Inbox Messages 


• Be able to identify the number of messages in the Inbox. 

• Be able to identify those messages that have not been read. 

• Be able to open and close Inbox messages. 

To open Microsoft Outlook, double click the desktop icon or launch it from the 

Programs section of the Start menu. 

When you first open Outlook, the Inbox will usually be displayed. The Inbox 

displays a list of the messages you have received. 

The Status bar indicates the number of messages in the Inbox. 

The number of unread messages is also given next to the Inbox on the Navigation 

pane to the left of the window. 



Messages that haven’t been read will appear in bold text with a closed 

envelope symbol. 

To open a message, double click it. 

Once you have opened a message its symbol will change to an open 

envelope. 

To open messages using the keyboard, use the Up and Down Cursor keys to 

highlight the message you wish to open and then press the Return key. 

Close a message window using the Close button on its title bar. 

8.3 Replying and Forwarding 


• Be able to Reply to Inbox messages. 

• Be able to Forward Inbox messages. 

Many of the e-mails you receive will require a response from you. 

Replying to messages is easy: 

1. Open an Inbox message (see previous tutorial). 

2. To respond to the message, click the Reply button on the message window 

toolbar. 

A new message window will open. The reply will be addressed to the sender 

of the original message. The Subject line will contain the original message 

subject with the prefix RE. 

3. Type your response. 

4. Once you have composed your response, click Send. 

The message symbol will change to an open envelope with a purple arrow. 

This indicates that you have replied to the message, 

Usually, copies of all sent messages are stored in the Sent Items folder. 

5. Click Sent Items on the Navigation Pane to view the contents of the Sent 

Items folder. 

Notice that your copy of your reply is stored here. 

Sometimes it is useful to be able to forward messages on to other recipients. You 

might, for example, receive a message that contains information that would be of 

interest to one of your colleagues. 

To forward an e-mail message: 

1. Open an Inbox message (see previous tutorial). 



2. Click the Forward button on the message window toolbar. 

A new message window will open. The original message will be included as 

will the original subject line with the prefix FW. The text entry cursor will be in 

the To box, ready for us to address the forwarded message. 

3. Type the e-mail address that you wish to forward the message to. 

It is usually polite to add a little message of your own indicating why you have 

forwarded the original message. 

4. Click to move the text entry cursor to the beginning of the blank line above 

the original message or press the Tab key to move the text entry cursor. 

5. Type a short message (e.g. For your information). Then click the Send 

button on the message window toolbar. 

Notice that the message symbol has changed to an open envelope with a 

blue arrow. This indicates that you have forwarded the message. 

6. Click to view the contents of the Sent Items folder. 

7. Notice that a copy of your forwarded message has been stored here along 

with the other messages that you have sent. 

8.4 Sending a New Message 


• Be able to send e-mail messages. 

To send a new e-mail message: 

1. Click the New button on the Outlook toolbar or click to open the File menu 

and choose New Message from the New submenu (keyboard shortcut – Ctrl 

+ N) 



A new window will open with a blank e-mail message. The text entry cursor 

will be in the To… box. 

2. Type the e-mail address that you wish to send the message to. 

3. Press the Tab key to move to the CC box. 

Adding addresses to the CC box would make them carbon copy recipients of 

the message. 

4. Press the Tab key to move to the Subject box. 

It is important to include a subject line that tells the recipient what the 

message is about (and so that you can find it easily should you need to in the 

future!) 

5. Type a subject line then press the Tab key to move to the message area. 

6. Type your message. 

7. Click the Send button on the message toolbar. 

The message will be sent. 

8. Click to view the Sent Items folder. 

Notice that a copy of the sent message has been stored in the Sent Items 

folder. 

Occasionally you will receive an e-mail message stating that a message you have 

sent was undeliverable. This is usually caused by errors in typing the e-mail 

address. Typing an e-mail address incorrectly may also result in your message 

going to the wrong person which has security implications - remember to type e-mail 

addresses with care. 

8.5 Deleting Messages 


• Be able to delete Inbox messages. 

It is important to keep your Inbox tidy. If messages are no longer needed, they 

should be deleted. To delete messages we must first select the message that we 

wish to delete and then delete it. Remember ‘select-then-do’! 

To delete a message: 

1. Use the Up and Down Cursor keys or click to select the Inbox message you 

wish to delete. 

2. To delete the selected message, press the Delete key or click the Delete 

button on the Outlook toolbar. 



The message will be deleted from the Inbox. Deleted messaged are 

temporarily stored in the Deleted Items folder – this is similar to the Recycle 

Bin introduced in the File Management tutorials. 

3. Click to view the contents of the Deleted Items folder. 

Notice that the deleted message appears here. 

8.6 Emptying Deleted Items 


• Be able to empty the Deleted Items folder. 

The Deleted Items folder is designed to be a temporary store for messages that 

have been deleted; this is useful if you delete a message by mistake. You should 

empty the Deleted Items folder from time to time to avoid it becoming too full. 

Check your local policy on deleting e-mails as this may be done automatically when 

you switch your machine off. 

To empty the Deleted Items folder and permanently delete the messages that it 

contains: 

1. Click to view the Deleted Items folder. 

2. Choose Empty Deleted Items from the Outlook Tools menu. 

3. You will be asked to confirm that you want to permanently delete the items in 

the Deleted Items folder. Click the Yes button to confirm. 

8.7 Sorting Messages 


• Be able to sort the messages in a message folder. 

The messages in message folders such as the Inbox are listed in columns. In the 

Working with Applications tutorials, we saw how to sort information in columns by 

clicking on the Column title. To sort the messages in a message folder, click the title 

of the column that you wish to sort by. 

If you are looking for a particular message and you know who the message was 

from, it helps to have the messages in alphabetical order by sender. 

To sort the messages in the Inbox in alphabetical order by sender, click the From 

column title. 

If you wish to sort into reverse order, click the From column title again. 

It tends to be best to have the messages sorted in Received order, with the newest 

messages at the top. Click the Received column title to sort the messages in this 

way. 

8.8 Organising Messages 




• Understand the reasons for organising messages into message folders. 

• Be able to create new message folders. 

• Be able to move messages from one folder to another. 

It is not always appropriate to delete messages from your Inbox. There may be 

times when you wish to keep messages indefinitely but do not want them to stay in 

your Inbox. For example you may wish to keep together all messages relating to a 

particular subject. It is possible to create your own message folders to keep your 

messages organised. 

It is usually best to create message folders as subfolders within your Inbox. 

