Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a software which was developed by Microsoft in 1988. This Office suite comprises various applications which form the core of computer usage in today’s world.
Currently, MS Office 2016 version is being used across the world and all its applications are widely used for personal and professional purposes.
Discussed below are the applications of Microsoft Office along with each of their functions.
1. MS Word
Since MS Word is one of the most used programs of the Office Suite, some basic information regarding its creation and development has been given below:
Let us first understand some basic aspects of Microsoft Word.
What is MS Word?
Used to make professional-quality documents, letters, reports, etc., MS Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft. It has advanced features which allow you to format and edit your files and documents in the best possible way.
Where to find MS Word on your personal computer?
Follow these simple steps to open MS Word on your personal computer:
Start → All Programs → MS Office → MS Word.
What are the uses of MS Word?
MS Word enables users to do write-ups, create documents, resumes, contracts, etc. This is one of the most commonly used programs under the Office suite.
How to create an MS Word document?
To create an MS Word doc, follow the steps mentioned above to open Microsoft Word. Then once the program is open, click on “File” followed by “New”. This opens a new doc where something new can be created.
Now let us read more about the features and components of an MS Word doc file in detail.
The image given below shows the different elements and categories which are available in MS Word doc:
This has options like font colour, font size, font style, alignment, bullets, line spacing, etc. All the basic elements which one may need to edit their document is available under the Home option.
Tables, shapes, images, charts, graphs, header, footer, page number, etc. can all be entered in the document. They are included in the “Insert” category.
The template or the design in which you want your document to be created can be selected under the Design tab. Choosing an appropriate tab will enhance the appearance of your document.
Under the Page Layout tab comes options like margins, orientation, columns, lines, indentation, spacing, etc.
This tab is the most useful for those who are creating a thesis or writing books or lengthy documents. Options like citation, footnote, table of contents, caption, bibliography, etc. can be found under this tab.
Spell check, grammar, Thesaurus, word count, language, translation, comments, etc. can all be tracked under the review tab. This acts as an advantage for those who get their documents reviewed on MS Word.
Apart from all the above-mentioned features, the page can be set in different views and layouts, which can be added and optimised using the View tab on the Word document. Margins and scales are also available for the benefit of the users.
Given below are the different fields in which MS Word is used and simplifies the work of an individual:
MS Word Shortcut Keys List | |
Shortcuts | Uses of Shortcut keys |
Ctrl+A | Select All |
Ctrl + B | Bold |
Ctrl + C | Copy text |
Ctrl+I | Italicize highlighted selection |
Ctrl + F | Find |
Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
Ctrl + J | Justify paragraph alignment |
Ctrl + X | Cut selected text |
Ctrl + N | Open a new/blank document |
Ctrl + O | Open |
Ctrl + P | Open the print window |
Ctrl + K | Insert link |
Ctrl + U | Underline highlighted selection |
Ctrl + V | Paste |
Ctrl + G | Find and replace options |
Ctrl+Shift+= | Set chosen text as superscript. |
Ctrl+= | Set chosen text as a subscript. |
Ctrl + L | Align selected text or line to the left |
Ctrl + Q | Align selected paragraph to the left |
Ctrl + E | Align selected text or line to the center |
Ctrl + R | Align selected text or line to the right |
Ctrl + M | Indent the paragraph |
Ctrl + T | Hanging indent |
Ctrl + D | Font options |
Ctrl + Shift + F | Change the font |
Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase selected font +1 |
Ctrl + ] | Increase selected font +1 |
Ctrl + [ | Decrease selected font -1 |
Ctrl + Shift + * | View or hide non printing characters |
Ctrl + (Left arrow) | Move one word to the left |
Ctrl + (Right arrow) | Move one word to the right |
Ctrl + (Up arrow) | Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph |
Ctrl + (Down arrow) | Move to the end of the paragraph |
Ctrl + Del | Delete the word to the right of the cursor |
