Saving Your Paper
Before you begin writing your paper, you should save it. If you're saving for the first time pull down File > Save As…. A window will pop up, and it will be slightly different depending on what system software you're running (Windows XP, 2000, MacOS X, 8.6, etc.). You should be able to find three things regardless of what system you're using--the location where you would like to save, the filename, and the file type. These three parts are highlighted below from my Windows XP pop-up window:

When picking a location where you will save your file, there are a few things to consider. First of all, if you're in a computer lab you will need to save on a 3 1/2-inch floppy disk or a ZIP disk. Simply pull down the menu at the top of the "Save As" pop-up window to the appropriate location. If you're working at home, select the folder in which you would like to save.

Let's say, for instance, that I'm writing a paper on mourning. I would save my file as "Mourning Essay.doc." As a rule, you should save your files with the .doc extension to ensure that they can be read on different computers correctly.

Finally, the file type has already been selected by the program as "Word Document." You should not need to change this setting. When you are ready to save, click on the "Save" button.

Opening Your Paper
It's quite simple to open your saved paper on any computer equipped with Microsoft Word. After opening up the program, pull down File > Open. A window almost exactly like the one pictured above will appear on the screen. If, for instance, you saved your work on a ZIP Disk, pull down the menu at the top of the window to 'ZIP' or 'Removable Drive.' After finding it, click once on your file name and then click on the "Open" button. Your paper should come up exactly as you left it.

 

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