Year 10 · ICT · Autumn 2 · Networks; layout and styles

Practical: layout

PracticalPresent ▶

What this lesson covers

13.1 Create and edit documents

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 13: Layout

13.2 Tables

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 13: Layout

17.2 Columns and breaks

Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 · Topic 17: Document production · Paper 2

You will learn to

Import an image and choose the right text wrapping for it.
Insert a table, merge cells, and set alignment, shading and column widths.
Set columns for part of a document, using section breaks.
Insert page breaks and column breaks where a specification asks.

Success criteria

I can wrap text around an image so that nothing overlaps.
I can build a table with merged cells that matches the printed specification.
I can put two columns in the middle of a page without changing the rest.

The syllabus points for these sections

Enter text accurately, exactly as given.
Use cut, copy, paste and drag and drop.
Import text, images, tables and charts from other files.
Choose the right text wrapping for an object.
Insert a table with a set number of rows and columns.
Insert and delete rows and columns, and merge cells.
Set cell alignment, gridlines, shading, row height and column width.
Wrap text inside cells and check tables before printing.
Set the number of columns and the space between them.
Apply columns to part of a document using section breaks.
Insert page breaks, section breaks and column breaks.
Choose the right break for the job.

Key words

Say each word, then read what it means. Every one is in the glossary too.

Data entry accuracy: Typing text exactly as given, with no errors in spelling, case, spaces or punctuation.
Clipboard: A temporary store in memory that holds what you last cut or copied.
Cut: Remove selected content and place it on the clipboard.
Copy: Place a copy of selected content on the clipboard and leave the original.
Paste: Insert the clipboard contents at the cursor.
Drag and drop: Move selected text or an object by dragging it with the mouse.
Import: Bring content from another file into the current document.
Text wrapping: How body text flows around an object: square, tight, or above and below.
Cell: One box in a table, where a row and a column meet.
Merge cells: Join two or more cells into one larger cell.
Gridlines (borders): Lines drawn around table cells.
Shading: A background colour filling a cell or area.
Header: The area at the top of every page that repeats on each page.
File path: The full location of a file, including the drive and folders.
Page orientation: Whether the page is portrait (tall) or landscape (wide).
Margin: The blank border between the edge of the paper and the text.
Gutter: Extra margin on the edge that will be bound, so text is not lost in the binding.
Column: A vertical strip of text; text flows from one column to the next.
Column spacing: The gap between two columns.
Page break: A marker that forces the text after it onto a new page.
Section break: A marker that starts a new section, which can have its own columns, margins or orientation.
Column break: A marker that forces the text after it into the next column.
Line spacing: The space between lines inside one paragraph.
Spacing before/after: Extra space above or below a paragraph, measured in points.
Tab stop: A set position on a line that the cursor jumps to when the tab key is pressed.
Decimal tab: A tab stop that lines up numbers on their decimal points.
Find and replace: A tool that finds text and swaps it for other text.
Match case: A find option that only finds text with the same capital and small letters.

The explanation

Read it here, or open the study page below to go one step at a time with things to try.

13.1 Create and edit documents

Type it exactly as given

Many tasks say: "Enter the following text as a subtitle." The examiner checks it letter by letter.

Copy the spelling, capital letters, spaces and punctuation exactly. Do not correct the text, even if you think the wording is odd.

Data entry accuracy means no typing errors at all. One wrong letter usually loses the mark.

e.g.Example

Task text: Tawara Cycle Hire – Spring Prices Wrong: Tawara cycle hire - spring prices (wrong capitals) Wrong: Tawara Cycle Hire – Sprng Prices (spelling) Right: Tawara Cycle Hire – Spring Prices

?Why?

In the real world, a client's name or a price typed wrong can lose a customer or money. The exam rewards that same care.

!Watch out

Watch for double spaces, a missing full stop, and capital letters changed by autocorrect. Zoom in to 150% and compare word by word before you move on.

Cut, copy, paste and drag and drop

Copy puts a copy on the clipboard and leaves the original. Cut removes the original and puts it on the clipboard. The clipboard is a temporary store in memory.

Paste puts the clipboard contents at the cursor. Drag and drop moves selected text or an object with the mouse.

A typical task: "Move the paragraph that starts Bicycles are… so it becomes the last paragraph." Cut, click at the new place, paste.

?Why?

Cut and paste is safer than retyping. Retyping can introduce errors and wastes exam time.

!Watch out

After moving a paragraph, check the spacing above and below it. Moving often leaves an extra blank line in one place and none in the other. That inconsistent spacing loses marks.

Import objects from other files

Importing brings content from another file into your document: text from a .txt or .rtf file, an image, a table from a .csv file, or a chart from a spreadsheet.

A task might say: "Import the file J2611extra.rtf as a new paragraph after the heading Opening Times."

Use insert options to place the file contents at the cursor. Then apply the same style as the rest of the body text.

!Watch out

Imported text often keeps its old font. If it looks different from the body text, the examiner marks it as inconsistent. Apply the body style to it.

Text wrapping around objects

Text wrapping sets how body text flows around an image, chart or text box.

Cambridge names: above and below (text stops above the object and starts again below), square (text goes round a box), tight (text follows the object's outline).

Read the task wording. "With text wrapping above and below" and "text to wrap around the image" need different settings.

Task wording	Wrap setting
Text above and below the image only	Top and bottom (above and below)
Text wrapped round the image	Square
Text following the shape of the logo	Tight

?Why?

