TOC
BACK
FORWARD
HOME

10 Minute Guide to Microsoft Exchange 5.0

- Lesson 9 -
Editing, Spell Checking, and Formatting Text

 

In this lesson, you learn how to edit and format the text you enter in your Exchange messages. You also learn how to use the spelling tool.

Using the Edit Functions

Microsoft Exchange Client provides the standard editing functions you find in most word processors, a spell-checker, and a robust set of features for formatting text. Editing makes working with text easier and faster; spell checking saves embarrassment; and formatting lets you add emphasis, style, and desktop publishing standards to your message.

If you regularly use a Windows-based word processor, you can skip this section because the Edit menu functions in the Exchange message window are the same as those in your word processor. However, in case word processing is not part of your daily work, here is an overview of the functions available in the Edit menu:

  • Undo undoes the last action you performed. For example, if you accidentally delete some text, choose Undo to bring it back. Ctrl+Z is a shortcut for Undo.

  • Cut removes selected (highlighted) text from your message and places it on the Clipboard. Ctrl+X is a shortcut for Cut.

  • Copy makes a copy of selected text (the text remains in the message) and places it on the Clipboard. Ctrl+C is a shortcut for Copy.

  • Paste places a copy of the data that's on the Clipboard into your message, at the insertion point. (The data remains on the Clipboard for other Paste procedures until you place something else on the Clipboard.) Ctrl+V is a shortcut for Paste.

  • Find opens a dialog box in which you can enter specific text you want to look for in your message. For long messages, this is faster than scrolling through the message and looking for the word or phrase you need. Ctrl+Shift+F is a shortcut for Find.

  • Replace opens a dialog box in which you can enter specific text you want to find and replace with other particular text. For example, you might need to Find all instances of "Smith" and replace them with "Smythe." Ctrl+H is a shortcut for Replace.

Clipboard An area of memory in which Windows holds specified data until you replace it with new data or you exit Windows. You place data on the Clipboard using either the Cut or Copy command from the Edit menu. You can place Clipboard data in any document prepared in a Windows software application by selecting Edit, Paste.

Using the Spelling Tool

Exchange provides a spelling tool that you can use to check all the words in your message. The spelling tool looks for any word that is not in its internal dictionary; when it finds one, it displays the word in the Spelling dialog box.

The spelling tool works in two different ways:

  • If you select (highlight) text, it checks that text for spelling errors. This is useful if you've just typed a word, and it doesn't look right. After checking the spelling of the selected text, the spelling tool asks if you want it to check the entire document.

  • If you have not selected text, the spelling tool begins checking at the location of your insertion point and moves down through the message. It then returns to the top of the message and works downward until it reaches the original starting point.

In addition to checking the message text, the spelling tool checks the text in the Subject box of the message header. Attachments are not checked for spelling.

To spell-check your messages, follow these steps:

1. Open the message that you want to spell-check.

2.
Choose Tools, Spelling. If the spelling tool finds an error, it displays the Spelling dialog box shown in Figure 9.1.

Figure 9.1 The Spelling dialog box.

3. When the spelling tool displays a word that's thought to be misspelled, you have a number of choices:

  • Choose Ignore if you want to skip this specific occurrence of the word.

  • Choose Ignore All if you want to skip this word every time it appears in the text.

  • Choose Add to add the word to the spelling dictionary so the spelling tool will recognize it the next time you use it.

  • Choose Suggest to have the spelling tool display some words in the Suggestions list that come close to your misspelled word.

  • Choose Change if the suggested word in the Change To box is the correct spelling. (You can also double-click a word in the suggested word list to change the misspelled word to the correct one.)

  • Choose Change All if you want to replace all occurrences of the misspelled word throughout the document with the word in the Change To box.


No Misspelled Words? The spelling tool displays the Spelling dialog box only if it finds a word that is not in its internal dictionary. Those words may be misspelled or they may just be proper names or technical jargon that are missing from the dictionary. If all the words in your text are in the dictionary, the dialog box never appears, and you receive an informational message telling you that the spelling check is complete.


4.
The spelling tool stops at each misspelled word in your message. For each misspelled word, select one of the options outlined in step 3.

5.
When the spelling tool has checked all the text, an informational message tells you that the spelling check is complete. Click OK to close the spelling tool.


Double Words The spelling tool also checks for double words, such as "the the." When double words are displayed in the Spelling dialog box, a Delete button replaces the Change button, and you can delete one of the words.

Setting Spelling Options

You can configure the way the spelling tool works by configuring the Spelling options. There are three ways to reach the Options dialog box:

  • Click the Options button on the Spelling dialog box while it is displaying an unrecognized word.

  • Choose Tools, Options in the Message window, and then choose the Spelling tab.

  • Choose Tools, Options in the Exchange window, and then choose the Spelling tab.

No matter which of these methods you use, the spelling Options dialog box appears (see Figure 9.2).

Figure 9.2 You can establish spelling options to suit your own convenience.


Always Suggest It's probably a good idea to select Always Suggest, because it saves you the trouble of clicking the Suggest button when you are facing a misspelled word.

Most of the available options should be chosen within the parameters of the type of message you usually send. For example, if you use a lot of acronyms, it's probably wise to configure the spelling tool to ignore "Words in UPPERCASE."

Formatting Text

You can change the characteristics of your text or the way specific lines are displayed in your message by using the formatting tools available on the formatting toolbar of the message window (see Figure 9.3).

Figure 9.3 Use the features on the formatting toolbar to enhance your messages.

The features available in the formatting toolbar are easy to understand; they are described in Table 9.1.

Table 9.1 Formatting Buttons

Button

Name

Description

Font

Displays a list of available fonts, from which you can select the one you want to use

Font size

Displays a list of available font sizes, from which you can select the one you want to use

Bold

Turns bold on and off

Italic

Turns italic on and off

Underline

Turns underline on and off

Color text

Displays a list of colors you can choose from to change the color of the displayed text (and the printed text if you have a color printer)

Bullets

Places a bullet at the beginning of each paragraph

Decrease Indent

Decreases the indentation of a paragraph by one tab stop

Increase Indent

Increases the indentation of a paragraph by one tab stop

Align Left

Lines text up on the left, creating a jagged right edge

Center

Centers each line of text between the margins

Align Right

Lines text up on the right, creating a jagged left edge

You can add formatting as you type, or after you finish entering text. Here's how:

  • If you want to add formatting as you go, select the appropriate formatting button, and then begin entering text. The buttons are toggles, which means that when you want to end a particular formatting style, you just click the button again to turn it off.

  • If you want to format existing text, select (highlight) the text, and then click the appropriate formatting button.

Complex Formatting You can choose multiple formatting options, such as Bold and Italic, Underline and Center, or any other combination.



When to Avoid Formatting The formatting features supplied with Exchange Client are called Rich Text Formatting (RTF). A recipient must have an e-mail client that supports RTF to be able to view formatting. If you are unsure of a recipient's e-mail capabilities, consult your administrator or, to be safe, don't use formatting.

In this lesson, you learned about Microsoft Exchange Client's editing, formatting, and spell checking tools. In the next lesson, you'll learn about the options you have when receiving messages.

TOCBACKFORWARDHOME


©Copyright, Macmillan Computer Publishing. All rights reserved.