What is the purpose of word processing

A word processor is software or a device that allows users to create, edit, and print documents. It enables you to write text, store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it. Of all computer applications, word processing is the most common.

Why word processing application is important to an organization?

Improving Efficiency and Accuracy Besides simply saving time, word processing offers ways to improve workers’ efficiency and accuracy. Word processors contain software to automatically correct common errors and identify misspellings, improving overall speed and reducing errors.

What is the importance of word processing application like Microsoft Word?

The purpose of the MS Word is to allow the users to type and save documents. …Microsoft word is used to save documents. The documents can be copied to flash drive which serves as an external memory for your computer. This allows you to use the saved documents conveniently taking with you anywhere.

What is the importance of word processing in education?

With word processing software, students can easily review and revise their compositions, highlight key ideas, rearrange sentences or paragraphs to flow more logically, and try out alternative sentences or words to communicate their ideas better.

What is the main function of Microsoft Word?

The main function of MS Word is to create text documents that can be saved electronically, printed on paper. Purpose of Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word is a word processing program that is part of the Microsoft Office Suite package.

What are the 5 functions of Microsoft Word?

Functions in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft…

• Open From M-Files. You can open a document for reading or editing directly from the document vault.
• Save to M-Files. Save is the handiest way to save a new or edited document to M-Files.
• Explore M-Files.
• Check Out.
• Check In.
• Check In Changes.
• Undo Checkout.
• Insert Property.

What are the basic elements of Microsoft Word?

MS- Word Window Elements:

• Title bar.
• Menu Bar.
• Toolbars.
• Workspace.
• Status Bar.
• Scroll Bars.
• Scroll Box.
• Task Pane.

What are the features of word processing?

Typical features of a modern word processor include multiple font sets, spell checking, grammar checking, a built-in thesaurus, automatic text correction, web integration, HTML conversion, pre-formatted publication projects such as newsletters and to-do lists, and much more.

What are the things we can do in MS Word?

10 Things You Didn’t Know Word Could Do

• Convert PDF Files to Editable Word Documents.
• Quickly Create a Bulleted List.
• Use the Navigation Pane to Navigate and Move Text Around.
• Count the Number of Words in a Document.
• Permanently Remove Cropped Areas of a Picture.
• Use Spike!
• Get Insights into what you’re working on with Smart Lookup.
• Find Auto-Recovered Documents.

How you will open a document in MS Word?

You can open them one of three ways.

1. Press “Win-E,” locate your Word document on your computer and double-click it to automatically open the document in Microsoft Word.
2. Open Microsoft Word, press “Ctrl-O,” locate the file you want to open and double-click the file to open it from within Microsoft Word.

How can I improve my Microsoft Word skills?

Improve your Microsoft Word skills with these great tips!

1. Format the paragraph. You will be surprised by the number of ways that you can use to format your paragraphs.
2. Know all the symbols.
3. Master sections.
4. Zoom in and out.
5. Prepare your document.
6. 6. ‘
7. Delete words with one press.
8. Lookup Words.

What are basic Microsoft Office skills?

Microsoft Office Skills

• Creating spreadsheet.
• Creating tables.
• Creating pivot tables.
• Running and creating macros.
• Data analysis.
• Data visualization.
• Validating data.
• Creating documents.

How can I learn Microsoft Office skills?

One of the best ways to learn Microsoft Office is to go right to the source. The Office 365 Training Center provides different options depending on your needs. You can watch video training tutorials for Office 365 or select a specific Microsoft Office application like Word, Excel, or Access. And it’s all free.

How do I improve my computer skills?

5 Free and Easy Ways to Improve Your Computer Skills

1. Identify what you need to learn.
2. Start with the basics—and ensure you know how to use a computer.
3. Familiarize yourself with an understanding of how computers (and the Internet) work.
4. Take a free online or-in person computer course.
5. Apply the knowledge and get hands-on practice.

Why is it important to have computer skills?

Modern businesses rely heavily on computerised technology to efficiently complete vast amounts of tasks. Having decent computer skills means that you can perform the tasks that competing candidates may not be able to. This knowledge can result in you getting hired over your competitors.

What are the basic skills of computer?

While basic computer skills include knowing how to type, understanding social media and having general web skills, there are several more to consider, such as:

• Productivity software.
• Operating systems.
• Presentation software.
• Digital marketing.
• Computer programming.
• Graphic design.
• Communication tools.
• Database management.

