Features of Word Pad

• Since Windows 95, Microsoft has included Word Pad, a small word-processing program, as a built-in component of its operating systems. Word Pad's features depend on the operating system version you have. While not as robust as Microsoft Word, Word Pad contains a number of features to help you create a basic document.

The Ribbon

• The Windows 7 version of Word Pad features the Ribbon. This toolbar runs across the top of the screen, replacing the traditional toolbar seen in previous versions. Tabs on the Ribbon show basic areas for document creation; each area is separated into groups. Each group contains tools, buttons and menus for formatting and viewing your document. A pop-up box appears if you move your mouse over a tool on the Ribbon; this box gives more information about the command.

Document Creation

• The document window appears below the ribbon. Once you have created a basic document, you can move text around by using the cut, copy and paste functions. Use the Ribbon to change the text's formatting. Apply different fonts, change the font color or add bullets. The search and replace feature lets you correct mistakes throughout a document.

Insert Menu

• Click on the "Insert" tab in Word Pad to add elements to a document. You can insert drawings, pictures, graphs and equations into the document. You can also embed or link other document types, such as Adobe portable document format (PDF) files and Excel spreadsheets.

View Options

• Word Pad print preview allows you to see what a document will look like before it is printed. You can examine a document closely by zooming in, see the whole document at once by zooming out or look at the actual size of the document. The Windows 7 Word Pad includes a zoom slider in the bottom-right corner.

Opening and Saving Documents

• Word Pad can open several document formats, including Rich Text Format (RTF), Word document (DOC) and text (TXT) files. Word Pad can often repair damaged or corrupted files just by opening them. The Windows 7 Word Pad can also open and save Word DOCX files and OpenDocument Text (ODT) documents, although some features of these formats will not be available.