To create a subfolder in the Inbox: 

1. Click to select the Inbox in the Navigation Pane. 

2. Open the File menu and, from the New submenu, choose Folder… 

3. The Create New Folder dialogue box will be displayed. Type a name for 

your folder, then press the Return key or click the OK button. 

The quickest way to move messages from one folder to another is to drag them: 

1. Point to the Inbox message that you wish to move. 

2. Drag the message to the folder you have created. Make sure your mouse 

pointer is highlighting the folder before letting go. 

The message will be moved into the folder that you created. 

3. Click to view the contents of the folder. 

Notice that the message now appears here. 

The same process can be used to retrieve items that have been mistakenly sent to 

the Deleted Items folder: 

1. Click to view the Deleted Items folder. 

2. Drag the message that you wish to retrieve back into the Inbox. Make sure 

the Inbox is highlighted before letting go. 

3. Click to view the contents of the Inbox. 

Notice that the message has been returned to the Inbox. 

8.9 Creating Contacts 


• Be able to add contacts to the Outlook Contacts folder. 



Microsoft Outlook contains a built in Address Book. The Address Book will be 

populated with the contact details and e-mail addresses of the staff within your 

organisation. In the next tutorial we will look at addressing messages using the 

Address Book. 

Sometimes it is useful to be able to store the contact details and e-mail address of 

people outside of your organisation with whom you communicate frequently. The 

Contacts folder is the place to store these details. 

To view your Contacts: 

1. Click Contacts on the Outlook Navigation Pane. 

2. To view full details for a contact, double click to open them. 

To create a new Contact: 

1. Click Contacts on the Outlook Navigation Pane. 

2. Click the New button on the toolbar (keyboard shortcut - Ctrl, Shift + K). 

3. A blank Contact window will open. 

4. Enter the information about the contact in the fields provided. 

5. Click the Save and Close toolbar button when done. 

Notice that the new contact has been added to the Contacts folder. 

8.10 Using the Address Book 


• Be able to address messages using the Outlook Address Book. 

Microsoft Outlook contains a built in Address Book. The Address Book will be 

populated with the contact details and e-mail addresses of the staff within your 

organisation. The Address Book also gives you access to the contacts in your 

Contacts folder. In this tutorial, we will address messages using the Outlook 

Address Book. 

To address a message using the Address Book: 

1. Start a new e-mail message. 

2. To open the Address Book, click the Address Book toolbar button or click 

the To button to the left of the e-mail address box (keyboard shortcut - Ctrl, 

Shift + B). 

The Select Names dialogue box is displayed. Notice in the top right of the 

dialogue box that you are currently looking at the Global Address List. The 

Global Address List contains the names of the staff in your organisation and 

in some cases beyond your organisation; it is likely to contain thousands of 

names. Refer to your local policy regarding how to find employees in your 

organisation. 



The names in the address book are usually listed surname first. It is possible 

to locate a name in the list by scrolling, however, it is usually much quicker to 

use the text box in the top left of the dialogue box. 

3. Begin typing the name of the person you wish to e-mail; remember to start 

with the surname. 

4. Once you can see the person that you are looking for, click to select their 

name. 

5. To address the message to the selected person, click the To button. 

6. Click the OK button to confirm that you have finished addressing the 

message. 

Notice that the recipient’s name in the To box is underlined, this indicates that 

the message has been found in the Address Book. 

The message is addressed ready to compose and send. 

Being able to address one message to multiple recipients is a great feature of e- 

mail. The Address Book makes addressing to multiple recipients very easy; simply 

repeat steps 3-5 above until all of the recipients have been added. 

The Address Book can also be used to address messages to contacts in your 

Contacts folder: 

1. Start a new message. 

2. Open the Address Book. 



3. Click to open the drop-down list to the top right of the Select Name dialogue 

box. 

4. Choose Contacts from the drop down list. 

5. Click to select the Contact that you wish to e-mail. 

6. Click To-> to address the message to this contact, then click OK. 

8.11 File Attachments 


• Be able to identify messages that contain file attachments. 

• Be able to open file attachments that you receive. 

• Be able to save file attachments that you receive. 

File attachments are a very useful feature of e-mail. In work, they can be used to 

quickly and easily share documents with colleagues. At home, they can be used to 

share holiday snaps with friends and relatives. In this tutorial we will concentrate on 

working with the file attachments that you receive. 

You should be aware that file attachments pose a considerable virus threat and you 

should be careful only to open attachments that you have received from a known 

sender for a known reason – if in doubt, don’t open it. 

The Attachment column is usually found to the left of the From column in the 

Outlook Inbox. A paperclip symbol in the attachment column indicates that a 

message contains a file attachment. 

To open a file attachment: 

1. Double-click to open a message that contains a file attachment. 

Attachments can either appear as a small icon in the Attachments area 

beneath the Subject line or as a larger icon within the message itself. 

2. To open a file attachment, double-click it. 

3. The file will be opened with its associated application (for example Microsoft 

Word). 

Sometimes it is appropriate to save the files that you receive in e-mails: 

1. Double-click to open the message that contains the file attachment you wish 

to save. 

2. Choose Save Attachments from the message window File menu. 

3. The Save Attachment dialogue box will be displayed. 

4. Browse to the folder that you wish to save the file to. 



5. Click Save. 

8.12 Adding Attachments 


• Be able to attach a file to a message that you send. 

File attachments are a very useful feature of e-mail. In work, they can be used to 

quickly and easily share documents with colleagues. At home, they can be used to 

share holiday snaps with friends and relatives. In this tutorial we will look at how to 

attach files to the messages we send. 

To add a file attachment: 

1. Start a new e-mail message. 

2. Compose your message. 

3. To add a file attachment, click the Insert File button on the message window 

toolbar or choose File from the Insert menu. 

4. The Insert File dialogue box will be displayed. 

5. Browse for the file that you wish to add and click to select it. 

6. Click the Insert button to insert the file. 

7. The file will be inserted and the message ready to send. 

8. Click the Send button on the message window toolbar to send the message. 

Most types of file can be added to an e-mail as an attachment. The recipients e-mail 

system may restrict the size or type of file that they can receive. Word documents, 

PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, Adobe Acrobat portable documents 

and most picture files can usually be sent without problems. 

9 Word Processing 


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9.1 Introduction to Word processing 


• Understand what word processing is and what type of documents can be 

produced 


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• Understand the different types of production such as on screen and hard 

copy 

• Understand the effect of design on different audiences. 



Word processors are no longer limited to letting us create text documents. With the 

addition of pictures and tables and the use of formatting and layout tools, a whole 

range of documents can be created. 

