What programs are included in the Microsoft Office package. Description of the Microsoft Office package

Back in the early 60s, the American scientist Joseph Licklider (who today is rightfully considered one of the fathers of the Internet) expressed the idea that the main purpose of computers should be the automation of routine human work. At a time when many had no idea about the existence computer technology, this idea seemed like just a joke from a professional. It was believed that computers were intended exclusively for solving some fundamentally new and very complex mathematical problems.

Science and life // Illustrations

In the main PowerPoint window you can see a set of slides (a fragment of a presentation) prepared using the tools of this package. On top of it is the "Slide Show" menu, in which all possible demonstration options are visible. And this is not all the possibilities

One of the functions of the OUTLOOK program is planning your activities (Calendar).

Today, many people still think that creating Web pages is the domain of only “cool” Web designers. However, using a modern HTML editor, creating a Web page is as easy as writing a business letter. The picture shows a Web page created by the author.

However, the scope of application of computer technology was rapidly expanding, precisely due to the advancement towards traditional practical problems in various fields of human activity. At first, these included various economic calculations, storage and processing of archival data, and technological process management.

Introduced in the mid-80s personal computers, accessible not only to enterprises, but also to individuals, the range of practical issues solved by computer began to grow exponentially. Today, at least 40 percent of PCs are used by home users, and 90 percent of the computing power of all computers (including in enterprises) is used to automate a variety of routine work. At the same time, an increase in labor productivity is achieved not only by increasing the speed of performing certain operations, but, mainly, by combining several disparate functions together. This allows even an inexperienced user to solve problems that were previously only accessible to professionals.

OFFICE SOFTWARE PACKAGES

Among the abundance of application software, one can distinguish a group of programs that solve problems of a wide variety of purposes and therefore, to one degree or another, are needed by every computer user, regardless of his profession. In recent years, such software packages have been called office software.

Although many global developers (for example, Corell and Sun) are involved in the creation of office programs, Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) is the leader in this area, actually setting the standards for such software. It is worth noting that to achieve market success, Microsoft products about ten years ago had to enter into fierce competition with the then favorites, such as the WordPerfect text editor and Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets.

Having begun the development of office suites, Microsoft immediately set the goal of creating individual programs, but a whole complex of interconnected and mutually complementary applications called Microsoft Office (Microsoft Office). As the system developed, new applications appeared in it, and the functions of previously created programs were expanded, satisfying the growing requirements of the “average” user. Over the past six years, Microsoft has released four versions of MS Office: 4.0 (1996), 95, 97 and 2000. The latest version (MS Office 2000) is sold in five editions with different programs: Standard, Small Business, "Professional", "Advanced" and "For Developers". The “For Developers” kit (more precisely, the Developer Edition, since it is supplied only in the English version), unlike other editions, contains additional programming tools. The "Advanced" edition includes the following applications: Word (Word), Excel (Excel), Access (Exes), PowerPoint (PowerPoint), Outlook (Outlook), FrontPage (Frant Page), Publisher (Publisher), PhotoDraw (PhotoDraw) , Small Business Tools. Let's give short description these programs.

1. WORD - TEXT PROCESSOR

A word processor is historically the very first and most widely used office application: everyone needs to write and format texts. Ten years ago, such programs were called “editors,” but today this term no longer reflects their increased capabilities.

The advent of word processors radically changed not even the technology, but, if you like, the very approach to creating a variety of texts, from a report to the boss about a vacation to a literary work. Previously, preparing a lengthy document, such as a 100-page research report, took up to a month of work by several people (not counting the preparation of the handwritten version). At the same time, the lion's share of time was spent on explaining to the typist how to understand the manuscript (remember the interlude performed by Vladimir Vinokur: “we play here, we don’t play here, don’t look at this at all, but this piece - back side", etc.), then to check what happened, and repeat explanations to the typist about what needs to be corrected. And when the report was ready, it turned out that one section and several paragraphs were missing. How many problems the preparation and insertion of illustrations caused - it’s not worth it and remember...

Today, the functions of word processors go far beyond the scope of working with texts themselves (typing, editing, formatting, automatic check spelling, writing an abstract, etc.). Word allows you to create various tables, graphs, illustrations, formulas, etc. in the text with their automatic numbering and cross-referencing. As a result, the user can prepare a complex document of almost unlimited volume using graphics and a variety of formatting.

And yet, we emphasize that for the preparation of “purely text” documents, the capabilities of the WordPad program, supplied with the Windows operating system, are quite sufficient.

2. EXCEL - WORKING WITH ELECTRONIC TABLES

This program is necessary for anyone who deals with data presented in the form of tables. It is in this form that most of the information about our daily activities can be presented: address books, video cassette files, recording household expenses, etc.