The wrap controls how the page reads. Above and below keeps lines long and easy to read. Square saves space.

13.2 Tables

Insert a table of the right size

A table is a grid of cells arranged in rows (across) and columns (down).

A typical task: "Insert a table with 4 columns and 6 rows below the paragraph about prices."

In most word processors, place the cursor, choose insert table, and type the number of columns and rows. Then enter the data exactly as given.

e.g.Example

Table for a cycle hire shop: 3 columns, 4 rows. Row 1: Bike type | Hours | Price Row 2: Road | 2 | €12.00 Row 3: Mountain | 2 | €15.00 Row 4: Electric | 2 | €24.00

!Watch out

Count the header row. "6 rows" usually includes the header row. Read the task to see if it says "plus a header row".

Insert, delete and merge

To add a row, click in a row and choose insert row above or below. Delete works the same way.

Merging cells joins two or more cells into one. Tasks often say: "Merge the cells in the top row and enter the title Price List."

Merged cells are used for a table title across the whole width, or for a heading over two columns.

e.g.Example

Task: Delete the row containing the Tandem data. Click in that row, choose delete row. Check the rows above and below are still there and in the right order.

!Watch out

Deleting the text in a row is not deleting the row. An empty row left in the table loses the mark.

Alignment, gridlines and shading

Cell alignment sets where text sits in a cell: left, centre or right across, and top, centre or bottom up and down.

Rule of thumb: text left-aligned, numbers right-aligned so the units line up. Headings may be centred.

Gridlines (borders) are the lines round cells. Tasks may say "show all gridlines when printed" or "remove all borders". Shading fills cells with colour, often a light grey on the header row.

Item	Usual setting	Why
Text in cells	Left aligned	Easy to read from the left edge
Numbers and prices	Right aligned	Units, tens and decimal points line up
Header row	Bold, maybe shaded	Shows it is a heading, not data

!Watch out

Applying alignment to some cells and forgetting others is a classic mark loss. Select the whole column before you align.

Row height, column width and wrap text

Column width and row height can be set exactly, for example "set the first column to 4 cm wide".

Wrap text in cells makes long text continue on a new line inside the same cell, instead of being cut off or stretching the table.

Every word must be fully visible. If a heading splits in the middle of a word, widen the column.

?Why?

A table where text is hidden or a word breaks across lines is hard to read. Examiners check that all data is fully visible.

Check every table before printing

All data entered, with no spelling errors.

Same font and size in every cell, matching the task or the body style.

Alignment consistent down each column. Gridlines as asked.

The table fits within the margins and is not split across two pages.

!Watch out

How candidates lose marks: table sticks out past the margin; a row is split across pages; header row not repeated or not bold when asked; one column aligned differently; extra empty row at the bottom.

17.2 Columns and breaks

Columns and column spacing

Columns split the text into vertical strips, like a newspaper. Text fills one column, then flows into the next.

Column spacing (the gap or gutter between columns) is set in cm. A typical task: "Format the body text into three columns with 1 cm spacing between them."

Columns make short lines, which are quicker to read in newsletters and leaflets.

e.g.Example

Page text width: 16 cm. Three columns, 1 cm spacing. Spacing total = 2 gaps × 1 cm = 2 cm. Each column = (16 − 2) ÷ 3 ≈ 4.67 cm wide.

!Watch out

Set columns to equal width unless told otherwise. Check that the spacing value is exactly what the task says, not the default.

Section breaks: columns for part of the page

A section break divides a document into sections. Each section can have its own columns, orientation or margins.

Tasks often say: "The title and subtitle are in one column. All the text from the heading Introduction is in two columns."

Insert a continuous section break before Introduction. Then set two columns for the new section only. A continuous break starts the new section on the same page.

?Why?

Without a section break, columns apply to the whole document, so the title is squeezed into a narrow column too.

!Watch out

Choosing a "next page" section break instead of continuous pushes the body text onto a new page and leaves a half-empty first page.

Page breaks and column breaks

A page break forces the text after it onto a new page. Use it when a task says "start the heading Prices on a new page".

A column break forces the text after it into the next column. Use it to make columns balance or to start a heading at the top of a column.

Never press Enter many times to push text down. If you edit anything above, the gap changes.

Break	What it does	Example task
Page break	Next text starts on a new page	Start the table on a new page
Section break (continuous)	New section on the same page, with its own layout	Title in 1 column, body in 2
Section break (next page)	New section on a new page	Make page 3 landscape only
Column break	Next text starts at the top of the next column	Start Opening Times at the top of the second column

!Watch out

A page break at the very end of the document creates a blank last page. Blank pages lose the layout mark. Turn on formatting marks to find stray breaks.

Study it

Open the study page and go one step at a time.

ICT topic 4

Check yourself

One question at a time. The reason shows after each answer.

Saved on this device.

Practical: layout

What this lesson covers

You will learn to

Success criteria

Key words

The explanation

Type it exactly as given

Cut, copy, paste and drag and drop

Import objects from other files

Text wrapping around objects

Insert a table of the right size

Insert, delete and merge

Alignment, gridlines and shading

Row height, column width and wrap text

Check every table before printing

Columns and column spacing

Section breaks: columns for part of the page

Page breaks and column breaks

Study it

Networks and the effects of using them

Layout

Styles

File management

The web

Check yourself