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MICROSOFT OFFICE
Microsoft Office is a collection of office-related applications. Each application serves a unique purpose and offers a specific service to its users. For example, Microsoft Word is used to create documents. Microsoft PowerPoint is used to create presentations. Microsoft Outlook is used to manage email and calendars. There are others as well.
Because there are so many applications to choose from, and because not every user needs all of them, Microsoft groups the applications together in collections called suites. There’s a suite of applications for students, a suite for home and small business users, and a suite for large corporations. There’s even a suite for schools. Each of these suites is priced based on what’s included in it.
What Is Microsoft 365?
The latest version of Microsoft Office is called Microsoft Office 2019, although the web-based Microsoft 365 is the version that Microsoft would prefer users to adopt. Various versions of the suite have been around since 1988, including but not limited to Microsoft Office Professional, Microsoft Office Home and Student, and various collections of Microsoft Office 2016. Most people still refer to any version of the suite as Microsoft Office though, which makes distinguishing among editions difficult.
What makes Microsoft 365 stand out from older editions of MS Office is that it integrates all aspects of the apps with the cloud. It’s a subscription service too, which means users pay a monthly or yearly fee to use it, and upgrades to newer versions are included in this price. Previous versions of Microsoft Office, including Office 2016, didn’t offer all of the cloud features that Microsoft 365 does and was not a subscription. Office 2016 was a one-time purchase, just as other editions were, and as Office 2019 is.
Microsoft 365 Business and Business Premium include all the Office apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and Publisher.
Who Uses MS Office and Why?
Users who purchase a Microsoft Office suite typically do so when they discover that the apps included with their operating system aren’t robust enough to meet their needs. For example, it would be nearly impossible to write a book using only Microsoft WordPad, the word processing app that is included free with all editions of Windows. But it would certainly be feasible to write a book with Microsoft Word, which offers many more features.
Businesses also use Microsoft Office. It’s the de facto standard among large corporations. The apps included in the business suites include those that can be used to manage large databases of users, perform advanced spreadsheet calculations, and create powerful and exciting presentations, complete with music and video.
Microsoft claims that over a billion people use their Office products. The Office suite is used all over the world.
What Devices Support MS Office?
To access everything Microsoft Office has to offer, you need to install it on a desktop computer or laptop. There’s a version for Windows and Mac devices. You can also install MS Office on tablets though, and if the tablet can function as a computer, like the Microsoft Surface Pro, you can still get access to all of the features from there.
If you don’t have a computer or the one you have doesn’t support a full version of Office, you can use the Microsoft Office Online suite of applications.
There are apps for Microsoft Office for the iPhone and iPad as well, all of which are available from App Store. Apps for Android are available from Google Play. These do offer access to the MS applications, although they don’t offer the full functionality you’d have access to on a computer.
Which Apps Are Included in Microsoft Office?
Microsoft 365 homepage.
The apps included in a specific Microsoft Office suite depend on the Microsoft Office package you select (as does the price). Microsoft 365 Home and Personal include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. Office Home & Student 2016 (for PC only) includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote. Business Suites have specific combinations as well and include Publisher and Access.
Here’s a short description of the apps and their purpose:
Word – to create documents, flyers, publications
PowerPoint – to create presentations
Excel – to store, organize, and manipulate data
OneDrive – to store data online
OneNote – to organize data you collect including handwritten notes, drawings, screen captures, audio clips, and more
Publisher – to create extensive publications, posters, flyers, menus
Outlook - to manage email and calendars, to do lists, and contacts
Access – to capture and analyze data from computers or networks
Microsoft has designed the applications in the suites to work together seamlessly. If you take a look at the list above you can imagine how many combinations of apps can be used together. For instance, you can write a document in Word and save it to the cloud using OneDrive. You can write an email in Outlook and attach a presentation you’ve created with PowerPoint. You can import contacts from Outlook to Excel to create a spreadsheet of the people you know, their names, addresses, and so on.
Mac Version
All Mac versions of Microsoft 365 include Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
Android Version
Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.
iOS Version
Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.