What computer skills should I learn to get a job?

Some of the most important computer skills to learn include the following:

1. Operating systems (Windows and MacOS)
2. Office suites (Microsoft Office, G Suite)
3. Presentation software (PowerPoint, Keynote)
4. Spreadsheets (Excel, Google Spreadsheets, etc.)
5. Communication and collaboration tools (Slack, Skype, etc.)

How do you explain computer skills on a resume?

3. How to List Computer Skills on a Resume

1. Find a job offer that matches your level of experience and skills.
2. Turn the computer skills listed in the job offer into achievements.
3. Mention your computer skills in the resume profile.
4. List the relevant computer skills in a dedicated skills section.

What is the basic of computer?

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. You may already know that you can use a computer to type documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web.

How do I write my skills on a resume?

How to List Skills on a Resume

1. Keep your resume skills relevant to the job you’re targeting.
2. Include key skills in a separate skills section.
3. Add your work-related skills in the professional experience section.
4. Weave the most relevant skills into your resume profile.
5. Make sure to add the most in-demand skills.

What’s a good summary for a resume?

Here’s how to write a resume summary: Describe your strong character traits in just a couple of words. Mention your current job title and professional experience. Say how you want to help the employer achieve their goals. Add info on your key achievements to prove you can deliver results when hired.

Should I put skills on my resume?

Resume doesn’t highlight the right skills If there are specific skills that are relevant to your field or the job you’re applying for, always list them in the skills section if you have them. It’s also okay to include links to your work, such as blog posts.

Which of these things should be avoided in a resume?

The 10 worst resume mistakes to avoid

• Typos and grammatical errors.
• Lack of specifics.
• Attempting the “one–size–fits–all” approach.
• Highlighting duties instead of accomplishments.
• Going on too long or cutting things too short.
• Bad summary.
• No action verbs.
• Leaving off important information.

What are high demand skills?

The top skills in demand in 2020 are: Coding And Software Enhancement. Artificial Intelligence. Networking Development.

What are professional skills?

An individual’s professional skills are extremely important in the business world. This professional skill refers to how enthusiastic the employee is about the occupation and how much pride they take in completing their work.

What is a Word Processor?

You might have heard the widely thrown around term of ‘paperless office’ or ‘paperless environment’. Although we’re still a long way off from realizing that dream, but there are instances where paper as such is no longer required to any type of official business level communication.

Most of the credit for this definitely goes to word processor programs and applications that help employees put in their communication through digital means. Not only have such word processors allowed for quick and easy communication internally (or externally) within an organization but also has helped improve effectiveness and efficiency of a workplace – since waiting times have been reduced drastically.

So before we dive deep into the different types of word processors available in the market, let’s have a look at how it all began.

The History of Word Processor – How It All Began?

Take today’s word processors as an extension or an evolved form of a type writer. Originally marketed back in 1867, a manual typewriter was first introduced in to the market by a gun manufacturing company.

The first phase of this evolution involved electric typewriters, which could be used for typing of letters automatically while adding/removing specific letters in case of any corrections.

Automatic Typewriters

This was as ‘automatic’ as you could get – a type writer person would manually type something, then proof read it for any mistakes. Once he/she was satisfied, a final re-type would be needed to actually finish the document.

The operators in charge of these word processors were trained typists, who had to be very careful with specifics of a page like orientation, line spacing, page width and all of these details had to be taken into consideration manually. Later on, change in font was added as a new feature enjoyed by some of the leading newspaper agencies for their print production and newsletters. The default ‘typing ball’ font slowly was replaced by a collection of changeable fonts.

From Typewriters to Word Processors

At that time, there were no personal computers. Machines would specifically be built for the purpose of word processing. Rather than evolving through ideas of mathematicians and computer geeks, the word processor was in fact born out of the necessity of writers. Later on, as the computers started to trickle down into our personal lives did we see word processors integrated with the personal computer.

As such, the actual introduction of word processing software that we see today is not marked for sure with a historical timeline. But it’s safe to say that with the mass division of personal computers and printers in the early 1990’s, typewriters as such were fully replaced with dedicated word processing software and programs rather than having to resort to separate machines for typing text on to paper.

Let us fast forward to present time and see what exactly are Word Processors used for nowadays.

Word Processors – What Are They Used For?

