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File management:
What is a generic file type?
Generic file formats allow you to save files so that they can be opened on any platform. The files may
not contain all of the formatting that can be saved in a package-specific format. Using generic formats
allows files created on a PC to be read/imported on an Apple Mac and vice versa.

Common generic text files include:

 comma separated values: .csv file extension,
This file type takes data in the form of tables and saves it in text format, separating data items with
commas.

 text: .txt file extension.

A text file is not formatted and can be opened in any word processor.

 rich text format: .rtf file extension.

This is a text file type that saves some of the formatting within the text.

Common generic image files include:

 graphic interchange format: .gif
This format stores still or moving images and is an efficient method of storing images using a
smaller file size, particularly where there are large areas of solid colour. It is widely used in web
pages.

 joint photographic expert group: .jpg or .jpeg

This format stores still images only. It is an efficient method of storing images using a smaller file
size and is widely used in web pages.

 portable document format: .pdf

This is a document that has been converted into an image format. The pages can contain clickable
links, video and audio. You can protect a document in pdf format to stop others from editing it.

 portable network graphics: .png

It was created to replace gif and is now the most used lossless compression format used for images
on the internet.
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 moving picture experts group layer 4: .mp4

It is a multimedia container that is used for storing video files, still images, audio files, subtitles
and so on. This container is often used to transfer video files on the internet.

Common generic audio files include:

 moving picture experts group layer 3: .mp3
It is a compressed file format used for storing audio files. It is suitable for use on the intrenet.

Common generic files used for website authoring include:

 cascading stylesheet: .css
This is a stylesheet that is saved in cascading stylesheet format and attached to one or more web
pages (often written in HTML) to define the pages’ colour scheme, fonts and so on.

 hyper text markup language: .htm or .html

This text-based language is used to create markup that a web browser will be able to display
information as a web page.

Common generic compressed files include:

 Roshal archive: .rar
This is a container that can hold almost any file type in a compressed format.

 Zip: .zip
This is a container that can hold almost any file type in a compressed format.

File compression reduces file sizes to:

 save storage space
 reduce transmission time when a file is sent from one device to another.

Resample an image:
The process of changing the quality of an image is called resampling. Images can be downsampled
meaning fewer pixels are used for the image. Images can also be upsampled by adding more pixels.
Downsampling reduces the file size and therefore makes the web page load more quickly.

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Headers and footers:
A header is the area of a document between the top of the page and the top margin. A footer is the area of
a document between the bottom of the page and the bottom margin. You can insert text or graphics into
headers and footers.

Headers and footers are needed to make sure that each page (or pair of facing pages) has elements like the
page number, logo, etc. placed consistently within them. If these are placed in the header or footer, they
only have to be place once but will repeat on every (or every other) page. This saves the author time and
effort, not having to duplicate their work on every page.

Widows and orphans:

If you start a paragraph of text on one page or column but there is not enough room on the page to get the
last line typed in, the single line of text which appears at the top of the next page or column is called a
widow. Similarly, sometimes you start a paragraph at the bottom of page or column but you can only
type in one line before the rest of the text goes onto the next page. The first line of the paragraph at the
bottom of the page or column is called an orphan.

Breaks can be used within a document to force text onto a new page or into the next column, or to define
areas with different layouts, for example where part of a document is formatted in landscape orientation
and part is in portrait.

Mail merge:
A mail merged document is created to save the repeated typing of similar documents that are designed to
be sent to different people. It uses a master document and a source file containing data.

Mail merge is used to save retyping or editing lots of documents. It saves time (and therefore money) and
helps to reduce the number of errors that may occur in editing or retyping the document. The most
common use of mail merged documents is to produce personalized letters for a number of people. The
contents of the letter have parts that are the same for all people and parts that are personal to the reader.

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Corporate house styles:
Most companies and organisations have a corporate house style. This is sometimes called ‘corporate
branding’. This can be seen on a company’s products, printed stationery, advertising, websites and often
on company vehicles.

A house style is used to make sure that all documents and other materials from an organization have
consistency. It is used to save time in planning, setting up, creating and formatting documents and other
materials. It is also designed to support brand recognition and reduces the risk of mistakes in documents,
like typing errors in an address or telephone number, or missing important element like a logo.

Font styles:
Serif fonts are often used in newspapers and books as they are usually easier to read than sans-serif fonts.
It would be appropriate to use sans-serif fonts for emphasis or for titles and subtitles. It is not sensible to
use more than two different font faces on any page. You can use other enhancements to make text stand
out such as bold, italics, underline and highlighting. Other elements like coloured text and backgrounds
can also be used to emphasise text.

Font size:
Font sizes are measured in points. If you are asked to produce text of an appropriate size, for most adults
10 point is appropriate as body text, but older readers may prefer12 point. Anything above 14 point is
generally unsuitable as body text for adults, but may be ideal for children. In stories for children learning
to read (ages four to six) it may be appropriate to use 20 or 24 point font size. Larger font sizes would be
appropriate

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Spell Check:
Spell check is a test carried out by the word processor on the text. As you work, it checks each word and
compares it to those held in its dictionary. If the words match then the word processor moves on and
checks the next word. If the word does not match one in the dictionary, then it uses a red wavy underline
to highlight the word to suggest it may be an error.

Sometimes words are flagged as a spelling error because the dictionary does not have a match within it.
When a person’s name is entered into a word processor, some names will be shown as an error and other
names will not. Repeated words are flagged as spelling words.

Validation routines:
Validation is checking that data entered is reasonable. It is often a process where data is checked to see if
it satisfies certain criteria when input into a computer, for example, to see if data falls within accepted
boundaries.

The importance of accurate data entry:

It is critically important that data entered into computer systems is accurate.
For example: if your school stores your doctor’s telephone number on its system and this number contains
an error, in an emergency they may not be able to contact the doctor.
If a bank took $10000 from a bank account, rather than $10, then this would have serious consequences
financially.
Errors in numeric data will cause problems if any calculations are performed.

