The status line

The status line is an area of the document window dedicated to giving you help and information about the work in progress.

If you move the mouse pointer (without clicking) over control areas of the window, such as the toolbar, a message appears explaining the function of the button

If you drag tab and paragraph markers in the ruler, the precise measurements of the place where you have clicked are shown in the selected unit of measurement, enabling you to align text and paragraphs precisely.

The status line gives information about functions and operators as you select them from lists.

The results of certain operations, such as style/effect region counts and word counts, are displayed on the status line until the mouse pointer is moved again.