Office Applications and Documentation
What this domain covers
Practical office skills: word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, plus the shortcuts and file formats an examiner expects you to know by name.
Core rules
- Word processor: use styles for headings, page setup (margins, orientation, paper size), headers and footers, spell check (F7), and mail merge to send one letter to many recipients from a data source.
- Spreadsheet: every formula starts with =; a reference like B2 is relative and shifts when copied, while $C$1 is absolute and stays fixed.
- Common functions: SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, MAX, MIN, IF and ROUND.
- Presentation: transitions act between slides, animations act on objects within a slide; the slide master controls global formatting.
- Formats: .docx, .xlsx and .pptx for editing; PDF for fixed-layout sharing. Ctrl+S saves, while Save As creates a copy under a new name.
Worked example
Cell D2 contains =B2*$C$1 and is copied down to D3. Reasoning: B2 is relative, so the row shifts down one to B3; $C$1 is absolute in both column and row, so it does not change. D3 therefore reads =B3*$C$1. If only the row were locked ($C1), the row would stay but the column could shift.
Traps
- Confusing a transition with an animation.
- Numbers typed with stray spaces or a leading apostrophe are stored as text and will not sum.
- Deleting cell contents versus deleting the cell itself, which shifts neighbouring cells.
- Saving over the original file when a separate copy was required.