Talk:Microsoft Word

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The content of Normal.dot was merged into Microsoft Word on 7 June 2017. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

Very opinionated comments in this article

There are numerous sections here that read like a diatribe, with no sources given and very opinionated comments. This is particularly true in "Layout Issues" and "Issues with Technical Documents." I recommend the sections be rewritten to have a more NPOV. Andacar (talk) 03:37, 10 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The Layout Issues paragraph is also outdated from my point of view. It describes problems of pre-2010-versions, which are not interesting to the Wikipedia reader.

The paragraph Issues with Technical Documents really reads like a revenge edit of an angry word user. It would need better sources, showing that the frustration is a widespread problem worth noting here.

I would suggest deleting both paragraphs. WikiBrendy (talk) 12:18, 27 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've added requests for citation to Microsoft Word § Issues with technical documents. It had one external link to a Microsoft Community forum post, which I turned into a reference. Guy Harris (talk) 19:18, 27 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Character encoding.

Character encoding is a fundamental concept and should be mentioned. Similar comment on the Doc talk page. I don't know enough about MS Word to write something useful. Hopefully someone can. =8~) Thx, ... PeterEasthope (talk) 17:16, 28 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Renaming

My edits against vandalism were reverted. In 1983, Microsoft Word was launched with the name Multi-Tool Word. Then, in 2003, it was changed to just Word. This is what I was trying to cite, but I put the source in the wrong place. SouthParkFan100 (talk) 20:37, 6 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That is not "vandalism", and you have not provided any source. REAL_MOUSE_IRL talk 20:39, 6 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it was vandalism. Look into it yourself. SouthParkFan100 (talk) 20:41, 6 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

WP:VANDNOT REAL_MOUSE_IRL talk 20:52, 6 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I’m new here so I was very confused. SouthParkFan100 (talk) 21:39, 6 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Including the Microsoft Works version of Word

For the whole of the 80s and 90s, there were two versions of Microsoft Word on Windows and on Mac: Office Word, which is thoroughly covered in here, but there was also Works Word. It was using a different file format, and was for a lot of people how they experienced Word. This article strictly focuses on the history of Office Word, the only version left, while omitting this vital aspect of its history. Goomba-la-botte (talk) 15:38, 17 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

There is an article about Microsoft Works already. This article is not about Works, but it is directly about Microsoft Word, and I don't think we need to put a section in this article about Works as they are two completely different topics. We can always put a link to that article in the See Also section. SuperJames888 (Talk to me) 17:20, 17 March 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I understand your point, but it hinges on the fact that this article covers Microsoft Word. Sure, but what would you call the version of Word within the Microsoft Works package? It was called Word by everyone, including Microsoft. Goomba-la-botte (talk) 22:30, 31 May 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Works is a single application, integrating word processing, spreadsheet and database. There is no 'version of Word within Works'. MS did sell some Works bundles including Word as an additional word processor, but other than that, Word wasn't part of Works itself. --Zac67 (talk) 08:12, 1 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]