So how do you type a letter on a computer? If you ever used a typewriter,
you can write a letter or any other document on a computer. The keyboards are very similar.
For this tutorial, we'll show you two different ways to type documents using
apps that came with your Windows computer. The one you choose depends on the outcome you want.
You may be old enough to remember taking typing classes in school
but have no experience typing on a computer.
If so, there are a few things you'll need to learn about basic maneuvering on the computer keyboard.
Keyboards: Typing line returns and paragraphs.
The keys on most computer keyboards are arranged similarly to old-school typewriter keyboards.
There are some keyboards on which the letters are arranged differently. But, if you are using the
standard keyboard that came with your computer, you'll find little to no difference in the letter
positions. In most cases, keyboard shortcuts use the Control key on a Windows computer.
To make capital letters on a computer keyboard use the Shift key as you did on a typewriter.
If you need to type consecutive letters in caps, tap the Caps Lock key.
On manual typewriters when we had typed to the end of the line, we had to use the carriage return to
move the paper carriage back to the right to begin the next line. On electric typewriters,
we use the Return key to do the trick. There are some keyboards on which the letters are
arranged differently but, if you are using the standard keyboard that came with your computer,
you'll find little to no difference in the letter positions. You should not need to manually return
to start the next line as long as you are typing a full paragraph of continuous text.
How to start a new paragraph when writing on a computer: This is where the Return key comes into
play. When you finish the current paragraph, use the Return key to move to the beginning of a new
line. In most cases, standard settings in the app will cause there to be a space between paragraphs.
Most basic settings will have all paragraphs beginning without the first line being indented.
However, if you prefer to start new paragraphs with an indention the Tab
Key will indent about five spaces in most apps.
An important note about printing your letter:
Computers can't print your documents by themselves. They don't have printers built-in
and must have one attached before the letter you type can be printed on paper and mailed.
If you don't have a printer, there are alternative ways to deliver your
correspondence such as emailing the letter to your intended recipient.
You can find out more about emailing letters and other files on the TheTechieSenior.com.
Method one: Type a letter on a computer with little or no formatting.
This method is best suited for people who just want to type a letter or other
document and are not interested in formatting their letter with fancy type, tables, images,
etc.. Method Two will teach you how you can do those things.
The following instructions assume you have a mouse connected to your computer.
If you have a laptop with a touchpad or a touch screen with no mouse, tap the pad or screen when
the instructions say click. Any Windows computer produced within the past decade or two has a basic
text writer included. If your computer is a Windows computer no more than five years old
it probably runs on Windows 10 or Windows 11. You'll look for an application called Notepad.
Find notepad on a Windows 10 computer.
Click the start button in the lower-left corner of your computer screen.
You'll see an alphabetized list of applications that are available on your computer.
Locate one named Windows accessories and click on it.
Another list of apps will appear. Look down that list until you find Notepad. Click Notepad to open
it. If you have trouble finding Notepad using the start menu you can also type Notepad in the
search bar in the bottom left corner of your screen. Notepad should appear near the top.
In Notepad, you would click your mouse in this space and start typing.
In Notepad, the File menu is where you would find options relative to your document. Save
allows you to save your document. Save As allows you to save your document under a different name.
Page setup allows you to change the size of your paper and your margins.
Print allows you to print your letter if you have a printer connected.
In Notepad the format menu is where you'll find limited options that affect how your
document looks. If you notice that your words go out of sight when you reach the
right side of the document, click Word Wrap so that a check is beside it. Now your text
will automatically wrap to the next line. Font allows you to change your font name and size.
Method Two: Type a letter on a computer with some formatting and pictures.
As with method one where we use Notepad, these instructions assume you use a mouse
with your computer. If you have a touchpad or a touch screen with no mouse, tap the pad
or screen when the instructions say to click. Any Windows computer has Wordpad pre-installed.
The easiest way to find Wordpad is to click in the bottom search bar in Windows 10 or the
search icon in Windows 11. Type in Wordpad in the results. Click on Wordpad to open it.
If searching for Wordpad didn't work for you, click the Start or Windows button in the lower
left of your computer screen. In Windows 10 locate one named Windows Accessories.
In Windows 11 click All Apps in the top right, then Windows Tools. Another list of apps will
appear. Look down that list until you find Wordpad. Click Wordpad to open it. This is what
Wordpad looks like when it is first opened. You'll notice more editing and styling tools at the top.
