Certificate in office Automation

2.1 Introduction to Windows Applications

• Understanding drives, files, folders and paths
• Introduction to File Explorer
• Navigation Pane, Address Bar, Search Box and Toolbar
• Different file and folder viewing options
• Understanding common file extensions

2.2 Files and Folder Management

• Creating files and folders
• Opening and closing files and folders
• Selecting single, multiple and continuous items
• Renaming files and folders
• Copy, Cut, Paste and Move operations
• Drag-and-drop file management
• Deleting and restoring items
• Sorting and grouping files
• Searching for files and folders
• Viewing file and folder properties
• Creating desktop shortcuts
• Compressing and extracting ZIP folders
• Using USB drives safely

2.3 Wildcards Concept in Windows 11

• Meaning and purpose of wildcards
• Using the asterisk (*) wildcard
• Using the question-mark (?) wildcard
• Searching by name and file extension
• Locating groups of related files
• Practical wildcard-search examples

2.4 Recycle Bin

• Purpose of the Recycle Bin
• Viewing deleted files
• Restoring selected items
• Permanently deleting items
• Emptying the Recycle Bin
• Difference between Delete and Shift + Delete

2.5 Notepad

• Opening and understanding Notepad
• Creating, editing and saving text files
• Open, Save and Save As commands
• Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo and Select All
• Find, Find Next and Replace
• Word Wrap, Font, Zoom and Status Bar
• Inserting date and time
• Page Setup and printing a text file

Learning Outcome: Learners will be able to manage office files systematically, use Windows search and wildcards, recover deleted items and prepare basic text files in Notepad.

3.1 Introduction to Microsoft Word

• Purpose and common uses of a word processor
• Starting Microsoft Word
• Understanding the Title Bar, Ribbon, Tabs, Groups and Status Bar
• Creating a new blank document
• Creating a document using a template
• Open, Save, Save As and Close commands
• Selecting, inserting and deleting text
• Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo and Redo
• Zoom and document-view options

3.2 Creating and Setting Up New Documents

• Page size, margins and orientation
• Page colour, border and watermark
• Line and paragraph spacing
• Page breaks and section breaks
• Columns and page setup
• Headers, footers and page numbers
• Date, time and document properties
• Print Preview and printing options
• Saving a document as PDF

3.3 Text and Paragraph Formatting

• Font type, size, colour and text effects
• Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Subscript and Superscript
• Change Case and Clear Formatting
• Text alignment: Left, Centre, Right and Justify
• Indentation and tab settings
• Line spacing and paragraph spacing
• Bullets, numbering and multilevel lists
• Borders and shading
• Format Painter
• Styles and themes

3.4 Working with the Insert Tab

• Inserting and formatting tables
• Adding and deleting rows and columns
• Merging and splitting cells
• Sorting data and using simple table formulas
• Pictures, icons, shapes and SmartArt
• Text boxes and WordArt
• Symbols and special characters
• Hyperlinks and bookmarks
• Header, footer and page number
• Charts, screenshots and online media where supported

3.5 Useful Functions and Tools in Word

• Find, Replace and Go To
• Spelling and Grammar checking
• AutoCorrect and Thesaurus
• Word Count and Translate tools
• Comments and basic document review
• Protecting a document from unwanted editing
• Mail Merge: letters, labels and envelopes
• Keyboard shortcuts for faster documentation

3.6 Professional and Accounting Documentation

• Formal and business letters
• Office notices, circulars and memorandums
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Quotation and purchase-order format
• Simple invoice and receipt format
• Payment voucher and expense statement format
• Meeting agenda and minutes
• Company letterhead and office forms

Learning Outcome: Learners will be able to create, format, review, print and export professional documents required in accounting, administration and general office work.

4.1 Introduction and Worksheet Overview

• Purpose and uses of spreadsheets
• Starting Microsoft Excel
• Workbook, worksheet, row, column, cell and range
• Name Box, Formula Bar, Ribbon and Status Bar
• Creating, opening, saving and closing workbooks
• Adding, renaming, moving, copying and deleting worksheets
• Entering and editing text, numbers, dates and time
• AutoFill, Flash Fill and custom lists

4.2 Inserting and Formatting Data

• Selecting cells, ranges, rows and columns
• Insert, delete, hide and unhide operations
• Row height and column width
• Font, alignment, border and fill formatting
• Wrap Text, Merge and Centre
• Format Painter and Cell Styles
• General, Number, Currency, Accounting, Date, Time and Percentage formats
• Find, Replace, Go To and Paste Special

4.3 Cell Referencing

• Relative cell reference
• Absolute cell reference
• Mixed cell reference
• Referencing cells across worksheets
• Practical use of $ in formulas

4.4 Number and Conditional Formatting

• Applying appropriate number formats
• Custom number formats
• Highlight Cells Rules
• Top/Bottom Rules
• Data Bars, Colour Scales and Icon Sets
• Creating, editing and clearing conditional-formatting rules

4.5 Working with Formulas

• Formula structure and mathematical operators
• Operator precedence
• Creating, editing and copying formulas
• AutoSum and basic calculations
• Handling common formula errors
• Auditing and checking formulas

4.6 Mathematical and Statistical Functions

4.7 Logical Functions

• IF and nested IF
• IFS where supported
• AND, OR and NOT
• IFERROR
• Combining logical functions for office calculations

4.8 Basics of Financial Functions

• Meaning and use of financial functions
• PMT for loan instalment calculations
• Basic use of PV and FV
• Calculating interest and instalment schedules
• Practical EMI and investment examples

4.9 Lookup Functions

• Exact and approximate lookup concepts
• VLOOKUP
• HLOOKUP
• XLOOKUP where supported
• INDEX and MATCH introduction
• Handling lookup errors

