The Difference in Microsoft Suite Applications

 

The differences in the applications of the Microsoft suite are profound. Although these applications sometimes have shared abilities or overlapping coverage to handle tasks, each comes with a specialty. For instance, Word can be used to build resumes for job applications or make event pamphlets. Excel can be used to create personal or business budgets and create an inventory of any kind. PowerPoint can be used for any seminar speaking or job presentation on a new product launch. Personally, my family uses PowerPoint for our yearly family vacations to pitch trip ideas. 

Word

Word as an application is a word processor. It can build any printable document, such as essays and handout flyers. Per Unacademy (n.d), "MS Word is used to create letters and documents that contain formatting and can be saved for printing purposes" (para.4). It also has a function to create tables and charts, much like Excel. According to Vahid (2019)," A spreadsheet application is a common computer application for representing tables of data like text or numbers, for using formulas to calculate data from other data (like sums or averages), and for creating graphical charts from data" (chapter 5.2). Excel being a spreadsheet software exceeds at data manipulation, dwarfing Word in its capabilities. 

Excel

Excel specializes in taking data, storing it, and manipulating it into any table configuration possible. Excel can then take that data and display it in any kind of chart and graph. Excel can be used for simple databases, menus, inventory, etc. However, it lacks word processing and can't make a printable document as easy and efficient as Word. Another area Excel lacks is the functionality of a visual aid. 

PowerPoint

PowerPoint takes the lead as a visual aid tool. Per Seriki (2021), "PowerPoint does its best job when it is applied sparingly like an electronic flipchart" (para. 7). As a presentation platform, it works as a communication tool to quickly share information. It has impressive visual aid abilities to discriminate written and visual information. PowerPoint cannot manage, store, or manipulate data like Excel. Nor can PowerPoint handle text like Word. 

The ability to create endeavors on anything we want and apply them by any means we wish is something no generation on this earth has ever experienced before. We can obtain, analyze, project, and decipher information in dozens of ways and choose the one we prefer. Yet again, although these applications can stand on their own merit when utilized correctly and together, information on any topic can be presented and shown in numbers, words, or with visual representation.