File management and documents
Practical skills for files, images, page layout, styles, proofing, document production and presentations.
📌 Key points
- Common file types: .csv (data separated by commas), .txt (plain text), .rtf (rich text format), .pdf (portable document), .jpg (compressed photos), .png (images, supports transparency), .gif (images and simple animations), .css (stylesheet), .zip (compressed files), .mp3 (audio), .mp4 (video).
- Generic file formats (e.g. .csv, .txt, .rtf, .pdf, .jpg) can be opened by many different programs; proprietary formats belong to one company's software. Files are compressed (e.g. zipped) to save storage space and to send or upload them faster.
- Editing images: crop removes unwanted parts; resize while keeping the aspect ratio so the image is not distorted; rotate, reflect (flip), adjust brightness and contrast; reducing resolution or colour depth reduces file size.
- Headers and footers appear at the top and bottom of every page, e.g. page numbers, author, date and file name; page layout also includes orientation (portrait or landscape), margins, columns and tables.
- A corporate house style sets fonts, colours, logo and layout so all of an organisation's documents look consistent and professional and are easily recognised; styles (e.g. Heading 1, Body text) apply consistent formatting quickly.
- Text alignment can be left, right, centred or fully justified (both edges straight). A widow is the last line of a paragraph alone at the top of a page; an orphan is the first line of a paragraph alone at the bottom of a page.
- Spell checkers and grammar checkers help but are not perfect: they miss real words used wrongly (e.g. their/there) and may flag names or technical terms; proofreading is still needed.
- Page breaks, section breaks and column breaks control where content starts. Mail merge combines a master document containing merge fields with a data source to make personalised letters.
- In presentations, a master slide puts the same background, logo, fonts and slide numbers on every slide; transitions happen between slides and animations apply to objects on a slide; use little text per slide and add speaker notes.
📖 Key terms
- Generic file format
- A file type that can be opened by many different applications, e.g. .csv or .rtf.
- Aspect ratio
- The ratio of an image's width to its height; keeping it stops distortion when resizing.
- Corporate house style
- A set of rules for the look of an organisation's documents, giving a consistent brand.
- Widow
- The last line of a paragraph that appears alone at the top of a new page or column.
- Orphan
- The first line of a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a page or column.
- Mail merge
- Combining a master document with a data source to produce personalised documents.
- Master slide
- A slide that sets the layout and objects that appear on every slide in a presentation.
✏️ Worked example
A school sends a personalised letter to the parents of 300 students. Describe how mail merge is used.
- Create the master letter with the text that is the same for everyone.
- Open the data source (e.g. a spreadsheet or database of student names and addresses).
- Insert merge fields such as Title, Surname and Address where personal details are needed.
- Preview the merge to check the fields are correct, and filter the records if only some parents need letters.
- Merge to a new document or to the printer, producing 300 personalised letters.
Practical-paper marks are easily lost on detail: keep the aspect ratio when resizing, apply styles exactly as specified, and proofread carefully. In theory questions, define widow and orphan precisely: they are easy to mix up.
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