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 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 Cap 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 used 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 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've finished a 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 thetechysenior.com
Method 1 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 2 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 touchscreen 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 5 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 the 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, quick word wrap so that a text is decided
Now, your text will automatically wrap to the next line. Font allows you to change your font name and size
Method 2, Type a letter on a computer with some formatting and pictures
As with Method 1 where we use Notepad and TextEdit, these instructions assume you use a mouse with your computer
If you have a touch pad 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 Star 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 takes 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 styles 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 center, right, or justify
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 10 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 V 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 to 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 D 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 thetechysenior.com
This tutorial was written by Tom Buford and is copyright 2023 by Quiet Place Media