1 - Menu bar 
The menu bar is the top bar across your screen.
When using this method, you will move your cursor to the menu bar and click on one of the options. A pull-down menu will appear with more options. You can choose one of these menu options by scrolling to it and clicking on it. For example, to print, you can click on FILE on your menu bar and then scroll down and click on Print.
2 - Toolbars
Toolbars are basically shortcut buttons. By default, Word 97 displays a standard toolbar
and a formatting toolbar.
Each toolbar contains several buttons. By clicking on one of these buttons you can perform various functions. For example, to print, simply click on the [Print] button.
You can tell what function each button performs if you move your cursor to the button
and wait for about one second. A small pop up box will appear telling you what function
that button performs. 
3 - Shortcut menus
Shortcut menus allow you to perform functions by using the keyboard. For example, to
print, you can hold down keys [Control] 
and [P] 
at the same time. You can find shortcut menus on the pull-down menus. the
shortcut menu for printing is under the FILE pull-down menu.
4 - Combination of methods
If you look at the menu bar, you will notice that each word has one letter underlined.
Look at the menu option FILE. The letter F is underlined. If you hold
down the underlined key while also holding down the [Alt] key, you can display the
pull-down menu for that option. For example, if you hold down the [Alt] key 
and press the [F] key 
at the same time, the FILE
menu will drop down. From this point, you can use your [down arrow] key 
to move down the menu. When you
get to the desired location, hit the [Enter] key 
to perform the function. To remove the drop down
menu, hit your [Escape] key
.
When do you use each method?
This is a personal preference issue. You should pick the method or methods that feel most comfortable to you. Some people like the toolbars but others think that they clutter the screen. Some think that the shortcut menus is more efficient but others think that the key strokes are too difficult to remember. This decision is up to you. Select the method that most closely fits your needs.