Verification:
Verification is a way of preventing errors when data is copied from one medium to another. There are
two common ways:
 Visual verification:
Visual verification (visual check) is checking for data entry errors by comparing the original paper
documents with the data entered into the computer.

 Double data entry

Data is entered into a system twice (often by two different people). The two sets of data are then
compared by the computer and any differences in the data is flagged as an error and can be corrected
by the user.

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Why are validation and verification needed?
Validation and verification, when used together, will help to reduce the number of errors in data entry.

You need both validation and verification because:

 Data might be sensible but has not been transcribed / transferred accurately.
 Data might have been transcribed / transferred accurately but may not be sensible.
Using validation in addition to verification would trap both errors, verification for the first example and
validation for the second.

Proofreading:
Proofreading is not a form of verification. It is the careful reading and re-reading of a document (before it
is finally printed) to detect any errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation or layout, whether or not they
were in the original document.

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Charts:
Charts are used to display series of numeric data in a graphical format to make it easier to understand
large quantities of data and the relationship between different series of data.

Chart types:
Pie charts:
Pie charts are used to compare percentage values. Pie charts compare parts of a whole or fractions of a
whole. An example would be comparing the percentage of children who preferred ice cream, jelly or
trifle.

Bar charts:
Bar charts show the difference between different things. An example would be showing the number of
items sold by five people in the same month.

Line graphs:
Line graphs are used to plot trends between two variables. An example would be plotting the
temperature of water as it was heated against time.

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Data manipulation:
A database is an organised collection of data. A database program is software which stores and retrieves
data in a structured way. All databases store data using a system of files, records and fields:
 A field is a single item of data. Each field has a field name that is used to identify it within the
database. Each field contains one type of data.
 A record is a collection of fields. These may contain different data types.
 A file is an organised collection of records. A file can have one or more tables within it.

There are two types of databases:

1. Flat-file databases:
A flat-file stores its data in one table, which is organized by rows and columns.

2. Relational databases:
A relational database stores data in more than one linked table, stored in a file.
Relational databases are designed so that the same data is not stored many times. Each table within a
relational database will have a key field. Most tables will have a primary key field that holds unique
data and is the field used to identify that record. Some tables will have one or more foreign key fields. A
foreign key in one table will point to a primary key in another table. A table may have multiple foreign
keys.
There are different types of relationships between fields in different tables.
 One-to-one (1-1) relationship:
Each record in one table relates to only one record in another table.
 One-to-many (1-∞) relationship:
One record in one table can relate to many records in another table.

Advantages of relational database over flat files:

1. Data is not repeated so less storage capacity is used.
2. Data is not repeated so each change to an item of data has to be made only once.
3. It is easier for users to produce reports from a relational database, where data is held in two or more
tables, than from two or more flat-file databases.

Although people often think that it is quicker to search using relational rather than flat-file databases, it is
not always the case. It depends on the structure of both databases and the quantity of the data being
searched.

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Data Types (field type):
 Alphanumeric/text
 Numeric:
o integer
o decimal
o currency
o date and time
 Boolean/Logical

Other data types can be found in commercial databases, for example placeholders for media such as
images, sound bites and video clips. These are often used in web applications where a back end database
holds the media to be displayed in another application, such as a webpage.

Searching using wildcards:

A wildcard is a character that is used as a substitute for other characters. The * (asterisk) character to
show a number of characters (including 0), while the ? (question mark) to show a single character.

Key features of a well-designed form:

The most important feature of form design:
 keep the form simple, with clear questions, using closed questions where possible. This will limit the
different answers to be stored in the database and will make it easier to search the database.
 similar fields grouped, but not crowded, together with white space between each data entry box.
 a title that states what data is being collected
 instructions on filling the form
 not just the field names but written questions. Example, ‘What is your first name?’
 appropriate space for each field for the data that will be added and space between each field
 radio buttons (or drop down menus) are used where possible
 navigation buttons on the form to allow a user to add new records and move between records
 important data like the key field can be highlighted to show that this data must be completed before the
record can be saved

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Presentations:
A presentation is a series of slides used to give information to an audience.

A presentation can be used in many different ways: to teach or inform as visual aid in a lecture, or as a
constant on-screen carousel giving information or advertising, for example in a shopping mall.

The media for delivery and type of presentation developed will depend on the purpose of the presentation
and the target audience. Different media will require different screen/page sizes.

Most presentations will require a consistent colour scheme and consistently applied styles to all slides.

Consistency is really important in the development of your presentations; simple themes and colour
schemes using one or two fonts save presentations from being messy and disorganised. A well-structured
and organised presentation usually says to the audience ‘I am a well-organised and reliable person’. One
way of doing this is to use a master slide.

Always use the same transition effect between slides and the same animation effect throughout the whole
presentation. Consistency in these areas is just as important as using consistent styles and colour
schemes.

Audience and presenter notes:

Delivery of a presentation with a multimedia projector may include the use of audience notes and/or
presenter notes.
Audience notes:
Audience notes are paper copies of the slides of a presentation that are given to the audience so that they
can take them away and refer to them after the presentation. Sometimes people will want to write their
own notes on their audience note printouts during the presentation. These can be printed in different
formats, with several slides on a page, or just one slide with space for the person to add their own notes.

Presenter notes:
Presenter notes are a single copy of the slides from a presentation, with key facts that need to be told to
the audience by the person delivering the presentation.

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Data analysis:
Spreadsheet basics:
A spreadsheet is sometimes called a sheet or a worksheet. Many sheets can be held within a single
workbook.

A worksheet or sheet is a single page in a file created with an electronic spreadsheet. A worksheet is used
to store, manipulate, and display data.

A spreadsheet is a two-dimensional table split into rows and columns.

Columns run vertically in a worksheet. Each column is identified by a letter in the column header starting
with Column A and running through to Column XFD.

