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Word Processing II >>
Print and Print Preview

In the Internet II module, you learned a bit about printing options for your web browser.  This lesson will go over the print and print preview options available in Word.  These options will be similar in other word processing programs.

Printing Options

Under the "File" menu, you can set printing options by selecting "Print..." to get the following window:

• The first section is entitled "Printer" as it describes the status of the printer you are using.  You can select a different printer by viewing the Name drop-down menu.  Click on the "Properties" button to set your preferences for Paper, Print Quality, Device Options, and Duplex.  Your "Print" window may vary from this one, but the same settings should be available.  By checking the "print to file" box, you will print your document to a file (a .prn file) instead of to a printer. According to Word's Help library:

When you print to a file, you must first select the printer that will ultimately print the file. Word then saves the file in the appropriate printer language. That printer can be connected to any kind of computer, even if Word is not installed. If you want to print your document at a much higher resolution than what's available on your desktop printer, you can select a different printer in the Print dialog box, format your document, print your document to a file, and take the file to a computer connected to the printer you selected. A printer file saves the necessary information from your document so that line and page breaks and font spacing remain the same. Any printer that uses the same printer language (for example, PostScript) can print the file and match the output from your computer, provided that the fonts used in the document are available on the printer.

• Under the "Page range" section, you can choose to print the current page, the text you have selected, or enter the pages you want printed. 
• The "Copies" section will allow you to choose to print two copies of a document in one print job.  The "Collate" checkbox will determine whether the pages will come out sorted or not. That is, the page printing order for two copies could be 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 instead of 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3.
• The "Print what" drop-down menu is defaulted to "Document," but there are other options including document properties, just the comments by reviewers (like the ones you inserted in the last lesson), styles, autotext entries, key assignments, etc.. 
• In the "Print" drop-down menu, currently displaying "All pages in range," will also allow you to select to print only odd pages or even pages.
• By clicking on the "Options" button in the lower left corner of the screen, you can access additional printing options, what to include with the document text, etc.   Explore this feature, and if you have some paper to spare, test some of them out. Be sure to recycle, though.

Print Preview

The "Print Preview" option under the File menu will allow you to get an overview of what your pages will look like when printed. Basically, it will give you a zoomed-out view of your document.  The Print Preview window will show the Print Preview toolbar, shown here:

Each of the buttons on this toolbar are described below:

	By pressing this button, you will begin the print job immediately. The Print window will be skipped.
	When this button is pressed down, a zoom feature will be used, which turns your pointer into a magnifying glass. When you click on your document, you will be zoomed in or, if clicked again, your view will be zoomed out.  If this button is not pressed, your regular cursor will appear as your pointer.  You can type directly into your document - even in zoomed-out view.
	By pressing this button, your print preview settings will be returned to viewing one page at a time.
	When you click on this "multiple pages" button, you can select the layout for viewing more than one page (1 row by 1 column, 2 rows by 2 columns, etc.)
	This drop-down menu will allow you to choose the zoom setting you want to use to view your document. At the bottom of the menu, you can also choose page width, whole page, or two pages.
	This is a button that can be pressed on/off for viewing the ruler.
	This button will shrink the font size in your document so that a straggling line one the last page will fit in the previous page. This feature works best with documents that contain only a few pages, such as letters and memos.
	By clicking on this button, you will be able to view your page preview using the whole screen on your computer.
	This close button will only close the print preview to return you to the normal view of your document. It will not close your document file.
	This button is used to give you "context sensitive help." Click on this button and click on an object or feature in the window that you want help with. A pop-up window will provide definitions and give tips to support you.

Please continue to the next lesson on Modifying a Graphic.

Computers in Education Certificate Program
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Revised: February 05, 2002.