As part of the Microsoft Office 2013 software suite, Microsoft Word 2013 is an advanced word processor that is highly adept at producing documents of professional quality, and it is intuitive enough to meet the needs of beginners and students as well.

The languages that you use in a document can affect how your Office program checks and presents readability scores. If you set up Word to check the spelling and grammar of text in other languages, and a document contains text in multiple languages, Word displays readability statistics for text in the last language that was checked.

Locate Object, press a small triangle next to it, and click Text from Filefrom the dropdown menu. After that, you can select files to be merged into the current document. By pressing and holding Ctrlto select more than one document. Word for the web Craft great-looking resumes, newsletters, and documents while inviting others to review and coauthor in real time. Plus, access free templates, formatting tools for APA, MLA, and Chicago style, and add functionality with free add-ins.

One of the first things that users will realize about Word 2013 is that the Ribbon Interface that Microsoft introduced to their Office suite back in 2007 is still the primary method of interacting with the app controls. Many people didn't particularly like the Ribbon Interface when it was new, but it has been radically improved to include the most common features in the most accessible location. Even the individual menu items have been given updates so they stand out from each other much more easily.

Word 2013 is also the first version of Microsoft Word to include touchscreen compatibility thanks to its Touch Mode. This is only available on computers with touchscreen capabilities, and it makes the buttons larger and easier to select. As the world becomes increasingly focused on buttonless mobile technology, this feature is vital.

Microsoft Editor goes beyond checking spelling and grammar so you can write with confidence. Get intelligent suggestions in the Editor Overview pane in Word and let Editor assist you across documents, email, and on the web. If you like this video, here's my entire playlist of Word tutorials: the basics of effectively using Microsoft Word, including how.

When users open the app, they'll be greeted with a welcome screen that is much more useful than in older versions. Recently opened documents will be shown next to blank templates for documents you might wish to create from scratch. Online templates can be searched using the search box if you'd like something you don't see represented in the offline options.

Importing photos is so much easier with Word 2013 thanks to the integration of Facebook, SkyDrive, and Flickr, all of which can be used to instantly upload photos to any Word document you might need to edit. Users can even use an integrated Bing search engine to find pictures that fall within the Creative Commons license. The guides for placing the perfect images have been rewritten for Word 2013 as well.

Users who value PDF support will love Word 2013. These files will now open directly in Word 2013 just as standard Word documents do, and conversion between Word documents and PDFs is a snap. Converted PDFs will even retain formatting from the original Word file.

As a world-class productivity app, Word 2013 allows for smaller apps to run within its system. These include other tools for increasing productivity, including dictionaries and thesauruses. These apps can be helpful, but they can also quickly overpopulate the screen with information and documents.

Tracking changes and collaborating with multiple authors is also easier with Word 2013. With Office 365, all users with permission can viewed and edit the documents at any time, and comments can be synced so collaborators can communicate in real time.

Word 2013 is a powerful iteration of the Microsoft Word app, and it has a number of features that are unique to it. It is by far the best version of the popular productivity app from Microsoft.

Pros

• Improved Performance
• Superb Reading Mode
• Easier Ribbon Interface
• Simple Photo Importing
• Skydrive Document Sync

Cons

• No Support for Windows XP
• Some Well-Hidden Tools
• No Ribbon Interface Alternative

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.

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?

Microsoft Word Document Small

Below is an overview of a Microsoft Word 2010 document.

Tip

See our Ribbon page for further information on the Ribbon. For an overview of the items 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 find 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.

Note

There 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.

1. Open My Computer.
2. Click on or select the C: drive. If Microsoft Office is installed on a drive other than the C: drive, select that drive instead.
3. Navigate to the Program Files (x86) folder, then the Microsoft Office folder.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Microsoft Word Document Sign In

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
• .pdf
• .rtf
• .txt
• .wps
• .xps
• .xml

Example of a Microsoft Word .doc file

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. Reasons to use Microsoft Word instead of a plain-text editor include the ability to change the formatting (e.g., center), change the font type, size, and color, insert pictures, and much more.

Tip

The 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.

Microsoft Word Document Strikethrough

What are the different versions of Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word has had several versions throughout its history. The different releases, along with release dates are listed below.

Windows versions

Microsoft Word Document Styles

• 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, released in 1989

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

Related pages

Desktop publishing, Editor, Google Docs, Office, Office 365, Office Online, Software terms, WordPad, Word processor, Word processor terms