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Full-featured productivity suite from Microsoft offers a word processor, spreadsheet calculations, slideshows and more

Full-featured productivity suite from Microsoft offers a word processor, spreadsheet calculations, slideshows and more

Vote: (4,799 votes)

Program license: Paid

Developer: Microsoft

Version: 2021

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac

Vote:

Program license

(4,799 votes)

Paid

Developer

Version

Microsoft

2021

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac

Pros

  • Lets you create Word documents for sharing and saving
  • Can easily edit documents and insert photos, graphs, and charts
  • Comes with other programs beyond Word like Excel and Outlook
  • A new assistant feature helps you learn the basics of all programs
  • Newer version works on touchscreen devices

Cons

  • Works better with Windows users than Mac users
  • Must pay for a full version of the program
  • Limits what you can do with documents on a tablet
  • Constantly asks you to save edits in the cloud
  • Will only come with a trial version until you upgrade to the full program

Creating and editing documents for both work and school is easy with Microsoft Office on your computer. This is one of the essential document creation programs that most offices and schools use. It creates files that you can open, view, edit, and save on different devices.

Microsoft Office includes the full suite of features and programs available from Microsoft like Word. If you need to make documents for school or work, this is the ultimate program for you. With Microsoft Word, you can now create documents and edit your work before saving it too. The included templates help you follow a specific format for making a resume, cover letter or another type of document.

Tool bars at the top of the page let you change the layout of the page and indent your lines too. You can change the font to one of dozens of options and adjust the size of the letters. Other buttons let you create a bold section, underline a word or italicize words. You can also use the buttons to insert a list and change the alignment of the page.

Thanks to Microsoft Word, you can also edit the page to include a graph or a simple photo and insert page breaks. It will even automatically add footnotes or endnotes to a research paper. The tools feature is perfect for checking your spelling and grammar before you submit a paper. Microsoft Office also has language settings that let you change the language you type in from English to French or another language.

Also, included in Microsoft Office is a professional PDF editor. Creating PDF files once required the use of expensive software or free programs that constantly asked you to upgrade to a paid version. Microsoft Office integrated its PDF editor to let you easily create and edit any type of PDF file. You can save your PDF files and documents in different formats too. Some formats will even open on older computers that use outdated operating systems.

Excel comes in Microsoft Office too. Many offices look for prospective employees with Excel experience. This simple program lets you insert data into cells. You can add figures and numbers together with a click of a button to make your job a little easier. Excel can analyze all the information that you added to a cell and make determinations for you. It can show you the relationships that it detected between cells and suggest what you should add next.

Creating your own work and school presentations is also easy because this Microsoft suite comes with PowerPoint too. With PowerPoint, you can create a longer presentation for showing to clients at work or a shorter presentation that can go along with a speech you give in class. It now comes with a feature that actually splits that presentation in half. One-half is perfect for the person giving the presentation, and the other half is suitable for those watching in the audience.

PowerPoint works great on computers running this program, but it may work even better on touchscreen devices like tablets. You can easily move to the next slide with just the swipe of your hand or finger. It will also work with a stylus to quickly add information or remove content. PowerPoint can even work with a virtual laser pointer to highlight certain information as you speak. This program lets you create dozens of slides that include text, photos, graphs, charts, or even video clips.

If you use a dedicated email address at home or work, you'll also like that Microsoft Office comes with Outlook. Outlook is one of the best ways to check your email. You can sign into an existing Microsoft account or create a brand new one and set up your old email account to transfer emails to your new address. Outlook lets you view all your most recent emails and comes with a feature that will automatically pop up on your screen to notify you of new messages.

Like other email systems, Outlook lets you send emails to a single person or multiple people. It lets you make changes to your spam filters to send junk mail directly to a spam folder or to delete those messages as each one arrives. With Outlook, you can also create folders for saving important emails from work, your children's school, or your family.

You can even integrate Outlook with the calendar on your computer. Each time you log in, it will notify you of upcoming dates. If you link the same Microsoft account across other devices, those devices will sync the calendars on each one to show you all the dates that you need to remember. Microsoft designed Outlook to work better with tablets. You can now optimize the view on your tablet to see all your pertinent messages.

This newer version of Microsoft Office also comes with cloud integration. While it occasionally pushes users too hard to use those features, you'll love that you can save important information in the cloud for accessing later. With Skydrive, you can move files and folders to the cloud for sharing at work or passing along to classmates in school. Keep in mind that this is now an outdated version of the program and that it lacks some of the features found on Microsoft 360.

Pros

  • Lets you create Word documents for sharing and saving
  • Can easily edit documents and insert photos, graphs, and charts
  • Comes with other programs beyond Word like Excel and Outlook
  • A new assistant feature helps you learn the basics of all programs
  • Newer version works on touchscreen devices

Cons

  • Works better with Windows users than Mac users
  • Must pay for a full version of the program
  • Limits what you can do with documents on a tablet
  • Constantly asks you to save edits in the cloud
  • Will only come with a trial version until you upgrade to the full program