Important Features of MS Excel, MS Word and MS PowerPoint

Prepared By: Ram Chandra Bharati

MS Excel

MS Excel is a commonly used Microsoft Office application. It is a spreadsheet

program which is used to save and analyse numerical data. We can record data in
the form of tables.

Features of MS Excel:
Various editing and formatting can be done on an Excel spreadsheet. Discussed
below are the various features of MS Excel.

Home: Comprises options like font size, font styles, font colour, background colour,
alignment, formatting options and styles, insertion and deletion of cells and editing
options.
Insert: Comprises options like table format and style, inserting images and figures,
adding graphs, charts and sparklines, header and footer option, equation and
symbols.
Page Layout: Themes, orientation and page setup options are available under the
page layout option.
Formulas: Since tables with a large amount of data can be created in MS excel,
under this feature, we can add formulas to our table and get quicker solutions.
Data: Adding external data (from the web), filtering options and data tools are
available under this category.
Review: Proof reading can be done for an excel sheet (like spell check) in the
review category and a reader can add comments in this part.
View: Different views in which we want the spreadsheet to be displayed can be
edited here. Options to zoom in and out and pane arrangement are available under
this category.
Benefits of Using MS Excel:
Given below are a few important benefits of using MS Excel:
Easy to Store Data: Since there is no limit to the amount of information that can be
saved in a spreadsheet, MS Excel is widely used to save data or to analyse data.
Filtering information in Excel is easy and convenient.
Easy to Recover Data: If the information is written on a piece of paper, finding it
may take longer, however, this is not the case with excel spreadsheets. Finding
and recovering data is easy.
Application of Mathematical Formulas: Doing calculations has become easier and
less time-taking with the formulas option in MS excel
More Secure: These spreadsheets can be password secured in a laptop or
personal computer and the probability of losing them is way lesser in comparison
to data written in registers or piece of paper.
Data at One Place: Earlier, data was to be kept in different files and registers when
the paperwork was done. Now, this has become convenient as more than one
worksheet can be added in a single MS Excel file.
Neater and Clearer Visibility of Information: When the data is saved in the form of
a table, analyzing it becomes easier. Thus, information is a spreadsheet that is
more readable and understandable.
 MS Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor program developed by Microsoft. It provides

a general set of tools for entering, editing, and formatting text. It provides various
useful features that cannot be done on a typewriter.

Features:
Fast Typing: Text in a word processor becomes fast since there is no associated
mechanical carriage movement.

Editing functions: Any type of correction (insert, delete, change, etc.) can be
easily done as and on demand.

Permanent storage: Documents can be stored indefinitely. The saved document

can be called up at any time.

Formatting functions: Entered text can be created in any form and style (bold,
italic, underline, different fonts, etc.). Graphics Provides the ability to insert
drawings into documents, making them more useful.

OLE (Object Linking and Embedding): OLE is a program integration technology

used to exchange information between programs about objects. Objects are
entities stored as graphs, equations, video clips, audio clips, images, and so on.

Alignment: We can align Wer text as We like, for example, left, right, or centered.
We can even make a box set, i.e, aligned from both sides.

Delete errors: We can remove a word, line, or paragraph from a stroke, and the
rest of the subject will appear automatically.

Line Spacing: We can set the line spacing from one to nine according to our
preference.

Move-in Cursor: We can move the cursor from one word to another or from one
paragraph to another as needed.

Naming a Document: We can name a document and retrieve it from our hard
drive at any time for editing, updating, correction, and even for printing.

Page break: We can set a page break at any point in the text so that the next
page is printed when printing.

Search and Replace: We can search for a specific word in the entire document
and replace it with another word.

Thesaurus: We can exchange a word with one of its synonyms. This way We can
avoid the repetition of a single word in a document and add beauty to the
language.

Indentation: Refers to the space between the text boundaries and the margins of
the page. There are three types of indents: positive, negative, and hanging.

Header and footer: A header or footer is text or a graphic, such as a page

number, a date, or a company logo, that is typically printed at the top or bottom of
each page of a document.

Page orientation: Refers to whether the text is printed lengthways or across. Above
the printed side is called PORTRAIT and the side printed across is called
LANDSCAPE.

Spell Checker: Not only can it check spelling mistakes, but it can also suggest
possible alternatives for misspelled words.
Mail Merge: This is a function that allows us to print a large number of
letters/documents with more or less similar texts. Below this, the same letter of
invitation must be sent to the guests, only the name and address are changed.
 MS Power Point

PowerPoint (PPT) is a powerful, easy-to-use presentation graphics

software program that allows user to create professional-looking electronic
slide shows.

Features of MS PowerPoint:
Slide Layout: Multiple options and layouts are available based on which a
presentation can be created. This option is available under the “Home” section
and one can select from the multiple layout options provided.
Insert – Clipart, Video, Audio, etc.: Under the “Insert” category, multiple
options are available where one can choose what feature they want to insert in
their presentation. This may include images, audio, video, header, footer,
symbols, shapes, etc.
Slide Design: MS PowerPoint has various themes using which background
colour and designs or textures can be added to a slide. This makes the
presentation more colourful and attracts the attention of the people looking at it.
Animations: During the slide show, the slides appear on the screen one after the
other. In case, one wants to add some animations to the way in which a slide
presents itself, they can refer to the “Animations” category.

Uses of PowerPoint Presentation:

PowerPoint presentations are useful for both personal and professional usage.
Given below are a few of the major fields where PPT is extremely useful:
Education – With e-learning and smart classes being chosen as a common
mode of education today, PowerPoint presentations can help in making
education more interactive and attract students towards the modified version of
studying
Marketing – In the field of marketing, PowerPoint presentations can be
extremely important. Using graphs and charts, numbers can be shown more
evidently and clearly which may be ignored by the viewer if being read
Business – To invite investors or to show the increase or decrease in profits, MS
PowerPoint can be used
Creating Resumes – Digital resumes can be formed using MS PowerPoint.
Different patterns, photograph, etc. can be added to the resume
Depicting Growth – Since both graphics and text can be added in a
presentation, depicting the growth of a company, business, student’s marks, etc.
is easier using PPT