Ctrl + Backspace | Delete the word to the left of the cursor |
Ctrl + End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
Ctrl + Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the document |
Ctrl + Space | Reset highlighted text to the default font |
Ctrl + 1 | Single-space lines |
Ctrl + 2 | Double-space lines |
Ctrl + 5 | 1.5-line spacing |
Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Change text to heading 1 |
Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Change text to heading 2 |
Ctrl + Alt + 3 | Change text to heading 3 |
Shift + F3 | Change case of selected text |
Shift + Insert | Paste |
F4 | Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) |
F7 | Spell check selected text and/or document |
Shift + F7 | Activate the thesaurus |
F12 | Save as |
Ctrl + S | Save |
Shift + F12 | Save |
Alt + Shift + D | Insert the current date |
Alt + Shift + T | Insert the current time |
Ctrl + W | Close document |
Mouse shortcuts | Description |
---|---|
Click, hold, and drag | Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go. |
Double-click | If double-clicking a word, selects the complete word. |
Double-click | Double-clicking the left, center, or right of a blank line makes the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned. |
Double-click | Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line sets a tab stop. |
Triple-click | Selects the line or paragraph of the text where the mouse is triple-clicked. |
Ctrl+Mouse wheel | Zooms in and out of document. |
2. MS Excel
3. MS PowerPoint
4. MS Access
5. MS Outlook
6. MS OneNote
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office is a software which was developed by Microsoft in 1988. This Office suite comprises various applications which form the core of computer usage in today’s world.
Currently, MS Office 2016 version is being used across the world and all its applications are widely used for personal and professional purposes.
Discussed below are the applications of Microsoft Office along with each of their functions.
1. MS Word
Since MS Word is one of the most used programs of the Office Suite, some basic information regarding its creation and development has been given below:
Let us first understand some basic aspects of Microsoft Word.
What is MS Word?
Used to make professional-quality documents, letters, reports, etc., MS Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft. It has advanced features which allow you to format and edit your files and documents in the best possible way.
Where to find MS Word on your personal computer?
Follow these simple steps to open MS Word on your personal computer:
Start → All Programs → MS Office → MS Word.
What are the uses of MS Word?
MS Word enables users to do write-ups, create documents, resumes, contracts, etc. This is one of the most commonly used programs under the Office suite.
How to create an MS Word document?
To create an MS Word doc, follow the steps mentioned above to open Microsoft Word. Then once the program is open, click on “File” followed by “New”. This opens a new doc where something new can be created.
Now let us read more about the features and components of an MS Word doc file in detail.
The image given below shows the different elements and categories which are available in MS Word doc:
This has options like font colour, font size, font style, alignment, bullets, line spacing, etc. All the basic elements which one may need to edit their document is available under the Home option.
Tables, shapes, images, charts, graphs, header, footer, page number, etc. can all be entered in the document. They are included in the “Insert” category.
The template or the design in which you want your document to be created can be selected under the Design tab. Choosing an appropriate tab will enhance the appearance of your document.
Under the Page Layout tab comes options like margins, orientation, columns, lines, indentation, spacing, etc.
This tab is the most useful for those who are creating a thesis or writing books or lengthy documents. Options like citation, footnote, table of contents, caption, bibliography, etc. can be found under this tab.
Spell check, grammar, Thesaurus, word count, language, translation, comments, etc. can all be tracked under the review tab. This acts as an advantage for those who get their documents reviewed on MS Word.
Apart from all the above-mentioned features, the page can be set in different views and layouts, which can be added and optimised using the View tab on the Word document. Margins and scales are also available for the benefit of the users.
