ITGS Application Software

ITGS Application software (productivity software) –Allows the user to perform tasks to solve problems, such as creating documents, managing finances, or editing images.

ITGS Word processing software –Allows the creation of typed documents such as letters, memos, and business proposals Features are optimized for text creation, including formatting, spelling check and language tools –Mail merge - a common tool which allows a single template document to be customized for individual people

ITGS Desktop Publishing (DTP) software (page layout software) –Allows the creation of documents such as leaflets, brochures, posters, newsletters, and magazines –DTP allows much greater control over the page layout than a word processor, and can prepare documents for output on professional commercial printers

ITGS Desktop Publishing (DTP) software – allows complex pages of text and graphics to be laid out for publications Word processing software and DTP software are both WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) – the appearance of the document on the screen is exactly how it will appear when printed Word processing software is focused more on the line- by-line creation of text documents DTP software is page-oriented, allowing objects such as text frames, images and tables to be placed anywhere on the page

ITGS Desktop Publishing (DTP) features –Master pages - when features are added to a master page, they are automatically added to every page in the document Useful for page numbers, headers and footers –Templates - provide predefined layouts for creating a variety of document types Users replace the supplied dummy text and images with their own –Grouping tools Allow you to manage multiple objects at the same time –Alignment options Allow objects to be positioned with precision

ITGS Desktop Publishing (DTP) features –DTP also offers more advanced text management features than word processors The ability to adjust typography features such as: –Kerning / tracking - adjusting the spaces between individual letters –Ligatures - combining two letters together to make one character, such as “fl” –DTP users often require output which can be professionally printed Most DTP software supports exporting in standard file formats such as PDF Includes color management options and colour separations –Before exporting for print, pre-flight checks can be done to scan the document for printing problems such as images with insufficient resolution

ITGS TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL DTP Use a consistent layout - similar styles, themes and colors should apply to all or most pages in a publication Use only a few fonts - one for text and one for headings Break up long lines into columns to reduce line length Dark colors are heavy and should be used sparingly and balanced Use white space Images for professional printing should be at least 300 dpi Resize images in image editing software, not DTP

ITGS Adobe PDF –Portable Document Format - used for distributing digital documents PDFs can include embedded fonts so that documents appear exactly the same on every computer PDF viewers are freely available, so the recipient doesn’t need the same DTP software as the document creator –Different monitors, printers, scanners and cameras all represent colors with different levels of intensity and brightness due to differences in their design Color synchronization or color management –Ensuring colors produced by the otuput device match the colors chosen by the designer in software ICC Color Profiles –Help achieve consistent colors, regardless of output medium, by describing how individual devices process colors »Color space - describes how colors are defined (RGB, CMYK)

ITGS Presentation software –Focuses on the creation of slides for giving verbal presentations Spreadsheet software –Used to perform tasks involving lots of calculations, such as managing finances or student grades Spreadsheets divide a worksheet into a grid of cells labelled with letters and numbers –Individual cell references are used in formulae to calculate values in other cells –Spreadsheets support automatic recalculation - if the value in one cell changes, any other cells referring to that cell will update to reflect the change

ITGS Database software –Used to create, store, structure and sort a collection of data about a set of items, search for certain data using queries, and produce printed reports Can be complex Relational Database Management Systems to manage data about millions of items (Amazon and Facebook use these)

ITGS Web Browser –Software used to view webpages Web development software –Used to create and design websites Includes a code editor which allows users to enter HTML, CSS and Javascript code More advanced programs like Dreamweaver include a graphical editor allowing pages to be created without knowledge of HTML Also lets users check their websites for compatibility wth different web browsers

ITGS Graphics software –Used to create or edit digital images Basic - creation of images by drawing individual pixels and shapes More advanced - powerful effects to manipulate images –Vector graphics - focuses on the creation of images using mathematical shapes –3D rendering software - allows the creation of 3D objects which can be given color, texture, and lighting, and rendered to produce a final images which is hard to distinguish from a photograph –Computer Aided Design (CAD) »Focuses on product design, using 3D graphics to represent components and allowing designers to create prototypes within the computer

ITGS Audio software –Used to record, edit and mix digital audio Multiple tracks or sound can be recorded and combined, and various effects and fades can be applied –Heavily used in music, film and television industries Video editing software –Allows images, sound and video to be combined