Rows run horizontally in an Excel worksheet. Each row is identified by a number in the row header.
There are more than one million rows in each Excel worksheet.

In a spreadsheet program, each rectangular box in a worksheet is referred to as a cell. Each cell has an
address. A cell is the intersection point of a vertical column and a horizontal row. Data entered is stored
in a cell. Each cell can hold only one piece of data at a time. The contents of a spreadsheet cell can be:
 a number
 text, which is called a label
 a formula, which always starts with an = sign.

The changing of cells to see the results is called modelling.

Tabs:

Accuracy of data entry:

One error, for example a mistyped number or decimal point in the wrong place, could cause all the data in
the spreadsheet to be incorrect. Care must also be taken when entering a formula, as one small error is
likely to stop the spreadsheet working as it is expected to.

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Named cells and ranges:
When an individual cell or an area of a spreadsheet is going to be used a number of times within the
formulae of a spreadsheet, it is often a good idea to give it a name. This name should be short and
meaningful. In the case of a large spreadsheet, it is easier to remember the name of a cell rather than
trying to remember the cell reference. Once a cell or a range of cells has been named, you can use this
name in all your formulae.

Formulae and functions:

Formulae in spreadsheet programs are used to perform calculations on values entered and stored in the
program. A function is a pre-set formula.

Mathematical operators used in formulae:

 For addition use the + symbol
 For subtraction use the – symbol
 For multiplication use the * symbol
 For division use the / symbol
 Indices are calculated using the ^ symbol.

If you combine several operators in a single formula, Excel performs the operations in the following
order:
1. %
2. ^
3. * and /
4. + and -
If a formula contains operators with the same precedence — for example, if a formula contains both a
multiplication and division operator — Excel evaluates the operators from left to right.

To change the order of evaluation, enclose in parentheses the part of the formula to be calculated first.

To check that the formulae are correct, compare you original paper-based calculations with the values in
the spreadsheet.

Nested formulae and functions:

A nested formula or function is having one formula or function inside another one. Sometimes nested
formulae could contain several formulae nested within each other.

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Relative and absolute referencing:
Relative referencing: By default, a spreadsheet cell reference is relative. What this means is that as a
formula or function is copied and pasted to other cells, the cell references in the formula or function
change to reflect the function's new location.

Absolute referencing: An absolute cell reference consists of the column letter and row number used in a
regular cell reference but both letter and number are preceded by dollar signs ( $ ).
Examples of absolute cell references would be $C$4, $G$15, or $A$345.
One of the main uses for absolute cell references is in a formula when you want a cell reference stay fixed
on a specific cell.
As a result, if the formula is copied and pasted to other cells, the absolute cell references in the formula or
function do not change.

Test the data model:

Designing a test plan and choosing your test data are the most important parts of testing the data model.
If you test every formula of the spreadsheet thoroughly the number of possible errors is reduced when you
use the spreadsheet with real data. Choose data that will test every part of a condition. If you are testing
calculations, use simple numbers that make it easier for you to check the calculations. Be careful to test
each part of the spreadsheet with normal data that you would expect to work with your formulae, with
extreme data to test the boundaries and with abnormal data that you would not expect to be accepted.

Carefully check that each formula and function works as you expect it to by using simple test data.

Write down each number and the expected results before trying each number. Check that the actual result
matches the expected result for every entry. If not, change the formula before starting the whole test
process again.
Sample test plan:
Data entry in B3 Data type Expected result Actual result
Extreme/Normal
Normal
Abnormal Error – value not available

It is very important to check carefully ranges within formulae and functions.

Check that all formulae and functions work before using real data in your model. If you find an error
during testing, correct it, and then perform all of the tests again as one change to a spreadsheet can affect
lots of different cells.
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Excel Functions
SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN:

Function Equivalent formula What it does

=SUM(B4:B8). =B4+B5+B6+B7+B8
=SUM(B4,B8) =B4+B8
=SUM(B4:B6,B8) =B4+B5+B6+B8
=SUM(MyRange) Adds up the contents of all the cells within a
named range called MyRange
=AVERAGE(B4:B8) =(B4+B5+B6+B7+B8)/5
=MAX(B4:B8) To select the largest figure within the list of
numbers
=MIN(B4:B8) To select the smallest figure within the list of
numbers

INT & ROUND:

Function Value given What it does
=INT(62.5512) 62 Takes the whole number part of a number and ignores
all the digits after the decimal point
=ROUND(62.5512,2) 62.55 Rounds to two decimal places
=ROUND(62.5512,1) 62.6 Rounds to 1 decimal place.
=ROUND(62.5512,0) 63 Rounds to 0 decimal places
=ROUND(62.5512,-1) 60 Rounds to the nearest 10.
=ROUND(62.5512,-2) 100 Rounds to the nearest 100.

COUNT, COUNTA:
COUNT is used to count only the cells with numbers in them.
COUNTA is used to count the number of non-blank cells.
To count the number of text values both COUNTA and COUNT functions are used.

IF:
If a number of nested IF statements are used be careful to work in a logical order. Work from smallest to
largest or vice versa.

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COUNTIF & SUMIF:
COUNTIF looks at the cells within a given range and counts the number of cells in that range that meet a
given condition.
SUMIF compares each value in a range of cells and, if the value matches the given condition, it adds the
value in another related cell to form a total.

LOOKUPS:
The term ‘look up’ means to look up from a list. There are three variations of the LOOKUP function that
can be used. These are:

LOOKUP is used to look up a value using data in the first row or the first column of a range of cells and
returns a relative value.

HLOOKUP is a function that performs a horizontal look up of data.

VLOOKUP is a function that performs a vertical look up of data.