Given below are the different fields in which MS Word is used and simplifies the work of an individual:
MS Word Shortcut Keys List | |
Shortcuts | Uses of Shortcut keys |
Ctrl+A | Select All |
Ctrl + B | Bold |
Ctrl + C | Copy text |
Ctrl+I | Italicize highlighted selection |
Ctrl + F | Find |
Ctrl + H | Find and replace |
Ctrl + J | Justify paragraph alignment |
Ctrl + X | Cut selected text |
Ctrl + N | Open a new/blank document |
Ctrl + O | Open |
Ctrl + P | Open the print window |
Ctrl + K | Insert link |
Ctrl + U | Underline highlighted selection |
Ctrl + V | Paste |
Ctrl + G | Find and replace options |
Ctrl+Shift+= | Set chosen text as superscript. |
Ctrl+= | Set chosen text as a subscript. |
Ctrl + L | Align selected text or line to the left |
Ctrl + Q | Align selected paragraph to the left |
Ctrl + E | Align selected text or line to the center |
Ctrl + R | Align selected text or line to the right |
Ctrl + M | Indent the paragraph |
Ctrl + T | Hanging indent |
Ctrl + D | Font options |
Ctrl + Shift + F | Change the font |
Ctrl + Shift + > | Increase selected font +1 |
Ctrl + ] | Increase selected font +1 |
Ctrl + [ | Decrease selected font -1 |
Ctrl + Shift + * | View or hide non printing characters |
Ctrl + (Left arrow) | Move one word to the left |
Ctrl + (Right arrow) | Move one word to the right |
Ctrl + (Up arrow) | Move to the beginning of the line or paragraph |
Ctrl + (Down arrow) | Move to the end of the paragraph |
Ctrl + Del | Delete the word to the right of the cursor |
Ctrl + Backspace | Delete the word to the left of the cursor |
Ctrl + End | Move the cursor to the end of the document |
Ctrl + Home | Move the cursor to the beginning of the document |
Ctrl + Space | Reset highlighted text to the default font |
Ctrl + 1 | Single-space lines |
Ctrl + 2 | Double-space lines |
Ctrl + 5 | 1.5-line spacing |
Ctrl + Alt + 1 | Change text to heading 1 |
Ctrl + Alt + 2 | Change text to heading 2 |
Ctrl + Alt + 3 | Change text to heading 3 |
Shift + F3 | Change case of selected text |
Shift + Insert | Paste |
F4 | Repeat the last action performed (Word 2000+) |
F7 | Spell check selected text and/or document |
Shift + F7 | Activate the thesaurus |
F12 | Save as |
Ctrl + S | Save |
Shift + F12 | Save |
Alt + Shift + D | Insert the current date |
Alt + Shift + T | Insert the current time |
Ctrl + W | Close document |
Mouse shortcuts | Description |
---|---|
Click, hold, and drag | Selects text from where you click and hold to the point you drag and let go. |
Double-click | If double-clicking a word, selects the complete word. |
Double-click | Double-clicking the left, center, or right of a blank line makes the alignment of the text left, center, or right aligned. |
Double-click | Double-clicking anywhere after text on a line sets a tab stop. |
Triple-click | Selects the line or paragraph of the text where the mouse is triple-clicked. |
Ctrl+Mouse wheel | Zooms in and out of document. |
2. MS Excel
MS Excel is a commonly used Microsoft Office application. It is a spreadsheet program which is used to save and analyse numerical data.
How to open MS Excel?
To open MS Excel on your computer, follow the steps given below:
Alternatively, you can also click on the Start button and type MS Excel in the search option available.
What is a cell?
A spreadsheet is in the form of a table comprising rows and columns. The rectangular box at the intersection point between rows and columns forms a cell. Given below is an image of a cell:
What is Cell Address?
The cell address is the name by which is cell can be addressed. For example, if row 7 is interested in column G, then the cell address is G7.
Various editing and formatting can be done on an Excel spreadsheet. Discussed below are the various features of MS Excel.
The image below shows the composition of features in MS Excel:
MS Excel is widely used for various purposes because the data is easy to save, and information can be added and removed without any discomfort and less hard work.
Given below are a few important benefits of using MS Excel:
3. MS PowerPoint
MS PowerPoint is a program that is included in the Microsoft Office suite. It is used to make presentations for personal and professional purposes.
There are multiple features that are available in MS PowerPoint which can customise and optimise a presentation. The same have been discussed below.
Multiple options and layouts are available based on which a presentation can be created. This option is available under the “Home” section and one can select from the multiple layout options provided.
Under the “Insert” category, multiple options are available where one can choose what feature they want to insert in their presentation. This may include images, audio, video, header, footer, symbols, shapes, etc.
MS PowerPoint has various themes using which background colour and designs or textures can be added to a slide. This makes the presentation more colourful and attracts the attention of the people looking at it.
This feature can be added using the “Design” category mentioned on the homepage of MS PowerPoint. Although there are existing design templates available, in case someone wants to add some new texture or colour, the option to customise the design is also available. Apart from this, slide designs can also be downloaded online.
During the slide show, the slides appear on the screen one after the other. In case, one wants to add some animations to the way in which a slide presents itself, they can refer to the “Animations” category.
PowerPoint presentations are useful for both personal and professional usage. Given below are a few of the major fields where PPT is extremely useful:
4. MS Access
The main usage of MS Access is for accounting. Since it is Microsoft’s primary accounting database, it can be used to manage invoice/bills, manage accounts, keep an eye on credit and debit, etc.
When we create a document of Access, data can be stored and accessed easily through multiple components. There are seven major components of MS Access database. Discuss below are the same in brief:
It was Microsoft’s first database software, and came along with a lot of advantages and convenience for its users. At the same time, there were limitations to it. Discussed below are the benefits and limitations which came along with MS Access usage.
Benefits:
Limitations:
Q 1. What is the definition of MS Access?
Answer: Microsoft Access is a database management system (DBMS) that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools.
Q 2. What are the uses of MS Access?
Answer: MS Access can be used to develop application software and is generally used by data architects, software developers and power users. Following are the major uses of MS Access:
Q 3. What are the major components of MS Access?
Answer: The major components of MS Access are as follows:
Q 4. How many types of databases are there in MS Access?
Answer: There are two types of database in MS Access:
5. MS Outlook
One of the biggest advantages of using MS Outlook is that it can serve the purpose of both, a stand-alone application and also a multi-user software. It can be used by an individual as an email client-server and also by an Organisation which requires shared features like a mailbox, calendar, appointments, etc.
Evolution of MS Outlook | |
Version | Specification |
Outlook 97 |
|
Outlook 98 |
|
Outlook 2002 |
|
Outlook 2003 |
|
Outlook 2007 |
|
Outlook 2010 |
|
Outlook 2013 |
|
Outlook 2016 |
|
Outlook 2019 |
|
The major functions of MS Outlook have, however, been discussed in detail below:
The image above shows the MS Outlook Ribbon where all the components and options which can be used to work on this application are given. This Ribbon is based on the latest version of MS Outlook and made the program more useful and interactive for its users.
Options to create new mains, set up calendars or appointments, replying or forwarding a mail etc. can all be done using the features present of the ribbon.
There are also options like “New” and “Delete” where new mails or meetings can be set and deleting the existing or old and junk mails can be done.
But, one must know to use MS Outlook, a proper set is required and logging in using an email id is also mandatory. If the application is being used by an Organisation or a group of people, the setup is already done. But for individual or personal usage, MS Outlook needs to be set up as per the user’s requirement.
MS Outlook – Shortcut Keys | |
Shortcut Keys | Function |
Alt+H | Go to Home tab |
Alt+S | Send a message |
Ctrl+2 | Go to calendar |
Ctrl+M | Check for new messages |
Ctrl+1 | Switch to mail view |
Ctrl+3 | Switch to the contacts view |
Ctrl+Shift+B | Open the Address Book |
Ctrl+Shift+A | To create an appointment |
Ctrl+Shift+L | To create a contact group |
Ctrl+Shift+Q | Create a meeting request |
Ctrl+Shift+N | To create a note |
6. MS OneNote