Microsoft Word is a widely used commercial word processor designed by Microsoft. It is a paid software that helps in preparing, editing, storing and printing documents quickly and with accuracy.
MS Word is a part of the Microsoft Office suite, a productivity software and can also be purchased as a stand-alone product. It was initially launched in 1983 and has been revised numerous times since then. MS Word is available on both Windows and Macintosh operating systems.
A word processor lets a user change words or phrases, move whole sections of text from one place to another, store blocks of text, align margins. Use of MS Word has changed the look and feel of official correspondence, reports, and proposals etc. to a great extent. The powerful features of Word supports to creation of graphic based multi-column publications such as Fliers, Newsletters and Internet web pages.
MS Word offers several features to ease document creation and editing including:
WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) display: It ensures that everything you see on screen will appear the same way when printed or moved to another format or program.
Proof Reading – Spelling and Grammar check: Word comes with a built-in dictionary for spell checking; misspelled words are marked with a red underline.
Text-level features such as bold, underline, italic and strike-through
Page-level features such as indentation, paragraphing and justification
Selecting a block of Text
Copy, Move, Paste and Cut Text
Search And Replace Text
Margin and Colum Settings
Character Formatting and Styling
External support: Word is compatible with many other programs, the most common being the other members of the Office suite
The default file format was .doc prior to the MS Word 2007 version; in 2007, .docx became the default file format.
Microsoft Excel is a software program developed by Microsoft Corp. that allows users to organize, format and calculate data with formulas using a spread sheet system. This software is a part of the Microsoft office suite and is compatible with other applications of the office suite.
Excel has the same basic features as every other spread sheet, and uses a collection of cells arranged into rows and columns to organize data. They also display data as charts, histograms and line graphs. An Excel document is called a Workbook. A workbook always has at least one Worksheet. Worksheets are the grid where a user can store and calculate data. A user can have many worksheets stored inside a workbook, each with a unique worksheet name.
Excel is used widely in most finance-related activity. The ability to create new spread sheets where users can define custom formulas to calculate anything from a simple quarterly forecast to a full corporate annual report makes Excel highly appealing.
Excel is a useful tool for scientific and statistical analysis with large data sets. Excel’s statistical formulas and graphing can help researches perform variance analysis, chi-square testing, and chart complex data.
Applications of MS Excel:
Preparation of Annual Budgets
Preparation of Annual Reports
Preparation of Income Statement
Payrolls and Invoice
PowerPoint is a presentation program developed by Microsoft Corp. This software allows users to create anything from basic slide shows to complex presentations.
PowerPoint is a tool used to communicate your ideas effectively through visual aids that look professionally designed and yet are easy to make.
PowerPoint is often used to create business presentations, but can also be used for educational or informational purposes. The presentations are comprised of slides, which may contain text, images, and other media, such as audio clips and movies. Sound effects and animated transitions can also be included to add extra appeal to the presentation. The design features of PowerPoint support customization of the appearance and format of the slides. PowerPoint comes with a set of preloaded themes or templates to choose that range from simple colour changes to complete format layouts. Apart from these it also includes all basic text editing and styling options.
The default file format was .ppt prior to the Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 version; in 2007, .pptx became the default file format. Also extensions .pps (before Microsoft PowerPoint 2007) and .ppsx (Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 onwards) can be used for opening presentations in Slide Show view instead of in Normal view.