LEFT, RIGHT, MID:

Function Value given What it does
=LEFT(“AHMED”,1) A
=LEFT(“AHMED”,2) AH
=RIGHT(“AHMED”,1) D
=RIGHT(“AHMED”,2) ED
=MID(“AHMED”,2,1) H Returns the characters from the middle of a text string,
=MID(“AHMED”,2,2) HM given a starting position and length
=MID(“AHMED”,3,2) ME

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Website authoring:
Web development layers:

Website:

A website is a collection of individual but related web pages that are often stored together and hosted by a
web server. A web page is created using three layers:

 The content layer (structure layer): to enter the content of a web page and create web page
structure.
 The presentation layer: to format whole web page/s or individual elements.
 The behavior layer: to enter scripting language to a web page or an individual element.

You develop the content/structure layer of your web pages in a language called HTML and the
presentation layer of your web pages in CSS.

HTML - HyperText Markup Language:

HTML is a text-based language used to develop the content/structure layer of websites. Files are written
in HTML using a simple text editor or web-authoring package.

HTML uses a set of markup tags to describe a webpage to the web browser. The web browser does not
display HTML tags but uses them to display the content of the page.

HTML tags should be in lower case.

Each webpage has two sections: the head and the body. The head section starts with <head> and close
with </head> and objects between those tags are not usually displayed by the web browser. The head
section should always contain a title. This is the name displayed in the browser toolbar. It is the page
title used if a page is added to your ‘favorites’ in your browser and is the title displayed in search engine
results.

The body section starts with <body> and close with </body> and objects between these tags will be
displayed in the web page.

Comments in HTML starts with <!-- and end with -->.

Tables:

Tables are used to create the basic structure of many web pages. They are used to organise page layout
and are often used in web pages even though the borders may not be visible.
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Hyperlinks:

A hyperlink is a method of accessing another document or resource from your current application.
 Hyperlinks within a web page - Anchors
A division is a point of reference within a web page. It is similar to a bookmark when using word-
processing. If you create a web page that will not fit in a single window, it is useful to use one division
for each section of the web page, so the user can move to any section without having to scroll through
the whole document. An anchor is used to set a hyperlink to allow you to navigate within the page or
navigate to an external page. An anchor starts with an <a> tag and closes with an </a> tag. If the
anchor name is visible in the browser view of the page it often means you have made a syntax error.

 Hyperlinks to other web pages

Hyperlinks can be created to another web page stored locally, usually in the same folder as the current
web page, or to an external website on the internet.
Make sure you do not put an absolute address in a hyperlink reference as this is only likely to work on
your computer. Other computers are unlikely to have the same folder structure and filename.

 Hyperlinks to send an email message

Relative file path and absolute file path:

Absolute paths always include the domain name of the website, including http://www., whereas relative
links only point to a file or a file path. When a user clicks a relative link, the browser takes them to that
location on the current site. For that reason, you can only use relative links when linking to pages or files
within your site, and you must use absolute links if you're linking to a location on another website.
So, when a user clicks a relative link, the browser looks for the location of the file relative to the page
where the link appears.

Cascading stylesheet - CSS:

A cascading stylesheet is a simple way of adding style (for example, fonts, colours, spacing) to web
pages.
One or more of these cascading stylesheets can be attached to a web page, and the styles in the stylesheet
will be applied to this page. Where more than one web page is used, the styles only have to be defined
once and attached to all the web pages. This makes all the pages have similar appearance. In-line styles
usually over-ride styles attached from an external stylesheet.

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If more than one stylesheet is attached to a web page at the same time, those attached later in the markup
have priority over earlier ones. If a style has more than one declaration of the same property, the last
value is used for the property.
To add a comment to a stylesheet use /* before the text and */ after the text.

CSS format:
CSS rules have a selector and a declaration block look like this.

Selector Declaration Declaration

h1 {color: #ff0000; Font-size: 14px;}

HTML element Property Value Property Value

When attaching an external stylesheet to a web page, make sure that you do not put an absolute address in
a hyperlink reference as this is only likely to work on your computer. Other computers are unlikely to
have the same folder structure.

Publish a website:
Every web page that you create should be stored in a single folder to make sure that all the page elements
are kept together for uploading a website to the internet. There are many ways of creating and uploading
a website and its elements to the internet. It can be hosted on your computer, but this is rarely done as
few of us have the hardware and enough bandwidth on our internet connection to do this. Many people
use hosting companies in order to do this and upload a website into their hosting space.

All websites have a domain name, such as www.hodder.co.uk, which is used to find the site. To publish
your website you must register the domain name you wish to use. You will use FTP, which means file
transfer protocol, to upload your files to your web hosting space.

Test a website:
Before testing takes place it is important to understand the purpose of the website and web page, and the
target audience for the page. As much as possible every element of a website should be tested before it is
uploaded to the web server.
A test plan should be developed to make sure that you do not miss anything.
Testing consists of two phases: functional testing and user testing.
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Functional testing:
All page elements must be checked to ensure that they appear as you expected.
This will include for each web page:
 Is the table structure correct?
 Do all images appear as planned?
 Are all objects that are not supposed to be visible hidden from the user?
 Do all internal hyperlinks work?

For the entire website test:

 Can each page be found from the expected URL?
 Do all links between pages work as expected?
 Do all external hyperlinks open the correct web pages?

An example of part of a test plan for a web page:

Test Expected Actual Remedial action
outcome outcome
Is table stylesheet attached? Table format as in Yes
design specs
Is font stylesheet attached? Fonts as in design No Edit h4 to be #ff0000 rather
specs than f80000
Table borders hidden Hidden Visible Set table attribute to
border=” ”
Then restart
Hyperlink from Publisher goes to Opens Hodder Yes
www.hodder.co.uk home page

User testing:
The plan:
1. Decide what needs to be tested.
2. Find a suitable test audience between two and five users or potential users. Do not use IT specialists
unless that is who the site is designed for.
3. Tell the users it is the website being tested not them, and that you value their thoughts and opinions.
4. Ask the users to speak their thoughts as they work but do not respond.
5. Observe the test so that difficulties can be noted but do not help in any way.

