The basics

Let us begin with the simple but essential things which AbiWord has in common with almost any other application:

* Open AbiWord
* Create a new document
* Save a document
* Open a document
* Exit AbiWord

Opening AbiWord

If AbiWord has been correctly installed, you should be able to start it in two different ways: (Windows)

1. The simplest is to double-click on the icon located on the Windows desktop.
2. Otherwise, click on the Start button on the Windows taskbar, then go to the Programs menu, then to the AbiWord group and click on the AbiWord icon.

Creating a new document

When you open AbiWord, a new document is created and you can start typing your text on the blank page. We shall soon see how to format the text on the page.

There are four ways to create a new document:

1. Go to the File menu and click on "New" ou
2. Go to the Window menu and click on "New window" ou
3. Click on the "Create a new document" or
4. Use the keyboard shortcut by pressing the "Ctrl" and "N" keys simultaneously.

Another AbiWord window opens with a new blank page. It is important to grasp this, since AbiWord is a "single document interface" (SDI) as opposed to "multiple document interfaces" (MDI) such as Microsoft Word where all your documents are in the same Word window. For more about the difference between these two concepts, see SDI Vs. MDI

Saving document

Having created your document, you now have to save it (on floppy or hard disk) so that you can get it back later. But first you have to know the difference between "Save" and "Save as..."

1. If your document has never been saved, you will have to give it a name and choose where to store the file. For that you must "Save as..." ; There are two ways to save as:
   1. Go to the File menu and click on "Save as" or
   2. Click on the "Save as..." icon

In both cases, a window appears. Select the location where to place the document (in a folder on the hard disk or on the floppy) and type the name of the document in the "Nom" field, then click on the "Save" button

The filename and path to the document appear in place of "Untitled1" in the titlebar of AbiWord: your document has been saved.

2. So that you don't have to tell AbiWord the name and path of the document every time you save it, you "Save" the document. This updates the new document with modifications simply and quickly. To "Save" there are three different ways:
   1. Go to the File menu and click on "Save" or
   2. Click on the "Save the document" icon or
   3. Use the keyboard shortcut by pressing the "Ctrl" and "S" keys simultaneously.

   Attention: saving is almost instantaneous and the previously saved document is irretrievably lost.

PS:

1. If you update a document but want to keep previous versions, you have to "Save as..."
2. AbiWord lets you save documents in several formats:
   *.abw : this is AbiWord's default format. It is an XML format
   *.zabw : abw format compressed to reduce the file size
   *.rtf : this is a standard  "works anywhere" format (keeps text formatting)
   *.txt : a plain text file with no formatting. (the file size is reduced)
   *.utf8 :  this is a plain text format which can encode many character sets in a multi-byte format.
   *.html : the universal standard for Web pages.
   *.latex : LaTeX format file.

Open a document

There are three ways to open a file that has been saved:

1. Go to the File menu and click on "Open" ou
2. Click on the "Open an existing document" icon or
3. Use the keyboard shortcut by pressing the "Ctrl" and "O" keys simultaneously.

In each case, a window appears. Select the type of document to open and its location (a directory on the hard disk or the floppy) and double-click on the name of the document to open. Your document will then open.

A simpler way to open recent documents is to go to the File menu and click on one of the last four documents which are listed for easy access. These documents are arranged in chronological order: the most recent is in position one and the least recent in position four.

AbiWord lets you open files originating from different sources:

*.abw, *.zabw, *.rtf, *.txt, *.utf8
*.doc : files written by Microsoft Word (all versions)

Exiting AbiWord

There are three ways to exit AbiWord:

1. Go to the File menu and click on "Exit" ou
2. Click on the button in the titlebar or
3. Use the keyboard shortcut by pressing the "Alt" and "F4" keys at the same time.

In all three cases, the AbiWord window closes. You can also:

* Minimize AbiWord by clicking on the button in the titlebar and reduce it to a button on the taskbar so as to work with another program.
* Maximize the AbiWord window or restore it to normal size by clicking on the button in the titlebar. In Windows, double-clicking on the titlebar will have the same effect.
* In Unix, furl the AbiWord window, reducing it to its titlebar. In KDE, double-clicking on the titlebar furls the window.

PS:

1. If you try to exit AbiWord while a document is open but not saved, the window below appears:

Click on the Yes button to save the document, on the No button to exit without saving the document or on the Cancel button to stay in AbiWord.

2. If several documents are open at the same time, go to the File menu and click on "Exit" while holding down the "SHIFT" key to close all the windows at once. The window below appears to ask you whether you want to close all the windows or not.