What Is Word Processing Software?

Date First Published: 23rd November 2023

Topic: Computer Systems

Subtopic: Computer Software

Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Easy

Difficulty Level: 3/10

CONTENTS

Features Of Word Processing Software
History

Learn about what word processing software is in this article.

Word processing software is used to create and edit text and images to produce documents that can be saved electronically and printed out. It is often used for producing letters, reports, blog posts, novels, and more. Unlike simple editors, word processing software comes with more features, including the ability to adjust fonts, and page layouts, and highlight words of importance, colour the text and background, and choose text styles.

Word processing software is one of the core components of office suites, along with spreadsheet software, database software, and presentation software. It is used by both individuals and businesses to help them write more quickly without the need for paper and ink, which is better for the environment. Examples of word processing software are Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer, and Google Docs.

Features Of Word Processing Software

Common features of word processing software include:

Text manipulation - The main feature of word processing software is to allow users to manipulate text in a document, such as cutting, copying, and pasting text.
Proofreading features, such as spell check and grammar check. This is used to identify words that don't appear in a standard dictionary and to flag grammatical errors.
They may also have a thesaurus and provide suggestions for word choice and a plagiarism checker that can check for unoriginal content.
Ability to customise paragraph spacing, text alignment, list formatting, and margins.
Page layout controls, allowing the structure of the document to be changed. This can include changing the page size or margins and adding columns, headers, or footers.
Ability to add simple tables, graphs, bullet points, and numbered lists.
Search and replicate - Allows users to search for specific words and phrases in a document.
Macros - Enables users to define characters and words that represent a series of keystrokes. The keystrokes can represent text or commands.
Translation and speech - Some word processors can read text aloud, accept voice commands, and translate text from one language to another.
Collaboration tools - Word processing software can allow multiple users to work on the same document with changes updated in real time.
Mail merge - Allows users to create a template with fixed text and use it to personalise a document that is going to be sent to a large number of people.

History

When word processors first came out in the 1960s, they were standalone devices similar to electronic typewriters. The ability to make changes without having to start over with a new document on a typewriter was a major benefit of these early devices. Over time, devices gained more advanced capabilities such as spell checking, extensive formatting options, and the ability to save documents on a disk.

Word processing started moving to personal computers in the 1980s, however some standalone word processors are still in use today. One of the most popular programs in the early days of the PC was WordPerfect, a word processor. Word processors that displayed exactly what would print on users' final documents (WYSIWYG) became more common over time. Microsoft Word, one of the WYSIWYG word processors, became popular in the 1990s.

With the introduction of cloud computing in the 2000s, word processing was provided in the cloud. The cloud allows users to do their word processing using a browser-based application without the need to install word processing software on individual devices. Although cloud-based word processors lack the advanced functionality of software installed on a device, they allow users to store their documents in a remote data centre and access them from any PC or mobile device connected to the internet. As of now, subscription-based models and SaaS is the most common software delivery model for word processing software.