Microsoft Word is a commercial word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems.^[1][2][3] Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS (1983), the Apple Macintosh(1984), the AT&T Unix PC (1985), Atari ST (1986), SCO UNIX, OS/2, and Microsoft Windows(1989). It is a component of the Microsoft Office software system; it is also sold as a standalone product and included in Microsoft Works Suite. The current versions are Microsoft Word 2010 for Windows and 2011 for Mac.


Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed byMicrosoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993, and it has almost completely replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry standard for spreadsheets. Excel forms part of Microsoft Office. The current versions are 2010 for Microsoft Windows and 2011 for Mac OS X.


Microsoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a commercialpresentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system. The current versions are Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 for Windows and 2011 for Mac.

Microsoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications, included in the Professional and higher editions or sold separately. In mid-May 2010, the current version of Microsoft Access 2010 was released by Microsoft in Office 2010; Microsoft Office Access 2007 was the prior version.

Access stores data in its own format based on the Access Jet Database Engine. It can also import or link directly to data stored in other applications and databases.^[1]

Software developers and data architects can use Microsoft Access to developapplication software, and "power users" can use it to build simple applications. Like other Office applications, Access is supported by Visual Basic for Applications, anobject-oriented programming language that can reference a variety of objects including DAO (Data Access Objects), ActiveX Data Objects, and many other ActiveX components. Visual objects used in forms and reports expose their methods and properties in the VBA programming environment, and VBA code modules may declare and call Windows operating-system functions.

Microsoft Visio ( /ˈvɪzi.oʊ/ viz-zee-oh), formerly known as Microsoft Office Visio, is a commercial diagramming program for Microsoft Windows that usesvector graphics to create diagrams. The current version, Microsoft Visio 2010 for Windows, is available in three editions: Standard, Professional and Premium. Unlike the core Office 2007 applications, Microsoft Visio 2007 did not feature theRibbon user interface, but Microsoft Visio 2010 does. Visio is not developed for theMac OS X or Linux operating systems. Due to a proprietary Visio file format, few Mac OS X or Linux diagramming programs can read Visio files. Omnigraffle Pro on the Mac can read and write Visio files.^[1]


Equation Editor is a formula editor developed by Design Science that allows users to construct math and science equations in a WYSIWYGenvironment. Equation Editor was developed by Design Science and is included in Microsoft Office and several other commercial applications. It is a simplified version of Design Science MathType. It can be used as a standalone program or it can also be used from within applications that support OLE as an embedded object. Its feature set has not changed significantly since its introduction in Word for Windows, version 2.0.