Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processing application that is part of the Microsoft Office
Suite. It is a word processing application that runs on a personal desktop, laptop, or mobile
computing device. It is the most suitable software utilized for building text files. It employs
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Give) feature. Because it is a Multiple Document
Interface (MDI), multiple documents can be opened at once, allowing the user to work from
various documents in parallel.

History of MS Word
Microsoft Word was launched in 1983 by the Microsoft Corporation. Richard Brodie
and Charles Simonyi, two software developers who joined the Microsoft team in 1981,
created Multi-Tool Word for UNIX-based computers in 1983. (OS). Later that year, the
programme was rebuilt to run under Microsoft's version of DOS (disk operating system), or
MS-DOS, on personal computers (PCs), such as the IBM PC. It was given the new name
Microsoft Word. Both WordPerfect and WordStar, which were released for PCs in 1982,
were in direct competition with the product.
Word Perfect rated as the most popular word processor on PCs throughout the 1980s,
but Microsoft Word has since overtaken it as the default word processor for both Windows
and Macintosh users. Even though there were more affordable alternatives like OpenOffice
available at the time, Word faced virtually little competition during that decade. Companies
like Google have given Word some competition in the twenty-first century. A cloud-based
version of Word has been released by Microsoft in response to this. Microsoft's complete
product line, Office 365, continues to hold a 65 percent global market share for office
software.
The very first version of MS Word was released on October 25th,1983 [as Multi-Tool
Word], and then the versions kept evolving and updating as the technology progressed, as of
2022, there were 9 different versions that were released - 1981-1989 ;1990-1995 ; Word 97;
Word 2007 ; Word 2010 ; Word 2013; Word 2016; Word 2019 And Word 2021. Just like
that all the versions kept updating and making all the complex functions simpler and easier
and up to date, to make working on MS Word easier and more accessible.
Main Features of MS Word
 Create documents fast, using built-in and custom templates.
 Quickly create merge documents like mass mailings or mailing labels using ‘mail
merge’.
 Easily create and format tables using features like AutoFormat.
 Print zoom facility scales a document on different paper sizes, and allows to print out
multiple pages on a single sheet of paper.
 The nested tables feature supports putting one table inside another table.
 Picture bullets make it easy to insert tiny pictures before each item in a list.
 Multilingual features of Word allows one to type different languages in the same
document.
 Can save documents in HTML format.
 Create webpages using Web Page Wizard.
 Documents can be stored indefinitely and the saved document can be called up at any
time.

Basic Functions & Features of MS Word

Basic Functions:
 Creating text documents.
 Edition and formatting the existing documents.
 Making a text document interactive with different features and tools.
 Graphical documents with images, charts, etc.
 Easy cut, copy, paste options.
 Detecting grammatical errors in a document.
 Align texts in one click.
 Templates for creating contents in various formats.
 Add tables, hyperlinks, citations, etc.
 Spell and grammar checks.
Features:
 Home - It has options like font style, size, colour, alignment, bullet pointers, line
spacing, etc. It has all the basic elements to edit and make a document professional.
 Insert - It has options to insert images, tables, graphs, shapes, header, footer, page
number, etc. It helps to make the document more interactive and easier to understand.
 References - It is the most helpful tool for those working on research, thesis, etc. as it
has options to add citations, footnotes, bibliography, captions, etc.
 Review - It provides spell check, grammar check, thesaurus, word count, translation,
etc. allowing the user to create well-tailored documents.
 Mail merge - It allows you to create a batch of documents that are personalized for
each recipient. It generated a personalized version of itself for each name in the data
source.

Uses of MS Word
Simple word processing documents like letters and reports may be quickly and easily
created using Microsoft Word, and you can even include color and clip art. Utilizing tables,
borders, and bullet formatting along with a variety of fonts and sizes eliminates monotony
and boosts productivity. Reduce your workload and boost your productivity right away!
Word can also help you organize and write documents more efficiently. A few of the features
that make MS Word accessible and easy to use; are the flexible and easy tabs and options that
allow you to change anything and everything and make it look attractive and organized. The
various features like- changing the case and the fonts, adding placeholder text, flexible
paragraph editing, making tables, bulleted lists, changing background colors and adding
pictures and smart art.
The different fields where MS Word can be used are-
1. In the workplace - for typing and submitting letters, making reports, letterheads and
making all sorts of sample documents.
2. Creating and Updating resumes- it gives you a number of layouts and backdrops,
where you can make and keep editing your resume as and when it is required.
3. In Education- it is the simplest tool which can be used by both teachers and students.
Creating notes is easier using MS Word as they can be made more interactive by
adding shapes and images. It is also convenient to make assignments on MS Word
and submit them online.
 4. For Authors- It is the greatest tool for authors to use while making/ writing books
because of the different options provided for the bibliography, table of contents, etc.
You can also alter it to fit the layout and alignment of your choosing.
5. Also, creating a Doc file and converting it into PDF is a more suitable option, so it is
highly recommended.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ms Word

Advantages:
 User-friendly - the various features Word offers, along with a well-located navigation
pane and shortcuts to work fast makes Word very user-friendly to create documents.
 Make changes easily - files can be edited, and changes can be made easily on Word.
Options like undo, redo, cut, copy, paste, etc., makes this process easier.
 Quick print - Word has a print preview and direct print option that allows the user to
get their document printed without any extra effort.
 Easy to save and store files - files can be easily saved in the desired folders as and
when the document is created, documents can be saved in-between the work and can
be worked on later too.
 Spelling and grammar checks - Word offers free spell and grammar checks; it marks
words or fragments to be edited and gives suggestions for change.
 Mail merge - makes it very easy to create personalized documents by using a database
list of names and addresses and merge them into your document and is an ideal option
for mass mailings.
 Integrates with other Microsoft programs - it is easy to incorporate graphs,
presentation materials, worksheets and any other media created in the suite.
 Multiple features to create professional documents - word provides the users multiple
features to create documents of their need, which are professional, creative and
interactive. Each feature is listed clearly on the navigation pane for the users to try
and experience.

Disadvantages:
 Cost - while Word is the best word processor available, it can be very expensive to
buy the software.
 Complexity - for a new user the various features offered on work may appear
confusing and complex to grasp.
 Not available for Mac users - MS Word is not available for Apple devices and it is
costly to install the software.
 Compatibility - newer versions of Word may not work well with older versions as
there will be differences in formatting. The case is the same when working on an
exported file from some other word-processing software.
 Reference

ADEBISI, Jeleel. (2013). MICROSOFT WORD.

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