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The test may include:
 tasks to complete using the site
 questions to answer
 navigation to the page to be tested from the home page.

Here is an example of some user test questions.

Let the user view the web page for 15 seconds then ask:
1. What are your first impressions of the web page?
Give the user sufficient time to read the web page content, then ask:
2. What is the purpose of the web page?
3. Was this purpose clear from the beginning?
4. How easy is it to read and understand?
5. Is there too much or little information?
6. What did you like about the web page?
7. What did you dislike about the web page?
8. Did you experience any difficulties on the web page?
9. What was the overall quality of your experience?
10. What could be done to improve the web page content of the presentation?
11. Do you have any other comments or suggestions?

Justify the choice of test plan:

You must be able to identify which elements of the test plan are functional testing and which are user
testing. You must be able to make decisions on why and how you might test some elements of a web
page. Make it clear why you have made your choices and not made other choices.

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 ICT I.G.C.S.E. SECTION
Example:
Create one element of a functional test plan and one part of a user test plan for this website. Each text
item is a hyperlink to a new page and a stylesheet, rockstyle.css, has been used. For each element justify
your choices.

Answer:
Functional test: The hyperlink from ‘News’ goes to the News page. I must test that this link works so
that I can navigate through to this web page; if the link is broken the page will not work. The original
page may have contained a reference including a drive letter and path that may not appear on another
computer.

User Test: I would select a range of test users from the target audience who are aged between 14 and 40.
I would select these test users because they are more likely to want to listen to rock music than young
children or older people.

References:
Brown, G., Sargent, B. & Watson, D. (1995), Cambridge IGCSE ICT. London, UK: Hodder Education.

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ICT 0417

Definitions of Practical Terminologies

Chapter 11 File Management
Generic file format when files are saved in that format they can be used in different types of
application software
Comma separated values ◦ Data saved in the form of tables
CSV ◦ Items separated by commas
◦ Saved in text format
Text .txt ◦ No font formatting
◦ Used by many text editors
◦ No images
◦ No bulleted lists
◦ Takes less memory than .rtf files
Rich text format .rtf ◦ Readable by most word processing software
◦ Bullet lists and images can be inserted
◦ Some formatting is saved
Graphics interchange ◦ Stores still or moving images
format .gif ◦ Small file size
◦ Used in webpages
Joint photographic expert ◦ Stores still images only
group .jpg ◦ Small file size
◦ Used in webpages
Portable document ◦ Document is converted into image format
format .pdf ◦ Used to protect documents
◦ Can contain links and buttons
Portable network ◦ Compresses images without losing their quality (lossless compression)
graphics .png
Moving picture experts ◦ Multimedia container
group layer 4 .mp4 ◦ Stores video, images, audio files
Moving picture experts ◦ Compressed files
group layer 3 .mp3 ◦ Stores audio files
◦ Small file size with good quality
Cascading stylesheet .css ◦ File is attached to web page
◦ Defines the page color scheme, font, …etc
Hypertext markup ◦ Contains markup to be displayed as a web page by web browsers
language .htm
Rochal archive .rar ◦ A container that holds any file type in compressed format
Used to reduce number of bytes needed to save a file
Zip ◦ A container that holds any file type in compressed format
Used to reduce number of bytes needed to save a file
Resize Change image dimensions
Resample Changing quality/resolution of images
Compress Decrease the size of a file
Chapter 12 Images
Text wrap How the text flows around images/tables
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Aspect ratio the ratio of the width to the height of an image
Crop Remove part of an image
Rotate Turn the picture about its center clockwise or anticlockwise
Reflect Flipping an image
Pixel the smallest unit of a digital image that can be displayed and represented
on a digital display device.
Resolution Number of pixels per inch
Color depth the number of bits used to indicate the color of a single pixel
Brightness the overall lightness or darkness of the image
Contrast  Contrast is the difference between darks and lights.
 When increasing contrast, you make the darks darker and the brights
brighter

Chapter 13 Layout
Header This is an area at the top of every page/ between the top of the page and the
top margin
Footer This is an area at the bottom of every page/ between the bottom of the page
and the bottom margin
Page margin the area between the main content of a page and the page edges
Gutter A margin between the page margin and the fold of a book
Chapter 14 Styles
Corporate house style A set of rules which state how all documents and written communication
from a business should be formatted.
It will govern things such as
• the colours to be used
• the font style and size
• where the logo should appear…..etc
Purpose of house style ◦ Used to make sure that all the documents and other material have
consistency
◦ Saves time in planning , creating and formatting documents
◦ Supports brand recognition
◦ Reduces the risk of mistakes in documents
Chapter 15 Proofing
Validation Checking that the data entered is reasonable/satisfies certain criteria
Proofreading Making sure that produced document is accurate in terms of spelling,
punctuation, grammar, correct application of styles, no split lists, no split
tables, no widows,…etc
verification A way of preventing errors when data is copied from one medium to
another.
◦ Visual verification
◦ Double data entry
Chapter 16 Graphs and Charts
Pie chart Compare percentage values/ compares part of a whole
Bar chart shows comparisons among discrete categories. One axis of the chart
shows the specific categories being compared, and the other axis
represents a measured value.

