General Considerations
Step1
Check reviews in computer magazines and on the Internet to help you narrow your choices.
Step2
Try the word processor in Microsoft Works to see if it offers enough capabilities. Many computers come with Works installed.
Step3
Consider that most businesses use Microsoft Word, and a majority of the rest use WordPerfect.
Step4
Choose the program you use at work if it is commercially available and you want compatibility, or if you want to save the time required to learn a slightly different program.
Step5
Buy Microsoft Word, or the full Microsoft Office suite, if you want to become proficient in the software your next employer is likely to use.
Step6
Consider buying an "office" suite instead of a stand-alone word processing program if you would buy at least one other program in the suite.
Specific Features
Step1
Look for language-handling features such as automatic hyphenation, spell checker, grammar checker and thesaurus.
Step2
Make sure the program has good file translation capabilities from and to other applications and other platforms.
Step3
Look for document management features, if you use them, including mail merge and automatic creation of footnotes, table of contents, indexes and charts.
Step4
Look for file management capabilities such as shortcuts for retrieving recent documents.
Step5
Look for basic desktop publishing features, if you use them, including type management, the ability to insert and manipulate graphics, photos, tables and charts, and the ability to lay out text in columns.
Step6
Compare how programs allow you to create macros for automatically executing functions or typing and formatting words and phrases.
Step7
Compare customizable screen views.
Step8
Make sure you can fax from the program, if you want that capability.
Step9
Check the quantity and usability of the templates, if you plan to use them.