Editing Microsoft Word (section)

==Reception==
{{Expand section|date=December 2021}}
Initial releases of Word were met with criticism. [[Byte (magazine)|Byte]] in 1984 criticized the documentation for Word 1.1 and 2.0 for DOS, calling it "a complete farce". It called the software "clever, put together well and performs some extraordinary feats", but concluded that "especially when operated with the mouse, has many more limitations than benefits... extremely frustrating to learn and operate efficiently".<ref name="cameron1984pc">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1984-09/1984_09_BYTE_09-09_Guide_to_the_IBM_PCs#page/n171/mode/2up | title=Word Processing Revisited | work=BYTE | date=September 1984 | access-date=October 23, 2013 | author=Cameron, Janet | pages=171 | type=review}}</ref> ''[[PC Magazine]]''{{'s}} review was very mixed, stating: "I've run into weird word processors before, but this is the first time one's nearly knocked me down for the count" but acknowledging that Word's innovations were the first that caused the reviewer to consider abandoning [[WordStar]]. While the review cited an excellent [[WYSIWYG]] display, sophisticated print formatting, windows, and footnoting as merits, it criticized many small flaws, very slow performance, and "documentation produced by Madame Sadie's Pain Palace". It concluded that Word was "two releases away from potential greatness".<ref name="manes19840221">{{cite news|author=Manes, Stephen|date=February 21, 1984|title=The Unfinished Word|pages=192|work=PC Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCIvSU6Y2GAC&pg=192|access-date=October 19, 2021}}</ref>

''Compute!'s Apple Applications'' in 1987 stated that "despite a certain awkwardness", Word 3.01 "will likely become the major Macintosh word processor" with "far too many features to list here". While criticizing the lack of true WYSIWYG, the magazine concluded that "''Word'' is marvelous. It's like a [[Mozart]] or [[Thomas Edison|Edison]], whose occasional gaucherie we excuse because of his great gifts".<ref name="mcneill198712">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/COMPUTEs_Apple_Applications_Vol._5_No._2_Issue_6_1987-12_COMPUTE_Publications_US#page/n55/mode/2up | title=Macintosh: The Word Explosion | work=Compute!'s Apple Applications | date=December 1987 | access-date=September 14, 2016 | author=McNeill, Dan | pages=54–60}}</ref>

''[[Compute!]]'' in 1989 stated that Word 5.0's integration of text and graphics made it "a solid engine for basic desktop publishing". The magazine approved of improvements to text mode, described the $75 price for upgrading from an earlier version as "the deal of the decade" and concluded that "as a high-octane word processor, ''Word'' is worth a look".<ref name="nimersheim198912">{{Cite magazine |last=Nimersheim |first=Jack |date=December 1989 |title=Compute! Specific: MS-DOS |url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-12-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_115_1989_Dec#page/n11/mode/2up |magazine=Compute! |pages=11–12}}</ref>

During the first quarter of 1996, Microsoft Word accounted for 80% of the worldwide word processing market.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Data Stream|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=21 |publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=September 1996|page=21}}</ref>

In 2013, Microsoft added Word to the new [[Microsoft 365|Office 365]] product, where Microsoft has combined their most popular software,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Looking back at 10 years of Microsoft 365 making history |url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-life-hacks/stories/looking-back-ten-years-microsoft-365#:~:text=In%20January%202013,%20Office%20365,20%20GB%20of%20SkyDrive%20storage. |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Microsoft 365 |language=en-US}}</ref> which is a [[Cloud computing|cloud based]] computing software that is subscription-based to compete with [[Google Docs]].