Introduction to Microsoft Word

Microsoft word is a word processor software developed by Microsoft in 1983.

It is the most commonly used word processor software. It is used to create

professional quality documents, letters, reports, resumes, etc and also allows

you to edit or modify your new or existing document. The file saved in Ms

Word has .docx extension. It is a component of the Microsoft Office suite, but

you can buy it separately and is available for both Windows and macOS. The

latest version of Ms Word is 2024. In this article we will learn the features of

Ms Word, but first we learn how to open Ms Word?

How to open MS Word?

The following step shows how to open MS words:

Step 1: Type Ms Word in the search bar.

Step 2: Select Ms Word application.

Step 3: Select a blank document and press create button.

Then you will get a window like in the image below where you can write

your content and perform different types of operations on that content, like

font type, style, bold, italic, etc. You can also add images, tables, charts to

your document.
Features of MS Word

Now let us discuss the features or components of the Ms Word. Using these

features, you can perform different types of operations on your documents,

like you can create, delete, style, modify, or view the content of your

document.

1. File

It contains options related to the file, like New(used to create a new

document), Open(used to open an existing document), Save(used to save

document), Save As(used to save documents), History, Print, Share, Export,

Info, etc.

2. Home
It is the default tab of Ms Word and it is generally divided into five groups,

i.e., Clipboard, Font, Paragraph, Style and Editing. It allows you to select the

color, font, emphasis, bullets, position of your text. It also contains options

like cut, copy, and paste. After selecting the home tab you will get below

options:

3. Insert

It is the second tab present on the menu bar or ribbon. It contains various

items that you may want to insert into a Microsoft word. It includes options

like tables, word art, hyperlinks, symbols, charts, signature line, date and

time, shapes, header, footer, text boxes, links, boxes, equations, etc., as

shown in the below image:

4. Draw

It is the third tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. It is used for freehand

drawing in Ms Word. It provides different types of pens for drawing as shown

below:

5. Design

It is the fourth tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. The design tab contains

document designs that you can select, such as documents with centered
titles, offset headings, left-justified text, page borders, watermarks, page

color, etc., as shown in the below image:

6. Layout

It is the fifth tab present on the menu bar or ribbon. It holds all the options

that allow you to arrange your Microsoft Word document pages just the way

you want them. It includes options like set margins, display line numbers, set

paragraph indentation, and lines apply themes, control page orientation and

size, line breaks, etc., as shown in the below image:

7. References
It is the sixth tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. The references tab lets

you add references to a document, then create a bibliography at the end of

the text. The references are generally stored in a master list, which is used to

add references to further documents. It includes options like, Table of

Contents, Footnotes, Citations & Bibliography, Captions, Index, Table of

Authorities, smart look, etc. After selecting References tab, you will get the

below options:

8. Mailings

It is the seventh tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. It is a least used tab in

the menu bar. This tab is where you would create labels, print them on

envelopes, do mail merge, etc. After selecting mailing, you will get the below

options:
9. Review

It is the eighth tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. The review tab

contains, commenting, language, translation, spell check, word count tools. It

is good for quickly locating and editing comments. After selecting a review

tab, you will get the options below:

10. View

It is the ninth tab present in the menu bar or ribbon. View tab allows you to

switch between single page or double page and also allows you to control

the layout tools It includes print layout, outline, web layout, task pane,
toolbars, ruler, header and footer, footnotes, full-screen view, zoom, etc. as

shown in the below image:

How to use Mail Merge in MS Word?

Many day-to-day applications require similar documents containing similar text
to be sent to a number of persons. These documents also have a typical
common layout. Invitation letters sent to guests have a more-or-less common
content and layout. Only the names of the recipients are different in these
letters. One obvious way to generate such letters is to type all of them
individually, putting the same amount of effort again and again. Another
solution could be to copy the same block of text again and again onto the new
letters. The names and addresses etc., which are different from each letter,
can be entered separately in the documents. Though this method saves a lot
of effort, it still requires proper caution. There should be a way where these
kinds of documents can be prepared automatically. This task can be easily
automated if we use the mail merge feature of a word processor. So, it is time
we learnt the mail-merge feature of the word.
Components of mail merge:

The three main components of the merging process are the main document,
the data source, and the merged document.

