The World Of Word Processors

More technically known as "document preparation system," word processors are computer applications intended for the production, editing, composition, formatting and, in some cases, printing.

In the same manner, word processors can refer to an already obsolete stand-alone type of office machine, which became popular from the 1970s to the 1980s. Word processors combine the functions of keyboards' text-entry and electric typewriters with dedicated computers for text editing. Despite the variations and additions in the features and designs with respect to different models or device manufacturers as brought about by advancement in technology, word processors during the past years usually featured an ability to save certain documents on diskettes or memory cards, plus a monochrome display. In the later years, innovations were introduced through new word processor models. The added features are programs for spell-checking, printing with dot-matrix and better or more options for formatting. Word processors, however, quickly disappeared in the coming of more versatile combinations of personal computers and when detached printers became an ordinary feature.

Generally speaking, word processors descended from certain early tools for text formatting, sometimes aptly called "text justification tools" as taken from the device's sole real capability. According to experts, the Word Processing program offered the earliest, most convenient applications for personal computer which become the tool for office productivity.

Earlier Word Processors made use of tag-based markups for formatting of documents. Lately, Word Processors that come in more modern models feature a user interface that is graphical. Most of these devices are powerful systems that are made up of programs that are able to produce an arbitrary combination of graphics, text and images. The text aspect has been incorporated with computers' type-setting capabilities.

Perhaps the most commonly known and the most widely and frequently used system for word processing, from office files to school work to home use such as in composing letters, is Microsoft Word. According to Microsoft's estimates as gathered from their statistical data, there are approximately 100,000,000 users of the Microsoft Office suite, with Word being accounted for in the better part of the pie. Other Word Processing system applications are also frequently used, including WordPerfect, used mostly by the computing public within 1980s toward early 1990s. These were used particularly for computers running the "DOS" operating systems for Microsoft. There are also "open-source applications," including the KWord and the OpenOffice that are both gaining an escalated popularity. There are also relatively new categories such as online Word Processing programs, with Google Docs as a common example.

Basically, the Word Processing program refers to the function that manipulates text. Particularly, Word Processing automatically generates, among others, batch mailings, keywords indices with their page numbers, tables of figures and contents that have caption or section titles plus page numbers and numbering for footnotes.

Some other typical Word Processing systems include functions like "spelling and grammar check" and "thesaurus." However, given the complexity of grammar in various languages, some people find that grammar checkers are unreliable. Moreover, these functions will require from a machine a large amount of random access memory or RAM. There are other features commonly included in the system, including annotations and comments, collaborative editing, images and diagrams support and cross-referencing.