Office 2007: The Missing Manuals
Book Review

By Dale Farris Reviews Coordinator Golden Triangle PC Club January 2007 Do you yearn for the days when you bought software that included a well designed user manual? We have for so long lived without a manual with new software, that when a rare vendor does supply one, we are thrilled at what we now perceive as "extra value" provided with the program. With Microsoft's major overhaul of Office 2007, users of prior Office versions may be surprised when they first open the new 2007 version. Microsoft has listened to customer complaints about how in the past they mostly just added new features in new versions of Office to existing Menu and Toolbar options. Over the many editions of Office, this resulted in frequent frustration as customers tried to find these features. In some instances, tools and features were found in the oddest drop-down menu, or sub-menu within another sub-menu. In response, this time with the newest 2007 version of Office, users will find a completely re-worked Office. Microsoft has changed the Office 2007 basic format and setup. This newest Office 2007 now features what Microsoft calls the "ribbon," or a special bar of features and tools that open up across the top of the screen and that dynamically change based on what the user is doing. Gone are the old list of Menus across the traditional Menu bar, and the program has been designed to be more intuitive. In addition, Office 2007 also provides a few new tools not found in prior versions. As many readers know, with the prior version of Office, number 10 in the series of the Office packages, customers got used to a ton of features that in many cases were never used. In this latest Office 2007, while Microsoft has tried to add still more new features, as you might expect the major changes to Office 2007 include the re-design of its interface and how the program works, versus a slew of brand new capabilities. This is understandable when you consider how many features were already coded into the last version 10. Most long time users of Office have long since learned how to work with the fundamental tools and features in Office, while ignoring some of its more obscure, or less useful features. In Office 2007, Microsoft has made the operation of Office so different, that many customers just might find out how valuable are some of these less frequently used features, because the overhaul in its design and operation may increase use of these lesser used tools. In this case, since the Office 2007 applications will not come with a handy user guide, which is the norm these days, and because of the major overhaul of the applications, users may find themselves reaching out to third-party guides to Office 2007. To the rescue comes these superb O'Reilly Missing Manual guides to Office 2007, that may be used even more than usual because of the drastic changes in Office 2007. These latest titles in this marvelous series of "Missing Manual" guides will surely get the attention of potential buyers who have taken the plunge into the new Office 2007 and find themselves a bit bewildered by its completely new look and organization. These "Missing Manual" guidebooks are designed to be authoritative, superbly written guides to popular computer products that don't come with pre-printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each one features a hand-crafted index, cross-references to specific page numbers (not just "See Chapter"), and the always user friendly RepKover, a detached-spine binding that lets the book lie perfectly flat without the assistance of weights, like staplers or cinder blocks. This "Missing Manual" series is now a joint venture between Pogue Press and O'Reilly & Associates. With O'Reilly's already established reputation for solid, substantial computer books that are a cut above all the rest, and the wonderful attention to new users that characterize all these "Missing Manual" works, this venture should prove very successful for these publishers. The Office 2007 Missing Manual Titles The current series of Missing Manual titles that explain Office 2007 include the following titles. Word 2007: The Missing Manual Price - $29.99 $38.99 CAN Author - Chris Grover About the Book - Word 2007: The Missing Manual not only explains basics like how to create documents, enter and edit text, format, print, and fax, but also learn how to create sophisticated page layouts, insert forms and tables, use graphics, and create book-length documents with outlines and Master Documents. Coverage also includes how to share documents with other people and programs, create web pages, automate documents with fields, and automate tasks with macros and the Visual Basic scripting language. This book shows you how to do it all. Microsoft Word has grown considerably in power, sophistication and capability over the past decade, but one thing that hasn't changed since the early '90s is its user interface. The simple toolbar in version 2 has been packed with so many features since then that few users know where to find them all. Consequently, more and more people are looking for "insider" tips that will allow them to use these advanced and often hidden features. Microsoft has addressed this problem in Word 2007 by radically redesigning the user interface with a tabbed toolbar that makes every feature easy to locate and use. Unfortunately, Microsoft's documentation is as scant as ever, so even though you will be able to find advanced features, you might not know what to do with them. ISBN - 0-596-52739-X 978-0-596-52739-6 522 pages; trade paperback About the Author - Christopher Grover lives in Fairfax, California with his wife and two daughters. Chris received degrees in Creative Writing and Film from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. He's worked as a technical writer, advertising copywriter and product publicist for more than 25 years. His freelance articles have been published in a variety of magazines from Fine Homebuilding to CD-ROM World. Chris's latest project is launching Bolinas Road Creative, an agency that helps small businesses promote their products and services. Excel 2007: The Missing Manual Price - $39.99 $51.99 CAN Author - Matthew MacDonald About the Book - Excel 2007: The Missing Manual covers the entire gamut of how to build spreadsheets, add and format information, print reports, create charts and graphics, and use basic formulas and functions. Like its siblings in the Missing Manual series, this book crackles with a fine sense of humor and refreshing objectivity about its subject, guiding readers through the new Excel with clear explanations, step-by-step instructions, lots