1. The main document contains the main body of your letter, field
names, and merges instructions. The basic information within the
main document remains equivalent.
2. The data source (or Recipients’ list) stores the knowledge that
changes for every document. This information is inserted in the main
document one by one. An example of the data source is a name and
address list from which the program gets what you want to include in
the main document.
3. The merged document contains the main text from the main
document and data from a data source.

Steps for mail merger:

Step 1:

● Open MS Word and click on the command sequence: Mailings tab →

Start mail merge group → Select recipients button → Type new List.
● A dialog namely “New Address List” will pop up(as shown in the
below image). Type here the desired data under the given headings.
To add a new record, click on the “New Entry” button at the bottom of
the dialog and click OK when you are done.
Step 2: Prepare Master Letter

The second step is to prepare our master letter for use in the mail merge.
Before we enter all the letter text we’d like to link this Word file to our list of
names.

● Create a blank word document.

● Click Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group → Start Mail Merge →
Letters command.
● Then click the Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group → Select
Recipients button → Use Existing List command.

● Now we can start typing the letter.

 ● Now we would like to add the name and address and other details for
the people on the list.
● Mailings tab→ Write & Insert Field group → Insert Merge Field
button.
● A pop-down will appear showing all the table headings, so choose
Title and press the spacebar to create a space.

Then do this again and choose FirstName, followed by a space (i.e., press
only spacebar key and no other key); then choose LastName but this time
press the Enter key to create a new line. Then repeat the steps to choose the
Address field, and press enter key.
Step 3:

Before we actually carry out the merge, we must first preview what the
merged letters will look like.

● Mailings tab→ Preview Results group → Preview Results button

● Once we are happy with the preview, you can carry out the actual
mail merge.
● To do this you click the Mailings tab → Finish group → Finish &
Merge button and choose Edit Individual Documents.

● In the Merge to New Document panel, click All to create a separate

letter for each person on the Names list. Word then creates a fresh
document with as many pages as there are names on your list, and
every page contains a wonderfully merged letter with all the correct
individuals’ details.

● We can save this with an appropriate name, such as ABC.docx

Introduction to Microsoft PowerPoint
Information can be displayed using an electronic presentation application.
This information is usually presented as a slide show — the data is displayed
on a slide that may be viewed on a computer monitor or projected onto a
screen using an LCD projector. A presentation might consist of multiple slides
that are exhibited one after the other. The presentation tool in MS Office is MS
PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation application,
although there are alternatives such as Corel Presentations OpenOffice.org,
Impress, etc.

Three major components of a presentation program are:

(i) An editor that allows text to be input and formatted

(ii) a means for inserting visual pictures, audio, and video

(iii) and a slide-show system to display the final content.

How to open MS PowerPoint

In Windows 8/above:

Step 1: Press Windows + c to open the search bar

Step 2: Type PowerPoint & click on the MS Office version you are having in
your system. MS Office window will pop up.

In Windows 7 or below:

Step 1: Go to the program section in the windows start menu.

Step 2: Go to MS Office & click on it. A drop-down list is seen
Step 3: Click on MS PowerPoint & MS PowerPoint window will pop up.
Creating a Presentation

Once your MS PowerPoint Window pops up, you can create & save the file
by:

Step 1: Click on the Microsoft button on the top left.

Step 2: Click on new, a new Presentation window will pop up

Step 3: Click on Create & a new presentation will be created.

Note: Shortcut for New: Ctrl +n

Saving a Presentation

Once you have created a presentation, it can be easily saved with the help of
following steps:

Step 1: Click on the Microsoft icon

Step 2: Click on the Save button

Step 3: A new Window for Save As will pop up.
Step 4: Select the drive (by clicking on it: Example: Local Drive (D)) in which
you want to save the presentation. Then your drive will open up, select the
folder in which you want to save the presentation (Example: img folder here) &
then give the required name to your presentation (Example: MyPresentation
here). Your presentation is created & saved with the provided name.

Note: Shortcut for save: Ctrl + s

Basic Elements of a PowerPoint Window/Slide

You can see various bars in the presentation window. They are:
(i) Title Bar: This shows the name/title given by you to the current
presentation. If user do not save the presentation by any name, default name
given by MS PowerPoint appears in this bar.
(ii) Menu Bar: Contains menu items like insert, views, design, animations,
etc.
(iii) Office Button: MS Office button on the left-most top.
(iv) Formatting Toolbar: Have tools like Bold, Italic, Underline, Font shape &
size etc. to format your data.

(v) Zoom Slider: To zoom in or zoom out your presentation.