Tables can contain data in a variety of formats (character strings, dates, etc.), but in general, of course, Excel is focused on processing numerical data. The simplest example is summing over the columns and rows of a table. It is not much more difficult to calculate the value of functions specified by the user (say, the percentage increase in household expenses by item). One of the most attractive features of the package is the quick and visual presentation of data in the form of a variety of graphs, charts, and maps.

COMPOSITION OF APPLICATIONS IN VARIOUS MICROSOFT OFFICE EDITIONS

Applications	Purpose	Standard	For small business	Professional	Advanced
	Database management system
	Spreadsheets
FrontPage	Tool for creating and maintaining Web sites
	Email and Work Scheduling Manager
	Business graphics editor
	Presentation preparation program
	Desktop publishing
	Word processor
Small Business Tools	Contact and customer manager

Spreadsheets are an ideal tool for organizing accounting, processing experimental data, and drawing up reports of a wide variety of forms.

3. ACCESS - DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The appearance of Access as part of office programs in 1992-1993 can rightfully be called a significant event, because before that it was believed that the creation of database management systems (DBMS) was the domain of exclusively experienced professionals.

There is no need to be scared: a DBMS is not at all as scary as it might seem. In fact, the Excel spreadsheets described above are also actually a small database management system, that is, an ordered set of structured information. But spreadsheets have two limitations: the volume given by the capacity random access memory computer, and two-dimensional representation of data in the form of rows and columns.

Relational DBMSs (almost all systems actually used today, including Access, belong to the “relational” category) work with the same tables, but the data is stored on external storage media, and the tables are interconnected by cross-references.

The simplest example of such data organization is maintaining a catalog of a collection of audio CDs. One table can store complete information about songwriters, another about artists, and a third about individual songs. In this case, the last table will have the necessary links to the first two, so that the user can easily find out, for example, the birthday of its author by the title of the song.

Access is a very popular and useful DBMS that can be used to create both small local and very serious professional systems. By the way, studying Access and DBMS development technology is very useful for moving from the basics of programming to solving complex production problems.

4. POWERPOINT - PREPARATION OF VISUAL PRESENTATIONS

Programs like PowerPoint have appeared relatively recently, but today they have become a reliable assistant for anyone who at least sometimes has to give lectures or reports in front of an audience (which sometimes can be represented by only one listener).

Previously, it was believed that illustrative material was required only for reports in which it was necessary to show complex tables, graphs and mathematical formulas. Today, visual display of the main points of even a simple text report is becoming a generally accepted style.

Anyone who has ever made technical reports (the defense of a thesis project or a report at a scientific and technical council) can remember that preparing the text of a 15-minute message took a maximum of one or two days. And the creation of a dozen posters or slides took at least a month of work, and first the speaker himself drew the sketch, and then a professional draftsman worked. In recent years, the number of “speakers” has increased sharply (for example, due to the appearance of sales managers), and they have to speak not once every six months, but almost weekly, constantly changing the content of their presentations and illustrations.

Using programs like PowerPoint, a dozen slides can be made in just one or two hours by one person - the author himself. And if you need to make any corrections in the future, it will only take a matter of minutes.

For listeners, the demonstration of prepared materials is approximately the same as with a traditional slide show, but in addition to static images, you can use sound, video, and various visual effects.

By the way, PowerPoint can be used not only for speaking in front of an audience. Many home users work with this program, for example, when creating graphic screensavers for their videos.

5. OUTLOOK - YOUR PERSONAL DISPATCHER

Although Outlook was introduced just a few years ago, it has already become a necessity for many users. Outlook includes an address book, a diary for current entries, a weekly planner for planning activities, communicates with the outside world through e-mail, and also performs many other useful functions.

Most people always carry a notebook with them and, if they forget it somewhere, they find themselves without hands. Once you start using Outlook, you will immediately realize how much time you have wasted working without it.

One of the most impressive features of this application is the completely new automated capabilities for scheduling and monitoring tasks. When you turn on your computer in the morning and load Outlook, you will immediately receive reminders about all the things planned for the day. And even that one of your loved ones needs to be congratulated on their birthday, which you completely forgot about in the whirlwind of everyday life. Throughout the day, the program will remind you of planned events down to the second.

Outlook can also be used effectively for planning group activities. For example, when working in one computer network enterprise, you can use Outlook to view the schedule of free time of employees whom you would like to invite to a meeting, automatically select the most convenient time for everyone and “stake out” it in the plans of the invitees (each of them will immediately receive a corresponding notification).

In addition, Outlook includes a feature-rich system for managing email and telephone communications.