In a contemporary office (or a professional) environment, a word processing software is used to create documents and reports like for example a resume or a marketing proposal. Text is entered by typing letters using a keyboard on to a software that takes care of the functions of editing, copying, pasting, deleting and other formatting methods.

Features of a Word Processor

Some of the basic features of a word processor includes:

• Copying, editing, saving and printing reports and documents
• Copying, deleting, pasting, and shifting text within a certain page/document
• Formatting of text like changing size (font size), italicizing (italics), bolding (bold) or strikethroughs and underlines
• Formatting tables (drawing/inserting rows and columns to make full-fledged tables)
• Placing pictures, graphs and all sorts of illustrations within and around the text document
• Correction of spelling mistakes and a fully functioning dictionary in most cases

Word processing software should not be confused with simple text editors. Text editors (like Window’s Notepad) can also allow you to type in text with a few basic formatting inputs but don’t have the more advanced features like underlining, different fonts, adding pictures and graphs etc.

Top Three Popular and Best Word Processors

So let us now look at what word processors are the best options available out there in the market. We will start off with the most popular one as of yet; Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is hands down the most popular of all word processing software out there. According to the company Microsoft itself, the estimation is that around half a billion people on this planet currently use Microsoft Word for the purpose of word processing. It is therefore no surprise that 90 percent of the word processing market share is captured by Microsoft Word.

Originally introduced to the public back in the year 1989, the current version of Microsoft Word has seen numerous updates (multiple times each year) and comes as a package with the suite of Office applications along with PowerPoint, Publisher, Excel, and Outlook.

WordPerfect

If you ask someone knowledgeable in the computer industry to name a software other than Microsoft Word itself, the word WordPerfect will be the obvious answer. More suited towards writing short essays and quick articles, WordPerfect best strength is its compatibility with Microsoft Word. A bit ironic but it definitely does the trick when you need to open up WordPerfect documents with Microsoft Word.

Lotus Word Pro

If your office computers are integrated on Lotus portal, then Lotus Word Pro is your ideal for all your needs. Lotus Word Pro can be connected with all your Lotus applications to produce properly formatted documents. Although it’s produced and distributed by IBM Corporation, it’s also compatible with Windows based programs particularly Microsoft Word.

Author: Bilal Ibrar

A marketing graduate with a passion for writing on topics related to social media, technology and business in general. Hobbies include gaming, animation and motorsports

What Does Word Processing Mean?

Word processing is the process of creating and editing documents on a computer. It allows a user to create documents that mimic the format and style of a typical typewriter. It requires a computer and word processing software. A printer may also be used to create a physical copy of the document.

Techopedia Explains Word Processing

Word processing is one of the earliest and most commonly used types of computer software. In fact, word processing software is often cited as a major factor in the launch the personal computer industry. This software did such a great job of automating processes that had previously been performed by a dedicated machine (in this case a typewriter) that this type of software helped bring personal computers into the households of regular people, rather than just businesses.

Even today, word processors reflect their history as digital typewriters. They display a sheet of paper on the screen, which captures user input from the keyboard. The user can select different font styles, sizes, colors and many different customizations. And, unlike manual word processing, the digital variety is is much faster and more flexible.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A word processor (WP)^[1][2] is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.

Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word processors are word processor programs running on general purpose computers.

The functions of a word processor program fall somewhere between those of a simple text editor and a fully functioned desktop publishing program. However, the distinctions between these three have changed over time and were unclear after 2010.^[3][4]

Background[edit]

Word processors did not develop out of computer technology. Rather, they evolved from mechanical machines and only later did they merge with the computer field.^[5] The history of word processing is the story of the gradual automation of the physical aspects of writing and editing, and then to the refinement of the technology to make it available to corporations and Individuals.

The term word processing appeared in American offices in early 1970s centered on the idea of streamlining the work to typists, but the meaning soon shifted toward the automation of the whole editing cycle.

At first, the designers of word processing systems combined existing technologies with emerging ones to develop stand-alone equipment, creating a new business distinct from the emerging world of the personal computer. The concept of word processing arose from the more general data processing, which since the 1950s had been the application of computers to business administration.^[6]

Through history, there have been three types of word processors: mechanical, electronic and software.

