Get a WordPad Spell Checker

Day one and two of tutoring your adopted novice included helping them secure their system and configure their e-mail account(s).

On your third day of tutoring I’ll wager your adopted novice will ask you to provide an orientation on how to begin a digital photo editing and organizing adventure. However I suggest the third day be dedicated to word processing.

Understanding how to access the basic features of a word processing program and using a word processor in support of other computing activities will be an important part of many of your adopted novices immediate computing activities.

Needs that may include: writing letters; writing drafts of documents to be copied and pasted into an e-mail; outlining their autobiography and copying and pasting segments from an e-mail into a word processing document for transfer to a new e-mail or for permanent archiving. All accomplished with a word processor.

Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect must always be included in any discussion of word processors, but as one of your goals is to provide advice on user friendly, inexpensive programs,

I recommend you provide an in depth tour of WordPad.
WordPad (Start > All Programs > Accessories > WordPad) is an XP and Vista application which with the exception of a spell checker provides all the features a novice needs to begin a productive word processing adventure. And should they need a spell checker, www.spellcheck.net and Google offer excellent free spell checkers.

If your adopted novice decides to keep WordPad as their only word processor www.Spellcheckanywhere.com offers for $29.95 a generic universal spell checker that’ll integrate into 99.5% of all Windows applications to include WordPad. Considering Word and

WordPerfect cost many hundreds of dollars, $29.95 is certainly a reasonable price to pay for a spell checker that’ll make WordPad an extraordinarily useful word processor.

By the way, should your adopted novice at any time decide to upgrade to Word or WordPerfect, they can be confident both will read their WordPad files.

Perhaps you may question why I’ve not mentioned the premier free word processing program www.OpenOffice.org. The only reason is like Word and WordPerfect, Open Offices’ learning curve is significant and your goal is to get your adopted novice up to speed on word processing and then on to other adventures as quickly as possible.

A buyer beware. Unless you really know what you’re doing - keep away from Web sites advertising Word for a ridiculously low price.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.