*** Updated Review ***

I have been using word processing software since the day of the Commodore 64, Write I think the program was titled. I was then introduced to Lotus Works, Ami Pro, MS Works, Word Perfect and others. Now available are programs such as Microsoft Word, which when compared to predecessors truly shows the amazing evolution in word processing software.
I have been using Word for a couple years now and have yet to find any function a word processor should have missing from Word. I use Word on a daily basis to create sophisticated documents and in addition to perform numerous menial tasks such as printing envelopes or labels. I am always very pleased with the ease of use and the resulting quality of the printed document. The following six paragraphs give an elementary description of Microsoft Word then followed by a summary of complaints about Word that I found in other reviews.

Description of Microsoft Word

Spelling, Grammar and Thesaurus: The spell checker is a very intuitive feature making spelling errors quick and easy to correct. Right-clicking the mouse is a quick way to a pop-up menu with several spelling suggestions, nearly always containing the correct word even when a severe misspelling has occurred. The spell checker also offers the creation of multiple customized dictionaries that can be used in conjunction with the main dictionary, very useful for people in certain professions such as computer programming. One who remembers what the English teacher taught will greatly appreciate the thesaurus. These features also offer a slew of statistics pertaining to the document, for those who require such data. Additional related features are available to enhance the readability of a document and offer many customizable options.

Format: Word offers myriad functions for formatting text. A few areas that offer an extensive number of options include fonts, paragraphs, columns, bullets, documents style, and an "autoformat" feature. Concerning document formats, Word readily anticipates the needs of the user. Use a template or have word format an existing document with a choice of any conceivable format including faxes, professional resumes, reports, or even turn it into a basic web page. With these general styles you are presented with many more specific style document types.

Graphics: Inserting graphics is a breeze. Word includes many options for formatting text with graphics including a great deal of common graphic editing options. Insert a graphical logo or use Word to transform the graphic into a watermark image, to give a brief example. Word contains a fantastic "WordArt" feature for using Word to design logos or could be used when creating a child's birthday party invitation. The "WordArt" feature does just what it suggests, offers a ton of editing features specifically intended for transforming text into exciting graphics. Word also includes basic graphic features for inserting boxes, circles, arrows and much more. The many graphical features allow for the easy creation of aesthetically pleasing documents.

Wizards and Help: Word offers an abundance of "wizards" to perform various tasks. Wizards guide a user step by step with detailed instructions to perform a desired task. These wizards offer a very quick and intuitive way to begin documents such as elegant resumes or mailing labels. Word offers a unique help system, an animated and overactive paperclip with eyes. The animated paper clip is your office assistant, ask it a question and it will retrieve several topics pertaining to the question asked. This little thing is very successful in finding a quick answer to any pertinent question. It is not required to enter a search in the form of a question, entering keywords will be suffice. Word offers a comprehensive and intuitive help system.

Program Environment: Word offers a remarkably friendly user interface. Loads of toolbars displayed permanently or temporarily, docked or floating, at the user request. All controls (icons) in the toolbars utilize the tool tip text property. This is, a brief description of a feature is displayed when resting the mouse over an icon. Very useful when exploring options within a toolbar without having to click them. The user interface is loaded with customizable features pertaining to program display and various functions it performs. Finally, Word is a true WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) program. This means the document will be printed exactly as it was displayed on the screen.

Versatility: Word is an incredibly versatile program. Those with VB programming knowledge can insert program code to meet specific and demanding needs. This extraordinary feature can please the most demanding users as long as they are willing to at least learn VBA. Word is not at all isolated from Microsoft Office companions such as Excel. For example, Word allows for the insertion of an Excel spreadsheet in a document bringing with it all the power of spreadsheet capabilities offered by Excel. Outstanding features such as this add a whole new level of functionality to Word.

*** Response to other reviews ***
I have read several other reviews on Word to find the most common complaints.

1. One of the top complaints is in the auto-correct features offered by Word. I can see where this would be annoying to novice users however, these features are easily turned off. I will agree when installing Word these features should be deactivated by default for consideration to novice users who do not yet know they exist. I will also state Word does an excellent job of individualizing these features allowing a user to be specific as to what features they do and do not want activated.

2. I have also read complaints about bugs in the program. *I use word every day to perform any number of tasks and have never experienced a program bug. I frequently create complex documents requiring many different editing tools. The results are always very pleasing and very professional. Honestly I am astonished never to experience a bug in this program as I have with other Microsoft products. On the topic of bugs I could write an entire editorial. To be brief, all software has a potential bug, many actually. The question is how frequent and severe are they when encountered, if encountered.

3. I have noticed numerous complaints about the animated office assistant. Why, I do not know. If you don't like it, close it out and it's gone. I don't understand what the big deal is here.

4. I have used old versions of WordPerfect but not the recent version 8. I was lead to read several reviews about it from the reviews I read that gave Word a low rating and suggested this as an alternative. At the time of this review the number of reviews on Epinions between Word and WordPerfect 8 were far too drastic meaning an accurate statistical comparison of overall consumer satisfaction was not possible with the available data. Nevertheless, it appears to me WordPerfect is Word's closest competitor and I would recommend investigating WordPerfect as an option as well. Take note, a major complaint with both is in the user interface. WordPerfect users find this interface more intuitive than Word and countless Word users find their user interface more intuitive than WordPerfect. I suspect this is because each user has been using the same program for a number of years and has grown accustom to a particular interface. I suspect the new version of WordPerfect is an excellent program. However, I am very content with Word and have no need or desire to invest hundreds of dollars at this time to explore an alternative. Should opportunity permit me to explore WordPerfect 8 I would be interested in doing so aggressively, simply out of curiosity..

5. One thing I find very disturbing is how many reviews on Word I read that contain inaccurate information. Evidently some of these people have absolutely no idea what they are doing and should not have written a review about a program they did not make any effort to learn how to use. I read several reviews containing statements suggesting using severely out dated word processing software instead of Word. Evidently these people are completely accustom to old methods and when faced with new ones simply state "it doesn't work" instead of taking two seconds to use the massive built-in help system available to find it. Yes I did say massive help, some stated they could not find "anything". These people are doing something very wrong and I am very interested in knowing exactly what topic they could find no information about. Personally I find the help system a bit exhaustive when I have a quick question of how to perform a function I have forgotten how to use.


*Updates

April 26, 00
*I have received a few E-mails regarding bugs in the Microsoft Word software. In one instance I was sent an actual document file that revealed a bug in Word. The file was evidently corrupt and caused Word to freeze or "crash" when attempting to load it. Word did in fact eventually trap this error, however, the process of recovering the data from the damaged file was not as easy as it should have been. Nor should Word have crashed or frozen up before successfully trapping this error and executing the recovery procedure. Once the recovery procedure was complete and the file re-saved there were no more problems. So far this is the only bug I have witnessed.

Take Note
I have absolutely no idea how that particular file was damaged. However, it is all too common for files to be damaged when being transported between computers via floppy disk. Why? Magnetic fields and static electricity, use anti-static paper to transport floppy disks. Always have a backup copy on a hard drive when using a floppy disk to transport crucial files. DO NOT throw a floppy disk in your briefcase or purse with your cell phone! Without thinking, I once put a floppy disk in my coat pocket next to my cell phone and completely erased it, magnetic field. There are a 101 other ways to erase data from a floppy disk, be careful with important files.











Recommended: Yes