Everything you need to know about Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is one of the most widely used computer programs in the world, perhaps even the most widely used.

What is Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word, also known simply as "Word", is a word processing software and the main product of Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite of products and is the most widely used word processor in the world. It is estimated that Word runs on more than one billion devices worldwide.

When was Microsoft Word developed?

First released in 1983 under a different name, Word celebrated its 25th birthday in 2018. Its popularity is based on its ease of use and the fact that it can be used on various operating systems, including Macintosh and of course Windows.

Microsoft Word can be purchased as a standalone product or as part of Microsoft Office, which also includes programmes such as Excel and PowerPoint
. How has Word been able to dominate the market over the last 25 years and become the most used word processing software in the world, and what does the future of the product look like?

The rise of Microsoft Word to popularity

The first version of Microsoft Word, Word 1.0, was released in October 1983 and developed by former Xerox programmers Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie. Both were recruited by Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1981. At that time Word was still called Multi-Tool Word. It was designed for use on computers running the UNIX operating system.

Word was a WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") programme. This meant that a document looked on the screen exactly as it would be printed. Word allowed users to create, save and print text documents, but it was not an immediate success, perhaps because it competed with the popular word processors WordPerfect and WordStar.

In 1985, version 2.0 was released, which included additional features such as spell check and word count. In the following years, Microsoft rewrote the programme several times so that it could run on different operating systems such as DOS (floppy disk operating system) and Macintosh. The name was also changed to "Word", which is shorter and easier to remember.

In 1993, Microsoft released Word 6.0, which ran on Macintosh, Windows and DOS. Word 6.0 was the last version created for DOS and the last to be marked with a version number; subsequent versions were named after the year they were released.

Since then, Microsoft has released a new version of Word at least every two years. The last version was at the end of 2018, with Word 2019, which is part of Office 365.

The future of Word

Currently, Word and the entire Office suite are tightly integrated and work not only on Windows, but also on OS X, Android and iOS. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has said that Office is the company's main API (application programming interface).

The latest version of the software is Word 2019, and like its spreadsheet counterpart Excel, Word has received a number of updates to improve its functionality and ensure it keeps up with the changing world of computing.

Recent innovations in Word include:

• Translator: Word can now translate words and sentences into other languages using the Microsoft Translator tool located on the Review tab. This feature has also been introduced in Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint.
• Learning tools: This feature makes it easier to understand your documents and promotes reading skills. You can change the column width to improve focus, change the colour of the page to be easier on the eyes and show the pauses between syllables to improve word recognition and pronunciation. You can also use this tool to have the document read aloud to you.
• Digital pen: If you have a touch device, the latest version of Word (and other Office products) lets you draw with your finger, the mouse or a digital pen to make annotations and notes.
• Icons and SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics): Word now has a library of icons and 3D images that can be inserted into documents to make them more visually appealing and impressive. Users can change colours and apply effects.

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