Microsoft Office 95 Explained

Developer:Microsoft
Released:[1]
Discontinued:yes
Latest Release Version:7.0b
Operating System:Windows NT 3.51 or later[2]
Platform:IA-32
Genre:Office suite
License:Proprietary commercial software
Standard:OLE 2.0
Replaces:Microsoft Office 4.3 (1994)
Replaced By:Microsoft Office 97 (1996)

Microsoft Office 95 (version 7.0) is a major release of Microsoft Office, released by Microsoft on August 24, 1995.[3] It is the successor to both Office 4.2 and 4.3. It is officially supported on Windows NT 3.51 through Windows Me.

Support for Microsoft Office 95 ended on December 31, 2001.[4] It is the last version of Microsoft Office to support Windows NT 3.51 RTM–SP4.

Features

Microsoft Office 95 includes six applications: Word (a word processor), Excel (a spreadsheet editor), PowerPoint (a presentation program), Access (a database management system), Schedule+ (a time management app) and Binder (a program for binding the work of the mentioned apps together). The CD-ROM version includes Microsoft Bookshelf.

Previously, Microsoft had released Office 4.2 for Windows NT for several architectures,[5] which included 32‑bit Word 6.0 for Windows NT and Excel 5.0 for Windows NT,[6] but PowerPoint 4.0 and the Office Manager were 16‑bit. With Office 95, all components in the suite were 32-bit. All the Office 95 programs are OLE 2-enabled, meaning that they allow interoperability between themselves and other applications that support the protocol. Binder uses this protocol to bind OLE objects together.[7]

Office 95 moves the version number of its applications to 7.0 to match Word's version number. Other components bear the same version numbers to show that they are contemporaries, although their predecessors are not version 6.0. The previous versions of components are Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0, Schedule+ 1.0 and Access 2.0. Binder had no predecessor at the time.

The Office 95 programs utilize a two-tone gradient in the title bar at the top of the window, gradually turning from black at the left side to dark blue at the right. At the time, this was unique to Office 95; no other program running under Windows 95 or Windows NT utilized gradient title bars. This feature was eventually incorporated into the shell of Windows 98 and later, which would allow customizable gradient colors and extend the feature to include dialog boxes as well.

Microsoft Excel contains an easter egg, a hidden Doom–like game called Hall of Tortured Souls crediting the application's writers.[8]

Contemporaneous components

Additional programs have been marketed as "compatible with Microsoft Office 95":

Other contemporaneous Microsoft products include:

Editions

Office 95 is available in two versions. They contain the following applications:[10]

Updates

Two updated versions, 7.0a[18] and 7.0b[19] were released to fix bugs in the applications, including a fix for a screen redraw problem in PowerPoint. The updates could be ordered from Microsoft Support. A downloadable update addresses issues related to the Year 2000 problem.[20]

Issues

Versions 3.0 and 3.5 of the Jet Database Engine, used by Access 7.0 and the later released Access 97 respectively, have a critical issue which makes these versions of Access unusable on a computer with more than 1 GB of memory.[21] While this problem has been fixed for Jet 3.5/Access 97, it has never been fixed for Jet 3.0 or Access 95.