4.10 Goal Seek

• Meaning and purpose of What-If Analysis
• Using Goal Seek
• Target-sales and profit examples
• Loan and instalment examples

4.11 Charts and Pivot Tables

• Selecting suitable data for charts
• Column, Bar, Line and Pie charts
• Chart title, legend, axis and data labels
• Formatting and updating charts
• Introduction to Pivot Tables
• Creating and arranging a Pivot Table
• Row, Column, Value and Filter areas
• Sorting, filtering and refreshing Pivot Tables
• Creating a basic Pivot Chart

4.12 Data Management Tools

• Sorting data by one or more columns
• Filter and Advanced Filter introduction
• Data Validation and drop-down lists
• Remove Duplicates
• Text to Columns
• Freeze Panes
• Protecting sheets and workbooks
• Importing basic text or CSV data

4.13 Printing and Page Setup

• Setting Print Area
• Page orientation, margins and scaling
• Header, footer and page numbering
• Repeating headings on printed pages
• Page Break Preview
• Printing selected data
• Exporting worksheets as PDF

4.14 Office and Accounting Worksheets

• Employee attendance sheet
• Salary and wages sheet
• Student marksheet and result sheet
• Fee collection and due-fee register
• Daily cash book
• Sales and purchase register
• Stock or inventory statement
• Expense and income statement
• Invoice and quotation worksheet
• Loan EMI calculation sheet

Learning Outcome: Learners will be able to enter and format data, use formulas and functions, manage business records, perform basic financial calculations and prepare charts, Pivot Tables and print-ready reports.

5.1 Getting Started with PowerPoint

• Purpose and uses of presentation software
• Starting Microsoft PowerPoint
• Understanding the PowerPoint interface
• Presentation, slide, placeholder and layout
• Creating a blank presentation
• Creating a presentation using a template
• Opening, saving and closing presentations
• Normal, Outline, Slide Sorter, Notes and Reading views

5.2 Creating and Organising Slides

• Adding, duplicating, moving and deleting slides
• Applying and changing slide layouts
• Entering and formatting text
• Bullets, numbering, alignment and spacing
• Applying themes and variants
• Changing slide size and background
• Reusing slides
• Organising slides into sections

5.3 Inserting and Formatting Content

• Pictures, icons and screenshots
• Shapes, text boxes and WordArt
• SmartArt graphics
• Tables and charts
• Adding data from Excel
• Hyperlinks and action buttons
• Audio and video
• Aligning, grouping and arranging objects

5.4 Transitions and Animations

• Applying slide transitions
• Transition duration and sound
• Entrance, emphasis, exit and motion-path animations
• Animation Pane and effect options
• Reordering and timing animations
• Using animations professionally and consistently

5.5 Creation and Finalisation of Presentation

• Creating presentations using templates
• Reviewing content and correcting spelling
• Maintaining consistent fonts, colours and alignment
• Adding headers, footers, date and slide numbers
• Speaker Notes and Presenter View
• Rehearse Timings and Set Up Slide Show
• Starting a slide show from the beginning or current slide
• Custom Slide Show
• Printing slides, Notes Pages and handouts
• Saving as PDF and video where supported
• Packaging and sharing a presentation

5.6 Financial and Office Presentations

• Monthly sales-performance presentation
• Income and expense summary
• Budget presentation
• Company profile
• Product or service presentation
• Project-progress report
• Using Excel charts in a financial presentation

Learning Outcome: Learners will be able to create, organise, enhance, present, print and share professional financial and office presentations.

• Internet, website, browser, search engine and URL
• Safe and effective web searching
• Downloading and uploading files
• Creating and managing an e-mail account
• Compose, Reply, Reply All and Forward
• CC, BCC, attachments and e-mail signatures
• Managing Inbox, Sent, Draft, Spam and Trash
• Google Drive or OneDrive basics
• Uploading, organising and sharing cloud files
• Basic online collaboration and permissions

• Connecting and selecting a printer
• Page selection, copies, orientation and paper size
• Single-sided and duplex printing
• Colour and black-and-white printing
• Scanning documents and photographs
• Selecting scan resolution and file format
• Creating a PDF from Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Combining, splitting, compressing and organising PDF files
• Safe handling of confidential office documents

• Filling online forms accurately
• Uploading photographs, signatures and documents
• Understanding file-size and file-format requirements
• Converting images and documents into suitable formats
• Basic data-entry standards and verification
• Maintaining digital records and folder naming conventions
• Online meeting basics and calendar scheduling
• Creating basic QR codes for office use

• Strong passwords and passphrases
• Two-factor authentication
• Phishing e-mails, fake websites and suspicious links
• Safe downloading and software installation
• Malware, antivirus and Windows Security basics
• Safe use of public Wi-Fi and USB devices
• Data backup and recovery awareness
• Privacy while sharing files and documents
• Safe digital payments and OTP precautions

• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI
• Writing clear prompts for office tasks
• Drafting letters, notices, e-mails and summaries
• Improving grammar, tone and formatting
• Generating ideas for presentations
• Assistance with formulas and data explanation
• Translating basic office communication
• Checking AI output for accuracy and bias
• Protecting personal, financial and confidential data
• Responsible and ethical use of AI in the workplace

Suggested Practical Assignments

• Create a professional resume and application letter in Word.
• Prepare a quotation, invoice and payment-voucher format.
• Create a student marksheet with result and grade calculation.
• Prepare an employee attendance and salary sheet.
• Create a monthly sales report with a chart and Pivot Table.
• Prepare a company-profile or financial presentation.
• Compose a professional e-mail and attach the completed files.
• Scan documents, combine them into a PDF and organise them in a cloud folder.