(vi) Slide Sorter Pane: This allows us to choose which slides will be shown in
which sequence during the slide show.
(vii) Notes Pane: This allows us to type notes that we may require later when
preparing for the presentation, but they will not be displayed during the slide
show.
(viii) View Buttons: Provides different views of your presentation like :
normal, slide show & slide sorter.
(ix) Slide Pane: This is where we type, format, and otherwise design the
slide.

Concept of Slide Shows

After preparing the presentation, it’s time for the slide show. Steps for slide
show are:

Step 1. Click on the view Option on the top Menu Toolbar

Step 2. Click on the slide show option.

Step 3. The slide show will start (Press Esc key (escape) to come out of slide
show)

Note: Shortcut for the slide show is: F5

Sample Questions

Question 1. How to print a Presentation through an attached printer?

Answer:
Step 1: Click on the Microsoft icon
Step 2: Click On Print & a window for Print & Preview the document will pop
up.

Step 3: Click on Print. Then a window for Print will pop up.
Step 4: Select the printer by which you want to take out print of the document.
Select the page range (Print of all or some or current page) & number of
copies you want.
Step 5: Click on OK.
You will get print of your Presentation.
Introduction to MS Excel
MS-EXCEL is a part of Microsoft Office suite software. It is an electronic

spreadsheet with numerous rows and columns, used for organizing data,

graphically representing data(s), and performing different calculations. It

consists of 1048576 rows and 16384 columns in Excel 2007 and later

versions, a row and column together make a cell. Each cell has an address

defined by column name and row number example A1, D2, etc. This is also

known as a cell reference.

What is MS Excel

Microsoft Excel is a software application designed for creating tables to input

and organize data. It provides a user-friendly way to analyze and work with

data. The image below provides a visual representation of what an Excel

spreadsheet typically appears like

Excel Interface

What is a Cell
A spreadsheet takes the shape of a table, consisting of rows and columns. A

cell is created at the intersection point where rows and columns meet,

forming a rectangular box. Here’s an image illustrating what a cell looks like:

What is Cell Address or Cell Reference

The address or name of a cell or a range of cells is known as Cell reference. It

helps the software to identify the cell from where the data/value is to be

used in the formula. We can reference the cell of other worksheets and also

of other programs.

● Referencing the cell of other worksheets is known as External

referencing.

● Referencing the cell of other programs is known as Remote

referencing.

There are three types of cell references in Excel:

1. Relative reference.

2. Absolute reference.
 3. Mixed reference.

Features of MS Excel

Ribbon

Th eRibbon in MS-Excel is the topmost row of tabs that provide the user with

different facilities/functionalities. These tabs are:

Home Tab

It provides the basic facilities like changing the font, size of text, editing the

cells in the spreadsheet, autosum, etc.

Insert Tab

It provides the facilities like inserting tables, pivot tables, images, clip art,

charts, links, etc.

Page layout

It provides all the facilities related to the spreadsheet-like margins,

orientation, height, width, background etc. The worksheet appearance will be

the same in the hard copy as well.

Formulas
It is a package of different in-built formulas/functions which can be used by

user just by selecting the cell or range of cells for values.

Data

The Data Tab helps to perform different operations on a vast set of data like

analysis through what-if analysis tools and many other data analysis tools,

removing duplicate data, transpose the row and column, etc. It also helps to

access data(s) from different sources as well, such as from Ms-Access, from

web, etc.

Review

This tab provides the facility of thesaurus, checking spellings, translating the

text, and helps to protect and share the worksheet and workbook.

View

It contains the commands to manage the view of the workbook, show/hide

ruler, gridlines, etc, freezing panes, and adding macros.

How to Create a New Spreadsheet

In Excel 3 sheets are already opened by default, now to add a new sheet :
● In the lowermost pane in Excel, you can find a button.

● Click on that button to add a new sheet.

● We can also achieve the same by Right-clicking on the sheet

number before which you want to insert the sheet.

● Click on Insert.
● Select Worksheet.

● Click OK.
How to Open an Existing Worksheet

On the lowermost pane in Excel, you can find the name of the current sheet

you have opened.

On the left side of this sheet, the name of previous sheets are also available

like Sheet 2, Sheet 3 will be available at the left of sheet4, click on the

number/name of the sheet you want to open and the sheet will open in the

same workbook.

For example, we are on Sheet 4, and we want to open Sheet 2 then simply

just click on Sheet2 to open it.

