How to create a document

In order to create a document you must either have a word processor or a computer capable of creating a document on an online service.

Note: When we refer to a "document", we're talking about a rich text document with text formatting (e.g., bold), images, different fonts, font sizes, etc. and not a plain text file. If you are only wanting to create a text only document see our how to create a text file page.

The most common and widely used word processor program is Microsoft Word. However, because of all of the different needs of users today we've tried to include all options that are available for creating a document.

 

Create a document with Google Docs

Google Docs is one of our favorite solutions for most users, especially new computer users because it is free, easy to access, supports collaborative editing, can open other document files, and can be accessed from any device. To use Google Docs follow the below steps.

1. Visit http://docs.google.com/
2. If prompted, log into your Google account.
3. Click the blue plus to start a new blank document or select from one of the pre-made templates.

Once in a new document any information can be added and as you continue to work Google automatically saves all changes. To name the document document click on "Untitled document" in the top-left corner and enter a new name. You can also click the share button in the top-right corner to share the document to work collaborately.

 

Creating a Document with Microsoft Word

To use Microsoft Word to open a document follow the steps below.

Open Word in Windows

1. Open Microsoft Word, if you're not sure how to open or find Word skip to the next section.
2. Once Word is open any new information can be entered.
3. Once complete or while working on the document you can Save or Save trhough the File tab.

How to find Microsoft Word in Windows

1. In Windows Click Start
2. In the search type word and if Word is installed should show in the results. For example, you may see Microsoft Word 2010, Microsoft Word 2013, or Microsoft Word 365.

Note: Word and WordPad are two different programs. See the below WordPad section for further information on this program.

How to install Microsoft Word

If Word is not installed it would need to be installed on the computer. Today, the latest version of Word is included in Office 365 and requires a subsription. You can download Office 365 from http://www.office.com/ which includes Excel, Word, and other Office products.

Tip: If you've purchased Office or Word in the past, older versions of Office can also be installed on newer computers, even those running Windows 8 or Windows 10. Of course this is assuming you have the installation discs and your new computer has a disc drive.

Creating a document with Microsoft WordPad

Microsoft WordPad is a free rich-text editor included with Microsoft Windows for viewing and editing rich-text files (.RTF, .DOCX, and .ODT) files. WordPad can perform basic text formatting like changing the font, alignment, and even inserting multimedia. However, keep in mind that it does not support all formatting options in .DOCX and .ODT files, so some formatting may be displayed improperly. To open WordPad follow the steps below.

1. In Windows Click Start
2. In the search type wordpad and select the WordPad application icon. Once open you should see a window similiar to the example below.

3. Once changes have been made to your document you can save the file in the File section.

Creating a document with LibreOffice and OpenOffice

OpenOffice and LibreOffice Calc are other great free products that allows anyone to create documents on their computer and can even support most of the features in Word. Below are the steps on how to run OpenOffice in Windows.

Open LibreOffice and OpenOffice in Windows

1. In Windows Click Start
2. Type writer and if OpenOffice or LibreOffice is installed you should see either OpenOffice Writer or LibreOffice Writer as an available option.

How to install LibreOffice or OpenOffice

LibreOffice can be downloaded from https://www.libreoffice.org/ and OpenOffice can be downloaded from https://www.openoffice.org/

Once either of these programs have been installed on the computer you can follow the steps above to create a document.