Application Package

An application package is ready made software built to perform a specific set of tasks for the user. This chapter covers the common office package tools, database management, and domain specific tools used by organizations.

Office Package

An office package is an application suite that includes different application software used for the day to day operations of an organization. Some common applications included in the office package are:

• Word processor
• Spreadsheet
• Presentation tool
• Database Management System

Example: The MS Office package includes MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, Outlook and others. It is a product of Microsoft Inc.

Word Processor

A word processor is application software that helps in the creation of a document. It allows the user to type text, make corrections without re-typing the entire matter, and has the feature to make the text look attractive.

Features

1. Fast operation
2. Editing text features
3. Formatting features
4. Graphics
5. OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)
6. Review the document
7. Mail merge
8. Searching
9. Print design
10. Permanent storage

Some popular word processing packages

1. MS Word
2. MS Write
3. AmiPro
4. WordStar
5. Kingsoft Writer
6. Lotus Notes
7. WordPerfect
8. Lotus Word Pro
9. Professional Write
10. MultiMate

Uses of a word processor

1. To create a resume
2. Update a blog
3. Cover letters
4. WWW pages
5. Advertisements
6. Newsletters
7. Report writing
8. Annual reports

Spreadsheet Package

Microsoft Excel is a commercial spreadsheet application program written and distributed by Microsoft Company for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is used to input and calculate data according to the need of users.

Examples of use:

1. Billing of sales procedure
2. Vouchers and expense statements
3. Mathematical calculation
4. Financial modeling and analysis
5. Graphic presentation, etc.

All these are performed using a mathematical relationship between rows and columns, or the relationship between sheets. The file of MS Excel is called a workbook.

Spreadsheet software

1. MS Excel
2. Gnumeric
3. Lotus 1-2-3
4. Simple Spreadsheet
5. Google (Sheets)
6. Ability Office
7. WikiCalc

Uses of a spreadsheet

1. Arithmetic and statistical calculations
2. Reports and balance sheets
3. Preparation of tax statements
4. Financial forecasting
5. Regression analysis
6. Preparation of profit and loss accounts

Features of a spreadsheet

1. Allows data entry, storage, calculations and presentation.
2. Formatting of data to make it attractive by using tools like font, font colour and font size.
3. Simple computing operations like copy, cut, paste, find and replace.
4. Sorting data in either ascending or descending order on the basis of different fields.
5. Allows sharing workbooks, letting multiple users edit the same workbook at the same time.
6. Data validation for setting data entry values.
7. Internet features including a web toolbox and the ability to create hyperlinks and to save files using the Save As HTML option.
8. Supports natural language formulas.

Basic fundamentals of a spreadsheet

Workbook: A workbook is a file in which the user works and stores data. A workbook contains many worksheets. By default, there are 3 worksheets in a workbook.

Worksheet: A worksheet is an electronic sheet which is a grid of cells made up of vertical columns and horizontal rows that are combined to make a flat sheet, like an account sheet or mark sheet. The spreadsheet is also an accounting program. A worksheet can contain text, numbers, data, formulas and charts. The number of rows and columns differs from package to package.

Cell: The intersection between a row and a column is called a cell, in which data can be stored. Cells are surrounded by gridlines. A cell can be identified by its cell address, which is made up of a column heading and a row number. A cell can contain 32,000 characters.

Cell Reference: A cell's location in the spreadsheet is referred to as its cell reference. To find a cell reference, look at the column heading to find which column the cell is in and across to find which row it is in. The cell reference is a combination of the column letter and row number, such as A1, B3 or Z345. When writing cell references, the column letter always comes first.