If, of all the functions of Outlook, you only need the mail system, you can limit yourself to the capabilities of the Outlook Express program included in Windows.

6. FRONTPAGE - TOOL FOR CREATION AND SUPPORT OF WEB NODES

Anyone who has visited the Internet at least several times has a good idea of ​​what Web sites are: they are a set of specially designed Web pages interconnected by cross-links. Just five years ago it was believed that the creation of Web sites was the province of a narrow caste of professionals. And 99.99...% of Internet users remained “readers”, but not “writers” and certainly not “layout designers”.

But the situation is changing quickly. Today, no one can be surprised by the appearance of personal Web sites. As one of the jokes on this topic says, “You are sick of the Internet: your dog also has his own Web page.” However, now this statement is no longer a joke for many, but reality. Try to create your own personal Web site about your work, hobbies, travel, etc. Many Internet providers provide the necessary address for free and up to 50 MB to host your information, which is more than enough to get started. You will immediately see that this is not only an exciting, but also a useful activity. Your page may not contain information that will be of interest to the whole world, but it will undoubtedly attract the attention of your friends and family. With the help of your Web site, you can, for example, bring together numerous relatives scattered around the world. And this is already a lot.

FrontPage will help you create and develop your Web site. To use it, you do not need to know programming - you only need the desire to master the program. By the way, the profession of a Webmaster today is one of the scarce and most prestigious. And FrontPage will help you master it.

If you doubt whether it is worth spending money on purchasing additional programs, keep in mind that Windows includes a program called FrontPage Express, which can help you take quite a few first steps in mastering Web design.

7. PUBLISHER - DESKTOP PUBLISHING SYSTEM

As already mentioned, Word helps you create fairly complex text documents with a variety of graphic designs. But it is impossible to obtain high printing quality with its help. To do this, you should use the Publisher desktop publishing system, which recently appeared as part of MS Office.

Although many functions of Word and Publisher overlap, the main task of Word is to formulate the content of the document, and Publisher is to implement the document in the form of a high-quality printed publication. Publisher is most often used to produce colorful brochures, catalogs, invitation cards, menus for parties, greeting addresses, etc. The program contains all the tools, templates and blanks necessary for this. A large library of layouts provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the experience accumulated by professional publishers and designers.

One of the main functions of the PhotoDraw program is the processing of images obtained from photographs. From a real photo of your dog, you can make an almost square monster to scare the bullies, or a very slender Giant Schnauzer.

8. PHOTODRAW - BUSINESS GRAPHICS AND IMAGE EDITOR

For fairly simple editing graphic images may be enough Paint programs and Imaging included with Windows. But more complex operations will require more serious tools.

Previously, image processing was also the field of activity of highly qualified professionals, and well-known systems have long occupied a leading position here Adobe PhotoShop and Corell Draw. However, today such problems increasingly need to be solved by “ordinary” users. For example, if you are engaged in photography, then computer processing can significantly improve the quality of images, “pull out” seemingly completely spoiled, but very dear to you frames. Working with graphics is absolutely necessary for the beautiful and original design of your Web site, printed publications or PowerPoint presentations.

Although PhotoDraw is still somewhat inferior to the capabilities of the Adobe and Corell products mentioned above, its functions are quite sufficient for solving many useful tasks at a high level. It should be borne in mind that one professional graphics package costs approximately the same as the entire suite of MS Office 2000 programs.

9. CONTACT AND CUSTOMER MANAGER

This program first appeared as part of MS Office 2000. It is designed to manage a database with information about business partners (suppliers and customers), to monitor transactions and the financial condition of a small enterprise.

In principle, these tasks can be performed using other programs included in Office, but it is still more convenient to use a specialized tool. In addition, the problem is that such information is often accumulated in different programs (some is in Outlook, some in the accounting system), and the head of a small business needs to collect all the necessary information for analysis and control.

By the way, the Dispatcher includes a filter that allows you to transfer and process data from the most popular accounting system in our country, 1C:Enterprise.

THERE ARE MANY FUNCTIONS BUT... NOT ENOUGH

So, we see: there are quite a lot of office packages and each of them has enormous capabilities. But in practical work It often turns out that you are still missing some functions. Or it turns out that the proposed information processing scheme is not very suitable for you.

It turns out that an office program can be made more convenient by implementing functions in it that were not originally there, or by combining several disparate programs into a single complex. Such capabilities are provided by the Microsoft Office Extensions program (or add-ons for Microsoft Office).

The Microsoft Office software package has long gained popularity among users of all levels who use office documents in their work. It is not surprising, because each program included in the standard set not only has unique capabilities that are unique to it. Applications of this type are compatible with each other and with other alternative software products.

What is MS Office

It is known from history that the Microsoft Office package was initially developed taking into account the then trends for working with text documents, tabular data, presentations, databases and email. Later, it began to include some additional utilities.

Microsoft Office itself is a collection of applications for processing documents of almost any type. Many users who use the standard functions of a particular application included in the list of Microsoft Office programs often underestimate its capabilities. The fact is that almost every program is capable of working not only with standard, so to speak, template documents. It is absolutely simple to insert graphics and sound into any document and in any program.

The only thing I would like to note is that the list of Microsoft Office programs is not included in the list of free software and is quite expensive. However, this does not stop our users. To activate this software package, you can use, for example, Mini KMS-Activator, which works with almost all versions of Office.

In some cases, you can use unofficial releases of an operating system installation distribution such as “Windows XP Zver DVD”, in which Microsoft Office is already “hacked” or activated.

Using unofficial package Sometimes difficulties may arise due to the lack of a full set of capabilities in each program. It is clear that such a software product will be suitable for the average user. But for people or businesses who are serious about the matter, the best option would be to purchase the official release.

List of Microsoft Office programs included in the standard set

So, let's try to look at the standard set of any office suite offered by Microsoft.

As a rule, the list of Microsoft Office programs includes several standard applications. They are found in any package and can meet the user's needs in any situation.

Microsoft Office 2007: Applications and Programs

It is natural for Microsoft Office 2007 programs to include various applications that were not included in other early versions package. In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that not only the functionality the applications themselves included in the list of Microsoft Office programs. The graphical shell of each user is also subject to the update. software product. However, the standard set itself remains unchanged.

For example, it includes several basic applications. These are MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point, MS Access and MS Outlook. These are, so to speak, the basic office programs of Microsoft Office. They are also the most necessary.

Microsoft Office 2010 and higher software package

New releases of Microsoft Office may also contain additional utilities. True, very often users use them. For example, programs like MS Publisher, MS InfoPath Designer, MS SharePoint Workspace and MS NoteOne look very interesting. These utilities are capable of much and can compete with many professional software products present on the modern IT technology market.

As is already clear, these applications became available starting from the version of Microsoft Office 2010. While MS Publisher was present in some releases earlier, other programs appeared only starting in 2010.

Now a few words about the main components included in the list of Microsoft Office programs.

MS Word

Working with text and graphics is perhaps the most common and in demand. This is what the Microsoft app was created for. Office Word. The program has enormous capabilities not only in terms of text processing. Many people don’t even realize that here you can even write down mathematical formulas of any level of complexity, insert graphic objects in the form of single files or slide shows, supplement all this with audio, or even create web pages using the program as a quick and easy way to effective remedy based on templates.

MS Excel

Working with tabular data is difficult. But MS Excel copes with this quite simply. Initially, the application was created in order to perform mathematical, algebraic and geometric calculations. Over time, the program's functions have expanded greatly. For example, it became possible to build graphs or create charts or histograms even in three dimensions. Without talking about all the capabilities of the application, it is worth noting that this is one of the most powerful tools in its field of application.

MS Power Point

Microsoft Office PowerPoint was designed specifically for creating presentations that use graphics and sound. It is clear that such processes are resource-intensive, but the application itself has many templates and standard solutions in order not to load the system. If you think about it, you can insert absolutely everything into a presentation. Do you want a photo? Please! Do you want sound? Cheers! Would you like a link to an Internet resource? No problem! In general, you can even create interactive educational manuals.

MS Access

This application is simply not familiar to many ordinary users, because they almost never work with (the database). But for knowledgeable people, this application is simply a godsend, because it allows you not only to create or edit such data, but also has close integration with numerous development tools and supports many language applets, including Visual Basic, Java, and working with databases SQL data etc. Well, there are enough tools for data processing here.

MS Publisher

This application is a universal tool for quick publishing. It is primarily focused not even on checking the text part, but on creating, say, your own, so to speak, corporate symbols, conducting marketing research customized to the personal needs of a company or businessman. Naturally, this is not all that this program is capable of, although it belongs to entry-level applications.

MS Outlook

Finally, Outlook. This is a program designed to work with email. Compared to the standard Outlook Express utility, this application looks much preferable because it has more features and opportunities. Unfortunately, Outlook Express is installed on the system by the client by default (when installing the Windows OS itself). And not many people would think of changing it. But in vain! MS Outlook has much more possibilities. But here it’s worth assessing for yourself what this program is capable of. After the initial test, I think many will simply forget about Outlook Express, considering it practically a child's toy.

Analogue programs without payment

All this is good. But, as mentioned above, the Microsoft Office package is paid. What do they offer us? free programs?

