Word and Publisher: What are they?

The similarities…and differences

Both Word and Publisher are suitable for even the beginner computer user, and both are pretty flexible when it comes to creating, well, just about anything (except for a database, a spreadsheet, or a few other things). Both can utilize text, images, and various complicated types of formatting.
If you want to create a business card, you can do it in either program. If you want to create a newsletter, the same rule holds true: Either program can handle the job. In fact, there is a whole list of tasks that either program can handle quite nicely. However (and this is a BIG however), one of these programs is better when you're dealing with a lot of graphics (Hint: That program starts with the letter "P") and one is better for legal documents and more text-intensive projects (Hint: That program starts with the letter "W").

So…which one should you use?

Well, I started to create this really cool table that outlined all the things that each program is good for…and then I found an article page on this very Web site that does the exact same thing. A coworker — and friend — of mine created this very helpful table. (Leslie, I thank you for taking the time to do this so that I could just blather on in the manner to which my readers have become accustomed.)

If you want to create	Use this program	Why?
Graphically rich print and e-mail newsletters	Publisher	Precise control over positioning text with images and other design elements.
Graphically rich catalogs	Publisher	Pre-designed catalog publications and the Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard.
Greeting cards	Publisher	Greeting card types and designs you can customize for all your business and personal needs.
Consistently branded business communications and marketing materials	Publisher	Master Design Sets that create a coordinated look and feel for your company letterhead, business cards, brochures, and labels.
Posters or banners	Publisher	Poster and banner designs with easy width and height choices to match your needs.
3- or 4- panel brochures or flyers	Publisher	Many designs to choose from with optional space for customer addresses, and order, response, or sign-up forms.
Business cards	Publisher	Design types to match all of your business communications and marketing materials.
Design publications to be commercially printed	Publisher	Support for large jobs that require the services of a commercial printer, including composite CMYK PostScript output and advanced print settings for better color separations.
Documents with a table of contents and index	Word	Indexing and table of contents features allow you to create a professional published document.
Long documents	Word	Features specific to research papers, business plans, or other longer documents including page numbering, footnotes, endnotes, and annotations.
Legal documents	Word	Legal document support with features such as line numbering, restricted access to sensitive documents, and checks for hidden text.
Short, simple documents (memos or letters)	Word	Templates and Wizards that allow you to choose style and function, as well as content for the documents you write every day.
Document sharing and collaboration	Word	Document Workspaces allow colleagues to work together on documents by using task lists, using links to resource materials, and storing related or supporting documents in a document library.
Handwritten notes and comments	Word	With Tablet PC ink features, you can take handwritten notes or mark up Word documents.
Documents with XML support	Word	The Extensible Markup Language (XML) feature saves hours by allowing creation of document elements that are both searchable and reusable.
Documents requiring review or editing	Word	Change tracking, inline comments, side-by-side compare, compare and merge, compare versions, and text highlighter features support document revision and collaboration.