Microsoft Office is one of the most popular software packages used for creating text files, presentations, spreadsheets and much more. The package can be tailored by the user to include a number of extra office applications. The microsoft office ohjelmistot software package is developed by Microsoft and is written by C++. It was first introduced along with Microsoft Windows 3.0, and the software giant has been regularly updating it since then.

The first version was released in 1990, as a part of Windows 3.0 and included Microsoft Word 1.1, Microsoft Excel, 2.0 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2.0. The latest version of the office package is Office 15.0 which was released on the 16th of July, 2012. The newest Microsoft Office software comes with an improved Metro interface, based on Windows 8 and the Windows Phone. The Microsoft Office package can be expanded to contain up to 22 applications, but the most regularly used ones are Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook (Entourage).

Microsoft Word

It is the most popular application used for document creation. It is a functional word processor that offers a range of functions and features like word count, grammar check, spelling check, formatting options, etc. Files created in Microsoft Word were originally exported in the DOC format, but since Word 2007, the documents use a new XML-based format named DOCX. DOCX is now considered as the standard Microsoft Word format, because of its PDF and ODF support.

Microsoft Excel

It allows the user to create spreadsheets, using a range of formulas and features. Originally, Microsoft Excel competed with Lotus 1-2-3, but eventually it became the more popular choice and prevailed over Lotus Software’s application. Surprisingly, the first Excel version was released for Mac in 1985. Windows users took advantage of Excel’s features in 1987.

Microsoft Outlook

It is Windows’ official e-mail communication software. It was introduced in Office 97 and replaced the previous versions like Schedule+, Microsoft Mail and Windows Messaging. Some of its features are address book, task manager, calendar and e-mail client.

Microsoft PowerPoint

It is the software used to create presentations. The program allows the user to create slideshow including clips, text, graphics and other items. The program supports a range of other functions that can customize the presentation according to the user’s needs.