Technically, all you need to write on a computer is Notepad, the basic line text program first introduced by Microsoft to home computer users back in the early 1980s. If you tend to use your computer for more advanced word processing tasks, such as creating brochures or even research papers, you may actually be looking for something a little more advanced.
There are open source word processing programs available to everyone that have their benefits and drawback, just as there are other paid options that might or might not have what you need. If you are working with a trial and wonder how to activate Microsoft Office,> might be that your time has run out and you need to purchase the full program. While some people might be able to get by with Notepad or never go beyond needing their free trial programs, most actually need something stable and substantive. Here are the specs of the most popular word processing software for PCs.
The OpenOffice Suite
Created as an alternative to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice is a massively popular word processing program as it has been made available for free usage, worldwide. You can create macros, highlight text, change fonts, and do a lot of the same things that you can in paid programs. On the flip side, OpenOffice can be glitchy and cumbersome as well. When it comes to converting file formats, you are just as likely to get a document with perfectly formatted text as you are a file that is almost completely illegible. So, if you are planning to create and send a resume or are working on a project that has a high degree of precision, you might want to look for something more stable and predictable than OpenOffice. On the other hand, if you just need something to write up some notes, write the first draft of a story, or create a ‘things to’ list, OpenOffice is pretty solid.
Corel WordPerfect
Surprisingly, Corel is the creator of photo editors as well as word processing software. WordPerfect is interesting in that it functions a lot like Microsoft Word, but the program itself is fairly basic. There have been many updates to WordPerfect, but the menu and layout remain almost totally unchanged, so users don’t need to spend a lot of time re-acclimating themselves after getting a newer version. Perhaps this is because WordPerfect is the designated word processing program for legal professionals. Legal transcripts, which are the official written record of legal proceedings are created, saved, and distributed via WordPerfect. This means that millions of judges, lawyers, paralegals, and transcriptionists solely use WordPerfect to create and edit texts that will have a big effect on verdicts. WordPerfect users also consist of college students, stay-at-home dads, and casual computer users.
Microsoft Notepad
You may or may not have ever needed to use Notepad, which is usually located somewhere near the basic Microsoft Paint program if you are using a Windows operating system based computer. In short, Notepad is a no frill basic line text editing program. What you see is really what you get with Notepad. There’s only one default available font. You can, however, bold and italicize text. Also, the save feature allows you to pick a file name for your projects. Unfortunately, Notepad documents can only be saved in one format. Basically, if you are a programmer and you need something simple to jot down lines of code, Notepad is great. For students, Notepad won’t generally work because you won’t have enough features available to satiate your teachers. There’s nothing wrong with Notepad as it is a basic word processing tool, but it is exceedingly plain compared to other programs.
The Microsoft Office Suite
Pretty much everyone is familiar with Microsoft Word. Public schools around the U.S. have the Microsoft Office Suite downloaded onto every computer in their libraries. On home computers, Microsoft Word comes bundled so that even first-time PC users see the Microsoft Office Suite as the default word processor. Over the years, a lot about Microsoft Word has changed. From the layout even to file format accessibility, you can do a lot more with a Word document now than you could in past years. Word is a really good tool for making just about any kind of document, from invoices to book reports. If you need an inclusive word processing software that will let you convert file formats, track changes, insert pictures, and select from hundreds of fonts, this is probably the program you want running on your computer.
When you need to sit down on your computer and create a written document, you don’t need to struggle to select a program to use. In fact, you should simply have a default word processor that you go to to fulfill all of your computer writing needs. Whether you choose Notepad or even WordPerfect, once you choose a default you will get your tasks finished faster and the results will be better than expected.
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