Which of the following document types do you think could be created in a word 

processing package such as Microsoft Word? 

• Poster 


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• Letter 

• Timetable 

• Illustrated training manual 

• Web page 

• Annual report 

• Staff newsletter 

• Business card 

All of these document types could be created in Microsoft Word. 

Using a word processor you are not limited to preparing hard copy (printed) 

documents either; a modern word processor will allow you to publish information for 

the screen either as a web page or as a standalone document. 

As well as needing skills to use the greater range of tools that are available, 

awareness is also required of the variety of documents that can be produced and 

how these can be best matched to your audience. 

When thinking about how to publish information, it is worth considering the following 

questions: 

• What? 

What information needs to be communicated? 

• Why? 

Why does it need to be communicated? What will happen if it isn’t read? 

• Who? 

Who will read it? How many people will read it? How old are they? What is 

your relationship with the reader(s) – personal, professional? Are they senior 

to you or junior? 

• When? 

When does it need to be read? What will happen if it isn’t read in time? 


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Your answers to these questions will inform your choice of document type, layout, 

tone and design. 

9.2 Working with Templates 


• Create a new document based on the default template 


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• Create a new document based on alternative templates 

• Save a document as a template. 

• Open a previously saved template. 

You are presented with your first design choice when you create a new document. 

All Microsoft Word documents are based on a template. When you open Microsoft 

Word or click the New button on the toolbar, you will be presented with a new blank 

document. This is actually based on the default template file Normal.dot. It is likely 

to be a good choice for many of the documents you create but, in some cases, it 

might save you a great deal of time and help you to create more professional looking 

documents if you use alternative templates. 

Consider this scenario. 

You need to create a memo for all of the members of a club or group that you are a 

member of. 

Instead of using the default template, we will use one of the built in alternative 

templates. 

5. From the Microsoft Word File menu, choose New… 

6. The New Document task pane will be displayed. 

Under Templates, click On my computer… 


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7. The Templates dialogue box will be displayed. This provides access to all of 

the templates stored on your computer. Click the Memos tab. 

8. To preview the memos available, click to highlight them. 

9. To use a template double-click it or click to highlight it and then click OK. 

When the new memo is created, instructions will help you to use the template to 

create your memo as quickly as possible. 

As well as using the templates that are built into Microsoft Word, you can also create 

your own. 

For this example, imagine you have created a new staff rota. We will save this as a 

template so that it can be reused. 

1. From the Microsoft Word File menu, choose Save As… 


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2. From the Save as type drop down list, choose Document Template (*.Dot) 

3. The Save In location will automatically change to your Templates folder. 

Enter a name for your template in the File name field and then click Save. 

For this example name the template Staff Rota 

Now that the rota has been saved as a template, we can create new documents 

based on it quickly and easily. Close the current document. 

4. From the File menu, choose New… 

5. The New Document task pane will 

be displayed. Under Templates, 

click On my computer… 


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6. Click the General tab. 

7. The Staff Rota template is listed. 

Start a new document based on the 

Staff Rota template. 

9.3 Text Formatting 


• Change font and font size 


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• Apply borders and shading to text 

• Change the alignment of text 

• Change line spacing within a paragraph 

• Change spacing between paragraphs 


• Set indents for a block of text. 


The formatting changes that we will look at in this tutorial are all available from the 

Format menu or from the Formatting toolbar in Microsoft Word. Changes to text 

formatting (font, font size, style, colour etc) can be applied to: 

• Text that is about to be entered 

Make sure the text entry cursor is in the correct location, make formatting 

selections using the toolbar buttons or menus and then enter text. 


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or 

• Text that has already been entered 

Select the text that you would like to apply formatting changes to and then 

make formatting changes using the toolbar buttons or menus. Remember: 

select-then-do 


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The font that a document uses will be determined by the template that is being used. 

When the default template is used in Microsoft Word, this will be Times New 

Roman font and the font size will be 12. 

Let’s change the font and font size before we start entering text in this new 

document. 

1. From the Font drop down list on the toolbar, 

select a different font. 


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2. From the Font Size drop down list on the toolbar, select a different 

font size. 

3. Try typing a few letters to see what they look like. 

You may wish to change the font, font size, font style and alignment to make a 

document heading stand out. 

1. Select the text you wish to change. 


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2. To increase the size of the text, choose18 from the Font Size drop down list 

on the toolbar. 

3. From the Font drop down list on the toolbar, choose another font. 

4. Click the Bold button on the toolbar to make the text bold. 

5. Click the Center alignment button on the toolbar to centre the text. 

Formatting options allow us to change the spacing between lines and paragraphs in 

the document. 

1. Select all of the text in the document. 


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2. From the Format menu, choose Paragraph… 



3. Change the spacing Before or After each paragraph as required. 


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4. Change the Line Spacing as required. 

5. Click OK. 

To make paragraphs look more like a list, you may want to indent them. 


2. Drag the Left Indent to the 1cm marker on the 

ruler. 


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To make paragraphs stand out, you may want to apply a border and shading to 

them. 

1. Select the text you wish to 

change. 


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2. From the Format menu, 

choose Borders and 

Shading… 

3. The Borders and Shading 

dialogue box will appear. 

Under Setting: click to 

choose a border. 

4. Click the Shading tab to 

view shading options. 

5. Click to choose a colour from 

the colour palette. 

6. Click OK. 

In this tutorial, we have seen how to apply different formatting options to the text in a 

document. Remember the select-then-do principle when you wish to make 

changes to the formatting of the text in your document. 

9.4 Layout Formatting 


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• Apply and remove bullets and numbering 


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• Apply column layout to a block of text 

• Create a table and insert text 

• Set and use tabs. 

To turn paragraphs into a bulleted list: 


2. From the Format menu, choose Bullets 

and Numbering. 


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3. Click to choose a bullet style. 

4. Click OK. 

Let’s suppose that we are not happy with the bulleted list and wish to switch off the 

bullet points. 

1. Switch off the numbering for the three paragraphs by selecting 

them and clicking the Numbering button on the toolbar. 


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Microsoft Word has default tab stops every 1.27 cm. Each time you press the Tab 

key at the beginning of a paragraph, for example, the first line will be indented 1.27 

cm. You should use the Tab key rather than the space bar to indent the first line of a 

paragraph. This will ensure that the text begins at the same point, 1.27 cm indent, in 

the first line of each paragraph. 

Setting tab stops on the ruler in Microsoft Word helps you to set out information in a 

tabulated (table) layout. 


2. Click on the ruler where you want to set a tab. 


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3. Click to position the text entry cursor before the first word of the text you wish 

to indent. 

