Help! Find Office answers

Dive right in and use all the components of this helpful software

By Jessica Padykula

If you’re like me, you love new software but get overwhelmed trying to figure out how to get the most out of it. Microsoft Office is no exception. Having finally installed it on my computer, I turned to some experts for guidance and discovered there’s more to this software than meets the eye.

Just do it

Ed Bott, author of several books about Microsoft Office and the Windows operating system, suggests diving in head first. “You’re not going to break anything,” he says. “Just start clicking around and get to know the program.”

And it turns out Office isn’t just for word processing and calculating expenses. Laurie Ulrich Fuller, author of Access 2007 for Dummies and other books on computing, planned her whole wedding with Excel, a program included with Office.

Office vs. your operating system

When getting started, I didn’t know exactly where Windows ended and Office began. I knew I had a lot of helpful tools to choose from, but I wasn’t sure what belonged where.

“Windows is your operating system, although it has become much more than that over the years,” Ulrich Fuller explains. Now it includes a web browser, games, tools and products — like Windows Media Player — that enhance the use of various types of files, such as music, movies or pictures.

Office is a suite of applications designed to provide tools for the key activities performed in an office, she says.

The following programs are some of the more common components of Office:

Word. Write reports and memos, create resumés, and compose letters.
PowerPoint. Create stunning presentations with photos, music and effects.
Outlook. Keep track of contacts, send e-mail, and organize tasks.
OneNote. Electronically capture, organize, reuse and share notes.
Excel. Create lists and spreadsheets to keep track of tasks and expenses.

There are different versions of Office to address different needs. These versions include the Home and Student Edition, Standard Edition, Ultimate Edition, Professional Edition and Small Business Edition. For more information about what comes with each edition, click here.

Doing more with Office

To get the most out of Office, head to the web, Bott suggests. “The best thing you can do is go to Microsoft Office online,” he says. “There are all sorts of articles and templates you can use to get more out of the program.”

On Bott’s recommendation, I branched out of office mode and found some great diet and fitness templates for tracking workouts and planning nutritious meals.

Visit the templates page for tons of great ideas for resumés and cover letters, shopping lists and greeting cards.
Check out the Office quizzes for a fun way to expand your knowledge.
Watch demos for more help and tips on using Office programs.

Bott’s other must-do when it comes to making the most of Office is to get the latest updates. “People are used to doing it with Windows but not Office,” he says. Updates keep your Office programs up to date and enhance security, he explains. Click here for free Office updates.

Getting help

After diving in, as Bott suggested, I found the built-in help function in each Office program to be a useful tool for finding information. From within any Office 2007 program, you can search for help on Microsoft Office online.

There is a help icon, represented by a question mark in a blue circle, located at the top right in any of the programs on the menu bar. For example, clicking on it and typing “Create timesheet” into the search box in Excel will garner a list of templates, help articles or demos relating to your search. I chose the “Biweekly Timesheet” option which offered different styles of timesheets I could download. ( ERIN: This para is missing from online version — needs to be inserted)

For more Office help you can visit Microsoft’s On-line Support Page. You can use the free self-help section to answer any questions you may have or direct a question to a Microsoft technician.

The following links take you to the support sites for each component of Office: