Text formatting: font, size, style and colour

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Two letters have the same words, but one looks neat and one looks messy. What makes the difference? The answer is formatting. Today we will learn text formatting with font, size, style and colour, in Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer.

First, a new term. Formatting means changing how text looks, without changing the words. Text formatting, also called character formatting, works on the letters and words you select. The golden rule is simple: select the text first, then apply the format. In Microsoft Word, these tools are in the Font group on the Home tab. LibreOffice Writer keeps them on the Formatting toolbar and in the Format menu.

Why should a data entry operator care about formatting? Headings become bigger and bolder, so they stand out from normal text. Important words, like the last date on a fee notice, catch the reader's eye. Office letters and reports look neat and professional. And a well formatted page is easier to read quickly.

A font, also called a typeface, is the design or shape of the letters. Serif fonts have small feet at the ends of the strokes, like Times New Roman, and they suit printed letters. Sans serif means without feet, like Arial or Calibri, and they look clean on screens and notices. In a monospace font, every letter takes the same width, like Courier New, which is used for code.

Here is how to change the font. First, select the text you want to change. Next, click the font name box on the toolbar. Then pick a font from the list, and the selected text changes at once. A good habit is to use only one or two fonts in a document, or it looks untidy.

Font size tells how big the letters are. It is measured in points, a unit used in printing. Seventy two points make one inch, so bigger numbers mean bigger letters. Normal body text is usually eleven or twelve points. Headings are usually between fourteen and twenty points.

You can change size quickly from the keyboard. To make text bigger in Word, press Ctrl+Shift and the greater than sign, and in Writer press Ctrl and the closing square bracket. To make it smaller, Word uses Ctrl+Shift and the less than sign, and Writer uses Ctrl and the opening square bracket. For an exact size, type the number in the font size box and press Enter.

Font style means making letters bold, italic or underlined. Bold makes letters thick and dark, using Ctrl+B, and it suits headings and totals. Italic makes letters slant to the right, using Ctrl+I, and it suits book names and new terms. Underline draws a line below the text, using Ctrl+U. These three shortcuts are the same in Word and Writer, and pressing them again removes the style.

Word processors also offer a few extra effects. Strikethrough draws a line through the text, to show something removed from a list. Superscript makes text small and raised, as in tenth or a number squared. Subscript makes text small and lowered, as in the chemical formula for water.

Colour is the last part of text formatting. Font colour changes the colour of the letters themselves, using the button with the letter A and a coloured bar. Highlight colour is different, because it paints the background behind the letters, like a highlighter pen. Use dark font colours on a light page, so the text stays readable when printed. And avoid too many colours, because an office document should look calm and professional.

Pause and predict. You select a word and press Ctrl+B two times. Will the word be bold or normal? It will be normal, because the shortcut is a toggle, which means pressing it again switches the style off.

Three helpers save a lot of time. To copy formatting from one place to another, Word has the Format Painter brush and Writer has Clone Formatting. To remove all text formatting, Word has the Clear Formatting button, and Writer uses Ctrl+M. To see every option in one box, press Ctrl+D in Word, or choose Format, then Character in Writer.

Let us format a school fee notice. The heading is Arial, sixteen points, bold, in dark blue. The body text is Times New Roman, twelve points, in black. The last date is bold and underlined, so no parent misses it. The late fee line uses a red font colour to warn the reader.

Let us revise what we learned today. Text formatting changes how text looks, not what it says. The font is the shape of the letters, and the size is measured in points. The three main styles are bold, italic and underline, with Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I and Ctrl+U. Font colour changes the letters, and highlight paints behind them. And always remember to select the text first. Try formatting a notice of your own today.