Chapter 9. Word Processing with Your Mac
When most folks think of a Mac, terms like "multimedia," "graphics," "movies," "photos," "music," and the like are what generally come to mind. But when something so seemingly arcane as word processing is mentioned, usually a Windows-based PC running Microsoft Word is the first thing that pops into most people's thoughts. That is a mindset that I hope to quash with this chapter, because, truth be told, Microsoft released Word for Mac several years before it did for Windows!
"What is word processing, anyway?" some may be asking. Word processing is the act of putting text, and in some cases graphics, on a page, whether printed or digital. Typically the first image conjured of someone using a word processor is a harried writer with tousled hair hunkered over a computer or old-fashioned typewriter, with an ashtray full of cigarette butts and crumpled pieces of paper scattered about the room, pounding out his or her latest creation on the poor, defenseless keyboard (kind of like me right now, minus the cigs).
Chances are almost certain that you will run into a word-processing application at some point if you use a computer, even on a semi-regular basis. You can use a word processor to create documents of almost any kind; most aren't limited to simply text files.
Word-processing apps can be used to make documents as diverse as books, ...
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