MS Office and the History of Word
Microsoft Office is a suite of application software made by Microsoft (founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen) for office, school, business and personal work. Word was the first Office application (1983); the first Office suite appeared in 1989 on the Macintosh, and Office for Windows in 1990.
| Program | Use |
|---|---|
| Word | Documents, letters, reports |
| Excel | Calculation, analysis, charts, records |
| PowerPoint | Presentations |
| Access | Databases |
| Outlook | Email, calendar, contacts |
Office versions
| Version | Year | Version | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office 1.0 | 1990 | Office 2007 | 2007 |
| Office 2.0 | 1991 | Office 2010 | 2010 |
| Office 3.0 | 1992 | Office 2013 | 2013 |
| Office 4.0 | 1994 | Office 2016 | 2015 |
| Office 95 | 1995 | Office 2019 | 2018 |
| Office 97 | 1996 | Office 2021 | 2021 |
| Office 2000 | 1999 | Office 2024 | 2024 |
| Office XP | 2001 | Microsoft 365 | Subscription, updated continuously |
| Office 2003 | 2003 |
Microsoft 365 is cloud-based and subscription-based: it keeps receiving new features and security updates, works with OneDrive, and runs on Windows, Mac, the web, Android and iOS. Older versions were one-time purchases.
History of Word
- Developed by Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, former Xerox programmers hired by Microsoft in 1981.
- First released on 25 October 1983 as Multi-Tool Word for Xenix and MS-DOS; the name was soon shortened to Microsoft Word.
- Later platforms: Macintosh (1985), Windows (1989), iOS (2014), Android (2015). The first Word for Windows (1989) sold for US $498; WinWord 1.1 followed in 1990.
| Stage | Versions |
|---|---|
| DOS (text mode) | Word 1.0 (1983), 2.0 (1985), 3.0 (1987), 4.0 and 5.0 (1989), 5.5 (1990) |
| Windows (WinWord) | 1.0 (1989), 1.1 (1990), 2.0 (1991) |
| Unified numbering | Word 6.0 (1993), Word 95 (7.0), Word 97 (8.0), Word 2000 (9.0), 2002/XP (10.0), 2003 (11.0), 2007 (12.0), 2010 (14.0), 2013 (15.0), 2016, 2019 and 2021 (all 16.0) |
Opening Word
- Start button, type "Word", click the result.
- Win + R, type
winword, press Enter. - Double-click the desktop shortcut or the pinned taskbar icon.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from standard computer textbooks, Microsoft documentation and official sources. Features differ between Excel and Word versions (2016, 2019, 2021, 365) so check which version your exam follows. Found a mistake? Tell us.