4. Press the Tab key. 

To further improve the layout of these paragraphs we will need to set a hanging 

indent so that each new line of text is aligned with the tab position. 


2. Drag the Hanging Indent marker to the same position 

as the tab marker on the ruler. 


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Let’s suppose we wish to present a list of features in a table. 

We can also insert tables to help display information more effectively. 



Before inserting a table, ensure that the text entry cursor is positioned where you 

would like the table to appear. 

1. Click to open the Table menu. 

2. From the Insert submenu, choose Table… 


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The Insert Table dialogue box will be displayed. 

3. Insert a table with the columns and rows you 

require. 


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4. Cut and past your text into the table. 

Columns provide another useful layout option. They are particularly useful for 

magazine articles where short line length makes text more readable. 


2. From the Format menu, choose Columns. 


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3. Choose column settings and then click OK. 

Text laid out in columns tends to look better when it uses justified alignment. Click 

the Justify alignment button on the toolbar. 

9.5 Finding and Replacing Text 


• Use Find to search for a specific word in a block of text 


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• Use Replace to replace a word within the text. 

Find and Replace options are available from the Edit menu. When you are working 

on a large document, Find will allow you to locate any phrase within the document – 

simply type the phrase, click Find Next and the first instance of the phrase will be 

shown in the document and highlighted. 

Replace works in a similar way to Find but instead of just finding a phrase within the 

document it also allows you to replace it with another phrase. 

1. From the Edit menu choose Find… 


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The Find and Replace dialogue box will open. 

2. Type the word you wish to find into the Find what: text box. 


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3. Click Find Next. 

If the word you are searching for is in the document, it will be found and highlighted. 

4. Click Find Next again. 


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Wherever it appears in the document, the word will be found. 

When you have found the last, a message will appear indicating that there are no 

more occurrences of the word in the document. 

5. Click OK. 


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6. Click Cancel to close the Find and Replace dialogue box. 

We can use Find and Replace to replace all occurrences of one word another. 

1. From the Edit menu choose Replace… 


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2. Type the word you wish to replace into the Find what: text box. 


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3. Click in the Replace with: text box and type the word you wish to substitute. 

Replace would allow you to replace one occurrence of the word at a time. 

4. Instead click to Replace All occurrences. 


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A message box will appear indicating how many occurrences were replaced. 

5. Click OK. 


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NOTE: Use Replace All with caution. If you are in any doubt, use Replace; it will 

allow you to review each replacement before it is made. 

9.6 Page Layout 


• Insert page breaks 


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• Apply page numbering, date and time 

In the Working With Applications tutorials we looked at using Page Setup to set 

page margins, page orientation and paper size. In this tutorial we will look at 

inserting page numbers and the date and time and using page breaks to split up the 

content in a document. 

1. From the Insert menu, choose Page Numbers… 


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The Page Numbers dialogue box can be used to change the appearance of the 

numbers. 

2. Choose the settings you wish to use and click OK. 


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The date and time can be inserted in a similar way. 

1. Move the text entry cursor to the position that you would like the date and / or 

time to appear. 


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2. From the Insert menu, choose Date and Time… 

The Date and Time dialogue box will appear. Options for the format of the date 

are listed. It is possible to have the date and time updated automatically by 

ticking the Update automatically checkbox. 



3. Choose the settings you wish to use and click OK. 


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The date will be inserted at the point where the text entry cursor was. 

Page breaks can be used to move content to the beginning of a new blank page. 

1. Move the text entry cursor to the position that you would like the date and / or 

time to appear. 


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2. From the Insert menu, choose Break… 

3. The Break dialogue box will be displayed. Page Break is already selected, 

click OK. 

The following paragraph now starts on a new page. 

9.7 Inserting Pictures and Objects 


• Insert a picture or clipart into a document 


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• Insert AutoShapes into a document 

• Insert WordArt into a document 

• Change the text wrapping settings for an object 

• Move and resize pictures, WordArt and AutoShapes. 



Various objects can be inserted into your document to improve its appearance. In 

this tutorial, we will look at inserting pictures from a file, clip art images, AutoShapes 

and WordArt. 

Your local IT policies may restrict the use of Clip Art; check them before using it. 

The Insert menu contains options to allow the insertion of all of these objects. 

To insert a clipart image into your document: 

1. Click to open the Insert menu. 

2. The Clip Art task pane will open. Click in the Search 

for: box and type a search term, then press Return 

or click Go. 


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3. Click the image you wish to insert. 

4. The clip art image appears in the document at the position of the text entry 

cursor. 

The ‘handles’ in each corner of the picture can be dragged to resize it. Drag the 

handle at the bottom right of the picture upwards and to the left to make it smaller. 

Drag it downwards and to the right to make it larger. 

The picture currently appears within the text and can be moved 

around in the same way as text. To have more control over the 

position of the image, we need to change its text wrapping. 

1. Click the Text Wrapping button on the Picture tool panel 

and choose Square. 


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The text will now flow around the edges of the image. With 

Square text wrapping, the image can be moved easily by 

dragging it anywhere in the document. 

Pictures that are stored on your computer can be inserted into a document in a 

similar way. 

Move the text entry cursor to where you want to instert the picture. 



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2. From the Picture submenu, choose From File… 

3. Locate your image file and double click to insert it. 



You can use WordArt in a document to make text stand out. 



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2. From the Picture submenu, choose WordArt… 

3. From the WordArt Gallery double click to choose a suitable style. 

4. Type the text you wish to appear as WordArt. 


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5. Click OK. 

AutoShapes can be very useful for adding arrows, callouts and flow chart elements 

to your documents. In this example we will add a speech bubble to contain one of 

the learner quotes. 


2. From the Picture submenu, choose AutoShapes… 


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3. From the AutoShapes tool panel, click the Callouts 

button. 

4. Click to choose a Callout style. 

5. Drag a callout into your document. 

Text can now be typed or moved into the callout to improve its visual impact. 



9.8 Spell Checking and Proof Reading 


• Be able to check the spelling and grammar in your document 


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Before printing or publishing your document, it is a good idea to proof read and spell 

check it. Word will spell check your document but it won’t proof read it. 

As you type, Microsoft Word will underline any potential spelling errors in red and 

any grammatical errors in green. Right click underlined text to see suggested 

replacements in the context menu. 

To check the spelling and grammar in your document, click the Spelling and 

Grammar button on the toolbar or choose Spelling and Grammar… from the Tools 

menu. 

Each time a potential error is found, an explanation of the error will appear and 

usually one or more suggested replacements. You will need to choose an action for 

each potential error. 

