Sometimes called Winword, MS Word, or Word, Microsoft Word is a word processor published by Microsoft. It is one of the office productivity applications included in the Microsoft Office suite. Originally developed by Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, it was first released in 1983.
Select the Insert tab. Select Object, and then select Text from File from the drop-down menu. Select the files to be merged into the current document. Press and hold Ctrl to select more than one document. Collaborate for free with an online version of Microsoft Word. Save documents in OneDrive. Share them with others and work together at the same time. Click File Info Protect Document and select Restrict Editing. Your document then displays a Restrict Editing pane on the right-hand side of the document for formatting and editing restrictions. Microsoft End User Support. Get end user support for Office, Windows, Surface, and more. Visit our Microsoft support site for assistance.
Microsoft Word is available for Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, Android, and Apple iOS. It can also run on the Linux operating system using WINE.
What is Microsoft Word used for?
Microsoft Word allows you to create professional-quality documents, reports, letters, and résumés. Unlike a plain text editor, Microsoft Word has features including spell check, grammar check, text and font formatting, HTML support, image support, advanced page layout, and more.
What does the Microsoft Word editor look like?
Below is an overview of a Microsoft Word 2010 document.
TipSee our Ribbon page for further information on the Ribbon. For an overview of the tools contained on the Ribbon, see: Overview of the Microsoft Office Ribbon.
Where do you find or start Microsoft Word?
If you have Microsoft Word or the entire Microsoft Office package installed on Microsoft Windows, you can access Microsoft Word in your Start menu.
Keep in mind that new computers do not include Microsoft Word. It must be purchased and installed before running it on your computer. If you do not want (or cannot afford) to purchase Microsoft Word, you can use a limited version for free at the Microsoft Office website.
NoteThere are also free word processing programs you can try that are very similar to Microsoft Word. See: Where can I get a free word processor?
If Microsoft Word is installed on your computer, but you can't find it in your Start menu, use the following steps to launch Microsoft Word manually.
- Open My Computer.
- Click or select the C: drive. If Microsoft Office is installed on a drive other than the C: drive, select that drive instead.
- Navigate to the Program Files (x86) folder, then the Microsoft Office folder.
- In the Microsoft Office folder, if there is a root folder, open that folder. Then open the OfficeXX folder, where XX is the version of Office (e.g., Office16 for Microsoft Office 2016). If there is no root folder, look for and open a folder having 'Office' in the name.
- Look for a file named WINWORD.EXE and click or double-click that file to start the Microsoft Word program.
What are the uses of Microsoft Word?
Microsoft Word is a word processor, and, like other word processors, it's capable of helping users create a variety of different types of documents. For example, users can create a résumé, business contract, instruction document, or a letter to another person. We've included a list of the top uses of a word processor on our word processor page.
How many lines are there on a page in Microsoft Word?
By default, there are 29 lines on one page in Microsoft Word.
What type of files can Microsoft Word create and use?
Early versions of Microsoft Word primarily created and used the .docfile extension, while newer versions of Word create and use the .docx file extension.
More recent versions of Microsoft Word can create and open the following types of files:
- .doc, .docm, .docx
- .dot, .dotm, .dotx
- .htm, .html
- .mht, .mhtml
- .odt
- .rtf
- .txt
- .wps
- .xps
- .xml
Example of a Microsoft Word .doc file
Ms Documentary
You can download an example of a Microsoft Word .doc document by clicking the Microsoft Word .doc file link.
Why use Word instead of a plain-text editor?
Microsoft Word offers many features not found in a traditional text editor or a plain-text file. Some advantages include the ability to change the formatting (e.g., center), edit the font type, size, and color, insert pictures, and much more.
TipThe features above are also available in a rich-text editor, such as WordPad, which is included with Microsoft Windows.
Why use Word instead of a WordPad?
A rich-text editor, like WordPad, offers many of the same basic features as Microsoft Word. Where Microsoft Word differs is the ability to do more advanced features. Some of the advanced features include mail merges, spellchecker, styles, tables, headers & footers, WordArt, columns, margins, and more.
What are the different versions of Microsoft Word?
Microsoft Word has had several versions throughout its history. The different releases, with release dates are listed below.
Windows versions
- Word 2019, released in 2018
- Word 2016, released in 2016
- Word 2013, released in 2013
- Word 2010, released in 2010
- Word 2007, released in 2006
- Word 2003, released in 2003
- Word 2002, released in 2001
- Word 2000, released in 1999
- Word 98, released in 1998
- Word 97, released in 1997
- Word 95, released in 1995
- Word 6.0, released in 1993
- Word 2.0, released in 1991
- Word 1.1, released in 1990
- Word 1.0, originally invented for MS-DOS and Xenix in 1983 by Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, working for Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Word was released in the Windows OS in 1989
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Mac versions
- Word 2019, released in 2018
- Word 2016, released in 2015
- Word 2011, released in 2010
- Word 2008, released in 2008
- Word 2004, released in 2004
- Word v. X, released in 2001
- Word 2001, released in 2000
- Word 98, released in 1998
- Word 6, released in 1993
- Word 5.1, released in 1992
- Word 5, released in 1991
- Word 4, released in 1989
- Word 3, released in 1987
- Word 1, released in 1985
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Related pages
Desktop publishing, Editor, Google Docs, Office, Office 365, Office Online, Software terms, WordPad, Word processor, Word processor terms
-->Note
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.
If you have to combine separate Microsoft Word documents, you can copy and paste them together if they're short, or merge them if they're long.
Note
Bing Document
The following method applies to both Word 2010 and Word 2007. The format might not stay the same when you merge documents.
Select the Insert tab.
Select Object, and then select Text from File from the drop-down menu.
Select the files to be merged into the current document. Press and hold Ctrl to select more than one document.
Note
Documents will be merged in the order in which they appear in the file list. To use a different order, select and insert each file individually in the desired order.
Ms Document
For more information, see the Forum.