Microsoft Office Productivity Applications
Microsoft Office is a widespread software package that every modern computer must have installed. This set of programs includes such productivity applications as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and Publisher. Moreover, the Microsoft company released a plethora of other useful programs that might not be necessary to purchase, but they remain instrumental for users who want to increase their computers’ productiveness (Adkins, 2017).
It would be proper to mention that the aforementioned applications remain the most preferable software products in the world’s largest companies’ offices. These programs are used for basic computing processes, records, calculations, and other necessary features. The Microsoft Office package has been updated and adjusted to the company’s customers’ needs several times due to multiple releases of modernized operational systems. Nowadays, all students and office clerks are required to work with these applications.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is considered to be one of the most popular text editing programs in the entire world due to its useful options, adaptive interface, and convenient settings for basic styles. The Word application has a function that might correct various phrases and text fragments in case of misprints, grammar or orthographical mistakes. The correction option makes some working procedures much easier, faster, and less stressful. Due to a wide variety of supporting mechanisms, people can type and work much more efficiently and faster than it would take them with paper sheets (Kinser, Hammerle, Moriarity, Nightingale, & Kinser, 2015).
Moreover, this program makes it possible for users to organize pages’ orders or structures, regardless of the working progress because any setting might be saved, ignored, and canceled. Word contains many fonts, text sizes and intervals, colors, and other options that might be instrumental for advanced users or people who are required to complete specific tasks.
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel has a plethora of useful options that users implement for various calculations, reports, and to make visual schemes of certain information. This productivity application might save valuable time of office workers by doing such simple calculations as multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. For instance, a user might choose a column or a line that will multiply automatically after his or her command, and the result will be available at the last spot of a row. Moreover, Microsoft Excel is known for its formulae database that may be used with any given numbers or figures (Poatsy, Mulbery, Davidson, & Grauer, 2016). The operations discussed above make all the work processes fast, easy, and accurate. Usually, the whole range of this application’s options is instrumental in the work of accounting departments of various companies because people who make different finncial reports are obliged to provide precise calculations.
Microsoft Power Point
Microsoft Power Point is used to make informative presentations for the audience that is intended to gain particular knowledge during speeches or performances of lectors and educators. This productivity application lets its users choose between a wide range of presentation styles and designs. Moreover, people can organize slides according to their individual needs or preferences (Gaskin, Vargas, & Marks, 2014). Power Point can display images, play videos, and apply animations to certain text blocks or other components of a document. This program also has a useful option that lets its users describe and explain some additional information, which is intended to make their visual aids clear and understandable. Power Point is somewhat similar to Microsoft Word that was discussed previously because these two programs have many functions in common. The main differences lay in the presence and appearance of any entered information.
Microsoft OneNote
Although OneNote is not as popular as other programs included in the Microsoft Office package, it has its advantages and functions that many consumers appreciate and use on a daily basis. For instance, a user might make records of his or her duties, chores, and set other memorandums that might be hard to remember. This productivity application was first released in the year 2003 and rapidly gained its popularity among business people, students, and other people who constantly used their notebooks (Adkins, 2017).
OneNote is very convenient because one can install it on his or her tablet computer or mobile phone to have all the necessary information always available and organized. Moreover, its options let users edit their lists, texts, notes, memorandums, and other units as they wish, as all people have different tastes and preferences. The Microsoft company improved OneNote’s design and added new useful functions that are available in the last version for free.
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager that includes the services that let users observe their e-mail accounts. Despite its primary option, this productivity application has such additional features as an organizer, task scheduler, calendar, notebook, and a contact manager. Therefore, it is handy for people who have to deal with a plethora of tasks and contacts on a daily basis (Adkins, 2017). Moreover, this application gives its users notifications about new inbox messages to their e-mail accounts. The function mentioned above is very beneficial because sometimes people forget about their chats and discussions online. Microsoft Outlook is also necessary for various businesses that have to operate many processes online and reply to their customer’s needs and questions. Its interface is highly adjustable to any user and his or her preferences, which makes the work easier and more efficient.
Microsoft Publisher
Although Microsoft Publisher is included in the Office package, the majority of users do not need any options of this productivity application, as its features are aimed at publishing businesses and other companies that have to deal with releases of books and journals. The program’s interface is very useful for text editing and organization, whereas such aspects as grammar, orthography, and spelling of words are disregarded (Adkins, 2017). Microsoft Publisher lets its users choose a wide range of installed publishing templates that are intended to reduce the time required for standard settings. Once a user has organized the text properly, he or she can save the order and structure of a particular document to implement it in other cases in the future. Moreover, such graphic objects as images, symbols, logotypes, and patterns can be added to any text.
Other Productivity Applications
Other less common productivity applications were also included in the Microsoft Office Package, but they did not gain as much popularity as other programs due to their unique functions. For instance, Microsoft Access is an application that is intended to make records, organize, and edit various databases. InfoPath is a program that lets its users gather necessary information and has all the useful features for making these processes more convenient and faster. Microsoft Visio is used predominately by different businesses and companies to display and build technical graphs and diagrams (Adkins, 2017). Microsoft Project is beneficial for students or employees that have to deal with creative projects consistently. All the aforementioned programs were not made for daily implementation, as their options are adjustable only for people of certain occupations. Therefore, they are not always included in the basic Microsoft Office package.
Microsoft Office Commercial
There are many reasons why products of the Microsoft company became so popular. To name a few, they made their programs address the people’s primary needs at their workplaces (Adkins, 2017). Moreover, the corporation always sold its products in a full package, whereas they could have sold different programs separately. Therefore, people might purchase a set of productivity applications very cheap. However, Microsoft is known for its creative commercials and approach to business in general. This slide demonstrates one of the most popular advertisement videos by the company. It is unique because it does not describe all the advantages of its products. Instead, it presents a life situation and shows how quickly every task can be accomplished with the help of particular software.
Conclusion
The Microsoft Office software was the first product to inchoate the electronic era. Nowadays, all the important and official documents have to be written and edited with the use of text editing programs. Moreover, people keep their files online because this method is much more secure and reliable than physical documentation. Every modern office uses the products of Microsoft Office to make the workflow faster, accurate, and more efficient. Otherwise, various businesses would not develop as rapidly as they do in the twenty-first century. A wide variety of functions and options in the programs discussed above is constructive for people who give or obtain an education because all the works, researches, and other tasks are more available and take less time to complete due to the worldwide diffusion of the Microsoft Office Software.
References
Adkins, M. C. (2017). Skills for success with Microsoft Office 2016. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Gaskin, S., Vargas, A., & Marks, S. (2014). Go! With Microsoft Powerpoint 2013 comprehensive. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Kinser, A., Hammerle, P., Moriarity, B., Nightingale, J. P., & Kinser, J. E. (2015). Advanced problem solving cases for Microsoft Office 2013. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Poatsy, M. A., Mulbery, K., Davidson, J., & Grauer, R. (2016). Exploring Microsoft Office Excel 2016 comprehension. Salt Lake City, UT: Prentice Hall.