Managing the Spreadsheets

You can easily manage the spreadsheets in Excel simply by :

● Simply navigating between the sheets.

● Right-clicking on the sheet name or number on the pane.

 ● Choose among the various options available like, move, copy,

rename, add, delete etc.

● You can move/copy your sheet to other workbooks as well just by

selecting the workbook in the To workbook and the sheet before you

want to insert the sheet in Before sheet.

How to Save the Workbook

1. Click on the Office Button or the File tab.

 2. Click on Save As option.

3. Write the desired name of your file.

4. Click OK.

How to Share your Workbook

1. Click on the Review tab on the Ribbon.

2. Click on the share workbook (under Changes group).

3. If you want to protect your workbook and then make it available for

another user then click on Protect and Share Workbook option.

4. Now check the option “Allow changes by more than one user at the

same time. This also allows workbook merging” in the Share

Workbook dialog box.

5. Many other options are also available in the Advanced like track,

update changes.

6. Click OK.

Ms-Excel shortcuts

1. Ctrl+N: To open a new workbook.

2. Ctrl+O: To open a saved workbook.

3. Ctrl+S: To save a workbook.

4. Ctrl+C: To copy the selected cells.

5. Ctrl+V: To paste the copied cells.

 6. Ctrl+X: To cut the selected cells.

7. Ctrl+W: To close the workbook.

8. Delete: To remove all the contents from the cell.

9. Ctrl+P: To print the workbook.

10. Ctrl+Z: To undo.

What is the Latest Versions of Excel

The most recent edition of Microsoft Excel is part of MS Office 2019, which is

the latest version of the Microsoft Office suite. It comes packed with

numerous new features introduced by Microsoft.

FAQs

What is Ms Excel and its Features?

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that helps you manage and analyze

data. Its key features include:

1. Grid layout with cells for data.

2.Formulas and functions for calculations.

3.Charts and graphs for visualization.

4.Data analysis tools like sorting and filtering.

5.Collaboration and data protection options.

6.Compatibility with various platforms.

MS Access – A GUI Database

MS Access (also known as Microsoft Access) is a useful tool for organizing
and managing data. It’s been around since 1992 and is popular with
businesses, schools, and even hobbyists. Access combines a powerful
database with an easy-to-use interface, so you don’t need to be a tech
expert to use it. You can store large amounts of data, run complex searches,
and create detailed reports with it. Whether you’re keeping track of customer
information, managing inventory, or doing research, Microsoft Access can help
you handle your data effectively.

What is MS Access?

MS Access (also known as Microsoft Access) is a popular DBMS (Database

Management System) software and a member of the MS Office suite,
developed by Microsoft in 1992. Microsoft combines the relational
Access Database Engine (ACE) with a graphical user interface and
software development tools and developed the first version of the GUI
database MS Access. It stores data in its format based on the Access
Database Engine (popularly, Jet Database Engine). It can also import/export
or link directly to data stored in other applications and databases. After the
launch of MS Access, Microsoft ruled the Database Market beat all
competitors (Borland, Fox, Ashton-Tate), and gained instant success and
popularity.
Unlike an ordinary database, it is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) based
database that enables users to create, manage, and modify the database and
its data. It is an application software and a user-friendly database system.
Users do not require any high knowledge of programming languages
like SQL, MySQL, No-SQL, MongoDB, etc., to work on it. It is a graphical
interface software. Users should know DBMS and MS Access to work on it. It
is basically a type of RDBMS (Relational DBMS). It has table-like structure (a
little different from Excel) i.e. rows and columns to store data in it and has all
the features of RDBMS. We will deep dive into the topic.

Features of MS Access

● It allows user to define a primary key in the Access table like in

Excel.
● Users can create tables, queries, forms and reports, and connect
them together with macros and store data in database.
● Allows easy importing/exporting of data from other databases
and applications in any file format.
● Allows user to enhance a database with predefined templates.
 ● Allows user to select and store more than one values in one field i.e.
multi-valued function.
● Access also has report creation features that can help users to
create a report of stored data in a custom way.
● It has “Tell Me What to Do” feature that enables user to create
tables, reports, queries and forms easily.
● User can use SQL statements to edit and view queries
graphically and also to manipulate Access tables with Macros
and VBA Modules.
● Users can view their reports in different previews: print, design,
layout and report.

