MS Office notes for competitive exams — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access & Outlook shortcuts, functions & quick revision tables. SSC, Bank, Railway ready.
Table of Contents
What is MS Office?
MS Office (Microsoft Office) is a suite (bundle/package) of application software developed by Microsoft, used for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and managing data/emails.
First released in 1990 by Microsoft.
Main Components of MS Office:
| Application | Purpose | File Extension |
|---|---|---|
| MS Word | Word processing (documents, letters) | .docx |
| MS Excel | Spreadsheet (calculations, data analysis) | .xlsx |
| MS PowerPoint | Presentations (slides) | .pptx |
| MS Access | Database management | .accdb |
| MS Outlook | Email & scheduling | .pst |
| MS OneNote | Note-taking | .one |
| MS Publisher | Desktop publishing (brochures, flyers) | .pub |
MS Word (Word Processor)
MS Word is a word-processing software used to create, edit, and format text documents.
Key Features / Terms:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Home Tab | Contains Font, Paragraph, Styles, Clipboard options |
| Insert Tab | Insert tables, pictures, headers/footers, page numbers |
| Page Layout / Layout Tab | Margins, orientation, page size |
| References Tab | Table of contents, footnotes, citations |
| Mailings Tab | Mail Merge feature |
| Review Tab | Spelling & grammar check, track changes, comments |
| View Tab | Print Layout, Web Layout, Read Mode |
Important Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | New document |
| Ctrl + O | Open document |
| Ctrl + S | Save document |
| Ctrl + P | |
| Ctrl + Z | Undo |
| Ctrl + Y | Redo |
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + U | Underline |
| Ctrl + A | Select all |
| Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V | Copy / Paste |
| F7 | Spelling & grammar check |
| F12 | Save As |
Mail Merge — A feature used to create multiple personalized letters/documents (e.g., sending the same letter to many people with different names/addresses) by combining a main document with a data source.
MS Excel (Spreadsheet Software)
MS Excel is used for numerical data, calculations, and data analysis in the form of rows and columns.
Basic Structure:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Workbook | An Excel file (contains multiple sheets) |
| Worksheet | A single sheet within a workbook (grid of cells) |
| Cell | Intersection of a row and column (e.g., A1, B2) |
| Row | Horizontal line of cells (numbered 1, 2, 3…) |
| Column | Vertical line of cells (labeled A, B, C…) |
In Excel 2016/2019/365, a worksheet has 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns.
Important Functions/Formulas:
| Function | Use |
|---|---|
| SUM() | Adds values |
| AVERAGE() | Calculates average |
| MAX() / MIN() | Finds maximum/minimum value |
| COUNT() | Counts numeric entries |
| IF() | Logical condition check |
| VLOOKUP() | Searches data vertically in a table |
| CONCATENATE() | Joins text from multiple cells |
Important Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | New workbook |
| Ctrl + Home | Go to cell A1 |
| Ctrl + Arrow Key | Jump to edge of data region |
| F2 | Edit selected cell |
| F5 | Go To dialog box |
| Ctrl + ; | Insert current date |
| Ctrl + Shift + $ | Apply currency format |
| Alt + = | AutoSum |
MS PowerPoint (Presentation Software)
MS PowerPoint is used to create slide-based presentations with text, images, charts, and animations.
Key Terms:
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Slide | A single page/screen in a presentation |
| Slide Layout | Arrangement of placeholders on a slide |
| Slide Master | Controls the design/formatting of all slides |
| Transition | Animation effect between two slides |
| Animation | Effect applied to objects/text within a slide |
| Slide Sorter View | Shows thumbnail view of all slides for rearranging |
| Notes Page | Speaker notes attached to a slide |
Important Shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| F5 | Start slideshow from beginning |
| Shift + F5 | Start slideshow from current slide |
| Ctrl + M | Insert new slide |
| Esc | End slideshow |
| Ctrl + D | Duplicate selected slide |
MS Access (Database Software)
MS Access is a Database Management System (DBMS) used to store, organize, and retrieve structured data.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Table | Stores data in rows and columns |
| Query | Used to retrieve specific data from a table |
| Form | User interface for data entry |
| Report | Formatted output/summary of data |
MS Outlook (Email & Scheduling Software)
MS Outlook is used for sending/receiving emails, managing calendars, contacts, and tasks.
| Feature | Function |
|---|---|
| Inbox | Received emails |
| Calendar | Schedule meetings/events |
| Contacts | Store contact details |
| Tasks | To-do list management |
Quick Revision Table (Most Asked Facts)
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Developer of MS Office | Microsoft |
| First released in | 1990 |
| File extension of Word document | .docx |
| File extension of Excel file | .xlsx |
| File extension of PowerPoint file | .pptx |
| Feature to send bulk personalized letters | Mail Merge |
| Software for spreadsheets | MS Excel |
| Intersection of row & column in Excel | Cell |
| Software for presentations | MS PowerPoint |
| Software for database management | MS Access |
| Software for email management | MS Outlook |
| Shortcut to start slideshow | F5 |
| Shortcut for spelling check in Word | F7 |
