Word Processing v Desk Top Publishing
Common features of a Word Processor and Desk Top Publisher.
When typing a document on a word processor it is possible to edit (or change) and
format (or alter the layout) of the text.
Feature
Editing – Deleting or adding characters or
punctuation
Editing – replacing characters
Editing – rearranging sentences
Editing – copying blocks of text so that it
may be used or repeated elsewhere in the
document
Editing – spellchecking or grammer
checking. Scanning the document or
selected text for basic spelling or
grammatical errors. A green squiggly line
under a word or sentence shows a
grammatical error and a read squiggly line
shows a spelling error.
Formatting – Embolden characters to make
words or characters stand out
Formatting – Italics
Formatting – Underline
Formatting – Changing the font size and
the font
Formatting – Changing the spaces between
the characters and/or the lines
Formatting – Changing the justification of
Example
The cats sat on te mat (original)
The cat sat on te mat (deleted character)
The cat sat on the mat (added character)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
The cat sat in the mat (replaced character)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
On the mat, the cat sat (rearranged)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
The cat sat on the mat (copied)
the cat sat on tho mat
Can be limited to words that are stored in
the dictionary and grammar checks can
show errors when in fact there are none.
This is due to the fact that English
grammar is very difficult.
The cat sat on the mat (original)
The cat sat on the mat (emboldened)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
The cat sat on the mat (italic)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
The cat sat on the mat (underlined)
The cat sat on the mat (comic sans size 10)
The cat sat on the mat (lucida handwriting
size 10)
The cat sat on the mat (size
14)
The cat sat on the mat (original)
T h e cat s at o n the m at
( e x pand e d s paci ng of
ch ar acter s and do u ble
li ne s paci ng )
Left justified means that it will line up on
 the left hand side and be ragged on the
right.

Centre Justified

the text Right Justified means that it will line up on

the right and be ragged on the left.

Fully justified means that the words will be

spaced out so that it is straight on both
the left and right hand side of the text.
Changing the size of the margins
• Bullet points or
1. Numbering

Formatting – extra features Page breaks – forcing the work to start on

a new page

Borders – putting boxes around text

Other features found on Word Processors

• Help facility
• Creating and editing tables (as above)
• Drawing tool so that you can draw your own basic shapes that can be grouped
together.
• Inserting pictures/clipart
• Mail Merge – where a standard document can be merged with information from a
data source (eg database) and inserted into the document. Companies use this to
send out personalised letters to their customers – they write one letter and
merge it with their customer database.
• Word Count

Differences between a Word Processor and Desk Top Publisher

Word Processor Desk Top Publisher

You can start typing straight away on the
page
Word wrap – words are never split up to
start a new line
Spell checker works through the whole of
the document
Thesaurus and Grammar checks
Can use Autocorrect to automatically
correct basic spelling mistakes
Not available
You need to create a text box before you
can start to type
Does not have word wrap – will usually split
the word or insert a hyphen when starting
a new line
Spell checker only works in the selected
text box
Not available
Not available
Ability to layer objects – place one on top
of each other or make one layer
 transparent
Not available Ability to flip or rotate objects so that
pictures or text frames can be put onto its
side or diagonally

Remember that software is being developed all the time and although these differences
are generally true, this may not be the case in the future.