Ensure that the correct spelling is selected from the Suggestions list and click 

Change. 

If a grammatical error is found, again click Change to replace it with the highlighted 

suggestion. 

This should be repeated until the whole of the document has been checked. 

10 Working Safely 


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10.1 Understanding the Risks 


• Understand the risks to your physical health associated with use of a 

computer. 


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Prolonged use of a computer can result in physical health problems. The risk of 

these problems occurring can be reduced by taking simple measures to ensure that 

you are working safely. 

Whilst there is no evidence that working with computers causes permanent damage 

to the eyes, looking at a computer monitor for long spells of time can lead to tired 

eyes, discomfort, temporary short-sightedness and headaches. 

To reduce the risk of short term eye damage, try to take frequent short breaks from 

looking at the screen. 

Positioning your screen properly at your workstation also helps and we will look at 

this in more detail in the next tutorial. 

You may get aches and pains in your hands, wrists, 

arms, shoulders or back after long spells of work at a 

computer. 

These aches, pains and disorders are sometimes 

referred to as Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) but a 

better name for them is 'upper limb disorders'. 

Problems can be avoided by good workstation setup 

and posture so that you can work comfortably, as we will see in the next tutorial. 

Again, taking short frequent breaks will also help. 

There are many misconceptions about the risks associated with prolonged use of a 

computer monitor. 

Let's dispel some of the myths… 

• Myth: 

Monitors give out harmful radiation. 

• Fact: 

The levels of radiation emitted from monitors are well below safe levels set out in 

international recommendations 

• Myth: 

It is not safe to work at a monitor when pregnant. 

• Fact: 

You don't need to stop working with computer monitors when pregnant. Past 

reports of miscarriages and birth defects among some groups of computer users 

are not borne out by recent research which does not show any link between 

miscarriages or birth defects and using a computer monitor. 

• Myth: 

Computer monitors trigger epileptic fits. 

• Fact: 

Most people with epilepsy are unaffected by computer monitors. Some people 

who suffer from photo-sensitive epilepsy may be affected in some circumstances 

but most can work with computer monitors without provoking a fit. 

• Myth: 

Working at a computer monitor causes skin disorders. 

• Fact: 

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This is rare. Whilst the exact cause is not known, the following may be factors: 

• Dry air 


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• Static electricity 

• Individual susceptibility 

Where this is a concern, increasing the humidity or allowing fresh air into the room 

may help. 

10.2 Setting up your Workstation 


• Be able to set up your chair, monitor and mouse position to work safely at a 

workstation. 


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• Be able to adjust lighting to reduce glare and reflections. 

Any car driver will know the importance of setting the position of your seat, mirrors 

and steering wheel for safe driving. 

In the same way, setting up your workstation (positioning your 

seat and hardware correctly) is important to reduce the risk of 

injury. 

Start with your chair. 

You will need to adjust the chair position, seat height, and 

back rest. 

Adjust the height of your chair and chair position so that when 

your fingers rest in the idle of the keyboard, your fore arms are 

horizontal and your elbows are vertically under your 

shoulders. There should be no angle between your forearm 

and wrist. 

Once you have adjusted your chair height, check that the seat does not put pressure 

on the underside of your thighs. If it does you may need a 

footrest or a lower desk. 

If you rest your hands on the desk as you type, you should use a wrist 

rest. 

Adjust the angle of the backrest so that your back is supported 

in your work position. 

Adjust the backrest height so that it supports your lower back. 

Now adjust your monitor. 



Adjust the height of the monitor so that you are looking at the monitor horizontally or 

slightly down. 

Adjust the distance of your monitor so that it is 55 - 65cm (22-26") away from you. 

Much nearer or further away and your eye muscles will have to work too hard to 

focus on the screen. 

The monitor should be positioned directly in front of you. 

Make sure you position and use the mouse so that it is as near to you as possible 

(but not between you and the keyboard). You should not need to stretch at all to use 

the mouse. 

It is important to avoid glare and reflections on your monitor. The following may help 

reduce glare and reflections: 

• Position your workstation at right angles to the window. 

• Adjust blinds so that light does not shine directly on 

your monitor. 


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• Consider using desk lamps rather than overhead 

lighting - switch on overhead lights only when 

necessary. 

You should attempt to make the temperature and humidity of 

your workplace comfortable and eliminate draughts wherever 

possible. 

Laptop computers are designed to be small and portable and, 

as a result, features such as small keyboards can make 

prolonged use uncomfortable. Problems can be reduced by: 

• Using a docking station if one is available 


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• Sitting comfortably 

• Angling the screen so it can be seen clearly without glare or reflections 

• Taking frequent breaks. 

Whenever a full-sized alternative is available, it is best to use this instead. 

10.3 Routine Maintenance 


• Understand your responsibilities in relation to hardware and software 

maintenance. 


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When using an NHS computer, you will have limited responsibility for the 

maintenance of computer hardware and software. 

Much of the routine maintenance that is required will be the responsibility of your IT 

department. 



Don't think of the computer you log in to at work as 'your' computer (it is, after all, the 

property of your employer) and don't expect to be able to do the same things with it 

as you might do with your home computer. 

It is important to be aware of your local IT policies. These should help you to 

understand your responsibilities with regard to hardware and software maintenance. 

Whilst the specifics of policy will vary from one organisation to the next, there will be 

some common themes. 

Most policies will prevent you from: 

• Installing or uninstalling software on your computer 


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• Running system tools 

• Opening the computer case 

• Attaching new peripherals to your computer 

If any of the above tasks are required, they will usually be requested via your IT 

helpdesk and carried out by an IT technician / engineer. 

Your responsibilities for hardware maintenance may 

include: 

• Loading paper into printer trays 

• Changing print cartridges 


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• Cleaning exterior of hardware 

Your responsibilities for software maintenance may 

include: 

• Ensuring laptop computers are connected to the network regularly to receive 

software updates 


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• Keeping your filing system tidy / deleting unwanted 

document files 

• Emptying your Recycle Bin 

• Keeping your Outlook mailbox tidy / deleting unwanted 

messages 

• Emptying your Deleted Items folder 

If any task falls outside of these responsibilities (or outside of those laid out in your 

local policies) you should request assistance from your IT Helpdesk. 

Even if you feel confident carrying out a maintenance task, if it falls outside of your 

responsibilities, it should be directed to your IT Helpdesk. 



You are also responsible for reducing the risks to the software and data on your 

computer as well as protecting your own integrity and that of your organisation. 