of illustrations, and friendly, time-saving advice. It's a perfect primer for small businesses with no techie to turn to, as well as those who want to organize household and office information. Microsoft Excel continues to grow in power, sophistication, and capability, but one thing that has changed very little since the early '90s is its user interface. The once-simple toolbar has been packed with so many features over the years that few users know where to find them all. Microsoft has addressed this problem in Excel 2007 by radically redesigning the user interface with a tabbed toolbar that makes every feature easy to locate and use. Unfortunately, Microsoft's documentation is as scant as ever, so even if users can find advanced features, they probably won't know what to do with them. ISBN - 0-596-52759-4 978-0-596-52759-4 856 pages; trade paperback About the Author - Matthew MacDonald is a developer, author, and educator in all things Visual Basic and .NET. He's worked with Visual Basic and ASP since their initial versions, and written over a dozen books on the subject, including The Book of VB .NET (No Starch Press) and Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook (O'Reilly). His website is www.prosetech.com. PowerPoint 2007: The Missing Manual Price - $29.99 $38.99 CAN Author - E.A. Vander Veer About the Book - This new book, written specifically for this version of the software, not only offers the basics of how to create, save, set up, run, and print a basic bullets-and-background slideshow, but takes you into the world of multimedia, animation, and interactivity. You'll learn how to add pictures, sound, video, animated effects, and controls (buttons and links) to their slides, along with ways to pull text, spreadsheets, and animations created in other programs. You can also create your own reusable design templates and learn to automate repetitive tasks with macros. Learn how to take advantage of advanced functions (such as adding custom background images) that existed in previous PowerPoint versions, but were so cleverly hidden that few people ever found them. Like every other application in Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint is loaded with features. So many, in fact, that even veterans don't know where to find them all. Microsoft solved this problem in PowerPoint 2007 by redesigning the user interface with a tabbed toolbar that makes features easy to locate and use. PowerPoint 2007 also boasts improved graphics, additional templates, the ability to save custom layouts, and improved collaboration through SharePoint. One thing Microsoft hasn't improved is its poor documentation. To learn the ins and outs of all the features in PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft merely offers online help. If you're familiar with previous versions of the program, you may be lost the first time you fire up the new PowerPoint; or you would be if it weren't for PowerPoint 2007: The Missing Manual. 488 pages; trade paperback ISBN - 0-596-52738-1 978-0-596-52738-9 About the Author - E. A. Vander Veer has authored or edited fourteen books to date (including this fine tome). Her work has appeared in dozens of on-and offline publications, including Byte, The Writer, Salon.com, and CNN.com. Currently, she lives in Minnesota with her husband and daughter. Access 2007: The Missing Manual Price - $34.99 $45.99 CAN Author - Matthew MacDonald About the Book - Access 2007: The Missing Manual was written from the ground up for this redesigned application. You will learn how to design complete databases, maintain them, search for valuable nuggets of information, and build attractive forms for quick-and-easy data entry. You'll even delve into the black art of Access programming (including macros and Visual Basic), and pick up valuable tricks and techniques to automate common tasks -- even if you've never touched a line of code before. You will also learn all about the new prebuilt databases you can customize to fit your needs, and how the new complex data feature will simplify your life. With plenty of downloadable examples, this objective and witty book will turn an Access neophyte into a true master. Compared to industrial-strength database products such as Microsoft's SQL Server, Access is a breeze to use. It runs on PCs rather than servers and is ideal for small- to mid-sized businesses and households. But Access is still intimidating to learn. It doesn't help that each new version crammed in yet another set of features; so many, in fact, that even the pros don't know where to find them all. Access 2007 breaks this pattern with some of the most dramatic changes users have seen since Office 95. Most obvious is the thoroughly redesigned user interface, with its tabbed toolbar (or "Ribbon") that makes features easy to locate and use. The features list also includes several long-awaited changes. One thing that hasn't improved is Microsoft's documentation. To learn the ins and outs of all the features in Access 2007, Microsoft merely offers online help. 751 pages; trade paperback ISBN - 0-596-52760-8 978-0-596-52760-0 About the Author - Matthew MacDonald is a developer, author, and educator in all things Visual Basic and .NET. He's worked with Visual Basic and ASP since their initial versions, and written over a dozen books on the subject, including The Book of VB .NET (No Starch Press) and Visual Basic 2005: A Developer's Notebook (O'Reilly). His website is www.prosetech.com. Target Readers These important books are designed to accommodate readers at every technical level, especially those who use Office applications, which is just about everyone. In this case, these books are focused on the many new design features and interface of the latest, 2007 version of Microsoft Office. With the brand new look and interface of all the Office 2007 applications, I suspect many users of this newest Office may be reaching for third-party books to help them more quickly get acquainted with the new Office and help them become proficient with Office 2007. Since Office 2007 has all its help built into the programs, many users will find these Office 2007: The Missing Manual titles more important than ever. The primary discussions are written for advanced-beginner or intermediate PC users. If you are a first-time Office user, you may be interested in the many other titles on the new Office 2007 from O'Reilly, such as Word 2007 for Starters: The Missing Manual. Publisher Contact Marsee Henon marsee@oreilly.com O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. 1005 Gravenstein Highway North Sebastopol, California 95472 707-827-7000 800-998-9938 FAX 707-829-0104 www.oreilly.com