Here it is worth paying attention to alternative software development. The Lotus office suite (particularly Lotus Symphony) was once very popular. Nowadays it is found almost nowhere, but nevertheless it has not lost its relevance.

You can also use completely free software products such as Google Docs, Zoho SoftMaker Free Office, Kingsoft Office, etc. The most important difference from the Microsoft product is that all these packages are not only free, but also open source source. So any developer can optimize them for their own needs.

However, it is worth noting that all these “Offices” are clearly behind what was created by Microsoft. Even despite the declared freeness and widespread distribution in the world, they have not received much attention. The only competitor is Google. Moreover, the office programs of this IT giant are mainly used only on mobile devices, and then on the Android platform. However, each user is free to choose what to use in his work and what will be most convenient for him.

On the other hand, if you look at it, the average user can use free programs - alternatives to the Microsoft Office office suite. However, as practice shows, few people manage to “outdo” Microsoft Corporation. Even the biggest competitor is unable to cope with this. It is clear that to develop office applications of any type, not one person is involved, but the brightest minds of our time. So it turns out that Microsoft Office stands head and shoulders (if not two) above its competitors.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that any user, even one who does not thoroughly know all the capabilities of the Microsoft Office software product, can simply “dig” into the menu of any of the above programs and find something new for themselves. As a last resort, you can use the built-in help system or read about the main features and functions on the Internet. Fortunately, this is not a problem now.

A universal set of applications for working with text files(Word), spreadsheets (Excel), presentations (PowerPoint), email (Outlook), notes (OneNote) and other types of documents. The first version of Microsoft Office was released 27 years ago, but thanks to constant development, this product still remains one of the most popular on the market.

Programs from Microsoft package Office combines powerful functionality and ease of use. Therefore, they are excellent for creating and editing office documents of any complexity. Plus, they're integrated with Microsoft cloud services, so you can access files on any device and collaborate on shared documents with others.

Microsoft Office goes far beyond basic functionality. For example, for convenient work with text, Word has a built-in translator and a speech recognition function that prints words dictated by the user. And OneNote can recognize text in pictures.

2.iWork

• Platforms: macOS, iOS, web.
• Price: free.

Apple's proprietary office suite, which any Mac user can download for free. Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are almost as good as their Microsoft counterparts, allowing you to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations while editing them with colleagues on macOS, iOS, or in the browser.

• Price: free or from 1,000 rubles per year.

This popular digital notepad is a great tool for managing a large collection of text, image and voice notes. Evernote offers a tagging system that you can use to mark your added entries. For greater convenience, tags can be grouped and nested within each other. This unique approach allows you to easily structure hundreds and even thousands of notes and, if necessary, quickly find the ones you need.

Supports synchronization between devices and allows you to work without connecting to the Internet.

4. Spark

• Price: free.

None office work It’s impossible to imagine without interaction with mail. Spark will help you sort through your inbox and respond to your colleagues’ emails as quickly as possible. Thanks to a well-thought-out interface, automatic sorting of letters, smart search and many other useful functions, your work with mail will turn into a real pleasure.

• Price: free.

Office workers often have to deal with documents in PDF format. In such situations, it is important to have a convenient PDF viewer at hand. And even better - a program with which you can not only view documents, but also annotate them. A good candidate for this position is Foxit Reader. It is fast and easy to use. With its help, you can read PDF files, make notes in the text and leave your comments on the pages.

• Platforms: macOS, iOS, watchOS.
• Price: 3,790 rubles.

The flow of daily tasks is completely impossible to keep in mind, and therefore recording ideas and planning things is the key to success in work. Unlike Todoist, Things is created meticulously, with attention to every detail of the interface and design, so that getting all your things in order is quick and convenient. Following the philosophy, the application helps organize work projects, structure and plan tasks. All that remains for you is to just complete them.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS.
• Price: Free or $25.

If you find yourself too often distracted by inappropriate websites and programs while working, Cold Turkey Blocker will help you. This app blocks all distractions for a time you set. Until the period expires, you will not be able to open the sites and programs included in the list. Cold Turkey Blocker can turn on blocking automatically according to a user-specified schedule.

• Platforms: macOS, iOS.
• Price: 2,290 rubles.

MindNode will be useful to anyone who works with complex projects and will allow you to visualize the development of an idea into a final product. With this application, you can brainstorm, create any complexity and quickly share them with colleagues, as well as export tasks to Things, OmniFocus and other applications or services.

• Platforms: Windows, Android, iOS, web.
• Price: Free or starting at $3.33 per month.

This small utility synchronizes your computer with your smartphone, tablet or other gadgets. All you need to do is install Pushbullet clients on all devices and connect them to a common account. After this, you will be able to see all mobile notifications on your computer and transfer notes, links and small files between gadgets.

