Book
Review of: |
 A
visit to your favorite book store's computer section will show you numerous
books telling you how to use Microsoft Office, proving the theory that
printed manuals have not been effectively superseded by tutorials and help
files. Author Brian Underdahl's book takes an approach that I've seldom
seen: he treats Office 2000 as a single program, instead of the collection
of programs it actually is. Before we go further, I should clarify what
version of Office 2000 the book covers, since there are five versions.
And the answer is: none of them. The Office 2000 programs covered in this
book are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook. None of the versions
of Office 2000 includes that precise collection of programs. However, Teach
Yourself Microsoft Office 2000 does address the often-ignored Office
2000 programs: Publisher 2000, PhotoDraw 2000, and FrontPage 2000 in an
Appendix, which is more than most Office books do.
Underdahl's approach makes sense, since Microsoft is diligently evolving
Office to appear like a seamless single program. Most routine chores already
are done the same way in the Office programs, so why not learn them for
all of the programs at once? So how much do the Office 2000 programs have
in common? Quite a lot, actually. Underdahl devotes 92 pages to that area,
covering menus and toolbars, getting help and using the Assistant, managing
files, printing documents, selecting parts of a document, and moving objects,
and putting
The right page combines pictures of Office 2000 screens illustrating the points made in the topic discussion, and numbered steps showing you step-by-step how to accomplish an action. This multiple approach to teaching a topic should provide help to just about anyone. Each chapter ends with a Personal Workbook, which is a list of questions to help you review the topics you have learned; an Extra Practice section with exercises you can try to apply the techniques taught in the chapter; some Real-World Applications listing some ways you might use the chapter's content. A Visual Quiz tests your understanding of the material. Overall, a comprehensive, effective format for acquainting you with the operation of the Office 2000 programs. The book is organized by activity, so if you want to create headers and footers in a Word document, turn to the Table of Contents, find the Word section, and locate the page titled Creating Headers and Footers. This type of organization is exactly the kind I find most useful in a reference work, so I can find out how to do the task I'm trying to accomplish without having to wade through extraneous information. An Action Index inside the back cover provides a reference to common activities you may need help with. Quibbles? The book is not full-dolor; screens are gray-scale drawings depicting various screens you will use to complete an action. Although quite legible, they lack the impact full-color screens would provide. And the sequential steps located under the screen drawings are a little hard to follow. Once you've gotten used to this format, you'll find it an easy and approachable way to learn Office 2000. A 455-page book can't do more than introduce you to the main features of Office 2000. When you need more details, I recommend the massive books in the Que Using (fill in the program name), Special Edition series, which provide 1100-1200 pages on each of the Office 2000 programs (except Publisher 2000). But for a list price of $20, Teach Yourself Microsoft Office 2000 is an effective way to get started with the world's most popular office suite. It even has a money-back guarantee from its publisher, IDG Books. Thanks to Susan Ives for picking up this book at COMDEX.
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