Unlike other programs, which edit the document in its native format, Works converts the document to Works' native format, saving the converted document in the user's Temp folder.
Microsoft Works now has built-in compatibility for Microsoft Office documents, including, but not limited to, the ability of the Word Processor to open Microsoft Word documents and the ability of the Spreadsheet to open Microsoft Excel workbooks. New versions also include an address book, where previous versions would handle addresses through the database program. Newer versions, however, (5.0 and above) include separate applications for Word Processing, Database, and Spreadsheet which can be started through the less wizard-like updated TaskLauncher.
Older versions of Works are similar to the Macintosh-based program AppleWorks, where all types of documents are handled by one single program (new documents are created through the TaskLauncher wizard).