Mechanical word processing[edit]

The first word processing device (a «Machine for Transcribing Letters» that appears to have been similar to a typewriter) was patented by Henry Mill for a machine that was capable of «writing so clearly and accurately you could not distinguish it from a printing press».^[7] More than a century later, another patent appeared in the name of William Austin Burt for the typographer. In the late 19th century, Christopher Latham Sholes^[8] created the first recognizable typewriter although it was a large size, which was described as a «literary piano».^[9]

The only «word processing» these mechanical systems could perform was to change where letters appeared on the page, to fill in spaces that were previously left on the page, or to skip over lines. It was not until decades later that the introduction of electricity and electronics into typewriters began to help the writer with the mechanical part. The term “word processing” (translated from the German word Textverarbeitung) itself was created in the 1950s by Ulrich Steinhilper, a German IBM typewriter sales executive. However, it did not make its appearance in 1960s office management or computing literature (an example of grey literature), though many of the ideas, products, and technologies to which it would later be applied were already well known. Nonetheless, by 1971 the term was recognized by the New York Times^[10] as a business «buzz word». Word processing paralleled the more general «data processing», or the application of computers to business administration.

Thus by 1972 discussion of word processing was common in publications devoted to business office management and technology, and by the mid-1970s the term would have been familiar to any office manager who consulted business periodicals.

Electromechanical and electronic word processing[edit]

By the late 1960s, IBM had developed the IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter). This was a model of the IBM Selectric typewriter from the earlier part of this decade, but it came built into its own desk, integrated with magnetic tape recording and playback facilities along with controls and a bank of electrical relays. The MT/ST automated word wrap, but it had no screen. This device allowed a user to rewrite text that had been written on another tape, and it also allowed limited collaboration in the sense that a user could send the tape to another person to let them edit the document or make a copy. It was a revolution for the word processing industry. In 1969, the tapes were replaced by magnetic cards. These memory cards were inserted into an extra device that accompanied the MT/ST, able to read and record users’ work.

In the early 1970s, word processing began to slowly shift from glorified typewriters augmented with electronic features to become fully computer-based (although only with single-purpose hardware) with the development of several innovations. Just before the arrival of the personal computer (PC), IBM developed the floppy disk. In the early 1970s, the first word-processing systems appeared which allowed display and editing of documents on CRT screens.

During this era, these early stand-alone word processing systems were designed, built, and marketed by several pioneering companies. Linolex Systems was founded in 1970 by James Lincoln and Robert Oleksiak. Linolex based its technology on microprocessors, floppy drives and software. It was a computer-based system for application in the word processing businesses and it sold systems through its own sales force. With a base of installed systems in over 500 sites, Linolex Systems sold 3 million units in 1975 — a year before the Apple computer was released.^[11]

At that time, the Lexitron Corporation also produced a series of dedicated word-processing microcomputers. Lexitron was the first to use a full-sized video display screen (CRT) in its models by 1978. Lexitron also used 51⁄4 inch floppy diskettes, which became the standard in the personal computer field. The program disk was inserted in one drive, and the system booted up. The data diskette was then put in the second drive. The operating system and the word processing program were combined in one file.^[12]

Another of the early word processing adopters was Vydec, which created in 1973 the first modern text processor, the «Vydec Word Processing System». It had built-in multiple functions like the ability to share content by diskette and print it.^{[further explanation needed]} The Vydec Word Processing System sold for $12,000 at the time, (about $60,000 adjusted for inflation).^[13]

The Redactron Corporation (organized by Evelyn Berezin in 1969) designed and manufactured editing systems, including correcting/editing typewriters, cassette and card units, and eventually a word processor called the Data Secretary. The Burroughs Corporation acquired Redactron in 1976.^[14]

A CRT-based system by Wang Laboratories became one of the most popular systems of the 1970s and early 1980s. The Wang system displayed text on a CRT screen, and incorporated virtually every fundamental characteristic of word processors as they are known today. While early computerized word processor system were often expensive and hard to use (that is, like the computer mainframes of the 1960s), the Wang system was a true office machine, affordable to organizations such as medium-sized law firms, and easily mastered and operated by secretarial staff.

The phrase «word processor» rapidly came to refer to CRT-based machines similar to Wang’s. Numerous machines of this kind emerged, typically marketed by traditional office-equipment companies such as IBM, Lanier (AES Data machines — re-badged), CPT, and NBI. All were specialized, dedicated, proprietary systems, with prices in the $10,000 range. Cheap general-purpose personal computers were still the domain of hobbyists.