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Line graphs used to visualize a trend in data over intervals of time
Chapter 17 Document Production (Word)
Page orientation is the way in which a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing.
Margins The distance between the text and the edge of the page
Widow When the last line of the paragraph is the first line of a new page
Orphan When the first line of the paragraph is the last line of a page
Page break This forces the text onto the start of a new page
Section break change the layout or formatting of a page or pages in your document
Two types:
Next page: Forces a page break as well as change in layout
Continuous: Allows different layout on the same page
Column break This forces the text into the top of the next column
Indented paragraphs Text/lines in paragraph are being moved to the right
Hanging paragraphs The first line of the paragraph is aligned to the margin. All the other lines
are moved/indented to the right
Mail merged document the automatic addition of names and addresses and information from a
data source to letters and other documents in order to facilitate sending
mail to many addresses.
Advantages of mail - Faster than editing each individual letter
merge − Fewer errors than retyping the data
− Consistency in the reports/mails
− Error checking only needs to be carried out once (on the data and the
Template(master document))
− Reduces the time taken to write out all the reports/mails separately
Chapter 18 Data Manipulation (Access)
Field A single item of data
record Collection of fields
File An organized collection of records, can have one or more tables
Flat-file database All the date is stored in one table
Relational database Stores data in more than one linked table, each table will have a key field
Primary key A field that holds unique data and is used to identify a record
Foreign key It is defined in a second table, but it refers to the primary key in the first
table.
Alphanumeric store alpha characters (text) or numeric data (numbers)
Numeric used to store numeric values that may be used for calculations
Boolean field type is used to store data in a Yes/No (or True/False,0/1) format
Chapter 19 Presentations (Powerpoint)
Master slide • slide allows you to design the layout of your slides before you start
adding objects (like text or images) to the slides.
• It holds the information on colours, fonts, effects and the positioning of
objects on the slides.
• All the objects placed on the master slide will automatically appear on all
the slides in your presentation
Animation a set of effects which can be applied to objects
Transition motion effects that when in Slide Show view add movement to your slides
as you advance from one slide to another

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Presenter notes A copy of slides with key facts that need to be told to the audience by the
person delivering the presentation
Audience notes Paper copies of the slides that are given to the audience
Chapter 20 Data Analysis (Excel)
Data model A data model is used to mimic real situations. Data are entered into tables
(spreadsheets) and are manipulated and analyzed
Cells The intersection of a row and a column
Each cell has its own cell address/reference
Rows Row runs horizontally . Each row is identified by row number (1,2,3,…)
Columns Column runs vertically, identified by column header (A,B,…)
Worksheet A set of rows and columns. It is possible to have more than one within the
same workbook(spreadsheet file)
Tabs worksheet tab is used to display the worksheet that a user is currently
editing
charts graphic representation of data
Formula • A formula is a statement / equation typed in by the user to be
calculated.
• A formula can contain values/references to cells/defined names.
• Examples =A1+B1 .
Function • A function is a piece of code designed to return specific values.
• Pass parameters/variables to functions
• Function has a pre-defined name in the software.
• They are used inside formulas.
• Examples SUM()/AVERAGE()
Absolute reference Cell address/ references remain constant, no matter where they are copied.
Relative reference Cell address/ references change when a formula is copied to another cell.
Ranges A group of cells in a worksheet that has been selected or highlighted.
Named cell A short meaningful name given to a cell in the spreadsheet that is going to
be used a number of times within a formulae
Named range A short meaningful name given to an area in the spreadsheet that is going
to be used a number of times within a formulae
Nested formula/function Having one formula or function inside another one
Testing Making sure the model produces the required output for data where the
correct output is already known
Test data Data which has been specifically identified for use in tests, to verify that a
given set of input to a given function produces some expected result
Expected outcome Result expected to get after test data is provided
Actual outcome Actual result produced after test data is provided
Normal data Data expected to work with formulas, within the range
Abnormal data Data not expected to be accepted, outside the range
Extreme data Lies on the boundaries of a range
Chapter 21 Website Authoring (Frontpage)
Web development layers • Content Layer
This is the web page you see. It consists of text and images
• Presentation Layer
This is how the document will look to the reader (ie the format done to the
objects on the web page)
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• Behaviour Layer
This is the layer that does some action when the user clicks on an object
Hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow either by
clicking, tapping, or hovering. A hyperlink points to a whole
document or to a specific element within a document

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 Theoretical questions

The practical exam is divided into 3 types of questions:

 Practical questions testing your technical skills when

you are using the software.
 Theoretical direct question that tests your knowledge
of both theoretical and practical syllabus.
 Theoretical question that tests your analysis,
evaluation and making reasoned judgments to a
specific situation.

The terms evaluate and analyze means that you need to

state the good (advantages) and bad (disadvantages) things
in a certain topic, for example: evaluate this class room!

You will state all the advantages and disadvantages things

within this class room. After you evaluate it, you need to
give a reasoned conclusion based on your evaluation
whether you should you use this class room or not.

Some questions will be asking you to discuss something,

for example: Discuss the usage of e-mail instead of the
post office.

You will also state advantages and disadvantages between

both terms stated in the question and give a reasoned
conclusion to state which is better in your point of view.

All the theoretical questions in the practical exam must be

answered in a paragraph style not as a list.

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 Here you will find questions that are found in the
past exams and their answers.

1) Evaluate the design of a data entry form.

You can discuss the following points based on which point relates to
your form design.

a) Consistent/Inconsistent layout or formatting

b) Appropriate use of title
c) Lack/Advantage of instructions on filling the form
d) Usage/Lack of Navigation buttons
e) Drop down lists (could be used) / (used) to reduce data entry
errors
f) Appropriate spaces between fields and use of white space
g) Suitable/Unsuitable field lengths for data.
2) Identify two ways of recognizing spam sent by email.
a) Incorrect grammar/spelling
b) Plain text/absence of logos
c) Request for personal information
d) Suspicious attachments
e) Links within the body of the message
3) Identify two methods to help protect yourself from
spam sent by email.
a) use of spam/junk email filters
b) block spam
c) not signing up to offers on the internet
d) safe senders list
e) do not click links
f) never reply, delete or ignore the messages
g) Don’t open attachments from suspicious sources

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 4) Evaluate features from your presentation that meet the
needs of your audience.
a) Appropriate slide layout
b) Consistent layout
c) Not too many words per slide
5) Give one example of a strong password.
a) #!EFxSWsq0^!
6) Identify the features which makes this password strong.
a) At least 8 characters
b) At least 1 number
c) At least 1 symbol
d) Not a known name
e) Mixed upper and lower case
7) Evaluation of chart choice.
a) Using comparative bar chart is most suitable when there are 2
or more data series to compare as it easier to compare
differences visually.
b) Line graphs are suitable when it comes to variable data, it
shows how the data changes.
c) Pie charts are suitable when it comes to showing data as a
percentage of a whole.
d) Stacked bar charts ( Search for its layout ), are suitable when it
comes to cumulative data.
8) Advantages and disadvantages of the use of mail merge
to produce letters.
a) Letters can be reused with different recipients.
b) The operative does not need details of recipients
c) One letter only has to be proofread therefore saving time
d) Can select on any criteria which saves time creating it
e) If there is an error, then all the sent letters will have this error.