If your mobile device works on Android, you can also send and receive SMS and instant messenger messages directly from your computer. Additionally, Pushbullet integrates clipboards different devices: Any text copied on a smartphone or tablet can be immediately pasted into a text field on a computer, and vice versa.

10. Bear

• Platforms: macOS, iOS.
• Price: free or 949 rubles per year.

A simple and lightweight analogue of Evernote, which can be used to record ideas, code and any texts in general. Bear has powerful system tags with subtags, easy search and supports simplified Markdown markup, as well as export of finished text to various formats, including HTML, PDF and DOCX. The application also boasts a laconic interface and beautiful design themes to suit every taste.

• Platforms: macOS, iOS, watchOS.
• Price: 379 rubles.

The Pomodoro Technique is well known for its effectiveness and is widely used. For an avalanche of routine and not very office tasks, it is perfectly suited. With the FocusList timer, you can not only track work periods and rest breaks, but also see how much time certain tasks take. And this, in turn, will help you analyze your work process and procrastinate less.

12. f.lux

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
• Price: free.

During the working day, the lighting in the office changes. But the temperature of the colors on your working display is always the same as in natural daylight, and under evening lamps. This difference can make the screen appear too bright and cause eye fatigue. f.lux automatically adjusts display colors to lighting conditions. A similar feature is built into Windows 10, but f.lux contains more settings and allows you to achieve maximum eye comfort.

13. Paste

• Platforms: macOS.
• Price: 749 rubles.

The small Paste utility significantly expands the capabilities of the clipboard, which is simply invaluable when working with various documents and tables. The application will remember copied text, files and links, giving you convenient access to your clipboard history. In the settings, you can configure the number of remembered objects, set hotkeys, and enable synchronization with all your devices.

14. GIMP

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.
• Price: free.

Even if you're not a designer, you still probably edit images for various office tasks. For example, you crop a photo and adjust its colors for the next presentation or post on a corporate portal. Installing Photoshop for such purposes is stupid. It's easier to use it free alternative- GIMP. This editor may be inferior to Photoshop in the number of functions. But for non-professional tasks it will definitely be more than enough.

• Platforms: macOS.
• Price: 229 rubles.

But the Look Up application will take care of your health, or more precisely, your vision. It helps reduce eye muscle tension from working at a computer by reminding you every 20 minutes to look away from the screen for a few seconds and look into the distance. Look Up also has a selection of simple exercises for stretching a stiff back and other muscles.

• Platforms: macOS, iOS, Windows.
• Price: $45 $4.16 per month.

TextExpander will save time for everyone who works a lot with texts and is forced to frequently enter the same information. With its help, you can set up keyboard shortcuts that will instantly expand into predefined text of any size. For example, with TextExpander you can insert email, replies to letters, payment details and any other information that you often type manually in a couple of clicks. Thanks to synchronization, abbreviations will also be available on iOS, where input is carried out through the TextExpander keyboard.

• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, web.
• Price: free or from 2,190 rubles per year.

Todoist can be used as a regular daily or work planner. Everything is as usual: create tasks, set reminders, mark completed tasks.

At the same time, the capabilities of this service are enough to manage the most complex office projects with a multi-level structure, a large number of participants and subtasks. Todoist has tools for delegating and customizing task hierarchy, labels, filters, and other advanced features. Thanks to them, the application can easily adapt to your personal and professional goals, no matter how large they become.

By installing the Todoist client on your device, you can manage tasks even without the Internet.

The ability to electronically process various documents can be called one of the main reasons for the massive proliferation of personal computers, both among home users and in the corporate sector. Gone are typewriters, manuscripts, and even ordinary letters are increasingly rarely seen written by hand. Nowadays, almost any printed matter and documents: be it diplomas or abstracts, magazines or books, statements or notes, reports or presentations, are created on a computer. After all, an electronic document can be corrected, altered, supplemented, or sent by email at any time. e-mail, print on paper or post online for collaboration over it. I probably won’t be wrong if I say that almost every person who has ever sat down at a computer has had to deal with processing text documents, and for many this was the reason for their first acquaintance with a PC.

Despite the fact that all modern operating systems have built-in tools for working with text data, their capabilities still cannot be compared with special software, so-called office applications. They are designed to process all kinds of electronic documentation on the user's computer and therefore, as a rule, consist of several components with a similar interface and good interaction with each other. The most well-known office suites include Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org, Corel WordPerfect Office, StarOffice, Lotus SmartSuite, Ashampoo Office and iWork (for Mac OS). Each of the products in this area has its own set of components, design solutions and, of course, functionality. In our article today, we will get acquainted with one of the most popular office solutions for users, developed by Microsoft - MS Office.

HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

This popular office suite first saw the light back in 1992 and at the beginning of its journey it included 4 applications, which still remain fundamental for it: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Mail. Access was added to this group in 1994, and Shedule+ in 1995. In '97, the Mail email application and Shedule+ calendar replace the Outlook organizer and add the Photo Editor. In 1999, the Publisher application for preparing publications, the FrontPage website creation program appeared, and PhotoEditor was replaced by PhotoDraw. After the release of Office XP in 2001, the PhotoDraw image editor finally disappeared from the office suite, and in 2003, FrontPage. At the same time, a new data collection and management application appears in Office 2003 - InfoPath.

In general, the 2003 office suite for Microsoft is becoming a very successful product. It was there that a new icon design in the WindowsXP style was introduced, which undoubtedly influenced the attractiveness of this solution.

And office applications themselves have matured over the years of development, and some formats (.doc, .xls) have become the standard in the document flow of most enterprises. Even today, 8 years later, many users continue to use MS Office 2003, not wanting to master the revolutionary interface first introduced by the developers in early 2007.

In Office 2007, the software giant decided to abandon the familiar system menu, replacing it with a Ribbon interface based on toolbars separated by tabs. Buttons on ribbons, unlike toolbars, can be different sizes, for example, those that are needed more often may be larger, and inside them there may be samples of the styles used.

The buttons themselves are grouped by topic. Rarely used buttons are usually hidden, but still accessible via a drop-down menu.

Microsoft experts say that this innovative approach allows you to collect all the functions in one place, thereby increasing convenience user interface, and helps you use Office more effectively. True, the users themselves greeted such radical changes coolly, and a lot of criticism was expressed towards the developers.

However, the ribbon interface allows users to use many more functions of the office suite, since most of them are now in plain sight, rather than hidden deep in the menu. At Microsoft itself new system management sees the future, and this is confirmed by the company's latest development in this area - Office 2010.

With the release of Microsoft Office 2010, Ribbon was radically redesigned and improved, which is recognized even by opponents of the ribbon interface. In addition, changes were made to the design style of the feed, which was also positively received by users. Therefore, now few people have any doubts that the office suite from Microsoft will continue to develop in this direction.

Currently, the office suite of applications from Microsoft is being created for operating systems of the Windows family and Apple Mac OS X and has 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

APPLICATION COMPONENTS

Now let's take a closer look at the applications that are part of MS Office using the example of the latest version This package is Office 2010. It should be noted that for the convenience of positioning the product on the market, the office package has several editions, which directly determine the presence of certain applications in it. For example, the latest Office has six of them: “Elementary”, “Home and Study”, “Home and Business”, “Standard”, “Professional” and “Professional Plus”.

As can be seen from the table, a modern office suite can contain from 2 to 10 different applications, depending on its edition.

Microsoft Word (Word)- an application for working with text documents. This word processor has been the most popular among all those used in this moment. That is why the “doc” document format has become the de facto standard for modern document management, and many competing programs support compatibility with this format.

With Word, you can easily create beautifully designed, professional-quality documents and organize them. In addition to multiple text styling options, you have a variety of supporting tools at your disposal: a table builder, image editing tools, inserting ready-made shapes, a chart and histogram builder, inserting SmarArt graphic objects for visual presentation of information, and many others. At the same time, users can collaborate on projects and documents, as well as simultaneously edit them.

Microsoft Office Excel(Excel)- application for working with spreadsheets. As in the case of Word, it occupies a leading position in the market and therefore the “xls” format for this type of document is also a de facto standard.

The Excel application opens up wide possibilities for data analysis, as well as for managing and exchanging them. Powerful data visualization tools, summarizing data using small charts that fit into a cell with text (sparklines), and quickly filtering large volumes of data help you effectively compare results, tracking and highlighting important trends. Spreadsheet files can be easily sent to the Internet to be shared with other users.

Microsoft OneNote (VanNote)- an application for storing notes and collaborating with them in a single, easily accessible location. Allows you to work with both text and images, as well as video and audio notes.

Sharing notebooks makes it possible to create and edit notes simultaneously with remote users or simply synchronize data, ensuring it is up to date. You can also take notes while working in other Office applications or Internet Explorer, and OneNote will provide a link to the location in the original document you were viewing when you added the note, allowing you to automatically link ideas to the content you create.

Microsoft PowerPoint (PowerPoint)- application for preparing presentations. Allows you to create and manage high-quality dynamic presentations. By using sound and visual effects (adding video and animation), you can present viewers with a clear, powerful picture that is as easy to create as it is fun to watch.

