Productivity Software & MS Office Suite Essentials

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, tools, and features discussed in the lecture on word processing, presentation, desktop publishing, and spreadsheet software within the Microsoft Office environment.

Productivity software

Applications designed to help users efficiently create, edit, store, and present information or data.

Word processing software

Software used to create, edit, format, save, and print text-based documents.

Presentation software

Software that produces slide shows to visually communicate information to an audience.

Desktop publishing software

Programs used to combine text and graphics for printed publications such as books, brochures, and newsletters.

Spreadsheet software

Applications built to organize numeric data in rows and columns and perform automatic calculations.

User interface (UI)

The on-screen elements through which a user interacts with software.

Desktop (Windows)

The main screen display of Windows OS where icons, taskbar, and background appear after boot-up.

Icon

A small graphic symbol on the desktop representing a program, file, or command.

Backstage view

MS Office screen that appears on launch or after clicking File tab, housing file-management tasks like New, Open, Save, Print.

Microsoft Word

The Microsoft Office word processing application used for creating documents.

Quick Access Toolbar

Customizable toolbar giving one-click access to frequently used commands.

Title Bar

Window area displaying the name of the current file and program.

File Tab

Ribbon tab in Office that opens Backstage view for file-centric commands.

Tab (Ribbon)

Ribbon section grouping related command sets, e.g., Home, Insert, Layout.

Ribbon

Horizontal strip below the Title Bar containing tabs and grouped command buttons.

Group (Ribbon)

Subdivision of a ribbon tab containing closely related commands.

Command (Ribbon)

A button or icon that executes a specific action within the ribbon.

Edit Window (Word)

The main workspace where text is typed and edited in Word.

Status Bar

Bar at bottom of an Office window showing document information such as page count and word count.

Zoom Slide Control

Slider on the Status Bar that enlarges or reduces the view of content.

Margin

Blank space between document text and the paper’s edges.

Page Orientation

Layout direction of a page—Portrait (vertical) or Landscape (horizontal).

Page Size

Preset or custom dimensions of a document page (e.g., Letter 8.5 × 11 in).

Font

Design style of characters used in text (e.g., Calibri, Arial).

Font Size

Measurement of character height, expressed in points (pt).

Font Color

Hue applied to text characters.

Text Alignment

Placement of text relative to page margins: left, center, right, or justified.

Align Left

Alignment option that lines text evenly along the left margin.

Center Alignment

Alignment that places text at the horizontal midpoint of the page.

Align Right

Alignment that lines text evenly along the right margin.

Justify

Alignment that adjusts spacing so text is flush with both left and right margins.

Placeholder (PowerPoint)

Pre-formatted box on a slide for inserting specific content such as text or pictures.

Text Box

Manually drawn container that can hold text anywhere on a slide or publication.

Slide Pane

Central workspace in PowerPoint where the current slide is edited.

Slides Tab

Left-side pane showing thumbnail previews of all slides in a presentation.

Notes Pane

Area where speaker notes can be typed; not visible to audience during slide show.

Theme (PowerPoint)

A coordinated set of fonts, colors, and effects applied to an entire presentation.

Variant (PowerPoint)

Preset color and style options that modify a chosen theme.

WordArt

Decorative, pre-styled text object offering special fills, outlines, and effects.

Text Fill

Interior color or gradient applied to WordArt characters.

Text Outline

Stroke color, weight, or style around WordArt characters.

Text Effects

Visual enhancements—shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, transform—applied to WordArt.

Shadow (effect)

Dark offset behind text or shapes giving a lifted appearance.

Reflection

Mirror-like duplicate of text or image shown below the original object.

Glow

Soft halo of color surrounding text or shapes.

Bevel

Effect that gives text or shapes a raised, chiseled edge.

3-D Rotation

Effect rotating text or shapes on X, Y, or Z axis for three-dimensional look.

Transform (text)

Effect that warps text into shapes such as waves, arches, or circles.

Shape (Office)

Predesigned geometric or symbolic figure (rectangle, arrow, star, etc.) inserted into documents or slides.

Merge Shapes

PowerPoint feature that combines two or more shapes using Union, Combine, Fragment, Intersect, or Subtract.

Picture Styles

Gallery of pre-set frames, shapes, and effects applied to images in Office.

Publication Pane

White work area in Publisher where the actual page content is arranged.

Scratch Area

Gray region surrounding Publisher pages used to park objects temporarily.

Page Navigation Pane

Publisher panel displaying thumbnails of publication pages for easy navigation.

Template (Publisher)

Pre-designed publication layout used as a starting point for documents such as cards or flyers.

Cell (Excel)

Single rectangular box at the intersection of a worksheet row and column.

Row

Horizontal line of cells in a worksheet identified by numbers.

Column

Vertical line of cells in a worksheet identified by letters.

Cell reference

Unique address of a cell defined by its column letter and row number (e.g., E9).

Worksheet

Single spreadsheet page within an Excel workbook.

Formula (Excel)

Equation beginning with = that performs calculations using cell values.

Basic operators

Symbols for arithmetic in Excel: + (add), – (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide).

Border (Excel)

Lines applied around cells to highlight or separate data ranges.