Computers Are Your Future

Twelfth Edition

Chapter 5: Application Software:

Tools for Productivity
Application Software:
Tools for Productivity
General-Purpose Applications

• Application software
o Any program that gives the user the ability to complete
work on the computer

• General-purpose applications
o Enable users to complete common tasks
• Examples: word-processing, spreadsheet programs
General-Purpose Applications

• General-purpose application software

o Productivity programs
o Media and graphic software
o Internet-based software
o Home and education programs
 Productivity
Programs
• Productivity programs
o Make it easier to do work
o Examples
• Word-processing software
• Spreadsheet or database software
• Presentation software
• Project management software
• Personal information management software
Productivity Programs
 Productivity
Programs
• Microsoft Office 2010
o Office Button changed to File tab on Ribbon
o Allows customization of the Ribbon
o Live preview for the paste clipboard
o Option to capture and insert screen shots
o Enhanced multimedia editing
• Video cutting
• Removing backgrounds
• Recording a slide show as a video
o Office Web applications
• Free online companions to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
• Real-time buddy list identifies who is currently editing a document
o Stronger security settings for working on collaborative projects
Productivity Programs
 Productivity
Programs
• Shared Office Interface
o Features interfaces similar to Microsoft’s Windows operating systems
• Application window
• Application workspace
• Document
• Title bar
• Window control buttons: minimize, restore down/maximize, close
• Window border
• Status bar
• Scroll bars and scroll arrows
• Ribbon
• Tab and contextual tab
• Group
• Quick Access Toolbar
 Productivity
Programs
• Microsoft Word 2010
o Automatic text wrapping
o Find and Replace utility
o Ability to cut, copy and paste text, images, and screen captures
• Within document
• Between documents and programs
o Editing and formatting tools insert headers, footers, page breaks, page
numbers, and dates
o Embed pictures, graphics, charts, tables, footnotes, endnotes, & more
o Add tables, columns, tabs, bulleted or numbered lists
o Theme feature provides precreated color schemes and font selections
o Live Preview option
o Portrait or landscape orientation print options
Productivity
Programs
 Productivity
Programs
• Microsoft Excel 2010
o Leading spreadsheet program for business and personal use
o Stores and manipulates numbers
o Modeling/what-if analysis—prediction of things that might happen
o Each file is a workbook holding worksheets with columns, rows & cells
o Spreadsheet entries and features
• Labels
• Formulas
• Mathematical formulas
• Functions
• Argument set
• Charts
• Sparklines
Productivity
Programs
 Productivity Programs
• Microsoft Access 2010
o Database management system
• Designed to
o Store related data in tables
o Create relationships
o Generate forms, queries, & reports
o Features of Access
• Table
• Data set
• Form
• Filter
• Query
• Report
 Productivity
Programs
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2010
o Popular program used to create and deliver presentations
o PowerPoint screen features
• Slide/Outline pane
• Notes pane
• View buttons
• Slide pane
o Includes
• Professionally designed templates
• Slide transitions
• Placeholder and image animation options
• Animation painter
• Ability to insert video
• Convert presentation into a WMV video file
Productivity
Programs
 Productivity Programs
• Microsoft Project 2010
o Useful for the management of one
or more projects that can vary in
complexity
o Features include
• Visually enhanced timeline
emphasizes due dates and
deadlines
• Team-planning capability
• Portfolio manager monitors
allocation of scarce resources
and current project costs
 Productivity
Programs
• Microsoft Outlook 2010
o Personal information management system
o Features include
• E-mail
• Conversation grouping
• Ignoring conversations
• Think before you send feature
• Calendar with alarms
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Media
o Refers to the technology used in presenting information
including:
• Pictures
• Sound
• Video

• Multimedia programs
o Enable users to incorporate more than one type of
technology
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Multimedia and graphics software
programs
o Professional desktop publishing
o Multimedia authoring
o Paint, drawing, and animation
o Image editing
o 3D rendering, such as CAD
o Audio
o Video editing
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Compression and decompression
o Codecs—algorithms that reduce file size and allow faster Internet
transfer speeds
• Lossless compression—does not delete information needed
to reproduce the image without flaws
• Lossy compression—removes some information, but the
loss is typically not noticeable
o Audio Video Interleave (AVI)—Microsoft-created specification
for packaging audio and video data into a file
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Desktop publishing programs
o Used to create newsletters, product catalogs, advertising
brochures, and other documents requiring unusual design
and layout normal word processors do not provide.
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Paint programs
o Create bitmapped images
(raster graphics)—made up of
tiny dots known as pixels
o Paint program standard file
formats
• GIF
• JPEG
• PNG
• BMP
• TIFF
Media and Graphic
Software
• Audio software
o Used to capture
and process
sound used in
multimedia
presentations
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Standard sound file formats
o MP3
o Windows Media Audio (WMA)
o WAV
o Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Video editors
o Enable the user to:
• Modify digitized videos
• Save in at least one of these
formats:
o Moving Picture Experts
Group (MPEG)
o QuickTime
o Video for Windows
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Multimedia authoring systems
o Used to create multimedia presentations
o Require a large amount of disk space and memory to
run properly
 Media and Graphic
Software
• Web page authoring programs
o Professional development tools that have greater scope to
create Web pages
• Dreamweaver
• Flash
• Fireworks
Home and Educational Programs

• Home and educational programs

o Personal finance and tax preparation software
o Home design and landscaping software
o Computerized reference software
• Multimedia dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• How-to guides
o Computer games
 Tailor-Made
Applications
• Custom versus packages software
o Custom software
• Developed for a user’s specific needs
• Necessary when an application is not available
o Packaged software
• Developed for the mass market
Standalone Programs, Integrated Programs,
and Software Suites
• Standalone program
o Fully self-contained program
o Advantages
• Purchased and installed separately
• Function by themselves
o Disadvantages
• Take a lot of storage space
• Do not share resources
Standalone Programs, Integrated Programs,
and Software Suites

• Software suite (office suite)

o Bundle of standalone programs
• Word processing
• Spreadsheet
• Presentation graphics
• Database
• Personal information
o Share common code, drivers, and graphic libraries
 System Requirements and
Software Versions
• System requirements
o Outline the minimal level of resources that a program
requires

• Releases of programs are cited by a

year or version number.
o In a version number, a decimal number indicates a
maintenance release.
 System Requirements and
Software Versions
• Time-limited trial versions
o Offered for commercial programs by software companies

• Beta versions
o Sometimes available to users
• Software is in the final testing stages and may contain bugs.
• Access is free.
 System Requirements and
Software Versions
• Software upgrading
o How software is kept current.
• Small fixes to software are called patches.
• Large or major fixes to software are called service packs
or service releases.
• Software can be distributed through the
Internet and/or purchased in stores.
 System Requirements and
Software Versions
• Documentation
o In print or downloaded from the Internet.
• Brief tutorials
• Read Me files
• Help files
 Software Licenses
and Registration
• Software license
o Permits the user to install the program on one computer

• Site license
o Right to install copies of programs on a precise number of computers

• Validate software
o Providing a special code or product key before using it
 Software Licenses
and Registration
• Commercial software
o Software that must be purchased
• May have a trial period
• Examples
o Microsoft Office
o Adobe Acrobat
o Apple iLife

• Shareware
o You may try before purchasing
 Software Licenses
and Registration
• Freeware
o Free to users as long as users do not sell it to others

• Public domain software

o Copyright-free software
o Users can modify or sell

• Copy-protected software
o Internal process prohibits making unauthorized copies
 Installing and Managing
Application Software
• Installing
o Moving the software to the hard disk and properly configuring the
software

• Uninstalling
o Takes the program off the hard disk

• Launching
o Moves it from the hard disk to memory
 Installing and Managing
Application Software
• Options
o Can be chosen to identify program is run

• Defaults
o Software settings used by the program unless overridden by
the user

• AutoSave or AutoRecover
o Automatically saves the users work at specified intervals

• Exiting
o Quitting or closing down an application