Microsoft Word 2000 is a massive program. It does a lot. But the truth is that you don't need to know everything about Word to use it. A better question is: Do you want to know everything about Microsoft Word? Probably not. You don't want to know all the command options, all the typographical mumbo-jumbo, or even all those special features that you know are in there but terrify you. No, all you want to know is the single answer to a tiny question. Then you can happily close the book and be on your way. If that's you, you've found your book. Good news: This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. Microsoft Word 2000 For Dummies is full of self-contained sections, each of which describes how to perform a specific task or get something done. Sample sections you encounter in this book include Saving your stuff Cutting and pasting a block Quickly finding your place Aligning paragraphs A quick way to cobble a table together A caption for your figure Step-by-step mail merging guide There are no keys to memorize, no secret codes, no tricks, no pop-up dioramas, and no wall charts. Instead, each section explains a topic as if it's the first thing you read in this book. Nothing is assumed, and everything is cross-referenced. Technical terms and topics, when they come up, are neatly shoved to the side where you can easily avoid reading them. The idea here isn't for you to learn anything. This book's philosophy is to help you look it up, figure it out, and get back to work. This book informs and entertains. And it has a serious attitude problem. After all, the goal of the book is not to teach you to love Microsoft Word. Instead, be prepared to encounter some informative, down-to-earth explanations - in English - of how to get the job done by using Microsoft Word. You take your work seriously, but you definitely don't need to take Microsoft Word seriously.
Most everyone can learn just by banging around on the keys how to use the Word program, and pretty much anybody with access to a computer in 2007 is going to need to figure the basics of Word out. Beyond just writing a letter or saving a file, your requirements are going to vary all over the place. The Dummies series is rightly acclaimed as a very easy way to learn some complicated stuff, and computer programs can be complicated stuff. As a general rule with office products, if you can describe what you want to do with a document or file, there is a way to do so with the program, and so it is with Word 2000 as well. The point is to do so easily and reliably and without taking hours to do so. The Help features might actually provide help, or they might cause the user to spend a lot of time stabbing around the edges of what they really need. Word 2000 For Dummies includes information on doing just about every last thing you can do or might ever want to do with Word, and it's all presented clearly, with memory aids and a great cheat sheet summary, and with a little humor. The index is good, and if you can read English you will be able to make Word 2000 tap dance for you. If there is a downside it is that clarity often requires wordiness and some of the chapters frankly take page after page explaining what seems extremely obvious. But I suppose there was a time when none of this material seemed obvious, and as such it's not a serious drawback. If you prefer to have a great reference book to use, instead of struggling to find just the right answer from the program's Help function, this is a great book to buy.
Still struggling
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
I found this a little easier to understand and use than "The Complete Idiot's Guide." I don't know what that makes me. It is pitched at a more elementary level and the jokes and cartoons are better. It is more frank about the limitations of Word 2000 Neither book deals with the problems of crashes and glitches, and when (and how) you have to telephone the [$$$]-please have-your-credit-card-number-ready line for help. I'm still struggling (having come from Wordperfect for DOS). On one occasion no commands were working, and I eventually found I was typing within a footnote. Right now I can't delete or rename any document. Neither book helps with that.
Very Helpful!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This book is very helpful for anyone who knows little or nothing about the Microsoft Word 2000 program. The index is easy to use and directions for each process are clear and easy to understand. The "cheat sheet" in the front of the book is very nice and helpful for answering those small questions. A very helpful book for anyone with the Word 2000 program.
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