Microsoft Word

History and Origins of Microsoft Word - Microsoft Word was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name 'Multi-Tool Word' for Xenix systems. - It was later written for other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS, Apple Macintosh running the Classic Mac OS, AT&T UNIX PC, Atari ST, OS/2, Microsoft Windows, SCO Unix, macOS, Web browsers, iOS, and Android. - Word for Mac OS had higher sales than its MS-DOS counterpart for at least four years. - Word for Windows was released in 1989 and became the market leader for word processors for IBM PC-compatible computers. - Microsoft Word 5.5 for DOS was made available for free downloads due to the Year 2000 problem. - Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo, the first GUI word processor, was hired by Microsoft in 1981. - Simonyi started work on a word processor called 'Multi-Tool Word' and hired Richard Brodie as the primary software engineer. - Microsoft announced Multi-Tool Word for Xenix and MS-DOS in 1983. - The name was soon simplified to 'Microsoft Word'. - Free demonstration copies of Word were bundled with the November 1983 issue of PC World, making it the first to be distributed on-disk with a magazine. Word for Mac OS - Word for Mac OS was released in 1985 and had features like WYSIWYG and unlimited undo operations. - Word 3.0 for Mac OS included the first implementation of the Rich Text Format (RTF) specification. - Word 5.1 for Mac OS, released in 1992, was highly regarded as the best version of Word for Mac OS. - Word for Mac OS never had any serious rivals after MacWrite Pro was discontinued. - Subsequent versions of Word for macOS are a mixture of ported code and native code. Word for Windows - Word for Windows is available stand-alone or as part of the Microsoft Office suite. - Word 6 for Windows NT was the first 32-bit version, released with Microsoft Office for Windows NT. - Word 2007 introduced a redesigned user interface that emphasized the most common controls. - Word files are commonly used for sending text documents via email. - Each release of Word after Word 95 is named after the year of its release. Licensing and Availability - Commercial versions of Word are licensed as a standalone product or as part of Microsoft 365. - Microsoft Word is available for macOS, iOS, Windows 10, and later, and Windows 10 Mobile. - Word for iOS and Word Mobile for Windows 10 have freemium licenses. - Microsoft Word is developed by Microsoft Corporation. - More information about Microsoft Word can be found on the Microsoft Office website. Updates and Features - Ribbon interface introduced in Excel, PowerPoint, and Access 2007 and later introduced in other Office applications with Office 2010. - Word 2007 allows saving documents as Adobe Acrobat or XPS files and ability to upload Word documents as blog posts on platforms like WordPress. - Word 2019 introduced dictation function and Word 2021 added co-authoring feature. - Word 2021 also included a visual refresh on start experience and tabs, automatic cloud saving, dark mode, line focus, updated draw tab, and support for ODF 1.3. - Evolution of Word for Mac includes Word X, Word 2004, Word 2008, Word 2011, and Word 2001.