<chapter id="fundamentals">
<title>Fundamentals</title>

<para>This next section is designed to show you how to start &kword; and
some basic but important concepts you should understand when using
&kword;</para>

<sect1 id="starting-kword">
<title>Starting &kword;</title>

<para>&kword; can be started one of four ways:</para>

<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>You can select &kword; through the system menus, under:
<menuchoice><guimenu>K-Button</guimenu><guimenuitem>Office</guimenuitem>
<guimenuitem>KWord</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para> 
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>If you are in a terminal program (&konsole;, <application>Xterm</application>, &etc;), you can type:
<screen><prompt>$</prompt> <userinput><command>kword
&amp;</command></userinput></screen></para>

<para>Or</para>

<para><screen><prompt>$</prompt> <userinput><command>kword</command>
<replaceable>filename</replaceable> &amp;</userinput></screen></para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Using &konqueror;, you can click on your data file (&kword;
documents end in <literal role="extension">.kwd</literal>).  This will
automatically start &kword; and begin editing the file.</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Using the &koffice; Workspace.</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="template-intro">
<title>An Introduction to Templates</title>

<para>OK, so the first question you may have is:</para>

<para><emphasis>Why do I need to use a frames based word processor, when
I am perfectly happy writing my letters on my current, page layout, word
processor? </emphasis></para>

<para>Well the good news is, adjusting to a frames based word processor
is easy and once you select a template, &kword; can act just like the
page layout word processor you are used to.  There are templates
available for simple correspondence and day to day use.</para>

<para>When you need to generate a more complex document (newsletters,
posters, &etc;), however, you will not need to switch to a different
application to generate these special documents. There are templates in
&kword; which will help you generate your newsletters or other more
complicated documents.</para>

<para>OK. So now that you are willing to give this a try, we should talk
briefly about what templates are, what templates can do for you and how
you work with templates.</para>

<para><emphasis>What are templates and what can they do for
me</emphasis></para>

<para>A template can be thought of as an initial mold for your
document.</para>

<para>When we sit down to write a document, we already have an idea of
what the final product will look like. If you are writing a letter to a
business, you want a document with only one column, which goes all the
way across the page, and from top to bottom of the page.  When you sit
down to author a newsletter for a local organization, however, you may
want a large title across the top, and several columns for quick news
articles.</para>

<para>With &kword;, you can use this predetermined notion of how your
document should look too make your work easier.  By using a template,
you can create a set of frames to approximate this final layout. For
your business letter, you can select one large frame that covers the
page from top to bottom and side to side (excluding margins of
course). For that newsletter, however, you may decide that a two or
three column document is more to your liking. Once you select this
template, &kword; will create the frames for you.</para>

<para><emphasis>What if I decide later to change my
layout</emphasis></para>

<para>This is not a problem. If you begin your document as a single
column document and decide later that two columns is better for your
needs, you can add another column. The purpose of templates is not to
limit your ability to change your layout, but rather to take some of the
work load off you whenever possible.  Choosing the correct template when
you begin your document will simplify the formatting (as opposed to
always selecting the default template and making your changes later.),
but it is also important to remember that choosing the wrong template
will not limit your work.</para>

<para><emphasis>Working with frames (aka Your First
Document)</emphasis></para>

<para>The following section, consists of two fundamental topics which
you should understand before we continue, followed by a step by step
walk through of the most important functions you will need to understand
to complete a complex document. We will generate the start of a
newsletter using this tutorial. If you do not want to complete the
tutorial, or have questions about a specific aspect of frames, you can
use the following to jump directly to that section of the
tutorial:</para>

<orderedlist numeration="arabic">
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="wp-vs-dtp">The difference between Text Oriented and
Page Layout templates</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="choose-template">Choosing the initial
template</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="tutorial-frame-select">Selecting a frame and
entering text into that frame</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="tutorial-resize-frame">Changing the size of a
frame</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="tutorial-move-frame">Moving a frame on the
page</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="tutorial-add-frame">Adding a new frame and making text flow
between two frames</link></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><link linkend="tutorial-del-frame">Deleting a frame</link></para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>

<para>This tutorial is designed to be done in order, starting with <link
linkend="wp-vs-dtp">The difference between Text Oriented and Page Layout
templates.</link> I recommend going through the tutorial in order at
least once.</para>

</sect1>

<sect1 id="wp-vs-dtp">
<title>The difference between Text Oriented and Page Layout
templates</title>

<para>Before we begin with the tutorial, it is important that the
difference between Text Oriented and Page Layout templates is clear in
your mind.</para>

<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Text Oriented</term>
<listitem>
<para>The Text Oriented templates are designed to act like page-oriented
word processors. When you select a Text Oriented template, you will
create a template with one or more frames. The first frame is distinctly
tied to the paper size of your document.  When you increase or decrease
the paper size or change the margins, the frame size is automatically
adjusted.  You are <emphasis>not</emphasis> able to move this frame
around on the page and you cannot delete this frame. If you need to
adjust the size or position of this frame, you must <link
linkend="page-format">adjust the margins</link>. On top of the first
frame, you can, of course, add additional frames. These frames can
contain pictures, text or whatever you want. These new frames can be
moved, re-sized and deleted to suit your needs. If you want it, &kword;
will even wrap the text from the first frame around any information in
any subsequent frames.</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>

<varlistentry>
<term>Page Layout</term>
<listitem>
<para>These templates are designed for desktop publishing.  When you
select a template from this class, all of the frames are created
equal. This is where the difference between Page Layout and Text
Oriented template lies. None of the frames in a Page Layout template are
tied to the page as tightly as the main frame in a Text Oriented
template is. Each of the frames is independent of the page size, and can
be moved or re-sized without changing margins, &etc; Of course this also
means that altering the margins or paper size of your document requires
that you individually move/resize each frame.  </para>

</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<para>As you can see, the choice between Page Layout and Text Oriented
templates is a choice between flexibility (Page Layout) and convenience
(Text Oriented).  You can create any document you like with either type
of template.</para>

<para>If the concept of templates is still unclear, please follow along
with the following tutorial. The first document you create will use a
Page Layout template. This should help clarify exactly how templates
function.</para> 

</sect1> 
</chapter>