There are simple practical steps that will help to achieve this: 

• Taking care when opening e-mail attachments 


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• Being wary of phishing e-mails and web sites 

• Not circulating e-mail round-robins 

11 Glossary 

Address Bar 

Deleted: 

 

 


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Part of the Internet Explorer screen that displays the address of the current 

web page and allows the user to navigate to other web sites / web pages by 

entering the relevant address. 

Address Book 

An e-mail address directory that allows the user to address messages easily. 

The Address Book gives access to the Global Address List as well as 

personal Contacts. 

Adobe Acrobat 

A program used to create Portable Document Format files (PDFs). Acrobat 

Reader is a freely available piece of software that allows PDFs to be viewed 

and printed. 

Alt (Alternative) 

A key on the keyboard that, when held down while another key is pressed, 

makes the other key behave differently. The Alt key is also used to access 

menus in applications. 

Applications 

Backspace 

Bold 

Bullet 

A software program designed to perform a specific task or group of tasks, 

such as word processing, spreadsheets, or database management. 

A key that, when pressed, erases the character to the left of the text entry 

cursor. 

A text style where characters appear heavier, often used for emphasis. 


Caps Lock 


A symbol used to introduce items in a list. 

A key that toggles (switches between) the keyboard between upper-case and 

lower-case modes. Caps lock does not affect the number or punctuation 

keys. 

Carbon copy 

Used to send a copy of an e-mail to further recipients. When a recipient 

receives a carbon copy of a message, they will usually consider it to have 

been sent to them for information only and will not act upon its content. 

CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only-Memory) 

Check Box 

A removable storage medium used to store computer files. 

A control in a dialogue box, web form or task pane that displays a setting that 

can either be chosen (checked) or not chosen (unchecked). Check is the US 

term for tick – check box = tick box. 

Clinical Systems 

Clipboard 

Column 

Bespoke databases used to store information necessary for healthcare 

service provision, including information about patients, appointments, 

treatments etc. 

A temporary holding place in a computer's memory used to move and copy 

text and graphics etc from one place to another. 

A vertical list of data in a table. Each column usually contains one category of 

information. The category of information held in a column is usually defined 

by the title of the column. 

Command Button 

Computer 

Contacts 

A control in a dialogue box, web form or task pane that initiates a command. 

Most forms will contain a command button that submits the information a user 

has chosen, for example. 

An electronic device for the storage and processing of information. 

These are used to store contact details (telephone numbers, e-mail address 

etc) for people with whom the user communicates frequently. 



Context Menu 

Copy 

A menu containing options specific to an object, that pops up when rightclicking 

on that object. Sometimes referred to as a short-cut menu. 

A command on the Edit menu that adds data to the clipboard, while leaving 

the original data unchanged. 

Corporate Systems 

Crash 

Bespoke databases used to store information relating to the corporate 

business of an organisation, including human resources data, business 

performance data etc. 

A software malfunction that causes an application or the operating system to 

stop working. 

Ctrl (Control) 

Cursor 

Cut 

Data 

Database 

Delete 

A key on the keyboard that, when held down while another key is pressed, 

makes the other key behave differently. The Control key has no effect if it is 

pressed alone. 

A flashing vertical line on the screen that indicates where typed text will 

appear. 

A command on the Edit menu that adds data to the clipboard by removing it 

from its original location so that is can be moved elsewhere (using Paste). 

Information stored on the computer system, used by applications to 

accomplish tasks. 

A collection of related information that has been systematically organised and 

stored for easy access and analysis. Microsoft Access is an example of 

database management software used to create and maintain databases. 

A key that, when pressed, erases the character to the right of the text entry 

cursor. 

Deleted Items 



Similar to the Recycle Bin, E-mail messages that are deleted will usually be 

moved here. The Deleted Items folder must be emptied in order to get rid of 

messages completely. 

Demographic information 

Desktop 

Information about a person’s date of birth, ethnicity, address, marital status 

etc. 

The main workspace in Windows. Users open and work with files and 

programs on the desktop. 

Dialogue Box 

An interactive message box that appears on screen and contains a set of 

choices when a program needs to collect information from the user. 

Drop Down List 

A control in a dialogue box, web form or task pane that allows the user to 

select one of a list of options from a list that drops down when the control is 

clicked. 

DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only-Memory) 

E-mail 

A removable storage medium used to store computer files. 

Electronic mail messages transmitted electronically between computers. 

Microsoft Outlook is the software application most often used in the NHS to 

send and receive e-mail. 

E-mail Client 

Encrypt 

Enter 

Ergonomic 

An application or web service used to send, receive, and organise e-mail. For 

example Microsoft Outlook or NHS Mail. 

To encode (scramble) information in such a way that it is unreadable to all 

but those individuals possessing the key to the code. 

A key found on the number pad that has exactly the same function as the 

Return key. 

A science which defines relation between workers and their environments; 

used to define healthy workspace set-ups. Defines equipment such as 


Favorites 

Field 

File 


keyboards which are designed to suit the human anatomy and facilitate tasks 

without injury. 

Web site locations which have been saved to an organised list for quick 

access at a later time. Favorites are also referred to as bookmarks. 

The part of a form that is used to enter a piece of data. The part of a 

database or structured list that stores one category of information 

represented in a column. 

Data which has been organised, named and stored. For example a word 

processed document, a digital photograph or a database. 

File Attachment 

A computer file (such as a Word document) that has been attached to an e- 

mail message. 

File Extension 

File Server 

The letters following the full stop in a file name. The file extension identifies 

the type of file. The file extension is often hidden by Windows. 

A computer running on a network that stores files and provides access to 

them. 

Filing System 

The storage devices on the computer and the files and folders they contain. 

The computer filing system uses a filing cabinet metaphor to help users to 

understand the way in which files are stored. 

Floppy Disk Drive 

Folder 

Font 

Forward 

An outdated storage device that allows small files to be stored on removable 

and portable floppy disks (which are notoriously slow and unreliable). 

Used in the computer filing system to contain files and other folders. Folders 

help to keep the filing system organised and tidy. Also known as a directory. 

A font is a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. 



To send a copy of a received e-mail on to another recipient. 

Function Key 

One of a dozen keys labelled F1 to F12. Each has a specific function which 

will depend on the application being used. 

Global Address List 

Gutter 

A built in list of healthcare employees that can be accessed from the Address 

Book. 

The white space formed by the inner margins on two facing pages. 

Hard Disk Drive 

A fixed (non-removable) storage device contained within the computer 

system unit which stores the Windows operating system and application 

software. The hard disk has a large storage capacity, and is fast and fairly 

reliable. 

