Creating, Formatting, Editing and Saving Documents

In order to type documents like essays, papers and letters, you need a computer and a word processing program. It’s also a good idea to use a Flash drive to save your work.

Not all computers have the same word processing software installed, so it is important to know about file types and compatibility between computer systems.

How File Extensions Work

File extensions are added automatically to the file name when you save a document. Computers read file extensions in order to open correct programs, and each program creates specific file extensions. For example, double-clicking on a file named "this.doc" will open the document using Microsoft Word 2003 for Windows. If you have problems with opening files, check the file extension.

Word Processor File Extension Compatible with Word 2003 (at Stratford)Word 97-2003 .doc YesWord 2007 .docx NoWord Perfect .wpd NoMicrosoft Works .wps NoOpen Office Writer .odt NoWordpad .rtf YesAny .rtf Yes (Rich Text Format)Any .txt Yes (Text only – you will lose formatting)

If you are creating a document away from school, it’s a good idea to save your files in Rich Text Format (.rtf), using the File - Save As command.

Example: Saving a document created in Open Office as a .rtf file