Using PowerPoint, you can not only add, but also edit multimedia content, using a variety of artistic and video effects. The application also allows you to use dynamic volumetric slide changing effects and realistic animation effects.

Microsoft Outlook- a personal organizer, which includes: a calendar, a task planner, notes, an email manager and an address book. This application allows you to manage multiple email accounts in one place, which is much more convenient than checking messages in several mailboxes separately. You also have at your disposal a single means of managing all calendars, because in Outlook you can create any number of them for each category of events, so as not to get confused in one large schedule filled with events.

Outlook 2010 allows you to connect to your favorite social networks and centrally track various events happening there. In addition, you can transfer all your contacts from Hotmail or Gmail services, and all updates to the contact information of your friends with whom you are in the same social network, such as Facebook, are also automatically reflected in Outlook contacts.

Microsoft Publisher- an application for creating, customizing and distributing all kinds of professional-quality publications and marketing materials. Even without experience in the field graphic design, with a variety of templates, you can create brochures, newsletters, business cards, postcards, email materials and other publications.

Users have professional image editing tools at their disposal, modern technologies alignment of objects, the ability to create dynamic publications, advanced typographic capabilities for text design and a convenient means of previewing the created material and distributing it. The possibility of sharing and distributing publications has also not been forgotten.

MicrosoftAccess- applications for creating and managing databases. This effective personal data management tool is primarily aimed at the corporate sector, small businesses and non-profit organizations, although ordinary users can find use for it, for example, for cataloging home audio-video libraries.

Access 2010 adds new ways to access and share databases. Viewing and editing databases can be done directly via the Internet, and users who do not have this application can open web forms and reports through a browser.

MicrosoftInfoPath- an application for collecting and managing data. As a rule, it is used by organizations to optimize their own business processes, is intended for experienced business users or developers, and is unlikely to be of interest to home PC users.

InfoPath allows you to create complex electronic forms to quickly and cost-effectively capture information based on the type of solution your organization needs and connect them to business systems.

SharePoint Workspace (Sharpoint Workspace) - an application that enhances the ability to collaborate on documents and their libraries in a single special SharePoint Workspace environment.

This tool is more aimed at business groups in medium-sized organizations and large enterprises that need a single workspace with extensive capabilities public access to data, as well as their joint editing and is unlikely to be useful to home users.

MicrosoftLync - an application that combines common means of communication. Positioned as a solution for medium-sized businesses and large enterprises. Combines the capabilities of instant messaging, organizing meetings and voice communication. The client has a toolbar that makes it easy to find and access frequently used features such as the dialer, visual voicemail, and lists of contacts and active conversations.

CONCLUSION

Having considered all the components that make up the modern Microsoft Office 2010 suite, it's time to take stock.

There is no doubt that such a set of versatile solutions can satisfy almost any user. The quality level of the created electronic documents with the tools included in this office suite is really very high and accessible even for beginners. That is why some formats from Microsoft Office are accepted as de facto standards for most of the world's document flow.

Many people probably know (or guess) that this office suite is paid, and its cost and distribution directly depend on its edition. Of the 6 available possible options Only 4 are available for home users: “Elementary”, “For home and study”, “For home and office” and “Professional”. It should be taken into account that the “Initial” edition, containing the two most popular applications- Word and Excel, distributed free of charge, and only with new computers that have pre-installed operating system Windows. The “Standard” and “Professional Plus” editions are distributed only to corporate clients.

The most budget option for home users would be Office package for home and study. Today its cost is 2990 rubles. It includes four applications: text editor Word, Excel spreadsheet editor, OneNote note-taking app, and authoring app PowerPoint presentations. We can say that such a gentleman's set is suitable for most users working with documents at home. Please also note that the office suite of applications for home and study is not intended for use for commercial purposes (for profit) and non-profit organizations, as well as in government agencies.

And yet the absence in this edition of such a component as Outlook - personal organizer and a good email client, for some it will be a reason to turn their attention to the Office for home and business edition. True, for this set of components, there are no longer any restrictions on the purpose of its use (as indicated by the business prefix), which is immediately reflected in the cost of the product, which more than doubles and currently amounts to 6990 rubles. I think that for many, overpaying 4,000 rubles for Outlook will seem unreasonable and purchasing this edition for the home remains the prerogative of enthusiasts.

Office Professional contains two additional components - Publisher and Access, applications for creating publications and working with databases, respectively. But the price of 17,990 rubles clearly indicates that this product is aimed at business use.

So, if you like the Microsoft Office product, then the most optimal set of applications for use on your home PC will be Office for Home and Student. Well, for all those who are just starting to master office applications, we will soon prepare more detailed materials on each of the applications included in this edition.