The Nursing Specialist Group
Information Technology in Nursing
Volume 5 1993 Everyday computer applications - word processing.
Rundell S.
1 993: 5, 3: 1 3-14
Keywords: Layout, products, positive features
An introduction to the advantages of word processing with tips on presentation, printers, layout, illustration and brief descriptions of six software products.
Although Information Technology (IT) is becoming increasingly common within the clinical workplace, and making its presence felt at numerous nurse's stations, few nursing practitioners make use of the new technology. The Personal Computer is also fast penetrating the domestic market, opening up new possibilities for nurses who perhaps had not previously considered the benefits of using IT beyond calculating the off-duty. The purpose of this occasional series of articles will be to introduce some of the principle types of computer application available for the personal computer, and demonstrate their capabilities to those unfamiliar with them.
Word processing - how to get it all down on paper
A typewriter can put characters on a page, and turn out quite respectable letters - but that's all. A computer running word processing (WP) software offers many more facilities in return for only a little extra learning - an investment that many have found well worth making in terms of both productivity and output quality.
Word processing is one of the most common tasks that personal computers are asked to do, so not surprisingly, there are many different programs to choose from. Thus one should be able to find a word processor which suits your needs and your budget. Regular users of WPs often become very proficient at using an application to the full. For many, the inability to type is not a barrier to using a WP.
All word processing software include features such as copying and deleting text in blocks, searching through text for words and automatically swapping one series of characters [or words] for another. More advanced features in some programs include a screen representation of that page as you prepare it (the WYSIWYG concept) or a, page preview'- in non-WYSIWYG Was; automatic creation of tables, indexes, cross-references, footnotes and page numbering. Most WP software also offer spelling checkers, with specialised dictionaries for particular professions [even medicine and nursing!]. There is even software which will cheek the grammar for you, although computers are not very good judges of literary style.
For many people, they do not have much choice over which WP they use. This is either dictated by the work machine or the software that can be installed on their PC.
Tips on presentation
One of the advantages of using a WP is that it reduces the influence of your
handwriting to the signature at the bottom, with a WP you can convince committees that your proposals are brilliant, even before they've found out how much they'll cost. However, improperly used, word processed documents can look shoddy and
unimpressive, because the user has been too preoccupied with getting the text into the computer and has given little thought to how it will appear. As most computers will cheek your spelling, do not worry about the typing errors. To change a typing error in a document is often as simple as moving the mouse.
Choose your printer with care, as even the most effective prose in the world will look shoddy from a bad printer. Identify what your printing needs are, and perhaps more importantly, how much the budget can afford.
Printers
Printers fall into three basic categories. Your choice will depend on your needs,
consider a) the type method noise level, b) relative cost and c) dots per inch for clarity of the printed characters.
Dot Matrix printers have rows of pins which hit an inked ribbon and mark the paper on impact (a + + +, b +, c 60).
Ink jet printers spray ink onto the page from tiny nozzles (a +, b + +, c 300).
Laser printers have a laser beam which charges the paper, this attracts a fine powder (toner), which is then heated onto the page in much the same way as a photocopier operates (a b + + + +, c 300-600).
Layout
Take care over the format of each individual page, look at the shape it forms on the page (using the WP's 'page preview' mode or take a look at 50% size in a WYSIWYG WP).
The best pages are not crammed up into the top 1/3rds of the sheet, but are centred, and fill the entire space, even for a letter of only a few lines The best pages, whether they are a letter, a discussion document or a poem, have not only to read well, but must have a balance between the black of the type and the white of the page. They use a uniform style, without incongruous or inappropriate embellishments. The fancy bells and whistles, which are made so easy with sophisticated software are only effective when one or two are used sparingly. Given the power of these modern WPs, it is tempting to overload a document with embellishments (known in the trade as, attributes) such as bold, italic, underlined or to use numerous strange and fancy fonts. Use of more than one font and more than one consistent embellishment clutters the page, and confuses the eye.
Typefaces should be consistent, and of uniform heights. No more than three are recommended, one for headlines, one for subheadings and one for plain text.
Artwork is a useful tool, a picture or diagram or chart can have visual impact amid a sea of text, breaking the monotony and enabling you also to express yourself in different ways. Many sophisticated WPs allow the user to incorporate artwork, either proprietary ('clip-art') or created using drawing and charting packages such as
Freelance Graphics. Typically, too much artwork can lose a reader's interest in the body
Missing section ******
to construct complex fully illustrated documents.
• One spends too much time 'playing' with the style rather than getting on with the work
• Steep learning curve
• Difficult to find every feature easily.
Wordstar 7.0 Wordstar Corp.
• Well-known, standard format and key presses
• Allows the user to retain control over the machine.
• Hasn't really kept up to date
• Non-WYSIWYG
• Not able to do much fancy work
• Odd key presses, incongruous mouse support.
Locoscript Professional Locomotive Software
• Known to many new-to-PCs from Amstrad connection
• Simple, menu-driven interface.
• No Graphics support
• Non-WYSIWYG
• Limited function
• Insulates user from any control
• Quirky, function-key presses.
Word for DOS 5.5 Microsoft
• Hundreds of features
• Powerful text and graphics manipulation
• DOS-based GUI with excellent mouse support.
• Too much to fiddle with
• Good features buried deep inside menus.
Conclusion
Word processing software can help you create effective documents, they can allow you to produce pieces of paper of a very high visual impact, but cannot replace what you want to say. The current business climate of the Free Market NHS demands that nursing practitioners compete with other disciplines to make our message heard. Nursing is a communicative profession, so it is appropriate for us to take up the available technology to explain the clinical and informatic needs of our profession, before our rivals get there first.
Glossary
Don't be fooled - the jargon of word processing is largely borrowed from the world of printing, and most of the concepts are quite straightforward; just as the Eskimos have 40 different words for 'snow', printers have about the same for describing the size and nature of letters on a page.
WP - Word Processor: a program to manipulate text (and now graphics). PC - The IBM Personal Computer and
compatibles: the industry standard desktop computer, not to be confused with the generic term 'pc’ which refers to any desktop personal computer.
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get: a method of ensuring that what is displayed on the screen is reproducible exactly on the printer.
Windows - An Operating system for the PC (mimicking that available on the Macintosh): controlled using the mouse to manipulate graphical icons. Windows provides a standardised approach across all the diverse programs which run under Windows.
DOS - (properly MS-DOS or PC-DOS): an Operating system without the
commitment to graphical devices. The principal advantage is one of speed on lower powered computers, at the expense of a degree of use ability.
Attributes - The embellishments to a printed word or line of text, such as bold, italic or underlining, see also font.
Font - (also known as @typeface). The style of lettering used, described by style and point size (the size of the character). The larger the point size, the larger the
character. A 2-point font is barely legible on the page, whilst 66-point will fill an entire page. The normal size in a book or journal is 10 or 12-point.
DPI - Dots Per Inch: a measure of how small and accurate you can print. The more dpi you can squeeze on the page, the better a page or a picture will look.
DTP - Desktop Publishing. The genre of computing has been invented by the advent of the Personal Computer with Graphical Capabilities (such as the Macintosh or the Windows PC), allowing end-users to produce quality output acceptable for more than
merely typewritten letters: within the grasp of users are newspapers, leaflets, posters and even journals of professionally-accepted quality. Many printers and typesetters are now replaced by DTP-houses. As WPs have become more sophisticated, the distinction between 'proper' DTP programs (often very expensive) and WPs have become blurred.
GUI - Graphical User Interface. The method of controlling programs using mice and icons. Windows is the ultimate GUI, but many DOS programs use their own very similar GUI.