Analysis of various programs

Michael Thorpe

I.C.T. Coursework

I will produce various systems to manage and run a supermarket. I will use a lot of different programs. Each will be used differently and for various tasks. Some of the packages and programs I will use are:

Microsoft Word

This program I cannot do without and is most important. I will use this word processing program to type up all of my documentation. Because of it’s many uses, I can also use this program to make posters, letters etc. The main use for this program, however, will be the word processing.

Advantages:

Can change size, font, colour and shape of text.
Can insert pictures that can be resized and moved freely.
Has a formal layout that is easy to use.
Mistakes can be rectified easily. If writing by hand and you make a mistake, you would have to use liquid paper. Using a word processor you can just delete the mistake.
Spelling and grammar checks can be used.
Documents can be changed, saved and loaded an infinite amount of times.
Drafts of documents can be printed and proofread. If any mistakes are made, the document can be reloaded, changed, printed and resaved.
Text and pictures can be moved.

Disadvantages:

The whole page cannot be viewed efficiently without first either zooming out or going into ‘Print Preview’.
Pictures and text boxes cannot be moved easily.
You must have access to a computer to open or view the document.
Can’t put pictures on as easily as a DTP program.

Microsoft Publisher

This program would be useful for the advertisements and the posters, and possibly the letters. It would be best to use for these tasks as the program was purposely written to perform these tasks.

Advantages:

Text boxes and picture boxes can be moved easily and ...

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Disadvantages:

The whole page cannot be viewed efficiently without first either zooming out or going into ‘Print Preview’.
Pictures and text boxes cannot be moved easily.
You must have access to a computer to open or view the document.
Can’t put pictures on as easily as a DTP program.

Microsoft Publisher

This program would be useful for the advertisements and the posters, and possibly the letters. It would be best to use for these tasks as the program was purposely written to perform these tasks.

Advantages:

Text boxes and picture boxes can be moved easily and more efficiently than Word.
The whole page can be viewed, zoomed in and zoomed out and still can be used efficiently.
Text can be placed anywhere on the screen instead of in set places on a page (like Word).
Borders can be placed on the page by just outlining a picture box that covers the page.

Disadvantages:

Large file size.
Crashes now and again.

Microsoft Excel

This spreadsheet program is ideal for working out all of my costs. Its mathematical capabilities are very useful for this type of task. I could also use it to make graphs for business and financial statistics.

(I could also use Microsoft Works for these tasks)

Advantages:

It has the option of typing formulae into the cells. These formulae will perform mathematical calculations that are quicker and easier than working it out in your head.
The formulae in the cells work with each other and with the cells, so if you change a cell or a formula, the other cells with formulae in them will change to compensate.
Can produce graphs with one click of the mouse.
Has a layout that is easy to use and to see.
Can be used to make simple tables.

Disadvantages:

I can’t think of any, this program has no faults.

Microsoft PowerPoint

This program is wonderfully useful if you want to make a slideshow. It has the capability of making not just still slides, but slides that animate and move. I could also use it to make little presentations.

Advantages:

Slides can be made up of images, text, animations and sounds.
Slides can be animated and changed automatically, making a fully working slide show.
It can be used for advertisements and educational shows.
It’s many functions and efficient layout makes making slides easier.
Sound can be used.
Timings and transitions are fully customisable.

Disadvantages:

The amount of different controls can be overwhelming.
Large file size can restrict the size of the presentation.

Microsoft Works

This program is very useful as it has all the major programs fitted into one. It has a Database, Spreadsheet and Word Processor in one. This could be useful in ways described below.

Advantages: