ICDL Word Processing cheat sheet

The title bar shows the document name and application name; an asterisk or 'Modified' marker indicates unsaved changes.

Ctrl+S saves the active document; Ctrl+Shift+S opens Save As to create a copy or change format.

Ctrl+Z undoes the last action; Ctrl+Y (or Ctrl+Shift+Z) redoes it. Undo history is lost when the document closes.

Ctrl+F opens Find; Ctrl+H opens Find and Replace. Replace All applies the change to every match at once.

The status bar typically displays page number, word count, and view/zoom controls; double-clicking word count opens the Word Count dialog.

Zoom changes only the on-screen display, not the printed output or font sizes.

Ctrl+P opens the Print dialog; the print preview shows how the document will appear on paper.

A file extension identifies format: .docx is the default Word format, .pdf is fixed-layout, .txt keeps text only without formatting.

Ctrl+N creates a new blank document; Ctrl+O opens an existing file; Ctrl+W closes the current document.

Ctrl+C copies, Ctrl+X cuts, Ctrl+V pastes; Ctrl+Shift+V pastes without source formatting in many applications.

AutoCorrect fixes common typos and capitalisation as you type; AutoText/Quick Parts insert reusable stored content.

Spell check underlines suspected misspellings with a wavy line; grammar issues are flagged separately and can be ignored or added to the dictionary.

The Thesaurus suggests synonyms for a selected word; it does not change the word until a suggestion is accepted.

A paragraph mark (¶) is inserted with Enter and stores the paragraph's formatting; Shift+Enter inserts a line break within the same paragraph.

Word count reports words, characters with and without spaces, paragraphs, and lines for a selection or the whole document.

Templates provide pre-set layouts and styles; a document created from a template is a new file and does not alter the template itself.

Font size is measured in points (pt); 1 pt = 1/72 inch. Body text is commonly 10-12 pt.

Bold (Ctrl+B), italic (Ctrl+I), and underline (Ctrl+U) are character-level formats applied to a selection or at the insertion point.

Alignment options are left, centre, right, and justified; justification stretches spaces so both margins are even.

Line spacing sets vertical distance between lines within a paragraph; paragraph spacing sets distance before or after a whole paragraph.

Indents move paragraph edges: first-line indent affects only the first line, hanging indent keeps the first line outdented (used for bibliographies).

Bulleted and numbered lists are list formats; pressing Enter continues the list and pressing Enter twice (or Backspace) ends it.

Styles apply a named set of formats at once; editing a style updates every paragraph using it, which supports consistent headings and navigation.

Borders and shading apply to characters, paragraphs, tables, or pages; page borders are set in page setup, not in the font dialog.

Tab stops set horizontal jump positions for the Tab key; a leader (dots, dashes) can fill the space, as in a table of contents.

Tables are built from rows and columns of cells; cells can merge, split, and hold text, images, or nested tables.

Inserted pictures can be inline (moves with text) or floating (anchored, with text wrapping such as square, tight, or behind text).

Text wrapping controls how body text flows around a floating object; changing wrap changes the object's layout behaviour.

A text box is a movable container for text; it can be linked to another text box so text flows between them.

Tables of contents and indexes are generated fields; they must be refreshed (updated) after headings or page numbers change.

Headers and footers repeat on every page of a section; page numbers are usually inserted as a field in the header or footer.

A section break allows different page setup (orientation, margins, headers) within one document; a page break only starts a new page.

Charts and SmartArt/diagrams are embedded objects; they can be edited in place and their data source can be updated.

Mail merge combines a main document (fixed text) with a data source (variable records) to produce many personalised outputs.

The data source is typically a table where each row is one record and each column is a field (such as Name, Address, City).

Merge fields are placeholders inserted from the data source into the main document; they display as field markers until merged.

Common merge outputs are letters, envelopes, labels, and email messages; labels and envelopes also require setting the layout and size.

A filter selects which records are merged (for example, only one city); sorting orders the merged output by a chosen field.

Preview Results shows how a single record will appear before completing the merge; navigating records checks different entries.

Finish & Merge produces the final output, which can be sent to a new document, the printer, or email.

The main document and data source remain separate files; editing the data source changes future merges but not already-merged output.

Print preview shows final layout including margins, headers, and page breaks before printing.

Page setup controls paper size, orientation (portrait or landscape), margins, and page breaks.

Print options include page range (all, current page, selection, custom range), number of copies, and collation for multi-page jobs.

Printing a selection prints only the highlighted text; it does not print the whole document.

A PDF export preserves layout across systems but is not easily edited; exporting to .docx keeps the document editable.

Document properties (metadata) such as title, author, and keywords are saved with the file and can be viewed or edited before distribution.

Headers and footers, page numbers, and section formatting appear in the printed output; on-screen comments and tracked changes may or may not print depending on settings.

Save As creates a new file or changes the file name, location, or format; Save updates the existing file in place.

The default save location and file format can be set in application options; the default format is usually .docx.

Compatibility mode indicates a document saved in an older format; converting it enables newer features but may change layout.

Track Changes records insertions, deletions, and formatting edits; reviewers can accept or reject each change.

Comments are notes attached to text that do not alter the document body; they can be shown, hidden, or deleted.

Document properties and the file name, location, and size can be viewed in the file's information panel or file manager.

Password protection and read-only recommendations restrict who can open or edit a saved document.

Opening a file from a different location (removable drive, network) still requires saving to that location or using Save As to copy it elsewhere.