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 f) Hardcopies will be wasted; taking up time and money
g) Slower checking on all letters
h) Higher level of staff skill is required
i) It may take longer time to setup mail merge than type to
individuals.
Reasoned conclusion must be stated.
9) What is meant by phishing?
a) Unsolicited email to collect personal data
10) How to identify phishing attack?
a) Errors in text
b) asking for personal details
c) email address does not match company
d) unknown source
11) How to protect yourself against phishing?
a) Spam filters
b) Don’t click links or open attachments from unknown sources
c) Never send personal details via email
12) Methods of preventing viruses.
a) Running anti-virus software
b) Keep anti-virus definition files up-to-date
c) Scanning downloaded files
d) Do not allow others to use portable media on your computer
e) Do not run files from unknown sources
f) Do not open email attachments from unknown sources
13) Give reasons to encode Gender to be M and F instead
of Male and Female.
a) Faster data entry
b) Reduces data entry errors
c) Smaller file size
d) Make it less understandable if the data is stolen

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 14) Why internet information may not be reliable?
a) Anybody can set up a website
b) Internet is not regulated
c) Commercial websites can be biased
d) Wikis can be edited by non-experts
15) How to evaluate website content?
a) Check if the website domains are reliable
b) Compare information from different sources
c) See if responsible bodies have endorsed the site
d) If site has testimonials it likely to be reliable
e) Check date – if out of date then it will be unlikely to be reliable
f) Check author’s credentials
g) Check functionality of website
16) Evaluate the differences between a blog and a forum.
a) Blog creator drives content, one person’s thoughts, one author
posts thought on a subject, blog posts typically longer, readers
can comment on content, blog is not moderated
b) Forum, a group sharing thoughts, discussions, comments are
brief, user generated content, broader collection of thoughts,
conversation between members of a group, several different
thoughts on a subject, comments could be moderated.
17) State features that can be added to a form to be easier
to use.
a) Navigation buttons
b) Drop down lists
c) Radio buttons
d) Checkboxes
e) Self-explanatory field names
f) User notes
g) Legible styles and sizes and appropriate field spacing

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 18) Describe advantages of using relational databases
over flat databases.
a) Data only stored once and reduces data redundancy or
duplication
b) Quicker to enter/update/edit data
c) Fewer errors are likely to happen
d) Reduces storage requirements
19) Describe how a business can promote to itself using
social networking.
a) release news/status updates about new products
b) post images/videos of products
c) allow customers to ask questions about service/product
d) request customer feedback to improve service/product
20) Describe what is meant by data verification.
a) Checking the accuracy of data entered exactly matches
original source
21) Name and describe two methods of data verification.
a) Double data entry – data entered twice using two people and
both data are compared using the computer.
b) Visual check – comparing data with the original source.
22) Evaluate in your own words the effects of IT on
potential employment.
a) Fewer jobs available as taken over by robots/computer
controlled warehouses/labor intensive work
b) Reduction in manual workers
c) Creation of new ICT jobs
d) Increase in jobs in writing software/programs
e) Increase in jobs relating to maintenance of robots and IT
equipment
f) Increase in jobs relating to web designers/advertising

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 g) Increase in computer engineers/project managers/systems
analysts
h) People need to be trained in new technology
i) Tend to work in a cleaner/safer working environment
j) People may not have full time/permanent jobs (part time
jobs/compressed hours/job sharing)
k) Working from home/remote/workers do not need to be in a
fixed location/near factory
23) Define the term data validation.
a) Checks if data is sensible/Checks to see if the data satisfies
certain criteria when input into a computer.
24) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using
online forms when applying to interviews.
a) Less potential errors as the user is only entering their own data.
b) Easier to correct errors on an online form than a paper form.
c) No need to take the form to the interview as it found online.
d) Easier to be used by disabled people as accessibility tools can
be used.
e) Not all applicants can complete an online form as they may not
have a computer device or software
f) Not all applicants have IT skills to complete the online form
g) Increased risk of data loss as the data can be transmitted
electronically
h) Increased risk of unauthorized access to the data as it can be
transmitted electronically
i) Possible data protection issues as it is stored in digital form
Reasoned conclusion must be stated.

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 25) Describe the 3 web development layers.
a) Presentation layer:
i) Used to format the whole page webpage/s or individual
elements.
b) Content layer:
i) Used to enter the content of a webpage and create a
webpage structure.
c) Behavior layer:
i) Used to enter scripting language to a webpage or an
individual element.
26) Define a hyperlink.
a) An element in an HTML document that links either to another
portion in the same document or another document.
27) What is a corporate house style? What is the purpose
of it?
a) It’s used to make sure that all the documents and other
materials produced from a certain organization have
consistency, it is also produced to support brand recognition.
28) What is the difference between formula and function?
a) A formula in excel starts with an equal sign, it could be a
simple formula using mathematical operators or a complex
formula nested statements or a formula including functions.
b) A function has a pre-defined name to perform a particular
calculation, it is an operation built into the spreadsheet.
29) What is a nested formula or function?
a) A nested formula or function is having one formula or function
inside another one.

