Knowing the advantages of Word is essential for people who study or work. Why? Well, we are constantly preparing reports, letters, invitations, articles or other types of documents and one of the most well-known text programs used for these tasks is Word, so you may need its help at some point.
We know you want to know the advantages and disadvantages of Word, but do you know what this program is for? Basically, it is one of the text programs most commonly used by people to write documents.
The work done in Word is mainly based on the writing of texts. However, it is possible to accompany these texts with other elements, images, etc., so that you can create your documents quickly and easily.
Now that you know the main function of this application to create and edit texts, we will tell you a little more about Word’s advantages and disadvantages.
1. Variety of customization options
The first advantage of Word that we have considered in our list is the great variety of options that this program offers for customizing your documents. Whether you want to give it a more formal or dynamic style, you can do it without any inconvenience, using the various tools and functions provided by the program.
Some of the Word customization functions you can use are the following:
Add watermarks.
Change the document margin.
Change the font color and type.
Modify text alignment.
Add effects and borders to images.
Insert headers or footers.
Modify page orientation.
As you can see, there are an infinite number of options available to customize your work within this word processor. Let’s continue to see what are the advantages of Word, because the customization options are only a part of it.
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2. Spell checker
Another of Word’s advantages that you can take advantage of is the spell checker, since the document indicates, through the use of a red line, all those words that are misspelled, so that you can review them, correct them and obtain, in this way, a cleaner and well-written document.
Likewise, some corrections are made automatically, while others require an evaluation in order to correct the spelling mistakes that may have occurred throughout the file.
3. Provides automatic word count
This advantage of Word is very useful for those who are studying, working or have to send a document with a maximum number of words, since the program tells you the number of words contained in the document as you write it.
Besides, the update is automatic, so during any editing of the document that implies an increase or reduction of words, you will be able to see it at that very moment.
Imagine you are at university and you are asked to write a file with a minimum of 2,500 words. With Microsoft Word you can know the exact number of words in your document without having to go to the tools menu or use an external program, since the count appears at the bottom of the document.
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4. Ability to insert various files
Among the advantages of Word, you will also find the possibility of inserting various files into the document. This way, you will have the opportunity to do a more dynamic work that is not only based on text, but you will be able to add images, videos, tables, graphs, etc.
Besides, you can accompany these files with elements such as arrows, clouds, etc. Explore all the options offered by this word processor and develop interesting documents, enhancing the content for the different purposes that require it.
5. Protection against editing
Possibly, one of Word’ s most useful advantages is the protection against editing. Sometimes, whether we are working or studying, we need to share our documents with other people because they need to review them or because they need to know the information included in them.
But, sometimes, we may not trust the people to whom we send our document, so we are afraid that they may alter it casually or intentionally. To avoid this, Word provides us with an ideal alternative.
Basically, Microsoft Word allows you to restrict the editing of your file so that those who receive it cannot make any modifications. In order to activate this alternative, you only have to go to the “Review” button in the menu and then click on the “restrict” option.
6. Catalog of Templates or Themes
The last Word advantage we have compiled for our list is related to the library of templates or themes offered by this popular word processing program. It provides you with a variety of options that you can select based on different categories such as:
Resume.
Infographics.
Cover letters.
Organization charts.
Education.
Prospectus.
Cards.
Company.
These preset designs will save you time and money, and will get you out of trouble on more than one occasion. We recommend you to review as many Word templates as you can to better understand what you can achieve with them.
7. One of the most widely used word processors
We cannot talk about the advantages of Word without mentioning that it is one of the most used word processors in the world. Although there are now many other alternatives, Microsoft Word remains as the main word processor for people who study, work, or simply want to write something using the computer.
In this sense, you can find Microsoft Word installed in practically any computer you use. Best of all, you can share your documents with anyone and be sure that they will be able to view them, even if they don’t have Internet on their computer.
8. It is integrated with other Microsoft 365 programs
The ability to integrate with programs such as Excel or PowerPoint is another advantage of Microsoft Word. For example, you can import data tables or slides into your Word document in a very simple way.
This is an advantage, as it gives you the possibility to create a more complete type of documents, and use the information you have within other Microsoft 365 programs with just a couple of clicks. This is not to be taken lightly, as it has made work easier for a lot of people over time.
9. It has a mobile application
This is one of the advantages of Word that most attracts the attention of users, as it allows them to edit texts and templates from the comfort of their mobile device, whether they are tablets or smartphones.
The Word application is also very easy to use, and has all the options that a user needs to write a text without problems. Similarly, the app allows you to save files in different formats, including PDF format, and has an option with which you can read the text you wrote aloud.
Now you can not only enjoy the benefits of Word on your computer, but you can also do it from your cell phone.
10. It is ideal for improving your writing style
To finish with this list of Word advantages, we have to highlight that by using this word processor you can improve your writing style. This is possible because Word, in addition to pointing out spelling and syntax errors, allows you to access a dictionary to know the meaning of each word, and suggests synonyms to vary the use of words in what you write.
These advanced Word functions are a great advantage for users, especially because they are very easy to use. By right-clicking on a word, you can find out its meaning and get a list of suggested synonyms and antonyms.
Although the program has lost a large part of its audience in recent years, we believe that the advantages of Word have made it possible for the program to remain a favorite among users. Perhaps there are many things that could be improved and adapted to make the program more competitive, however, it is impossible to deny that its functions are still useful.
To give you a more complete view of the word processor, in the following point we will discuss what are the disadvantages of Word, so that you can take stock of the positive and negative points that this Microsoft 365 program has.
Disadvantages of Word
You already know several of the advantages of Word. However, as in any program or digital platform, not everything is rosy, because it also has some disadvantages that we consider necessary for you to know. Therefore, we have compiled each of the disadvantages of Word, so that you can know what problems you might face when using the program.
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1. High subscription costs
One of the disadvantages of Word is that to use the program you need to pay for a Microsoft 365 license, which can range from $35 USD to $70 USD per year. Many users take this into account, as there are other word processors that can be used for free.
2. Limited fonts
The catalog of fonts that Word has is not very wide, so sometimes users find it necessary to access external programs or platforms to download fonts that fit the work they do. In spite of this, searching for, downloading and installing fonts for Word on your PC to complement the default ones is not so complicated.
3. The program can become complex
Although one of the advantages of Word is that the program is very complete and offers many options for users, for most people it can be complex to use all its functions, which is clearly a disadvantage.
It is unlikely that there is a person who has used all of Word’s functions, mainly because there are very few that can be used intuitively. Likewise, the number of options it has can be overwhelming for those who use it.
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4. Layout errors
One of the advantages of Word is the high customization it offers, since you can modify the document according to the needs or requirements you have been asked for. However, there is a problem, and that is that some of the things you have added in your document can be misconfigured from one version to another.
So, if you worked on the Word 2007 version, but you need to open your document on another computer that has the 2019 version, most likely the content of the document will move, so integrating it again becomes a very tedious task.
5. It is necessary to install the program
One of the disadvantages of Word that most people notice is the need to install the program on the computer. Currently there are many word processors that can be used in the cloud, so for many, it is more comfortable to work without having to worry without installing anything.
Similarly, it should be noted that the installation of Microsoft Word requires time, and a certain capacity of the computer on which it is installed. Although it is a fairly complete program, it is easier to work with alternatives that can be used without installation.
6. Documents are more vulnerable
Another disadvantage of Word is that documents are more vulnerable than with other word processors. Documents are not backed up in the cloud, and it is likely that they can be lost, for example, if you have problems with your hard drive, or if a person deletes the file intentionally or by mistake.
Even if you learn how to recover a Word document, this is still a disadvantage, because it involves performing a number of actions that can be cumbersome. If you want your documents to be accessible and backed up, the Google Docs alternative may be much more attractive.
7. Not the best choice for collaborative work
Although many updates have been made to optimize the program’s functions, one of the disadvantages of Word is that it is not the most widely used program for collaborative work. Therefore, it is very likely that you will have to use other options to be able to share and work on shared documents with classmates or co-workers.
Currently, most people use Google Docs for collaborative work, mainly because very few people know that Microsoft has adapted to market demand and allows documents to be shared for teamwork.
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We have reached the end of the note and we are sure that now that you know more about the advantages of Word and have a formed idea about its disadvantages, you can compare the program with other word processors and choose the one that suits you best to work with.