Click your mouse in this area and start typing.
You'll see your letter take shape. If you mistype a letter, hit the Delete key on your keyboard.
The File tab in Wordpad: If you click the File tab at the top left of the window, you'll see several
buttons. New will open a new document. You can have more than one document open at the same time.
Open will take you to File Explorer where you can open an existing document. Use this if you started
one earlier and wish to edit or complete it. Save will save your document as is and under the
same file name it had when it was opened. Save As allows you to save your document under a new name.
Print allows you to print your document if you have a printer attached to your computer.
Page Setup is where you can set the paper size and margins. Send An Email allows you to email a
copy of your document to someone else. You must have an email account set up on your computer.
About Wordpad tells you information such as the version number of the app itself.
Exit will close Wordpad and exit it.
This area is called the Ribbon. It contains tools that help you enhance your document.
This is the Font area. It allows you to change the font or typeface.
There are buttons in this area that allow you to format the text in your document.
You can change the color of your text. You can also make your text bold, italicized, underlined,
larger or smaller. The Paragraph section allows you to change the alignment of your text from
left to Centered, Right, or Justified. You can create lists, indent sections of text,
and change the amount of space between lines. The Insert area allows you to insert pictures,
tables, and more. The Editing section allows you to search for text and replace it if necessary.
Most of the settings in the Font and Paragraph sections can be set before you start typing.
You can also select a section of text that you've already typed, then apply the settings.
Formatting tips: Using Shortcuts to change how your letter looks.
You'll probably want your letter to have at least a minimal amount of formatting applied to it.
In the final section of this video we'll look at some simple ways you can improve
the appearance of your letter. These additional instructions do not apply to Notepad for Windows.
The shortcuts will work with the last app that we talked about, Wordpad for Windows,
as well as Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, and LibreOffice. In order to use some of the shortcuts
that you are about to learn you'll need to know how to select the text that you want to style.
You can select your text by placing your cursor just before the first character that you want
to style. To place your cursor, simply click your mouse where you want the styling to begin
then hold your left Mouse button down while you drag across the letters that you want to style.
It can be a word or an entire paragraph.
As you drag your mouse, you'll see the text become highlighted. If dragging your mouse is
difficult for you, you can also click your mouse just before the first character, then hold down
the Shift key while you click your mouse again just after the last character you want to style.
Using shortcuts to format your letter in Windows: The keyboard shortcuts that we're about to cover
can make typing and styling your letters and other documents easier and faster. Keyboard shortcuts
are simply two or more keys that you hold down at the same time to make something happen.
As stated earlier, the following ten shortcuts will work in Wordpad on Windows computers.
They will also work in Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer, and LibreOffice Writer.
Most of them can be used in non-writing related apps such as Excel and email clients.
Using one of the methods that you learned a minute or two earlier, select the text that you want
to apply the shortcut to. You can apply any of these keyboard shortcuts to a selection of text.
All of them start with you pressing and holding the Control key.
To make your selected text bold, tap the letter B while you hold the Control key.
To italicize your selected text, tap the letter I and Control at the same time.
You can underline your selected text by pressing the letter U and the Control key.
You can Center your selected text by holding the Control key and tapping E.
Left align your selected text by tapping L while you hold the Control key.
Right-align your selected text by tapping R and the Control key together.
If you type A while you hold the control key, you will select all of the text in your document.
If you hold the Control key while you tap C you will copy all of the text that you selected to
the Clipboard. It will be held there until you copy something else onto the Clipboard.
The Clipboard can be considered a temporary holding area.
If you tap X while you hold the Control key, you will copy the selected text onto the Clipboard.
The difference between X and C is that X lets you remove the selected text and
move it to a new location. X copies it to the clipboard until you paste it in a new location.
If you tap V while you hold the Control key, you will paste the selected text from the clipboard
into the position where your cursor is located. Text that you copied using C will be duplicated
in the new location. Text that you copied with X will be moved to the new location.
Thank you for watching. Hopefully,
you now have the information you need to type a letter on a computer.
If you have other computer-related questions, you may find the answers at TheTechieSenior.com.
This tutorial was written by Tom Buford and is copyright 2023 by Quiet Place Media.