Healthcare Information System 

Hierarchical 

Homepage 

Any electronic system that holds information on a person’s health or 

healthcare. 

A way to organise data on computer systems using folders (directories) and 

files. Folders may contain other subfolders and files. The structure of folders 

within folders creates the hierarchy. 

1) The first / main page of a website. Typically, the homepage serves as an 

index or table of contents to other documents stored at the site. 2) The page 

that Internet Explorer displays when opened is known as the ‘home’ page. 

Hyperlink (Link) 

Hypertext 

I-beam 

A link in a web page to information within that page or another page. These 

links are usually represented by highlighted words or images. 

A web page document that contains links to other web pages, commonly 

seen in Web pages and help files. 

The shape the mouse pointer changes to in an area of a window where text 

can be entered. 



Icon 

A small picture on the computer screen that represents an object, such as a 

document, program, folder or disk drive. An icon can be selected by clicking 

and opened by double-clicking. 

Inbox 

Internet 

The e-mail folder that contains e-mail messages that the user has received. 

A global network connecting millions of computers to allow them to share 

information. 

Internet Explorer 

Intranet 

Italic 

Keyboard 

A web browsing application included in the Microsoft Windows operating 

systems. It provides the tools to view and browse web pages. 

A network within a company or organisation that uses the same protocols as 

the Internet but allows information to be shared privately and securely within 

the organisation. 

The style of letters that slant forwards slightly, in distinction from upright 

letters. Used for emphasis within text. 

An input device similar to a typewriter, for the entry of text. 

Keyboard Shortcut 

Laptop 

Lower-Case 

Maximise 

A key or combination of keys that a user can press to perform an action that 

would otherwise be found in a menu. 

A small portable computer that is light enough and small enough to hold on 

the lap; also referred to as a Notebook. 

Small letters (e.g. a, b, c) as opposed to capitals. 

To make a window fill the entire screen so that no other windows are visible. 

Memory Stick 


Menu bar 


A removable storage device. Memory sticks plug into the USB port on the 

computer, they have a large storage capacity and are fast, portable and quite 

reliable. 

A horizontal bar at the top of a window, below the title bar, that contains 

menus. Most menu bars have menus titled File, Edit, View, Tools, Window 

and Help plus others that are specific to the program being used. 

Microsoft Access 

A database management application. Microsoft Access is included in the 

Microsoft Office suite of applications and allows for the creation and 

maintenance of databases. 

Microsoft Excel 

A spreadsheet application included in the Microsoft Office suite of 

applications. It provides tools for the creation and manipulation of tabular 

numerical data information. Excel is great for making graphs. 

Microsoft Office 

A suite of software applications that cover the most common office tasks 

such as word-processing (Microsoft Word), spreadsheets (Excel), E-mail and 

calendar functions (Outlook). 

Microsoft Outlook 

E-mail Client and calendar software widely used in the NHS. Microsoft 

Outlook is part of the Microsoft Office suite of applications. 

Microsoft PowerPoint 

Presentation software for the creation of slideshow and multimedia visual 

aids for the delivery of presentations. Microsoft PowerPoint is included in the 

Microsoft Office suite of applications. 

Microsoft Windows 

A graphics-based operating system developed by Microsoft Corporation. 

Usually referred to simply as "Windows". 

Microsoft Word 

Minimise 

A word processing application that is part of the Microsoft Office suite of 

software, it can be used to create all manner of documents from simple 

letters to highly complex publications. 

To hide an open window. The window is removed and represented with a 

button on the taskbar. 



Monitor 

Mouse 

A device similar to a television screen that receives video signals from the 

computer and displays the information for the user. 

A small device that is used to control the mouse pointer on the computer 

screen. When the user moves the mouse, the pointer moves in the same way 

on the screen. 

Mouse Pointer 

An onscreen arrow (or other image) that is controlled by a pointing device to 

allow the user to interact with the computer. 

My Computer 

A window usually accessed from an icon on the desktop that gives access to 

the storage devices on a computer. 

My Documents 

Network 

The area of the computer filing system usually set up for the storage of a 

user’s files (word processed documents, spreadsheets, photos etc). 

Computers connected together for the purpose of sharing resources and 

communication. 

Network Drive 

NHS Net 

A storage device available on a networked computer that allows the user to 

store information securely and safely on the network’s file server. A Network 

drive provides exclusive access to files for a user or group of users. Network 

drives are not usually available at home. 

A secure network connecting all NHS computers to allow them to access and 

share information. 

Notification Area 

Num Lock 

Found to the right hand side of the taskbar, it contains the clock and other 

programs which are running in the background, ready for use. Formerly 

known as the System Tray. 

A key on the keyboard (usually at the top left of the number pad) that toggles 

the number pad between arrow keys and number keys. 

Number Pad 



An extra set of numeric keys on the right side of the keyboard, laid out in the 

same manner as a calculator keypad. The number pad can also double as a 

set of arrow keys if Num Lock is switched off. 

Operating System 

A computer needs an operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, to work. 

An operating system is a piece of software that provides the user with the 

means to operate and interact with the computer and manages all the 

programs on it. 

Option Button 

Overtype 

Paste 

A control in a dialogue box, web form or task pane that allows a user to select 

one from a fixed set of choices (also referred to as a radio button). 

To replace text by selecting it and then typing over it. 

A command on the Edit menu that inserts data copied to the clipboard into 

the currently selected location. 

PC (Personal Computer) 

Usually refers to a computer that uses the Microsoft Windows operating 

system. 

PDF (Portable Document Format) 

A file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an 

electronic image that can be viewed, printed, or forwarded to someone else. 

PDFs can be read by any computer using free software. 

Pointing Device 

A device such as a mouse, trackball, or stylus that allows the user to move a 

pointer about on the computer screen. 

Pointing Stick 

A small pointing device sometimes found on laptop computers that looks like 

a pencil top eraser. The pointing stick is pushed in different directions to 

move the mouse pointer on the screen. 

Presentation Software 

Program 

A software application used to create slide shows or multimedia 

presentations. 


QWERTY 


A list of instructions that a computer follows to perform a task. Computer 

programs are also known as software. 

A name for the standard computer keyboard, named by the first six keys on 

the top row of letter keys. 

Radio Button 

Recipient 

Record 

Recycle Bin 

Redo 

Refresh 

Reply to All 

Resize 

Restore 

Another name for an option button. 

The person to whom an e-mail message is addressed to or copied to. 

A unit of information in a computer database identifying a specific item. It may 

include data such as author, title, date and publisher for example. 

Where files deleted from some storage devices are sent. Shown as a rubbish 

bin icon on the Desktop, it must be emptied to get rid of deleted files for good. 