Japanese word processor devices[edit]

In Japan, even though typewriters with Japanese writing system had widely been used for businesses and governments, they were limited to specialists who required special skills due to the wide variety of letters, until computer-based devices came onto the market. In 1977, Sharp showcased a prototype of a computer-based word processing dedicated device with Japanese writing system in Business Show in Tokyo.^[15][16]

Toshiba released the first Japanese word processor JW-10 in February 1979.^[17] The price was 6,300,000 JPY, equivalent to US$45,000. This is selected as one of the milestones of IEEE.^[18]

The Japanese writing system uses a large number of kanji (logographic Chinese characters) which require 2 bytes to store, so having one key per each symbol is infeasible. Japanese word processing became possible with the development of the Japanese input method (a sequence of keypresses, with visual feedback, which selects a character) — now widely used in personal computers. Oki launched OKI WORD EDITOR-200 in March 1979 with this kana-based keyboard input system. In 1980 several electronics and office equipment brands entered this rapidly growing market with more compact and affordable devices. While the average unit price in 1980 was 2,000,000 JPY (US$14,300), it was dropped to 164,000 JPY (US$1,200) in 1985.^[19] Even after personal computers became widely available, Japanese word processors remained popular as they tended to be more portable (an «office computer» was initially too large to carry around), and become necessities in business and academics, even for private individuals in the second half of the 1980s.^[20] The phrase «word processor» has been abbreviated as «Wa-pro» or «wapuro» in Japanese.

Word processing software[edit]

The final step in word processing came with the advent of the personal computer in the late 1970s and 1980s and with the subsequent creation of word processing software. Word processing software that would create much more complex and capable output was developed and prices began to fall, making them more accessible to the public. By the late 1970s, computerized word processors were still primarily used by employees composing documents for large and midsized businesses (e.g., law firms and newspapers). Within a few years, the falling prices of PCs made word processing available for the first time to all writers in the convenience of their homes.

The first word processing program for personal computers (microcomputers) was Electric Pencil, from Michael Shrayer Software, which went on sale in December 1976. In 1978 WordStar appeared and because of its many new features soon dominated the market. However, WordStar was written for the early CP/M (Control Program–Micro) operating system, and by the time it was rewritten for the newer MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), it was obsolete. Suddenly, WordPerfect dominated the word processing programs during the DOS era, while there was a large variety of less successful programs.

Early word processing software was not as intuitive as word processor devices. Most early word processing software required users to memorize semi-mnemonic key combinations rather than pressing keys such as «copy» or «bold». Moreover, CP/M lacked cursor keys; for example WordStar used the E-S-D-X-centered «diamond» for cursor navigation. However, the price differences between dedicated word processors and general-purpose PCs, and the value added to the latter by software such as “killer app” spreadsheet applications, e.g. VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3, were so compelling that personal computers and word processing software became serious competition for the dedicated machines and soon dominated the market.

Then in the late 1980s innovations such as the advent of laser printers, a «typographic» approach to word processing (WYSIWYG — What You See Is What You Get), using bitmap displays with multiple fonts (pioneered by the Xerox Alto computer and Bravo word processing program), and graphical user interfaces such as “copy and paste” (another Xerox PARC innovation, with the Gypsy word processor). These were popularized by MacWrite on the Apple Macintosh in 1983, and Microsoft Word on the IBM PC in 1984. These were probably the first true WYSIWYG word processors to become known to many people.
Of particular interest also is the standardization of TrueType fonts used in both Macintosh and Windows PCs. While the publishers of the operating systems provide TrueType typefaces, they are largely gathered from traditional typefaces converted by smaller font publishing houses to replicate standard fonts. Demand for new and interesting fonts, which can be found free of copyright restrictions, or commissioned from font designers, occurred.

The growing popularity of the Windows operating system in the 1990s later took Microsoft Word along with it. Originally called «Microsoft Multi-Tool Word», this program quickly became a synonym for “word processor”.

From early in the 21st century Google Docs popularized the transition to online or offline web browser based word processing, this was enabled by the widespread adoption of suitable internet connectivity in businesses and domestic households and later the popularity of smartphones. Google Docs enabled word processing from within any vendor’s web browser, which could run on any vendor’s operating system on any physical device type including tablets and smartphones, although offline editing is limited to a few Chromium based web browsers. Google Docs also enabled the significant growth of use of information technology such as remote access to files and collaborative real-time editing, both becoming simple to do with little or no need for costly software and specialist IT support.

See also[edit]

• List of word processors
• Formatted text

References[edit]