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 30) Making an image suitable for a webpage.
a) Change color depth from 16 bits per channel to 8 bits per
channel
b) Saving in a gif format
c) Saving in a jpg format
d) It will reduce the image transmission time, the storage space
needed.
31) Difference between relative and absolute file path.
a) Relative path points to current folder.
i) Uploaded to a server therefore will retain the hierarchical
structure and therefore work.
Example: <img src="/images/picture.jpg" alt="Mountain">
b) Absolute file path points to a location on a storage device.
i) Uploaded to a server but unlikely to work unless same
hierarchy.
Example:
<img src="https://www.w3schools.com/images/picture.jpg
" alt="Mountain">
32) How to upload/publish a website?
a) Step 1: Find a domain name, ex: www.facebook.com.
b) Step 2: Organize all files in one folder.
c) Step 3: Use FTP client software.
d) Step 4: Use the host port to upload on your web hosting server.
e) Step 5: Use the username and password to login to your web
hosting server.
33) Identify two factors that must be considered when
designing an effective test plan for a website.
a) The purpose of the website
b) The target audience
c) Corporate house styles

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 d) Describe each item that needs to be tested
e) Identify inputs
f) Identify expected outcomes
34) Identify two methods of testing a web page.
a) Functional testing
b) Alpha testing
35) Questions that needs to asked while creating a test
plan for hyperlinks.
a) Is hyperlinks from correct text/image?
b) Do hyperlinks to anchors within the page work?
c) Do hyperlinks to other pages in this site work?
d) Do hyperlinks to email open the editor/software?
e) Do hyperlinks to email have the correct address/subject line?
f) Do all external hyperlinks to existing URLs work?
g) Are planned URL’s owned/available for purchase?
36) Explain the order in which mathematical operations
are performed within a spreadsheet.
a) Brackets have highest priority so are calculated first.
b) Exponents/indices have second priority.
c) Division and multiplication are next.
d) Last are addition and subtraction.
37) Symbols that can be seen in spreadsheets and
databases
(Excel and Access) and their meaning:
a) + : addition
b) - : subtraction
c) * : multiplication
d) / : division
e) ^ : indices
f) <> : not

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 38) Stylesheet comment:
a) /* write the comment */
39) HTML / Webpage comment:
a) <!-- write the comment -->
40) Explain in your own words how the browser interprets
these fonts and why one value in the font-family
definition has speech marks around it.
font-family: Times, “Times New Roman”, serif
a) Browser searches (through available fonts) for the font Times
(and if found it is displayed).
b) If the font Times is not available, browser searches for “Times
New Roman”
c) If neither is available, browser uses its pre-defined/default
generic serif font.
d) Speech marks are around “Times new roman” to define it as a
single String/so it does not search for Times
41) Why generic file formats are needed?
a) Generic file formats are files that do not belong to any software
specifically, so generic file formats are handy when it comes to
transferring simple file from a software to another.
b) Examples of generic files formats: .txt , .csv.
42) Why consistent style/house style is needed?
a) To ensure consistency across all documents.
b) To support brand recognition.
c) To reduce the amount of time staff spend setting up and
formatting documents..
d) To reduce the risk of mistakes.

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 43) Explain why the automated suggestions given by spell
check software do not always give the correct response.
a) It won’t detect a mistake between two correctly written words
like miss and mess.
b) It can detect names as spelling mistakes
c) If it’s not updated it won’t be familiar to new words.
44) What are placeholders for images, sound and video
clips?
a) Placeholders are used to hold these types of data.
45) Why it is important to enter the data accurately?
a) To avoid loss of money because of refunds or compensations
b) If a wrong date is entered it may lead to confusion with people
c) To avoid any law suits
d) If you are selling some goods, it may lead to sending wrong
goods or sending to wrong people.
46) Transcription and transposition errors
a) Transcription errors means spelling mistakes.
b) Transposition errors means characters entered in wrong order
e.g ( ABDC instead of ABCD )
47) Define absolute cell reference, relative cell reference,
named cell and named range.
a) Absolute cell reference: a cell within a formula is when it is
copied or replicated. The dollar sign is to indicate this type of
cell reference.
b) Relative cell reference: when a formula is copied (or
replicated), the row and column will automatically change.
c) Named cell: a cell can be given a name instead of the regular
cell reference, it will be treated as absolute cell reference as it
won’t change when copied or replicated.

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 d) Named range: a highlighted group of cells can be given a
name and it will be treated as absolute reference as it won’t
change when copied or replicated.
48) Explain why testing the data model is important?
a) Testing is helpful in identifying problems and developing
solutions to ensure something works as it should do.
49) Testing ways for data models:
a) Normal data: within acceptable range.
b) Abnormal data: outside of acceptable range.
c) Extreme data: data on boundaries of acceptability.
50) Testing plan for data models or spreadsheets:
a) Identify data to be tested
b) Identify data to be tested with
c) Record Expected results
d) Record Actual results
e) Remedial actions
51) Justify the usage of tables to structure a webpage
a) Easier to structure the elements inside the webpage.
b) Text, images and other elements can be placed into a cell in
the table.
52) Why a bookmark or an anchor are rarely seen within a
website?
a) Because it is a reference point on a webpage not a hyperlink.
53) Why stylesheets are connected to webpages using
relative file paths?
a) Because it’s connected to all webpages within a website so
must ensure its availability.

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 54) What is meant by cascading style sheets and why it
used?
a) Files attached to a webpage that contains the settings for the
appearance of text and colors.
b) Saves time as changes can only be done once.
c) Consistent appearance across all pages within a website.
55) What is meant by widows and orphans and how to
avoid it?
a) Orphan: the first line of a paragraph, but it is the last line of text
on a page. The rest of the paragraph is on the next page.
b) Widow: the last line of a paragraph that appears by itself at the
top of the page. The rest of the paragraph is on the previous
page.
c) They can ruin the appearance of the document so it can be
avoided by using page breaks, column breaks or changing
page layout.

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