Redo reverses the last Undo command. 

To reload the information displayed in a window. Refreshing will display any 

changes that may have been made to the information in a window since it 

was last loaded. If a web page contained the current score in a tennis match, 

for example, refreshing the page would update the score. 

Sends a reply to all of the recipients of an e-mail message that has been 

received. To be used very sparingly and with caution! 

To change the size of a window. Usually done by dragging the resize area in 

the bottom right corner of a window. 

To return a minimised window from a button on the taskbar to the desktop. 

Restore Down 

Return 

To return a maximised window to its previous size. 



A key on the keyboard that, when pressed, moves the cursor to the beginning 

of the next line when typing. The Return key is also used in many 

applications to accept choices or submit information. The Enter key has the 

same function as the Return key. 

Row 

Save As 

Screen 

Scrollbar 

A horizontal line of information in a table. Each row in a table represents one 

record which has one value in each column of the table. 

To save a previously saved file in a new location and / or with a new name. 

Another name for a monitor – a device similar to a television screen that 

receives video signals from the computer and displays the information for the 

user. 

An area on a window that allows a user to view different portions of a 

window's information by scrolling, or moving. 

Search Engine 

A web based program that searches for a specific word or groups of words 

within a Web page and creates a list of the Web pages that contain the 

specified word(s). Google is an example of a search engine. 

Secure connection 

An Internet connection where communication is encrypted to prevent 

‘eavesdropping’ - a safer method of passing sensitive information, such as 

credit card details, over the Internet. An address beginning https indicates a 

secure connection. 

Sensitive Information 

Sent Items 

Server 

Shift 

Any information, which through loss, unauthorised access, or modification 

could adversely affect the national interest, the interests of an organisation, 

or the privacy of individuals. 

The e-mail folder that contains copies of the e-mail messages that have been 

sent to others. A copy of each message sent is usually stored here 

automatically. 

A computer that delivers information to other computers on a network. 



A key that, when held down, causes a typed letter to appear in uppercase. It 

also causes the upper symbol to be typed when used with a number or 

symbol key. 

Soft Keyboard 

Software 

Spacebar 

An on screen text entry device found on Tablet PCs and handheld 

computers. Text is usually entered by tapping ‘keys’ with the stylus. 

Programs that run on a computer. 

A horizontal bar shaped key on the bottom row of the keyboard, significantly 

wider than other keys. Its main purpose is to enter spaces between words 

during typing. 

Spreadsheet 

Start Button 

Start Menu 

Status Bar 

An application that allows the user to enter numbers and text into a table with 

rows and columns, and then maintain and manipulate those numbers. 

Found at the left hand end of the taskbar, clicking it opens the Start menu. 

Accessed by clicking the Start button or pressing the Windows key, the Start 

menu gives access to all of the applications available on the computer. 

Found at the bottom of a window, its job is to display information about the 

current state of the window, although some status bars have extra 

functionality. In Internet Explorer, the status bar will display the address that a 

link will take the user to as well as information about the privacy and security 

of the web page. 

Storage Device 

Stylus 

Subfolder 

Subject 

Used to store data and information. Common storage devices include hard 

disks, network drives, floppy disks, memory sticks etc. 

A pen-like pointing device used in Tablet PCs and handheld computers. 

A folder within a folder. 


Submenu 

Tab 

Tab Control 

Tablet PC 

Tabular 

Tabulation 


The title of an e-mail message. This is displayed in the Inbox message list 

and should give the recipient an idea of what the message is about. 

A menu available within a menu. Menu options that give access to submenus 

are indicated by a right hand pointing arrow. 

A key that, when pressed, indents a paragraph or moves the text entry cursor 

to the next tab marker. In a form, the tab key moves the focus to the next 

area to enter information. 

A control in a dialogue box that looks similar to file divider and provides 

navigation between different pages or sections of a dialogue box. 

A portable computer shaped in the form of a notebook or a slate. A Tablet PC 

is operated using a stylus instead of a keyboard or mouse. 

Information arranged systematically in table form. 

The act of putting information into tabular form. 

Task Manager 

Task Pane 

Taskbar 

Text Box 

Thumbnail 

Provides information about the processes and programs running on a 

computer, as well as the general status of the computer. It can be used to 

close non-responding (crashed) applications. 

An area of an application window that allows the user to perform certain tasks 

such as searching help, looking up words, inserting clipart etc. 

A bar that usually runs along the bottom of the Windows desktop that shows 

all open applications and active windows. Clicking any task button on the 

taskbar brings the corresponding task to the front. 

A control in a dialogue box, web form or task pane in which a user can enter 

and edit text; also called an edit field. 


A small version of an image file. 


Tile 

Title Bar 

Toggles 

Toolbar 

Tooltip 

Touchpad 

Trackball 

Undo 

Upper Case 

Similar to an icon, a tile provides more information about a file including its 

type and size. 

The bar along the top of a window that contains the name of that window. 

The title bar also contains buttons for minimising, maximising / restoring 

down and closing the window. 

Switches between. 

A toolbar is a set of buttons, usually with an icon of some sort, that are used 

to activate functions in an application or filing system window. Toolbars are 

usually found below the menu bar towards the top of a window. Toolbar 

buttons are operated by clicking. 

A small pop-up label with descriptive text that appears when the mouse 

pointer is held over an object such as a toolbar button. 

A touchpad is an input device commonly found on laptop computers. A 

touchpad is used to move the pointer, using motions of the user's finger. 

They substitute for a computer mouse. 

A pointing device that is used as an alternative to a mouse to move the 

pointer on the computer screen. A trackball has a ball that is rotated by hand 

to control the pointer. 

To reverse the last action in a computer program. 

Capital letters (e.g. A, B, C). 

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) 

The unique address of a web page on the Internet. 

USB (Universal Serial Bus) 



Provides a fast ‘plug-and-play’ connection between a computer and other 

devices. 

Web browser 

Website 

Window 

(Sometimes just ‘browser’) an application that provides a way to look at and 

interact with all the information on web pages. For example Microsoft Internet 

Explorer. 

A collection of web pages linked together on a single topic or for an 

organisation accessible from the World Wide Web. 

An area on the screen that displays information, including files, applications 

etc. The user can open or close a window; move it around on the desktop; 

and sometimes change its size, scroll through it, and edit its contents. 

Word processor 

A software application used to create and format documents, such as letters, 

reports, and books. 

World Wide Web 

Often referred to as WWW or the Web, this usually refers to web page 

information available on the Internet that can be easily accessed with a web 

browser.

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