Uses of MS Access

● It is especially designed to store a large amount of data easily and

establish relationship between tables.
● MS Access is also used for developing web applications and
application software. Various software developers use it for the same
purpose.
● It is used to import/export data and link directly to other applications
and databases of any file format.
○ MS Excel
○ Text
○ MySQL
○ MS SQL Server
○ Oracle
○ HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)
 ○ XML (Extensible Markup Language)
○ DB2
○ dBase
○ FoxPro
○ Outlook
● It can be used in school for making schedules and storing records in
a database.
● It is used for creating front-end of the program while other softwares
acting as back-end such as MS SQL Server or else.
● It enables user to perform repetitive tasks with the help of macros.

Components of MS Access

There are mainly seven components of MS Access for storing and accessing
data. They are below:
Tables- Tables are an important part of RDBMS for storing data in form of
rows and columns and MS Access is RDBMS software. MS Access tables
looks exactly same as of MS Excel and MS Word with columns and headings.
For creating a database in MS Access, we need to create a table in the
database. Remember, all the data in the table must be correct and according
to defined data types to avoid errors.

● Forms- Forms are user interface that enables users to enter the data
in a table of any database. It is a database object component. There
are two types of forms: bound and unbound. These fields collect
information from source and store in a database.
● Reports- Reports are a way to view, format and summarize
information or data in database. Unlike forms, reports are immutable.
It means that we can customize and modify the reports as per the
requirements. Generally, reports are used to view and analyze the
data entered in the database.
● Relationships- Relationships helps in combining data from two
different tables. Whenever data from two or more tables combined
together then a connection or link is created between the tables, this
connection is known as relation. Simply, it define a link or connection
between two or more tables. There are four types of relationships:-
○ One to One relationship
○ One to Many relationship
○ Many to One relationship
○ Many to Many relationship
 ● Queries- Queries are the commands that are used to retrieve and
modify data in the database (like MySQL, etc). Queries are also used
to insert data in the table.
● Macros- A macro is a tool that has predefined functions which allows
user to automate tasks (mostly frequently used processes or tasks)
and add functionalities to reports, forms and controls. Multiple tasks
can be assigned and they function whenever macros are enabled. It
is a collection of actions used to run set of tasks.
● Module- Modules are user-defined and predefined functions that are
written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) created by
programmers which are used to perform automatic operations. Users
can easily use them throughout the database and repetitively. It
enhances the efficiency.

Difference Between MS Access and MS Excel

Although both software are part of MS Office and developed by Microsoft for
data analysis, still both are different from each other in many aspects. Some
of them are:

MS Access MS Excel
It is a type of RDBMS which stores
It is a type of spreadsheet, used for
and manages data easily in the
calculations and data visualization.
database.

It is specially build for storing a It is build for analyzing and

large amount of data as compared comparing, so it stores a small
to MS Excel. amount of data.

It is more flexible than MS Excel. It is less flexible than MS Access.

It is an RDBMS so it contains the It contains a simple spreadsheet,

tables, forms, queries, reports, so it looks same as a paper
modules and macros. spreadsheet, simple table.

It helps the user in storing and It helps the user for storing,
manipulating the data directly in building and analyzing financial
the database. and statistical models and charts.
 It is complex and difficult to learn. It is simple and easy to learn.

This software is totally based on

This software works on relational
non-relational data models, only a
data models.
simple worksheet.

It don’t require any programming

It require programming concepts
concepts and special knowledge.
and knowledge of DBMS and
basics.

MS Access DB
MS Excel Spreadsheet

Merits and Demerits of MS Access

MS Access is a most popular GUI database and dominated the desktop

database market due to its various advantages, but apart from advantages
MS Access has some limitations also. Let’s see
Merits

● Easy to install and understand its working.

● Allows user to create functional database in lesser time.
● Use user friendly programming language.
● The graphical user interface makes it easy to work on.
● Allows user to import and export data and link database from other
applications.
● Lots of new features are added since its release.
● Easy customization according to company and personal needs.
● With the help of Macros, users can create and connect tables, forms,
queries, and reports.

Demerits

● Too many people cannot use same database at same time.

● It is only limited to small-scale companies or individual, but not useful
for large-scale companies.
● It is very difficult to use same database with different OS.
● It is not available separately. One needs to buy full MS Office Suite.
● Not much secure like other databases. Not good for storing
confidential data.
● Its efficiency and speed got affected when user stores a large
amount of data in a database in single file.

Versions of MS Access
Here are some insight of MS Access versions from earliest to latest.