System requirements

Microsoft Office 95 requires a 386DX or higher CPU, 8 MB of RAM, and Windows NT 3.51 for typical use. Regarding hard disk space, compact installations require 28 MB, "typical" installations require 55 MB, and full installations require 88 MB.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: July 10, 1995 . Microsoft Office 95 and Windows 95 Scheduled to Be Available Simultaneously . https://web.archive.org/web/20151206015122/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MICROSOFT+OFFICE+95+AND+WINDOWS+95+SCHEDULED+TO+BE+AVAILABLE...-a017220114 . December 6, 2015 . August 21, 2019 . . . TheFreeLibrary.com.
  2. Web site: Microsoft Office 95 (v. 7.0) - Box Pack - 1 User . https://web.archive.org/web/20170729143834/https://www.cnet.com/products/microsoft-office-95-v-7-0-box-pack-1-user/specs/ . July 29, 2017 . June 14, 2017 . . CBS Interactive.
  3. Web site: Zisman . Alan . October 1995 . This Suite Smells of Success: MS Office 95 Review of New Features . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200924055056/http://www.zisman.ca/Articles/1995/Office95.html . September 24, 2020 . May 2, 2013 . Zisman.ca.
  4. Web site: April 1, 2013 . Microsoft Office Products Support Lifecycle FAQ . https://web.archive.org/web/20060110084601/http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeoffice . January 10, 2006 . May 30, 2014 . Microsoft.
  5. Microsoft Readies Supporting Versions of Microsoft Excel and Word for Windows NT The PowerPC . June 12, 1995 . Farlex . . . May 2, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022142956/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MICROSOFT+READIES+SUPPORTING+VERSIONS+OF+MICROSOFT+EXCEL+AND+WORD+FOR...-a017013735 . October 22, 2012 . PR Newswire.
  6. Microsoft Announced Word 6.0 and Excel 5.0 for Windows NT Workstation . September 19, 1994 . Farlex . . . May 2, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022143002/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/MICROSOFT+ANNOUNCES+WORD+6.0+AND+MICROSOFT+EXCEL+5.0+FOR+WINDOWS+NT...-a015839910 . October 22, 2012 . PR Newswire.
  7. Book: Solomon, Christine . Developing Applications with Microsoft Office 95 . . 1996 . 9781556158988 . Second . Redmond, Washington.
  8. December 16, 1999 . Messages from the Hall of Tortured Souls . https://web.archive.org/web/20201024173403/https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/1999/12/16/messages-from-the-hall-of-tortured-souls . 2020-10-24 . The Economist.
  9. Microsoft Announces Small Business Financial Manager . February 6, 1996 . . . en-US . 2020-07-29 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200729113630/https://news.microsoft.com/1996/02/06/microsoft-announces-small-business-financial-manager/ . July 29, 2020.
  10. Microsoft Press, Issue #3 1997, sales catalogue Part No. 098-69985
  11. Book: Microsoft Word for Windows 95 - Step by Step . 1995 . 1-55615-828-9 . registration.
  12. Book: Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 - Step by Step . 1995 . 1-55615-825-4.
  13. Book: Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95 - Step by Step . 1995 . 1-55615-829-7.
  14. Web site: June 21, 2002 . TOC - 10 Minute Guide to Schedule+ for Windows 95 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020621005320/http://www.ssuet.edu.pk/taimoor/books/0-7897-0568-0/index.htm . June 21, 2002 . June 9, 2013 . ssuet.edu.pk.
  15. Web site: February 5, 2007 . Description of Office Binder Support with Office 2003 and Office XP Products . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20070306095023/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822622 . March 6, 2007 . June 14, 2013 . Microsoft.
  16. Book: Viescas, John L. . Running Microsoft Access for Windows 95 . 1996 . 1-55615-886-6.
  17. Book: Microsoft Bookshelf for Windows 95 . August 1995 . . 978-1-57231-159-6.
  18. Web site: August 31, 2005 . List of Fixed Bugs in Word 7.0a for Windows 95 (Revision 1.1) . https://web.archive.org/web/20121024205828/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/145523 . October 24, 2012 . May 2, 2013 . Microsoft Support . Microsoft.
  19. Web site: July 18, 2007 . OFF95: Summary List of Fixed Bugs in Microsoft Office Version 7.0b (Revision 1.3) . https://web.archive.org/web/20140730174546/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/149662 . July 30, 2014 . May 2, 2013 . Microsoft.
  20. Web site: Luening . Erich . March 17, 1997 . Microsoft Offers Y2K Patch for Office 95 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015030914/http://news.cnet.com/Microsoft-offers-Y2K-patch-for-Office-95/2100-1001_3-223148.html . October 15, 2014 . May 2, 2013 . . CBS Interactive.
  21. Web site: January 19, 2007 . "Out of Memory" Error Starting Microsoft Access . https://web.archive.org/web/20140825104249/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/161255 . August 25, 2014 . June 18, 2019 . . 5.1.