Chapter 12. Working with Microsoft Works

In This Chapter

• Different Versions of Works

• Working with Works

• Other Popular Software Suites

When you first turned on your new PC, you might have been surprised to see your desktop already populated with a bunch of shortcut icons for different programs. These are the programs that were pre-installed by your PC's manufacturer. Which particular programs were pre-installed on your PC depends on what sort of arrangements the PC manufacturer made with the software publishers.

Most PC manufacturers pre-install some sort of software "suite," which is nothing more than a bundle of useful productivity programs. For many users, this suite of programs will be all you need to perform basic computer tasks such as letter writing and number crunching.

The most common software bundle installed on new computer systems is Microsoft Works, which includes a variety of different functionsword processor, spreadsheet, and the like. Because this software suite is so popular, let's take a few minutes to learn how Works works.